Mad Dog Time (1996)

With his boss in the madhouse, a mobster is temporary boss of the criminal empire just as vicious rivals threaten the control of the empire.

Director:

Larry Bishop

Writer:

Larry Bishop

Stars:

Michael J. Pollard, Henry Silva, Gabriel Byrne

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Pollard	...	Red Nash
Henry Silva	...	Sleepy Joe Carlisle
Gabriel Byrne	...	Ben London
Jeff Goldblum	...	Mickey Holliday
Ellen Barkin	...	Rita Everly
Gregory Hines	...	Jules Flamingo
Angie Everhart	...	Gabriella
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Jake Parker
Billy Idol	...	Lee Turner
Juan Fernández	...	Davis (as Juan Fernandez)
Billy Drago	...	Wells
Christopher Jones	...	Nicholas Falco
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Vic
Burt Reynolds	...	'Wacky' Jacky Jackson
Réal Andrews	...	Clarke

Storyline

Mob boss Vic returns to business from madhouse. Meanwhile his best and quickest assistant Mickey Holliday is having an affair with Vic's girl Grace Everly and, at the same time, with her sister Rita Everly. What will Vic do? Whom will he kill? Is he really insane and weak? Many other mobsters, including Jake Parker, WackyJacky Jackson and Ben London think he's not so powerful anymore and hope to take his place.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | femme fatale | black comedy | gangster | violence | 

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Taglines:

No Laws. No Meaning. No Exit.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Trigger Happy

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$107,874

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$107,874

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bruin Grip Services, Dreyfuss / James Productions, Skylight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 85 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Roger Ebert hated this movie, testifying that it was "the first movie I have seen that does not improve on the sight of a blank screen viewed for the same length of time."

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Quotes

Vic: Ben, go home. Pack your bags, and leave town.
Ben London: Nobody tells Ben London what to do any more!
Vic: [shoots Ben in the leg] Ben, hop home, pack your bags, and leave town.
Ben London: I'll hop home whenever I fucking feel like it!
Vic: [shoots the other leg] Now, Ben, roll home, pack your bags, and leave town.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Two of a Kind (2014)

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Soundtracks

Something's Gotta Give
Written by Johnny Mercer
Performed by Sammy Davis Jr.

User Reviews

A complete waste in every sense of the word

This is perhaps the worst movie ever made. It is absolutely indefensible. The positive comments here must have been posted by the producers and their friends. The idea of comparing it to "The Player" (as one reviewer did) is close to lunacy. The Player was a great film. It is a masterpiece compared to this movie. Come to think of it, "Scooby-Doo" would be a considered a masterwork in some parallel universe where the only other movie ever released was "Mad Dog Time."

This movie was made to feed the ego of its producers (who also appear in this disgraceful mess.) I will do them a huge favor and not name names (though you likely know who they are at this point.) How they managed to sell this to all of the fine actors in the cast is beyond me. I am sure that for Burt Reynolds, this is preferable to the dinner-theater circuit and obviously Billy Idol hasn't had a career in decades, but how do you explain the presence of Jeff Goldblum, Gabriel Byrne, Diane Lane, et al? I am guessing blackmail of some sort. Maybe the producers had compromising photos. Maybe they were forced to take part at gunpoint. I really don't know, but the end result is a serious black mark on everyone's record.

The "film" (I call it that begrudgingly) is a parody of the old Rat Pack movies. Granted it is hard to parody things that weren't serious to begin with, but the producers get zero points for trying.

The script tries very hard to be witty and fails miserably at every turn. Running "gags" include the hilarious fact that three of the characters names rhyme (that one is beaten to death, despite the fact that it was clearly stillborn), vapid musings about the meaning of life (and death of course) and the side-splitting fact that one of the characters may or may not have angina (which, it is cleverly pointed out, rhymes with vagina.) They threw in some people shooting each other as filler for a script that is lacking every essential element needed for a competent film. And someone commented that this is good family entertainment? In what universe? Perhaps they meant in the universe that this film is set in (a gimmick that has a tacked-on feel, like it was added at the last moment to explain why these characters all act like aliens from another planet.) The Rat Pack in space? Was that the pitch for this monstrosity?

Even fans of gangster movies will hate this. Do yourself a huge favor and avoid it at all costs. Oh by the way, they sneakily changed the title of this bomb to "Trigger Happy." I have to give it to them that this is a far more appropriate and clever title, but just imagine the outrage of some poor viewer who has already suffered through "Mad Dog Time" (on cable ten times a day) and rented this "new" title by mistake! The tragic error would be oh-so-painfully apparent as soon as the initial voice-over kicked in. In the beginning there was a bad opening and it was bad. Really bad. And God (or Vic depending on what universe you are in) knows it is all goes steeply downhill from there. Hit rewind, go back to the video store and demand a refund!

Note to the executives who green-lighted this "film." Go home, pack your bags and leave Hollywood. Please!