A 1986 American comedy directed by Mark L Lester that has two men (John Candy and Eugene Levy) getting jobs as security guards and finding out they work for a corrupt company.
The movie also stars Robert Loggia, Kenneth McMillan, Meg Ryan, Brion James, Jonathan Banks, Don Stroud, Larry Hankin, and Steve Railsback.
It was released August 15, 1986.
Tropes for the film:
- Berate and Switch: After the day is saved, Dooley's former Captain tells him that he's a disgrace to his or any other uniform... so they'll have to make him a plainclothes officer when they bring him back on with the police department.
- Car Fu: Armored trucks are pursued by cars containing mooks of the Big Bad with the intent of robbing them and considering that the armored trucks are specifically built to prevent this, plenty of car-smashing and fender-bending action play into the second half, in addition to a cab-over semi smashing through an entire traffic jam of cars!
- Carpet of Virility: The upper half of Norman Kane's sex shop disguise consists of a leather hat, sunglasses, and only a leather vest to cover up his upper torso which shows off quite the rug on Eugene Levy's chest.
- Cat Up a Tree: Frank Dooley is reluctant to indulge in this trope; only to relent when the little girl starts crying. He gets stuck up there too and has to be rescued by the fire department (with the media watching).Frank: Hurry up! this cat's getting nervous! [cat purring contently in his arms].
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Towards the end of the film, there's our villains in two ordinary passenger cars trying to stop two giant armored bulletproof trucks. Needless to say, the trucks receive light cosmetic damage, while the Chevy sedan containing the Big Bad is bashed out of the way like it wasn't even there and the Cadillac, which also had Dooley shooting it with his Hand Cannon, is completely totaled beyond any hope of repair after a rollover.
- Dirty Cop: Dooley encounters two of his fellow officers robbing a store and stealing TVs. They shove one into his arms at gunpoint, which is when a whole squad of LAPD officers respond to the robbery. Dooley is framed for the robbery and is fired from the force as a result.
- Expy: The large cross-dresser seen at the sex shop Dooley and Kane hide out in, and whom's clothes and make-up Dooley later uses as a disguise, wears a very large extravegant red dress with a just-as-extravegant hairpiece, white face make-up, eyeliner and black high heels, very closely resembles Divine and another patron of the sex shop actually calls him "Dee".
- Fan Disservice / Mr Fan Service: Eugene Levy in a chest rug-revealing leather vest and assless chaps falls on either of these, depending on your preference and which way you swing.
- Flashed-Badge Hijack: Played for Laughs when Frank resorts to this when his motorcycle won't start. He tries several times but no one will budge, partially because he's only a security guard and not a cop. Finally, a truck driver lets him in and is more than happy to help.
- Hand Cannon: Frank brings a rather large handgun with him to prevent the final heist. He claims it's fifty caliber and used for hunting moose in Canada... up close. He later gives it to The Cowboy in return for helping him out.
- Idiot Ball: In desperation, Carlino orders his men to cut off the truck they think has all the money in it so they, in an ordinary passenger car, attempt to stop a humongous armored truck going at full tilt with predictable results.
- Ironic Nickname: Cowboy, the energetic trucker who happily volunteers to get Dooley to the rendezvous point, repeatedly calls him "Slim", despite the fact that Dooley is played by John Candy. He's not even being mean or unfriendly about it, either.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Captain O'Connell fines Dooley and Norman $100 for their massive screw-up during the warehouse robbery and later when asked by his daughter if he's up to no good, nastily tells her to mind her own goddamn business, but expresses intense displeasure when finding out that Carlino has been getting rather handsy with her and when he discovers that all of the pension money for the guards is what will be stolen, he objects, only for Carlino to threaten him and his daughter lives. He still allows them to do it, but the second he finds out his daughter took over driving the armored truck which be hit, he immediately turns around and gets in another truck, driving by Carlino and his men as a decoy.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The two Dirty Cops who got Dooley fired later turn up at the night club and begin trying to steal the two very attractive women that Dooley had already picked up. Dooley quickly gets fed up with them and kicks their asses.
- Made of Explodium: Justified with the tanker truck, as it was carrying rocket fuel and had a bazooka fired at it. Played straight with the ice cream van containing the mook with said rocket launcher, which goes boom the second the flames touch it, and the '76 Corvette which explodes instantly upon crashing into the burning trailer.
- Mistaken for Gay: Intentional; after the police corner them in a sex shop, Dooley and Kane borrow outfits from a Divine-esque crossdresser and a leather-clad gay man. They are spotted by the main officer after them, but their diguises work and after some fake flirting with the men, they depart.
- My Car Hates Me: Dooley has a hell of a time getting his old Harley-Davidson police bike started, having to run it down the road before it can start. On his way to the ambush point, the engine blows and he's forced to abandon it and continue on foot.
- Scary Black Man: Bruno is easily 6'0" of muscle and his eyes give him a very deranged look (he was played by Tiny Lister, who had a knack for this type of role).
- Sequel Hook: Dooley's former police captain congratulates his work in stopping the mobsters controlling the security guard union by welcoming him back to the force with a promotion to plainclothes detective. Kane is also offered a job in the police department by the captain, and tries to decline, but Dooley answers for him that he'll be a "great cop" and will be happy to take the job, and they argue about it as the credits start to roll. Unfortunately no sequel came to fruition.
- Suspect Is Hatless: Dooley and Kane are reamed out by their boss for failing to give an adequate description of two armed and masked robbers who Dooley traded gunfire with ("Oh yeah, I think it was the U.S. Olympic downhill team! I told you, they were wearing ski masks!"). Kane is even less helpful, but also raises a decent point in his defense:Kane: "well, the big guy was... Big. And the smaller guy, he was, uh..."
O'Connell: "Small? You're a regular Dick Tracy!".
Kane: Well, I'm sorry, sir; I was SCARED! When guys are chasing you with guns, you don't stop and ask them how much they weigh! - Tagline: "Undercover. Overdressed. And keeping you safe from the scum of the earth".
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Dooley beats them up in the nightclub, the two dirty cops who got him fired never show up again in the film.
- Bruno is set up to be one of the secondary antagonists, being the one who sends the guards off to lunch so the warehouse can be robbed while they're away, but after Kane and Dooley flee the gym he was at after doing a Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique, he disappears from the movie and is never seen or mentioned again (it turned out he was Just Following Orders when he sent them on break and wasn't in on the bad guys' plans).
