Rating: 
Summary: Just the facts, ma'am
Review: "Dragnet" is one of those movies I never got sick of as a kid, although it did take some growing up for me to get some of the more adult jokes ("Oh thank God...vibrator repair??"). Today, I still enjoy the hilarious banter between Dan Aykroyd as clean-cut Joe Friday, and Tom Hanks as "hipster freebird cop" Pep Streebeck. While Aykroyd has always been a comic genius, I think Hanks' slapstick talent has been underrated due to his super dramatic success. He was very funny in this film and other 80s films like "Big" and "The Money Pit."The reason I don't give "Dragnet" five stars is the story problem. About halfway through, this movie becomes a sappy mess of a love story/kidnapping plot. It shifts focus from Friday and Streebeck trailing a bevy of PAGAN incidents to Joe trying to save the virgin Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul) from the evil Reverend Jonathan Whirley (played with slime by Christopher Plummer). The romance between Joe and Connie is dull, namely because Paul can't act her way out of a paper bag in this film. But Streebeck's antics without his partner, and Plummer's grinchy grin as he attempts dastardly deeds, save the second half from total destruction. I believe "Dragnet" is not the dud that most critics make it out to be. It has some very funny moments and some witty dialogue. But it doesn't tie the comedy and drama/action together very well. In a way, it's almost like two different movies. One is fantastic and entertaining, while the other is a bit boring. Don't expect a glitsy DVD with bucketloads of special features. I guess Universal reserves those special editions for "higher caliber" films. But enjoy the laughs anyway. Key moments: Friday and Streebeck go undercover, the officers meet Enid Borden, a trip to the zoo, chasing Emil Muzz, and a visit to the Bait Magazine mansion.
Rating:
Summary: Just the facts, ma'am
Review: "Dragnet" is one of those movies I never got sick of as a kid, although it did take some growing up for me to get some of the more adult jokes ("Oh thank God...vibrator repair??"). Today, I still enjoy the hilarious banter between Dan Aykroyd as clean-cut Joe Friday, and Tom Hanks as "hipster freebird cop" Pep Streebeck. While Aykroyd has always been a comic genius, I think Hanks' slapstick talent has been underrated due to his super dramatic success. He was very funny in this film and other 80s films like "Big" and "The Money Pit." The reason I don't give "Dragnet" five stars is the story problem. About halfway through, this movie becomes a sappy mess of a love story/kidnapping plot. It shifts focus from Friday and Streebeck trailing a bevy of PAGAN incidents to Joe trying to save the virgin Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul) from the evil Reverend Jonathan Whirley (played with slime by Christopher Plummer). The romance between Joe and Connie is dull, namely because Paul can't act her way out of a paper bag in this film. But Streebeck's antics without his partner, and Plummer's grinchy grin as he attempts dastardly deeds, save the second half from total destruction. I believe "Dragnet" is not the dud that most critics make it out to be. It has some very funny moments and some witty dialogue. But it doesn't tie the comedy and drama/action together very well. In a way, it's almost like two different movies. One is fantastic and entertaining, while the other is a bit boring. Don't expect a glitsy DVD with bucketloads of special features. I guess Universal reserves those special editions for "higher caliber" films. But enjoy the laughs anyway. Key moments: Friday and Streebeck go undercover, the officers meet Enid Borden, a trip to the zoo, chasing Emil Muzz, and a visit to the Bait Magazine mansion.
Rating:
Summary: Dragnet
Review: "It was a hot day in Los Angeles..." The watcher should have had the opportunity to really see Joe Friday in his day to make the spoof really work! Certainly not one most would consider for any sort of award, BUT IT'S A SPOOF...not intended to be a black spot on Jack Webb, but he was laughing himself when it was made!
Rating: 
Summary: dumb, da dumb dumb...
Review: ...but I still give it 3 stars 'cuz Dan Ackroyd's riffing is freaking hilarious, and that alone is worth checking out at least once. I can't defend the storyline 'cuz it IS pretty dumb, but I guess that's beside the point...it's all about the laughs, and Ackroyd & Hanks deliver for the most part...
Rating:
Summary: This is the City of Los Angeles...
Review: Any fan of Dan Akroyd's or Tom Hank's style comedy will love it. Anyone that likes movies like "Beverly Hills Cop", "Police Academy", or "Naked Gun" should like it. Even fans of serious police movies or shows will probably get a kick out of it. Joe Friday, played by Dan Akroyd, is serious about his work, even if his partner Pep Streebek, played by Tom Hanks, is not. Akroyd does a great job of emulating the original Dragnet Friday's inflections and no nonsense style. A cameo by Harry Morgan is fitting since he played in the original TV show. The duo must uncover the leadership and plans of a satanic cult that is playing havoc with the city of Los Angeles. In their search they encounter a smut magazine king, a religious leader, the mayor, and a bevy of pin-up girls. Several sight gags and Akroyd's performance make this DVD worth owning. Not much in the extras department. It would have been better if it included a making of feature and/or commentary by Dan Akroyd and Tom Hanks. I would have given it four stars then.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, funny, funny
Review: Anyone who doesn't like this movie is suffering from the mind-altering effects of the pseudohallogenic compound Cyanigin (inside joke: get it?). With Tom Hanks, Dan Aykroyd, Christopher Plummer, (don't forget Dabney Coleman!), this movie offers a fun-filled romp through a Playboyesque mansion, a "Milk. Fresh, wholesome milk." factory, and a part of Los Angeles where it's best not to stand on the street corner at 10pm on a school night whistling. Seriously, though, this is a fun movie. While Aykroyd isn't up to par given his previous role as Dr. Raymond Stanz (late of Columbia University) in Ghostbusters ("Does this pole still work?"), he's much better than in some of his others: The Couch Trip, Sneakers, etc. Christopher Plummer is genius, as always. For all you law students, this movie offers a good lesson on the First Amendment, with the whole pornography/book burning thing.
Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with goodness and normalcy?
Review: Based on what I've seen, most classic TV show-based flicks are either pretty good (such as 'The Fugitive' or 'The Untouchables'), or pretty bad ('Car 54 Where Are You?'). 'Dragnet' has the distinction of trodding the middle ground-- it ain't all that bad, but it's nothing special, either. While I thought the concept of turning the classic 'Dragnet' show into a cinematic self-satire was interesting, the final product could've been a bit better. Actually, they'da really gotten some laughs from me by trying to play it 'straight' and as true to the TV show as possible. That's probably why episodes of 'Dragnet' were only a half-hour long--it was actually a sit-com disguised as a harrowing real-case-based cop drama. I mean, seriously, do ya really think you'll ever find a law enforcement official who's even close to being the straight-laced boy scout that Joe Friday was? I gotta admit, however, that Dan Aykroyd's unbelievably button-down, anal-retentive, and ludicrously straight-arrow portrayal of the nephew of Joe Friday was a pretty good shot at Jack Webb's most notable small screen character. And his partnering up with Tom Hanks' polar-opposite-type character made for a few smile-cracking 'Odd-Couple-With-Badges' moments of humor. Another neat thing about this movie is that it introduced me to a little acronym I like to spring on folks from time to time: the cultish PAGAN, or People Against Goodness And Normalcy, the minions of which act as the movie's main heavies. Whenever someone talks about pagan religious rituals, I'll usually hit 'em with the reference by stating, "Oh, you mean 'the People Against Goodness And Normalcy'?" My statement is usually followed by about ten seconds of uncomfortable silence and sideways glance(s) from the speaker(s). That's when I try to break up my little faux pas by explaining the reference to 'em. After my explanation, we share one of those hearty 'boy-am-I-relieved' chuckles and part ways, never to speak to each other ever again... 'Late
Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with goodness and normalcy?
Review: Based on what I've seen, most classic TV show-based flicks are either pretty good (such as `The Fugitive' or `The Untouchables'), or pretty bad (`Car 54 Where Are You?'). `Dragnet' has the distinction of trodding the middle ground-- it ain't all that bad, but it's nothing special, either. While I thought the concept of turning the classic `Dragnet' show into a cinematic self-satire was interesting, the final product could've been a bit better. Actually, they'da really gotten some laughs from me by trying to play it `straight' and as true to the TV show as possible. That's probably why episodes of `Dragnet' were only a half-hour long--it was actually a sit-com disguised as a harrowing real-case-based cop drama. I mean, seriously, do ya really think you'll ever find a law enforcement official who's even close to being the straight-laced boy scout that Joe Friday was? I gotta admit, however, that Dan Aykroyd's unbelievably button-down, anal-retentive, and ludicrously straight-arrow portrayal of the nephew of Joe Friday was a pretty good shot at Jack Webb's most notable small screen character. And his partnering up with Tom Hanks' polar-opposite-type character made for a few smile-cracking `Odd-Couple-With-Badges' moments of humor. Another neat thing about this movie is that it introduced me to a little acronym I like to spring on folks from time to time: the cultish PAGAN, or People Against Goodness And Normalcy, the minions of which act as the movie's main heavies. Whenever someone talks about pagan religious rituals, I'll usually hit `em with the reference by stating, "Oh, you mean `the People Against Goodness And Normalcy'?" My statement is usually followed by about ten seconds of uncomfortable silence and sideways glance(s) from the speaker(s). That's when I try to break up my little faux pas by explaining the reference to `em. After my explanation, we share one of those hearty `boy-am-I-relieved' chuckles and part ways, never to speak to each other ever again... `Late
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty amusing when I was a teenager
Review: Being a teenager in the late 1980s there were a lot of movies out there I liked that nowadays I wondered why I ever liked in the first place, like this one, the 1987 adaptation of Dragnet with Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. The movie is about Friday and Streebeck fighting evil PAGANs (People Against Goodness And Normalcy) which involves everything from kidnapping, stealing zoo animals and even obstruction of justice, many thanks to a certain Reverend Johnathan Whirley (played by Christopher Plummer) in which Streebeck (Tom Hanks) called a mental furball. Being 15 in 1988 when HBO was airing this, a year after its theatrical release, I found this movie downright hysterical. Of course being a teenager then, there were things I liked then that I'm embarassed I ever liked, like in the world of movies. The difference between 1988 (when I saw it on HBO) and 1996 (when I found a VHS copy for cheap) sure made a big difference on my opinion on this movie. Certainly I find a few amusing things of Dragnet, like Friday and Streebeck interrogating Emil Muzz, or the landlady Enid Borden (played by Kathleen Freeman) saying to Friday, "Says who, flathead?" But aside from that, Dragnet is just like too many movies in the 1980s, very little in the way of substance, you might like it as a kid, but when you're a grown-up, it's just plain tedious to watch. Although a flop, it didn't seem to damage Aykroyd's and Hanks' reputation.
Rating:
Summary: COULD HAVE BEEN A CLASSIC
Review: But the direction lacks invention. It kind of goes downhill with a pretty uninteresting story about PAGANS. There are some funny moments though. But they are all at the beginning. If this film was a little more cynical and a little more observant and a little more profesionally handled it would have been very good. Though it's still one to keep and enjoy. I first saw this film when it came out when I was just a kid. I suppose you could say I've grown up watching films like this and 'The 'burbs' and 'Spies Like Us' and other AYKROYD/CHASE/HANKS comedies. This one however always makes me laugh. There are so many funny scenes. A film like that I can enjoy for a long time even if the plot is by-the-numbers. And especially when the opening theme song is this cool. The DVD is in Dolby 2.0 Surround and is anamorphically enhanced at 1.78:1. The only extra is a trailer which features scenes not in the movie.
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