Car 54, Where Are You? is a 1994 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman and stars David Johansen and John C. McGinley. It is based on the television series of the same name starring Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne that ran from 1961 to 1963.[1]
| Car 54, Where Are You? | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bill Fishman |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Car 54, Where Are You? by Nat Hiken |
| Produced by | Robert H. Solo |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rodney Charters |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10.7 million |
| Box office | $1.2 million |
Synopsis
editPartnered in Car 54 are the brash Gunther Toody and the prim, proper Francis Muldoon. Toody and Muldoon's boss, Captain Anderson, assigns them to protect citizen Herbert Hortz, an important witness in the impending trial of local organized crime boss Don Motti. At the same time, the two officers must deal with upheavals in their personal lives, as well as the day-to-day travails of being beat cops.
Cast
edit- David Johansen as Officer Gunther Toody
- John C. McGinley as Officer Francis Muldoon
- Fran Drescher as Velma Velour
- Nipsey Russell as Police Captain Dave Anderson
- Rosie O'Donnell as Lucille Toody
- Al Lewis as Officer Leo Schnauser
- Daniel Baldwin as Don Motti
- Jeremy Piven as Herbert Hortz
- Tone Loc as Handsome cab driver
- The Ramones as themselves
- Penn and Teller as the Luthers
- Mojo Nixon as Sidewalk Preacher
Reprising their roles from the original series are Nipsey Russell, whose character Anderson is now a captain, and Al Lewis, whose officer Schnauser now spends his time watching TV reruns of The Munsters (in which Lewis and Gwynne also starred).
Production
editOriginally produced in 1990, this was one of several titles from Orion Pictures whose release was substantially delayed due to the company's financial struggles in the early 1990s. The film was intended to be a musical-comedy, but most of the musical numbers were cut following several studio edits and test screenings.[2]
Reception
editThe film received universally poor reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 0% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.5/10.[3]
The film won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress (Rosie O'Donnell), along with Exit to Eden and The Flintstones;[4][better source needed] and won a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Resurrection of a TV Show and was nominated for Worst Picture and Worst Actress (O'Donnell), along with Exit to Eden and The Flintstones.[5]
Year-end lists
edit- Top 10 worst (not ranked) – Betsy Pickle, Knoxville News-Sentinel[6]
- Top 12 worst (Alphabetically ordered, not ranked) – David Elliott, The San Diego Union-Tribune[7]
References
edit- ^ "Car 54, Where Are You?". Allmovie. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ "John C. McGinley on 42, Oliver Stone, and missing the Oscars to watch the NCAA championship". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
- ^ "Car 54, Where Are You?". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
- ^ "Awards for Car 54, Where Are You?". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ "1994 17th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Pickle, Betsy (December 30, 1994). "Searching for the Top 10... Whenever They May Be". Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 3.
- ^ Elliott, David (December 25, 1994). "On the big screen, color it a satisfying time". The San Diego Union-Tribune (1, 2 ed.). p. E=8.