| Cop and a Half | |
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Theatrical Release Poster |
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| Directed by | Henry Winkler |
| Produced by | Paul Maslansky |
| Written by | Arne Olsen |
| Starring | Burt Reynolds Norman D. Golden II Ray Sharkey Ruby Dee |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 2, 1993 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $40,689,691 |
Cop and a Half is a 1993 American family film directed by Henry Winkler, and starring Burt Reynolds and Norman D. Golden II. Cop and a Half was Ray Sharkey's final film before his life was taken by AIDS.
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Devon Butler (Golden) is an eight-year-old in Tampa who dreams of being a cop. He watches police TV shows, knows police procedures and plays cops and burglars 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 refuses to give it unless they make Devon a cop. The police then team him with veteran cop (and child hater) Nick McKenna (Reynolds), and the two team up in a comic series of events to find the killer. The two eventually come to a mutual understanding in order to bring the killer to justice.
Joey Lawrence's "Nothing My Love Can't Fix for You" is used as the end title song.
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. It currently holds a 17% "Rotten" rating at the movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, where only two reviews out of the twelve polled are positive.[2][3]
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 singling 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.[4] However, Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review, giving it a thumbs up. He also gave it a 3 stars and 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."
Reynolds won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor for his performance, while Golden was nominated for Worst New Star.
The movie debuted at No.1.[5] In its second week it dropped to number 3.[6]
Norman D. Golden II was nominated for a Young Artist Awards in 1992–1993 for Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture.[7]