Dragnet

Dragnet, 1987
Dragnet



I'm optimistic about this one, because it stars Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks both of who I think are brilliant comedians.

After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)

This movie was amazing, but if you haven't seen it don't start watching the movie under the pretense that it's going to be like an extended episode of the show from the 1950s. It's certainly a parody of the old show, and is made rather obvious from the beginning when the narrator explains, "Your attention, please. The story you are about to see is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent. For example: George Bakers is now called Sylvia Wiss."

Throughout the movie though Dan Aykroyd does an amazing job playing Sgt. Joe Friday, who is consumed with his job and attempts to do everything by the book. Think Dewight from The Office. Naturally this is where Tom Hanks, who plays Pep, comes into play and a lot of the comedy in the movie is rooted in the banter Pep and Sgt. Friday. The idea of putting two opposites together for comedy isn't something new, we've seen it time and time again but both actors make it fresh so it doesn't feel like the same jokes that we've all heard before.

One last thing, and it's something I've tried to censor myself on in the past but to hell with that idea at this point. Right? The movie was made in the 1980s and it doesn't really try to hide the fact either. I really don't want to be 'that person' because I realize when the movie was made in 1987 it was modern, hip and all things that were considered amazing. It's just watching it twenty-three years later and realizing how it really speaks for that decade: all of the girls in bikinis were wearing swimsuits that were cut high on the girls hips, and the wardrobe from Muscle Beach screamed 1980s aerobics routine videos.

It's just become one of those things that I like to look back at and kind of realize how far we've come in fashion and in technology. Another example: Not a single person had a cell phone in the movie, and if it were made today there wouldn't be a single character in the movie without a cell phone. Actually, Sgt. Friday may have refused to carry a cell phone, but would have cited traffic laws to Pep while he was talking on the phone and driving at the same time.

Final thoughts: I thought the movie was great. The parts I enjoyed the most focused around the banter between Pep and Friday. We all could kind of see it coming a mile away, but it was fun watching them learn to work together and become friends.

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