LAPD detective Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins discovers the brutal murder of a young woman, Julia Lynn Niemeyer. Hopkins notices a fantastic deal of feminist literature on her bookshelf. He also sees two classified ads for anonymous sexual encounters. When he returns home, his 8-year-old daughter wakes up and begs him for a story. He launches into a profane description of one of his cases, much to the girl's delight. His wife orders him to stop, and they argue. Frustrated, he calls up his buddy Dutch Peltz, and they go on a stakeout, which culminates in Hopkins shooting the suspect. Hopkins asks Dutch to stay at the scene and file the paperwork so that he can take the suspect's girlfriend, Sarah Smith, home and have sex with her.
Hopkins tracks down Joanie Pratt through the classified ads at the victim's apartment. Pratt is a washed-out actress who sells drugs and works as an escort to make ends meet. She also hosts swinger parties, and the victim planned on attending one to research a book. Back at the station, Hopkins opens a letter that was sent to the victim. The blood-stained poem, which alludes to "all the rest," leads Hopkins to suspect he is on the trail of a serial killer. He asks Dutch to get him all of the files for the unsolved murders of single women over the past 15 years. When he returns home, he finds a note from his wife explaining that she has taken their daughter and left. Pratt phones Hopkins, and he goes over to her place to have sex. After narrowing down the unsolved murders to a few cases, Hopkins summons Deputy Sheriff Delbert "Whitey" Haines to a meeting and brusquely interrogates him about two suicides that took place on June 10 a year apart on his beat. Hopkins goes to Haines' apartment and discovers a wiretap that has captured Haines dealing drugs.
In the process of canvassing feminist bookstores for leads, Hopkins visits one run by Kathleen McCarthy, who agrees to accompany him to a party at Dutch's house. During the evening, which culminates in a lengthy discussion at McCarthy's house, she discloses a high school incident in which a group of boys hostile to her feminist poetry club sexually assaulted her. She reveals to Hopkins that an anonymous suitor has sent her flowers and a poem every year. Hopkins is shocked to find a picture of Whitey and a male prostitute nicknamed Laurence Henderson "Birdman" in her old yearbook, whose name appears on the surveillance tapes made at Whitey's apartment.
When Birdman turns up dead in a motel room, the wall is smeared with blood, and the motto from McCarthy's high school is written in the stains. Hopkins returns to Whitey's apartment and surprises him as he comes home, carrying Birdman's police file. Whitey claims Birdman is his snitch, but Hopkins knows that Whitey was running drugs and male prostitutes through Birdman. Hopkins puts a gun to Whitey's head and coerces him into confessing to raping McCarthy during their high school years. To get off the hook, Whitey offers information on police corruption. Then, he tries to surprise Hopkins with a shotgun, but Hopkins kills him.
Dutch instructs Hopkins to remain silent as he attempts to tidy up the mess he has caused. Pratt extends an invitation to Hopkins for sex, but upon his arrival, he discovers her murdered and her body lying on the stove, where she had last engaged in sexual relations with him. At the station, Hopkins and Dutch persuade McCarthy to examine the yearbook to cross-reference suspects. Their superior interrupts them and suspends Hopkins. When Hopkins returns to the interrogation room, he sees that McCarthy has run to a phone booth across the street. She calls Bobby Franco, who was in the poetry club with her, and warns him that Hopkins is dangerous and will suspect that he is the killer. She realizes that Franco has sent her poems every year, and she refuses to believe that he could be a murderer. When Hopkins grabs the phone, she hears Franco threaten him and realizes that he is, in fact, the killer. Franco and Hopkins agree to meet at the high school, where they have a shootout in the gym. When Franco runs out of bullets, he taunts Hopkins, believing that he has to lawfully arrest him. Hopkins tells Franco: "The good news is you're right; I'm a cop, and I got to take you in. The bad news is, I've been suspended, and I don't give a fuck," and quickly shoots Franco three times.
Filming began on March 9, 1987 in Los Angeles under the working title Blood on the Moon.[1]
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10.[4]
Linda Rasmussen of AllMovie gave the film three out of five stars and described the film as a "grim, brutally violent, darkly humorous modern-day film noir," whilst noting the film's "violent and exciting conclusion". Rasmussen also noted "Cop is completely absorbing because of Woods' chillingly effective performance. Few actors can make an amoral, clever, sardonic, and vicious character as appealing as Woods. As Hopkins, Woods combines complex contradictions with ease, showing the various sides of his character's personality. Cop, while singularly unpleasant is always insightful and fascinating."[5]
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, writing "Anyone without a history of watching James Woods in the movies might easily misread Cop. They might think this is simply a violent, sick, contrived exploitation picture, and that would certainly be an accurate description of its surfaces. But Woods operates in this movie almost as if he were writing his own footnotes. He uses his personality, his voice and his quirky sense of humor to undermine the material and comment on it, until Cop becomes an essay on this whole genre of movie. And then, with the movie's startling last shot, Woods slams shut the book. It's as if Woods and Harris watched a Dirty Harry movie one night and decided to see what would happen if Harry were really dirty."[6]
Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel gave the film three out of five stars, under the conclusive headline "Cop is Dirty Harry with a human touch."[7]
Author James Ellroy was not a fan of the adaptation of his novel; placing it in the "Films to Flee" part of his website.[8]
Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, did not care for the movie, giving an overall mixed review, noting that "the plot leaves a lot to be desired, especially since it devotes no more than 30 seconds' thought to the killer's motive or his history," and that aspects were not believable, including some of the police work, all the scenes of Woods with his family, and those of Charles Durning professing feminist views. She felt the directing was "workmanlike and somewhat flat." She did praise Lesley Ann Warren for being "charming in an idiotic role," and James Woods for being "far and away the best thing" in the movie.[9]
Rob Salem for the Toronto Star reviewed the film upon its release, stating "The best thing that can be said of Cop is that it reunites three veteran screen cops - Woods, Charles Durning and Charles Haid, who previously served together (under happier circumstances) in The Choirboys over a decade ago. Of course, the performances aren't the problem here. No one could make sense of the movie's confused message - if in fact there is a message here to make sense of."[10]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave a favorable review and described the film as a "crackling good mystery-thriller, powered by the live-wire presence of James Woods in the title role."[11]Los Angeles Times gave the film a favorable review too and stated "Cop represents a career-high for James B. Harris, best known as Stanley Kubrick's early producer, who's directed infrequently but always provocatively over the years - if not always with success. Contributing to "Cop's" crisp, understated style is a standout supporting cast headed by Charles Durning, Michel Colombier's ominous, plaintive score and Gene Rudolf's carefully detailed realistic production design. "Cop" stirs up such a strong visceral appeal one can only hope that audiences will think about it after the lights go up."[12]
USA Today gave the film a mixed review and stated "Despite lapses into predictability, Cop boasts brisk pacing and intriguing performances by Woods - is he getting more handsome? - and Lesley Ann Warren, who deserves better than the bizarro she plays here."[13]Newsday (Long Island) also gave the film a favorable review.
The film was broadcast on February 10, 1989, on American TV and The Madison Courier gave the film a two out of four star rating in their film listings.[14] The film was also broadcast on February 21, 1992, on American TV and the Ludington Daily News gave the film a two out of four-star rating in their listings.[15]
