Down Periscope
Tags: prank

Plot synopsis:
Lt. Commander Thomas Dodge (Kelsey Grammer) is about to be passed over a third time for his own nuclear submarine. The reasons given are (1) his unorthodox command methods, (2) an unfortunate "brushing" incident with a Russian submarine, and (3) after the incident, the rumor of a genital tattoo ("Welcome Aboard!") received after getting blind drunk while on shore leave. Failure to secure a submarine will result in Dodge being dropped from the navy's command program, and that means he will resign his commission.
During his career, Tom Dodge has made an enemy of Rear Admiral Yancy Graham (Bruce Dern), who strongly speaks out against Dodge's promotion. Vice-Admiral Dean Winslow, ComSubLant (Rip Torn), on the other hand, likes Dodge and his unorthodox methods. A war game is planned to test the navy's defenses against possible attack from older Soviet diesel-powered submarines in the hands of America's enemies. Among the defenses being tested is Dodge's prior billet, the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Orlando. Dodge is selected to put the World War II-era Balao-class diesel sub USS Stingray (SS-161) back in commission as the war game's Opposing Force. Winslow tells him to "think like a pirate," promising Dodge that if he can sink a target ship placed in Norfolk Harbor, Dodge will be considered for a permanent command.
Motivated by his dislike for Dodge and his own ambition for promotion, Graham handpicks a "crew from hell" for Stingray: hot-tempered, uptight Lt. Martin Pascal (Rob Schneider) as the Executive Officer; crusty Chief Engineer Howard (Harry Dean Stanton), a civilian contractor familiar with the obsolete Balao-class's diesel-electric engine system; rebellious Engineman 1st Class Brad Stepanek (Bradford Tatum); sharp-eared Sonarman 2nd Class E.T. "Sonar" Lovacelli (Harland Williams); compulsive gambler Seaman Stanley "Spots" Sylvesterson (Jonathan Penner); former college basketball player Seaman Jefferson "R.J." Jackson (Duane Martin), who has dreams of playing in the NBA; shock-prone (and shock-addled) Electrician's Mate Nitro (Toby Huss); and not-so-Culinary Specialist Second Class Buckman (Ken Hudson Campbell) as Stingray's cook. Graham also uses Stingray as a Navy pilot program to evaluate women serving on submarines, knowing the cramped diesel boat is unsuitable for mixed-gender living, and Surface Warfare Officer Lt. Emily Lake (Lauren Holly) joins the crew as Diving Officer.
Using unorthodox tactics and a major storm to offset their huge technological disadvantage, Dodge and his crew achieve their first objective by sneaking in to Charleston Harbor and setting off signal flares. Now desperate to defeat Dodge, Graham cuts the war game containment area in half without Winslow's authorization. Failing in their first attempt at Norfolk Harbor, Dodge leaves the reduced containment area and heads out to sea. Irate at this lapse in protocol, the always strident and by-the-book Pascal (for whom the crew has no respect) attempts to take command of the Stingray; the crew does not supports his action. Dodge then charges Pascal with mutiny and, in mock-pirate fashion (and to the delight of the crew), forces his blindfolded XO to "walk the plank" into the raised fishing net of a waiting trawler that will take him ashore.
During Stingray's second attempt at Norfolk, Graham assumes personal control of Orlando. Dodge employs an incredibly dangerous maneuver to sneak past the ships and aircraft protecting Norfolk. Orlando is eventually able to locate and chase her down. Before the Orlando's shooting solution is obtained, Dodge is able to fire two live torpedoes at long range into the anchored target ship at Norfolk, winning the war game for Stingray.
Upon his return to port, Admiral Winslow chastises Graham and denies his promotion. He welcomes Dodge back and informs him that he will not get his own Los Angeles-class submarine, as the two had previously discussed, but a new Seawolf-class submarine (the US Navy's most advanced attack submarines), plus a proper crew to man her. Dodge respectfully requests that his entire Stingray crew be transferred with him to his new command, and then dismisses his crew to begin a well-earned shore leave. As Dodge and Lake leave the dock, she poses a query to him now that they better know each other, "What exactly is this 'tattoo' I keep hearing about?".

Review: I was pleasantly surprised that the movie still had an appeal after all these years and many of the actors in the film did a great job without being overly done.
Being an ex-submariner on both diesel and nuc boats, I wasn't looking for a true to life Navy movie.
I don't want to get into specifics about little things that may not have been correct because that would only serve to detract from what I feel is an excellent movie to enjoy for its entertainment.
One common theme was you can have a great script, great cast, the best director and lots of money and still create a bad movie.Down Periscope is proof of the corollary to that theory.
Other character actors, like Rob Schneider, and the hilarious Harland Williams, added significantly to the enjoyability of the film.Cast dynamics, or that mysterious "movie magic" are really what happened here, creating a film that flows smoothly, has incredibly well executed transitions and line after line of well written and well performed dialog.A preposterous premise, lots and lots of technical inaccuracies and just plan silly things that could not happen in the real world, or the real navy, but you just don't care.
As a merchant marine myself, I found that the overall feel of the movie, while not plausible, was also not too far off the mark as far as life at sea goes.This is a VERY funny movie, a good family film, and, particularly if your a fan, lots of Kelsey Grammar wit, sarcasm and just damn funniness..
The movie manages to pull me right in to root for the characters, and to laugh pretty well all the way through.
The music is a perfect copy of music in the typical serious post war navy movies, which helps to create the humor and point out that greatness is in the eye of the beholder.
I've rated this movie as a 10 because it comes together on all levels, far better than many high budget films and Oscar winners.
This is entertainment.Listen up Fox home video: you have a great movie in your vaults, and it's a shame to find a cheap shot DVD with badly degraded off tint colors only 8 years since release.
The movie has a wonderful intelligent plot and a non-predictable script that still surprises me every time I watch it.
Surprisingly good and quick-witted adventure that features Kelsey Grammer (supposedly in his first lead role in a feature) as an unconventional Navy sub commander who wants to run a nuclear sub of his own, however; he has earn it by competing against the U.S. Navy in a series of war-games with a crew of untested, questionable, and lovable men (and a woman, too).Director David S.
Second, besides the Grammer character, most of the crew provide some or plenty of the movie's humor, which is treated like a double-edged sword.
Three members of the supporting cast - Harland Williams, Toby Huss, and Rob Schneider provide the funniest scenes, which includes weird gestures, impersonations, and, well, their personalities."Down Periscope" is more than a Navy version of "Police Academy" or "The Dirty Dozen".
Harland Williams, Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton, Kelsey Grammar, Rob Schneider and William H.
Starring: Kelsey Grammar, Rob Schneider, Lauren Holly, Rip Torn This movie is a classic family favorite.
It's still very funny to me.Naval Captain Tom Dodge (Grammar) is a bit of a black sheep in the navy.
His mission is to clean her up and take her out on the Atlantic for a war game.Dodge is obviously a little bit frustrated to have such a crappy boat given to him when he's worked so hard to get to the point that he's at, so he goes and talks to Admiral Winslow (Torn) about it.
Kelsey Grammar plays a likable role in the Navy comedy.
While Kelsey Grammar is obviously a gifted actor (reference 'Frasier', this movie) the supporting actors/actress play their roles quite well.
The movie is about how an intelligent and motivated man, against all odds, can cheat the entire over-self-confident system.This movie is for all people, who like a funny movie.The action and comedy is well mixed into a brilliant film, that I hope to see on DVD soon..
Kelsey Grammar right at home is this role as a loose but brilliant captain of a diesel sub, pitted against the US Nuclear Navy in a war game, designed to see if Terrorists could get a nuclear bomb through our defenses.
Rip Torn and Bruce Dern.Look plain and simple, you got 90 minutes and need a laugh or pick me up and you're not a prude (their is some language and innuendo) then rent it, or buy it (we did) and enjoy!
i bought both this movie and McHale's Navy cheap at the same time.i thought McHale's navy was pretty much a disaster.it's supposed to be funny,but i didn't think so.Down Periscope is in a similar vein,but is actually fairly funny at times.it's not great,but i did laugh on occasion.Kelsey Grammar is the main star.Lauren Holly,Bruce Dern,William H.Macy,Harland Williams,and Rip Torn also star,among others.even Rob Schneider has a role,but he is actually funny here.of course,he isn't the main character so that helps.along with some laughs,there's also a bit of action and excitement.in the end the movie turns out pretty decent.my vote for Down Periscope is a 6/10.
He is given one chance though to change this as he must lead a rag tag crew on board a very old submarine against a very new and modern sub in a war game type scenario.
which is rare company.Thanks to Kelsey Grammar, Lauren Holly and Rob Schneider for making what could have been an otherwise unremarkable movie, such great entertainment!.
Just the right mix of fast moving story, entertaining characters, hilarious moments (but not overloaded with stupid jokes), and fun performances by Kelsey Grammar, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron Schneider, Rip Torn and more.
Buckman is especially good, and I really enjoyed watching the guy who played Stapanick.I also find it interesting that they used a real submarine, the Pampanito, for the running on top scenes and emulated it almost exactly for their sets.
They did an excellent job on this film.What a light entertaining and truly enjoyable movie!.
I plan to get a DVD of this movie to really take an honest look at at, but more importantly to just have a good time watching it.
This film deserved a better fate than it received and Kelsey Grammar deserved at least one love scene with Ms. Holly.
The first few minutes of this movie don't do it justice!For me, its not funny until they board the sub and those hilarious characters begin to gel.
The misfits pull together to successfully complete their mission.Hilarity ensues.Like the "Police Academy" films, the humor comes from the kooky characters on the boat.
I am almost embarrassed to admit that I like it, it is so goofy in some parts, but I find myself reaching for it when I'm down and just need a good laugh...and trust me, I am just not a "goofy movie" kinda guy.You can read the synopsis so I don't have to bore you with that, just rest assured, if you like Kelsey Grammer you will probably like this movie.One more thing, be SURE to watch the end credits.
If you like just plain fun comedy, and aren't looking too deeply into meaning, you just might fall in love with this one..
It's difficult not to like a movie where the cast seems to be having such a good time.
Down Periscope features fine performances all around, most notably Kelsey Grammer stepping out of character as Tom Dodge, the sub's skipper, and veteran character actors Rip Torn, Bruce Dern and Harry Dean Stanton-- having been around since the earth was cooling--make welcome appearances.
True, it required suspending logic, but that is what the movies are for, and the "rooting for the underdog" plot is satisfying.Interestingly, there was a real USS Stingray (although it was not the submarine used in the movie - which is a working WW II sub made to look "old")..
Kelsey Grammar played 'Fraiser' for 20 years across 'Cheers' and the character's spin-off show, winning lots of acclaim along the way.
Marty Pascal (Rob Schneider) is the XO with a crew including Emily Lake (Lauren Holly), Howard (Harry Dean Stanton), and Sonar (Harland Williams).
Tom Dodge (Kelsey Grammar) is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days.
Even if the film is not that great (and many would say it is not), the sheer breadth of characters aboard the ship is sure to please.The inclusion of Lauren Holly in unfortunate.
Whilst it does have a sprinkling of cheese and some quite puerile moments it is largely inoffensive and quite funny.I couldn't fault the actors, the script, the characters or the general premise.Even better, I wouldn't hesitate to let my kids see it and wouldn't hesitate to watch it again.This movie might not win any prizes or - god forbid - earn cult status; but what it DOES do is entertain and it does that very well..
Tom Dodge (played by Kelsey Grammar) who is given an old diesel-run submarine to participate in a wargame exercise against modern sea vessels.
The characters in the movie were colorful and fun, although most of them were somewhat unfit for naval duty, I think, but that just added to the comedy aspect.One of my favorite scenes is during a silent run, the cook rips a massive fart that smells horribly.
Hilarious!"Down Periscope" actually brandish quite an astounding list of people on the cast list; Kelsey Grammar, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Dern, William H.
Macy, Toby Huss, Rip Torn, Patton Oswalt, to mention the most familiar of faces.If you enjoy comedies like "Police Academy", then chances are that you will enjoy "Down Periscope" as well..
Even the numerous jokes about his infamous tattoo are strangely funny, even though in another film they might put one off.A really fun movie that I would definitely recommend it for some laughs.
This Is A Film That Takes A Whack At All Submarine Movies, This Is Also The Only Submarine Movie I Will Watch With The Exception Of Das Boot(Don't Think That They Are Related Movies In Any Way, Shape Or Form).The Best Performance Is From Either Rob Schnider Or Kelsey Grammar, Both Were Absolutely Hysterical, Schnider Garuanteed Is A Good Performance In This Whether Your A Fan Of Him Or Not.The Tattoo On Kelsey Grammar's Penis In This Film Is By Far One Of The Best Ongoing Jokes In Cinematic History (In My Opinion) Its Funny At The End When Lauren Holly Asks "Whats This Tattoo Business I've Been Hearing About?" And He Replies "Well Its A LONG Story..." That Always Cracks Me Up.Overall I Highly Recommend This Film To A Fan Of Dumb Humour..
With talents like Kelsey Grammar and Rip Torn and a some funny lines, this is a great comedy for when you don't want to think.Premise is a bit dumb.
As Russia is selling Diesel boats to other nations, an admiral wants to know how well one would fare against modern subs.Thankfully, with comedies of this sort, the plot is second nature to the dialog and comic acting.
In this movies case, there's some pretty funny dialog, and some funny characters.I especially like Grammar's understated comedic acting.
And her role was OK, a bit more depth might have been welcome.If you like your basic cliché comedy with some good lines now and again, and like Gammer and Torn, you will probably like this.I like it so much I have seen it three times.
I find myself in need of a movie where I will laugh a few times, and never have to think.
It was great to see Bruce Dern doing comedy again, and as always I loved Rip Torn's wonderful facial expressions.
The movie is great fun, has wonderfully silly characters and even the juvenile humor can make a stuffed shirt (like myself) laugh.
DOWN PERISCOPE was one I'd avoided because the film's publicity made it look like a juvenile POLICE ACADEMY-style romp rather than the cross between STRIPES and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER that it more resembles.Yes it's a pratfalling, farting, misfits-become-team-players kind of a flick, however it also generates some genuine drama and tension during its war game sequences where our heroes in their rustbucket sub must out-manoeuvre a faster, better-armed enemy.So if you want to be entertained and don't mind switching your IQ into low gear, then give this film a go..
My wife and I find this movie to be a wonderful pick-me-up when we need to have a good laugh - the conflict between some characters and the repore between others make this a sure fire comedy relief.
If you like the excitement of a good submarine drama and the fun of a good comedy, then this film comes highly recommended.
Kelsey Grammer gives an excellent performance here.The film also gives you something to think about the next time a serious sub movie asks for 'silent running'.....
To the contrary it was good solid entertainment, well paced, well-acted (for it's type of movie), and just fun to watch.
Kelsey Grammer did not do a "Dr. Crane" take but simply played the character for what it was, a competent, if somewhat irreverant at times, Sub Commander.
I thought Kelsey Grammar, Rip Torn and Bruce Dern did a great job.
The plot is not great or realistic but that does not bother the movie.A good movie if u don´t mind watching it with a sense of humor and an open mind for making the navy look stupid 7/10.
I'm surprised Kelsey Grammar got any work after this, because absent his deep baritone he obviously can't carry a movie on his own..
A couple of misfits (a la police academy) in an old submarine, under leadership of miscasted Grammer (who apparently has a tattoo on his you know what, the source of more than half of the 'jokes' in this movie) play war games against cocky general with new submarine.
Sometimes though there is an American film that actually has some life in it, and Down Periscope is one of them.This movie is a bumbling idiot comedy.
This is basically an impossible task for this is ancient submarine that still runs on diesel.I sort of like bumbling idiot movies, as long as they are done well.
I like Kelsey Grammar--but this movie was numbingly boring.
I like Kelsey Grammar very much and I was looking forward to seeing this movie when it first came out in theaters, so I was shocked by how bad it was--boring and juvenile with really bad jokes.
Any scene involving the cook really just passes as low humor, although I do get the giggles when I think about how he irks Rob Schneider's character.So, if you watch this movie, remember that it's basically really ridiculous, but you might laugh some.
Schneider always makes me think of a poor man's comedy side kick and he doesn't do that well here, but to be fair he tries hard with his character.
Getting names like Macy, Dern Stanton and Rip Torn in the film was a shrewd move as they are always watchable, but they really have little to do.Overall this is not that funny and not that clever.
The plot behind "Down Periscope" is worthy of a great movie.
Kelsey Grammar, could have done a lot for his career has this movie not tried to be "Animal House" on a sub.
A movie I've watched at least 20 times.
I saw the movie in the theater at its release, then watched the VHS tape over the years, and while strolling through Target saw this DVD bundled with "Pushing Tin" for the exorbitant sum of $5.50.There is something about this comedy that has really clicked with me - how Kelsey Grammar, "with a tattoo on his thing", is an unorthodox commander who inherits a rusty diesel sub and a crew of screwballs and misfits.
He's up against the Navy's best - a Los Angeles Class nuclear attack sub - and his old captain (Wm Macy).Bruce Dern plays the bad guy, Rip Torn the admiral running the exercise - If you don't laugh hysterically during the "run silent" segment with the cook, well, you have a different kind of humor from me.Towards the end the machinist says "D.B.F." with no explanation - it is apparently some inside knowledge gotten from an old submariner consultant - thanks to Google I learned that with the advent of the nuclear subs the old salts would wear "DBF" pins - Diesel Boats Forever.
There are some films everyone should have in their DVD collection because they are fun to watch more than once.
Down Periscope (1996): Dir: David Ward / Cast: Kelsey Grammar, Lauren Holly, Rip Torn, Rob Schneider, Harland Williams: Washout comedy that gives new meaning to low budget.
Among the crew is Lauren Holly who wishes to become the first female submarine commander for the Navy.
Rip Torn and Rob Schneider are wasting time when they could be looking for better film projects.
They will give Dodge an old, WW2 era diesel sub to command, with a makeshift crew of misfits, and let him be the aggressor in Virginia war games.
And Rip Torn is Vice Adm. Dean Winslow, who is on Dadge's side.The movie is not high art by any means, but Grammar is in good form, as are the other actors, and it is entertaining to see how the good guys work to come out on top..
Tom Dodge was not; Kelsey Grammar was well cast and believable.
Rip Torn, Bruce Dern, and William Macy played very believable characters; I've known people like them.
The movie managed to be a reasonable action film and a decent comedy at the same time.