
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 16, 1994                   TAG: 9404160034
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SHOOT `COPS AND ROBBERSONS' - AND PUT IT OUT OF ITS MISERY

Something went terribly wrong during the creation of "Cops and Robbersons."

Perhaps it was a simple clerical error at the studio, or perhaps some wag was playing a practical joke. But it's obvious from the contrived premise to the labored conclusion that this was never meant to be a feature film. "Cops and Robbersons" is a summer replacement TV series that has been misplaced in theaters.

Everything about the movie reeks of the tube. The characters are TV stereotypes. The action is set in sitcom suburbia. All that's missing is the laughtrack, and theater audiences certainly aren't going to provide it.

Norman Robberson (Chevy Chase) is the familiar ineffectual TV dad. While his wife, Helen (Dianne Wiest), runs the household, his kids Cindy (Fay Masterton), Kevin (Jason James Richter) and Billy (Miko Hughes) pay no attention to him. Norman knows everything there is to know about old TV police shows; that's the beginning and end of his competence.

When a counterfeiter (Robert Davi) moves in next door, the cops decide to set up a stakeout in the Robberson split-level. Hard-bitten old Jake (Jack Palance) and his young partner Tony (David Barry Gray) have no trouble talking Norm into the scheme. But for no reason, he tries to sneak the cops into his house without telling the other family members.

That kind of senseless blunder is typical of Bernie Somers' half-baked script. It gets no help from director Michael Ritchie who seems to have handled this fluff with the casual treatment it deserves. Given the cast, the acting is about what you'd expect.

Ever since he did his one-armed push-ups at the Academy Awards show, Jack Palance has been playing a bizarre caricature of his tough-guy persona. He continues it here, growling, cursing and spending the whole film in a foul mood that viewers will readily identify with. Dianne Wiest does her best, too, providing a bit of believability and a few moments of real humor.

Their efforts aren't nearly enough. The film revolves around Chevy Chase who bumbles and fumbles his way through a series of poorly timed sight gags. But then the entire story is so simple-minded, even by TV standards, that it seems pointless and cruel to criticize it further.

After all, with his recent talk show cancelation, this has been a rough year for Chase. "Cops and Robbersons" isn't likely to make it any better.

Cops and Robbersons X (Bomb)

A TriStar release playing at the Valley View Mall 6. 95 min. Rated PG for a remarkable amount of rough language.

by CNB