Cop and a Half (1993) * *

 

Directed by:  Henry Winkler

Starring:  Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II, Ray Sharkey, Holland Taylor, Ruby Dee

Cop and a Half is not one meant to be shown at Burt Reynolds' career retrospectives.  It is a slight, cute comedy full of slapstick and no material that is expected to last more than a fleeting moment in your memory.   You will not hear anyone quote Cop and a Half.   The most noteworthy thing about it is that the late, great Roger Ebert was among the few notable film critics to give the movie a positive review.  I am not giving it praise, but I'm not going to crap all over it either.  Cop and a Half is a movie wanting to be liked, even if Reynolds plays a character who just wants to be left alone. 

That ship sails early in the movie.   Reynolds plays Nick McKenna, a Grizzled cop on the trail of a criminal gang led by Vinnie Fountain (Sharkey-in his final film role), who likes to sing like a 1960's crooner which gives him some color.  This is The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, and one night, ten-year-old Devon (Golden), who loves cop shows and want to be a police officer when he grows up, witnesses a murder.   He wants to ride along with Nick in exchange for his testimony and to "be a cop" for one day.  The police captain (Taylor) agrees with this, despite Nick's objections to babysitting while on duty.  

Nick is salty indeed.  He doesn't like kids much, although of course Devon begins to grow on him, and he's still haunted by the death of his partner which is why he wants to work alone.   Cop and a Half is chock full of chase scenes, juvenile humor, and Burt Reynolds in a very bad mood.  It turns out it wasn't just the character.  Reynolds, from the trivia I read on Imdb.com,  wasn't happy with the movie while filming and it showed.  He also wanted to fire his agent during the filming of Boogie Nights, which netted him his only Oscar nomination, so there you go.