HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Rent-a-Cop'' is a 1987 American thriller
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
starring
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
and
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
. Reynolds plays a disgraced police officer, now working as a
security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...
, who falls in love with Minnelli, who plays a
prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
. The film saw both lead actors to be nominated for the
1988 Golden Raspberry Awards The 9th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 29, 1989, at the Hollywood Palace to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1988. Awards and nominations File:Blake Edwards 1966.jpg, Blake Edwards, Worst Director co-winner. F ...
for Worst Actor and Worst Actress. (These nominations were not solely on the merits of ''Rent-a-Cop'', however; Reynolds and Minnelli were also cited for ''
Switching Channels ''Switching Channels'' is a 1988 American comedy film remake of the 1928 play ''The Front Page'', the 1931 film of the same name, and the 1940 film ''His Girl Friday''. It stars Kathleen Turner as Christy Colleran, Burt Reynolds as John L. Sull ...
'' and '' Arthur 2: On the Rocks'', respectively). Minnelli ended up "winning" the Worst Actress prize. The film earned under $300,000 in American ticket sales. Initially released on 26 November 1987 in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, its American premiere came two months later on 15 January 1988. Although set in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, the movie was mostly filmed in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.


Plot

Chicago cop Tony Church (
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
) and his team are completing a drug bust. Just as the cops make the arrest a masked thief called Dancer (
James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...
) intervenes and executes all of the officers. Church attempts to apprehend Dancer but Dancer outwits him and takes a hostage Della (
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
). Della manages to escape as Dancer flees and Church is left facing the blame of the disastrous bust and winds up getting fired from the force. Della, a high-priced hooker, unbeknownst to Church and the other cops, happened to be in the hotel at the time and caught a good look at Dancer's face. She encounters Dancer again as he attempts to assassinate her but she manages to escape. Afraid Dancer will come after her again and succeed in killing her, Della decides that she needs protection and she tracks down the lowly Church, who is now working as a security guard in a shopping mall. She offers to pay Church to act as her bodyguard until Dancer is apprehended. Church's longtime colleague Roger (
Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...
), tracks him down and advises him to steer clear of the case as it destroyed his career. Unfortunately for Church, Roger is revealed to be a corrupt cop who is involved with Dancer. Della and Church form an unlikely bond and a relationship blossoms. Church and Della decide that the only way to apprehend Dancer is to use Della as bait. They come up with a plan and just as it seems to have gone wrong, Church emerges to save Della's life and kills Dancer. The final scene shows Church and Della attempting to give their new relationship a chance.


Cast

*
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
as Tony Church *
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
as Della Roberts *
James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...
as Dancer *
Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...
as Roger Latrele *
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...
as Beth Connors *
Bernie Casey Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet and professional American football player. Early life Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated ...
as Lemar *
Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and ''Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...
as Pitts *
John P. Ryan John Patrick Ryan (July 30, 1936 – March 20, 2007) was an American actor, best known for his role as Warden Ranken in the 1985 film ''Runaway Train''. Biography The son of Irish immigrant parents, Ryan graduated from Rice High School and st ...
as Wiser * John Stanton as Haskell Alexander *
Michael Rooker Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in ''Eight Men Out'' (1988), Frank Baily in ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in ''S ...
as Joe *
Roslyn Alexander Roslyn may refer to: People * Louis Frederick Roslyn (1878–1940), British sculptor * Roslyn Atkins (born 1974), British journalist and broadcaster for the BBC Places * Roslyn, Palmerston North, a suburb of the city of Palmerston North, North ...


Production

Filming was to have begun in October 1986. Filming was pushed back to November. It was the feature film debut of director Jerry London, who had made his name through his work on mini series such as ''
Shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''. Burt Reynolds was paid $3 million for the role. "His last couple of pictures were dark movies," said director Jerry London. "Audiences didn't come out of theaters with that warm glow Burt can give. I think this film will do it. Everyone says Burt hasn't been better in years."REYNOLDS SEEKS REBIRTH IN NEW YEAR, NEW FILM: UN-SENTINEL EditionDavis, Ivor. Sun Sentinel19 Jan 1988: 1E. It was Minnelli's first film in five years. She had been admitted to the Betty Ford Clinic in 1984 for substance abuse problems. "Everybody I know, including myself, gets into trouble," she said. "When you dole out too much credit to public opinion, when your sense of self gets blurry, when you feel that what people think is more important than how you feel . . . that's when it's dangerous and that's an easy thing to happen - to me, to a housewife. That's when you worry about getting enough sleep, so you take a sleeping pill; when other people think you're overweight, so you take a diet pill. And then you find yourself in rehab." "The cop and the hooker story has been done a million times," said Reynolds. "The secret to doing the story is always the cop that hates the girl and the girl that hates the cop, but they need each other for whatever reason."Burt goes for laughs in `Rent a Cop': ITY EditionPolk, Peggy. St. Petersburg Times23 Jan 1987: 4D. Reynolds said he and Minnelli "like each other enormously, and that's kind of the subtext of what we are doing. We make each other laugh a lot." Reynolds and Minnelli would improvise routines about Reynolds's real-life nostalgia for the 1950s. Location filming took place in Chicago. Studio work was done in Rome. "He is an intelligent, sharp and hard-working professional," said London about Reynolds, "and the chemistry between him and Minnelli is wonderful. I think ''Rent-A-Cop'' is an audience picture, the kind of film where you have a good time for an hour and 40 minutes. It is just what Burt and his audience need."


Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics, having a
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
score of 14%, with 12 out of 14 professional reviews being negative. Walter Goodman reviewing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' praised Minnelli's performance, but described the plot as sloppy and the directing as efficient but uninspired.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave it 2 out of 4 stars, saying "''Rent-A-Cop'' is a collision between a relationship and a cliche, and the cliche wins, but not before the relationship has given us some nice moments".


References


External links

* * {{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress 1987 films 1987 action films 1980s crime comedy films American action comedy films Films directed by Jerry London Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films set in Chicago Films shot in Italy Golden Raspberry Award winning films Films about police officers Films about prostitution in the United States Films about security and surveillance 1987 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films