The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)

A vulgar private detective is hired to find a missing groupie and is drawn into a mystery involving a series of murders tied to the music industry.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Daniel Waters (screenplay), James Cappe (screenplay)

Stars:

Andrew Dice Clay, Lauren Holly, Wayne Newton

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Dice Clay	...	Ford Fairlane
Wayne Newton	...	Julian Grendel
Priscilla Presley	...	Colleen Sutton
Morris Day	...	Don Cleveland
Lauren Holly	...	Jazz
Maddie Corman	...	Zuzu Petals
Gilbert Gottfried	...	Johnny Crunch
David Patrick Kelly	...	Sam
Brandon Call	...	The Kid
Robert Englund	...	Smiley
Ed O'Neill	...	Lt. Amos
Vince Neil	...	Bobby Black
Sheila E.	...	Club Singer
David Arnott	...	Club Guy
Mark Goldstein	...	Club Guy

Storyline

Ford "Mr. Rock n' Roll Detective" Fairlane is experiencing problems, and it's not with the opposite sex. One of them is that all the rock stars pay him with drum sticks, koala bears, food processors and bicycle shorts. Another one of them is that all his employers that want him to find a girl named Zuzu Petals get killed. Why didn't he become a fisherman's detective instead? A must-see for Andrew Dice Clay fans.

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Plot Keywords:

music industry | private detective | record executive | record company | cover up | 

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Taglines:

Ford Fairlane, rock 'n roll detective. To clients he's the greatest. To everyone else, he's just a dick.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Music | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The list of bands from Grendel's bogus "Fred's Condom Factory" company is:

• Ellen Aim and the Attackers
• Brain of the Scarecrow
• Alba Varden
• Heather, Corey, Heather Cory and Young
• Todd Times Two
• Black Plague
• 5000 Schizophrenics
• Hot Tub Johnny and his Feline Friends
• Hamma Waters Sings the Blues
• Nine Sisters
• Horses on Fire
• The Silver Belles
• Fred and Ethyl
• The Professor and Mary-Ann
• The Nakatomi Boys Choir
• The Doctor Bellows Funk Machine
• The Redheaded Gardner and his Flower

Also listed are the songs for the three "Black Plague" albums:

• Tatoo (10/3/88)
• Your Wow...
• The Bio Nude
• My Nazi Wench
• Suck the Bunny
• Hon, I Screwed the Kids
• Bruce Poked Maud
• Requiem of Paco the Shoe-Shine Boy by Wolfgang Binky
• Devil's Ghost (2/3/88)
• Auldbrass Antics
• Objectionable Bimbo
• Desecrated Diane
• Polanski Nursery
• Redheads on Fire
• Cum to Me, Baby
• Requiem of Paco the Shoe-Shine Boy by Wolfgang Binky
• Requiem (1/1/88)
• I Love You
• Suck the Bunny
• Teenage Suicide
• Hot Juice
• Sexual Pudding
• Violation

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, when Ford is telling the backstory of rock star Bobby Black when he dies on stage, the song Bobby sings includes the line "No she don't give a... No she don't give a SHIT!" Later, when Ford is watching MTV and sees Zuzu Petals in Bobby's music video, we hear the same lyric, including the word "SHIT". It is a violation of FCC rules to air an obscenity on a broadcast without censoring the word. MTV would be fined and/or reprimanded for airing an uncut version of the lyric. (Ironically, Andrew Dice Clay was banned from MTV for life after using obscene language on the MTV Music Video Awards, thus getting MTV in trouble with the FCC.)

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Quotes

Julian Grendel: My mother used to say..."If you can't say something nice about someone, make sure they're out of the goddamn room!"

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Connections

Spoofs Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

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Soundtracks

Unbelievable
(uncredited)
Performed by Yello

User Reviews

It's un-f**kingbelievable!

There's profanity. Lots of it. PC is out the window! It's derogatory to women. And I can't help but love it. Taking into account the heavily polarized views it's safe to say that you will either hate it or you'll love it. Middle road is very unlikely. But rest assured, IF you love it, the movie will probably make it into your top 10 easy. And after all, that's not all that bad a chance to take. It's not for everyone - I wouldn't recommend it for a romantic evening with your girlfriend. Maybe with your wife :).. But give it a try. You might not hate it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 July 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

Filming Locations:

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,374,391, 15 July 1990

Gross USA:

$21,413,502

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,413,502

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1