''Off Beat'' is a 1986 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

about a young

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

who impersonates a police officer. The film was directed by

Michael Dinner Michael Dinner (born May 20, 1953) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter for television. Biography Prior to his TV career, Dinner was a singer-songwriter and recording artist for Fantasy Records, where he released two albums, ''The ...

, and stars

Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as '' Ruthless People'', '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', '' Stripes'' and '' Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the ...

Meg Tilly Meg Tilly (born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960) is an American-Canadian actress and writer. For her role in the 1985 film ''Agnes of God'', she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting A ...

, Cleavant Derricks and

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

Plot

Joe Gower is a likable librarian who glides around his job on roller skates. He has a strict boss, Mr. Pepper, and a good friend who's a cop, Abe Washington. A mistake he makes inadvertently messes up Washington's undercover work. Joe now owes him a favor, but is unprepared for what Washington wants. A police charity event needs officers to dress in drag, but because Washington wants no part of that, he asks Joe to take his place. A reluctant Joe decides to go through with the audition, expecting to be so bad that he won't be cast in the show. When he goes there and meets an attractive policewoman, Rachel Wareham, it changes everything. Joe not only does the show, he continues to keep from Rachel the fact that he's not a real cop. As luck would have it, Joe finds himself in the midst of actual crimes. He encounters criminals, like bank robber Mickey, and is caught in a crossfire as to which would be worse, being exposed as someone impersonating a police officer or being shot by a crook.

Cast

as Joe Gower *

as Rachel Wareham *

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

as Pepper * Cleavant Derricks as Abe Washington * Jacques d'Amboise as August *

as Mickey *

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeff ...

as Pete Peterson *

Amy Wright Amy Wright is an American actress and former model. She has appeared in such films as ''The Deer Hunter'', '' Breaking Away'', '' The Accidental Tourist'', '' Hard Promises'', ''Crossing Delancey'', and ''Miss Firecracker''. She is the widow o ...

as Mary Ellen *

Anthony Zerbe Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936) is an American actor. His notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in ''The Omega Man'', a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, '' I Am Legend''; as an Irish C ...

as Mr. Wareham *

Julie Bovasso Julia Anne Bovasso (August 1, 1930 – September 14, 1991) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. Life and career Bovasso was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of that borough, the daughter ...

as Mrs. Wareham *

Victor Argo Victor Argo (November 5, 1934 – April 7, 2004) was an American actor of Puerto Rican descent who usually played the part of a tough bad guy in his movies. He had a career span of forty years. He is best known for '' Mean Streets'' (1973), ...

as Leon *

Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured ...

as Norman *

Mel Winkler Mel Winkler (October 23, 1941 – June 11, 2020) was an American actor, perhaps best known as the voice of Aku Aku in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' video games, from '' Crash Bandicoot: Warped'' to '' Crash Twinsanity''. Early life Winkler was bor ...

as Earl * Irving Metzman as Deluca * Mike Starr as James Bonnell * Shawn Elliott as Hector * Stanley Simmonds as Pud * Nancy Giles as Celestine * Paul Butler as Jordan *

John Kapelos John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as Lou Wareham * William Sadler as Dickson (as Bill Sadler) * Chris Noth as Ely Wareham Jr. (as Christopher Noth) * Austin Pendleton as Gun Shop Salesman

Critical response

In his review of April 11, 1986, Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' gave ''Off Beat'' three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four, describing it as one of the year's best comedies. Reinhold later said the film was "a little love story they tried to sell as a ... comedy. It wasn't marketed right. It wasn't a '' Police Academy'' clone movie, (but) people got the impression that it was. It was a pretty tame movie, by those standards, but I was proud of it."

References

External links

* * * {{Michael Dinner 1986 films 1986 romantic comedy films Films shot in New York City Touchstone Pictures films Films scored by James Horner Films produced by Joe Roth 1980s English-language films American romantic comedy films 1980s American films Films directed by Michael Dinner