As "Kuffs" begins, Christian Slater is dancing in his living room with girlfriend Milla Jovovich. He's in pajama bottoms and she's in her underwear, and the scene is vaguely reminiscent of Tom Cruise's prancing around in his skivvies in a memorable moment from "Risky Business."

Then Slater, whose title character is an irresponsible lout, begins talking directly to the audience, a la "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Later, the film is dominated by rapid gunfire, explosions and fistfights that bring to mind the "Lethal Weapon" and "48 HRS." films. And it's all set to a Harold Faltermeyer score that echoes his music for the "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Fletch" movies.

Oh, and did I mention the sound effects that evoke Warner Bros. cartoons?

Not that everything about "Kuffs" is derivative. The main plot element, about districts of San Francisco that are patrolled by privately owned police companies, is interesting. But setting that up takes about five minutes in the film's early scenes. Once Slater's older brother

MOVIEis murdered, leaving one such district to him, we know he'll clean up his act, attend the police academy and go after his brother's killer. He might even become responsible enough to do the right thing by Jovovich, who is pregnant with his child.

"Kuffs" is a very broadly played cartoon, with nothing believable in the entire film. And since that is the case, it's surprising how violent the film is. Why is it that plotting, dialogue and characterizations can be completely ridiculous in movies like this, but the filmmakers insist on making the violence graphic?

It's also rather amazing that a picture like "Kuffs" can walk away with a PG-13 rating instead of an R. Presumably that's because, despite all the mayhem, one scene of excessive profanity has certain words bleeped out with comic sound effects. (There is also some drug abuse and some vulgar remarks.)

As for the cast, Slater and Jovovich are rather bland, though Tony Goldwyn (the villain in "Ghost") gets some chuckles from his idiotic role as a suspended cop who has taken up with the chief's wife. And TV star Bruce Boxleitner has a thankless cameo that is used up in the film's first 10 minutes.

Still, fans of Slater — if you're past puberty you won't understand — will probably want to take it in. And judging from audience reaction when Goldwyn came on screen, he may be building a following as well.