Loose Cannons (1990)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Released by: Columbia TriStar
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Skip it

MacArthur Stern (Hackman) has long list of ex-partners in the Vice Squad. Needless to say, he has gotten the reputation of being, as the title of the movie suggests, a loose cannon. Enter Ellis Fielding (Aykroyd), who used to be with the police department before a hostage situation caused him to have...ummm...episodes. Whenever he is near or senses violence, he immediately has an attack of multiple personalities, usually people who you would recognize from movies and television. Well, it turns out that there is a certain piece of incriminating film that everyone is trying to get their hands on. It seems that the soon-to-be elected chancellor of Germany had some ties with Hitler and it was caught on tape. Not only that, but a porn king named Harry "The Hippo" Gutterman (DeLuise) has gotten hold of the tape, which has put his life in danger.

Okay, so can you guess the reason why this movie was made in the first place? That's right! It's all about Aykroyd acting foolish and Hackman playing his cynical straight man bit opposite him! There's really nothing more to say about this movie. I mean, they didn't even use Dom DeLuise correctly. Granted, he played the bumbling softy the way he always did, but it's just missing something. It's almost like DeLuise didn't take it seriously, either. And Nancy Travis is given a wired character to play with a very bizarre accent (which she tries, but misses the mark). And, unfortunately, once you have seen Aykroyd have one of his "episodes", you've seen the reason for the movie. So, twenty minutes into the movie, you can turn it off and forget the rest of it because it just doesn't matter anymore.

The only thing this DVD has going for it is that it presents the movie in widescreen format. Other than that, there are no bonus features on this disc whatsoever. Granted, it's not surprising that neither Aykroyd, Hackman or director Clark would want to come in and record a commentary track for the film. Nor is it surprising that they weren't available for interviews about their experience on working on this film. All perfectly understandable. It's just a shame that they couldn't find (or take the time to find) some "vintage" behind-the-scenes footage to include on this disc. I'd be surprised if it didn't exist.

You'd really have to be a hardcore Aykroyd or Hackman fan to want to own this one. The movie is not good enough, nor are the special features good enough (i.e. de nada), to warrant the purchase of this disc. I would say it's not even worth a rental.