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Three minutes into the movie, uber-macho, loose-cannon, broad-chinned, mother-loving, ex-cop bounty hunter Mace (David Keith), with wild hair flopping around like devil horns, is cross-dressing in a prostitute’s leather boots and bright red top (it’s nearly identical garb except for being noticeably several sizes larger) in order to nab a bail jumper. It never gets more serious than that. The hooker is Sarah (Pamela Anderson), who finds herself running in the street sans clothing – and proving she’s a terrible actress with her few bits of dialogue. Later, when she happens upon Mace again and demands her clothes back, she yells all of her lines. It’s a good thing her talents are in the physical department. The following scene introduces insecure Mitch McCullum (Robert Hays) dropping off his mini-golf date Donna (April Bogenschutz), so she can take a nice, hot, uninhibited, exploitive shower. When she’s murdered (strangled, but fortunately only after finishing her bath), Mitch is fingered as a suspect. Donna was the daughter of Mayor Stiles (Charles Napier), who refuses to let an autopsy be performed on the body, instead immediately hiring Mace to keep an eye on Mitch. Stiles is convinced Mitch is the murderer and wants him dead – so it’ll be up to the burly bounty hunter to discover the truth. Mitch is being set up, as is Mace with the murder of a bondsman (“I’m gonna say this once. I didn’t do it.”), with a political blackmail plot in the works. They’re also stuck with Sarah as a partner, tagging along after she’s been seen by the villains. Meanwhile, the only real actor in the film (although here he overacts badly), Stacy Keach, plays Deputy Mayor Bob Jenkins, a soft-spoken, glasses-wearing, intimidating figure, always surrounded by ominous music. He’s supposed to be someone Mace can trust, but clearly he has murderous motives, with crooked police Lieutenant Atkins (Leo Rossi) in his pocket, commanding troops of mercenaries to kill anyone in his way. |
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Pamela Anderson’s not really the star, but she gets top billing. At first glance, it’s perhaps the only way to market the film. The dialogue is incredibly cheesy, full of the worst kind of sarcasm; what makes everything acceptable is Keith’s hammy acting, especially with the constant delivery of saucy comebacks. It’s so bad it’s hilarious. None of the cast takes this movie seriously, clearly aware of the ridiculous nature of the direction. The music, like a laugh track, adds to this theory; some moments employ invasive trumpet riffs, action sequences go with a goofy rock, and every scene with Mace starts with a few seconds of “Bad to the Bone.” Raw Justice features a motorcycle chase through a mall, gunfights outside of strip clubs, car chases through busy streets that end in strategically placed ramps and parked vehicles loaded with explosives, Mace and Sarah spontaneously having sex in a back alley while they hide from assassins, random muggings in a parking lot, Pamela Anderson’s silhouette undressing, along with sex scenes for good measure, a fanboat chase through the bayou complete with rubber crocodile (the movie is set in New Orleans, so that isn’t wildly out of place), enormous unexplained explosions, a barfight with guns and a giant dart, and the finale, which involves Mace unbelievably being in two locations at the same time. As far as medium-budget, B-grade, guilty pleasure, comically excessive action films of the 90’s are concerned, Raw Justice (aka Good Cop Bad Cop, Skip-Tracer and Strip Girl), is one of the best. - Mike Massie
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