Johnny Dangerously

I have watched Johnny Dangerously more times than I can count. Aside from loving Michael Keaton's work, this film stands out as one of the funniest I have ever seen. "Johnny's" personality and swagger are delightful to begin with, and the comedy lines produce laughter with tears in the eyes. My kids told me about this picture first, and I am indebted to them. Whether he's doing comedy or drama, Michael Keaton has my heart.

This movie is just too funny, a totally non-PC gangster romp. If Mel Brooks made a picture about the Mob in the 30's, it would probably look like this. Too many great one-liners to to remember, and while its not for everyone, anyone who DOESNT laugh a whole bunch of times doesnt have a pulse. So, put it on and LAUGH you Iceholes!!!

"Johnny Dangerously" is one of those movies that exists for the sole purpose of being silly, much like "Airplane!". Michael Keaton plays Johnny Kelly, who once became a gangster under the name Johnny Dangerously, to pay his mother's (Maureen Stapleton) bills. His nemesis is Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo). After a series of mix-ups, Johnny's brother Tommy (Griffin Dunne) becomes a marked man.

That's the plot, but you don't even need to pay attention to the plot. The whole movie is an excuse for a bunch of goofy occurrences, such as when the year is shown in the opening scene, and a car runs over the numbers, or when someone lights a cigarette and Johnny turns to the camera and reminds the children in the audience never to start smoking. My favorite character was Roman Moronie, just because of how he tried to curse and ended up saying things like "fargin' iceholes". Oh, and Alan Hale appears in one of his non-Skipper roles. In my opinion, one of the neatest lines was, after Lil (Marilu Henner) hears Johnny's name, she says: "I've never met a man whose last name was an adverb."

One the whole, this movie isn't perfect. It doesn't 'hang well' together as the story line is basically a bunch of hooks to hang jokes.

Some of these jokes are a little 'too 80s' and tend to date the picture.

But some of these jokes are classic.

You know a movie has something special when you and your friends still reference silly quotes from it over 2 decades later.

Plus, there are a bunch of familiar faces; Michael Keaton, Danny Devito, Joe Piscapo, Peter Boyle, Marilu Henner, Maureen Stapleton, Bob Eubanks, Griffin Dunne, and one of the last roles of Alan Hale Jr., the Skipper from Gilligan's Island.

Also, there are some great absurdist moments, like when Johnny is labelling the puppies with a pricing gun, or the Pope making an appearance in Johnny's neighborhood. Also, the scene where the fake priest makes up a lot of words in Latin is excellent. ("Summa cum laude, magna cum laude, the radio's too louda... Post meridian, ante meridian, uncle meridian").

Other Classic Scenes include Ramone Maroney butchering the English language Danny Devito urging Griffin Dunne to 'Play Ball' Peter Boyle thinking he lost his manhood The fake VD movie

This movie is no home run. But like 'Porky's', it has enough classic comedy bits to make it memorable.

For a movie that gets no respect there sure are a lot of memorable quotes listed for this gem. Imagine a movie where Joe Piscopo is actually funny! Maureen Stapleton is a scene stealer. The Moroni character is an absolute scream. Watch for Alan "The Skipper" Hale jr. as a police Sgt.