THE word ‘mod” has fallen completely out of common usage and ‘The Mod Squad” stars Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III and Michael Cole have largely faded into obscurity. So the big question is, why reunite the ‘Squad”?
I confess that, from ’68 to ’73 when it aired, I was addicted to the Aaron Spelling show the same way teens later took to his ‘Beverly Hills 90210.”
It’s true, I wanted to be Julie, played by Lipton on TV and now Claire Danes in the movie. She was the Barbie doll California girl I wasn’t and never would be, sandwiched between Linc, the angry black man played by Clarence Williams III (now Omar Epps) and Peter (Michael Cole in the show and Giovanni Ribisi on the screen).
All three were kid criminals who got out of going to jail by becoming undercover cops. Linc had been arrested during the Watts riots. And Peter was a rich rebel, who had stolen a car his parents could have easily afforded him.
At the time, the show was a bit political with its counterculture flower power. It was also vaguely taboo with its not-so-subliminal sex fantasy of this attractive, interracial threesome.
Now, 30 years later, this formula has been simplified, but mostly depoliticized in such successful interracial cop buddy movies like ’48 Hours,” ‘Lethal Weapon” and ‘Rush Hour.” Actually, it would have made more sense to create an entirely new movie, involving a trio of young cops with an edge, than it was to revive ‘The Mod Squad.”
From a marketing standpoint, the most promising element of a ‘Mod Squad” revival was the casting opportunity. Put Danes in hip-huggers, get Epps to scowl and toss in Ribisi as comic relief and try to draw the youth market that’s been streaming to everything from ‘Scream” to ‘She’s All That.”
But even that is a missed opportunity. The stars lack chemistry. For instance, when Danes crawls into bed with Ribisi – one of the screen’s least sexy newcomers – she asks him to hold her, and it’s very easy to believe that all he does is (MD+IT)hold (MD-IT)her.
Danes, Epps and Ribisi share another problem. They seem like children playing dress-up in their bell-bottoms and pleather jackets. They try to act ‘street” – drinking, torching cars, squinting, strutting – but there’s no grit to their performances.
And separating the stars from the characters, there’s another problem: marketing ‘Mod.” Unlike other ’70s shows, which have been revived, ‘The Mod Squad” has no brand recognition with contemporary young people since it doesn’t air on Nick at Nite.
Additionally, by pitching the action flick directly at the glutted youth market, the movie misses the only other conceivable audience – the nostalgic baby boomers who actually remember the show.
And they’ll have no patience for this ‘Squad” lite. Plus, the social issues have evaporated, and with it any potential for conflict or irony.
Linc is an angry black man without the Watts riots to give him a motivation. Julie has become a boring, belly-baring 12-stepper who’d be more comfortable around the ‘Melrose Place” pool. And Pete, the guilty overcompensating rich boy, has now become the comedian of the bunch.
Remaking ‘The Mod Squad” in 1999 makes as much sense as making a ‘Beverly Hills 90210” movie in 2030. Don’t even think about it – I doubt it will happen.