Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

            In an act of true crime, most people do not even know this movie exists. In fact, whenever director Amy Heckerling is mentioned in a sentence, most people conjure up images of Fast Times At Ridgemont High or Clueless. However, this movie ranks as one of the best spoofs ever to be put to film, in my own humble opinion.

            Johnny Dangerously is a movie that spoofs all of your hardcore gangster films from the 80’s backwards. This movie actually has the distinction of being one of the first movies with a “PG-13” rating. The story starts out with a young Johnny Kelly, who is working the corner of a street in New York City. No, not working that type of corner, you dirty bastards. He’s schilling the latest issue of the newspaper. Along comes crime boss Jocko Dundee, who sees little Johnny take care of a local bully and invites him to take part in some lovely crime. Johnny, whose father was a known convict, dissents at the time, but news of his mother’s failing health sends him into action. Along the way, young Johnny Kelly grows up into famous criminal Johnny Dangerously. After Dangerously takes over the crime syndicate from his old boss Dundee, he has to contend with several nuisances, including rival crime boss Roman Moronie, the corrupt D.A. Burr, his rival gang member Danny Vermin, and his own brother Tommy becoming a crusader against crime. When Johnny gets framed for murder, though, it going to take all of his smarts and connections to avoid becoming a victim of the electric chair.

            Most of the humor in this movie is delivered in blink-and-you-miss-it references. There are little visual nods to popular culture, and the dialogue in the movie is packed with in-jokes and verbal gymnastics. Michael Keaton, who plays Dangerously, does a fantastic job with comic timing, as does the supporting cast of Griffin Dunne, Peter Boyle, Joe Piscopo, and Marilu Henner. Maureen Stapleton makes a wonderful appearance as Johnny’s foul-mouthed mother, and Danny DeVito supplies laughs and thinly veiled animosity as D.A. Burr. Even Dom DeLuise stops by for a cameo as the Pope. The title song to the movie was written by one Weird Al Yankovic, if that gives any indication what kind of movie this is.

            If you are a fan of such spoof movies like The Naked Gun series or any of the comedies by Mel Brooks, this should be right up your alley. Some of the lines may have you remembering them for days, even laughing aloud at a mere mention of something that was in the film. I first saw this movie about twelve years ago, and it is still as funny now as it was then.