Product Details

• Actors: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Robert Loggia, Kenneth McMillan, Meg Ryan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 22, 1994
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302800900
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,209 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Perhaps Stripes and Caddyshack screenwriter Harold Ramis and Commando director Mark Lester were not an ideal collaborative team. But while this 1986 misfit comedy is something of a misfire, SCTV fans can take heart in watching John Candy and Eugene Levy triumph over weak material as mismatched security guards who stumble upon mob corruption. Candy, in particular, does wonders with a role that in lesser hands would have been a mere "fatty falls down" stereotype. He plays a cynical disgraced cop who takes Levy's cowardly former lawyer under his wing ("Stick with me, I'll keep you out of trouble," he reassures him). Like Ramis's character in Stripes, Levy rises to the occasion under fire, and even gets the girl--Meg Ryan in early ingénue mode, trying out the fetching grins and ingratiating smiles that would make her America's sweetheart three years later in When Harry Met Sally. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great John Candy romp!, February 20, 2003

By 

Jaha (CT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Armed & Dangerous [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Like many of the action comedies of the time this one delivers an entertaining story with John Candy's wacky humor. Candy and Levy star as the protagonists who are forced to join a security agency when all other options fail. Revolving around a plot involving corruption and crooked cops Candy and Levy aim to get to the bottom of all that is wrong while [complicating matters] frequently. I really laughed a lot at this film. Candy and Levy make a great team and offer up some very hysterical scenes. Levy's attempts at being a defense attorney, Candy fishing at a pier, and the two crashing a ball thrown for the chief of police all seem like harmless events but these two always know how to screw them all up. If you are a fan of the SCTV or SNL crews then you definately have to see this movie. It is lesser known but very funny.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes Clever Comedy but John Candy`s Classic., January 21, 2002

By 

Christian Pelchat (Canada.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Armed & Dangerous [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When an Honest Cop (John Candy) was framed for stealing and Ex-Lawyer (Eugene Levy), they become together Private Security Guards but when a Conspiracy that is happining at the Private Security Guards. The Ex-Cop and the Ex-Lawyer are going to solve the case together, if they like it or not.

Directed by Mark L. Lester (Class of 1984 and 1999, Commando) shows a great fun of Comedy and Action. Candy and Levy are great together, the supporting cast are:Robert Loggia, Kenneth McMillian, Meg Ryan, Jonathan Banks, Brion James and Steve Ralisback (In a Cameo). DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer (also in Pan & Scan) with the Original:Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. This was a box office disappointment in 1986 but it does way better on Video. John Candy and Brion James died years later after this fun. This is a fun cop comedy. Grade:A-.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars FAIRLY FUNNY CANDY VEHICLE, November 4, 2004

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Armed and Dangerous (DVD)

John Candy is Frank Dooley, a cop unjustly fired from his job. Candy decides to become a Security Guard for Guard Dog Security. He is teamed with second-rate former prosecutor Norman Kane.

On the job they find themselves mixed up in a plot with shady, mob-run Union reps led by Robert Loggia as the mob boss. They try to tell their story to a young Meg Ryan, daughter of the security company boss but she doesn't beleive them. Soon they find themselves accused of murder and on the run from the cops and the mobsters.

Levy and Candy, two ex-SCTV alums have a good chemistry together in a kind of modern day laurel and hardy stlye. Not an uproarious movie but some funny parts, the best being when the pair hide out from the cops in a LA sex shop and Candy dresses in drag to escape the cops.

A fun movie. Not a gem but some good bits.