Nothing But Trouble (1991)

A businessman and his friends are captured by a sadistic judge and his equally odd family in the backwoods of a bizarre mansion.

Director:

Dan Aykroyd

Writers:

Peter Aykroyd (story), Dan Aykroyd (screenplay)

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Chris Thorne
Dan Aykroyd	...	Judge Alvin 'J.P' Valkenheiser / Bobo
John Candy	...	Dennis / Eldona
Demi Moore	...	Diane Lightson
Valri Bromfield	...	Miss Purdah
Taylor Negron	...	Fausto Squiriniszu
Bertila Damas	...	Renalda Squiriniszu
Raymond J. Barry	...	Mark
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Brian
John Wesley	...	Sam
Peter Aykroyd	...	Mike the Doorman
Daniel Baldwin	...	Dealer #1 (Artie)
James Staszkiel	...	Dealer #2 (as James Staskel)
Deborah Lee Johnson	...	Dealer #1's Girlfriend
Karla Tamburrelli	...	Dealer #2's Girlfriend

Storyline

A financier [Chevy Chase] meets a spurned lover [Demi Moore] and agrees to take her to a business meeting. On the way there, they run a stop sign in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. They are arrested and taken to the local court. But all is not as it seems: the courthouse and the "prison" are a maze of zany booby- traps and deadly contraptions. The antics of the captured couple as they try to escape from the mad judge and his bizarre family make up the rest of this unusual film.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | escape | chase | hare krishna | atlantic city new jersey | 

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Taglines:

All they wanted was a little getaway. All they got was nothing but trouble.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Git

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,966,240, 18 February 1991

Gross USA:

$8,479,793

Company Credits

Production Co:

Applied Action, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bertila Damas and Taylor Negron spent a lot of time with one another, during pre-production, rehearsing and building their characters together as they portrayed brother and sister in the film. In fact they actually wrote much of their own dialogue with Dan Aykroyd 's approval.

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Goofs

When Chevy Chase gets the cop on his tail, the cop pushes a switch to close a road block in front of him. Chevy Chase turns right, onto a dirt road, oversteers, and turning the front tires to the left. In the next shot inside the car, Chevy Chase turns the steering wheel to the right. In the next shot from the outside, the front wheels are turned to the left.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Fausto: [as they leave a car and go into a building to a party] 20 minutes, hello, good-bye.
Renalda: Ok.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Worst Films of 1991 (1992)

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Soundtracks

Wabash Cannonball
Traditional, attributed to J.A. Roff (uncredited)
[Incorrectly credited as written by A.P. Carter]
Performed by Doc Watson
Courtesy of EMI, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. by arragement with Cema Special Markets

User Reviews

I think this movie traumatized more kids than "Jaws"

If your idea of a dark comedy is something like "Beetlejuice" or "Deathtrap" or "Heathers", then watch out. This one makes them look like Peewee's Playhouse.

You know how certain horror movies cross over into comedy? Like when Freddy Krueger says "Welcome to prime time b!tch!!" and slams a girl's head into the TV? Well, this is the opposite: comedy crossing over into horror. It gets pretty weird, and if you're not expecting it, it can be downright upsetting.

I think that's what makes so many people hate this movie. With an all-star comedic cast like it has, it promises to be a laugh riot like the DVD cover says. I was expecting something like "Ghostbusters" meets "Fletch" meets "Summer Rental". Instead it's more like "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" meets "Deliverance". In other words the comedy is very low-key, not quite enough to offset the disturbing story.

Dan Akroyd, who plays a sadistic murdering judge, is just plain frightening. John Candy, who plays the sympathetic policeman, gives the story an air of tragedy. Chevy Chase is his usual wisecracking self, but it can't compete with the horror & violence of the plot (being trapped in a hicktown house while people are getting brutally murdered all around you). You really have to be ready for it, otherwise you might end up traumatized. The "Bonestripper" scene will give lifelong nightmares to any kid under the age of 12, as well as impressionable adults.

But now that you've been warned, perhaps you'll be able to take it in stride. I'm not sure if writer Dan Akroyd intended this to be so nightmarish, but it sure is. Definitely a one-of-a-kind. NOT for young kids!!