Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Set in the 1930s, 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:

Norman Steinberg, Bernie Kukoff

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

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | newspaper boy | nightclub | organized crime | gangster | 

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Taglines:

Organized crime has never been so disorganized!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Johnny Dangerously

Filming Locations:

Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,947,746, 25 December 1984

Gross USA:

$17,124,395

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,124,395

Company Credits

Production Co:

Edgewood Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny DeVito and Marilu Henner starred on Taxi (1978).

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Goofs

Vermin supposedly found out that Johnny Dangerously's real last name is Kelly after Tommy gets married. However, Vermin and Johnny knew each other as kids, so Vermin would have known what his last name was already.

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Quotes

Young Johnny: Dr. Magnus, how's my mother?
Dr. Magnus: It's her pancreas again, Johnny. She's gonna need an operation immediately.
Young Johnny: How much is it gonna cost?
Dr. Magnus: $49.95
Young Johnny: $49.95?
Dr. Magnus: This week only.
Young Johnny: Where am I gonna get that kind of money?
Dr. Magnus: Why don't you knock over a gas station?

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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.

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Alternate Versions

In some versions, such as the VHS home video version, the opening theme by 'Weird Al Yankovic' has been removed and replaced with the same music that runs under the end titles. Presumably this was due to a music licensing issue. The DVD release restores the original theme by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Michael Keaton/Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)

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Soundtracks

Dangerously
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Performed by Marilu Henner

User Reviews

"Hmm... Johnny's getting laid!"

Hilarious, under rated gangster spoof about an essentially good hearted boy who grows up to be Johnny Dangerously (Michael Keaton), AKA: John Shannon, who uses his ill gotten gains to support his family - his ailing mom and send his little brother to law school, of all places. Things get sticky though when an old foe (Joe Piscapoe) comes after Johnny and his girlfriend (Marilu Henner) and Johnny's own brother tries to come after him as part of his mission to clean up the city.

Lots of great gags, like Johnny advising kids to chew gum instead of smoking, Johnny's jail house striped suit, the running gag of Joe Piscapoe's character saying that certain members of his family did something to him "once... ONCE.", the running gag of Johnny's brother being unable to resist the temptation of sex, and of course, the fireworks that go off whenever Johnny gets laid.