Taglines: One’s just a little smarter than the other.
K-9 movie synopsis. The extravagant cop Michael Dooley needs some help to fight a drug dealer who has tried to kill him. A “friend” gives him a dog named Jerry Lee, who has been trained to smell drugs. With his help, Dooley sets out to put his enemy behind the bars, but Jerry Lee has a personality of his own and works only when he wants to. On the other hand, the dog is quite good at destroying Dooley’s car, house and sex-life…
K-9 is a 1989 American action-comedy film starring James Belushi and Mel Harris. It was directed by Rod Daniel, written by Steven Siegel and Scott Myers, produced by Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon, and released by Universal City Studios.
Belushi plays bad-tempered San Diego police detective Michael Dooley, who has been tagged for execution by a major international drug dealer named Ken Lyman (played by Kevin Tighe). To help, K-9 Sergeant Brannigan (played by Ed O’Neill) gives Dooley an unorthodox drug-sniffing police dog called “Jerry Lee” (named after rock-and-roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis). The duo attempt to put Lyman behind bars but Dooley quickly learns Jerry Lee is a mischievous smart aleck who works only when and how he wants to. Many of the movie’s gags revolve around Jerry Lee’s playfully destructive episodes.
The film has two sequels, K-911 (1999) and K-9: P.I. (2002), both being direct-to-video. K-9 was released exactly three months before Turner & Hooch (with Tom Hanks), which had a similar plot.
James Belushi as Detective Michael Dooley
Mel Harris as Tracy
Kevin Tighe as Lyman
Ed O’Neill as K-9 Sgt. Brannigan
James Handy as Lt. Byers
Sherman Howard as Dillon
Daniel Davis as Halstead
Cotter Smith as Gilliam
John Snyder as Freddie
Pruitt Taylor Vince as Benny the Mule
The role of “Jerry Lee” was played by more than one dog, including backups and stand-ins.
K-9 Movie (1989)
Directed by: Rod Daniel
Starring: Jim Belushi, Mel Harris, Kevin Tighe, Ed O’Neill, Rando, James Handy, Daniel Davis, Cotter Smith, John Snyder, Alan Blumenfeld, William Sadler
Screenplay by: Steven Siegel, Scott Myers
Production Design by: George Costello
Cinematography by: Dean Semler
Film Editing by: Lois Freeman-Fox
Costume Design by: Eileen Kennedy
Set Decoration by: Maria Caso
Art Direction by: Jay Burkhardt
Music by: Miles Goodman
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 28, 1989
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