Kelsey Grammar's transition to the big screen is far from seamless.
Down Periscope (1996)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:30
Fresh:4
Rotten:26
Average Rating:3.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Kelsey Grammar plays a wayward Navy officer, Tom Dodge, who is notorious throughout the Navy for having responded to a close call involving a Russian submarine by getting drunk and tattooing... Kelsey Grammar plays a wayward Navy officer, Tom Dodge, who is notorious throughout the Navy for having responded to a close call involving a Russian submarine by getting drunk and tattooing "welcome aboard" on an unmentionable appendage. He gets assigned by Admiral Winslow (Rip Torn) to command his own submarine; unfortunately, this sub is a rusting 1958 diesel model that the Navy wants to engage in war games to find out if it could inflict any damage. The assumption is, this sub is comparable to those the Russians are selling to renegade Iraqi and Libyan commanders, who might use them on suicide missions against the US. Once on board, we meet the cast of quirky characters who will man this clunker, including a hyper, mutinous Rob Schneider as second in command, Harland Williams as the copulating whale-impersonating radar operater Sonar, and Lauren Holly as the token female officer. The slapstick ensues as this group of underdogs attempt to pull off the impossible, the completion of which will determine Dodge's future career. [More]
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Dern, Rip Torn
Director: David S. Ward
Director: David S. Ward
Reviews for Down Periscope
he construction is so ramshackle (or the mood so PC) that the film-makers put a woman (Holly) on board, then can't find a thing to do with her.
There are occasional laughs, but, as with most movies that think they're funnier than they actually are, most of the jokes fall flat.
This maritime comedy is not worth watching without something else to do.
Some of this is silly and dumb as jokes fall flat. But there are also some laughs to be had.
More laid-back here than he is on television, Grammer seems to barely break a sweat.
The tone of the acting, which is set by Mr. Grammer's blandly laid-back performance, is all wrong for a genre that demands over-the-top hamming.
It's good-natured, innocuous frivolity that should raise a few smiles and generate good but not great spring box office.
It's embarrassing to see Lauren Holly wasting her time as the butt-of-all-the-obvious-jokes female aboard ship.
There's barely a belly laugh here, and judging from the deafening silence in the theatre where I saw the film, it's not just me.
Why give someone who has a genuine skill for understated, intelligent comedy a highly unfunny script that's both overly obvious and stupid?
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