Armed and Dangerous (1986) Columbia/Action-Comedy RT: 86 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, violence including gunplay, sexual content, brief rear nudity, wild driving) Director: Mark L. Lester Screenplay: Harold Ramis and Peter Torokvei Music: Bill Meyers Cinematography: Fred Schuler Release date: August 15, 1986 (US) Cast: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Robert Loggia, Kenneth McMillan, Meg Ryan, Brion James, Jonathan Banks, James Tolkan, Don Stroud, Larry Hankin, Steve Railsback, Robert Burgos, Tony Burton, Robert Gray, Larry Flash Jenkins, Stacy Keach Sr., Bruce Kirby, Saveliy Kramarov, Judy Landers, Tommy “Tiny” Lister, K.C. Winkler, Glenn Withrow, David Wohl, Melanie Gaffin. Box Office: $15.9M (US)
Rating: ***
It wasn’t the star power of SCTV colleagues John Candy and Eugene Levy that drew me to the action-comedy Armed and Dangerous. It was director Mark L. Lester who directed two of my favorite 80s actioners (Class of 1984 and Commando) as well as 70s guilty pleasure Roller Boogie. I was curious to see how he’d fare with comedy. I planned to see it at the movies, but it was gone before I got the chance. It was the story of my life that summer; I also missed American Anthem, Out of Bounds and A Fine Mess. Some might say I didn’t miss anything, but that’s a topic of discussion for another time.
ANYWAY, I finally saw Armed and Dangerous when it came out on video the following winter. I didn’t expect much of it, especially with Candy’s recent track record of lackluster comedies like Brewster’s Millions, Summer Rental and Volunteers. As such, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it wasn’t all that bad. In fact, it’s pretty funny in a silly, dopey kind of way. Okay, so it’s not a masterpiece of comedy or cinema. Some of the jokes just don’t land. The plot has been done to death. It’s entirely predictable. HOWEVER, Candy and Levy do make a winning team. It has a good supporting cast. Plus, it has a cool finale. I don’t know about you, but I’m always up for some vehicular mayhem.
Dismissed from the police force after being framed for theft, ex-cop Frank Dooley (Candy) takes a job as an armed security guard for an outfit called Guard Dog Security. He’s partnered with Norman Kane (Levy), a nervous ex-attorney who doesn’t like taking risks. After a single afternoon of training, they’re sent into the field where they immediately make a name for themselves by failing to prevent a robbery at the warehouse they’re guarding. They make an enemy of corrupt union boss Michael Carlino (Loggia, Scarface) when Kane questions the $15/week union dues at a big meeting.
Despite their subsequent crappy assignments (e.g. a toxic waste dump), Dooley and Kane manage to uncover a burglary ring involving union officials and corrupt cops. It turns out to be a cover for an even bigger crime involving the theft of millions of dollars in union pension funds. It’s up to our two heroes to prevent the crime and bring the guilty parties to justice. Actually, the guys don’t go about it on their own. They get a fair amount of help from the only one who believes their claim, cute supervisor Maggie (Ryan, When Harry Met Sally), the daughter of the big boss (McMillan, Dune). It doesn’t hurt that she has the hots for Kane.
Early on, I expected Armed and Dangerous to be along the lines of Police Academy with the introduction of the misfit types training alongside Dooley and Kane. Let me tell you, there are some mighty strange people interested in the private security business, but none stranger than the whacked-out dude played by Larry Hankin (Billy Madison). He’s kind of like Christopher Lloyd’s Reverend Jim from the sitcom Taxi. ANYWAY, Lester barely uses them save for a handful of scenes. If anything, Armed and Dangerous is more like Beverly Hills Cop and Fletch in that it belongs entirely to its leads Candy and Levy. They have chemistry that’s likely the result of honing their act together for years on SCTV. Look at the scene where they dodge pursuers in a sex shop by donning kinky disguises. That’s on top of funny individual scenes of Candy getting stuck in a tree trying to rescue a little girl’s cat and Levy contending with a psycho cult leader (Withrow, The Outsiders) in court. They’re aided by a capable supporting cast that also includes Jonathan Banks (Beverly Hills Cop) and Brion James (48 Hrs.) as a couple of union goons, James Tolkan (Back to the Future) as the union treasurer and Steve Railsback (The Stunt Man) as a helpful oil truck driver identified in the credits as “The Cowboy”.
The action scenes in Armed and Dangerous are well done, especially the sequence where The Cowboy crashes and smashes his way through a traffic jam after Dooley’s ancient motorcycle breaks down on his way to help in the capture of the bad guys. The synthesized score by Bill Meyers is pretty good even if it’s typical 80s action-comedy stuff. It’s just one of the many genre clichés you’ll find here. But even in all of its unoriginality, Armed and Dangerous is still a lot of fun if you approach it with low expectations. Candy’s done better (Planes, Trains and Automobiles), but he’s also done a lot worse (Wagons East). To his credit, he was an immensely likable comic actor. It’s sad to think he’s no longer with us. Levy makes a great foil with his worrisome character.
The bottom line is I like Armed and Dangerous. It’s not great, but it isn’t a total waste either. It’s an entertaining choice for a slow weeknight at home.
