Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 22, 1992 TAG: 9202220322
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SHOOT THIS SCRIPT - RIGHT NOW
MOM-IN-THE-AWKWARD-TITLE ALERT!In the tradition of "Throw Mama From the Train" and "Oh, Dad, Poor Dad, Mom's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad," comes "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot."
And this one doesn't even have the saving grace of black humor that helped those other two flawed movies with clunky titles.
No. This is one of those currently popular attempts to blend cute humor with violence. It's not as objectionable as "Kuffs," but it's not much smarter, either.
The hook is the big, tough cop with the mom who constantly brings him down to size. Sylvester Stallone plays Joey, a homicide cop. Estelle Getty plays Tutti, the mother who comes to visit. Tutti revels in all the little things that makes Joey's life miserable.
She shows his baby pictures to anyone who will listen. She talks about his bed-wetting days. She cleans his apartment at 3 a.m., stuffs a cholesterol-rich breakfast down his throat and washes his gun. She even interferes with his love life. The movie is particularly chuckle-headed in this department, considering the issue of sexual harassment in the work place.
Joey has been sleeping with his boss, no career-enhancing role for JoBeth Williams. She sees nothing inappropriate in smooching him passionately in front of subordinates or slugging him in the jaw when he makes her mad. It is highly doubtful that these actions would fly if the roles were reversed.
Before Joey can put mom on the next plane East, she witnesses a murder, and Joey's stuck with her for several more weeks. During that period, he comes to admire the way she drives in high-speed chases and shoots bad guys with over-sized weaponry.
Director Roger Spottiswoode is indeed a curiosity. He made the fine political thriller "Under Fire" but then graduated downward to "Turner and Hooch" and this outing, which it resembles.
Stallone is OK as a comic lead. He brings the proper amount of exasperation and mortification to his character. And Getty is perky as the mighty minimom. But the script by committee is a relentless underachiever, the soundtrack is annoyingly peppy. and the overall look kind of cinematic polyester.
"Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot": * A Universal picture a Salem Valley 8 (389-0444) and Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219). Rated PG-13 for violence and language; 90 minutes.