Lethal Weapon – Fork-Getta-Bout-It

By starrymag | December 4, 2017

By: Jessica Wolff

 

Jerry (Todd Grinnell) rolls his pregnant wife Adrianna (Kristanna Loken) into the hospital.  Tony Tibone (Teddy Margas) leaves to make a phone call, but he is stabbed with a fork.  Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford) fixes Molly’s (Kristen Gutoskie) sink with help from Ben (Duncan Joiner).  Molly answers Riggs’ phone and tells him to meet his partner at the hospital.  As she hangs up, she notices Riggs’ lock screen picture of his late wife.  Molly tells him that it’s not too late to start dating again, as she has been on a string of terrible dates recently.  Riggs asks Ben to tell Molly to stay out of his business and turns on the sink to find that it is still broken.

 

Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayans) accuses Jim McNeile (Andrew Patrick Ralston) of breaking his fence.  McNeile denies it, but Murtaugh notices footprints on his fence.  However, McNeile suggests they belong to his daughter, and Murtaugh spots Riana Murtaugh (Chandler Kinney) ogling McNeile’s son, Robbie McNeile (Mavrick Moreno), from her window as he mows his backyard shirtless.

 

Murtaugh runs into the house to inform Trish Murtaugh (Keesha Sharp) that they have an emergency.  Trish is not surprised, and informs Murtaugh that Riana and Robbie have been dating for two weeks.  Murtaugh questions why nobody told him, and Riana explains they thought he would overreact.  He tells her that there are other fish in the sea, but Riana tells him that Robbie has nothing to do with Murtaugh’s feud with McNeile.  She tells Murtaugh that she’s going to the homecoming dance with him, and Murtaugh is horrified.  Trish orders him to promise not to embarrass Riana.

 

At the hospital, Murtaugh rants to Riggs, but he sees nothing wrong with the relationship.  Murtaugh jokes about Riggs fixing Molly’s sink, but Riggs insists that Molly is like a sister to him.  Scorsese (Johnathan Fernandez) gives them the details on Tibone, and determines that Jerry attempted to save him.  However, Jerry’s record says that he’s been dead for five years.

 

At the station, Scorsese finds that Jerry was a doctor before he was supposedly killed and Brooks Avery (Kevin Rahm) tells them that Tibone was a New York mobster.  Scorsese is excited, as he has been writing a mafia screenplay with a former mobster in his writing group.  They speculate why Jerry was at the hospital, and Scorsese tells Riggs and Murtaugh that he based characters in his script off of them.  Murtaugh insists that Scorsese doesn’t know the real him, but Scorsese knows exactly what he’s going to say and explains that he’s been studying him.

 

Riggs asks Maureen Cahill (Jordana Brewster) how long one should wait to start dating again after losing someone, insisting that he’s asking for a friend.  Riggs explains that Molly is dating again, and Cahill asks if Riggs is disturbed by it because he hasn’t been able to move on from his wife. Cahill tells him that it’s a good thing that he’ll never forget Miranda, but he might miss out if he doesn’t try to move on.

 

As he reads Scorsese’s script, Murtaugh dislikes his portrayal but Scorsese is still able to predict everything he is about to say.  Avery informs them that Jerry renewed his club membership of a store.  Riggs and Murtaugh spot Jerry on the store TVs, and call out to him.  They spot mobsters approaching Jerry and pull out their guns.  A shootout begins, but one of the mobsters grabs a hostage.  Riggs climbs on top of a shelf, grabs a cable, and shoots him as he swings down.  They look at Jerry’s cart and find baby supplies.

 

Avery introduces Riggs and Murtaugh to the New York FBI’s liaison, Bryan Graves (Michael Beach), who explains that Jerry was going to testify against mob boss Frank (Paul Ben-Victor) before he disappeared.  Riggs asks how both the mob and the FBI lost track of Jerry, but Graves won’t provide more information.  Riggs comments that Jerry seemed bewildered by the mob’s presence at the store, and Avery suggests talking to Jerry’s wife at the hospital as well as Scorsese’s writing partner since the script accurately depicts mob life.  Avery tells Riggs that his character in the script is very nuanced and that Scorsese captured Murtaugh’s voice well.

 

At the hospital, Adrianna insists her husband is innocent.  A Uniformed Officer (Monique Gall) tells Riggs that the hospital security footage is ready, and Riggs leaves his number.  Murtaugh and Scorsese meet with Nick (Ken Garito), who recognizes Murtaugh from the script.  When Murtaugh tells him his portrayal is being rewritten, Nick calls the character boring and one-dimensional.  Murtaugh shows him Jerry’s picture, but Nick is angry that they want him to snitch.  Reluctantly, Nick looks at the picture and identifies him as the guy who was killed five years ago.  When told Jerry is alive, Nick offers no help.  Murtaugh calls Nick useless, and Nick identifies Jerry’s wife as a contract killer hired to kill Jerry.

 

Riggs sees Adrianna grab a fork on the security footage, and Scorsese spots Jerry in the car that pulls up next to him and Murtaugh as they drive to the hospital.  Jerry speeds away and Murtaugh chases after him.  They catch-up and block his car, while Riggs finds that Adrianna has left her room.  Running to the nursery, he finds Adrianna picking up her daughter.  Riggs spots two mobsters walking towards them and tells her to duck before shooting them.  The emergency door closes and Adrianna runs away.  Riggs answers his phone and Scorsese tells him about Adrianna.

 

In the interrogation room, Jerry denies that Adrianna killed Tibone.  Outside, Riggs realizes that Graves used Jerry to get to Adrianna.  Graves explains that putting Frank behind bars is his top priority.  Riggs gets a call from Molly, who asks him to babysit Ben that night while she goes on another date.  Murtaugh finds McNeile watching him as he fixes the fence, and McNeile argues that they need to stop Riana and Robbie’s romance.  McNeile tells him that they are in Riana’s room and he bugged Robbie’s phone.

 

When they hear Riana suggest that they fool around, Murtaugh and McNeile run upstairs.  They find Riana and Robbie waiting for them, triumphant that they’ve caught their fathers spying on them.  McNeile insists that it was Murtaugh’s idea and drags Robbie away.  Murtaugh tells Riana that she’s grounded, but Riana accuses him of invading her privacy.  She points out that the dance is coming up, and Murtaugh tells her she’s not going.

 

Riggs and Ben hear Molly come home, and they agree to pretend that Ben was asleep.  Molly’s date, Chad (Edward Finlay) walks her to the door, but Riggs interrupts their kiss.  After Chad leaves, Riggs tells her that he’s going to do a background check on Chad, insisting that he doesn’t want Molly to get hurt.  Molly tells him that getting hurt is always a risk in dating, and tells him that she doesn’t need him to protect her.  As Riggs leaves, he gets a call from Adrianna telling him that Jerry didn’t kill Tibone.  She explains that she’s trying to protect both of them from Frank.  Riggs suggests protecting her family by making a deal with Graves.  Adrianna hangs up, drives towards him, and makes him promise to keep her family safe.

 

Paulie (Frankie J. Allison) drives Frank, and Frank kills him with a golf club when he pulls over.  Adrianna recounts her experience with Frank to Riggs and Graves.  Jerry sees Adrianna as they pass each other and she insists their daughter is safe.  Graves tells Riggs that he has to transfer Adrianna to FBI custody to get more evidence.  He promises to make a deal once they lock up Frank.  As Scorsese and Nick talk about their script, Nick is alarmed when Frank approaches them.  After telling Scorsese to leave, Frank takes his seat.  He slips money to Nick and asks him to kill Jerry.  Nick insists that he doesn’t do that anymore, but Frank slips the money into his coat and tells him he needs the money.

 

Trish visits the station and tells Murtaugh that Riana will go to the dance with Robbie.  Murtaugh insists that Riana is grounded for having Robbie in her room, but Trish tells him that they asked her permission first.  She tells Murtaugh that her father didn’t like him at first, believing that Murtaugh was too safe for her.  Trish demands he make things right with Riana.  Graves tells Adrianna that Jerry has been released as a result of her confession, and takes her away.  Murtaugh asks Riggs if he’s safe.  Riggs answers that he definitely is, and insists that there is no good type of safe.

 

Riggs realizes that Adrianna stole his pen and find Graves knocked out on the floor of the elevator.  Graves and Avery give Riggs and Murtaugh directions to Adrianna’s location.  Adrianna pulls out a gun out of the trunk of the stolen police car, and Riggs uses the communications system to talk her out of killing Frank.  She hangs up on him and points a gun at Nick as she steps off the elevator.  They walk to Frank’s room, and Adrianna tells Nick that she’ll kill him if he doesn’t help her.  Nick knocks on the door claiming he forgot something, and Adrianna bursts in, putting a gun to Frank’s head.

 

Frank calls her rusty, and Adrianna asks him if he has any last words.  He asks her why she left him for Jerry, and she turns to see that they have Jerry.  Adrianna runs to the crying baby, and Murtaugh gets the idea of climbing into the air vent.  Riggs tells him that he’s proud of him, and Frank addresses Adrianna as he caresses her face.  Murtaugh crawls above Frank’s room and hears Adrianna beg to release Jerry and the baby.  Riggs tells an approaching mobster to drop his gun, and Frank grabs his golf club.  Frank yells at Adrianna for choosing Jerry over him and hits Jerry.

 

Murtaugh has trouble reaching his gun and falls through the vent suspended in air.  He grabs his gun and shoots at the mobsters as Riggs bursts in through the room’s door.  Together, they take out the mobsters and Murtaugh falls on top of Riggs as his suspension gives way.  Graves tells Adrianna and Jerry that Frank survived and can still be put on trial with their testimony.  Riggs promises them immunity, but Graves informs them that their options are limited due to assaulting an FBI agent.  Adrianna thanks Riggs for saving her family.

 

Murtaugh recounts his heroics to Scorsese, but he is not impressed.  Scorsese tells him that he’s abandoning the mob story and doing a story of forbidden love where Murtaugh is the villain.  Cahill confronts Riggs about doing a background check on Chad, and implies that he’s meddling because he wants to date Molly himself.  Riggs denies it, and says Molly deserves better than him.  Cahill then asks what he deserves. Later, Molly confronts Riggs about Chad’s car being towed.  She then tells him that she ended things with Chad.  Riggs explains that she attracts losers, and she brings up a time he tried to kiss her.  He says he was concussed, but she mentions that he could have kissed her for real.

 

Murtaugh and Trish take photos of Riana and Robbie before homecoming and Murtaugh allows McNeile to come onto his property for one photo.  Robbie thanks Murtaugh for allowing him to take Riana to the dance, and Murtaugh warns him to be afraid of him.  He apologizes to Riana, and she admits they initially started dating to frustrate him and McNeile.  She admits that she likes him and he’s nice to her.  Murtaugh tells her to have fun before telling Robbie to be back at 8:30.  McNeile points out that the dance starts at 8, and Murtaugh tells him to get off his property.  Trish tells Robbie to bring Riana back at 11:30 and Murtaugh admits that letting his daughter go to the dance is harder than taking out the mob through the air vent.