South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 200

6 Showtime, Friday, June 26, 1987 MOVIES REVIEW 'Dragnet' mainly a 90-minute Aykroyd impression DRAGNET v-i v-iv Dan Aykroyd Is the namesake nephew of detective Sgt. Joe Friday, working with hip partner Tom Hanks to clean up crime In Los Angeles. Credits: With Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul, Dabney Coleman, Elizabeth Ashley. Directed by Tom Manklewlcz. Written by Dan Aykroyd, Alan Zwelbel, Tom Manklewlcz.

foil Violence, coarse language, sexual material. Poor Fair Good Excellent 5f "'2k I 'V' ijiiimiiM If By ROGER HURLBURT Entertainment Writer This is the city Los Angeles, California. But it ain't no city of angels, Mister. That's why police Detective Joe Friday, the nephew of his late namesake, carries a badge. Dan Aykroyd provides a marvelous impression of Jack Webb, who starred in both the radio Dragnet program and the TV series of the 1950s and '60s.

And all tolled, that makes for about 20 minutes of memory-lane yuks for those who could tolerate the stony, self-righteous observations and inquiries of Webb in the first place. Perhaps the generation that grew up without television's Dragnet should be grateful; never has a police series been more contrived, idealistic or white-bread in concept. People just don't talk like Friday in real life. Aykroyd documented his flair for Webbisms on Saturday Night Live and he garnered laughs. But there's a big difference between an eight-minute TV skit and a feature film.

The new Dragnet is little more than a 90-minute impression routine for the talented Aykroyd. This movie is for Aykroyd addicts only. Good old badge 714 isn't exactly tarnished it's just lost its flash. Also working the day-watch out of the LAPD is hip detective Pen A Detectives Friday (Aykroyd) and Streebek (Hanks) search for clues in a pile of garbage. Gannon in the 1960s show, is now police captain.

Gannon has forgotten all that Webb taught him about simple sentences he now bellows like Col. Potter on MASH. Still, it's Friday's crew cut, his off-the-rack suit, rubber-soled shoes and stern commentaries that take up the most screen time. Add a Baitmate or two in a bikini and a really awful job of acting by thug Emil Muzz (Jack O'Hal-loran), and Dragnet is just a small chuckle of a specialty movie. Too bad.

Aykroyd gives a fine performance. But Dragnet is more a nostalgic bio-drama of Webb as Friday than a comedy reprise of a badly datedxop show. And those are just the facts, Ma'am. The unscrupulous Rev. Whirley, played adequately by Christopher Plummer, is supposedly in ca-hoots with Caesar but he actually has come to bury him, not praise him.

Another tough customer is city official Jane Kirkpatrick, played by Elizabeth Ashley. She is solidly behind the righteous reverend and apparently, in more ways than one. Harry Morgan, who played Sgt. Such a dichotomy of acting conviction between the two leads is a major flaw in the film. The come dy is there, certainly, but it be-, comes annoying fast.

The story involves the bamboozling of soft-porn king Jerry Caesar, amusingly played by Dabney a Coleman. Caesar is man with a' lispy, country-colonel accent, who's also a multimillionaire because of the vast circulation of a girly magazine he publishes, Bait. Streebek, played by Tom Hanks. Pep is supposed to be second fiddle the jokester who rebuts Fri-day's straight lines. But since when has Hanks played second to anyone? Maybe Pep's laid-back, condescending attitude about Friday's straight-laced, mundane personality is warranted.

Hanks, however, seems to walk through his role, while Aykroyd lives and breathes the part REVIEW Cast squeezes funny moments out of idiotic plot ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING A teen-age baby sitter must get herself and her charges out of predicaments before Mom and Dad come home. Credits: With Elisabeth Shue, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp and Maia Brewton. Directed by Chris Columbus. Written by David Slmklns. faj Teen fare.

Brewton almost overshadows Shue's performance. Brewton plays Sara, the sarcastic youngster who idolizes comic-book hero Thor. Sara's sarcasm often is charming because Brewton's delivery is right on target Brewton, Shue and the rest of the cast keep this film above water and make it adequate summer entertainment. Chris Columbus, known for his million-dollar screenplays (Gremlins, Goonies, Young Sherlock Holmes makes his directorial debut in Adventures in Babysitting. Thankfully, Columbus did not indulge in camerawork as most first-time directors do.

He concentrated instead on drawing solid performances from all the actors. His obvious talent, however, could not save David Simkins' one-dimensional script. Adventures in Babysitting is best suited for what its title suggests: baby-sitting the kids. It's a harmless film for young people to spend an evening watching. If you're looking for glorified television, this is it.

But if you're looking for an interesting, involving story that challenges your intelligence (or your child's), stay away. Adventures in Babysitting will baby-sit your mind. By JUAN CARLOS COTO Staff Writer You have to give Adventures in Babysitting credit for having the sense to allude to its obvious inspiration. The Brady Bunch, of which this film appears to be an extended episode, is referred to twice during the movie. The film's hackneyed plot not only is given away in advertisements but also supports a Hollywood axiom: "There is no such thing as an original story." Girl baby-sits kids; they get caught in predicaments; they get out of predicaments; they must get home before the parents.

Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) is put in charge of two suburban Chicago youngsters but is forced to go into the city when a runaway friend calls for help. Here come the predicaments. Adventures in Babysitting is the archetypal contrived plot. You spend the film wondering how and why the characters got where they are. You keep asking, "Why don't they just call the police?" But they can't, "because if Mom and Dad find out, they'll kill us!" This is where Adventures in Babysitting is dumbest.

If the kids got into any serious trouble in the city, Mom and Dad would just send Poor Fair Good Excoltent them to the family therapist. If the parents discovered that their kids were stuck in the city, trying to help a friend, they would rescue their kids with no fuss and probably send them to the family therapist the next day. Of course, comedy means we're supposed to overlook reality. Thankfully, overlooking reality doesn't make this film a waste. Idiotic plot aside, there are surprisingly funny moments.

Shue, who was more than capable in The Karate Kid, shines in this film, although Maia Shue: sitter in distress.