`Stakeout' Ii Slower Than Original

MOVIE REVIEW

XX 1/2 "Another Stakeout," with Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Rosie O'Donnell, Cathy Moriarty, Miguel Ferrer and Madeleine Stowe. Directed by John Badham, from a screenplay by Jim Kouf. Alderwood, Aurora, City Centre, Crossroads, Everett 9, Gateway, Kent, Kirkland Parkplace, Lewis & Clark, Valley drive-in. "PG-13" - Parental guidance advised because of mild profanity, mature humor.

The best thing about 1987's hit comedy "Stakeout" was the teaming of Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez, whose effortless rapport was a blessing to their roles as Seattle detectives staking out the home of an escaped killer's former girlfriend.

The nimble-witted buddy comedy between Dreyfuss and Estevez would have been enjoyable in any case, but "Stakeout" surpassed expectations with a tight, briskly paced plot and genuine depth of character, especially in the romance between the down-and-out Dreyfuss and the woman he was assigned to watch, played by Madeleine Stowe.

You'll find more of the same breezy banter in this inevitable sequel, but this time the plot and characters never escape their two-dimensional restrictions.

Not surprisingly, it is the grounding presence of Stowe - appearing uncredited in brief but substantial scenes with Dreyfuss - that fleetingly turns "Another Stakeout" into the better film it might have been.

Unfortunately, "Stakeout" writer Jim Kouf and director John Badham have decided that emphasis on the easy laughs was more important. That's certainly no crime - and "Another Stakeout" delivers the goods - but Dreyfuss and Estevez come across like stand-up comedians with occasionally weak material.

This time they've been assigned to stake out a home on Bainbridge Island. (As with the first film, there is only one aerial shot of the Space Needle, and the rest of the film was shot around Bowen Island in Vancouver, B.C.) They're watching for a mob informer (Cathy Moriarty) who escaped an attempt on her life and is expected to flee to her friends' house on faux-Bainbridge.

Joining Dreyfuss and Estevez is Rosie O'Donnell ("Sleepless in Seattle") as an assistant district attorney who leads the investigation, dictating that the trio pose as a family while renting a neighboring house. Most of the sluggish, sparsely plotted comedy deals with their foiled attempts to remain inconspicuous.

Although Badham sustains a few extended comedic scenes fueled by Dreyfuss's crack timing and frantic energy, it takes a full hour for the plot to percolate, by which time it ceases to matter. The menace of a mob assassin (Miguel Ferrer) is perfunctory at best.

That leaves you with the proven chuckles between Dreyfuss, Estevez and O'Donnell, who is a constant pleasure even when she seems unnecessarily restrained. Had the movie surrounding this easygoing trio been more memorable, the possibility of "Yet Another Stakeout" might actually be appealing.