Armed and Dangerous

Armed and Dangerous

Yes, that trailer is awful.

Given my fondness for 80s movies, this movie usually falls under the radar of both John Candy and comedy fans. I remember watching this movie a lot on cable back when I was a child. I really dug the movie, even the adult humor that I didn't quite get yet.

Watching it now, it hasn't age well as say The Blues Brothers or Ghostbusters. I feel the same way with Adventures in Babysitting. They are simply too entrenched in the 80s for me. However, that doesn't take away that they are still entertaining movies.

Basically, it's two guys (one a former cop and other a former lawyer) becoming security guards. Comedy happens from this pairing. One's a straight man and the other is the wild and crazy guy.  This is a very old format.  

I still remember the catchy theme song of the same name. This was the era when you got a R&B or pop artist to sing the title of the movie in the song over and over again. The song from Atlantic Starr is clearly a product of the mid 80s despite the fact the movie came out in 86.

-John Candy : He's channeling his character from Stripes. Candy usually plays either a really nice guy or a boorish dude. Here he leans toward the jerk guy. I like both types. He's probably the best thing about the movie and he's in his prime here. He does a lot of physical comedy. 

  -Gay Jokes: There is a side-portion where Candy and Levy enter a sex store. There are a few gay jokes that won't hang today and people would hashtag the hell out of this movie. It is certainly a product of its time. I found the jokes offensive, but funny at the same time. Did we need to see Levy's ass? 

 

-Meg Ryan: Yes, Miss Ryan is in this movie and she's cute as hell. This was before her face started to melt with all the enhancements. She doesn't have much to do with then movie until the last act. She's almost an afterthought.

-Character actors are all over this movie: Robert Loggia Kenneth McMillan Brion James Jonathan Banks and Tommy 'Tiny' Lister . There are so many more too in tiny parts.

-Union Bashing: While I am not a huge fan of unions, this movie goes out of its way to bash them. This is clearly a Reagan era movie. I do like how the union is a strong-armed group that bullies its employees and turns out to be the bad guys.

-John Candy's character is a total pervert: He peeks in on Meg undressing and gets caught and she brushes it off as if nothing was wrong. Ah, the 80s.  If I remember correctly, Eddie Murphy does something similar in Another 48hrs and it saves his life.  Being a perv can save your life.