The Mod Squad (1999)

4% of critics liked it
(52 reviews)
21% of users liked it
(13,370 ratings)

Police Capt. Adam Greer (Dennis Farina) needs some new cops who can go where other cops can't. Greer finds three young people on their way to jail: Lincoln Hayes (Omar Epps), the black one, is up for arson; Pete Cochrane (Giovanni Ribisi), the white one, is up for robbery; and Julie Barnes (Claire… More Police Capt. Adam Greer (Dennis Farina) needs some new cops who can go where other cops can't. Greer finds three young people on their way to jail: Lincoln Hayes (Omar Epps), the black one, is up for arson; Pete Cochrane (Giovanni Ribisi), the white one, is up for robbery; and Julie Barnes (Claire Danes), the blonde one, is up for assault. The three are given a choice: go to jail, or become a special undercover unit that will infiltrate L.A.'s underbelly and bring down the drug dealers and parasites that are preying on the young. Their only rules: no badges, no guns, and no turning in other kids. This "mod squad" encounters a major problem when a cache of drugs disappears from the police evidence locker. All clues point to dirty cops, while the cops want to close ranks and blame the new kids. With their first big case, the squad realize they'll receive no help from the L.A.P.D. and must solve it their own way. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Scott Silver
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Mar 26, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Aug 24, 1999
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy, Variety
This latest bigscreen retrofitting of a vintage TV series (1968-73) feels like the most shameless effort yet in the renewed exploitation of the youth market.
, Chicago Reader
An exercise in robotic filmmaking.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
A flawed fraud, a youth movie so disjointed, witless and condescending that it's painful to watch.
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
Plays like a 90-minute version of the old television show. That's not necessarily bad.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
A great-looking picture that zips along with grace, light on its feet but possessed of just enough gravity to allow us to take its people rather than its old TV series premise seriously.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The Mod Squad has an intriguing cast, a director who knows how to use his camera and a lot of sly humor. Shame about the story.
Sandra Contreras, TV Guide's Movie Guide
No one expects much from movie adaptations of TV shows but complete incoherence and boredom is a bit too much to bear.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Mindless, stylish fun.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Who cares?
Dragan Antulov, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Otherwise dependable young actors like Danes, Ribisi and Epps seem lost in one-dimensional and unconvincing characters.
Jim Shelby, Palo Alto Weekly
This is a pristine example of incoherent storyline mixed with poor editing and limp writing.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
Writer Scott Silver also directed the film, but obviously had no idea how to convey to his actors any sense of enthusiasm or energy.
Tom Meek, Film Threat
Add another one to the scrap heap of trendy, nostalgic, 60's and 70's TV shows reduced to cinematic rubble by the inspiration starved minds in Hollywood.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
The first big-screen resurrection aimed squarely at a generation that probably never heard of, much less watched, the original TV show.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Yeah, let's make a movie for the kids ... based on a TV show they've never even heard of.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Nearly every scene is a guaranteed hoot-fest.
Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine
The film simply doesn't deliver anything sufficiently remarkable to distinguish itself from sturdier competition.
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix
Add another to the scrap heap of hip '60s and '70s TV shows reduced to cinematic rubble by the inspiration-starved minds in Hollywood.
Jim Chastain, Norman Transcript
I can scarcely remember a single film which was less enjoyable to watch than The Mod Squad.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alexander W

Worth watching, good friday night film for a treat when need entertaining.
jay n

one of the most god awful wastes of film ever
Leigh R

Pretty good.
Nate Z

[font=Arial][color=darkred]There are some movies out there that you simply can't stop yourself from scratching your head and wondering how it ever got made in the first place. Some movies so horrible that you ponder what any big suited executives were thinking. A movie so bad… More
[font=Arial][color=darkred]There are some movies out there that you simply can't stop yourself from scratching your head and wondering how it ever got made in the first place. Some movies so horrible that you ponder what any big suited executives were thinking. A movie so bad that you try to cut your own wrist with the armrest beside you somehow. Well folks, 'The Mod Squad' is one of those movies.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]It's the cinematic updating of the Vietnam era show eptimizing the rebellion against authority and supression by the Boomers like only Aaron Spelling can. I'm convinced that if you pay adequate attention to the plot you will actually lower your intelligence, but don't hold me to it. It's only a theory, I still need the tests to come back. This basically is nothing more than a watered down 90-minute jeans ad. "Oooh, look at those jeans Clair Danes shoots up in! I wonder if they have them in a size 30 waist?"[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]This is one of those movies I seriously can't find anything remotely good to mention. Though I'm trying to get it all out of my head as quickly as humanly possible. I feel sickened by this poison MGM has thrown out to the masses. I remember the last time Generation X & Y tried looking back nostalgically and enviously on the Boomer's playground. It was called Woodstock '99. Anyone care to remember what happened there?[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: F [/color][/font]
Deb S

The story centers around three juvenile delinquents that Captain Greer (Dennis Farina) of the L.A.P.D. has taken under his wing and turned into his secret weapon against crime. To use Greer's words, "these kids can get into a thousand places that we (the cops)… More
The story centers around three juvenile delinquents that Captain Greer (Dennis Farina) of the L.A.P.D. has taken under his wing and turned into his secret weapon against crime. To use Greer's words, "these kids can get into a thousand places that we (the cops) can't." The trio consists of Linc (Omar Epps), Julie (Claire Danes) and Pete (Giovanni Ribisi). When Greer is murdered, the three are cut loose but decide to investigate the killing themselves. As they begin to dig they find a much more complicated conspiracy that they could have imagined, involving criminals as well as dirty cop straight out of the movies, ah, the bitter sweet irony. Also starring Josh Brolin.
Curt C

OK, I've heard of suspension of belief, but come on, the ending is ridiculous.
Remi L

I remember seeing promos for this movie as a teenager and thinking, "Hmm, this looks interesting. Some young 20-somethings who act like the criminals they bust. Plus they're kinda cool." I think this movie was promoted falsely. When I finally saw the film 10 years later… More
I remember seeing promos for this movie as a teenager and thinking, "Hmm, this looks interesting. Some young 20-somethings who act like the criminals they bust. Plus they're kinda cool." I think this movie was promoted falsely. When I finally saw the film 10 years later (yesterday), I was given a big steaming pile of disappointment. This is film is about a trio of down-on-their-luck TEENAGE delinquents who are sorta-unofficial undercover cops who can get into places old fuddy duddy cops can't. The real cops hate them, but they're successful every now and then, until they end up in the middle of an Internal Affairs operation involving the theft of evidence. The dialogue was dumb, there were weird random moments (most involving Giovanni Ribisi, who I think is hot, but NOT in this flick), and random attempts by one of the cops to be as sexist and racist as possible whenever the camera was on him. I killed an hour or so, but I kinda wish I'd done it another way.
Marcus W

A film that wants very badly to be "hip" but ends up like a 30 year old man saying "epic fail" all the time. Three delinquents are recruited by the cops only to find that (shock horror!) the cops are dirty and dealing drugs. And anyone who doesn't suss out… More
A film that wants very badly to be "hip" but ends up like a 30 year old man saying "epic fail" all the time. Three delinquents are recruited by the cops only to find that (shock horror!) the cops are dirty and dealing drugs. And anyone who doesn't suss out that Brolin is a bad guy should stick to Disney. Ribisi comes out of it with some credibility - the scene where he goes back to his parents is really touching. The film also avoids chucking in a love story. It was probably a good idea at some point.
Sunil J

Another TV show movie that should never have been made.