Armed and Dangerous (1986)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Frank Dooley (Candy) is an ex-cop who was booted off the force by the Internal Affairs department after he was framed by some other cops who were stealing merchandise from a warehouse. Norman Kane (Levy) is an defense attorney who is getting a little skittish after having to defend so many people who are so obviously guilty. They both wind up as security guards and, after their afternoon of training (including firearms training), they are put on the same assignment. At first, they could care less about what it is they are supposed to be guarding, but they soon learn that the head of the company is in bed (metaphorically speaking) with the head of their labor union, so they actually start doing some police work.

Wow. I guess everyone has to get their start somewhere, but when you think of the number of now Big Name Stars (not only actors, but producers) involved, you have to wonder how this movie could be so bad. First of all, Brian Grazer co-wrote this movie with Ghostbusters collaborator and actor, Harold Ramis. Ramis alone has brought us many of the great comedic movies of the 80s, but, if you'll remember, Grazer recently shared a Best Picture Oscar with Ron Howard for A Beautiful Mind. And there's been plenty of other things the man's been up to.

Alas, this is just not a very funny movie. The characters are not well developed and the dialogue comes across sounding like someone trying to be funny. Emphasis on the "trying." You almost want to give the actors a pat on the back and say, "Well, E for Effort, guys." Meg Ryan is not adding any to the funny, at least in this movie. She seems to be completely miscast in her role. She is supposed to work for the security company, but she comes across as too elegant to be working for a company like this one. Candy and Levy are both well cast, but their characters are placed in situations that are just so trite that they're borderline boring. If there is a reason to watch this movie, it's to get a taste of what most 80s movies soundtracks were like. But don't expect to be blown away by that, either. Not in the least.

Armed only with some trailers and both widescreen and fullscreen formats, Columbia tried desperately to put together a DVD package for this film worth owning. I would be willing to bet that they couldn't get most of the cast back together even for a quick interview about this movie. I would think that most of the people involved with this movie would want it to stay forgotten entirely. There are no commentary tracks or behind-the-scenes featurettes, probably for the same reason.

So, this one stays on the rental shelf. In this presentation, it's just not worth even borrowing for a while.