L.A. VICE

year: 1989 cast: Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, William Smith rating: ***

First off, this has nothing to do with the Vice Squad – those gritty bottom dwelling undercover cops busting pimps and hookers. Although it does take place in Los Angeles and despite the ultra low budget, shot in video and resembling either a soap opera or security camera footage with former Sweathog Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs reprising his L.A. HEAT role as maverick cop Jon Chance, this is a semi-decent guilty pleasure.

The plot centers on a group of thugs who kidnap a millionaire’s trophy wife. Chance goes to the mountains and gets his former Captain, played by a grizzly voiced William Smith, to aid in the ransom trade-off. Things go badly and soon it’s Chance teamed with an Indian named Bear. They take out the bad guys one by one by gunshots, explosions, or both.

And as you’ll often wonder where the plot went during bouts of gratuitous sex and violence, fans of exploitation action cop films will find themselves somehow miraculously entertained.