Spoilers for Billy Bathgate to follow.

Billy Bathgate is the second movie of 1991 to feature Bruce in a much smaller, supporting role, this time playing along side two time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman and an up and coming actress at the time named Nicole Kidman. The film was also directed by Oscar winning director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer, Nobody’s Fool), so right off the bat it makes perfect sense that Bruce takes this small role. On paper, this has prestige written all over it, and it gives Bruce a chance to flex those acting chops.

And he does! Once again, Bruno is asked to play an asshole, which we already knew he was good at, but this time he gets to show a little panic, as most of his scenes involve him facing his impending death. Oh yea, he definitely dies here, and soon. There are a few flashbacks here and there, but all told, Bruce is only in the movie about 10 minutes or so. But his character is so crucial to the plot that it felt necessary to include it in Bruno-Vision.

Anyway. Like I was saying, Bruce brings his A game, and does the very best with what he is given.

Unfortunately, the movie as a whole is a stinker. Hoffman can be legit intimidating, but his character borders on cartoonish far too often. Kidman does her best as well, and comes out mostly unscathed. Really it’s the filmmaking, Benton makes the whole thing feel like a TV movie instead of a prestigious Gangster picture.

Alas, the film was another big budget flop for Willis, grossing $15 million off a reported $48 million budget. Thankfully, since Bruce was such a minor player, it didn’t do him much damage.

Spoilers for The Last Boy Scout to follow.

Willis’ fourth (!) and final film of 1991 was The Last Boy Scout, which was directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Man On Fire), produced by Joel Silver (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon franchise), and written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Nice Guys), and then of course starring Bruce and comedian Damon Wayans.

The Last Boy Scout is one of my favorite Bruce Willis movies, full stop. It is the epitome of Bruce Willis action movies. He’s tough as nails, slinging one liners left and right, always right about about the bad guys plans, and gets the shit beat out of him throughout. Joe Hallenbeck is so far below rock bottom than John McClane could ever even hope to get, and I love watching Bruno play reluctant hero more than anyone else. The man just wears regret on his face like a painting, so when Joe looks at himself in a mirror and says “Nobody likes you. Everybody hates you. You’re gonna lose. Smile, you fuck.” you know that movie magic is happening right before your very eyes.

A lot of the feelings I have about Bruce’s performance here are similar to my love of his performance in Die Hard With A Vengeance. Except in The Last Boy Scout, Willis gets to double the asshole and sarcasm thanks to Black’s dark and noir-ish tone, and Willis excels. One of my all time favorite Willis moments is when he is antagonizing Jimmy (Wayans) in a strip club and he catches Jimmy’s punch and forces him to the ground all with one hand. It’s one the single most tough AF moments of Bruno’s career and I’m salivating just thinking about it.

Of course, if we’re talking about Top Tier Willis Moments, you cannot talk about The Last Boy Scout without talking about the legendary scene with one of the all time great bad guy actors, Kim Coates. If you’ve seen the movie, you know. Bruce is in the pool room being watching by two goons. Coates is offering Willis a cigarette but then punches him in the mouth before he can light it. Bruno responds as only he can,” I seem to have dropped my cigarette, may I have another?” Coates obliges, and just before he lights it, Joe says “Touch me again I’ll kill ya.” Naturally, Coates punches him again, but this time Mr. Willis responds by shoving Coates’ nose into his brain via the palm of his hand. Cinema.

The film wasn’t as big a hit that the studio was hoping for (it grossed $59 million against a $43 million budget) given the star power both in front of and behind the camera, but compared to his other flops that year, this was a huge step back in the right direction for Bruce. The movie also went on to be a huge hit on home video and of course over time has become a 90s Action Classic. Bruce Willis: Movie Star was finally back on track.