Film

Rent-a-Cop

Name: Rent-a-Cop
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Action
Released: 1987
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, James Remar, Richard Masur, Dionne Warwick

Crime

A scrappy 1987 action-comedy that pairs a disgraced cop with a sex worker to catch a killer. Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli trade quips while moving through 80s mayhem with genuine chemistry. It's unpretentious fun that doesn't strain itself—sometimes sloppy, always watchable, built for audiences who love the era's particular brand of wisecracking sleaze.

TMDb rating

2.4

If you liked this

Beverly Hills Cop1984

Eddie Murphy and the film find the same tone Reynolds and Minnelli chase here: crime treated as an excuse for comedy and charisma. Fast, funny, and effortless in a way that makes you smile without thinking.

But It's been copied so many times the original feels safer and less surprising than it should. The Miami setting and buddy formula are everywhere now.

48 Hrs.1982

Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte actually dislike each other, which electrifies every scene. Serious crime plot, genuine jokes, and a chemistry that makes you believe they need each other despite everything pulling them apart.

But The tone shifts feel jarring if you're not ready for it—shifts from brutality to slapstick without warning. Some of it hasn't aged well.

Trading Places1983

Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd bouncing off each other with script that's both sharp and silly. The whole film has that same 80s confidence—it trusts you'll go wherever it wants without explaining the joke first.

But The class-commentary bits feel thin compared to the comedy. If you're looking for something with real teeth, this prioritizes charm.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rent-a-Cop

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Vice Squad1982

Both center on an unlikely partnership between law enforcement and a sex worker to fight crime. But where Rent-a-Cop treats it as a setup for charm and wisecracks, Vice Squad treats it as moral urgency.

A sex worker hunts her abusive pimp through L.A.'s neon night. It takes its subject seriously in a way Rent-a-Cop can't—gritty, angry, and built on real stakes. But it shares the same L.A. sleaze and the same core partnership between cop and sex worker navigating a criminal underworld.

But It's genuinely brutal and often bleak. This is exploitation with teeth, not comedy dressed up as one. Depending on your mood, that seriousness can be exhausting.

Stakeout1987

Emilio Estevez and Richard Dreyfuss as stakeout partners who banter their way through a surveillance job. Romantic, funny, not taking itself seriously—it knows exactly what kind of movie it wants to be and nails it.

But The romance subplot stops the crime plot dead. If you're here for the procedural, it will frustrate you repeatedly.

The Long Good Friday1980

Bob Hoskins as a London crime boss watching his empire crumble in a single night. It's sharper and darker than Rent-a-Cop, but has that same energy of characters scrambling through incomprehensible chaos.

But It takes itself seriously in ways that require patience. There are long stretches of dialogue where nothing explodes. The ending is deliberately bleak.

Coming to America1988

Eddie Murphy again, but this time playing against type with warmth. The film's loose, generous energy—everyone gets a laugh, the plot barely matters—echoes the easygoing spirit Reynolds and Minnelli bring here.

But It relies heavily on Murphy's charm and celebrity. Without that anchor, the episodic structure can feel like sketches rather than a story.

Action Jackson1988

Carl Weathers in an unapologetic action-comedy that leans into absurdity. The film knows it's ridiculous and never apologizes; it's exactly the spirit Rent-a-Cop shares—committed to fun over plausibility.

But The plot is thin and the action choreography is workmanlike. If you need craft in your spectacle, this will feel lazy.

Tango & Cash1989

Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell as mismatched cops who have to trust each other despite years of rivalry. It's colorful, loud, and built entirely around two actors sparring while explosions happen around them.

But The script is genuinely clumsy and the editing often works against the action. It swings at jokes it doesn't land, and that can be painful to watch.

Number One with a Bullet1987

Released the same year with similar DNA: a cop comedy where the plot takes a back seat to character and tone. If you found Rent-a-Cop endearing despite its rough edges, this has the same humble charm.

But It's genuinely rough around the edges. The budget shows, the editing is clumsy, and some of the jokes are puzzling rather than funny.

Liquid Sky1982

Both are low-budget films from the early-to-mid 80s built on the force of personality rather than resources. But where Rent-a-Cop uses that constraint to land jokes, Liquid Sky uses it to create genuine alienation and dread.

A New York punk girl's life explodes when an alien spacecraft lands on her tenement roof. It's 1982 sci-fi on a shoestring budget, anarchic and strange and utterly unconcerned with explaining itself. The register is completely different, but that same defiant energy—making something entertaining out of nothing but commitment and nerve—lives here too.

But It's visually harsh, thematically bleak, and structured in ways that won't feel like a movie you know. The sound design is abrasive. The ending offers no comfort.

Pickup on 1011972

Both films stake everything on the chemistry between two actors in unlikely pairing. But Rent-a-Cop chases laughs while Pickup on 101 chases something darker—the uncomfortable thrill of two people circling each other.

A truck driver picks up a hitchhiker; their conversation becomes a game of sexual and psychological cat-and-mouse. It's a two-hander that asks what happens when you're stuck with a stranger you can't quite trust. The chemistry between leads matters the way it does in Rent-a-Cop, but here the film uses it to generate real tension instead of laughs.

But It's austere and strange, shot mostly on highways. Nothing happens the way you'd expect. If you need plot momentum or resolution, this will feel stuck.