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 ****

Well I was entertained. I like it. Sue me! I'm not saying it's art but it's an enjoyable time-passer of a movie. I'm not sure if I would call it a romantic comedy since there's a lot of violence and dark parts but there is comedy and there is romance so...yeah. Seems like most Burt Reynolds movies I like are the ones most people hate and the ones most people like I don't care much for. Anyway Burt isn't even the best part here. The best part is Liza Minnelli, who I'm not normally a fan of but she's good here. Also James Remar's psycho villain has some memorable scenes.

I have been on a big Burt Reynolds kick as late. Rent A Cop is one I have not seen, but heard was bad. Unfortunately for me, the reports that I got previously are accurate. Rent A Cop has a mismatched duo of Burt Reynolds and Lizza Minnelli in a annoying kind of buddy cop movie with action, romance, basically throwing anything together and hoping it sticks. Every cliche imaginable is played to the hilt. It does have a good cast with Bernie Casey as one of Burt's cop buddies and James Remar as main villain and psychopath. There even is a cameo by Michael Rooker. All of this is wasted on a pointless crap movie.

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. (**)

Didja know that, contrary to popular belief (and the Razzies), Liza-with-a-Z actually received rave reviews from Variety and the NEW YORK TIMES (!) for her performance in this otherwise utterly ordinary cop thriller. She's actually very funny in it, and Reynolds has his moments as well. There is an absolutely hysterical scene near the beginning with Burt as a security guard disguised as Santa in a department store, bantering with his new boss, an overly officious matron yammering about his failure to scrutinize his "policy manual."