Cop and ½ (1993)

Director:

Henry Winkler

Writer (WGA):

Arne Olsen (written by)

Release Date:

2 April 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy

Tagline:

One kid's fantasy. One cop's nightmare.

Plot:

Devon Butler is an eight-year old who dreams of being a cop. He watches police TV shows, knows police procedures...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Murder | Drugs | Fish | Blackmail

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Burt Reynolds	...	Nick McKenna
Norman D. Golden II	...	Devon Butler
Ruby Dee	...	Rachel
Holland Taylor	...	Captain Rubio
Ray Sharkey	...	Vinnie Fountain
Sammy Hernandez	...	Raymond Sanchez
Frank Sivero	...	Chu
Rocky Giordani	...	Quintero
Marc Macaulay	...	Waldo
Tom McCleister	...	Rudy
Ralph Wilcox	...	Det. Matt McPhail
Tom Kouchalakos	...	Det. Jenkins
Carmine Genovese	...	Rio
Sean O'Neal	...	Det. McNally (as Sean Evan O'Neal)
Max Winkler	...	Boy in Bathroom

Also Known As:

Cop & 1/2 (USA) (alternative spelling)
Cop and a Half

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language, violence and drug references.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Dade City, Florida, USA

Company:

Imagine Films Entertainment

Trivia:

Was proposed as a sequel to Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the scene with Burt Reynolds (in a car) chasing a henchman (on foot) Burt drives through multiple fences and backyards. Just as Burt's hitting the last fence, he shouts "End of the line!" Immediately after that, in a side shot of the car, you can see a crew member bracing himself with his arm on the back of the driver's seat.

Quotes:

Dispatcher: What's your 10-20 McKenna?
Nick: We're perpendicular.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Lassie Did a Bad, Bad Thing (#3.11)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Nothin' My Love Can't Fix

What's that smell? It's the fetid corpse of Burt Reynolds's career

Is there no end to the indignities Burt Reynolds has to suffer as his career rattles down an apparently bottomless bin chute? Still a few years away from the ignominy of the 'Universal Soldier' sequels, in this movie the poor bastard looks so beaten down by his spiral into will-work-for-food status that it's almost poignant.

'Cop and a Half' is a pathetically unfunny, obvious and predictable so-called comedy that has Reynolds's hard-hearted plod lumbered with Norman D. Golden II, a kid suffering from Eddie Murphy syndrome who witnesses a murder and won't give up the information unless he can be a cop for a day. The premise is, of course, dumb, unbelievable and tiresome, but it could have been carried off with slightly less embarrassing banter and stupid guff like the scenes where the kid is actually allowed to answer phones in the police station and stop people for speeding. Is this the nadir of the buddy cop genre? It surely is.

The movie, directed for some unknown reason by Henry 'Fonzie' Winkler, is a charmless, witless caper. It makes unreasonable demands on its audience by asking us to sit through scene after painful scene in which Reynolds and the kid – get this – don't get on, and then abruptly changing gear so they can bond for no discernible reason. It doesn't help that Golden gives Michael Oliver a run for his money in the charmless kid actor stakes, but even if he was Mara Wilson gene spliced with Jonathan Lipnicki it wouldn't make his wisecracks any funnier. His revenge on his principal and school bullies are outstandingly predictable, while Reynolds learning to be a better person is obvious three seconds into the movie. Easily one of the worst films ever made, this is thick-headed, ill-conceived and puerile.