Taglines: How far will one man go to be a good father and stay…
One Good Cop movie storyline. Artie Lewis (Michael Keaton) is a New York City Police Department detective who believes in his work, loves his wife Rita (Rene Russo), and is close to his partner Stevie Diroma (Anthony LaPaglia), a widower with three young daughters. After a hard, violent encounter in a housing project while on duty, Artie and Stevie reassure each other that, although battered and bruised, they have survived.
Stevie is then killed in the line of duty by drug addict Mickey Garrett (David Barry Gray) during a hostage situation. Stevie’s daughters Marian (Grace Johnston), Barbara (Rhea Silver-Smith), and Carol (Blair Swanson) are left orphaned with no relatives able to take them in. Artie and Rita take them in and want to adopt them, but Child Welfare Services decides that their apartment is too small for three children and Barbara is a diabetic who needs insulin shots.
To gain the welfare agency’s approval, Artie feels he must buy a house. The one he has chosen requires a $25,000 down payment that he does not have. In desperation, he grabs his gun and a ski mask and robs drug kingpin Beniamino Rios (Tony Plana), whom he has investigated and knows is indirectly responsible for Stevie’s death and orphaning the girls since Garret killed Stevie under the influence of Rios’ drugs.
Artie uses $25,000 of the take for a down payment on the house. He gives the rest to Father Wills (Vondie Curtis-Hall), who runs a local makeshift shelter, and admits to Rita how he got the money for their house. Beniamino’s girlfriend Grace De Feliz (Rachel Ticotin) is actually an undercover narcotics agent who suspects Artie, but his superior, Lieutenant Danny Quinn (Kevin Conway), defends Artie as one of his best officers and no action is taken against him.
One of Beniamino’s customers, who gave Artie a tip as to the location where Beniamino kept his money, breaks down under his questioning and gives Artie to the drug lord. Beniamino kidnaps Artie and tortures him to find out what he did with the money. Knowing that Artie will not reveal the information, and is about to be killed, Grace blows her cover and saves him. Together they are forced to kill Beniamino and his colleagues.
One Good Cop is a 1991 American crime drama film written and directed by Heywood Gould and starring Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia, Kevin Conway, Rachel Ticotin, Tony Plana, Benjamin Bratt, Charlayne Woodard, Grace Johnston and Lisa Arrindell.
Keaton portrays New York City Police Department Detective Artie Lewis, who, with his wife Rita (Russo), adopts his late partner’s (LaPaglia) children and loves them as their own. He also targets one of the criminals responsible for his partner’s death. He initially seeks justice for his adoptive children, but ultimately chooses retaliation by robbing his quarry to support his new family, endangering them and his career.
One Good Cop (1991)
Directed by: Heywood Gould
Starring: Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia, Kevin Conway, Rachel Ticotin, Tony Plana, Benjamin Bratt, Charlayne Woodard, Grace Johnston, Lisa Arrindell
Screenplay by: Heywood Gould
Production Design by: Sandy Veneziano
Cinematography by: Ralf D. Bode
Film Editing by: Richard Marks
Costume Design by: Betsy Heimann
Set Decoration by: John H. Anderson
Art Direction by: Daniel Maltese
Music by: David Foster, William Ross
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language and drug content.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: May 3, 1991
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