Top Dog (film)

Top Dog is a 1995 buddy cop film starring Chuck Norris (Jake Wilder) and... a dog named Reno. Despite their friction, the duo fight crime, most notably a white supremacist group which has been bombing numerous buildings and plans to assassinate The Pope at a Coalition For Racial Unity rally.

It uses pretty much every cop cliche in the book. See also Walker, Texas Ranger for a similar Chuck Norris vehicle. See also K-9 and Turner & Hooch.

Tropes used in Top Dog (film) include:

• Awesome but Impractical: Early in the film, a group of terrorists disguised as clowns pays Jake's house a visit. One of them does a pointless front flip over a hedge before shooting.
• Buddy Cop Show
• Catch Phrase: Jake: "Damn dog."
• Chase Scene: There's one when two of the neo-Nazis try to cross the border with weapons in their trunk, and peel away from the patrolmen who were going to search it.
• Cowboy Cop
• Dead Partner: Reno's partner was killed.
• Destination Defenestration: Jake kicks a druggie through a window. Reno gets the credit.
• Dog Food Diet: Sort of. At one point, Jake brings home a chicken dinner. But he leaves the room and when he returns, he finds Reno has dug into his chicken. Angered, Jake asks what he's supposed to eat; Reno pushes the can of dog food intended for him in front of Jake's shoes.
• Flashback Nightmare: Reno frequently has one about his old partner, who was killed in the line of duty.
• Groin Attack: Jake lands one on a druggie early in the film.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy
• Monster Clown: As mentioned in Awesome but Impractical, the terrorists are dressed as clowns.
• Montages: Matthew and Reno at a fair. Also counts as filler, since it doesn't advance the story.
• Slow Motion
• Stuff Blowing Up
• Trash of the Titans: Jake's bedroom. It's so messy he can't find the phone, even when it's ringing.
• Turn in Your Badge: Jake is on suspension at the beginning of the film, but is pulled out of it to help crack the white supremacy case.
• Visionary Villain: The villain, Nelson, has a very clear goal in mind: He wants to unite all sorts of hate groups with one attack in order to spread his neo-Nazi agenda all over the world.

Nelson: In a single blow, we can initiate the movement which will sanitize this country for generations! We must succeed. We will succeed!