Plot: Detective Malcolm Douglas (Ed Marinaro) is known as Mace, because he sprayed mace down the throat of a suspect. This tactic earned him not only his nickname, but also a demotion from homicide to vice. During an attempted drug bust, he kills one of the suspects and the other one soon dies after whispering some information to Mace. Of course, more dead suspects lands Mace in hot water, since he has the highest suspect mortality rate of any officer in the precinct. Soon Mace is drawn in on a chain of stripper deaths, which seem like overdoses at first, but there could be more to the story. Mace soon uncovers connections to the Russian KGB, a South African drug dealer, and perhaps even the FBI. But when his fast and loose methods cause him to lose his badge, it looks like Mace will never solve this one. As strippers continue to turn up dead, can anyone solve the case or will no one ever get a lapdance again?

Entertainment Value: Also known as Dead Aim, Mace is a fun cop thriller that has scads of 80s elements. Television stars Ed Marinaro from Hill Street Blues, Corbin Bernsen from L.A. Law, and William Sanderson from Newhart are here, plus Isaac Hayes, Cassandra Gava, Carol Chambers, Lynn Whitfield, and more. So a sizable cast and overall, the performances are more than solid. Marinaro is fun in the lead and is able to convey the tough guy with a heart role well. Hayes has a memorable role as well, but doesn’t have that much screen time. The tone is mostly serious and even dark at times, but there is also some humor interspersed. The story is a little more complicated than needed, but it works out in the end. Mace has drama, action, and countless scenes at a strip club, so if you like cop or action B movies, give this one a look.

A lot of scenes in Mace are at The Fool’s Paradise strip club, so you see a lot of ladies in various states of undress. Not all of those scenes feature nudity, but you see dance routines in next to nothing in each one. A few girls go full topless and one boob spills out in a humorous scene where a guy falls asleep while trying to solicit a hooker, so a few nips are out and about here. The blood count isn’t super high, but a few squib splashes can be seen during the many shoot outs. You also see a good deal of garrote handiwork, though the blood there is minimal. The action scenes are a lot of fun, including a sequence where Mace crashes his car into an airplane. Yes, that happens. Mace has some snappy comebacks, but otherwise not much memorable dialogue here. Mace isn’t an off the rails cop thriller, but it does have some wild moments and earns a couple points.

Nudity: 4/10

Blood: 2/10

Dialogue: 2/10

Overall Insanity: 3/10