Another Stakeout

Another Stakeout; comedy, USA, 1993; D: John Badham, S: Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Rosie O'Donnell, Cathy Moriarty, Madeleine Stowe

Lu Delano is the crown witness in a trial led against a notorious mobster, but a bomb detonated in her residence. 3 police officers died, but she disappeared. Detectives Bill and Chris again get a surveillance assignment, but this time they have to monitor the O'Hara family where Delano could have decided to hide. Chris has problems because Maria decided to leave him since he doesn't want to marry her. In order to not make the O'Haras suspicious, agent Gina is brought in to present herself as Chris' wife, while Bill has to play their son. Gina calls O'Haras over for a diner, and when Bill has the chance to inspect their apartment, he finds Delano. She attacks them and the mobsters show up as well, but Chris and Bill shoot them.

6 years after the good original "Stakeout", a sequel was made, "Another Stakeout", that rounded up the whole team again. The story is goofier and more turned towards comedy, yet it's still weaker than "Stakeout", grossing only 20 million $ at the US box office. Madeleine Stowe, the heroine of the first film, got almost a minimal role here that doesn't even resemble the original self, appearing only for a few minutes. The "special guest star" who replaced here was Rosie O'Donnell who doesn't have much gags to operate with while the lousy screenplay shows her in an irritating light and lousy events, but she is fun when she acts as a family member of Dreyfuss' and Estevez's characters. One of the best jokes is the whole sequence where the detectives call their neighbors for diner, but many silly one-liners, like "We should arrest him just for his clothes", obviously shows how the screenplay is in service of slavery of all the cliches found in so many sequels.

Grade:+