Another Stakeout

"That's it, nobody calls me Ed McMahon!"

• Emilio Estevez saying the funniest line from a rather dry sequel

"Another Stakeout" was six years in the waiting. After the first film, "Stakeout," made a huge splash at the box office in 1987 (the same year another cop-buddy film came out--can you guess which one?), everyone anticipated an unnecessary--but perhaps funny--sequel that would inevitably result after box office earnings were tallied up by film executives in an office somewhere.

Alas, the six years passed, and we got...this mess?

Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez reprise their roles as stakeout cops who get paired with a new partner in this watered-down sequel. The new partner is played by Rosie O'Donnell, who is so startlingly unfunny in this it almost makes you involuntarily switch off the television as soon as you see her chubby face smiling at you.

The story starts with a bang--literally--as a trial witness being protected by the CIA is unsuccessfully assassinated--and by that I mean: They die, she lives. What a surprise. (This is the type of scene where the villain is able to blow up a house but the witness just happens to be taking a stroll outside as it happens--or something like that--preventing her from dying along with the other agents who were previously protecting her. This type of thing was spoofed greatly in the truly underrated "Last Action Hero." It's not a joke in "Another Stakeout.") Unfortunately for the United States, the trial witness never returns--she runs away and doesn't let anyone know where she is. Afraid she may be in danger, afraid to lose a star witness, and believing that she might try to contact old friends, the gruff chief of police assigns the unlucky trio of Dreyfuss, Estevez and Donnell to watch the her old pals to see if she turns up.

She eventually does, of course, but first we get some painfully unfunny buddy-buddy moments between Dreyfuss and Estevez and O'Donnell. She brings a bunch of clothing and a dog with her. They don't like it. Har-har. This was used a bit better in "Spaceballs," in which Princess Vespa brought along that entire luggage through the desert (remember?). This is just a copy of that scene, minus the punch line.

Estevez also shaves his mustache, which is supposed to be a type of sacred moment and is referenced at least ten times throughout the film (he goes to stroke his mustache, he complains about chopping it off, Dreyfuss complains about it, etc.). But for heaven's sake, he's only been in one film so far--we've only seen the mustache once--so a better thing to do would have been this: make a few more sequels and, when the last entry comes, have him shave it off. By then the audience realizes that his mustache is part of him, and that losing it is like losing part of his soul.

But I'm glad they didn't make any more than one sequel.

One of the things that kept the "Lethal Weapon" franchise going was the fresh ideas, fresh buddies, and fresh scripts. (Great actors never hurt an action comedy, either.) The "Stakeout" franchise--which didn't even last long enough to spawn more than one sequel--tries to copy this formula but isn't sure how. The introduction of Joe Pesci in "Lethal Weapon 2" was great because he thereby became the Third Stooge, whereas O'Donnell's entry into the series is nothing but a humiliating reminder that talk show hosts can't always act in front of a camera and maintain the same type of humor they may (or may not) exhibit on their (awful) TV "talk show." (Which is, by the way, consumed of entirely staged so-called "interviews.")

And whereas Pesci, as Leo Getz, added a type of silly vibe to the "LW" series, O'Donnell just seems like a carbon copy clone of Estevez from the first "Stakeout." Dreyfuss didn't like him at first, and--guess what--they suddenly became best buds. The same thing happens in the sequel, much to the audience's chagrin.

Of course, "Lethal Weapon" and its sequels were never more than a few years apart (the first coming out in 1989, two years after the original). But "Stakeout" had six years to make a respectable sequel, and it fails. It fails the same way that many prolonged sequels do. But, for once, it's not because the audience has forgotten the original film--it's because the audience is fed up with the same routine.

The film was directed by John Badham, which is surprising, since he's a talented director ("Saturday Night Fever," "The Hard Way," "Stakeout"). Here he jumps through all the hoops, turning his own series into a pale retread of the original--only watered down: minus the violence, language, nudity, and humor. I'm not saying a movie has to be R to be funny. But if you've got a sequel to an R-rated movie like "Stakeout" and you decide to turn its sequel into a cutesy-tutesy children's entertainment program, you'd better advise the audience before they sit down expecting something funny and fresh.

What a disappointment.

2/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

Hired killer Tony Castellano (Miguel Ferrer) blows up a safe house barely missing mob case witness Lu Delano (Cathy Moriarty). Chris Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) and Bill Reimers (Emilio Estevez) are assigned to the D.A. office. They stakeout a house with Gina Garrett (Rosie O'Donnell) and her dog. The cover story is that Gina is Chris' 2nd wife and Bill is his son. Maria McGuire (Madeleine Stowe) breaks up with Chris for not getting married. D.A. Thomas Hassrick is actually working for the mobster. The trio is staking out Brian (Dennis Farina) and Pam O'Hara (Marcia Strassman) in the house next door.

The original has some fun with this odd buddy cop duo. Adding Rosie drains whatever fun there is in this franchise. I don't see the point of adding a third. She's a wet blanket. It's a lot of bickering between the three and most of it is annoying. This is not much fun.

Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez are back on stakeout duty, six years after the original 80's classic "Stakeout" This time though the magic is missing for what I believe is two core reasons.

The first is, this movie does not focus on the natural chemistry between Dreyfuss and Estevez that made the first movie so enjoyable. instead they are teamed up with Rosie O'Donnell. The introduction of Joe Pesci in "Lethal Weapon 2" was great because he thereby became the Third Stooge, and the trio worked well. Unfortunately Estevez is pretty much relegated to supporting character and it becomes the Dreyfuss & O'Donnell show. I'm not saying it is O'Donnell's fault she is OK, and does the best with what she has.

I mention "Lethal Weapon" because the first movie in that franchise was released the same year as "Stakeout" and it's sequel followed two years later. If this movie was made two years after the original, we would have gotten a movie more in tone with the gritty at times, yet funny original. As it is we get a watered down PG version. And that I believe is the second problem.

The first movie had violence, language, nudity, and humour. This has O'Donnell and her naughty dog chasing cats. I'm not saying a movie has to be rated R to be funny. But if you've got a sequel to a classic buddy cop movie coming six years later, you need to get it right. Sadly they don't. If they went down the "Lethal Weapon" route (They dumbed down the third one, but not to this extent) I believe Stakeout could have been a Franchise, unfortunately we, got a great 80's movie, and a disappointing sequel.

If it's on TV on an lazy afternoon, it's worth a watch, but that's about it.

Another Stakeout is a fantastic movie. It's funny and the acting is quite good. Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez were great together-acting like partners. The house exploding at the beginning was more funny than realistic, it was so long that you could just about go and get a drink and still be back before the end of it. I have seen this film so many times and it is still hilarious every time. It is definitely worth watching on the telly or even hiring it from the video shop. The banter between Dreyfuss and Estevez makes the movie what it is, in other words brilliant. Look out for the conversation about Ren and Stimpy, the bit when Dreyfuss deliberately falls over and says to someone "Frank don't go, you can stay and help me eat", it is so funny. If you haven't seen this film it's you who's lost out. 10/10.

I've gotta give "Another Stakeout" credit: it started out pretty well. The chemistry between Dreyfuss and Estevez was back, the sense of humor worked alright; but eventually the movie trades in Madeline Stowe for Rosie O'Donnell - which actually isn't the kiss of death you think it'd be (she worked well with the two leads, and a lot of the comedy derived from pushing each other's buttons), but it's a neon warning sign that the movie's about to pull into Dullsville. Like, as soon as they set up camp in the the lakehouse and the actual stakeout is under way, the laughs dry up. I will say that that house is some gorgeous piece of real estate, and one of my favorite movie locations.

Big picture, this movie is a rather unnecessary sequel, but does it have to be stagnant?

5/10