Car 54, Where Are You? (1994)

Brash NYC policeman Officer Gunther Toody is partnered with stiff, by-the-book Officer Francis Muldoon to protect an important mafia witness prior to testifying against orgainzed crime in ... See full summary »

Director:

Bill Fishman

Writers:

Nat Hiken (television series), Erik Tarloff (story)

Stars:

David Johansen, John C. McGinley, Fran Drescher

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Johansen	...	Officer Gunther Toody
John C. McGinley	...	Officer Francis Muldoon
Fran Drescher	...	Velma Velour
Nipsey Russell	...	Police Capt. Dave Anderson
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Lucille Toody
Daniel Baldwin	...	Don Motti
Jeremy Piven	...	Herbert Hortz
Bobby Collins	...	Carlo (as Bobby C. Collins)
Louis Di Bianco	...	Nicco
Al Lewis	...	Leo Schnauzer
Barbara Hamilton	...	Mrs. Muldoon
Eliza Roberts	...	Boys in Blue Director (as Eliza Garrett)
Rik Colitti	...	Sgt. Abrams
Penn Jillette	...	Luther (as Penn)
Teller	...	Luther (as Teller)

Storyline

Brash NYC policeman Officer Gunther Toody is partnered with stiff, by-the-book Officer Francis Muldoon to protect an important mafia witness prior to testifying against orgainzed crime in Brooklyn, all the while dealing with their personal lives, overbearing spouses, common criminals, arms dealers, and their officious boss Captain Anderson.

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Plot Keywords:

law enforcer | question in title | police officer | police | nurse | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Bill Fishman was unaware that the movie had been released until he was forwarded a check for post-release royalties by his agent. Fishman was also not informed of the extensive re-edits that the movie had been put through, and said that had he known how different the end product would be from what he filmed, he would have asked to be credited as Alan Smithee.

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Goofs

During the opening credits, when Toody and Schnauser are in the car reading, Toody steers left before hitting the dirt ramp, but the ramp is on the right side of the road.

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Quotes

Officer Gunther Toody: Luthers, this is my new partner Francis Muldoon, the pride of the 53rd.
Luther #1: Hello, Muldoon. We're Luther. How are you doing. What are you packing?
Officer Francis Muldoon: I'm packing a 9mm Beretta in my shoulder holster and a Walther PPK in my back pocket.
Luther #1: You know what you need? A nice little crotch derringer. All it does is...
[Luther 1 pulls it out, and Muldoon goes for his gun]
Officer Gunther Toody: No, no, no! It's all right!
Luther #1: [to Muldoon] Keep it in your pants. What? Little more sneaky? Look at this. All you gotta do is, now listen carefully. ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in I Hate Everything: the Search for the Worst: The Star Wars Holiday Special (2015)

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Soundtracks

Afternoon Delight
Written by Bill Danoff
Performed by Starland Vocal Band

User Reviews

Very likely the worst film I've ever seen

I've sat through some dreadful films in my time, but this one may well be the all-time winner. I watched the whole thing with my mouth hanging open in stunned disbelief that it could be as bad as it was.

I was extremely interested in seeing the film around the time it came out. This was back when Nick@Nite was showing reruns of the old Car 54 TV show, and I was one of the many who was first exposed to it there and fell in love with it. My understanding was that it was this renaissance of cult interest in the show that motivated the making of a movie. So I was looking forward to seeing said movie.

The thing about this movie was, it seemed extremely evident that NOBODY associated with the making of this movie HAD EVER actually *seen* the original TV show upon which it is (supposedly) based. That the main characters are named Toody and Mulldoon seems almost a coincidence; they aren't even *remotely* like the original characters, except in so far as being cops. The original Car 54 TV show had a delightful, wacky sense of humor. This abomination of a film has NO sense of humor. I didn't not laugh once, not one single time. The original TV show had an amusing, catchy theme song. This thing had some monstrosity of a rap. What I will never, ever fathom is how *anybody* ever signed off on this thing at any stage in its development. I want to know who looked at the script for this and say "Yeah! That's great!" and what drugs they were on.

I remain in everlasting awe that they were able to propose, write, film, edit, and release a Car 54 film that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the great old TV show, Car 54, Where Are You. When you factor in the disappointment factor over what it could have been, I think this could well be the worst ever. There was just *no good reason* for it to have been this bad.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Car 54, Where Are You?

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$791,182, 30 January 1994

Gross USA:

$1,238,080

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,238,080

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1