The Late Movies: the Weirdest Partners in Buddy-Cop Movie History

It's the subgenre that won't die: in the movies, hardened cops are forever being teamed up with unconventional, patience-testing partners in what studios seem to feel certain is a sure-fire recipe for comedy gold. While these movies might still get laughs today, I doubt it's the kind of laughs the writers were hoping for. You be the judge!

Theodore Rex
Whoopi Goldberg is a superstar cop who teams up with a dinosaur. I'm not sure which sounds more implausible.

Cop and a Half
An eight-year-old witness to a murder holds the keys to an investigation -- but in exchange for information, he demands that the police force let him become a cop. Burt Reynolds is his curmudgeonly partner.

Last Action Hero
Thanks to a magical movie ticket, a real kid gets teamed up with a fictional cop. My favorite bit is when Schwarzenegger punches the lieutenant governor in the face and quips, "call me when the governor gets here."

Kindergarten Cop
Thanks to a few memorable lines by Arnold ("it's not a tumor!"), this movie has stayed lodged in the consciousness of millions who would have preferred to forget all about it years ago.

Top Dog
Chuck Norris and a dog. You can watch the whole movie on YouTube, here. I prefer the trailer in German:

Turner and Hooch
More cops and dogs! I couldn't find the trailer, but here's a classic scene from the film.

The Hard Way
James Woods is "New York's angriest cop," and Michael J. Fox is "Hollywood's most spoiled celebrity." And they have to team up to fight crime. As if the film itself weren't one.

Red Heat
A Russian cop and an American cop, which was a pretty weird pairing during the Cold War.

Jesus and Hutch
Eric Stoltz plays Jesus, filling in for Starsky. A promo for a short film.