The modern police officer can be an inviting target for parody, from the inexplicably long-running “Police Academy” films to the cult flick “Super Troopers.”
Underscoring incompetence in those who would protect us yields a wealth of material. That’s why “Reno 911!” takes specific aim at Fox’s “Cops” by imitating its shaky camera work, improvised dialogue and reliably trashy subjects.
Since its 2003 launch, the Comedy Central show has enjoyed inspired moments but failed to become the consistent product it wants to be. That’s likely why the film version (set in Miami) received middling reviews upon its release last week.
“Reno 911!” just doesn’t deliver, even in a greatest-hits package. The show’s “Most Wanted: Uncensored” DVD, which hits shelves today, collects some of the more popular episodes from the past three seasons, including “Scavenger Hunt,” “Reading Ron” and “Officer Smiley.” Watching them back-to-back betrays the show’s weaknesses.
The ensemble cast is undeniably talented. Improvising the dialogue cuts them slack when the bits fall short. But the characters seem shallow and ill-defined. The short-shorts clad Lt. Jim Dangle, played without a smirk by Thomas Lennon, is supposedly a flamboyantly gay man. Lennon usually plays him too broadly, coming off like a peculiar but affable guy with random clothing preferences.
The neurotic Deputy Trudy Wiegel (Kerry Kenney-Silver) is the sharpest overall, but even she waffles – as in “Homeland Security (Part 2),” where she receives a hose-down to simulate decontamination from a chemical attack. Kenney-Silver acts alternately dumb and enraptured, taking her character out of focus when it needs it most.
Guest stars usually provide the meat of each episode, as when former “Daily Show” correspondent Brian Unger plays a barely hinged children’s show host in “Reading Ron,” or Paul Reubens drops in as the creepy “Rick from Citizen’s Patrol.” Watching the cast’s crusty exteriors rub against these guests enlivens the performances, especially if the guest is of above-average comedic talent.
Because we’ve seen it all before, the show succeeds when it rises above the level of “average” shocking incidents. Since watching the real “Cops” can be an outrageous experience, “Reno 911!” needs to go further for laughs. Mining jokes from race (Ku Klux Klan members running a lemonade stand), religion (hypocritical televangelists) and nationality (a British inspector acting improperly) is just too easy.
But showing a children’s show host freaking out on heroin, or a deputy accidentally dropping a cat into an industrial fan, makes us sit up and take notice. Of course, subtlety works too. A SARS scare sequesters three characters in a house, where they turn into wrecks with amusing speed.
What’s most frustrating about the show is its untapped potential. It isn’t bad and it isn’t great – it’s just there.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
