Stakeout

For a film which reached number 1 at the US box office and earned enough movie for the studio to green-light a sequel, Stakeout has strangely enough become a forgotten 80s gem.

The story is simple, officers Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) and and Reimers (Emilio Estevez) are assigned to a stakeout of the house of waitress Maguire (Madeleine Stowe), hoping that her fugitive ex-boyfriend (Aidan Quinn) will return to her house. Things soon take a bizarre twist, as Lecce, posing as a telephone repairman, and Maguire start to fall in love.

Although the film offers no originality and is riddled with clichés, it is very entertaining. Although it runs for nearly two hours, it thankfully doesn't feel that long and the story keeps you interested all the way. Richard Dreyfus and Emilio Estevez are quality comedians, somewhat surprisingly in my opinion. Their jokes and banter make the comedy part of this film work well.

The thriller elements are good too, Aidan Quinn does a good job making his character look like a real bad-ass, and the film's action sequences are really solid pre-cgi-stuff. I was especially impressed by the car chase, which looks really good.

Overall, this is pure solid 80s entertainment and I think this film deserves to be remembered and watched. I think it is equally good as many other 80s action classics like "48 hours" for example. Recommended!

Richard Montgomery (Aidan Quinn) makes a daring escape with the help of his cousin Caylor Reese (Ian Tracey). He killed an FBI agent and then they killed a prison guard. Chris Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) and Bill Reimers (Emilio Estevez) are assigned to stakeout his old girlfriend Maria McGuire (Madeleine Stowe). Phil Coldshank (Dan Lauria) and Jack Pismo (Forest Whitaker) are the other two cops assigned the other half of the stakeout. She's suppose to be 313 lbs but instead, Chris starts falling for the beautiful McGuire.

This has some mildly funny moments. Estevez is solid as the happily married man. Dreyfuss is the one with the fun brash single guy. They have good chemistry together and it's mostly a good buddy cop movie. It's missing some bigger laughs. The guys are not necessarily comedians for that to work.

Somewheres in between 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Lethal Weapon' you find this. Good cop/buddy action flick, plenty of humour, the violence is for real, the chemistry between the two leads and Stowe Just right. I enjoy the scene where she shifts her position JUST so slightly, its quite erotic, while the pranks the two cops play on each other are quite funny too.

Its fun watching how put out Estevez gets with the older guy whose clearly not acting his age.

There's nothing terribly deep here, and some of its really dated-Lethal Weapon-ish graphics, the cars, the angry black squad leader, the music(Miami Sound Machine, anyone?), etc, traditional boatchase/fight/battle to the death inside hellacious warehouse/factory finale, etc all par for the course.

But no biggies. The second one wasn't nearly as good's this one.

*** outta ****

I really enjoyed this movie! It's filled with laughs and excitement, and never once was I not entertained. Next to "48 Hours" I think this is one of the best buddy cop movies I have yet seen. Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez make a wonderful team, with dead-on chemistry. Dreyfuss steals the show with his hilarious performance, proving he's just as talented at doing broad comedy as he is intense drama. That especially shows in the scene where he's about to walk out of Madeline Stowe's house, but doesn't want to be recognized, so he asks her to lend him a hat. The way he handled that scene was so magnificent, and there are many other farcical moments that he handled just as efficiently, and with the wrong timing and delivery those scenes could've collapsed. Estevez plays the straight man, also doing a magnificent job, and you really feel his envy when he's spying on Stowe, who's being hit on by Dreyfuss. I loved the scenes where the rival cops pulled pranks on each other. Speaking of which, Forrest Whitaker pops up in a fine early performance. And Madeline Stowe is great and sexy, as always.

Sure, the plot is quite predictable, but as I said I was always entertained, thanks to sharp writing and great performances. John Badham is a fine action director, so he kept those action scenes filled with suspense and tension. "Stakeout" is not a film that will keep your brain occupied--as a matter of fact there are some scenes that require you to check your brain at the door--but I assure you that you'll have a damn good time.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

Stakeout is one of those movies that makes you wish you owned a time machine. Not only does Stakeout capture the magic of the '80s, it also brings forth a world many of us miss, and does so in a way that not many movies of that era managed to do. What is so great about this movie is that you always feel you are part of it somehow. You are right there with Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez, almost like you are their invisible partner. That's how good those two are. You will laugh and feel the excitement until the very last minute. To me, Stakeout is a feel good machine that leaves a strong impression on anyone who misses the era it was made in.

P.S. How beautiful was Madeleine Stowe?