''The Mod Squad'' is a 1999 American

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

directed by Scott Silver and starring

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, ''Time'' named her one of the 100 most influential ...

Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film r ...

and

Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series '' Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), '' Ted'' (2012) and its sequel '' Ted 2'' ( ...

. Based on the television show of the same name, actors

Peggy Lipton Margaret Ann Lipton (August 30, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was an American actress, model, and singer. She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as flower child Julie Barnes ...

and

Clarence Williams III Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series '' The Mod Squad'' from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such as '' Purple Rain'', ''52 ...

(Julie and Linc in the series) make cameo appearances.

Plot

Julie Barnes, Pete Cochran and Lincoln Hayes are three minor delinquents who choose to become undercover cops in place of serving their jail terms. When their superior Capt. Adam Greer is murdered, the trio set out to find the real culprits.

Cast

as Julie Barnes *

as Pete Cochran *

as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes *

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in th ...

as Capt. Adam Greer *

Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangst ...

as Billy * Steve Harris as Briggs * Michael Lerner as Howard *

Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor who is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Tr ...

as Bob Mothersed *Larry Brandenburg as Eckford * Lionel Mark Smith as Lanier * Sam McMurray as Tricky * Michael O'Neill as Greene * Stephen Kay as Bald Dude * Bodhi Elfman as Gilbert *Holmes Osborne as Mr. Cochrane * Dey Young as Mrs. Cochrane *

Eddie Griffin Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom ''Malcolm & Eddie'', the title character in the 2002 comedy film '' Undercover Brother'', and Tiberius Jeff ...

as Sonny *

as Linc's Grandfather *

as Julie's aunt

Production

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer, and director. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms ''Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991–1994), ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003), and '' ...

and

Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...

were considered for the part of Julie Barnes, but they all passed until

eventually got cast.

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Jonathan Dayton (born July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) are a team of American film and music video directors who received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006). Later the ...

were offered the chance to direct the film, but turned it down in order to concentrate on making music videos instead; Scott Silver got the job.

Reception

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale. The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay, but lost out to another television show turned movie: '' Wild Wild West''. At the 1999

Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards (formerly known as the ''Hastings Bad Cinema Society'') was a Los Angeles-based group of film buffs and film critics devoted to honoring the worst films of the year. The society was founded by Mike Lancaster and Ray ...

, the film was nominated for four awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Danes), Worst Supporting Actor (Ribisi), and Worst Resurrection of a TV Show. It was also a

box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

, grossing only $15.4 million out of its $50 million budget.

References

External links

* * * *
The Mod Squad
' at

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mod Squad, The 1999 films 1990s crime films 1990s mystery films American crime films American mystery films 1990s English-language films Films based on television series Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Aaron Spelling Films with screenplays by Scott Silver 1990s American films