Simply Perfect

Overrated

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

San Diego Police detective Michael Dooley (Jim Belushi) is sure that he's getting close when a helicopter gunman blows up his car. His girlfriend Tracy has had enough. He is told that it's drug lord Ken Lyman (Kevin Tighe). He gets a police dog as his partner. Sgt. Brannigan (Ed O'Neill) gives him Jerry Lee, a smart independent dog.There isn't much to this buddy cop movie. Belushi plays the traditional wild and irreverent cop. Jerry Lee is his smarter, doggier partner. It's not quite as stupid and jokey as expected but it does lean on the broad cop movie tropes. It's too simple to make fun of Belushi. He develops a nice love-hate relationship with the dog. There simply aren't any great laughs. It's tough when jokes fall flat.

Back in the day, Belushi was the man! Taking Care of Business, Mr. Destiny, The Principal, K-9, these were some of his best movies, in my opinion anyway. Belushi plays a fly by the seat of his pants cop who does not like working with a partner. Until he meets Jerry Lee, a veteran police dog who has seen it all and is even more volatile than his soon to be partner. Belushi is obsessed with trying to catch a drug lord that has eluded him for years. With the help of Jerry Lee, perhaps this time the bad guys will go down. The dynamic of the 2 heroes is perfect and makes a person want to go out and get a German Shepard, or any dog for that matter. This was one of those films that I absolutely loved as a kid, and could watch it over and over, because who wouldn't like a film where a dog can say 'oh oh'? Take the element of the dog away, and you pretty much have a dog of a story though. It's basically the buddy cop movie with a twist, and thanks to Belushi being quite likable, the film manages to be funny whenever the dog is off screen. Support is okay, but it looks like they are just letting the two get on with it.Jim Belushi gives a career best performance as a funny,cool and take no messing cop who doesn't like to play by the usual rules of a police officer and he don't care if he breaks any rules,though he is no nonsense he is a bit of loser who has often lost the love of Tracy and doesn't get much better with the arrival of Jerry Lee even if the dog makes him a better more caring person as the story goes on, Belushi is just marvelous and doesn't get enough credit and seems to be forgotten in the decade of heroes like The Terminator, John McClane, Batman, Indiana Jones, Marty McFly and Peter Venkman (who for me is similar in style to Dooley and Bill Murray would of been excellent too as Dooley), check out "Red Heat" opposite Arnie for a same sort of character for Belushi.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Yes, policeman with police dog partners are not a rarity in movie entertainment, but this movie stands out. Unfortunately by that I don't mean in a good way.The policeman played by Belushi is an utterly nasty and unlikable character. While he may have been involuntarily partnered with the dog, it hardly justifies his abusive behavior towards him. There is nary a laugh in the whole movie, and the dog clearly moves faster than a real dog possibly could.The movie poster ironically shows the dog with its paw on Belushi's shoulder, giving the impression that the movie was going to be much nicer than it was. It should have shown the dog tearing out Belushi's throat.

Narcotics Cop Thomas Dooley(James Belushi) is an unusual off-beat person... who loves to work alone. One day, his boss (Cotther Smith) wants Dooley find an new partner. He decides to use an K-9 named Jerry Lee (Koton), who has the best nose for the drug-busting business. At first, Dooley and Jerry Lee don't get along until they share a few things in common. At the same time, Dooley does his best with his love life (Mel Harris) and trying to bust a prominent socialite (Kevin Tighe). Thomas and his new partner are in for a wild ride.Directed by Rod Daniel (Beethoven's 2nd, Like Father Like Son, Teen Wolf) made an enjoyable if silly cop between an relationship with a man and a dog. Belushi and especially Koton are good in the film. There's some hilarious moments, which this movie is aimed at kids but there's some violent scenes as well.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound. DVD features are basically like the original theatrical trailer and cast & filmmakers' bios. "K-9" was an surprise box office hit. But the relationship between a man and a dog came out months earlier in 1989, which it has some of the same premise titled "Turner & Hooch". But i feel that "K-9" is the better film than the other one. But that's up to the viewer to decide. There's some familiar faces in "K-9" in bit parts like Ed O'Neill, Alan Blumenfeld, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Dan Castellaneta (Best Known as the voice of Homer Simpson on "The Simpsons") and William Salder. "K-9" was so popular on video, there was two Direct to Video movies produced... starring James Belushi. "K-9" is a good cop comedy with some genuine laughs. Worth seeing. (****/*****).