Directed by: Amy Heckerling
Written by: Harry Colomby, Jeff Harris, Bernie Kukoff, Norman Steinberg
Starring: Michael Keaton, Joe Piscopo, Marilu Henner
Alright, I'm back. Uni has occupied most of my time over the last few months, but now that it's over, I figured it was time to get back to this.
I'd known about Johnny Dangerously for years before seeing it; as a long-time fan of Weird Al Yankovic, I've loved This is the Life ever since I first heard it, a song by Al I knew to be written for the opening credits of this movie. Unfortunately, the film never really gets better than the song.
Johnny Dangerously is a spoof comedy in a similar vein to Airplane! (1980) or Hot Shots! (1991), filled with quick sight gags and simple subversion of expectations, though never quite as funny as either of the other films. Instead of parodying airplane disaster movies or Top Gun (1986), however, Dangerously pokes fun at 1920s and 1930s gangster films.
We're introduced to Johnny Kelly (Keaton), a pet shop owner in 1935, who catches a young boy trying to steal a puppy. This leads Johnny to regale the boy with a tale of his own history with crime. This first scene does well to set the tone of the film, with plenty of light visual gags (a pet throwing his food bowl out of his cage) dialogue jokes (Johnny talking to his pets as if he were a waiter serving them food) and upbeat music. There's also a meta acknowledgement of the format as the characters recognise the wavy lines that appear over the screen to tell us that moving in to the past.
From here we follow Johnny as his mother's constant ailments cause him to go to the local Dundee gang for money, which sets him off on a life of crime in the gang. We're introduced to a colourful cast of gangsters, including Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo), a self-described "real scumbag" who carries an .88 Magnum ("it shoots through schools"); all of the gang members speak in a forced 1920's 'wise guy' gangster tone, seemingly for comedy's sake.
The cast is top notch, always enjoyable to watch even if not always hilarious. Keaton is always a treat for me to watch, but the real highlight is Piscopo, who manages to over-act in the best way, with exaggerated beady eyes and hilariously forced stiff movement. Piscopo is charismatic despite these aspects, really showing the difference between bad acting and a parody of bad acting.
The Verdict: Johnny Dangerously has strength in its cast more often than its comedy. While it tries to constantly offer quick and cheap laughs and maintain a generally humourous atmosphere with the use of put-on 'gangster accents', the film didn't make me laugh as consistently as other films made in a similar style. I never disliked the film, but I can't say I'd actively recommend it either. If you enjoy light spoof movies, there's no harm in seeing this, but it's even more esoteric than other films of its kind.
Rating: 5.5/10
Published November 4th, 2016
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