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Cops & Robbersons
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Wikipedia article
'Cops & Robbersons' is a 1994 American crime comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring Chevy Chase, Jack Palance, Dianne Wiest, and Robert Davi.
Plot
When the police discover that a mob hitman has moved in next door to the Robbersons, they want to find out what he is up to. So they set up a stakeout in the Robbersons' home. Hard-nosed, tough-as-nails Jake Stone and his young partner Tony Moore are assigned to the stakeout, but now it's a question of whether Jake can last long enough to capture the bad guys. The Robbersons want to help, and by doing so they drive Jake crazy.
Cast
* Chevy Chase as Norman Robberson
* Jack Palance as Detective Jake Stone
* Dianne Wiest as Helen Robberson
* Robert Davi as Horace Osborn
* David Barry Gray as Detective Tony Moore
* Jason James Richter as Kevin Robberson
* Fay Masterson as Cindy Robberson
* Miko Hughes as Billy Robberson
* Richard Romanus as Fred Lutz
* Sal Landi as Jerry Callahan
* Jack Kehler as Caniff
* M. Emmet Walsh as Captain Ted Corbett (uncredited)
Reception
'Cops & Robbersons' received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 14% based on reviews from 21 critics.
Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, referring to it as "one more variation on the FOW movie, so called because the plot involves a Fish Out of the Water". He singled out a scene in which Chase's character smuggles police officers into his home and snatches a cat from his wife, commenting:
Commented Richard Harrington of 'The Washington Post':
Chris Hicks of the 'Deseret News' opined that "Norman is the most ridiculous sitcom husband and father to grace the big screen since . . . well, since Clark Griswold, of the "National Lampoon's Vacation" pictures. And since both Norman and Clark are played by Chevy Chase, why not? They're both dumb and clumsy and have dysfunctional families, and they both pretend that everything's OK. But where the "Vacation" pictures had some satiric bite to offset the sillinesswell, the first one did"Cops and Robbersons" is just stupid. Loaded with ill-timed pratfalls and dopey physical shtick, it's movies like this that give slapstick a bad name."
Janet Maslin of 'The New York Times' lamented that the film was "even more unfunny than his disastrous talk show", calling it "a Chase vehicle with four flat tires"
Year-end lists
* Top 10 worst (listed alphabetically, not ranked) Mike Mayo, 'The Roanoke Times'Box office
The film debuted poorly at the box office, earning $3.7 million and coming in second place behind 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. The film grossed just $11,391,093 in the domestic box office from an unknown budget.References
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