View source for Rent-a-Cop

{{short description|1988 film by Jerry London}}
{{About|the film|the use of "Rent-a-cop" as a nickname|Security guard}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Rent-a-Cop
| image          = Rent-a-Cop.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[Tom Jung]].  Tagline: "There's a killer on the loose and the lady is the target"
| director       = [[Jerry London]]
| producer       = [[Raymond Wagner]]<br />John D. Schofield
| writer         = [[Michael Blodgett]]<br />[[Dennis Shryack]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Burt Reynolds]]
* [[Liza Minnelli]]
* [[James Remar]]
* [[Richard Masur]]
* [[Bernie Casey]]
* [[John Stanton (actor)|John Stanton]]
* [[John P. Ryan (actor)|John P. Ryan]]
* [[Dionne Warwick]]
* [[Robby Benson]]
}}
| music          = [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
| cinematography = [[Giuseppe Rotunno]]
| editing        = [[Robert Lawrence (film editor)|Robert Lawrence]]
| studio         = [[Kings Road Entertainment]]
| distributor    = Kings Road Entertainment
| released       = {{Film date|1987|11|26|West Germany|1988|01|15|United States}}
| runtime        = 96 mins.
| country        = United States
| language       = English
|budget=$16 million<ref name="spy">{{cite magazine|magazine=Spy|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_KJly6nVC7qkC/page/n92/mode/1up/search/%22green+ice%22+?q=%22green+ice%22+%22ryan+o%27neal%22|title=The Unstoppables|date=November 1988|page=92}}</ref>
| gross          = $295,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rent-a-cop.htm|title = Rent-a-Cop}}</ref>
}}
'''''Rent-a-Cop''''' is a 1987 American [[Thriller film|thriller]] [[Comedy film|comedy]]  starring [[Burt Reynolds]] and [[Liza Minnelli]]. Reynolds plays a disgraced police officer, now working as a [[security guard]], who falls in love with Minnelli, who plays a [[prostitute]].
The film saw both lead actors to be nominated for the [[1988 Golden Raspberry Awards]] for Worst Actor and Worst Actress. (These nominations were not solely on the merits of ''Rent-a-Cop'', however; Reynolds and Minnelli were also cited for ''[[Switching Channels]]'' and ''[[Arthur 2: On the Rocks]]'', respectively). Minnelli ended up "winning" the Worst Actress prize.
The film earned under $300,000 in American ticket sales. Initially released on 26 November 1987 in [[West Germany]], its American premiere came two months later on 15 January 1988. Although set in [[Chicago]], the movie was mostly filmed in [[Italy]].
==Plot==
Chicago cop Tony Church and his team are completing a drug bust. Just as the cops make the arrest a masked thief called Dancer intervenes and executes all of the officers. Church attempts to apprehend Dancer but Dancer outwits him and takes a hostage Della. Della manages to escape as Dancer flees and Church is left facing the blame of the disastrous bust and winds up getting fired from the force.
Della, a high-priced hooker, unbeknownst to Church and the other cops, happened to be in the hotel at the time and caught a good look at Dancer's face. She encounters Dancer again as he attempts to assassinate her but she manages to escape. Afraid Dancer will come after her again and succeed in killing her, Della decides that she needs protection and she tracks down the lowly Church, who is now working as a security guard in a shopping mall. She offers to pay Church to act as her bodyguard until Dancer is apprehended.
Church's longtime colleague Roger, tracks him down and advises him to steer clear of the case as it destroyed his career. Unfortunately for Church, Roger is revealed to be a corrupt cop who is involved with Dancer. Della and Church form an unlikely bond and a relationship blossoms.
Church and Della decide that the only way to apprehend Dancer is to use Della as bait. They come up with a plan and just as it seems to have gone wrong, Church emerges to save Della's life and kills Dancer. The final scene shows Church and Della attempting to give their new relationship a chance.
==Cast==
* [[Burt Reynolds]] as Tony Church
* [[Liza Minnelli]] as Della Roberts
* [[James Remar]] as Adam "Dancer" Booth
* [[Richard Masur]] as Roger Latrele
* [[Dionne Warwick]] as Beth Connors
* [[Bernie Casey]] as Lemar
* [[Robby Benson]] as Andrew Pitts
* [[John P. Ryan]] as Commander Wieser
* [[John Stanton (actor)|John Stanton]] as Haskell Alexander
* [[Michael Rooker]] as Joe
* [[Larry Dolgin]] as Capt. James
* [[Roslyn Alexander]] as Miss Barley
* Cyrus Elias as Victor
==Production==
Although filming was to have begun in October 1986,<ref>OUTTAKES: BLACK AND BLUE IN VELVET
Los Angeles Times 28 Sep 1986: S18.</ref> it was pushed back to November.<ref>THE CITY MAUL . . .: Chicago Tribune 12 Nov 1986: 20.</ref>''Rent-a-Cop'' was the feature film debut of director Jerry London, who had made his name through his work on television mini series such as ''[[Shōgun (1980 miniseries)|Shogun]]''.
Burt Reynolds was paid $3 million for his role in the film.<ref>BURT REYNOLDS IS THE COMEBACK KID: [Home Edition]
MODDERNO, CRAIG. Los Angeles Times 4 Jan 1987: 6.</ref> "His last couple of pictures were dark movies," said director Jerry London. "Audiences didn't come out of theaters with that warm glow Burt can give. I think this film will do it. Everyone says Burt hasn't been better in years."<ref name="sun">REYNOLDS SEEKS REBIRTH IN NEW YEAR, NEW FILM: [SUN-SENTINEL Edition]
Davis, Ivor. Sun Sentinel19 Jan 1988: 1E.</ref>
''Rent-a-Cop'' was Minnelli's first film in five years. She had been admitted to the Betty Ford Clinic in 1984 for substance abuse problems. "Everybody I know, including myself, gets into trouble," she said. "When you dole out too much credit to public opinion, when your sense of self gets blurry, when you feel that what people think is more important than how you feel . . . that's when it's dangerous and that's an easy thing to happen - to me, to a housewife. That's when you worry about getting enough sleep, so you take a sleeping pill; when other people think you're overweight, so you take a diet pill. And then you find yourself in rehab."<ref>ROBERT ALTMAN PLANS A 'NASHVILLE' SEQUEL
Ryan, Desmond. Philadelphia Inquirer 1 Mar 1987: H.2.</ref>
"The cop and the hooker story has been done a million times," said Reynolds. "The secret to doing the story is always the cop that hates the girl and the girl that hates the cop, but they need each other for whatever reason."<ref name="laughs">Burt goes for laughs in `Rent a Cop': [CITY Edition]
Polk, Peggy. St. Petersburg Times23 Jan 1987: 4D.</ref>
Reynolds said he and Minnelli "like each other enormously, and that's kind of the subtext of what we are doing. We make each other laugh a lot."<ref name="laughs"/>
Reynolds and Minnelli would improvise routines about Reynolds's real-life nostalgia for the 1950s.<ref name="laughs"/>
Location filming took place in Chicago. Studio work was done in Rome.
"He is an intelligent, sharp and hard-working professional," said London about Reynolds, "and the chemistry between him and Minnelli is wonderful. I think ''Rent-A-Cop'' is an audience picture, the kind of film where you have a good time for an hour and 40 minutes. It is just what Burt and his audience need."<ref name="sun"/>
==Reception==
The film received negative reviews from critics, having a [[Rotten Tomatoes]] score of 14%, with 12 out of 14 professional reviews being negative.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rent-a-Cop (1988)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rentacop/|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=October 6, 2022}}</ref> Walter Goodman reviewing for ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised Minnelli's performance, but described the plot as sloppy and the directing as efficient but uninspired.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goodman|first1=Walter|title=Film: Liza Minnelli in 'Rent-a-Cop'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/15/movies/film-liza-minnelli-in-rent-a-cop.html|accessdate=December 12, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=January 15, 1988}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave it 2 out of 4 stars, saying "''Rent-A-Cop'' is a collision between a relationship and a cliche, and the cliche wins, but not before the relationship has given us some nice moments".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ebert|first1=Roger|authorlink1=Roger Ebert|title=Rent-A-Cop (1988)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rent-a-cop-1988|website=rogerebert.com|accessdate=December 12, 2015|date=January 29, 1988}}</ref>
== References ==
<references />
== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|id=0095977|title=Rent-a-Cop}}
* {{AllMovie title|40949|Rent-a-Cop}}
{{Jerry London}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress}}
[[Category:1987 films]]
[[Category:1987 action comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:1980s police comedy films]]
[[Category:American action comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jerry London]]
[[Category:Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith]]
[[Category:Films set in Chicago]]
[[Category:Films shot in Italy]]
[[Category:Golden Raspberry Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Films about police officers]]
[[Category:Films about prostitution in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about security and surveillance]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language action comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy thriller films]]