CANNON MONTH: Number One with a Bullet (1987)

Ah, that most popular of all mismatched buddy cops, Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams.

Written by Rob Riley, Andrew Kurtzman (both writers from Saturday Night Live), Gail Morgan Hickman (Murphy’s Law and Death Wish 4: The Crackdown) and James Belushi — yes, the James Belushi — and directed by Jack Smight (No Way to Treat a LadyThe Illustrated ManDamnation Alley), this is the story of two cops, the borderline psychotic Nick “Berserk” Barzack (Carradine) and smooth jazz playing ladies’ man Frank Hazeltine (Williams).

Not many buddy cop movies have the cops dealing with one of their relationships with their mother and ex-wife, who are played by Doris Roberts and Valerie Bertinelli. And in case you’re wondering why Belushi wasn’t in this, it turns out that his schedule was too busy, so they called in Carradine.

Hey! Peters Graves is in this! And John Gries! Man, John Gries, you’re in so much stuff that no one gives you credit for, making movies like Real Genius better as Lazlo, Joysticks as King Vidiot, O.D. in TerrorVision, you steal the show as Louie in Fright Night 2, you’re great as the wolfman in Monster Squad and yeah, everyone knows you were in Napoleon Dynamite but those roles, man — you’ve done so much with them.

And yes, if you have mud wrestling or any wrestling in your movie made in the 70s or 80s, Gene LeBell must legally be in it.

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