You guys, I've now seen all of Amy Heckerling's films! Isn't that exciting? It is! In her 1930's-era crime spoof Johnny Dangerously, an eyeliner-ed Michael Keaton plays the eponymous gangster, a well-meaning paperboy who turned to crime in an effort to pay his Irish mother's massive medical bills. He moves up the ranks and eventually his boss Jocko Dundee (Peter Doyle) puts him in charge as a violet gang war is fought between his group and the malapropistic Moronie gang. When his law student younger brother (Griffin Dunne) joins the DA's office and proclaims a war on organized crime, Johnny is torn between obligations to his family and his secret criminal occupation.
I've always been a big fan of goofy, irreverent comedies in the Mel Brooks vein- movies that just have fun with the dialogue and silly sight gags, devoid of the cynical sarcasm so prevalent in later films (which I like as well, but could sometimes use a break from). Johnny Dangerously fits well into that kind of comedy, packing in tons of little jokes- from winking anachronisms to unsubtle innuendo to running character gags. Not all of the jokes work (the repetitive ones especially grow stale quickly), but it's impressively detail-driven and everyone seems like they're having a good time. Plus it opens with a Weird Al song, so I was hooked from the beginning!
Michael Keaton is a likable wiseguy, Peter Boyle doesn't explode in a bathroom, Joe Piscopo sneers and snarls, Danny DeVito is sleazy and show-hosty, and Griffin Dunne just wants to get laid: There are a lot of fun dudes in this movie! I also enjoyed Maureen Stapleton as the neurotic mother and the sharp-tongued Marilu Henner as Johnny's love interest Lil, though she was sadly under-used. The plot is all over the place, but the script is funny, the performances are enthusiastic, and the period set pieces/costumes are impressive so it all pulls together to make for an entertaining, endearingly silly movie. I even could see it improving with multiple viewings for all of the crazy sight gags and throw-away lines strewn throughout.
4/5
Pair This Movie With: I'm definitely going with something Mel Brooks... how about Young Frankenstein!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Johnny Dangerously (1984)
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It shoots through schools.
ReplyDeleteI can't begin to count the number of times I've used the 'just once' line as a subtle reference nobody will get. Every time I watch Joe Piscopo in this I think of Christopher McDonald (I don't know why but the two just seem so interchangeable here).
ReplyDeleteUnivarn: I actually spent the whole movie imagining Christopher McDonald in Piscopo's role, so definitely an apt comparison!
ReplyDeleteKeaton strikes a similar note in "The Squeeze" though this time John Davidson is hammying it up beyond belief. I love Johnny Dangerously, but cringe at some of its dated humor.
ReplyDelete