Off Beat is a 1986 American comedy film about a young librarian who impersonates a police officer. The film was directed by Michael Dinner, and stars Judge Reinhold, Meg Tilly, Cleavant Derricks and Harvey Keitel.
Plot
Joe Gower is a likable librarian who glides around his job on roller skates. He has a strict boss, Mr. Pepper, and a good friend who's a cop, Abe Washington.
A mistake he makes inadvertently messes up Washington's undercover work. Joe now owes him a favor, but is unprepared for what Washington wants. A police charity event needs officers to dress in drag, but because Washington wants no part of that, he asks Joe to take his place.
A reluctant Joe decides to go through with the audition, expecting to be so bad that he won't be cast in the show. When he goes there and meets an attractive policewoman, Rachel Wareham, it changes everything. Joe not only does the show, he continues to keep from Rachel the fact that he's not a real cop.
As luck would have it, Joe finds himself in the midst of actual crimes. He encounters criminals, like bank robber Mickey, and is caught in a crossfire as to which would be worse, being exposed as someone impersonating a police officer or being shot by a crook.
Cast
Judge Reinhold as Joe Gower
Meg Tilly as Rachel Wareham
John Turturro as Pepper
Cleavant Derricks as Abe Washington
Jacques d'Amboise as August
Harvey Keitel as Mickey
Joe Mantegna as Pete Peterson
Amy Wright as Mary Ellen
Anthony Zerbe as Mr. Wareham
Julie Bovasso as Mrs. Wareham
Victor Argo as Leon
Penn Jillette as Norman
Mel Winkler as Earl
Irving Metzman as Deluca
Mike Starr as James Bonnell
Shawn Elliott as Hector
Stanley Simmonds as Pud
Nancy Giles as Celestine
Paul Butler as Jordan
John Kapelos as Lou Wareham
William Sadler as Dickson (as Bill Sadler) Chris Noth as Ely Wareham Jr. (as Christopher Noth) Austin Pendleton as Gun Shop Salesman
Critical response
In his review of April 11, 1986, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave Off Beat three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four, describing it as one of the year's best comedies.
Reinhold later said the film was "a little love story they tried to sell as a ... comedy. It wasn't marketed right. It wasn't a Police Academy clone movie, (but) people got the impression that it was. It was a pretty tame movie, by those standards, but I was proud of it."