“Tango & Cash” – The GOOD Bad Cop Movie
There are good cop movies (like “Lethal Weapon 2″).
There are bad cop movies (like “Cobra”).
And then there are GOOD bad cop movies, like “Tango & Cash” (1989).
The distinction is often a fine one. What sets “Tango & Cash” apart is that it is so obviously self-aware, comedic, and spoof-like. This movie has a sense of humor, and does not for one moment take itself too seriously (like the dreadful “Cobra”).
“Tango and Cash” lives and dies by two things: the jokes and the casting. It succeeds on both counts, making this bad cop movie into a good one– although barely.
First, the casting:
Kurt Russel plays Gabe Cash, the crazy loose cannon. Sylvester Stallone plays against type, as the refined playboy cop Ray Tango. They are so named, no doubt because it makes a good movie title. Their nemesis, the incomparable Jack Palance, hams it to the hilt as crime boss Yves Perret. This was the same year Palance appeared in “Batman,” and was memorably murdered by The Joker. A good year, for an aging star.
Add Teri Hatcher to the mix as Kiki, and you’ve got a pretty good cast for 1989. But that’s not all! Film buffs will enjoy the steady stream of character actors whose faces you remember but names you don’t. To mention a few, there’s James Hong, the go-to-guy for Asian villains who played Lo Pan in “Big Trouble In Little China” and the maitre de in The Chinese Restaurant Episode of “Seinfeld.” There’s also Michael Jeter (who delivers the Margaret Mead speech in “Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas”) and Clint Howard (a frequent collaborator with brother Ron).
Second, the jokes:
Some are clever, others are corny, but the jokes are as integral to the success of “Tango & Cash” as the casting is. From the very first scene, this movie is out to make you laugh.
Here’s a one liner:
[Tango has just stuck a grenade down a bad guy's pants.]
RAY TANGO: My contribution to birth control.
And a typical exchange:
GABE CASH: You know it’s a free country, Tango.
RAY TANGO: Yeah.
GABE CASH: And people are free to do whatever they want.
RAY TANGO: So?
GABE CASH: Well, your sister is very, very free.
RAY TANGO: I’m going to kill you.
Notice the simple set up/punchline technique?
GABE CASH: This is the tape that’s gonna clear our names, courtesy of our friend Jumbo the Forgerer. What do you got?
RAY TANGO: I got a quarter of four.
That last one is straight out of vaudeville, and “Tango & Cash” essentially coasts by on the vaudevillian level all the way through the picture. The strategy is a simple one. Throw in plenty of stunts, jokes, and likable characters and maybe the audience will forget they’ve seen this all before. You can get the same dog and pony show just about anywhere, but this one has the right mix to win over the crowd.
Grade: C+
Does “Tango & Cash” exemplify the “GOOD bad movie”?
Post your thoughts.
I agree this is a good bad movie. I loved the back and forth dialogue between Stallone & Russell. The only thing that REALLY put this movie in the bad category was the goofy sci-fi stuff that came at the end.
Metal Misfit
May 18, 2008 at 5:18 am