Movie Notes: Johnny Dangerously

March 12th, 2008

= 4 stars

Starring Michael Keaton, Marilu Henner, Joe Piscopo
Directed by Amy Heckerling

Synopsis

Johnny Dangerously (Michael Keaton), a good-hearted gangster, repeatedly tries to “go legit” — especially after his brother becomes district attorney and doesn’t know Johnny is a criminal.

The Good

• The jokes come pretty quick and heavy, and several are quite memorable, namely crime boss Moronie’s “fargin’ icehole” and Vermin (Joe Piscopo) and his wagging finger: “once.”
• Other jokes are of the surreal sort that I’m partial to, such as the disturbing things Johnny’s mom pulls out of her handbag, the testicle cartoon, and Johnny pricing puppies. Then there’s Danny DeVito’s fey screaming when he’s about to be gored by a bull.
• Michael Keaton sports a zany, slightly psychotic look that makes surprising sense for a man oscillating between hard crime and going legit.

The Bad

• The film slows down substantially when Vermin’s assassination attempt at the movie theater gets underway.
• This is definitely in that Airplane! vein with some bawdy sex jokes that might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
• The plot makes little sense and gets stupider as it goes along — for instance, Lil (Marilu Henner) is icy and standoffish and without effort is suddenly talking babies and marriage with Johnny. But hey, it’s a fargin’ comedy.

Conclusion

This is still one our favorite movies, with jokes somehow funnier when known by heart.

IMDB: Johnny Dangerously
Wikipedia: Johnny Dangerously
Rotten Tomatoes: Johnny Dangerously 43%