Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F's Weird Adam Sandler Movie 'Crossover' Explained
Contains spoilers for "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F"
Franchise crossovers might have been a rarity back in the day, but now they're a dime a dozen (thanks a lot, Marvel). With that in mind, you'd be forgiven if during the events of "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" you thought that Detroit-based loudmouth Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) was having a comedy crossover of his own and stumbling into a classic Adam Sandler movie.
In the final act of Axel's latest case, he and local cop Bobby Abbot (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) flee Captain Grant (Kevin Bacon) and his crooked cops by way of a helicopter, thanks to Abbot's aerial expertise. The problem is, the young badge is still a little rusty in the cockpit, leading them to crash the chopper on a nearby golf course, where they're greeted by a very angry golfer. The funny thing about this particular gentleman out on the green is that he's played by none other than Christopher McDonald, aka Shooter McGavin from one of Adam Sandler's best movies, "Happy Gilmore."
Unfortunately, the meta magic stops there, as McDonald is listed in the credits simply as "Golfer" and not his iconic unsportsmanlike character that eats pieces of s*** like you for breakfast. Still, the casting choice certainly mustn't have gone overlooked by the creative powers behind "Axel F," and it's totally in line with some of the crazy cameos that have appeared in the previous "Beverly Hills Cop" movies in the franchise.
Axel always encounters Hollywod icons when visiting Beverly Hills
There are always things that are guaranteed to happen in the "Beverly Hills Cop" movies should Mr. Foley ever find himself under those familiar palm trees and heading for the Hills. One highlight includes unexpected appearances that demand a second take. Besides McDonald having his drive interrupted by an unplanned chopper dropping in, the original "Beverly Hills Cop" features an appearance from comedy star-in-the-making Damon Wayans, who helps Axel with his classic tactic of sticking a banana in Taggart's tailpipe.
Tony Scott's beloved second instalment of the franchise, "Beverly Hills Cop II," has his plan of catching the bad guy interrupted courtesy of the former head of Playboy, Hugh Hefner. As for the third film (a movie so bad it almost ended the franchise entirely), the movie has a who's who of big-screen directors. John Singleton, Joe Dante, Arthur Hiller, Barbet Schroeder, Peter Medak, and George Lucas all drop in during Foley's third adventure. It makes it even more surprising, then, that with all those directors, John Landis couldn't get any help to turn that movie into a decent watch.