One Tough Cop

(Columbia Tristar)

As real-life New York City police officer Bo Dietl -- Bruno Barreto's film is "inspired" by his book of the same title -- Stephen Baldwin plays the stubborn SOB juiced up on morality trying to solve the savage rape/mutilation of a nun. He's helped by his childhood friend Richie La Cassa (Mike McGlone), who's now an underboss in the mob. Baldwin, McGlone, and Chris Penn as Bo's boozed-up partner give dead-letter performances, but Barreto doesn't allow them to develop their characters beyond the street's testosterone-laden codes of machismo and loyalty.