In the rich and combative history of film criticism, no feud is as iconic—or as unexpectedly hilarious—as the long-standing, petty war between legendary critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel over Cop and a Half, a Burt Reynolds comedy with a measly 14% Rotten Tomatoes score. The year was 1993, and while Cop and a Half didn’t exactly set the world on fire in terms of critical acclaim, it somehow ignited one of the most memorable and enduring arguments in pop culture commentary history.
At a time when Reynolds’ career was faltering and his star power was waning, he took on the role of Nick McKenna, a weary detective forced into a buddy-cop situation with an overly enthusiastic 8-year-old boy who’d witnessed a crime. The setup was absurd, the execution panned, and the critical consensus was brutal—except for one surprising voice of praise: Roger Ebert. Known for his willingness to stand apart from the crowd, Ebert awarded Cop and a Half three out of four stars. He called it charming, praised young Norman D. Golden II’s “winning performance,” and even found a soft spot for Reynolds’ good-hearted, albeit grizzled portrayal.
Enter Gene Siskel, whose reaction was somewhere between disbelief and personal betrayal. During their At the Movies review segment, Siskel quipped, “Wow, where’s your big red suit and beard, Santa? You just gave them a gift.” His tone wasn't just critical—it was scorched-earth. By the end of 1993, he had gone so far as to name Cop and a Half the worst film of the year, not-so-subtly twisting the knife by emphasizing that “my esteemed colleague... was the only major critic in America to recommend it.”
Ebert’s refusal to back down became a running joke and symbolic of his unwavering integrity. It didn’t matter if the entire industry mocked his opinion; if he found value in something, he’d defend it with every fiber of his being. This wasn’t an isolated blip in his career—this was the same critic who gave thumbs down to Die Hard and The Usual Suspects, and unflinchingly stood by those choices, even when they raised eyebrows and sparked think pieces.
As Siskel continued to needle Ebert in future episodes, Cop and a Half morphed from a mediocre kids' comedy into a legendary wedge in their dynamic. At one point, when Ebert finally succeeded in changing Siskel’s mind about the John Travolta action flick Broken Arrow, Siskel demanded one favor in return: “Look in the camera and say, ‘I was wrong about Cop and a Half.’” Ebert, without hesitation, refused.
That refusal, in all its comedic stubbornness, is what elevated this feud into something enduringly iconic. Their show wasn’t just about movies—it was about how we experience them, debate them, and occasionally get stuck in hilarious, unresolvable disagreements about them. And through all the Oscar winners, box office smashes, and cult classics they dissected, it’s a low-rated Burt Reynolds comedy that, decades later, still lives rent-free in the minds of film lovers.
In hindsight, it’s strangely poetic. Cop and a Half might never have earned critical acclaim, but it gave us a deeper look into what made Ebert and Siskel such an unforgettable duo: two critics who could turn even the most forgettable film into unforgettable television. So if you're in the mood for a movie that started a war of words between two of the greatest minds in film criticism—and you're curious enough to see what Ebert saw in it—you can rent Cop and a Half now on Apple TV+ and Prime Video. Just don’t expect Siskel’s ghost to approve.
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