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Tango & Cash poster

Tango & Cash

year 1989decade 80sdirector Andrei Konchalovskygenre Action / Comedy

104 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Sylvester Stallone Lieutenant Raymond (Ray) Tango
Kurt Russell Lieutenant Gabriel (Gabe) Cash
Jack Palance Yves Perret
Teri Hatcher Katherine (Kiki) Tango
Brion James Requin
James Hong Quan
Robert Z'Dar "Face"

Tango & Cash | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Shea Serranoproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Most Rewatchable Scene

Prison arrival and the prison escape are distinct favorites among opening, torture, nightclub and final-fight candidates.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:47Read transcript
  • The opening highway truck stop is said to borrow from an unnamed Jackie Chan movie, with windshield action, a badge demand and cocaine revealed by gunfire.
  • The Rambo insult breaks the actor/character boundary; a personal first encounter is compared to Vanilla Ice in Ninja Turtles 2 and Boys to Men on Fresh Prince.
  • Jack Palance and his fellow villains drive by; the exaggerated villainy is compared with Brad Wesley in Roadhouse.
  • The billion-dollar operation’s dark television-filled lair, tiny henchman crew and convenient villain drive-by make little sense.
  • Desert scenery is compared with Another 48 Hours and Lethal Weapon.
  • The trial, laundry-chute trip and prison electrocution are nominated; the apparent pain and obligatory Stallone groan are enjoyed.
  • The prison escape includes apparent betrayal later revealed as help, a dead helper, a villain bossing guards, rain, a fan obstruction and an improbable cable jump.
  • Huge survivable drops and the lavish strip club with Hatcher drumming lead to Cash evading police in a wig.
  • The Cockney henchman is recalled from 48 Hours and its sequel; dangling him from a building and grenades echo other action films including Commando.
  • The simultaneous final fights are praised as a device also used in Double Impact.
  • The arrival at prison, with litter, fire and relentless jokes despite fear, is a favorite; another selection picks the escape.
  • Cash being shot, chasing the assailant and confronting him at the station is recalled as an omitted scene candidate.

What’s Aged the Best?

Kurt Russell’s action-star appeal leads a range of delighted responses to the absurdity.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:19Read transcript
  • Joking and mutual mockery in frightening situations are enjoyed and believed.
  • The badge demand and Jack Palance’s later City Slickers Oscar are highlights; his exaggerated performance seems far removed from Oscar prospects.
  • The villain’s elaborate non-killing plan, prison diversion and convoluted trap for Cash are mocked affectionately.
  • Fubar is speculatively said to originate with this movie and its 90s TNT exposure.
  • Young Terry Hatcher is praised as a breakout, with later Seinfeld and Lois & Clark visibility recalled.
  • Insult nicknames and repeated jokes about the men’s bodies form part of the appeal.
  • Owen and the prototype armored vehicle exemplify the gadget-guy and supercar era; Stripes is compared.
  • Kurt Russell is selected, with the missing modern Russell/Swayze type of witty, resilient action star contrasted with current actors.
  • Michael B. Jordan is urged toward a buddy-cop franchise; Without Remorse scenes show potential, while a vaguely recalled Jamie Fox film illustrates overly serious modern action.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The automatic belief that the two celebrated cops are corrupt strains the frame-up plot.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:31Read transcript
  • The city accepts the frame-up with little defense of the previously successful cops and no effective legal help.
  • The trope is compared to repeatedly doubting the hero despite past success, as with Die Hard.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Fake newspapers and heroic celebrity cops lead, with violence editing and gratuitous nudity discussed.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:36Read transcript
  • Fake LA Chronicle headlines are overused for transitions; an opposing joke wishes for one after every scene.
  • Tweets, websites or TikToks are imagined replacing newspaper exposition today.
  • Superstar heroic LAPD cops are located near the end of that era, with Colors as a comparison.
  • Research attributes quick violence cuts to avoiding an X rating after Cobra’s rating problems.
  • A pre-show producer observation calls the random nudity unnecessary; the garage and club are examples.
  • Rodney King footage and Derrick Gates context are linked to the early-1990s shift in depictions; hero cops and newspapers are the final top two.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

No sequel is an outrage; a second take ranks it second among 1980s buddy-cop films, with objections.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:10Read transcript
  • Tango and Cash and Roadhouse are said to have deserved sequels more than many films that got them; leaving LAPD to become detectives is an imagined continuation.
  • The stars’ other sequels make the omission baffling; different cities or countries are imagined for a follow-up.
  • A second take ranks it behind only Beverly Hills Cop, excluding 48 Hours because one lead is not a cop; Lethal Weapon, Turner & Hooch, Red Heat, Running Scared, Midnight Run, Dragnet and Alienation are discussed.
  • Lethal Weapon 2 is preferred to the first; Lethal Weapon 4 is praised separately. Another response includes 48 Hours and places Lethal Weapon 2 and Running Scared above this film.
  • Running Scared’s Key West trip and early Jimmy Smits are praised, and the absence of its sequel is also questioned.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Jack Palance is the clear choice.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:46Read transcript
  • Palance is explicitly assigned the award before imitations of other overacting lines.
  • His uncompromising, bizarre villain remains full of riddles and jokes even facing death.
  • His inscrutable performance is compared with an implausible basketball claim on Kendrick Perkins’s Twitter feed.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

The sweating Total Recall actor and the biker-clothes actor receive separate choices.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:18Read transcript
  • Brion [transcribed Brian] James, James Hong and Clint Howard are said to have graduated from that-guy status; Face is recognized from Maniac Cop.
  • The sweating actor from Total Recall is one winner, with identity not supplied in this span.
  • Adolfo [transcribed Kignonis], the biker whose clothes are taken and a performer from the Breakin’ films, is the other choice.

Apex Mountain

Most actors are rejected; the LA Chronicle and Lethal Weapon imitations are endorsed.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:04Read transcript
  • Stallone is rejected; Russell’s influence is placed later, around Tombstone and the Escape from LA sequel.
  • No major actor seems at an apex: Face is countered with Maniac Cop and the henchman actor with 48 Hours. The film ranks highly as unintentional-comedy buddy-cop entertainment.
  • The fictional Los Angeles Chronicle is endorsed for its many front pages.
  • Lockup wins among Stallone prison films, with its muddy football game praised.
  • The grunts, hanging, fighting and football power-I play are praised, with Stallone a believable athlete.
  • Lethal Weapon rip-offs are endorsed; actor/character crossover moments are proposed with the overall apex unresolved.
  • Last Action Hero’s Stallone-as-Terminator poster is a comparison, but the Rambo joke remains a strong candidate.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Prefer the original or a sequel, with an eight-episode Michael Mann version entertained.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:51Read transcript
  • The film initially seems impossible to remake or convert to prestige TV; Stallone’s sequel is the preferred alternative.
  • Michael Mann is imagined making eight Heat-style episodes, with Tokyo Vice as precedent.
  • Heat 2 is praised as a novel beginning after the film; delayed viewing of Heat and affection for the film transcribed Dana Thieves are recalled.

Just One Oscar

Best director, for the joke of three directors accepting together.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:45Read transcript
  • No genuine Oscar case is made; three directors sharing an acceptance speech is the amusing choice.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

A movie claim about hanging from power lines is jokingly treated as a lesson.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:08Read transcript
  • After struggling for a lesson, the hosts repeat the movie’s claim about avoiding electrocution when not grounded and joke about trying it; this is a transcript observation, not verified electrical guidance.