Johnny Dangerously (1984)

Set in the 1930s, an honest, good-hearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's sky-rocketing 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 this disorganized

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Johnny discusses going "legit" with Lil, they happily envision all the wonderful things offered by such a lifestyle. One of the benefits was the ability to "say 'hi' to a neighbor named Fred", a tip of the hat to Fred Rogers. Michael Keaton got started in the industry by working as a stagehand on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968), when he was still living in Pittsburgh. When Fred Rogers died in 2003, Michael Keaton hosted a memorial program on PBS dedicated to his friend and mentor.

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Goofs

In the 1910-set part of the movie, Jocko's car is a 1912 Cadillac, a car that wasn't made for another two years.

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Quotes

[In the middle of a trial]
Tommy Kelly: ...that Roman Troy Maronie was responsible for: the Mother's Day Massacre, The Christmas Day Slaughter, The Lincoln's Birthday Mutilations, and The Groundhog's Day Be-headings!

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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

Around the time of the Columbine shootings, Comedy Central removed Danny Vermin's line (referring to his specially made 88 Magnum) "It shoots through schools.".

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 23 February 2015 (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.

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