Film #3: Johnny be good
reviewed October 25, 2011
Tonight I watched Johnny Be Good which starred Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey, Jr., and Uma Thurman (in her “introducing Uma Thurman”) role.
Ok…so first, the plot(what there is of one). The movie is about a popular high school quarterback, Johnny Walker (Hall), who every school in the nation wants to sign for his skills, which includes faking an injury in order to convince cheerleaders to remove their underwear to distract the other team. Walker is having trouble figuring out what college to play football for in the fall. Along the way, he his pulled from one school to the next, each offering him better deals to play; parties, cars, girls, passing grades, etc. However, his girlfriend Georgia(Thurman) wants him to go to State with her to get an education. He lives in a constant state of confusion, drifting between his family responsibilities (his grandfather spends his days making giant pink fishing lures and dispensing advice) and his need to feed his ego. His coach, played by the late Paul Gleason (RIP), is working secret deals with one college behind his back while his unfocused, unmotivated friend Leo (Downey) works secret deals with another school. Meanwhile, his girlfriend’s father(the chief of police played by resident film “Hey it’s that guy” Marshall Bell) is gunning for Walker for some unknown reason, challenging him to a bizarre frontyard football game with a Convict team member while being handcuffed with one hand, and later arresting him for “attempted rape”. There are moments when Walker is guided to do the “right thing” but then quickly gives in to his runaway id. Along the way, he even runs into Jim McMahon!!! Of course, I cannot tell you how it ends…wouldn’t want you to miss watching this.
Sooooo…how do I even begin to critique this film? I guess I could say that it made me very, very sad. Every time Hall opens his mouth to say another skeezy line or parade down the street in a purple and gold velvet suit I want to curl up in a ball and be transported back to a time when a brace-mouthed Hall wowed audiences with his deadpan comedy in movies like “Breakfast Club” and “Vacation”. Where for art thou Farmer Ted? Hall did not belong here. I could tell from his performance and his offsetting demeanor that he also knew his career was about to hit a brick wall. I am going to guess that he was promised by his agent that this film would be his ticket out of John Hughes land and into “serious fare”. I am also going to guess that this agent had “destroy the Brat Pack” in his day planner. Curse you agent! Looking at Hall’s post JBG career you can see nothing but downhill for a long time. Of course, he would be “buff Anthony Michael Hall” in Edward Scissorhands, but he would not return to those endearing characters of the mid 80′s. Anthony Michael Hall, if you are reading this I know you meant well, but you should have run from the room when they handed you the script. Another sadlight is the wasted performance of Robert Downey Jr. He is such a talented actor, but once again he is relegated to the “quirky best friend” role. The same role he would play throughout the 80′s in “Back to School” “1969″ and “Weird Science”. He is not a vital character, but RDJ tries his best to rise above the terrible material and be noticed for the abilities that the writers were trying to dampen down. I am going to take another guess that AMH and RDJ signed on to this film after their one season stint on SNL which is marked by being so terrible that Loren Michaels fired the entire cast.
My biggest problem with this movie was in seeing that it had potential, if it could have only figured out what kind of film it wanted to be. On one hand the writers tried to call forth the power of John Hughes by making a quirky teen comedy (they attempt to pull in the needed elements…parties, angst, a 80′s new wave soundtrack, quirky family members, drumming, etc), but they also want it to be Zucker/Abrams slapstick comedy filled with sight gags (the tiny man whose sombrero doubles as a chip and salsa tray), an 80′s T and A film like Porky’s (strippers, the seduction of Walker by an older football coach’s wife on a lit platform on the 50 yard line, the hotel room, etc) and an after school special (corruption and greed are bad Janie). If this film had stuck to its premise (college recruitment of high school players is a dirty business) they could have had a fantastic drama in the vein of films like “Blue Chips” ‘The Program” or “Jerry Maguire”. They could have made an exposë film that questioned the morality of both. college programs and the NCAA using teens as unpaid workhorses. RDJ would have shined like he does in all of his dramas, Hall could have continued on his career upswing. There are moments in the film where you can see its greatness peeking through (the gas station attendant sobering Hall with a vision of his possible future, Hall’s declaration to Georgia in her room that he was committed to her) and great actors who get relegated to the back of the show. I will say that I loved Paul Gleason (another Hughes staple) in his role as the coach driven to cheat in order to get what he needed. His opening prayer in the locker room made me hopeful for the rest of the film. The scene where he wrestles with the chaos in his house (elephants, Hari Krishna, stripper, etc) was well played. Again, if this had been a better film he could have played a coach dealing with the loss of his soul.
The film became weighed down in its attempts to be funny and surreal(a la Savage Steve Holland). Just the fact that the main character is named Johnny Walker reeks of trying too hard. I have heard a rumor that Hall passed on Ferris Bueller for this film. And hey…Would it kill anyone in 1988 to hire Andrew McCarthy? Just when the film couldn’t make less sense…random topless girls. Kudos though for a cameo by Robert Downey Sr. as the NCAA investigator and the use of his cult classic Putney Swope at the drive in. And…hey…Jim McMahon. So, if you like schlocky 80′s movies and watching the disintegration of a once bankable child star…this is the film for you. If you want to see AMH play a funny drunk with laughable lines, rent Weird Science. I give it 4 stars. Like I theorized, 1988 was a game changer and it this case we start to see the demise or our precious Brat Pack.This was, after all, the same year that Rob Lowe had his sex tape scandal.
Here is what Roger Ebert had to say about the film in 1988
Rated R: L, N, SC
Ok…so first, the plot(what there is of one). The movie is about a popular high school quarterback, Johnny Walker (Hall), who every school in the nation wants to sign for his skills, which includes faking an injury in order to convince cheerleaders to remove their underwear to distract the other team. Walker is having trouble figuring out what college to play football for in the fall. Along the way, he his pulled from one school to the next, each offering him better deals to play; parties, cars, girls, passing grades, etc. However, his girlfriend Georgia(Thurman) wants him to go to State with her to get an education. He lives in a constant state of confusion, drifting between his family responsibilities (his grandfather spends his days making giant pink fishing lures and dispensing advice) and his need to feed his ego. His coach, played by the late Paul Gleason (RIP), is working secret deals with one college behind his back while his unfocused, unmotivated friend Leo (Downey) works secret deals with another school. Meanwhile, his girlfriend’s father(the chief of police played by resident film “Hey it’s that guy” Marshall Bell) is gunning for Walker for some unknown reason, challenging him to a bizarre frontyard football game with a Convict team member while being handcuffed with one hand, and later arresting him for “attempted rape”. There are moments when Walker is guided to do the “right thing” but then quickly gives in to his runaway id. Along the way, he even runs into Jim McMahon!!! Of course, I cannot tell you how it ends…wouldn’t want you to miss watching this.
Sooooo…how do I even begin to critique this film? I guess I could say that it made me very, very sad. Every time Hall opens his mouth to say another skeezy line or parade down the street in a purple and gold velvet suit I want to curl up in a ball and be transported back to a time when a brace-mouthed Hall wowed audiences with his deadpan comedy in movies like “Breakfast Club” and “Vacation”. Where for art thou Farmer Ted? Hall did not belong here. I could tell from his performance and his offsetting demeanor that he also knew his career was about to hit a brick wall. I am going to guess that he was promised by his agent that this film would be his ticket out of John Hughes land and into “serious fare”. I am also going to guess that this agent had “destroy the Brat Pack” in his day planner. Curse you agent! Looking at Hall’s post JBG career you can see nothing but downhill for a long time. Of course, he would be “buff Anthony Michael Hall” in Edward Scissorhands, but he would not return to those endearing characters of the mid 80′s. Anthony Michael Hall, if you are reading this I know you meant well, but you should have run from the room when they handed you the script. Another sadlight is the wasted performance of Robert Downey Jr. He is such a talented actor, but once again he is relegated to the “quirky best friend” role. The same role he would play throughout the 80′s in “Back to School” “1969″ and “Weird Science”. He is not a vital character, but RDJ tries his best to rise above the terrible material and be noticed for the abilities that the writers were trying to dampen down. I am going to take another guess that AMH and RDJ signed on to this film after their one season stint on SNL which is marked by being so terrible that Loren Michaels fired the entire cast.
My biggest problem with this movie was in seeing that it had potential, if it could have only figured out what kind of film it wanted to be. On one hand the writers tried to call forth the power of John Hughes by making a quirky teen comedy (they attempt to pull in the needed elements…parties, angst, a 80′s new wave soundtrack, quirky family members, drumming, etc), but they also want it to be Zucker/Abrams slapstick comedy filled with sight gags (the tiny man whose sombrero doubles as a chip and salsa tray), an 80′s T and A film like Porky’s (strippers, the seduction of Walker by an older football coach’s wife on a lit platform on the 50 yard line, the hotel room, etc) and an after school special (corruption and greed are bad Janie). If this film had stuck to its premise (college recruitment of high school players is a dirty business) they could have had a fantastic drama in the vein of films like “Blue Chips” ‘The Program” or “Jerry Maguire”. They could have made an exposë film that questioned the morality of both. college programs and the NCAA using teens as unpaid workhorses. RDJ would have shined like he does in all of his dramas, Hall could have continued on his career upswing. There are moments in the film where you can see its greatness peeking through (the gas station attendant sobering Hall with a vision of his possible future, Hall’s declaration to Georgia in her room that he was committed to her) and great actors who get relegated to the back of the show. I will say that I loved Paul Gleason (another Hughes staple) in his role as the coach driven to cheat in order to get what he needed. His opening prayer in the locker room made me hopeful for the rest of the film. The scene where he wrestles with the chaos in his house (elephants, Hari Krishna, stripper, etc) was well played. Again, if this had been a better film he could have played a coach dealing with the loss of his soul.
The film became weighed down in its attempts to be funny and surreal(a la Savage Steve Holland). Just the fact that the main character is named Johnny Walker reeks of trying too hard. I have heard a rumor that Hall passed on Ferris Bueller for this film. And hey…Would it kill anyone in 1988 to hire Andrew McCarthy? Just when the film couldn’t make less sense…random topless girls. Kudos though for a cameo by Robert Downey Sr. as the NCAA investigator and the use of his cult classic Putney Swope at the drive in. And…hey…Jim McMahon. So, if you like schlocky 80′s movies and watching the disintegration of a once bankable child star…this is the film for you. If you want to see AMH play a funny drunk with laughable lines, rent Weird Science. I give it 4 stars. Like I theorized, 1988 was a game changer and it this case we start to see the demise or our precious Brat Pack.This was, after all, the same year that Rob Lowe had his sex tape scandal.
Here is what Roger Ebert had to say about the film in 1988
Rated R: L, N, SC