''Shakedown'' (also known in international markets as ''Blue Jean Cop'') is a 1988 American

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

thriller

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

film written and directed by

James Glickenhaus James Glickenhaus (born July 24, 1950) is an American filmmaker, financier, and automotive entrepreneur. He directed, wrote, and produced a number of action films during the 1980s and 1990s, including ''The Exterminator'' (1980), ''The Soldier (19 ...

, starring

Peter Weller Peter Francis Weller (born June 24, 1947) is an American actor and television director. He has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including ''RoboCop'' (1987) and its sequel ''RoboCop 2'' (1990), in which he played RoboCop ( ...

and

Sam Elliott Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades of film and television, he is recognized for his deep sonorous voice. Elliott has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors ...

. The plot concerns an idealistic

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

who teams with a veteran cop to find out the truth in a possible police corruption scandal.

Plot

Roland Dalton is a burned-out, mild-mannered Manhattan

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

, and his last case before leaving

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

is crack

dealer Dealer may refer to: Film and TV * ''Dealers'' (film), a 1989 British film * ''Dealers'' (TV series), a reality television series where five art and antique dealers bid on items * ''The Dealer'' (film), filmed in 2008 and released in 2010 * ...

Michael Jones, accused of shooting to death police officer Patrick O'Leary in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. According to Jones, the shooting was in self-defense and Officer O'Leary was a "''Blue Jean Cop''" (an opportunistic police officer who robs drug dealers). Being a creature of habit, Dalton seeks the truth to his mysterious case and looks to Richie Marks, a renegade loner NYPD narcotics detective. Dalton realizes the prosecutor in his last case is a former love interest, the smart and sexy Susan Cantrell. Throughout the trial, Roland rekindles this former affair with Susan unbeknownst to his fiancée Gail. Roland and Marks eventually learn that O'Leary was working with a large number of dirty cops, and purchased designer blue jeans and an expensive car. The dirty cops were working with drug lord Nicky Carr. Roland at one point breaks into the police station's evidence locker to locate the cassette tape that Jones had in a boom box radio at the time of his shooting. The tape recorded the entire incident, and when Roland attempts to get the tape, he is taken hostage by Detective Rydel and other dirty cops. Rydel goes to create a distraction so the others can kill Roland, but Marks bursts in and kills the cops. Although Roland makes it to court with the assistance of an insane cab driver, the judge refuses to allow the tape into evidence. After making an impassioned closing statement, the jury acquits Jones of the shooting. Marks then shows up in a Porsche purchased by O'Leary and they rush to

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

to hunt down Carr and Rydel, who are fleeing the country. Richie jumps onto their plane's landing gear and after shooting out an engine and tossing a hand grenade into the landing gear compartment, he jumps into the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

before the plane explodes. Roland stays working as a public defender. He has broken up with Gail and is once again dating Susan.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

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

at the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' commended Glickenhaus for showing a "tremendous amount of craftsmanship and skill" when sacrificing story to direct his action scenes and gave praise to both Weller and Elliott for being "strong, unsubtle but convincing" in their respective roles, saying "It's an assembly of sensational moments, strung together by a plot that provides the excuses for amazing stunts, and not much else."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' called the film "a rollicking, thrilling and funny police picture", praising Glickenhaus' direction for containing a "mixture of reality and way-out thrills" in the action sequences, saying that "''Shakedown'' moves with intelligence, speed and joy in everything from writing to stunt work. A picture this much fun can keep a movie lover happy for a week." Kevin Thomas from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' felt that Elliott lacked equal screen time alongside Weller for his character to remain in the viewer's mind, but he also praised Glickenhaus for keeping the film "terse, fast-moving and atmospheric" throughout the plot and into the action set pieces, calling it "mindlessly enjoyable escapist fare".

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''Shakedown'' grossed $10.1million at the box office.

References

External links

* * * {{James Glickenhaus 1988 films 1988 action thriller films 1980s American films 1980s buddy cop films 1980s crime action films 1980s English-language films 1980s mystery films American action thriller films American buddy cop films American crime action films American crime thriller films American mystery films Films about police corruption Films about police misconduct Films directed by James Glickenhaus Films scored by Jonathan Elias Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Universal Pictures films English-language crime action films English-language mystery films English-language thriller films English-language buddy comedy films