Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Set in the 1930's, an honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.

Director:

Amy Heckerling

Writers:

Harry Colomby, Jeff Harris,

Stars:

Michael Keaton, Joe Piscopo, Marilu Henner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Keaton	...	Johnny Kelly / Johnny Dangerously
Joe Piscopo	...	Danny Vermin
Marilu Henner	...	Lil
Maureen Stapleton	...	Ma Kelly
Peter Boyle	...	Jocko Dundee
Griffin Dunne	...	Tommy Kelly
Glynnis O'Connor	...	Sally
Dom DeLuise	...	The Pope
Richard Dimitri	...	Roman Troy Moronie
Danny DeVito	...	Burr
Ron Carey	...	Pat
Ray Walston	...	Vendor
Dick Butkus	...	Arthur
Byron Thames	...	Young Johnny
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Desk Sergeant

Storyline

Set in the 1930's, an honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.

---

Plot Keywords:

medical bill | 1930s | ill mother | radio interview | punched in the face | 

---

Taglines:

WANTED * MICHAEL KEATON * for being wacky, outrageous & rude in the 'new' hit comedy

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Johnny le dangereux

Filming Locations:

Stage 2, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edgewood Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This gangster comedy was released during a cycle of Hollywood movies during the 1980s that sent up gangster films. These pictures included Prizzi's Honor, Wise Guys, Harlem Nights City Heat, Johnny Dangerously, Little Miss Marker and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

---

Goofs

At Moroni's hearing, you see assistant DA Tommy Kelly wearing a wedding band, yet he hasn't married Sally yet.

---

Quotes

Johnny Dangerously: [after bathroom has exploded] Take it easy!
Jocko Dundee: Take it easy? I'm standing here with my dork in my hand!

---

Crazy Credits

After the opening credits, you see "1935" on the screen. A car in the near lane of the street drives behind it. Then, another car (in the far lane) runs into the number sitting on the road, and smashes it to pieces.

---

Connections

Spoofed in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

User Reviews

dangerously silly

"Johnny Dangerously" is one of those movies that exists for the sole purpose of being silly, much like "Airplane!". Michael Keaton plays Johnny Kelly, who once became a gangster under the name Johnny Dangerously, to pay his mother's (Maureen Stapleton) bills. His nemesis is Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo). After a series of mix-ups, Johnny's brother Tommy (Griffin Dunne) becomes a marked man.

That's the plot, but you don't even need to pay attention to the plot. The whole movie is an excuse for a bunch of goofy occurrences, such as when the year is shown in the opening scene, and a car runs over the numbers, or when someone lights a cigarette and Johnny turns to the camera and reminds the children in the audience never to start smoking. My favorite character was Roman Moronie, just because of how he tried to curse and ended up saying things like "fargin' iceholes". Oh, and Alan Hale appears in one of his non-Skipper roles. In my opinion, one of the neatest lines was, after Lil (Marilu Henner) hears Johnny's name, she says: "I've never met a man whose last name was an adverb."