Six years after the first "Stakeout" (1987),cameras catch detectives Richard Dreyfuss (as Chris Lecce) and Emilio Estevez (as Bill Reimers) on another mission. It's nowhere near as good as the first. The format is similar. We begin with an action-packed opening. In Las Vegas, mobsters want to kill Cathy Moriarty (as Luella "Lu" Delano) because she's going to testify against them. This leads to the explosion of what appears to be a small town. Police search the rubble, but can't find Ms. Moriarty...

They think the missing woman is going to contact a couple - Dennis Farina and Marcia Strassman (as Brian and Pam O'Hara) - so Mr. Dreyfuss and Mr. Estevez are recruited to pose as neighbors...

Madeline Stowe (as Maria),from the first film, appears only sporadically and her chemistry with Dreyfuss is gone. The crime and criminals being investigated are confusing. To make the ruse more realistic, assistant district attorney Rosie O'Donnell (as Gina Garrett) is added to the mix. Accompanied by her rottweiler "Archie", Ms. O'Donnell pretends to be Dreyfuss' second wife and Estevez' step-mother. It's a funny situation, providing this sequel with a little freshness. Otherwise, the story is stale.

***** Another Stakeout (7/23/93) John Badham ~ Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Rosie O'Donnell, Dennis Farina

Talk about having friends in high places and merciful ones at that because what other excuse is there to make a belated sequel to STAKEOUT ? " Belated " is the operative word here because if it was made two years after the original movie I could understand this because that's the only reason the Hollywood industry exists - To make money and let's not forget that whatever the shortcomings STAKEOUT made a lot of money at the box office . So it seems very strange that the studio waited six years before making a sequel to the original , stranger still that both buddy movies and sequels weren't in fashion in 1993

Despite the lack of imagination in producing ANOTHER STAKEOUT it's nowhere as terrible as it could have been . In between episodic comedy adventure scenes the original heroes ( Dreyfuss and Estevez ) are given a new assignment where they team up with a female DA and have to go through a charade of being a family in order to find a witness to a very important trial . I suppose that's the problem the plot is a one trick pony and the further the film goes on it becomes clearer that the pony wasn't too healthy to start with and on the subject of animal euphemisms did anyone notice the jokes involving all creatures great and small ? There's an octopus , a fish , a cat and dog !

It's not a bad film and will pass the time on a rainy afternoon but it does demonstrate how lazy studios are at producing movies

Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez are back on stakeout duty, six years after the original 80's classic "Stakeout" This time though the magic is missing for what I believe is two core reasons.

The first is, this movie does not focus on the natural chemistry between Dreyfuss and Estevez that made the first movie so enjoyable. instead they are teamed up with Rosie O'Donnell. The introduction of Joe Pesci in "Lethal Weapon 2" was great because he thereby became the Third Stooge, and the trio worked well. Unfortunately Estevez is pretty much relegated to supporting character and it becomes the Dreyfuss & O'Donnell show. I'm not saying it is O'Donnell's fault she is OK, and does the best with what she has.

I mention "Lethal Weapon" because the first movie in that franchise was released the same year as "Stakeout" and it's sequel followed two years later. If this movie was made two years after the original, we would have gotten a movie more in tone with the gritty at times, yet funny original. As it is we get a watered down PG version. And that I believe is the second problem.

The first movie had violence, language, nudity, and humour. This has O'Donnell and her naughty dog chasing cats. I'm not saying a movie has to be rated R to be funny. But if you've got a sequel to a classic buddy cop movie coming six years later, you need to get it right. Sadly they don't. If they went down the "Lethal Weapon" route (They dumbed down the third one, but not to this extent) I believe Stakeout could have been a Franchise, unfortunately we, got a great 80's movie, and a disappointing sequel.

If it's on TV on an lazy afternoon, it's worth a watch, but that's about it.