Dragnet
Before remaking old TV shows into fresh new movies had become the âinâ thing to do in Hollywood, back in 1987 Dan Aykroyd had managed to develop and star in what was in many ways for him his dream project, a reboot / sequel to the VERY long running TV cop show from the 50s and 60s, one which had starred Jack Webb in what he had considered to be an unabashed and certainly unironic tribute to the real life law enforcement ranks of The LAPD. His Joe Friday was a dedicated yet humorless agent of those ranks who (unlike a lot of cops in later films and TV shows) went strictly by the book and would always follow regulations as he nonetheless hunted down all different kinds of criminal elements. The realism that Webb would stress as it related to the showâs content would extend to the fates of the various bad guys as well. Rarely if ever were any of them killed outright in a shootout or skirmish, but instead were always properly arrested and booked with a solemn voiceover narrator letting us know what the outcome of their pending trial would be complete with the details of the sentence that was handed down. The show was really so straitlaced in its very presentation that Aykroyd smartly knew that making it a spoof comedy (especially in the 80s and given Aykroydâs background as a gifted comedy writer and actor) would be the right way to go, but how would he pull the whole thing together to make it funny? Certainly having a guy like Tom Mankiewicz as co writer and director was an interesting choice as Mankiewicz had spent nearly his entire Hollywood career as a fringe player, doctoring several scripts prior to production (most famously Donnerâs Superman films) but never establishing himself either before or after this as a big time director. In casting himself as Joe Friday (said to be the nephew of Webbâs original as Webb himself had passed away in 1982), Aykroyd assured that much of the success or failure of this project would rest on his own shoulders and itâs a delight to watch him recite various laws and regulations in a monosyllabic tone (as Webb used to) while playing the character as an upstanding prick who somewhat naively believes that the majority of the citizens of Los Angeles are good, decent people who are âcheering onâ the less fortunate to pull their lives together so that they can also live proper, wholesome lives.  After rightly establishing that as the characterâs mindset and creed, Aykroyd almost immediately sets out to subvert the entire thing, starting off with having Friday learn that he has been assigned a new partner played by Tom Hanks.  Now for those people who werenât familiar with the future Oscar winner during the 80s run of his career, he was absolutely one of the most underrated comedy actors of that decade, creating an image of always playing freewheeling yet charismatic goofballs who would come across as being a wry smartass better than anyone else. Here Hanks almost seems to be spoofing the stereotype of the rebellious cop who doesnât really give a shit which works perfectly when we can see that he is the very real antithesis of Aykroydâs strictly close to the vest Friday.  Stuck with this âhipster, freebird copâ for a partner, the story then takes another huge step towards not only subverting Fridayâs beliefs but society itself in a way that amazingly still remains relevant today. It turns out that a series of random crimes is being committed by a group proudly calling themselves PAGANS and their twisted belief system and encouragement of depraved, decadent behavior (even as it appears that most of their ranks are male) are just what one would expect, but the twist here is that their leader is also publicly known as a highly respected preacher and evangelist who even leads what he calls Moral Crusades against the smut and pornographers of the world. Apparently the guy gets off on masquerading as being a very well known Christian leader and Man Of God while also engaging and reveling in the same sort of perverted behaviors that he rails so passionately against in public, not only satirizing the Jimmy Swaggart types of that day but also every hypocritical excuse for a Christian who lives for The Devil but seems to think that reaffirming their belief and passion for God once a week is enough to redeem them and keep them out of Hell. As played by Christopher Plummer (another future Oscar winner), a certain aloof creepiness is successfully emanated right down to having a sniveling, nervous little laugh that is supposed to be considered âcharmingâ by those who admire him. Naturally Friday is a fan of Plummerâs evangelical TV show even while Plummer is cutting back room deals with a Hugh Hefner like porn king played hilariously by Dabney Coleman, a guy who always excelled at playing sleazeball characters but who here seems to have injected his schtick with some extra venom, playing the role with a distracting lisp for no good reason but which is still hilarious with the way he makes it work. Also working for the bad guys is Jack OâHalloran (Non From Superman) who basically does all of the dirty work for Plummer as he looks on from afar, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that the PAGAN organization is at least trying to throw the city into a state of chaos, one where excessive drug use and every sexual perversion known to man would be commonplace and everywhere (as if it isnât already and continues to be so today) and is something that in the eyes of a man like Friday, would probably be akin to The Apocalypse. Meanwhile, he continues pursuing the case with Hanksâ Pep Streebek, a guy who seems to be screwing every remotely attractive female cop on the force and always seems to undermine Friday (even in front of suspects) with a series of wiseass remarks. In short, the two make for a hilarious comedy team (with great chemistry) and only reinforces the notion that many have of Aykroyd in that he always works best onscreen in a movie when he is teamed with others of equal talent. In fact, Hanks gets so many opportunities here to fire off zingers and funny lines that some of them actually do fall flat due to bad timing or just not being all that funny to begin with (a bit where he references Nightmare On Elm Street comes to mind) but for the most part his loose, relaxed performance contrasts wonderfully with Aykroydâs stoic, by the book to a fault reinterpretation of an iconic TV character.  Eventually Plummer and his PAGANS go a little too far when they kidnap an honest to God virgin (Alexandra Paul) intending to use her for a sacrifice, a rather pathetic way for this group to find anything entertaining for themselves to do since (as stated) the PAGANS seem to consist almost entirely of nothing but misfit males (as opposed to Colemanâs smut king Jerry Caesar who is always adorned with beautiful women). Friday and his partner go in and not only rescue Paulâs Virgin Connie Swail, but a romance quickly develops between her and Friday as well (not a surprise since it is implied that Fridayâs own repressive qualities may be related to his acute lack of experience with the opposite sex). As funny as Hanks is (and this is one of his best 80s comedy roles), Aykroyd does get his fair share of moments to himself, such as a random bit where three punk gang members try to rob him and he deftly uses his self defense skills to beat them down (afterwards remarking with disgust âAnd on a school night too.â) or his interactions with his Police Captain Bill Gannon, the old partner of Webbâs Friday on the TV show once again played by Harry Morgan who is a welcome sight to see here. And so what we have here is an old TV show remade and updated for modern times as a comedy (because it would never have worked if played straight) and surprisingly done right, mostly due to funny writing, crisp chemistry between the two stars, and most interestingly, the direction it takes when it comes to the main villain and his evil plot, a TV preacher and Moral Crusader who also clandestinely leads a sex and drugs obsessed cult that wants to use pornography and sex trafficking to build up his own little sleazy empire so that he can then concurrently go on TV ranting about the corruption and fornication that he himself is profiting from.  Itâs quite a hook for an idea, especially when youâve got the straightest of the straight arrow cops like Joe Friday looking to bring you down, and this (like much of Tom Hanksâ 80s comedy work) remains still shamefully underrated todayâŚ
9/10