For the past 5 years, tough L.A. cop Joe Bomowski (Sylvester Stallone) has avoided visits from his overbearing mother Tutti (Estelle Getty, Golden Girls), telling her that he’s too busy or that something came up. However, Tutti isn’t going to let that happen this time around. She has already booked her flight from Newark, and has been ignoring her son’s phone calls, until she arrives at the airport. As the staff and passengers from Tutti’s flight exit the gate and pass by Joe, he already knows it’s going to be a rough week. These complete strangers are pointing and giggling—they have already heard all about little Joey’s most embarrassing childhood moments, and have seen the photo evidence to back it up. Tutti is happy and excited to see her son, and she tells everyone she meets. On the drive home, the embarrassment continues when Joe stops to talk down a jumper from a ledge, and ends up becoming the focus of the situation himself.

Tutti’s mission mission for the week is to help turn her son’s life around, and that starts with cleaning his apartment. But after she accidentally ruins Joe’s gun with some overzealous cleaning, she decides to buy her son a new one. While doing so, she ends up becoming the sole witness to the shooting of some gun runners who were also involved in a much larger insurance fraud case. And so, much to her Joey’s dismay, it looks like Tutti’s visit is going to be extended by a few weeks. Tutti decides to use this extra time to meddle in her son’s personal and professional life, and help “fix” things. Joe had been dating his Lieutenant, Gwen Harper (JoBeth Williams), but his inability to express his feelings had caused a rift in their relationship. And so Tutti gives her son some unwelcome help in the love department. She also sees that her son seems content with just being a sergeant. However, there is a promotion up for grabs, and she wants her Joey to get it. So she keeps some of her first-hand information about the case a secret, hoping that it will help her son close the case before the officer in charge—Joe’s obnoxious nemesis Ross (J. Kenneth Campbell)—does. This leads to Tutti regularly tagging along with Joe as he checks out leads, with the duo often ending up in dangerous situations. But Tutti would never let anyone hurt her Joey!

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is one of those films that has a reputation for being a bad movie, but I have never understood why. It had been a couple decades since I last saw this film, so I was excited to check it out again after such a long time, and I wasn’t disappointed. Sylvester Stallone and Estelle Getty make a great comedic duo. Besides the obvious physical differences in their stature, they have this great comedic timing and chemistry. I had forgotten just how funny Estelle Getty was back in the day, and she is still just a pure delight to watch. She plays the overbearing and meddling mother to perfection. When she first arrives at Joe’s home, she’s got a suitcase full of her Joey’s favorite canned pineapple (because “it’s not the same in California”), and another full of cleaning products. She is a woman on a mission to help fix her son’s life—something he wasn’t aware needed any fixing—and often treats this grown up cop like he is still her young little Joey. While Joe may be annoyed by his mother’s antics, it’s obvious that Tutti’s meddling comes from a sense of love for her son, and not out of spite. At first glance, she may appear to be this slightly absent-minded and clueless older woman, but it becomes quite apparent that she actually knows what she’s doing, and is a tough woman who will do anything to help and protect her son. I have always been a fan of Sylvester Stallone’s more comedic roles. While he often plays the tough guy, it’s great to see this lighter side. Joe may be this tough cop, but around his mother, he becomes Joey. While he may say he doesn’t want her around, you can see that he really does enjoy and appreciate her company. And as they investigate the case, they become more like partners, despite Tutti not actually having a badge.

The film is definitely not very realistic, but that helps add to the humor and fun of the film. Tutti seems to always be tagging along with Joe as he investigates new leads for the case, causing the two of them to end up in dangerous situations, and often times it’s Tutti who manages to save the day. It’s a wonder how he’s made it this long as a cop without her! Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is just a fun, light action-comedy with some really hilarious moments and a great cast. There are even some brief early appearances by Ving Rhames and Richard Schiff (The Good Doctor).

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot makes its way onto Blu-ray for the first time. The video presentation is a bit grainy at times, though for the most part it looks quite decent, with bright colors and a smooth picture. The stereo soundtrack is also quite sufficient, providing clear dialogue and capturing all the car chases, shootouts and other on-screen action, but lacking a bit of the more-immersive feeling you get from more-modern film soundtracks. The Blu-ray disc is barebones, with just a basic menu that only offers Subtitle On/Off and Play options. The disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase, with a Retro VHS slipcover that makes the release look like a classic VHS rental tape. The details on these retro slipcovers are really fun, and the design even extends to the spine as well, allowing these discs to displayed like a collection of VHS tapes on your shelf.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:27:07)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

This release contains no bonus material.

Final Thoughts:

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is a really fun action-comedy that doesn’t deserve its generally negative reputation. Sylvester Stallone and Estelle Getty are a pure delight, and make a great comedic duo. While the release is barebones, the presentation is still pretty satisfying—the film itself is solid entertainment, and the release also comes with a fun Retro VHS slipcover. Mill Creek’s release is definitely worth picking up for any fan of the film or cast, or those looking for a classic early 90s action-comedy.