Off Beat (film) As a favor, library clerk Joe Gower takes the place of his friend, police officer Abe Washington, at a dance audition for cops. He is supposed to fail, and get his friend out of the show, but he falls in love with his dance partner, hostage negotiator Rachel, who thinks he is really a cop, and passes the audition. Joe continues the impersonation in order to win Rachel, but finally decides to confess. Before he can do so, he is taken hostage—still in uniform—by bank robbers. He foils the robbers, and Rachel learns the truth. They realize their love makes up for his masquerade, and dance together at the policeman’s show. Released on April 11, 1986. Directed by Michael Dinner. A Touchstone film. 92 min. Stars Judge Reinhold (Joe Gower), Meg Tilly (Rachel Wareham), Cleavant Derricks (Abe Washington), Joe Mantegna (Pete Peterson), Jacques D’Amboise (August), Amy Wright (Mary Ellen Grunewald), John Turturro (Neil Pepper). This was Judge Reinhold’s first starring picture. The film was made entirely in New York City at locations ranging from the bustling sections of mid-town Manhattan and Soho to a tree-lined residential section of Brooklyn. Among the key shooting sites were Central Park, the Times Square subway station, the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center, the New York School of Ballet on the Upper West Side, and the New York Public Library. Released on video in 1986 and 1989.
