Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

Director - Roger Spottiswoode (48hrs, Turner and Hooch)

Starring - Sylvester Stallone (Demolition Man, Judge Dredd), Estelle Getty (Tootsie, Deadly Force), and JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist, Jabberwocky)

Release Date - 1992

Genre - Comedy/Action

Tagline - "Detective Joe Bomoski's mom is in town for a visit.  She did the laundry, washed the windows and scrubbed the floors.  Now, she's gonna clean up the streets"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in college I went through this huge 70s and 80s action kick.  I was buying as many random action movies as I could find and before long I found myself on a Sylvester Stallone kick.  I had acquired a bunch of his films and among them was Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.  I was always burning up Over the Top, Demolition Man, Cobra, and so many more of his films but I never had the urge to watch Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.  A couple days ago I was placing an order for a couple Mill Creek releases on blu when I saw that Stop! received a blu release with the VHS slipcover.  I'm a sucker for this gimmick and snagged one.  After watching The Babe and Blind Fury I decided to finish my night with this one.  It was fun and I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to see it.  

     The film follow detective Joe Bomoski (Stallone) who gets a visit from his mother.  The visit starts out innocently enough but before long she finds herself the witness to a murder.  She withholds information from the detective working the case to give to Joe in hopes of helping him get promoted.  This sends Joe and his mother into the middle of an insurance fraud case putting them both in danger.

     Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is a stain on Stallone's career and one that he has regretted doing.  The long standing rumor was revealed to be true in an interview when Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed that he tricked Stallone into taking the role.  Regardless, I find the film to be extremely fun.  Slow at times but you can't deny how much fun it is.  The acting in this one is far from perfect but it fits the film.  Stallone delivers another one of this famous Raspberry quality performances which is why I like him.  I love how irrational his characters always are and the intensity he brings to simple scenes.  So many films of his has unintentional humor and this film is no different.  Estelle Getty delivers a fun performance.  Her character makes the film and she was perfectly cast here.  I couldn't imagine anyone else in this role.  The supporting cast has just as colorful characters that makes the film fun.  So much writing went into the characters and the cast does a great job at bringing them to life.  The story for this one is perfectly early 90s.  I could see myself spinning this one with other action comedies of the time.  Sure, it's not Stallone's best but that doesn't make it a bad film.  It just means it wasn't meant for you.  The way the story unfolds is just like a typical direct to video action comedy of the early 90s that I would often rent.  I enjoyed it even though it was pretty predictable once the ball started moving.  Finally, the film has several death scenes that are mostly gun wounds that don't have any blood or practical effects. Overall, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is campy as hell but extremely fun.  If you lived through the video store era of the early 90s then you will really appreciate this one.  It's not for the typical Stallone fan but if you like the goofy side of cinema then you will enjoy this one.  The blu quality looks great but Mill Creek once again dropped the ball in regards to bonus content.