When people mention entertaining buddy cop movies I find that the Stakeout movies are usually ignored, but I do have a soft spot for both of them as they are just pure entertainment. So, today I thought I’d do a little versus article to a) remind everyone that these movies and exist B) find out which is the better movie.
Stakeout (1987)
Plot: Two detectives observe an escaped convict’s ex-girlfriend, but complications set in when one of them falls for her.
Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez star in this R-rated action comedy as two wise cracking cops who have to do a stakeout to keep an eye on an escaped criminal’s girlfriend. Things don’t go to plan when one of the cops Chris (Dreyfuss) ends up falling for her.
When Richard Dreyfuss does comedy there are few better and he is a riot in both of these movies behaving like a horny teenager for most of the runtime. Emilio Estevez plays his partner Bill who is a little more straight laced but still gets to misbehave as he is having essentially a prank war with two other cops (Forrest Whitaker and Dan Lauria).
Despite the zany humour Stakeout still has time for some action scenes so we get shoot-outs, chases and fight scenes. John Badham is no stranger to the genre and knows how to shoot a set-piece so all the action still holds up.
It’s really the beginning and the end of the movie where the action really kicks in but it’s still never less than entertaining due to the chemistry of our two leads. Madeleine Stow is also very appealing as the love interest Maria but she is also not afraid to stand up for herself.
Aidan Quinn is the villain Richard ‘Stick’ Montgomery and he makes for an intimidating presence with his steely gaze. *Spoiler alert* One thing that always bothered me about this movie though is you’re having a final showdown in a wood chipping mill and Chris ends up shooting Stick and he just dies. There are wood chippers all around so an epic death could (and should) have happened there but we didn’t get the payoff. For shame.
At just under 2 hours Stakeout is well paced and still brings a smile to my face; the R rating means the action is harder than the sequel and despite the silliness it gives it a grittier edge too.
Overall, Stakeout is still a fun ride with Dreyfuss and Estevez making for a extremely likeable duo and enough action to make for a good time.
Another Stakeout (1993)
Plot: Two immature detectives are joined by a pesky assistant district attorney in staking out a lakeside home where a Mafia trial witness is believed to be heading.
The boys are back for Another Stakeout but this goes more for farcical comedy over action so it’s just the epic opening explosion and a brief shoot out at the end but otherwise there isn’t much else.
Joining the cast is Rosie O’Donnell who is a surprisingly welcome addition as assistant attorney Gina Garrett who is along for the ride. Denis Farina also has a sizeable role and he could elevate any picture with his dry delivery. His dialogue could have been better in this entry though as he doesn’t get too many memorable lines.
On bad guy duties this time is Miguel Ferrer as hitman Tony Castellano who is tasked with taking out a witness that is going to testify against a crime boss. He makes the best of it but he isn’t as interesting as Aidan Quinn’s villain from the first movie.
Another Stakeout certainly has its moments for sheer ridiculous comedy antics but there is less that works this time around with several scenes just feeling forced; I find the dinner party sequence generally excruciating to sit through.
Overall, Another Stakeout has plenty of laughs but it’s seriously lacking in action and the PG-13 rating takes away all of the grit.
Verdict
Another Stakeout is a fun comedy but the winner for me is easily the first Stakeout as it has a harder edge as well as more action scenes.
