Dragnet is a 1987 American buddy cop parody-slapstick comedy film directed and co-written by Tom Mankiewicz in his directorial debut. Starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, the film is based on the radio and television crime drama of the same name. The screenplay, both a parody of and homage to the long-running television series, was written by Aykroyd, Mankiewicz and Alan Zweibel. The original music score is by Ira Newborn.
Aykroyd plays Joe Friday, nephew of the original series protagonist played by Jack Webb, while Hanks plays Pep Streebek, his new partner. Harry Morgan reprises his role from the 1967–70 television revival and 1966 television film as Bill Gannon, the original Friday's partner, now a captain and Friday and Streebek's boss.
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Plot
LAPD Sergeant Joe Friday's nephew and namesake, whose anachronistic views reflect those of his deceased uncle, is involuntarily assigned a cocky, streetwise new partner, Pep Streebek, as Friday's previous longtime partner in the Robbery-Homicide Division, Frank Smith, recently quit the department without notice after their 12 years together to buy a goat farm in Ukiah. Their contrasting styles clash at first, with Friday criticizing Streebek's attitude, hairstyle and wardrobe. However, they start to bond while investigating a series of bizarre thefts. Among the stolen items is the entire print run of the 25th anniversary edition of Bait, a pornographic magazine published by Jerry Caesar that the Reverend Jonathan Whirley, the founder of MAMA (Moral Advance Movement of America), has been leading a moral crusade against.
