The Forgotten 90s Crime Comedy With An A-List Star Needs Cult Revival
Christian Slater began to see his career take off after his role as J.D. in the 1988 cult film Heathers. His starring role in the skater movie Gleaming the Cube quickly followed, as did supporting parts in the hit films Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Young Guns 2. With those films under his belt and his future in film laid before him, one project Slater accepted was the 1992 action-comedy Kuffs, a film that combined his wit with the veteran direction of Bruce Evans (Stand by Me).
From Second Bannana To Leading Man
Kuffs is the story of slacker George Kuffs (Christian Slater), a 21-year-old San Francisco high school dropout whose older brother is always bailing him out of trouble. Brad Kuffs (Bruce Boxleitner) has been taking care of little George since the death of their parents, supporting the two of them as a city police officer. Specifically, Brad is an officer of the San Francisco Patrol Special Police (SFPSP), a private policing system backed by the City of San Francisco that allows “police for hire” businesses in pre-established districts.
Unbeknownst to George, Brad has been offered bribes by a local businessman, Sam Jones (George de la Pena), who sends a hitman to shoot and kill him. George witnesses the gunman Kane holding the gun after Brad has been shot, but since he didn’t see Kane pull the trigger, the hitman isn’t charged.
Milla Jovovich Before The Fifth Element
Kuffs sees George forced to make an important decision about his deceased brother’s police district. As he is the sole beneficiary of the business, he can sell it or lease it and provide a fresh start for himself and his estranged girlfriend, Maya (Milla Jovovich). Instead, he decides to train to become a patrol specialist by enrolling in the law enforcement academy and running the district himself.
Standard 90s Action-Comedy
This move doesn’t sit well with the local police department, his newly inherited employees, and Sam Jones. Sam approached George about purchasing the district and was rebuffed. As Kuffs continues, a plotline unfolds that reveals that Sam wants the district so his hired goons can terrorize businesses and extort money from them, as well as being able to run his money laundering businesses free from patrol oversight.
George juggles the death threats from Sam, several attacks by gunmen, and the seething hatred from his fellow patrol specialists with his attempted reconciliation with Maya (who is pregnant). Kuffs builds to see George try to take down local organized crime leaders while still trying to prove to Maya that he’s a great boyfriend and father material.
Christian Slater Gets The Best Lines
The film isn’t overly complicated and follows much of the same formulas as the buddy cop action films of the 1980s. Kuffs is a great combination of shoot-em-up action with snarky, off-brand humor (coming mostly from the mouth of Slater). George’s best moments are when he breaks the fourth wall and narrates the action to the audience with a tongue firmly planted inside the cheek.
Available Through Video On Demand
REVIEW SCORE
The story arc in Kuffs is a dime a dozen, but the dialogue and acting help to carry the film over this hurdle. In retrospect, George is a young and white Axel Foley from Eddie Murphy‘s Beverly Hills Cop, a realization that is helped along by the film’s score. Harold Faltermeyer composed the score for both films and the sequences following George while he investigates certainly have loud echoes of scenes similar to Axel’s.
Kuffs is a 3.0/5.0-star film and is a must-see for any fan of Christian Slater who wants to get a good look at him in his teenage heartthrob days on screen.
While Kuffs is not streaming for free on any platform, you can view it On Demand with Vudu, AppleTV, Google Play, and Prime.
