Under Cover

My review was written in June 1987 after a screening at Cine 42 theater on Manhattan's 42nd St.

"Under Cover" is a lethargic, uninteresting melodrama about cops busting kids using drugs at a southern high school. Young actor (from "Top Gun", "Radioactive Dreams" and many other pics) turned director John Stockwell directs with little energy and like several other Cannon releases of late, pic opened in N. Y. sans advertising at a 42nd St. Grindhouse.

David Neidorf (who physically resembles auteur Stockwell somewhat) plays a Baltimore cop who goes to Port Allen, South Carolina (pic was actually lensed in Louisiana) to join local narcs operating under cover at a high school. His fellow cop and pal (John Philbin) was recently murdered down there and Neidorf is out to bring the killers to justice. He is teamed up with pretty narc Jennifer Jason Leigh but runs into resistance from his local, southern-fried boss (and obvious heavy) Barry Corbin.

Though Neidorf and Leigh blow their covers halfway through the film in order to finger the school kids in a mass bust, pic continues in its listless narrative towards a wishy-washy ending in which even the bad guy is left alive and described as not really all bad.

Neidorf unwisely tries to imitate Mickey Rourke here with constant smirk and throwaway readings, creating a vacuum at the film's center. He's way too old for the role, but the script merely mentions that and goes on full-speed ahead. Leigh looks sexy but has little to do and supporting cast is weak. Tech credits and score by Todd Rundgren are unimpressive.

I've never heard of this Cannon Golan / Globus production, but there were some enticing names attached to this late 80s project… director / co-writer John Stockwell along with actors Barry Corbin and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The plot stays conservative, but it achieves what it sets out to do. A young Chicago cop heads south to go undercover with a small narcotic team in a South Carolina high school. There he goes about trying to get down just who killed his partner, while also breaking the local drug ring. It's quite straight-laced, little to no distractions (you know romance, conflict and popularity) that you might get with a feature where the story basis is set-up in a high school backdrop. "You're a hell of pitcher." Since it hardly strays, then it decides to build on its mystery (following up on the original investigation leads) and thriller elements, which is effectively pulled off. The material manages to stay one step-ahead, while going directions that one probably wouldn't expect and this is made more interesting for a good sense of place where the humidity shows and tension boils. Its narrative build-up is somewhat better than the final payoff, but its characters and certain dark edge keeps you hooked. A constant dangerous vibe lingers, while the humour is moodily low-key. Stockwell's streamlined delivery keeps on the move, but still there's a laid-back air to everything going on and a real authentic roughness. Now pull out those smoking, but elastic guitar riffs we would find in these 80s thrillers. Performances are suitably able with David Neidorf likable in the lead and his co-support Corbin is solid and Jennifer Jason Leigh is delectably spunky. Also there are good turns by David Harris, Kathleen Whilhoite, Brad Leland, Carmen Argenziano and a brief appearance or two by Mark Holten as one of the undercover agents.

This is a perfect example of a movie of the mindless-junk-food-flick variety; the mastery of the efficient and cost-effective techniques to produce such films was attained to an almost zen-like point by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, the masterminds behind the Cannon media conglomerate, a powerhouse in the world of 80's distribution. The output of their company, in terms of both sheer numbers of films and also in terms of how broad an array of genres, subjects, and talent levels were displayed therein, was enormous. Cannon released everything from the Death Wish pictures to kiddy fare to screwball comedies to early 80's "rap craze" films, and just about every Chuck Norris flick along the way. The films all, however, have in common the singular trait of being just good enough to keep you watching a little bit more. When you start to get bored in one of their movies, they know they're getting lazy and throw you a bone in the form of a witty joke or some mild nudity, or a gunfight, or anything really. They had the formula of perfect mediocrity down pat. That is the type of movie that this is a prime example of.

The plot is, as I have implied, not really very important in the grand scheme of things here. David Neidorf plays Sheffield, a tough, hot-shot (read egomaniac) Baltimore city cop whose best bro since childhood, also a cop, is murdered during a stakeout gone awry while deep undercover in a county high school drug investigation. Sheffield is revealed to be the cause of his friend having to go undercover in the first place, in a rather vague and unintelligible attempt at a backstory. For the sake of this film's plot, Sheffield is, of course, sent to replace his dead friend and colleague undercover in the local high school. He meets the typical band of supporting players, who play their parts to predestined conclusions, as everything must be as it is in the world of Cannon films. There is the slightly minstrel-esquire black baseball team friend, the snotty rich prick kid, and the corrupt cop baddie. Jennifer Jason Leigh, a rather renowned and serious thespian, was apparently not above trolling the likes of this film at the time, but she is totally wasted here in a nothing role as the female cop, undercover partner in crime Tanille Leroux. Her character had to be there, however, in order to make the Golan/Globus formula take effect.

Watching this movie is almost akin to watching a chemistry experiment unfold. Every element is carefully selected and added in to balance out to zero the sum total of impact on you. It is neither bad nor good, it is in the middle, perfectly neutral, which is why I give it 5/10 stars.

Yeah the movie is bad, so bad is funny but what really catches my attention is no one has mentioned the actor playing a "high school kid" looks soooooo old, he's balding... he looks well over 30!!!!

Video roulette wins again as it led me to this unwatched Cannon film. 1987 was THE year for "going undercover in high school" movies with this, Plain Clothes, and Hiding Out all coming out in a six month period. Amazingly, I enjoyed all three. Actor John Stockwell (from John Carpenter's Christine) made his directorial debut on this and does a good job. Oddly, lead David Neidorf is kind of a Stockwell-lite, even sounding like him at times. I love the fact that he has a receding hairline and is going undercover as a high school student. To Stockwell's credit, he works in a line with the guy's chief mocking him and saying, "You've got a beard and are balding!" Supporting players include Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Corbin, David Harris, John Philbin (Chuck from Return of the Living Dead), and Mark Holton (Francis from Pee Wee's Big Adventure). Harris is excellent in his supporting role.