Dragnet (1987) (1987)
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46% of critics liked it
(28 reviews) -
30% want to see it
(20,255 ratings)
Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s… More Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s conservatism smack up against the attitudes of the '80s. Basically, the film is another 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop clone. Aykroyd stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the original Friday. But with his brown suit, fedora, and lockjaw, he could just as well be the incarnation of Jack Webb. He is involuntarily assigned a smart alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), and they are appointed to investigate a series of religious cult murders in L.A. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, the Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer). From there, they are only at step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy). After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). So much so that even after his superior Captain Gannon (Harry Morgan, reprising his role from the '60s revival of the Dragnet program) orders him off the case, Friday continues on, with the requisite car chases and crashes that usually climax any '80s cop movie or comedy. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Tom Mankiewicz, Terry Leonard
- Written By
- David Ackroyd, Alan Zweibel, Tom Mankiewicz
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Comedy
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
More innocuous than inventive.
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Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
Most of the time it's fresh, funny, and surprising.
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, Time Out
Entertaining enough, but a pity they didn't draft in more of the Eisenhower context.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Mr. Aykroyd and Mr. Hanks play well together, but the funniest performance in the film is that of Dabney Coleman, as the smut king (who lisps).
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The script is a gold mine of one-liners.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Dan Aykroyd
as Sgt. Joe Friday
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Tom Hanks
as Pep Streebek
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Christopher Plummer
as Rev. Jonathan Whirley
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Harry Morgan
as Capt. Bill Gannon
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Alexandra Paul
as Connie Swail
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Elizabeth Ashley
as Police Commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick
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Jack O'Halloran
as Emil Muzz
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Dabney Coleman
as Jerry Caesar
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Lisa Aliff
as April
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Fred Asparagus
as Tito Provencal
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Jim Boeke
as Nectar Pagan
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Donald Craig
as Announcer
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Gray Daniels
as Crewman #1
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Sandra Eng
as TV Reporter
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Ava Fabian
as Baitmate
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Kimberly Foster
as Betsy Blees
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Kathleen Freeman
as Enid Borden
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Ruben Garfias
as Tough #2
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Bruce Gray
as Mayor Parvin
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D.D. Howard
as Officer Robin Gilbert
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Peter Leeds
as Roy Grest
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Margaret Lenzey
as Baitmate
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Lisa London
as 1982 Redhead
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Maurice Marsac
as Maitre d'
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Lenka Peterson
as Granny Mundy
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Casey Sander
as Phoney Cop #1
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Ray Sharkey
as Drug Pagan
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Jimmie F. Skaggs
as Caterer Pagan
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Dona Speir
as Baitmate
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Bill Wittman
as Narrator
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Meg Wyllie
as Mrs. Gannon
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Peter Aykroyd
as Phoney Cop #2
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Gary Lee Davis
as Leggings Pagan
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Chester Grimes
as Pagan
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Bert Hinchman
as Night Watchman
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Julia Jennings
as Sylvia Wiss
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Christopher Mankiewicz
as White Coat
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Stuart Quan
as Tough #3
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Julie Donald
as Zookeeper
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Josh Cruze
as Police Officer
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Sydney Urshan
as Officer Conklin

