Au dessus de la loi

A typical buddy buddy cop thriller of the late '80s, heavily derivative and sadly too low budget to do much with the premise. The story involves a couple of cops (Carradine and Williams) who go on the trail of nefarious criminals and gradually uncover a minor conspiracy. Peter Graves plays the police chief. It's amiable enough in a low-to-mid budget way, with some action, but entirely forgettable with it.

(1987) Number One With A Bullet ACTION COMEDY

After the success of "Lethal Weapon" came this low budget effort which is quite good but cannot level up to the same manner as the first two "Lethal Weapons films in terms of budget anyway. But in my opinion is better than "Lethal Weapon 4" and for it's story line and resonating characters. It has Det. Nick Barzack (Robert Carradine) and Det. Frank Hazeltine (Billy Dee Williams) on a crusade to bring down a drug ring. At the same time Barzack is having problems with his home life as he is still separated with his wife, Tereasa Barzak (Valerie Bertinelli) and his boss of the police department, Capt. Ferris (Peter Graves).

Don't get me wrong, this is a horribly by the numbers, worthless and forgetable film, but in my circle of friends it has developed a cult classic status. This is due to a friend giving me repeated copies of it as gifts as a long running joke. This caused me and some other friends to make our own sequel to it, Number 2 With a Bullet, to give to him on his birthday. After showing our film to some more friends we then made another, Number 3 With a Bullet. We even plan to make another in the next month. These are crudely made pieces but are highly entertaining nonetheless (more so than the original it has to be said).

I hope that one day the makers of this poor buddy movie discover the legacy they have created (just as long as they don't sue).

No one will ever say this was a "great film", but it's still got plenty of redeeming qualities that place it far above most of the tripe Hollywierd is pumping out these days. An endless stream of subtle but hilarious one-liners ("Man, I was just on the toilet thinking' about you. Ain't life a bitch?" and "I guess he shoulda froze." "Well, it's not like we didn't tell him."), scene setups that have been copied to death for their comic potential (like the drying-out scene), and the cliché but still fresh presentation of a classic buddy-movie. Even the annoying characters (like Mom) are somehow entertaining in their own way. It doesn't surprise me that this title is conspicuously absent from rental shelves, but I, for one, will be glad when it's finally available on DVD.

PS I still find myself quoting this movie at least once a week: "No, thanks. I'm on a low-mucous diet." :-D

Nothing new, but this routine action comedy (Produced by Cannon's Golan Globus) with its buddy cops angle gives it plenty of life as Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams' natural chemistry strikes up some amusing dialogue exchanges and messy situations. It's on the cheap… and it looks it, but this doesn't fault how enjoyable it happens to be. Cannon simply produces the goods; shattering action (shoot-outs -- one in drag and car / truck / air chases), a humorous script ("Old MacDonald had a shotgun"), likable good guys, scummy bad guys and a jazzy soundtrack.

Nick Berzak (known as "Berserk" on the streets) along with his partner Frank Hazeltine are two L.A narcotic detectives, where Berzak believes the mayor of the community just also happens to be a big drug dealer despite everyone including his partner thinking otherwise. Berzak would go to any lengths to prove it, but their undercover operations always seemed to be foiled as if there's a mole in the department.

Carradine plays his character with a rugged, if crazy edge (he even eats raw meat) while Williams is the opposite as the affably smooth partner (a real ladies man). However they both share a kooky sensibility and use unorthodox methods to get the job done. Some character dramas appear; Berzak's relationship with his ex-wife (Valerie Bertinelli) opens up another side, while the moments with his mother (Doris Roberts) was another comical inclusion. Barry Sattels made for the perfect slime ball. The support cast is good; Peter Graves, Mykelti Williamson, Bobby Di Cicco, Ray Girardin, Michael Goodwin and Jon Gries. Director Jack Smight visceral handling is sturdy, if at times clumsy but it moves at a comfortably steady clip and Gail Morgan Hickman's material has a real sense of irony and some running gags ("I'm just talking to myself sir").

Stock, but entertaining 80s crime hokum.

"Don't say freeze. It only pisses them off."