Chevy Chase is Norman Robberson, a hen-pecked suburban dad who likes to watch cop shows.  When he is informed that his next door neighbor, Horace Obsborn (Robert Davi), is suspected of being a Mafia hitman, he agrees to allow Detectives Jake Stone (Jack Palance) and Tony Moore (David Barry Gray) to use his house as their stakeout location.

Cops and Robbersons is just as terrible as its title.  Norman is basically Clark Griswold without the excuse of a vacation or the holidays to explain away his stupidity.  Jack Palance growls and looks annoyed but without the same comedic flair that he brought to City Slickers.  Dianne Wiest is wasted as Norman’s wife.  Of course, Norman’s daughter develops a crush on Tony while Norman’s son dressed up like Dracula and tries to put the bite on Stone.  Norman keeps getting in the way of the two cops and trying to conduct an investigation on his own.  There has to be an easier way to capture a hitman.  The only thing that really works is Robert Davi’s performance as the hitman.  Davi doesn’t try to be funny, which actually brings out the best in Chase whenever they share a scene.  Chase’s goofy dad shtick works best when he’s dealing with someone who isn’t trying to score laughs of his own.

How did the great Michael Ritchie end up directing movies like this?  Whoever let that happen should be ashamed.