''One Good Cop'' is a 1991 American crime drama film written and directed by Heywood Gould and starring Michael Keaton,

Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as ''Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Jack Malone in the television drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009), for which he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004. LaPaglia won a Prim ...

and Benjamin Bratt. Keaton portrays

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

Detective Artie Lewis, who, with his wife Rita (Russo), adopts his late partner's (LaPaglia) children and loves them as their own. He also targets one of the criminals responsible for his partner's death. He initially seeks justice for his adoptive children, but ultimately chooses retaliation by robbing his quarry to support his new family, endangering them and his career.

Plot

Artie Lewis is a

detective who believes in his work, loves his wife Rita, and is close to his partner of eight years, Stevie Diroma, a widower with three young daughters. After a hard, violent encounter in a

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...

while on duty, Artie and Stevie reassure each other that, although battered and bruised, they have survived. Stevie is then killed in the line of duty by drug addict Mickey Garrett during a

hostage situation A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refra ...

. Stevie's daughters Marian, Barbara, and Carol are left orphaned with no relatives able to take them in. Artie is informed that Stevie, in his will, had named Artie the legal guardian of his children in the event of his death. Artie and Rita take the children in and want to adopt them. (It is revealed the couple are unable to have children of their own). However, Child Welfare Services decides that their apartment is too small for three children, and Barbara is a diabetic who needs daily insulin shots. To gain the welfare agency's approval, Artie feels he must buy a house. The one he has chosen requires a $25,000 down payment that he does not have. In desperation, he grabs his gun and a ski mask and robs drug kingpin Beniamino Rios, whom he has investigated and knows is indirectly responsible for Stevie's death and orphaning the girls since Garrett killed Stevie under the influence of Rios' drugs. Artie uses $25,000 of the take for a down payment on the house. He gives the rest to Father Wills, who runs a local makeshift shelter, and admits to Rita how he got the money for their house. Beniamino's girlfriend Grace De Feliz is actually an undercover narcotics agent who suspects Artie, but his superior, Lieutenant Danny Quinn, defends Artie as one of his best officers and no action is taken against him. One of Beniamino's customers, who gave Artie a tip as to the location where Beniamino kept his money, breaks down under his questioning and gives Artie to the drug lord. Beniamino kidnaps Artie and tortures him to find out what he did with the money. Knowing that Artie will not reveal the information, and is about to be killed, Grace blows her cover and saves him. Together they are forced to kill Beniamino and his colleagues. Artie writes a confession to Lt. Quinn, preparing to turn himself in for his crime. However, Father Wills turns in most of the money Artie gave him; he used only $200 of it to pay for a museum trip with the shelter's children, and all of Artie's co-workers make up the rest of the stolen money. Grace refuses to testify against him after learning that Artie's actions were not motivated by greed but as a father, so the federal government walks away from the case to avoid compromising its field agents. Quinn understands Artie's motives, is short-staffed for good detectives, and out of loyalty to Artie's slain partner, whose kids will be fatherless again if Artie goes to prison, tells Artie that no charges will be filed against him. Quinn tears up the confession letter and sends Artie home to be with his wife and adoptive children. Relieved from the ordeal, Artie happily calls Rita to tell her that he is coming home early, and that their family is still together.

Cast

* Michael Keaton as Detective Artie Lewis *

as Rita Lewis *

as Detective Stevie Diroma * Benjamin Bratt as Detective Felix *

Rachel Ticotin Rachel Ticotin Strauss is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Fort Apache, The Bronx''; '' Total Recall'', '' Falling Down'', and ''Con Air''. She has appeared in the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: LA'' ...

as Detective Grace * Kevin Conway as Lieutenant Danny Quinn *

Tony Plana José Antonio Plana (born April 19, 1952) is a Cuban actor and director. He is known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC television show ''Ugly Betty'' and for voicing Manuel "Manny" Calavera in the video game ''Grim ...

as Beniamino Rios * Charlayne Woodard as Cheryl Clark *

Kevin Corrigan Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...

as Clifford * Vondie Curtis-Hall as Father Wills * Grace Johnston as Marian Diroma * Rhea Silver-Smith as Barbara Diroma * Blair Swanson as Carol Diroma * Victor Rivers as Oreste * Lisa Arrindell as Raisa *

Rick Aiello Rick Aiello (September 21, 1955 – July 26, 2021) was an American film and television actor. He played Officer Long in Spike Lee films ''Do the Right Thing'' and '' Jungle Fever''. Life and career Aiello was born on September 21, 1955. He w ...

as Detective Knudson * Mike Hagery as Detective Walsh *

J.E. Freeman James E. Freeman (February 2, 1946 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor and poet. He was often cast in menacing roles, such as the evil mobster Marcello Santos in David Lynch's '' Wild at Heart'' (1990), the terrifying henchman Eddie " ...

as Captain Schreiber *

Thomas A. Carlin Thomas A. Carlin (December 10, 1928 – May 6, 1991) was an American stage, television and film actor during the mid twentieth century. Carlin was married to the film and television actress Frances Sternhagen and had six children. Life and caree ...

as Farrell * David Barry Gray as Mickey Garrett *

Brigitte Bako Brigitte Bako (born May 15, 1967) is a Canadian actress known for her role on ''Red Shoe Diaries''. She also wrote, produced and starred in the adult comedy ''G-Spot''. Life and career Bako was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Jewish parent ...

as Mrs. Garrett * Tommy Kramer as Henry Garrett * Danny Kramer as Arthur Garrett * Penny Santon as Mrs. Cristofaro * Doug Barron as Dr. Gelb * Vivien Straus as Mrs. Frazier * Alicia Brandt as Robin * Andre Benita as Martha * Kristina Loggia as Irene * George Cheung as Waiter * Frank Ferrara as Burly Prisoner * Ralph Nieves as Beniamino Scout * Joey Banks as Beniamino Associate #1 * Justin De Rosa as Beniamino Associate #2 *

Thomas Rosales Jr. Thomas Rosales Jr. (born February 3, 1948) is an American actor and stuntman who has appeared in more than 100 films. His first known appearance as a stuntman was in ''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' in 1973. Rosales' filmography includes ...

as Beniamino Associate #3 *

Tierre Turner Tierre Turner (born January 7, 1960) is an American actor and stuntperson who began his career as a child actor in the 1970s. His feature film debut was the horror film '' People Toys'' (1974), followed by the television drama film ''The Runaway ...

as First Hood * Robby Robinson as Second Hood * Henry Kingi Jr. as Third Hood

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews. Peter Rainer of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' said that "The realism of this film is a kind of fraud. We’re supposed to be seeing how the ultra-violence of police work clashes with the ordinariness of a cop’s domestic life. And yet the many drug-bust shoot-'em-ups that we witness seem like so much spicing in the melodrama. "

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' plaintively observed:

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the film a C−, dubbing it "a schizophrenic high-concept movie" with "an unconscionably cynical blend of violence and sentimentality." In his review for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'',

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

wrote, Ebert's main criticism of the film was towards its resolution, in which Michael Keaton's character does not lose his job or face criminal charges for his illegal actions:

Box office

The movie in its first week debuted at No.2, making only $3.3 million.

References

External links

* * * * {{Heywood Gould 1991 films 1991 crime drama films American crime drama films Films directed by Heywood Gould Hollywood Pictures films Films about adoption Films produced by Laurence Mark Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about the New York City Police Department American films about revenge American heist films Films scored by David Foster Films scored by William Ross Films set in New York City 1991 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films