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:

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 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:

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

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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 peligroso

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$17,124,395, 31 December 1985

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

When assistant D.A. Tommy Kelly goes to the D.A.'s mansion to tell him he has enough evidence to convict Johnny Dangerously, he says he has, among other things, recordings, and he holds up a reel of audio tape. This scene is set in the 1930s, but magnetic tape wasn't invented until the late 1940s.

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Quotes

Desk Sergeant: Calling all cars. Calling all cars. Be on the look out for... now listen to this: Dangerously and accomplices dressed as nuns driving a sedan covered with... oh you'll love this... duckies and bunnies.
Desk Sergeant: Calling all cars. Calling all cars. Come to Dooley's bar and grill. I'm buyin'.

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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

Featured in Top 5 Best/Worst: Top 5 Worst Michael Keaton Performances (2018)

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Soundtracks

Dangerously
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Performed by Marilu Henner

User Reviews

Funny "hit and miss" comedy

One of the first of the gangster spoof movies this is the story of Michael Keaton's Johnny Kelly sucked into Peter Boyle's New York gang before eventually leading it. This is confused by the fact that Johnny's brother (Griffin Dunne) is the DA seeking to put New York's crime lords away.

The film is silly from start to finish - the plot doesn't make sense and the characters are overblown, but that's the whole point - it's meant to be a spoof and it is. The jokes are quite hit-and-miss, but the majority hit and are funny, although you do need to be in the mood for it.

Michael Keaton is perfect in the lead role, clearly enjoying himself immensely and is on-form for the whole movie. The whole cast provide good support in a series of fun roles - Griffin Dunne is great as the DA, Danny DeVito top in a small role as the crooked DA (or host of game show "play ball"!). Richard Dimitri is hilarious as the gangster of unknown origin, guilty of murdering the english language (fargin' funny!), Peter Boyle is good as Johnny's boss, but Joe Piscopo is the best support as the gangster with attitude ("once").

The film is a fun throwback spoof. Every element of the film is exaggerated and the majority of it comes off well. Yes some jokes miss but they come so thick and fast that the next one is never far away.