Johnny Be Good (1988)

Director:

Bud S. Smith

Writers:

Steve Zacharias (written by) &
Jeff Buhai (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Every college in the country wants Johnny. 'Cause when he's good he's very very good. And when he's bad he's better.

Plot:

It's recruiting time and despite being short and scrawny, Johnny Walker is America's hottest young football prospect...

Plot Keywords:

Football | American Football | Reference To John Wayne | Reference To Liberace | Future

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anthony Michael Hall	...	Johnny Walker
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Leo Wiggins
Paul Gleason	...	Wayne Hisler
Uma Thurman	...	Georgia Elkans
Steve James	...	Coach Sanders
Seymour Cassel	...	Wallace Gibson
Michael Greene	...	Tex Wade
Marshall Bell	...	Chief Elkans
Deborah May	...	Mrs. Walker
Michael Alldredge	...	Vinny Kroll
Jennifer Tilly	...	Connie Hisler
Jon Stafford	...	Bad Breath
Peter Koch	...	Pete Andropolous
Howard Cosell	...	Himself
Jim McMahon	...	Himself

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | Iceland:12 | New Zealand:M | Finland:K-14 | USA:PG-13 (theatrical version) | USA:R (video rating) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Georgetown, Texas, USA

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Playing on the drive-in screen is non other than a scene from Putney Swope (1969) which was both written and directed by Robert Downey Sr..

Quotes:

Georgia Elkans: Well. Since you're not going to speak, you WILL rub my feet.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bride of the Monster (#5.23)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Ring Around Rosie

Not good, not horrible

I was amused that Leonard Maltin wrote in his review that the seriousness of the issue (presumably, unscrupulous recruiting tactics) totally eluded this film's makers.

Of course, this is very contradictory for Maltin to say considering he has given positive reviews of countless films that totally elude the seriousness of issues like premarital sex, drug usage and underaged drinking.

In Johnny Be Good, true, unethical recruiting is presented in a comical format. However, Johnny's parents, girlfriend and high school coach take a clear stand of him going to the wrong college. At the end, he makes the right choice and goes to a college that focuses on education as well as athletics. The unscrupulous recruiters then face the consequences of their actions.

Don't get me wrong. This wasn't a great film, and Anthony Michael Hall wasn't well-cast in this film. However, Maltin's reasons for not liking this film are ridiculous at best and hypocritical at worst.