Rent-a-Cop

Motorcycle helmet-wearing psycho thwarts a hotel drug bust by the Chicago police force, leaving several cops dead plus $2M of the department's money and three keys of smack missing. Seasoned vet Burt Reynolds is the only one to survive the ambush--he and chatty hooker Liza Minnelli, who was with a trick that night after getting a good look at the killer sans helmet. Not exactly sophisticated, but a reasonably entertaining action-thriller with comedic and romantic asides. Reynolds and Minnelli are too old for their roles, but Liza at least gives her all (she "won" a Razzie Award for this performance, but she's a comfortable match for her aging co-star--she keeps his head up). James Remar is an interesting villain (a fired cop and former ballroom dancing instructor who reeks of liniment!), but Dionne Warwick as a madam, Robby Benson as a rookie, and Richard Masur as a dirty ex-cop (speaking with a ridiculous nasal voice) are all pretty bad. Chicago locations were used, but most of the movie was shot in Italy (hence all the Italian names in the end credits). If a you're a fan of the stars, this could rate as a guilty pleasure, although there's nothing cheesy about Jerry Goldsmith's fine score or Giuseppe Rotunno's sharp cinematography (which includes a wonderful opening shot flying over the city). **1/2 from ****

A low-rent, cheaply made police thriller that's kept bearable by some fair humorous bits, the nice chemistry between the two leads and, especially, by James Remar's satisfying turn as a narcissistic, psychopathic (and, naturally, indestructible) villain. Obviously a low-quality picture, both visually and dramatically, with a rather resigned Burt, but not unwatchable. (**)

Detective Frank Church resigns from his job when a drug bust goes wrong with the blame being put on him, as he survived along with prostitute Della Roberts who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Della saw the face of killer and now finds herself a target. So she seeks help from the out-of-work Church. Burt Reynolds seems to have his fair share of nothing features and the late 80s crime-thriller "Rent-a-Cop" is hard not to categorise in that bracket, but still it can be amusing and at the same time overbearing. Thanks to the appearance of Liza Minnelli as a flamboyantly overactive hooker who just won't quit talking. She overpowers many scenes. Not helping the case is that the off-balance script is asinine. I just wished it kept on the straight and narrow, than throwing in some light-hearted touches and trite comedy elements. It can be violent pulp and the main killer (a terrifically threatening James Remar) is rather a cold-hearted maniac who has a noticeable costume get-up and deadly arsenal, although he does like to dance (swaying back-and-forth in front of a mirror) and a good dancer he is too. With a nickname Dancer, he must be. Burt Reynolds is pretty much on cruise-control and the chemistry with Minnelli just doesn't seem to click. Someone has already mentioned it, but its true that I couldn't get Reynolds 1981 cop-thriller "Sharky's Machine" out of my mind when watching this. Both films have similar plot threads and are staged in the windy city Chicago, but "Rent-a-Cop" felt like a self-parody of it. Also making appearances are Richard Masur, Bernie Casey and a stern John P. Ryan. Director Jerry London (who mainly does TV) surprisingly gives the film a certain crisp slickness, creating moments of suspense (like the glorified cat and mouse shootout climax that ends with someone losing their head) and uses the wintry urban Chicago backdrop to good affect. Jerry Goldsmith contributes the music score. Routine, clingy star vehicle.

"Read my lips. Don't screw around."

I love the music score, the relaxed jokes and the expected turns in the story. I have no idea how it did in 1987, but it is among my favorite cop comedies from the period. A little rip of off Beverly Hills Cop but I'm able to forgive them. It is among those I go back to watch again when I have forgotten it.

The worst thing about it is the villains. None of them go down in history. No special features to mention on the DVD I got, which is crappy. However, I believe they could have created a lasting DVD audience if they had invested a little in the extra quality features.

You can probably drop buying it if you're not likely to enjoy the genre, Minelli or Reynolds. If you can rent/borrow it cheap and are able to enjoy simple action/comedy from the eighties then pop the corn, relax and enjoy.

I had actually never heard about this 1987 movie from director Jerry London prior to sitting down here in 2024 to watch it for the very first time. I happened to stumble upon the movie by random chance, and seeing that it had Burt Reynolds in the lead, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

Writers Michael Blodgett and Dennis Shryack put together an enjoyable script. The movie proved to be entertaining and enjoyable, without being an archetypical cheesy late 1980s movie. The movie is a combination of crime, action and comedy, with the latter being found in light moderation, thankfully. The comedy in the movie helped lighten the mood and spruce things up, so it was an enjoyable light-hearted action crime movie with a pinch of comedy, if you will.

The cast ensemble in "Rent-a-Cop" is pretty good, with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, James Remar, Bernie Casey, Richard Masur, Dionne Warwick and others, so you definitely have some familiar faces on the screen. The acting performances were good, and there was a good chemistry between leading actor Burt Reynolds and leading actress Liza Minnelli.

I found it well-worth taking 96 minutes to sit down and watch "Rent-a-Cop", because it was an enjoyable movie.

My rating of director Jerry London's 1987 movie "Rent-a-Cop" lands on a six out of ten stars.