Vice Squad: Gary Sherman

I've heard that Gary Sherman's Vice Squad was ground-breaking in its intimate, realistic portrayal of the Los Angeles underbelly and the cops who try and keep the peace between the druggies, the pimps, the prostitutes, and all other forms of social degenerates. Vice Squad was apparently so significant that Martin Scorsese came out in support of it, even arguing to studio executive Dawn Steel that it should have been nominated for Best Film. But with all due respect to Mr. Scorsese, I have to disagree. I found Vice Squad to be a competently made but ultimately predictable film. The depictions of the seedier side of the Strip are admittedly fascinating. But they serve little more than a decorative purpose. Here's the set-up: a prostitute nicknamed "Princess" helps the police set-up a sadistic, murderous pimp named Ramrod. Of course, he swears vengeance. And, of course, he escapes while being driven to the police station. So now the police, led by vice squad detective Tom Walsh, must find either Ramrod or Princess before they meet again on the streets. Much of the film's charm comes from juxtaposing the intense manhunt for Princess with scenes of her having to indulge an increasingly bizarre series of fetishes for her customers. One sequence involving a bridal gown, a coffin, and a very odd old man is particularly memorable. But in the last third of the film, Princess' characterization as a tough, street-smart prostitute is abandoned and she becomes little more than a damsel in distress who must be saved by her knight in shining armor (a.k.a. Walsh). The film claims to be based on true stories, but I have a hard time accepting that a woman who worked the Strip for 5 years would become so useless in a crisis. And that's another thing that bothers me: Ramrod has the indestructibility and mobility of Michael Meyers. He isn't a pimp, he's a slasher villain! Maybe if he was high on Angel Dust I could believe him pulling off half of the nonsense he gets away with in this film. It's never a good thing when you find yourself getting angry with characters because they make stupid decisions in difficult situations. If Sherman was trying to make some kind of statement with Ramrod concerning the plight of women and prostitutes, it wasn't executed properly. Vice Squad isn't a bad film. In fact, it has moments of brilliance. But Best Picture material? I think not.

6/10