sandcrab277 The real problem with this funny film is that aiden quinn cannot in any way be believed to be a hardened criminal, he can barely tie his shoe laces without assistance...and he isn't the least bit funny...put any real man in lieu of this dork and its a huge hit...he dragged this film to the gutter....i loved the rapport between dreyfus and stowe...

bigverybadtom A man is sprung out of a federal prison, and the FBI needs the help of local police to stake out people whom this fugitive might contact. One person is Maria, the (former?) girlfriend of this man, and our heroes are detailed to spy on her at night from a house across the street, while two other policemen stake her out during the day. Chris is assigned to impersonate a telephone company worker so he can place wiretaps into Maria's telephones, which requires him to enter her home-and while there, does some unauthorized searching of her personal effects. But Chris, who is divorced, keeps running into her, and the relationship starts to become personal...The movie consists of the developing (and credible) romance, the fighting between the two sets of policemen, the fugitive getting closer to Maria...but when the fugitive finds Maria, the excitement really begins.It's little more than fluff, but it works, with credible characters and interaction. No deep meaning, but good light entertainment.

Mr-Fusion STAKEOUT plays like your typical buddy cop action comedy (the '80s really churned these out), but its real magic lies in its casting. Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeline Stowe and even that guy that played the captain are all very well chosen for these parts. The two leads make for a terrific pairing; Dreyfuss shows great comedic talent, but most of the laughs come from Estevez's nagging wife in the partnership. The action-centric third act loses steam without the characters' winning personalities, but they're back just in time for the end credits. It's good light fun. The Top 40 soundtrack even seems to fit (probably because I like those songs). But most importantly, there's Madeline Stowe, who just radiates Latin hotness. Sweet Jesus.7/10

Chase_Witherspoon Noted action director John Badham delivers this comedy action-thriller concerning two cops, maverick Dreyfuss and his reluctant companion Estevez as they're ordered as punishment to undertake a stakeout detail across the road from a woman (Stowe) linked to a criminal they're wanting to catch (Quinn). The two engage in unprofessional conduct and eventually Dreyfuss discovers he's enamoured by Stowe, not at all like her FBI profile had suggested ("she could be the house!", Dreyfuss proclaims as Estevez reads her weight from the dossier). Naturally his affections compromise the case and he ends up deeper undercover than planned, posing as a criminal to avoid Quinn's suspicion.Badham doesn't seem to have the pitch quite right here; the film teeters between comedy and thriller, with some very funny moments (the "Jaws" in-joke is a cracker) contrasted by graphic violence. On the whole though, Dreyfuss and Estevez make an entertaining duo and their school-boy antics on their day shift peers (Lauria and Whitaker) serves to emphasise the light and humorous mood that often prevails.Sultry and seductive, Stowe gives a memorable performance as the former moll, whereas Quinn's violent criminal is mostly peripheral to the plot, only coming into focus in the last third of the film and its bloody conclusion in the timber mill. This was made at a time when Dreyfuss' career was recovering from his cocaine-induced hiatus, and both he and Estevez (perhaps his best 'adult' role to date) have the comedic timing and chemistry to make "Stakeout" an unlikely success. Followed by "Another Stakeout".