Dragnet (1987)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

When the uptight, by-the-books Detective Joe Friday (Dan Aykroyed) is forced to work with a new partner, Pep Streebek (Tom Hanks), a wildcard of a human, the new mystery in town proves to be more challenging than expected. Dragnet is a comedic take on the 1950’s cop drama of the same name. 

In July of 2026 Greg Vorob and I reviewed Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me on the Reel Reactions w/ Greg & Kyle podcast. Dragnet was meant to act as a palette cleanser, shifting our cinematic focus from something dark and harrowing to something much lighter and more easily accessible. In that sense Dragnet is absolutely a success—but the film isn’t without fault, and I’m here to tell you about it. 

When you promise a viewer something specific, you have only two options: follow through completely or successfully subvert expectations and present them with something more appealing than what was expected. 

At first glance Dragnet promises that Aykroyd will build on a pre-existing SNL character and continue with the same brand of comedy. However, while that certainly plays a role in the character’s arc throughout the course of this film, Writer-Director Tom Mankiewicz, along with Co-Writers Aykroyd and Alan Zweibel, does a spectacular job of providing the character of Friday depth. The character is well developed, on a steady trajectory from start to finish, and I’m wholly impressed by what this character has to offer. 

I mentioned that I had issues with some of the aspects of Dragnet, and I wasn’t lying. The way in which Friday is written, directed, and acted is brilliant—and that’s an example of how subverting expectations worked for this film. On the flipside, however, the structural integrity of the film is compromised relatively early on. The comedy that was expected is initially presented as promised, but the inability to achieve tonal balance fractures the film. Dragnet isn’t entirely sure what it wants to be. Does it want to be a full-fledged comedy? Does it want to be a true mystery? Does it want to be an examination of the human condition? Both interestingly and to its detriment, it wants to be all of the above. While there is a charming depth present in Dragnet, the team’s inability to fully commit to one thing compromises the entirety of the production. 

With the shift in tone, the comedy that worked at the top of the film suddenly falls to the wayside—and with it my overall interest in the film. Once I’m taken out of a film, it’s challenging to reel me back in, and I struggled to find my way back into the film after about halfway through the second act. Inconsistencies are a problem for the film from start to finish; and while that doesn’t bury the film, it makes it challenging for a viewer to remain engaged. 

If you choose to listen to the full review of Dragnet on Reel Reactions w/ Greg & Kyle you’ll certainly hear me say that my favorite aspect of the film was the chemistry between Hanks and Aykroyd. The two feed off of one another with incredible prowess; and their ability to deliver meaningful and hilarious one liners, that have stuck with me now for weeks, is beyond impressive. 

Dragnet is not a film that I need to watch again. It’s incredibly funny at times, but the narrative structure and pacing threw me for a loop and brought into question the validity of what I was watching. The film is far from a failure, and it ultimately does its job of cleansing the palette of Reel Reaction w/ Greg & Kyle. 

Directed by Tom Mankiewicz. 

Written by Dan Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel, & Tom Mankiewicz. 

Starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul, Jack O’Halloran, etc. 

7/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE 

Make sure to check out the full Reel Reactions w/ Greg & Kyle review featuring Ed Pogue, Greg Vorob, and yours truly by heading over to Spotify. And don’t forget to stay until the end to check out a follow up review of the Twin Peaks pilot episode.