When the film began, two things struck me. First, how incredibly cheesy and stupid the first two minutes were. Second, I happened to be watching the film with my laptop and I noticed on the IMDb site that the film was made in 1990 but not released for 4 years--a sure sign that the film was a crap-fest! Holding a film for release (with one exception) is a kiss of death for a film. The only exception was "Arsenic and Old Lace" which was held for release until the original play ended its run on Broadway--and was a wonderful film.
So why, in the first place, would they want to remake "Car 54"? It's obviously impossible to capture the old show as the two leads (Fred Gwynne and Joe E. Ross) were dead and the show bears almost no similarity to Nat Hiken's silly (and low-brow) but well-written show. Well, it was done for one reason and one reason alone--Hollywood has been bereft of story ideas and has chosen to simply recycle old TV shows as movies instead of actually hiring writers who are not morons (or chimps). What else could explain the plethora of 3rd rate remakes or 2nd and 3rd rate TV shows?! As Joe E. Ross was a one-note performer with possible simian genes, the producers of this film decided to find another actor(?) who bore a striking similarity to Cornelius of "The Planet of the Apes" fame, David Johansen. Sadly he DID sound and talk like Ross' character--but 30 years later, it just seemed annoying. As far as Fred Gwynne goes, John C. McGinley bore no similarity whatsoever to the original character and was in many ways more like Tackleberry from "Police Academy"--as he was violent and prone to shooting first.
So despite my reservations about the acting, the four year delay and the horrible introduction, is there a plot which makes the film worth seeing? Well, considering that the film is currently ranked #59 on IMDb's Bottom 100 (the 100 films with the lowest overall score), it's unlikely that I'll be recommending it any time soon (unless I loose my mind, though my kids would re-word this to "further loose my mind"--as watching this film would suggest). With such wonderfully funny things like Johansen accidentally rip out an old man's catheter (uggh), spit jokes (complete with lots of spit) and McGinley giving blind guy's tickets for stepping into the street, the film is indeed quite awful...and mind-numbingly stupid. In fact, after watching this film I actually feel significantly stupider! Do yourself a favor--don't watch this film. Even bad movie fans (like myself) won't enjoy this one...unless they are masochists.
So why, in the first place, would they want to remake "Car 54"? It's obviously impossible to capture the old show as the two leads (Fred Gwynne and Joe E. Ross) were dead and the show bears almost no similarity to Nat Hiken's silly (and low-brow) but well-written show. Well, it was done for one reason and one reason alone--Hollywood has been bereft of story ideas and has chosen to simply recycle old TV shows as movies instead of actually hiring writers who are not morons (or chimps). What else could explain the plethora of 3rd rate remakes or 2nd and 3rd rate TV shows?! As Joe E. Ross was a one-note performer with possible simian genes, the producers of this film decided to find another actor(?) who bore a striking similarity to Cornelius of "The Planet of the Apes" fame, David Johansen. Sadly he DID sound and talk like Ross' character--but 30 years later, it just seemed annoying. As far as Fred Gwynne goes, John C. McGinley bore no similarity whatsoever to the original character and was in many ways more like Tackleberry from "Police Academy"--as he was violent and prone to shooting first.
So despite my reservations about the acting, the four year delay and the horrible introduction, is there a plot which makes the film worth seeing? Well, considering that the film is currently ranked #59 on IMDb's Bottom 100 (the 100 films with the lowest overall score), it's unlikely that I'll be recommending it any time soon (unless I loose my mind, though my kids would re-word this to "further loose my mind"--as watching this film would suggest). With such wonderfully funny things like Johansen accidentally rip out an old man's catheter (uggh), spit jokes (complete with lots of spit) and McGinley giving blind guy's tickets for stepping into the street, the film is indeed quite awful...and mind-numbingly stupid. In fact, after watching this film I actually feel significantly stupider! Do yourself a favor--don't watch this film. Even bad movie fans (like myself) won't enjoy this one...unless they are masochists.