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268 Points

Friday, January 28th, 2022 9:24 AM

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Please help finding the Movie: 80s/90s "badass" cop action movie, but the cop in question has a fashionable "pop singer" asthetic

Been looking for this late 80s/early 90s movie for a long time.

While not much to go on, the movie is described to the best of my recollection below:

The movie frames the lead actor as what’s supposed to be a wild card, grizzled “badass cop” type that “doesn’t play by the rules” and rides a motorcycle, but making this somewhat unrealistic was that he was young looking and distinctly dressed in a sort of leather clad, fashionable “pop singer” type getup, his hair styled in a messy, not-quite-flock-of-seagulls front middle bang, with dyed auburn highlights. Was kind of like a cross between Michael Biehn and Limahl (the "Neverending Story" theme song singer).

One scene I clearly remember:

The main character described above enters a diner he frequents, walks to a table in the back, and tells the customer sitting there to move somewhere else because it’s “his table”. The guy does the old “I don’t see YOUR name on it” bit, witch then prompts him to grab the guy by the collar and pull him under the table to see where, sure enough, there’s a small plaque affixed to the bottom showing he does indeed have his name on it.

It was played as a straight action/cop movie, not a comedy

Movies previously suggested by redditors but ruled out:

William Shatner’s Tek War

Harley Davison and the Marlboro Man

Stone Cold

Ace Ventura

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

Kung Fury

The punisher

Black rain

Dirty Harry

Cop (James Woods movie)

Double Trouble (Peter and David Paul “Barbarian Brothers” movie)

I've already tried r/tipofmytougue and other reddits several times, and  I've also looked through Michael Biehn's (Terminator and Aliens), Michel Paré's (the Eddy and the Cruisers guy), and Paul Le Mat's (John in American Grafitti) filmographies, thinking at various points it might have been one of these actors, looking up clips from movies made around the right era that seemed like they might be it, but didn't really get anywhere that way so far. Even looked up Lamahl just to see if he was in a weird miscased movie once at some point to make sure.

Any idea what this movie is?

Accepted Solution

12 Messages

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268 Points

8 months ago

Finally found it!! It’s PARKER KANE (1990) ( https://youtu.be/6SrJ8fn_vjY?si=oKgxL6QDBWPvb9Qg ). The diner scene comes in at about 5:41.  I got some details wrong, he’s actually a private detective and not a cop, and I don’t know where I got the auburn highlights from.  Must have conflated it with another movie.

49 Messages

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1.1K Points

3 years ago

I can almost see the image I'm thinking of. Futuristic Dystopian film. Movie poster has one guy on a bike, maybe a chopper, his "sitting" on the highway in a 3/4 turn pose with right leg on the ground for balance. He's in the foreground and the city scape is in the background. There's a guitar or stratocaster slung on his back. He looks like he might have been on Miami Vice regarding clothing style.   The only two movies I can come up with as possibilities are Escape from L.A. with Kurt Russell,  something called "The Riffs"  aka "1990: Bronx Warriors",  "Harley" (1991) Lou Diamond Phillips.  

Sorry, I seemed to have missed you were looking for a Miami Vice type motorcycle cop film. 

Good luck. 

88 Messages

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940 Points

3 years ago

A few guesses (probably longshots):

Charlie Sheen in Beyond the Law?

Excessive Force or another movie with Thomas Ian Griffith?  

A film with Steven Segal?  He had that ponytail.

Good luck with your search. 

88 Messages

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940 Points

I am glad you found the film!   I had never heard of Parker Kane.