Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck. After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.
The 1987 Dragnet parody is a decent buddy-cop comedy that benefits from the chemistry between Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, with Aykroyd's hyper-committed deadpan impression of the original TV character being the film's standout element. The plot is serviceable but scattershot, mixing zoo robberies, porn theft, and cult activity without ever achieving full comic momentum. Cinematography is functional but unremarkable TV-movie quality. The film earns modest novelty points as a loving parody-homage hybrid rather than a straight spoof, with Aykroyd's vocal performance being genuinely distinctive. The ending fizzles rather than lands with comedic impact, wrapping up too neatly without a strong payoff gag.