Ricky Camilleri of the Thirty Years Later podcast joins the show from Brooklyn to talk about the 1988 James Glickenhaus thriller Shakedown (released internationally as Blue Jean Cop). Shakedown is a prime example of Dudes Rock cinema: films that celebrate and uphold the ideals of male friendship.

Peter Weller is an overworked but idealistic NYC public defender who takes the case of a crack dealer accused of murder; when the victim turns out to be an undercover cop and his client insists he acted his self-defense, Weller teams up with Sam Elliott, a tough undercover cop who knows all about the “Blue Jean Cops” in the NYPD who run a criminal racket robbing crack dealers. Together this unlikely duo battle New York's crack kingpin and the gang of dirty cops.

Shakedown is simultaneously slick, ridiculous and progressive—an entertaining, go-for-broke movie with serious, relevant subject matter. Imagine  “the People’s Lethal Weapon”, as Ricky calls it. Featuring spectacular stunts and action on grimy pre-Giuliani Times Square locations, it’s one of the few American action films to get anywhere near the reigning style of Hong Kong action films of the same period. In this ep we revel in our shared appreciation for this fun James Glickenhaus movie that has flown below the radar for too long.

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Check out Ricky’s movie podcast with Chris Chafin, Thirty Years Later.

Trailer for Shakedown (Glickenhaus, 1988)

“How I Saved A Coked Up Miles Davis After He Crashed His Lamborghini” by James Glickenhaus, for Jalopnik, June 20, 2012

Jesse’s Dudes Rock film list on Letterboxd.