What would have happened if Joe Friday found himself partnered with someone who weren't as strait-laced as he?

Dan Aykroyd answered that question in his 1987 tribute to Jack Webb's classic, "Dragnet." In Aykroyd's "Dragnet," the comedian stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the man played by Webb. His partner, Frank Smith, has quit the force to buy a goat farm. His uncle's old partner, Captain Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan), assigns the younger Friday a former undercover officer, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), to work with Joe in Robbery Homicide. They begin by investigating a series of thefts. The first involves the theft of the latest issue of an adult magazine published the Hugh Hefner-like tycoon Jerry Caesar (Dabney Coleman). The second involves the taking of two exotic animals from a Los Angeles zoo, and the shearing of one of the zoo's lions. Others involve the theft of police and fire vehicles, a tank full of toxic chemicals, and a wedding dress belonging to landlady Enid Borden (Kathleen Freeman). Mrs. Borden believes that the dress was stolen by Emil Muzz (Jack O'Halloran), a former tenant who skipped out on his rent, but left behind some cards of an organization called PAGAN (People Against Goodness And Normalcy). Friday and Streebeck catch up to Muzz at his job as a chauffeur to Caesar.

As they investigate, they go undercover to a PAGAN ritual, where Friday and Streebeck stop the highlight of the ritual, the sacrifice of kidnap victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). Before they can report the location of the ritual to Gannon, the members of PAGAN have cleaned up the site. Their report and lack of evidence annoys Gannon, but enrages police commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick (Elizabeth Ashley). She threatens to fire Friday for insubordination, and orders Friday and Streebeck off the case. Swail cannot finger her kidnappers from the mug books, but sees one of the men later, when Joe and Connie go out for dinner. She fingers Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer), who heads an organization called MAMA (Moral Advance Movement of America), who say they're looking to put men like Caesar out of business. One of his staunchest supporters is Commissioner Kirkpatrick, who happens to be dining with Whirley and Gannon when Friday attempts to arrest the minister. In addition to being a friend of Whirley, Kirkpatrick also calls for the resignation of Mayor Peter Parvin (Bruce Gray), blaming him for the city's crime and other problems. During the restaurant incident, Kirkpatrick fires Friday on the spot, leaving Streebeck to build a case behind Gannon's back. Whirley, though, has something on his mind other than moral advancement.

The updated "Dragnet" is one part tribute to the TV series, but owes a whole lot more to Aykroyd's comedies, especially "The Blues Brothers." The script, which was written by Aykroyd, Alan Zwiebel, and director Tom Mankiewicz, does everything big. There are big mansions, big crimes, big chase scenes, and big parties. In one sequence, Friday does what his uncle rarely did - he went undercover in a manner exactly the opposite of the officer. Jack Webb's Joe Friday wasn't about big things, but Aykroyd captures the spirit of Joe Friday with his performance. A picture of Webb as Friday is even shown on his nephew's desk. Like his famous uncle, young Joe Friday seems to be on the case all of the time. He knows police code chapter and verse, and isn't afraid to cite the codes to Streebeck any time one of them comes into question. Aykroyd even shows a little bit of the private side of Joe Friday when he, Pep, and Connie celebrate the birthday of Joe's grandmother. Hanks, as Streebeck, often questions Friday's sanity, and thinks that his new partner has a lot of repressed feelings. While Streebeck is all about solving the case with Friday, Streebeck is also about having a life besides the one offered by the badge. In one scene, Joe comes to pick up Pep for work, and finds Pep in the friendly company of another officer. I especially like his musical version of the Miranda Rights. Even Morgan gets in on the comedy as Bill Gannon, shaking his head as Friday is so wrapped up in his work, he has a hard time believing it. Plummer, Coleman, Ashley, and Paul contribute fine support.

The humor works for the most part, but some of the story elements don't make sense. How, for example, could so many police and fire vehicles be stolen? How could a PAGAN ritual be assembled and dismantled so quickly? The script seems to suggest that Kirkpatrick was somehow compliant, but the case should have drawn the attention of police other than Friday and Streebeck. Whirley's intentions aren't consistent, either. He has a master plan with MAMA, yet he commits an act that would not allow him the control he wants. Joe himself doesn't seem to mind when Pep takes the wheel in earlier scenes, but cites rank in the movie's climactic car pursuit. The original always told viewers that the names are changed to protect the innocent, yet in the opening narration, one of the innocent is revealed by name. The original Joe Friday would certainly say that that is no way to serve and protect.

Still, the eighties Joe Friday sees that justice is served with a generous sense of humor. "Dragnet" has a bit of fun with the way Webb presented Joe Friday, and shows there really isn't total synergy and virtual facelessness among the men of law enforcement who wear a badge in Los Angeles. The film shows that Friday and his fellow cops do have some life besides their work. The crimes of this movie may be bigger, more unusual, and more brazen than any Webb solved with his original partners. Still, Friday and Streebeck are just as much about the case as Friday's uncle, Frank Smith, and Bill Gannon were. Dan Aykroyd's "Dragnet" is more than just a police investigation. It's a revamping of a popular TV series that adds laughs and a little bit of personality. The viewers do have the right to remain silent, but this version of "Dragnet" shows that silence may not be possible.


This has been my "Again" entry in the "Then & Again" write-off hosted by pearannoyed. The other entries can be found here: http://www.epinions.com/content_4483031172

My "Then" entry can also be accessed directly: http://www.epinions.com/content_197381885572

Thanks again Amy.





Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older