Cop and a Half

Cop and a Half
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Henry Winkler
Produced by	Paul Maslansky
Written by	Arne Olsen
Starring	Burt Reynolds Norman D. Golden II Ray Sharkey Ruby Dee Holland Taylor Frank Sivero Marc Macaulay Tom McCleister Ralph Wilcox Rocky Giordani
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Edited by	Daniel P. Hanley Carroll Timothy O'Meara Roger Tweten
Production company	Imagine Films Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	April 2, 1993 (1993-04-02)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4 million
Box office	$41 million

Cop and a Half is a 1993 American criminal-comedy film directed by Henry Winkler, and stars Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II and Ray Sharkey in his final role. It was originally planned to be a sequel of the 1990 hit Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy, Kindergarten Cop.

Plot

Devon Butler (Golden) is an eight-year-old boy who lives in Tampa and dreams of being a cop. He watches police TV shows, knows police procedures and plays cops and robbers with his friend Ray. One day, while snooping around in a warehouse, he witnesses a murder. He goes to the police, who want the information, but he refuses to give it unless they make him a cop. They then team him with veteran cop (and child hater) Nick McKenna (Reynolds), and they team up in a comic series of events to find the killer. They eventually come to a mutual understanding in order to bring the killer to justice.

Cast

• Burt Reynolds as Det. Nick McKenna
• Norman D. Golden II as Devon Butler
• Ruby Dee as Rachel
• Holland Taylor as Captain Rubio
• Ray Sharkey as Vinnie Fountain
• Sammy Hernandez as Raymond Sanchez
• Frank Sivero as Chu
• Rocky Giordani as Quintero
• Marc Macaulay as Waldo
• Tom McCleister as Rudy
• Ralph Wilcox as Det. Matt McPhail
• Tom Kouchalakos as Det. Jenkins

Soundtrack

Joey Lawrence's "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix" is used as the end title song.

Reception

The film holds a 17% approval rating at the film review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, where two reviews out of the twelve polled are positive.

Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin wrote, "A hemorrhoid-and-a-half to whoever sits through this abjectly painful comedy, which does for Burt Reynolds' career what Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot did for Sylvester Stallone's." Critic Gene Siskel also excoriated the film, seeing it as indicative of "artistic bankruptcy" on Burt Reynolds' part, and singled out Norman D. Golden II's performance as "awkward". Siskel later called it the worst movie of 1993. Siskel speculated that NBC thought little of the film when they aired it in its broadcast-network debut, pointing out that they scheduled it opposite the 1997 Super Bowl. However, Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review, giving it a thumbs up. He also gave it 3 stars out of a possible 4, saying, "There isn't much that's original in Cop and a Half, but there's a lot that's entertaining, and there's a winning performance by a young man with a big name, Norman D. Golden II, who plays little Devon Butler, a kid who dreams of someday wearing the shield."

Box office

The film debuted at No.1. In its second week it dropped to number 3.

Awards

Awards	Category	Subject	Result
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards	Worst Picture		Nominated
	Worst Actor	Burt Reynolds	Nominated
	Worst Actor	Norman D. Golden II	Nominated
Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Actor	Burt Reynolds	Won
	Worst New Star	Norman D. Golden II	Nominated
Young Artist Award	Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture		Nominated

External links

• Cop and a Half at IMDb
• Cop and a Half at Box Office Mojo

• Copy and a Half at Rotten Tomatoes
• Gene Siskel. "The Joy of Watching 'The Joy Luck Club'" TV Guide; January 25, 1997; Page 18