starring: Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer and Alexandra Paul
directed by: Tom Mankiewicz

the plot: Just the facts: in this update of the classic TV series, Sgt. Joe Friday (Aykroyd), the stoic, by-the-book nephew of the first Joe Friday, finds 1980s Los Angeles a bad place to be a good cop. A bizarre street gang known as PAGAN is conducting a weird, baffling crime spree, stealing animals from the zoo, robbing old ladies of their wedding dresses and heisting entire shipments of the soft-core porn mag “Bait.” Meanwhile, Friday finds himself stuck with Det. Pep Streebeck (Hanks), a lazy, loutish cop who plays fast and loose with the rules. In order to stop PAGAN, Friday and Streebeck go deep undercover, donning disguises and crashing a PAGAN rally. But their cover is blown when they attempt to rescue Connie Swail (Paul), a comely young virgin set for a grisly sacrifice. Just when they think they’ve got enough evidence to put the PAGAN ringleaders behind bars, the two cops find their investigation stifled. PAGAN has connections to LA’s elite, from moral crusader Rev. Jonathan Whirley (Plummer) to porn-king Jerry Caesar (Dabney Coleman). As the investigation progresses, Friday finds himself falling for Connie and discovering that it’ll take more than a sharply pressed suit and a thorough knowledge of the Los Angeles penal code to fight crime.

why it’s good: Cinematic remakes of well-regarded TV shows are invariably bad, but for some reason, “Dragnet ’87” works—probably because it juices the famous series for laughs, much as Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson later would with “Starsky & Hutch.” But the cast is what makes this version of “Dragnet” really zing. Aykroyd drips sarcasm while being hyper-serious, and Tom Hanks demonstrates the comedic talents that propelled him through countless ’80s comedies before he became a “Serious Actor.” The supporting cast is pretty great, too. Christopher Plummer is nice and oily as the sleazy Rev. Whirley, and Dabney Coleman turns in a decent bit part as a Larry Flynt/Hugh Hefner parody. Bonus points go to the film for getting Harry Morgan to reprise the role of Capt. Bill Gannon, whom he portrayed in the original TV series. But even with Dan Aykroyd pulling double duty as one of the screenwriters, the comedy in “Dragnet ’87” sometimes falls a little flat, as though the writers, cast and director couldn’t decide whether to make the film a slapstick cop caper or a smart, dryly humorous comedy about late-’80s pop culture. It certainly feels like the latter at times, with Aykroyd and company taking pot shots at the Moral Majority, California’s booming porno biz and the odd fascination with Satanic cults that everyone seemed to have in the late ’80s. But there are still quite a few great moments—the PAGAN rally is ridiculous, in a preposterous sort of way (especially the goat-dance performed by its attendees), and a mid-movie car chase riffs fondly on “The Blues Brothers” chase scenes.

why you should own it: “Dragnet ’87” is a prime piece of ’80s nostalgia. If you can find a cheap copy, pick it up and keep it on hand for those days when you want a bit of cinematic fluff. Don’t expect much in the way of behind-the-scenes features or fond memories from Aykroyd or Hanks on the making of the film—Universal’s DVD is a no-nonsense, just-the-facts kind of disc.