Undercover Blues (1993)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writer (WGA):

Ian Abrams (written by)

Release Date:

10 September 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Fighting crime is just another one of their family values.

Plot:

A wise-cracking husband and wife team of ex-Spies arrive in New Orleans on maternity leave with their baby girl...

Plot Keywords:

New Orleans Louisiana | Lifting Person In Air | Spy | Carrying Person

Cast

Kathleen Turner	...	Jane Blue
Dennis Quaid	...	Jefferson 'Jeff' Blue
Fiona Shaw	...	Paulina Novacek
Stanley Tucci	...	Muerte (aka Morty)
Larry Miller	...	Det. Sgt. Halsey
Obba Babatundé	...	Lt. Theodore 'Ted' Sawyer
Tom Arnold	...	Vern Newman
Park Overall	...	Bonnie Newman
Ralph Brown	...	Leamington
Jan Triska	...	Axel
Marshall Bell	...	Sikes
Richard Jenkins	...	Frank
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Foster
Saul Rubinek	...	Mr. Ferderber
Dakin Matthews	...	Police Captain

Also Known As:

Cloak and Diaper (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:K-14 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

'Dave Chappell''s first film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Police Captain's orange peel is tossed onto his desk but missing in the reverse angle, then appears later.

Quotes:

Jeff Blue: Oh, hi, Morty.
Muerte: Muerte. MUERTE! For death! You die today!
Jeff Blue: Right.
[Muerte begins to make some very elaborate moves while holding a knife]
Jeff Blue: You know that looks really great on TV, but in real life you get better results if you just kind of hold it like this and...
Muerte: Shut up! SHUT UP!
Jeff Blue: Do you always have this much problem with a little constructive criticism?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)

Supporting Cast Adds Spark

As in every comedy, there are things that are very funny and things that are annoying or stupid. You just hope that the "good" outweighs the "bad." I think that's the case here, even though I traded in the tape. However, I did watch it a couple of times, so there are enough laughs to make this worth seeing. There are enough odd characters, too. That's no surprise when you see the supporting cast: Stanley Tucci, Larry Miller, Fiona Shaw and Tom Arnold. All of them put added spark to the film. Tucci, as "Meurte," is most obvious as he continually tries to mug the leading couple, played by Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid. Miller plays a weird cop with a lisp and a very weird accent. I guess you could call this movie "quirky."

Turner and Quaid are so smug as modern-day Nick and Nora Charles, you want to root for "Muerte" to succeed. Frankly, I never found Turner, except perhaps in "Body Heat," to be that alluring. However, I think she is an underrated comedienne.

As a whole, this comedy is a little rough in spots, hence the PG-13 rating which often means more profanity than R-rated films. This is not for the kiddies, but adults will laugh.