Their turf. Their game. Their rules. They didn't count on HIS law...

Starring: Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Madonna, Glenne Headly, Charlie Korsmo, William Forsythe, Ed O'Ross, Charles Durning, Dustin Hoffman, Mandy Patinkin, Paul Sorvino, James Caan

DML Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ - above average

"Thanks for calling. I was beginning to wonder what a girl had to do to get arrested." - Breathless Mahoney

Why watch this? This visual, artsy film combines action and a nod to old-time comics strips.

Plot Summary: Hard-boiled detective Dick Tracy works to dismantle the criminal empire of Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice. Tracy also navigates a complex personal life with his girlfriend Tess Trueheart and the seductive singer Breathless Mahoney. Along the way, he takes in a young street orphan known as "Kid," who becomes his protégé.

Dad's Preview: This Disney effort, and Warren Beatty's vision, set out to bring the stoic crime fighter, Dick Tracy, to life. However, it is not real life, but rather life in the primary-colored world of the drawn pulp strips of our Sunday newspapers. It is a wonder to behold, be it the tough-guy in a yellow trench coat, buxom ladies with red lipstick, or a cast of villains so devious and deformed that the mere sight of them makes your skin crawl. The film won three Academy awards, but it just never quite becomes believable. It's best when Madonna breathes sexual tension into her sultry role as Breathless Mahoney.

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, Mulholland Prod.;
Buena Vista Pictures Dist.