Off Beat (1986)

Directed by Michael Dinner; produced by Harry J Ufland

Joe Gower (Judge Reinhold) works at the New York Pubic Library finding patrons’ requests in the rare book stacks in the basement. When he inadvertently ruins an undercover operation for his policeman friend, Abe (Cleavant Derricks), the latter is ‘volunteered’ by his superiors to participate in a police charity dance event. In turn, Abe ‘volunteers’ Joe to impersonate him temporarily - to make up for Joe’s faux pas. All he has to do is fail the audition and both will be off the hook. But, needled by the attitude of an abrasive fellow participant (Joe Mantegna), and interested in a pretty policewoman, Rachel (Meg Tilly), Joe stays - pretending to be Abe, pretending to be a cop and pretending that he's not in over his head.

A slight comedy, Off Beat benefits from the likeability of Reinhold, and the support of a large number of recognizable faces, some belonging to actors at the beginnings of their careers. There are no laugh-out-loud moments, though a number of amusing situations crop up. The romance aspect of the movie is likewise lukewarm, though it helps that Reinhold and Tilly make a good couple.

The problem with the writing is that it doesn’t make as much of either the comedy or the romance as it could. The main crisis for the latter is, of course, Joe’s pretence of being a policeman: Rachel doesn’t want to fall in love with a cop, but since what he seems to be is a lie, Joe faces a dilemma. This is handled well, but the attraction between the two leads is too pat, too routine, and we don’t see them falling in love; they simply are suddenly at that stage. As well, the comedic situation, while funny, has the potential for much greater humour than it uses.

In other regards, the story calls upon the audience to suspend its disbelief rather strongly. There would be little success in real-life for a Joe Gower to impersonate a cop, wearing a uniform in public and mixing socially with other cops. These problems are used in the script, but, again, the viewer must be willing to treat the situations with a considerable block of salt.

As well, one wonders why, if failing the audition is all that is required for Abe to get out of his assignment to the dance production, why he doesn’t just show up himself and fail. Mantegna’s character is far too volatile - even abusive - for a hostage negotiator, even if he did cheat during his training. And really, one doesn’t expect the character to want to be a hostage negotiator.

On the subject of acting, Mantegna gives a creditable try at comedy, though he’s not really cut out for it. He seems still to be searching for his niche, which he would find the next year when he connected with David Mamet for House of Games. Other actors, familiar from the past and present, include John Turturro (also not quite comfortable here), John Kapelos, William Sadler, James Tolkan (on target here, a year after his most recognizable role in Back to the Future), Anthony Zerbe, Chris Noth, Penn Jillette (the speaking half of Penn & Teller), Mike Starr, Fyvush Finkel, Austin Pendleton, Fred Gwynne and, of all people, Harvey Keitel. Unintentionally, Off Beat sometimes provides entertainment in its who’s who of noted names.

Over all, despite the occasional obscenity, Off Beat is a rather gentle comedy, with a few serious moments, such as when Joe talks about his family’s expectations for him, and his realization that he was not meant for firearms. Its premise, handled adequately but not excellently, is helped by good performances, but doesn’t quite fulfill its promise.