Dragnet (1987)

Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks play a pair of mismatched L.A. cops whose first case together involves a secret society, P.A.G.A.N., which has committed a series of crimes all over the city.

Dan Aykroyd, you are charged with a joyless and irritating central performance as by-the-books Los Angeles detective Joe Friday.

Tom Hanks, you are charged with the wilful participation in a crime against comedy, as Friday's mismatched partner, loose-cannon cop Pep.

Tom Mankiewicz, you are charged with the direction of a dismal parody that completely fails to deliver laughs.

When the comedy highlight of the film is our two heroes wearing furry goat leggings and doing a silly dance, I know I'm in for a rough ride.

2/10. An embarrassment for all concerned.

Fmovies: I first saw ths movie when I was about 8 and couldn't get enough of it..to the point my mom taped over it so I would stop. 8 years later, the movie is the same way. I could watch "Dragnet" over and over with glee. As Pep would say, "Thank God it's Friday!"

Uneven and loaded with a sarcastic sense of humor yet this movie version of "Dragnet" may not top the classic t.v. series, however; it deserves a look sixteen years later.

Dan Aykroyd, well-cast as Joe Friday (and sounds like him) and his new parter Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks) stumble around and verbally clash with each other while tie a crooked televangelist (Christopher Plummer)to a twisted cult.

"Dragnet" has its share of hilarious moments in the movie and the best one involves where a limo driver intentionally drives over Friday's feet. The expression on Aykroyd's face, well, speaks for itself.

Another note, one of the cast members from the tv series, Harry Morgan, reprises his role as Gannon, who is now the captain.

Dragnet fmovies. If you're looking for something intellectual or challenging, turn over. However, if you want to watch Dan Ackroyd and Tom Hanks in a classic spoof police movie with some memorable scenes and a lot of laughs, this is your film. Check out the goat leggings, the "baitmates" and P.A.G.A.N. as a concept. The uptight Friday /liberal Streebeck combination of Ackroyd and Hanks is a great odd couple. The cast is fab - Christopher Plummer as the head of the Moral Advance Movement of America, Alexandra Paul as the virgin Connie Swale (yes, the virgin - some change to Baywatch) and the lovely Elizabeth Ashley as the police commissioner (great 80s authority female dressing) with Harry Morgan as the long suffering captain (see Lethal Weapon for reference point). Also you have to love Friday's maternal grandmother, Mrs Grace Monday... In the tradition of National Lampoon and Mel Brooks - you need to see it at least once.

A big budget effort to revive the long-dormant TV series with a snarkier, more wise-cracking slant. Dan Aykroyd is in his element as the super stiff, by-the-books Joe Friday (nephew of the original protagonist), while Tom Hanks often feels like he tries too hard as the detective's wacky, off-kilter new partner. The two play their roles well, but oddly don't have much of a rapport and feel like they're more wrapped up in the eccentricities of the characters than what's going on around them. I can't really blame them - the plot doesn't seem appropriate, or even all that interesting. Why stick to the guidelines of a basic detective story when you can dive into the overcomplicated saga of an evil pagan minister with deep political ties and a weakness for sacrificial virgins, I guess? It's a terrible match for the cast, who seem as puzzled by it as I was, and sets the film up for failure before it's even found its legs. Amusing at times, for the most part it's helplessly contradictory, clumsy and often downright grating.

Most people remember Dragnet with Jack Webb as the buttoned-up police sergeant Joe Friday. Dan Akyroyd plays the nephew of that character here. He is so much like Webb that he even appears to be channeling him spiritually. Tom Hanks has a great time with the new character of Pep Streebeck, the antithesis of Friday. The rest of the cast is fun, never quite taking the whole business seriously. Dabney Coleman, Christopher Plummer and even Harry Morgan reprising his Bill Gannon role (now the captain of detectives). The marginally fleshed out plot involves P.A.G.A.N.s attacking Coleman's smut magazines and advocating for "good sex and bad drugs" as the key to a great society.

The jokes in this movie fly fast and furious and are aimed at all kinds, not just the lowest common denominator. Lots of fun, randomness abounds. The best way to enjoy this movie is to relax and not take it too seriously, because it is half spoof-half cop action comedy. This is a fun ride. 9/10