Hollywood Vice Squad (1986)

To me, this movie is perfection.

I'll tell you why so serious

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Thriller "Hollywood morality police" - the official remake of the very a good movie, Paul Schrader, "Porn". But it is secondary not only to this reason. Aspiring female director Penelope Sfiris (later shot the cult comedy "Wayne's World") has managed to remove the tape, which like all the fighters 80 at once. There is a policeman and Asian, "Squinting" for karate, and distinct characters, companions, and desperate comedians black policeman, and stupid thugs, and the chase on buses, and shotguns, single shot target to convert clumps. But with all this Sfiris handle properly and could not - it promptly inserted in his "dish" of various ingredients, but it came out not tasty broth, and a mysterious brew with a not very appetizing odor. There's even difficult to identify the main character - until the end of the story viewer and can not understand for whom he feel and who himself identified. In addition, the line pornosemok, the former Schroeder Basically, Sfiris taken away somewhere in the background and looking here (As well as many other things) the fifth wheel of the cart (or accordion on the horns goats). So the only thing in "Hollywood Vice Squad" of interest, are actors. Not because they play well, but just because they are always interesting to watch: The former "Princess Leia" from 'Star Wars' Carrie Fisher, John Travolta's brother Joey, Ronnie Cox of "Total Recall", a famous wrestler HBO Bee Haggerty and future wife, Shona Penn, Robin Wright Beauty in his first Movie parts. In addition, film in a small role of the secretary pornomagnata appears strange being under the name of Goddess Bunny - a young transvestite with cerebral palsy (kinoraritet.ru)

Quite an uneven and hasty balance of humour and drama totally misses the mark, despite some recognizable faces (Ronny Cox, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Frank Gorshin, Trish Van Deverve and Carrie Fisher) in the cast. The episodic screenplay that covers the Vice-Squad through Hollywood is strung together by various (but very worn out) stories (from the ridiculous (illegal bookies) to the seamy (prostitution, drug abuse), and plain kinky (Bondage pornography)) and an overload of colourful characters. There's too much going though, which makes the film less effective with its unsure mixture. The comic approach it goes for it too hysterical, and cartoony, which this overshadows the depressingly brooding context of the more serious moments. Many sequences (largely the ones trying to make laugh) are really uncalled for, and add nothing but to draw it out. Never does it set itself apart, and would've been better to sticking to one path. The pace is fair, but still lulls about it in patches. Some of the stunt work is relentlessly done, and in that over-the-top style. Penelope Spheeris' direction is busy in nature direction, but untidy and the script is cluttered with infantile and vile dialogues. The location is well presented, but it never really features much presence as it should, or becomes a potent character. Fisher's eager, headstrong performance is the pick of the lot, but it's just too bad her role is quite brief.

Without seeing this film and reading the plot outline, I can see that this is clearly a rip-off of Paul Schrader's classic film entitled, "Hardcore" starring George C. Scott from 1979. Check out this plot outline from Hardcore: "A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter whom is making porno films in the porno pits of Los Angeles. " Sound familiar?What a rip off of the Scrhrader/Scott classic. It is funny to note and to Carrie Fisher's delight that there are a few references to Star Wars...watch and see, you won't believe your eyes.

Hollywood Vice Squad mixes comedy and drama, and has three different story lines, so it changes directions quite often; too quickly in fact for the movie to be really enjoyable. The three story lines involve police efforts to break up prostitution, pornography, and bookmaking; the story involving efforts to break up a pornography ring is probably the best, with Carrie Fisher as a novice yet dedicated officer leading the investigation (Fisher seems like the only member of the cast who doesn't act like she would rather be on the set of some other film). The film switches between the three stories regularly, which makes the action hard to follow, but worse is the fact that it switches from a dramatic to comedy scene just as quickly; it makes the comedy seem less funny and the drama seem less serious. Some of the comedy scenes, while funny, appear to have been put in just to kill time and pad the film.Hollywood Vice Squad is not totally hopeless; as mentioned, there are some really funny scenes, and the music and fashion will make you nostalgic for the mid 1980s. Overall, though, it looks more like a film that was made in a rush, and not very well. All three story lines have happy endings as well, which makes the movie pretty unrealistic compared to the realities of Hollywood. Not the worst film I ever saw, but no Citizen Kane, either.