Where to watch The Mod Squad
1 Star
The Mod Squad is, undoubtedly, the worst movie ever made based on an existing television show. After, the critical and commercial success of The Fugitive, it seemed that every old television series was given a typically lousy cinematic reincarnation. None are as awful as 1999’s The Mod Squad. A film so incoherent it actually masked the flimsiness of the plot. The film’s only surprise is the Hansen cameo in the last act. If I ruined that for you…fuck off, you’ve had twenty years to catch up.
Police Capt. Adam Greer (Dennis Farina) finds three young people on their way to jail and gives them a choice: instead of going to jail, they can become a special undercover unit. This “Mod Squad” (Claire Danes, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi) becomes entangled in a scandal involving corrupt cops, missing drugs from the police evidence locker, and a beguiling Pimp (Josh Brolin).
Here, is a movie that has a simple story and goes about telling it in the most baffling way possible. It wasn’t until Dennis Farina’s character was killed that I knew his name. It’s almost impossible to keep up with the plot and while the actors make an effort it all feels forced and miscalculated. Add to this mixture an obnoxious soundtrack and you have the recipe for making one of the low-points in big-studio filmmaking circa 1999.
Director: Scott Silver
Stars: Claire Danes, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi