MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Cops’ a Subversive Family Comedy

On the surface “Cops and Robbersons” is the broad-appeal family comedy it presents itself to be, but its subtext is gratifyingly another matter. Its setting is a tract of unrelenting snug blandness, and a husband and father, Norman Robberson (Chevy Chase), who owns one of the homes, works at an office of equal uniformity. No one seems very happy or connected in the Robberson household, but its dominant figure, Norman’s wife, Helen (Dianne Wiest), declares with finality that “Everything is fine!”

Seemingly, things are soon to get spectacularly better when Jack Palance’s crusty veteran cop Jake Stone uses the Robberson house to stake out their new next-door neighbor (Robert Davi), an especially lethal double-crosser dealing in counterfeit money. Palance’s rookie partner Tony (David Barry Gray) finds the attraction between him and the Robbersons’ high school student daughter (Fay Masterson) mutual, and the two young Robberson sons (Jason James Richter, Miko Hughes) are as in awe of Jake as their parents are.

It so happens that Norman has always wanted to be a cop, at least in his fantasies, and is such a TV cop show fanatic that when he returns a “Police Woman” tape to a video store, he feels compelled to point out that 11 seconds are missing.

Naturally, Norman feels that his opportunity to be a hero has arrived at last, but he’s such a naive klutz that he very nearly destroys Jake’s operation at the start. (Never mind that he actually uncovered some pertinent information.) In essence, what writer Bernie Somers, in an exceptional first-produced screenplay, reveals is that the arrival of Jake not only underlines Norman’s lack of respect within his own family, but also worsens it. With his satirical eye for the absurdities of American middle-class life and his special awareness of competition, so much a part of the American character, director Michael Ritchie is just the man to bring out the darkest side of Somers’ script with much compassionate humor.

Best of all, Ritchie has erased from Chase that easy superciliousness that can drive you crazy if you’re not one of Chase’s die-hard fans. Chase consistently underplays, and gains immeasurably from doing so. His Norman longs for recognition but never grovels for it, although he may pursue it recklessly. He is a nice, decent guy who deserves better from his family, who loves him but doesn’t pay much attention to him, especially his children. He’s an office worker who has consciously or otherwise deferred running the family and the home to his wife. Well-meaning, she has taken on the role with missionary, perfectionist zeal. Helen can be a nit-picker, but Wiest shows us that she’s really a good woman who’s fundamentally devoted to her husband as well as her children.

So often cast as the villain throughout his long career, Palance has emerged in recent years as a hilarious comedian, starting with “Bagdad Cafe” and his Oscar-winning turn in “City Slickers.” Jake may have a heart of gold lurking behind his tough-guy stance, but Palance plays his predicament in holding the Robberson family at bay while doing his job of surveillance with a comic gruffness that forestalls undue sentimentality. Jake is a showy, funny role and Palance really runs with it. So does Davi with his bad guy, who can be amusingly, disarmingly likable. The film’s young actors provide winning support for the film’s top-lined veterans.

Cameraman Gerry Fisher has brought to “Cops and Robbersons” a deceptively bright, shiny look that’s just right to set off the film’s darker undercurrents. The great thing is that the film doesn’t cop out at the finish: It’s Helen, after all, who keeps her cool in a crisis, and when finally Norman wins his family’s attention and concern, it’s a display of compassion and congratulations for heroics attempted rather than accomplished. There’s a tinge of sadness amid the laughter in this surprisingly subversive family comedy.

* MPAA rating: PG for mild violence, language and some comic nudity. Times guidelines: It is actually solid, surprisingly thought-provoking family fare, though it does include flashes of bare buttocks.

‘Cops and Robbersons’

Chevy Chase: Norman Robberson

Jack Palance: Jake Stone

Dianne Wiest: Helen Robberson

Robert Davi: Osborn

A TriStar Pictures presentation of a Channel production. Director Michael Ritchie. Producers Ned Tanen, Nancy Graham Tanen, Ronald L. Schwary. Screenplay by Bernie Somers. Cinematographer Gerry Fisher. Editors Stephen A. Rotter, William S. Scharf. Costumes Wayne Finkelman. Music William Ross. Production designer Stephen J. Lineweaver. Art director Philip Toolin. Set decorator Gary P. Fettis. Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes.

* In general release throughout Southern California.