Blue Jean Cop (1988)

Blue Jean Cop: Directed by James Glickenhaus. With Richard Brooks, Jude Ciccolella, George Loros, Thomas G. Waites. A legal attorney and renegade cop team up to stop a corrupt cop.

“From James Glickenhaus, director of u0026quot;The Exterminatoru0026quot;, comes this buddy flick that proves that you donu0026#39;t have to reinvent the wheel in order to make a solid action flick. Its characters are always watchable and its action scenes are expertly done. Glickenhausu0026#39;s script is on the routine side but his execution helps to make up for that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePeter Weller plays Roland Dalton, a public defender who takes the case of a drug dealer (Richard Brooks) who shot an undercover cop – but who apparently did it in self defense. Teaming up with a maverick detective played by Sam Elliott, he finds that the case leads to revelations about corruption in the NYC police department.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s nice to see Weller looking like heu0026#39;s really having fun, and Elliott is likewise quite engaging. Weller strikes some sparks with Patricia Charbonneau, who plays a district attorney who just so happens to be an old girlfriend of Daltonsu0026#39;. It doesnu0026#39;t take long for him to submit to her charms even though heu0026#39;s already engaged to be married (to Gail Feinberger, played by Blanche Baker). Antonio Fargas is smooth as ever as big shot criminal Nicky Carr; Brooks and Larry Joshua are good in their supporting roles. While watching, the viewer can have a busy time playing spot the familiar face: Thomas G. Waites, Shirley Stoler, John C. McGinley, Jude Ciccolella, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Kelly Rutherford, Paul Bartel, James Eckhouse, David Proval, Harold Perrineau, William Prince and Holt McCallany all turn up.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUltimately, this does get silly, and it doesnu0026#39;t tie up its loose ends well, but itu0026#39;s so well paced, and so undeniably exciting at times, that it sizes up as a good time for action aficionados. Among the highlights are a chase / fight Elliott has with a street thug that finishes nicely with a runaway roller coaster moment. Itu0026#39;s also good for a look at 42nd Street when it was still in its decadent period.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLook for a theatre marquee displaying u0026quot;Fatal Beautyu0026quot;, which also featured Elliott; a previous Glickenhaus picture, u0026quot;The Soldieru0026quot;, can be seen playing on a movie screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSeven out of 10.”