There is a great film waiting to be found within the pages of the Joseph Wambaugh novel that gives this film its name. Unfortunately, Robert Aldrich and crew failed to deliver it with this film. The script faithfully translates many scenes and whole chunks of dialogue from the book verbatim but something went missing in the translation. This happens mainly because Aldrich's direction of the tale is uncharacteristically flat-footed, missing out on the surreal, cartoonish edge of the novel and delivering a finished product that lacks irony or any attempt to criticize the policemen heroes for the role they play in the vicious cycle of their careers. As a result, key scenes with a dark racial, social or sexual edge to them lack the sense of danger they should have and play out like crass gags from a particularly raunchy sitcom. The cast gives it their all, with pros like Charles Durning and Burt Young turning in solid work as police force veterans. However, normally reliable actors like Don Stroud and Perry King turn in overwrought performances, probably due to the shrill, one-note tone of the script and direction. Even the technical aspects of The Choirboys seems off: Joseph Biroc's cinematography has a dull, overlit "t.v.-movie" look to it and Frank DeVol's score includes humor-minded songs that sound like outtakes from the score of Car 54, Where Are You. In short, fans of Wambaugh's novels would be better off sticking with The Onion Field or The New Centurions rather than this misguided adaptation.
![Cruising [Korean]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/8809154127258_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Cruising [Korean]")
