Armed and Dangerous

Plot synopsis:
Officer Frank Dooley (John Candy) of the LAPD is framed for the theft of a television set by two corrupt detectives. He is dismissed from the force, but escapes criminal punishment at his day in court. The court's next case features hapless defense attorney Norman Kane (Eugene Levy) attempting to defend a white supremacist leader, who threatens him with death should Kane fail to keep him out of prison. A fearful Kane reveals his ineptitude and the death threat to the judge (Stacy Keach, Sr.), who agrees to render a long sentence if Kane promises to leave law behind.
Dooley and Kane meet one another when they both apply for work at Guard Dog Security, a low-rent firm run by gruff "Captain" Clarence O'Connell (Kenneth McMillan) and part of a security guard's union requiring heavy contributions represented by Klepper (Jonathan Banks) and Lazarus (Brion James). Becoming licensed security guards after a single afternoon of training, Dooley and Kane are made partners by supervisor Maggie Cavanaugh (Meg Ryan) and assigned to night duty at a pharmaceutical company's warehouse. After being loudly ordered to take a lunch break by senior guard Bruno (Tom Lister, Jr.), Kane happens upon an armed robbery of the warehouse and calls to Frank for help, but they prove no match for the thieves.
The next day, the pair are berated and fined $100 each by O'Connell for their failure, leaving them suspicious. While venting their anger toward O'Connell, Maggie reveals that she is his daughter. Dooley and Kane then attend a meeting of the union, where Kane's attempt to file a grievance against Guard Dog is quashed by union president Michael Carlino (Robert Loggia). Kane pointedly questions Carlino about how the union dues, adding to about $4 million per year, are spent. After Kane rejects an evasive answer from Union treasurer Lou Brackman (James Tolkan), an enraged Carlino threatens Kane with violence should he ever attend another union meeting and abruptly adjourns.
Over the next few days, Dooley and Kane find themselves assigned to work at a landfill and a toxic waste dump. Convinced something illegal is afoot after hearing a similar story from two fellow burned-out security guards about a similar robbery, the pair track down Bruno at his gym and interrogate him. Bruno admits that it was O'Connell who had him order them to lunch the night of the robbery. Dooley and Kane flee from the gym and an enraged Bruno. The pair then visit an informant friend of Dooley's for information on Carlino. Upon learning of Carlino's corrupt reputation, they bring their suspicions to Maggie, but she rejects them as having no evidence to back them up.
Dooley and Kane next attend a party thrown by Carlino in hopes of gathering some evidence. Eavesdropping on a meeting between Carlino and Brackman, they learn of Carlino's use of the pension fund to finance dealings with a Colombian drug cartel and his plans to have the money robbed from an armored car, with insurance covering the loss. Fearing an investigation by the insurance company, Brackman urges Carlino not to go through with the robbery. In response, Carlino instructs Klepper and Lazarus to execute him. Dooley and Kane attempt to save Brackman, but are too late to prevent his murder and instead find themselves framed for his death. After a night spent evading police, the two make plans with a now receptive Maggie to prevent the armored car robbery. Kane and Maggie take over driving the truck, while Dooley plans to meet them ahead of the would-be robbers.
Dooley has problems with his motorcycle and is forced to hitch a ride with The Cowboy (Steve Railsback), a wild trucker who eagerly disobeys traffic laws. Meanwhile, Kane and Maggie avoid assaults from multiple cars attempting to hold them up. With The Cowboy's help, Dooley is able to arrive in time to save the armored car from a guided missile strike and foil a final attack from Klepper and Lazarus. O'Connell, no longer willing to abide the scheme, arrives having captured Carlino and his associates, the two detectives who originally framed Dooley.
The criminals are arrested and Dooley is invited back to the police force, along with a reluctant Kane.

Tags: murder

Review:
Great John Candy movie!.
Armed and Dangerous is one of John Candy's best films!
Eugene Levy, Meg Ryan, Brion James, Robert Loggia, James Tolkan, Kenneth McMillan, and Tom Lister Jr. were all good.
I don 't like to make fun of anybody but it was so funny every time Candy would make fun of him and I loved Lister doing his Zeus Trademark in the film!
If are a fan of John Candy and the above cast mention and love hilarious action packed comedies with good music then I strongly recommend that you watch this classic movie soon!.
Yes, it's a harmless "no-brainer" type of movie but it was fun and had likable lead characters, people you could easily root for to make good.
In this, it was a pair of security guards: "Frank Dooley" (John Candy) and "Norman Kane" (Eugene Levy).
Believe me, this film is not all laughs.I watch this and makes me sad that Candy is no longer with us.
If you're a die hard Candy fan, you have got to see this movie.
While most reviews describe this movie as 'just an average comedy', even at this, Armed and Dangerous is a laugh and a half.
One minute, they're ragging on each other, the next, they're the best of friends.The movie also has, though almost impossible to find a copy of, an excellent soundtrack, including "Armed and Dangerous" by Atlantic Starr, and, of course, half a dozen or so other popular 80s hits.
At just under an hour and a half, as endearing as each minute is, the film does leave much to be desired.All in all, Armed and Dangerous is a mid-80s classic well-worth watching.
It's the perfect blend of action and comedy, and SCTV fans will find that it's no flop for either Candy or Levy; even as the script is considered by some to be lacking, both hide it well..
Frank (John Candy) is a good policeman but he is framed for theft when he catches other officers pilfering electronics.
Meanwhile, Norman (Eugene Levy) is an inept lawyer who messes up big time when he assigned to defend a Charles Manson type offender.
Frank and Norman's first assignment is to stand watch inside a factory but they soon realize that their company, Guard Dog Security, may have some criminals on the staff, ones that are stealing from the companies they are supposed to be guarding.
Can Frank and Norman, with the help of the firm-owner's daughter, Maggie (Meg Ryan), expose the bad elements in the company, without getting fired or killed?
If you want to see a classic Candy film, this is a great choice, for it displays his marvelous and abundant talent, no doubt.
An all-time classic Candy Movie.
This film is an all-time movie classic.
The plot takes a back seat as the best enjoyment comes from watching the cast deliver and the effervescent John Candy performing at his comedy best.
With "Splash", "Armed and Dangerous" and "Once Upon a Crime", it's clear that John Candy and Eugene Levy were a great team..
In a way, maybe it does weaken "Armed and Dangerous" just a little to have so much high action, but how can you not like a John Candy/Eugene Levy movie?
Low humor, sure, but still likable (especially the clothing-switching scene; I bet that they liked filming that!).Anyway, it's one of many movies that shows what we lost when John Candy died.
John Candy's 2nd funniest movie!!.
This movie isnt as funny as Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but it's pretty darn close!!
This movie didn't get a lot of attention; and it's not as good as Planes Trains and Automobiles, but it still worth watching.
This is one of John Candy's funniest movies, the supporting cast is also hilarious.
Admittedly it's not a classic and Candy HAS done better films, but this one has its share of funny moments.
The film is somewhat reminiscent of "Police Academy" (the first one) and is certainly funnier than any of the increasingly kiddie-oriented sequels that followed that movie.
John Candy plays a security guard who is truly "armed and dangerous." I don't remember much about the first four-fifths of the movie.
Anyway, bumbling John Candy is stuck in a traffic jam, and he needs to be at a certain place at a certain time, and people's lives are at stake, and he asks a trucker to take him there.
John Candy and Eugene Levy star in this classic comedy about an ex-cop [Candy] and a lawyer [Levy] who become  security guards.
Soon they're convinced that their boss [Robert Loggia] is behind numerous crimes!John Candy and Eugene Levy both give excellent comedic performances and Meg Ryan's well-casted as their boss' daughter..
Candy who's set up by bad guy cops, in a t.v heist, teams up with American Pie's Levy (one of the worst lawyers you'll ever meet) who's forced to resign.
Their new careers have em' working as security guards for an Armaguard company, but soon smell something besides mounds of garbage (check out that scene) where corrupt union figures, and some other bad guys are robbing genuine employers off their doe.
Candy and Levy make a great team and get up to some real shenanigans, while also getting to the core of this operation.
Too, this is the first flick I saw Ms Ryan in, who plays the daughter of the cranky boss running the business, forced into working with the bad guys.
This film also has a lot to offer like shark catching, and is a teaching tool to cops who climb trees to rescue cats from them, although how Candy got up there is a big visual fault upon the director, while not showing him clinging onto any others on the start up.
Still at other times it really got a person laughing good as Candy and Levy were a pretty good comedy tandem.
This one has Candy as a former police officer framed and kicked off the force and Levy as a very bad defense attorney.
In fact, the scene where his ineptness is displayed is one of the best scenes in the movie as he must defend what looks like a Charles Manson type of criminal, a guy so bad the police found things in the place he lived made of human hair.
Both men end up trying to find work as security guards in a company with a very fair and good union, well not really but this too makes for one of the funnier scenes in the movie.
Well they figure something is up and they start to unravel a conspiracy, which still makes for an okay film, but I almost wish they just continued to have misadventures as security guards.
So all in all this is a good comedy featuring a rather good duo, to bad the only other movie I know they were in together was the bizarre Cannonball run sequel "Speed Zone"..
In fact, my wife and I had just gotten married and could barely afford the price of admission but we found a way because we thought with Eugene Levy and John Candy is HAD to be great!
As for the plot, it's about two security guards who make good.
Candy stars with fellow SCTV alum Levy as two inept bozo's who work for an armed security service and get tangled with a gang of thieves and their boss.
John Candy and Eugene Levy are in top form in this movie.
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).
John Candy and Eugene Levy have a great chemistry in this film.
Even though the story and filming is not the greatest, their characters in this film play off each other very well to provide for some hilarious, outlandish situations and a whole slew of laughs.This movie is a classic 80's comedy if you ask me, with a nice bit of action in it too and a good story.
This movie has loads of memorable scenes such as this with easily likable characters, well defined good and bad guys and an easy to follow plot.
It's not easy to create good character gags over a short space of time, but this film manages to do it and avoids a lot of the traps that other 80's comedies did by relying on visual and verbal gags alone.Overall rating: 7 out of 10..
'Armed and Dangerous' Synopsis: A fired cop and a useless lawyer sign up as security guards and find they've joined a corrupt union.'Armed and Dangerous' runs for a brief 84-minutes, and to give its due, some of the jokes are crackling.
Performance-Wise: The Late/Great John Candy is in good form.
"The film's main problem is its lack of intelligence, humor, and wit, as well as containing some boring and typical dialogue expected from a film like 'Police Academy,' not a film with John Candy and Eu. Armed and DangerousWell, here's another cop-buddy comedy from the eighties with a weird sense of humor: `Armed and Dangerous.' It features old SCTV Canadian buddies John Candy and Eugene Levy in one of their most forgettable roles.
John Candy plays Frank Dooley, a policeman who, one day, finds some corrupt cops stealing some TVs. Unfortunately for Dooley, the tables are turned when he confronts them and gets the blame, causing him to lose his badge and suffer.Eugene Levy plays Norman Kane: a bumbling, inept lawyer who we feel got his job because he either had extremely rich parents, or just made some fake certificates to prove he is a lawyer.
He quits his job.So now both men decide to enter the `Watchdog Security' program, where they meet each other for the first time, as well as the daughter of Watchdog president, Maggie Cavanaugh (Meg Ryan).
Candy and Levy are later assigned night watch at an old factory, and unfortunately for the two men, they have no idea that something more than meets the eye is going on; if they wish to keep their job, they must discover the truth and reveal it.John Candy is great as Frank Dooley.
Dooley's motivation behind it all is that he wants his respect as an officer back; he took the blame once, and he wants to get his badge back.Eugene Levy is endearingly dumb as Norman, a guy we all find a place for in our hearts.
He is justEugene Levy.Despite the two comedians' great performances, however, the film is simply average.
Candy and Levy try their best at delivering laughs, but fail miserably, mainly because the script is so awful and the direction wonders around aimlessly searching for the right direction.The beginning/first half of the film is, actually, quite funny, but eventually, after the men join Watchdog Security, the film suffers from lack of dialogue and lack of direction; director Mark L.
The film just withers away into a laugh-free zone after the first act, and the ending is just plain typical of an eighties cop-buddy film: high speed chases, stunts, and explosions, topped off by a corny, stereotypical ending that has the audience cowering in their seats.No matter how much I love John Candy as an actor, I simply can't muster up enough to recommend this film.
The film's main problem is its lack of intelligence, humor, and wit, as well as containing some boring and typical dialogue expected from a film like `Police Academy,' not a film with John Candy and Eugene Levy.
ARMED AND DANGEROUS is not one of the greats of John Candy.
This film about a fired cop who ends up working for a small security system run by the mob is very weak and not very much a comedy.
There are some moments that I did enjoy, like looking at Candy in a pilot suit, but it doesn't seem to matter much.
John Candy's Best.
This has got to be John Candy's best movie.
I like comedic crime movies and John Candy and Eugene Levy are two perfect people to be in one.
You just got to feel sorry for a character who gets framed in a movie.
I also liked the theme song to the movie which was actually called Armed and Dangerous.
If you want to see a great Candy classic watch Armed and Dangerous..
It's really too bad that John Candy wasted his skills on so many horrible films (Delirious, Wagons East, Who's Harry Crumb?, etc..
Frank Dooley (John Candy) is a patrol cop who catches fellow cops Nedler and Rizzo stealing TVs. However they turn the tables on Frank and he's the one dismissed from the force.
Norman Kane (Eugene Levy) is an incompetent defense lawyer who leaves after his client threatens him.
They investigate and find corruption in the union.I understand how Dooley ends up as a security guard but it makes no sense that Kane becomes one.
Once they get together, it has some better moment that is worthy of a good Police Academy movie.
However there are too many moments worthy of a bad Police Academy movie.
Lester is not good at directing comedies.
John Candy's second starring vehicle (after "Summer Rental") is a minor improvement but its lack of genuine memorable comedy bits still makes Candy fare best in supporting roles.
The chemistry between Candy and Eugene Levy results in a few laughs but too few.
The story deals with two security guards (Candy, Levy) who attempt to expose a corrupt union being run by the mob.
This picture is barely passable entertainment at best, with Candy and Levy as disgraced cop and solicitor respectively sniffing out corruption and murder in the security firm which they have both joined to forge new lives.
Robert Loggia does his best to instil some menace into his part as a crooked union leader cum gangster, but the strictly formulaic nature of the plot and character development and the unfortunate attempts at comedy, suffocate the best efforts of all involved to lend credibility and accomplishment to the production - one which Candy could hardly have looked back upon with affection..
I'm a fan of the old SCTV show from the late 70's and early 80's and John Candy was a major reason why.
Time after time I was disappointed by the mediocre movies in which he was almost playing the "straight" role instead of the funny guy.
If you are a John Candy or Harold Ramis fan the movie is watchable, just don't expect to laugh much..
John Candy and Eugene Levy star as inept security guards who chase down a big time mobster.
Inept is truly the right word for this alleged comedy...a few laughs but mostly groans and thoughts to yourself like "why am I watching this c**p?" Yes that is Meg Ryan in this too..which i am sure she doesnt want to be reminded of..a waste of a talented cast..on a scale of one to ten ..0.
Another John Candy Bomb.
"Armed and Dangerous" is a really dumb film about a fired cop (John Candy) and an up-tight attorney (Eugene Levy) who decide to become security guards.
The typical inane comedy takes place, but few will even care by the film's final act.
I loved this movie about a framed police officer and an inept lawyer - turned - security guards.
John Candy is almost serious in this role as he ferrets out the bad guys, defends the honor of Meg Ryan's character (Maggie Cavanaugh) and helps to reverse her father's wayward ethics.
Oddly enough, Eugene Levy is the funny guy to Candy's "straight man" act.
This is one of Candy's better movies, and the most serious role in which I've seen him, thus far.
Now that's about it, you are now ARMED guards, God help us all." Maggie Cavanaugh.---I am a true John Candy fan, and own most of his movies.
In the end, Candy's character's reputation is redeemed and his life as a law enforcement officer is restored and plays out to a very satisfying 1980's ending.While there are better comedies out there, and also while most of Candy's other movies are better, this is one of my favorites of his line.It gets a 6.8/10 from...the Fiend :..
What one would expect from a Candy movie.
John Candy is not one of the all time great actors, but he is memorable in his own way.
Armed and Dangerous is about a police officer, Dooley (John Candy) who catches a couple of crooked cops stealing television sets, but is framed instead.
In every part of the movie, the union is portrayed in a very bad light.
It is an entertaining movie with its share of comedy.
Armed and Dangerous is a movie that John Candy fans will appreciate, and though I do not consider myself a devout fan, I do not mind him.
In another way this movie seems to be like Police Academy, except it does not focus on the training but rather the work..
Police Academy Movie for Rent a Cop's.
Candy is the mainliner here but I really liked Levy's hapless character getting in all sorts of crap because he's following Candy around (as a rent a cop no less!).
I'll really miss Candy and it's a shame he didn't make better choices for movie script's because some are really really bad, but although this one may fall in that group for some, it's a funny flick in my book!
"Good, Underrated 80's Action-Comedy!".
John Candy.
Eugene Levy, Meg Ryan, Robert Loggia and Kenneth McMillan star in this 1986 action-comedy.
The late, Candy (Summer Rental) plays ex-cop, Frank Dooley and Levy (Splash) plays unfit lawyer, Norman Kane who team up together after getting jobs as security guards.
I think it's underrated and Candy & Levy were great together.
I recommend this good 80's action-comedy.