Cop and ½ (1993)

Simply Perfect

Overrated

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

There are buddy cop films...and then there is this gem! Well acted, directed, and written you can't go wrong with this film. Upon my eighth viewing I finally absorbed the humanity of this film, fantastico! Golden ii, is awesome and Burt just feeds off his lil' buddy. The cinematography was the only thing I really took issue with. Solid soundtrack, sweet beats throughout. Villains are OK, but good luck getting away with murder with these two on the hunt. If you have nothing to do on Sunday's and you get HBO just look, it'll be there and this baby will get you couch bound, and teach you some valuable lessons. Definitely better than Racing Stripes.

If all cop/buddy movies were like "Cop and 1/2," the genre would have died years ago. This is a spoof of the formulaic cop/buddy picture with a surprisingly exhausted-looking Burt Reynolds playing a detective teamed up with an unctuous, would-be-suave brat who dreams of wearing a badge. The kid is played by Norman D. Golden II. This is the first and only picture that I have seen him in and judging by this performance, I think he made a wise decision in leaving acting and taking up music for a career. Even if his performance was anything apart from irritation, I think a movie this devoid of fun and laughs would have scared him away.Mr. Reynolds has been a great actor before, but here he looks just as bored and fatigue-stricken as I was watching this unfunny debacle. He has to team up with young Mr. Golden because the latter is a murder witness and he won't share his information unless they let him do what he's always wanted to do: be a cop. So, yeah, you've got the devoid-of-manners, ostentatiously ambitious brat following the grumpy, withheld detective around and a chain of gags and relations that are neither charming nor funny.The movie as a whole is nothing more than over-the-top make-believe buttered with a pretentious, "please-like-me" attitude. You've got lame moments such as the kid having his head dunked into a toilet by a pair of school bullies, the tiresome punch-in-the-groin gag, and a villain played by Ray Sharkey who would rather sing 50s jazz than deal drugs. Here are moments where the movie even tries to live up to the silly mob comedies of the 1930s and 40s. Joe E. Brown must be turning in his grave. And then there is an incredibly lame and all-too-obvious to Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" that makes any loyal film historian groan. The picture is also unfunny because it's badly directed and frequently missing key shots so that the would-be jokes are not even fully registered and we have to think a little bit before we catch on to what the writers thought would be funny. The only chuckle from me came when the female police captain walked into the mens' room and nobody took half a notice.The central problem, however, is that there is zero chemistry between Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Golden. The follow-through of their relationship is predictable from the start, the dialogue between them is mechanical. Mr. Golden seems enthusiastic, but I've already touched on my opinion of his acting competence. Mr. Reynolds seems just too tired and bored to put up much of an effort. It's not one of his finest hours."Cop and 1/2" is hokey tedium for adults and I think it's fair to say it would leave younger audience members restless. And then perhaps it's not a movie for little kids to see for it does contain some profanity, violence, and images of drugs. Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Golden are not strong contributors and the supporting performances by Ruby Dee, Ray Sharkey, Holland Taylor, and Frank Sivero are outside their comfort zones. I think everybody was happy when the making of his movie was over. They were probably even happier when it faded into obscurity. Is there anything that works? Hmm...Alan Silvesti's score and that's about it.

..As the worst Cop Comedy not in the 1990s, but in the history of Film ! (Norman D. Golden II) is the most awful kid ever appeared in an American or even non-American movie. Didn't anybody of the movie's crew (including the casting's team, the director, and the producer) observe that (Golden) is unbearably silly, non-charismatic, and can't act ?!! One pessimistic friend of mine always used to say "when it's a failure, then it's a whole failure". Although I must disagree with him about this as an eternal rule, but noticing how the script, the action, (Burt Reynolds), and (Burt Reynolds)'s toupee, looked; I definitely wouldn't in this very case ! In the final analysis, I felt that it's not harmful; it's just pathetically poor. P.S : According to Roger Ebert's "praising" review about this movie, I think that it was the only movie he ever reviewed without watching !

Honestly, I sometimes wonder why IMDb members are sometimes harsh on family/kids movies. No, I did not watch Cop & 1/2 as a kid, but I still enjoyed it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for this kind of humor.Yeah, this movie was low budget with unknown actors (with the exception of Burt Reynolds), but I enjoyed this. Why? Because I found this movie to have clever humor, especially for a kids movie.So I ask you this, members, don't rate this movie if you hate it and never seen it as a child. You have to keep in mind that this movie was designed for the younger audience. If you don't like movies like this in general, then please don't rate it so low.Anyways, I found this movie to be overall decent with some good laughs.