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

Two of the movie's four screenwriters, Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff previously created Diff'rent Strokes (1978).

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Goofs

Johnny's hair changes length when the Moronie robot arrives.

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Quotes

Johnny Dangerously: Commissioner, there's all the evidence against me, just like I promised you. Use it. I'm ready to pay my debt.
[No response from Commissioner]
Johnny Dangerously: Hey, how about a thank you?
[Johnny notices that the Commissioner is dead]
Johnny Dangerously: Hey, how about me getting out of here?
[Johnny turns to leave but is hit on the head]
Johnny Dangerously: Hey, how about me getting knocked out?
[He falls]

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Crazy Credits

Ray Walston's name appears twice in the closing credits. The first is with a picture of his character and later in just typeface (along with Ron Carey) under the title "Special Appearances."

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Connections

Features The Roaring Twenties (1939)

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Soundtracks

This Is The Life (Theme From 'Johnny Dangerously')
Written by 'Weird Al' Yankovic
Performed by 'Weird Al' Yankovic
[title song]

User Reviews

Hey, How about me getting' knocked out

As far as parody films go, there are few that are worth time and energy. but with a recent resurgence of horrid parodies such as Date Movie and The Comebacks, it is a breath of fresh air to come back and rediscover a truly funny farce like Johnny Dangerously.

After his mother has no end of medical problems, little Johnny goes to work for the mob. What fallows is a series of gags, most of which work, there are, however, the occasional flops. But a foreign gangster who can't master the American language (profanity wise, at least), a rival gangster with a penchant for shooting his mouth off (...once!), a younger brother with the D.A. who is out to get Johhny Dangerously, and a hot young starlet hot for his affections have Johnny busy.

And the viewer will be busy laughing, for the most part, as every gangster-movie cliché is skewered by a talented cast and decent writing.

Not perfect by a long shot, but definitely good for a smile on a bad day.