Dragnet (DVD 2005)

Dragnet hits all the right buttons, with Dan Akroyd playing a wonderful pastiche of the 1950s 'Original Dragnet' hard-bitten cop, very ably supported by a young-looking Tom Hanks in an early role. If you didn't see this on VHS, you are in for a treat - buy it, watch it, enjoy the genteel leg-pulling of American tele-evangelism: join P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness And Normalcy) today, and wear your goat-leggings with pride!

Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s conservatism smack up against the attitudes of the '80s. Basically, the film is another 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop clone. Aykroyd stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the original Friday. But with his brown suit, fedora, and lockjaw, he could just as well be the incarnation of Jack Webb. He is involuntarily assigned a smart alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), and they are appointed to investigate a series of religious cult murders in L.A. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, the Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer). From there, they are only at step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy). After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). So much so that even after his superior Captain Gannon (Harry Morgan, reprising his role from the '60s revival of the Dragnet program) orders him off the case, Friday continues on, with the requisite car chases and crashes that usually climax any '80s cop movie or comedy.

I bought this because my husband and his side of the family are always laughing about clips or quoting from older films. I have no clue what most of the films are about...well now I'm learning. My father-in-laws dvd collection is becoming huge. I watch a film once then pass it over. This is a very 80s style cop film. Narrated with funny bits to it