When translating a TV show into a movie I have found that there are 2 main roads you can take. The first is trying to create a faithful homage to the show that matches the tone and style of the original, even if some ideas are adapted to fit modern sensibilities. The second is to lampoon the original and make a comedy that pokes fun at all the flaws in it, while still showing some reverence for what made the show popular. Dragnet tries hard to be the latter, but has one fatal flaw...it's not funny. They are making an utter mockery of a decent TV police drama from the 1960s, but don't seem to know how to be funny. Half the time it feels like we're just supposed to laugh because Tom Hanks is there with his buffoonery to contrast with Dan Aykroyd's portrayal of Friday. Yet it doesn't seem like Hanks is doing anything all that humorous, he's just being a relatively normal guy for the late 80s.
There are moments where it feels like Dragnet is pushing the boundaries and might spill over into being a complete spoof, and that's when I was most hopeful that they had figured it out. I would have laughed much more if it were pure screwball nonsense that's happening around Aykroyd's completely straight performance (and someone got the idea to make that movie a year later and call it "The Naked Gun.") It feels like they're counting on the mystery in Dragnet to provide a solid story to work alongside the comedy, but even that didn't work. All the clues were obvious, and it was not a great mystery who was behind the evil plans. I remember seeing this movie decades ago and thinking it would be a treat since I was a fan of the TV series (thanks to Nick at Nite.) I'm sad to say my original disappointment with what I saw was warranted. Dragnet is a lame film that probably shouldn't have been made.
There are moments where it feels like Dragnet is pushing the boundaries and might spill over into being a complete spoof, and that's when I was most hopeful that they had figured it out. I would have laughed much more if it were pure screwball nonsense that's happening around Aykroyd's completely straight performance (and someone got the idea to make that movie a year later and call it "The Naked Gun.") It feels like they're counting on the mystery in Dragnet to provide a solid story to work alongside the comedy, but even that didn't work. All the clues were obvious, and it was not a great mystery who was behind the evil plans. I remember seeing this movie decades ago and thinking it would be a treat since I was a fan of the TV series (thanks to Nick at Nite.) I'm sad to say my original disappointment with what I saw was warranted. Dragnet is a lame film that probably shouldn't have been made.