Reviews (13)

It's a fun movie...plain and simple
In the tradition of movies like SLAP SHOT and MAJOR LEAGUE, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS is nothing more than an unrealistic sports movie that's extremely fun to watch (and that's exactly what it's supposed to be). It has all of the right elements...slapstick comedy, hard-hitting action, and an underdog college football team tempting fate with a great-looking placekicker!

For heaven's sake, don't take this movie for more than it's worth...two hours of non-stop fun!

Necessary Roughness - definitely
This is one film that I could watch repeatedly. It was an entertaining story starring the talented actor, Scott Bakula, as the aging QB. It is funny, great cast-interaction, exciting game action and characters you can't help but really root for .....

Rough and unnecessary
Necessary Roughness is a humorous film that's supposed to make us laugh and cheer for the underdog. It has its parts, I admit, where it is good fun and it is enjoyable, but then it has its stupid, cliched parts that kinda ticks me off as a student of football.

Good points:
1) I think there's a good range of characters, each one has a different persona, thankfully. Some of them are pretty enjoyable and even at times believable. Especially the QB, an older guy going back to college to guide a losing team to a better record. It's a storyline we can follow and his character is pretty fun to follow.
2) I like how this was about a losing team, a nobody school, that is trying to get a couple wins, not a championship under their belt. If this had been a film about a nothing school going all the way, I would've given it one star.
3) This film has a solid plot, for a football film. It has easy characters to follow and the objective of the film is clear. Meaning, you know what it's about and it answers most the questions that might be raised during the film.

All right the bad things:
1) The dialogue of this film is so full of cliches and you can almost expect what each character is going to say because it is so scripted. This really hurt the originality of this film, the complete originality of this film.
2) The romance is unnecessary and dumb. It has nothing to do with the plot, it's just a side note that the QB is making out with his English prof. I mean, who cares? It's not as if she plays an important role and it isn't as if the romance is crucial to the development of characters.
3) The bar fight. How predictable and stupid. And naturally the team they fight over in the bar is the very same team they meet in the final game. How cliche.
4) What I wanted to see was this aging QB to have to prove himself all over again, kind of work his way up and earn the confidence of his team members. That would've added the element of emotion in this film, which lacks because you don't really care a whole bunch about any of the characters, they are just entertaining jocks. Instead, he's accepted almost instantly and doesn't have to earn his starting job, it's granted to him. Because everything is practically handed to him, all the oppertunities that is, how in the world can we possibly sympathize with his character?
5) A football film without emotion is a pretty boring film, if at best, a one time wonder and then it's dull. Which is the problem with this film. It's fun to watch the first time around, but after that, it's like who cares? This film taught me nothing because I was never involved with the plot or any of the characters emotionally. Again, it had good characters, but they weren't good enough to make this film better because they were all distant jocks.

If you are looking for a football film that's fun to watch one time, then watch this film. But don't even think for a second you'll want to buy this film to watch again and again. It's just not worth it. It's an average sports film, with poor dialogue, and lack of creativity in development of characters.

Grade: C

Pretty bad, though some nice scenery (I don't mean Kathy I.)
It's really not a good movie in spite of some decent cast members such as Elizondo, Bakula, et al. In fact, about the only real reason I would ever watch it a second time is to see scenes of the campus -- and only because it was my alma mater, University of North Texas.

A great film
All of the charaters are likeable in their own way. Scott is a great actor who I always enjoy watching. It doesn't quite follow the pattern of other sports films, and I don't agree that it's unrealistic. All they are doing is trying to win, and you will be as pleased as they are when they do. ... Read more

Description

Two trigger-happy cops try to stop the distribution of mind-rotting Wilderness Girl cookies. Starring Emilio Estevez, Kathy Ireland and Samuel L. Jackson. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

A Typical Lampoon Movie!
Hilarious from start to finish, this movie lampoons pretty much any action movie which includes Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Basic Instinct, Silence of the Lambs, and even Wayne's World. It tells the story of detectives Colt and Luger two miss-matched detectives that come together to solve the murdering of Luger's old partener. Colt and Luger are played hilariously by Emilio Estevez (Colt) and Samuel L. Jackson (Luger). Other hilarious preformances come from the two villians, Tim Curry and William Shatner, also from Jon Lovitz. The cameos are countless. They include Whoppi Goldberg, Bruce Willis, Charlie Sheen, Phil Hartman, Corey Feldman, Paul Gleason, F Murray Abraham, and Erik Estrada. You will have to watch the movie more than once to catch all of the jokes and puns.The movie pretty much mocks Lethal Weapon, with the buddy-cop theme. My favorite Lampoon movie, this is one you don't want to miss!

One of my favorite spoofs. Incredibly underrated!
I'm not a huge fan of slapstick spoofs. I love "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" films, but it's not my favorite genre.

Ironic, then, that I find most spoof movies enjoyable, at the very least, because they're all really, really stupid. There's more quality in "Airplane!" than, say, "Hot Shots!", but both films are enjoyable, because you have to do absolutely no thinking whatsoever. All you have to do is laugh a few times. And with the millions of jokes (okay, hundreds) per film, you're sure to find at least a handful of things worth laughing at.

"National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1" is one of my favorite spoof flicks. Why? It's stupid, silly, funny, and one of the most enjoyable films available to see. Yeah, it's stupid, like I already said. But it's loads of fun, too. And I don't care if critics bashed it when it came out -- it's still a very fun movie.

Everything gets lampooned in this: "Lethal Weapon" to "Die Hard" to "Silence of the Lambs" to "CHiPs." And, alongside "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"; "Austin Powers in Goldmember"; and "The Player," it has some of the most cameos/stars to date. Get this: Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Curry, Jon Lovitz, William Shatner, Denis Leary, Erik Estrada, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Bill Nunn, Kathy Ireland, Corey Feldman, J.T. Walsh, Paul Gleason, F. Murray Abraham, Bruce Willis, Phil Hartman (R.I.P.), Whoopi Goldberg, Charlie Sheen (Emilio's half-brother)...am I missing anyone? Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Joe Pesci would have completed this cast. I wonder if they rejected cameos.

Wes Luger (Jackson) has been assigned a new partner, the loose canon Jack Colt (Estevez), who lost his dog long ago and is now mentally unstable. Luger lost his partner (Goldberg), too, and the effects of the past often catch up with him, so far that he finds it impossible to fire a gun without shaking violently and spastic-like.

General Mortars (Shatner) is planning a devious scheme of running drugs through a Girl Scout cookie-type company, and Colt and Luger try to thwart his plan and save the day before it's too late. Meanwhile, they come to appreciate each other -- while lampooning everything in sight.

The most puzzling thing about "Loaded Weapon 1" is the fact that, if you look at most user comments on the Internet Movie Database, they're all quite positive. It has a low standing at 5.3 stars, yes, but the user reviews for the film are pretty decent. A lot of people found the film "funny for what it is." I do, too.

Spoofing a spoof is kinda pathetic, I'll admit. "Lethal Weapon" always was more tongue-in-cheek comedy than anything else. Even as a hard action film it was always winking at the other films of its genre. "Wayne's World" isn't exactly a drama of epic proportions, either, come to think of it. Even "Basic Instinct" is a hard film to spoof, if you take a moment to reflect -- it's never exactly horribly serious. Just sleazy. (I won't ruin how "Loaded Weapon 1" pokes fun at the famous Sharon Stone interrogation scene.)

Yet, in my honest opinion, "Loaded Weapon 1" does a pretty darn good job of spoofing everything in sight. Estevez is a good Riggs-type who pines for his lost dog (not a wife, mind you, but a dog). Jackson -- who's usually great -- is decent as the Murtaugh-type character, although he is shoved aside by the screenplay to make room for Estevez. (Whose brother was just as good in "Hot Shots!", although I think this is a funnier film.) Lovitz, hair bleached (impersonating Joe Pesci from the "Lethal Weapons"), comes across as an irritant sidekick who appears out of thin air only when the plot needs him -- which I suppose was the point. (Was "Loaded Weapon 1" assuming that Joe Pesci's Leo Getz character was an irritating co-star placed in the film as nothing more than an easy plot device? Probably.)

And in one of the simplest -- but also one of the most effective -- scenes, we get the famous bathroom bomb sequence from "Lethal Weapon 2" told in an entirely fresh perspective. Here's how it goes: The door to Jackson's house is wide open. Estevez walks in and calls him. "I'm up here!" is the response. Estevez walks up the stairs, gets to the bathroom, opens the door, sees Jackson on the toilet and says, "What are you doing?" Safe to say, he's doing exactly what it looks like. His blunt reply is one of the highlights of the film. (Let's face it, that scene from "LW2" was destined to get poked fun at some time or another -- I'm just glad it got spoofed in this.)

A hilarious spoof of "Lethal Weapon"
Emilio Estevez and Samuel L. Jackson are the Mel Gibson and Danny Glover of this film. There are spoof scenes from the Lethal Weapon trilogy and one from WAYNE'S WORLD. This filn was dircted by Gene Quintano who previously directed 1986's POLICE ACADEMY 3-Back In Training. This film reunites Quintano with Lance Kinsey. Kinsey was Lieutenant Proctor in many of the Police Academy sequels. Many people who have seen this film also saw THE BREAKFAST CLUB,THE MIGHTY DUCKS films,STAKEOUT,ANOTHER STAKEOUT(Estevez's other films),and PULP FICTION,one of Jackson's later films. Also many people who have seen this film also saw movies that Estevez's brother Charlie Sheen starred in.

Funny !
I first saw this movie was I was ~ 14 .
Now I'm 20 and I still love it - mostly because of Samuel Jackson and that guy with fantastic german (?) "aññent" .
"Where is the micGrofilm , mr. Colt ?" ....
If you like comedies and parodies - that's a great choice !

Great Comedy
John in his reveiw here has just said exactly what i was going to say! So I dont need to review this myself, he's already done it for me, word for word!

I will add however, if you happen to own this great comedy spoof/parody movie, you might be intrested to know there is a couple of eggs hidden on the DVD! If you go to the biographys and choose Samula L.Jacksons, as you flick through the pages, you will notice some of his movies have gold bars around them? You can select those bars, and click ok and watch the trailers to some of S.L.J's movies!

My words on this movie that John didnt add. If your into comedy spoofs like "naked gun" "airplane" "kentucky freid movie" "spy hard" "hot shots" "silence of the hams" and movies of that type of goofy parodying, then you will love this movie! See Johns reveiw for what movies get parodied ... Read more

Description

Imagine if one day, out of the blue, your wildest dreams came true! That's exactly what happens to junior executive Larry Burrows (James Belushi -- TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS) when he bumps into a mysterious stranger (Michael Caine -- MISS CONGENIALITY, CIDER HOUSE RULES). Instantly, Larry's ho-hum life becomes his ultimate fantasy -- huge mansion, beautiful wife, cars galore. But before long, his new lifestyle isn't so enchanting. Ultimately, Larry discovers it's going to take a lot more than wishful thinking to get back to where he once belonged! Co-starring Linda Hamilton and comedian Jon Lovitz, MR. DESTINY is a delightful rags-to-riches comedy brimming with totally magical entertainment! ... Read more

Reviews (31)

See this movie!
With so many studios using the word "classic" quite liberally nowadays, it's hard to really know anymore. This movie really passes the test. It stars Michael Caine as Mr. Destiny, and Jim Belushi as Larry Burrows, who gets to experience what life could have been. He gets everything he dreamed of, but soon finds out it's not all it's cracked up to be. Linda Hamilton and Jon Lovitz give great supporting performances, this is movie is a gem!

Go forward with your life!
Mr. Destiny is not only fun entertainment, it deals with the question every person asks at some time in their life: How would my life be different now if only I had....? James Belushi charmingly plays the man who lost his job, and finds himself wishing he could change his past and start over. He finds his chance to do just that after a little magical intervention by Mr. Destiny (Michael Caine). With just one change in his past...from losing the big baseball game, to winning it, Belushi's life takes a different path. Suddenly plopped into his new life, with a different wife and a different job, he encounters many troublesome adventures...humorous for the viewer, but disastrous for Belushi. Just at the point of hopelessness, Mr. Destiny intervenes again, but I won't give away anymore of the plot here. I loved Belushi's character... in spite of his troubles, he confronts all situations with grace and humor. The movie is sweet, funny, and even carries an encouraging message: Don't regret the past, but go forward and make the best of what you've got!

sticky sweet
Interesting premise, gets bogged down in complete fantasy. Not even believable for what it is. Second half of the movie is out right ludicrous, with stale pollyannish dialogue. Belushi is one of the rare lights in this dim bulb of a film.

"Swung too late?"
Only James Belushi can take a formula story and turn it into a fun to watch script. Even when you know how it will turn out in the end, the details and how they evolve are fun to watch over and over. And there is a great supporting cast. You could tell where this movie was going when Jewel Jagger (Courteney Cox) threatens to fork Larry Burrows (James Belushi) to death.
Larry Burrows is unhappy with his life and pins most of it on the fact that he swung too late and misses t the ball in a game and in life. Michael Caine as Mr. Destiny gives Larry a new chance be the person he wanted to be. But will he like his new life?

The soundtrack is still available Mr. Destiny (1990 Film)

Don't Fight Your Destiny
Is this movie trying to implying that it's bad to be a greedy, maniacal corporate leader without conscience or empathy? C'mon, get outta here. They could not possibly think THAT up in Hollywood, could they? Well, Mr. Destiny, played by Michael Caine, offers James Belushi a chance to be a wealthy corporate hot shot instead of a regular James. As you can imagine, it does not work our well for James. You know, self-loathing, John Lovitz (a friend) almost commits suicide--the usual stuff. The movie has funny moments, and the pace is pretty good. The ending is somewhat predictable, James is happy to be a regular James (again). It's not all about the money. I don't blame him, I wouldn't wanna be a Kenneth Lay either. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Side out, now there's a concept.
This is one of the worst films you are ever likely to see. The acting stinks, the action is awful, however, this is strangely compulsive viewing. You know exactly what is going to happen but for some reason you have to watch. This is a must for all useless movie fans. The other big problem is that somebody must have believed that beach volleyball was going to be huge, that never happened. Genius! once more C.Thomas Howell in a real stinker, keep up the good work.

Great movie until the end!
This would have been THE movie for beach volleyball, filmed in Manhattan Beach, has appearances from Sinjin Smith, Steve Timmons, Randy Stoklos, all the major pros of the time. Very fun to watch. Great movie except that the very last scene, without spoiling it for you, makes everyone who plays beach volleyball cringe because they end it with a very illegal hand set. This movie had so much potential but became the laughing stock of the beach crowd because of those 3 seconds of footage right before the credits roll. Too bad the film's editor didn't catch that, this would have been a much more popular movie.

An Absolutely Brilliant Piece of Filmmaking
Side Out is just an incredible film. From the moment Monroe Clark steps off the plane from Milwaukee and onto the hot sandy beach volleyball scene, the action just never stops. When Zack Barnes speaks you listen. Peter Horton's finest hour. C. Thomas Howell's career had nowhere to go but, downhill from here. How he got sunbbed by the Academny, I will never know. This is just a true classic and must have for any respectable movie collector.

Laughable, yet, enticing
OK, for so many different reasons I could easily pan this. The volleyball action by a certain duo, namely horton / howell, really stinks! The acting is out and out crap, Stoklos and Smiths final film for a reason.
HOWEVER, I love this movie, if for no other reason that you get to see some of the classic players; Timmons, Stoklos, Smith, Mootheart, and of course OB. It is a fun romp through a sillier time, when anyone without a sponsorship deal could dream. Just don't expect too much.

C. Thomas Howell - Pro Volleyball? Whatever!
This movie is a complete joke. Anyone who says differently has taken too many volleyballs to the head themselves. The only way they could have made it more unrealistic would have been to cast Gary Coleman as his pro beach partner. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Definitely Advanced!
Although I describe myself as an advanced workout kind of person, I had a lot of trouble with this one. And I even got sore the next days, which hasn't happened in a long time! The only bad thing about this dvd is that it concentrates mostly on the arms which wasn't in the description of this workout. I would have liked a bit more of thighs and abs, so that is the reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5.
I never watched an Kathy Ireland workout before, but I will definitely buy another one. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In Morons from Outer Space, a trio of very dense aliens abandons their equally dimwitted pal Bernard (coscripter Mel Smith) and crashes their rented spacecraft in England, where they become pop media icons under the guiding hand of a disgruntled television employee (coscripter Griff Rhys Jones). Bernard eventually finds his way to America, where his claims of interplanetary pedigree land him in an asylum. This satire of science fiction and societal quirks from British television comics Smith and Jones and director Mike Hodges (Croupier) generates its biggest laughs early, when the hapless trio is pitted against the British and American military (James B. Sikking appears briefly as a trigger-happy Yank officer). The remainder quickly dissipates into generic slapstick and feeble pokes at media hype, though Smith and fellow U.K. performer Jimmy Nail (as beer-guzzling spaceman Dez) have some strong individual moments. Smith later directed such films as Bean (1997) and High Heels and Low Lifes (2001).

Alien from L.A. is a slight but watchable science fiction adventure about a nerdy gal (model Kathy Ireland, hiding behind Buddy Holly specs) who discovers a lost civilization at the center of the Earth. Following clues in a letter concerning her missing adventurer father, Ireland travels to North Africa (the film was actually shot in South Africa), where she discovers–-and falls into-–a pit that contains the spaceship Atlantis, which crashed and sunk into the Earth generations ago. With the help of a friendly miner, Ireland searches for her dad and gains her self-confidence after wrangling with a host of creatures and treacherous Atlanteans. Alien from L.A. won't win over sci-fi diehards with its tongue-in-cheek tone and overly familiar Mad Max/punk-rock set design, and Ireland's performance can be charitably described as befuddled, but camp and "bad movie" fans may get a kick out of the lighthearted proceedings, and Ireland's sarong and bikini wardrobe isn't too hard to take. Director Pyun (The Sword and the Sorcerer) and Ireland reunited for the 1989 semi-sequel, Journey to the Center of the Earth. --Paul Gaita ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Only to be watched on MST3000!
Awful awful movie, but Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans will recognize it fondly. Pass this disc up, and go for the MST3k treatment of it!!

Subterranean world below our feet...
I really like Alien From L.A. Maybe It's because I like Kathy Ireland's sweet little voice? They used to show this often on HBO/Cinemax & Showtime in the early 1990's. It was a fun way to waste 90 minutes on a summer afternoon.

Sure, Alien From L.A. is a complete fantasy and way over the top but it has a certain charm to it that I really love. It often has that Roger Corman B-Movie "cult atmosphere" going for it. Personally I wouldn't change a thing about this movie. It is so much better than similar types of films released in the last few years.

Most people probably don't like this film because it seems so unrealistic and cheesy. I think that it was really meant to be satirical comedy, and only a limited percentage of viewers will actually "get" it. You don't have to really believe the things happening in the story could really happen...after all, it is only a fantasy movie!

As for the new DVD from MGM...They've done yet another admirable job on this release. It is in full-screen format, but that may possibly be it's original format. This is actually the way many movies are shot, some are later "matted" for theaters. The Picture quality and Dolby 2.0 Surround track are just about as good as could be hoped for on the DVD format. It is vastly superior to the old VHS video I used to have of Alien From L.A. THANK YOU MGM!!!!!!

Another time, Another place
Considering the high pitched voice of Kathy Ireland and a B-class plot line, this movie ranks amoung the top in my cheesey B-class movie collection. In another time, another place this was a great movie.

One of the Top B-Movies
If you like B-Movies, like Kathy Ireland or both then you will like this movie. Except for Wanda's (Kathy Ireland) high pitched voice, I thought it was kind of cute. It is a funny, science fiction adventure with a little romance thrown in.

Listen to how her voice even changes...
One of Kathy's first starring role. Follow her throught her change from beach bunny to women, even her voice changes. Lots of sexy Kathy, lots of plot, sort of, and her hero. Pick this one to see how Kathy use to sound and where she got her start from. This is a must for any Kathy fans. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

TV PILOT ALERT
THE PRESENCE is a 1992 tv-pilot for NBC that never sold; watching it you can see why. A typically stereotypical group of survivors end up on a deserted (not really, though) island which once housed a facility where genetic breeding was conducted. In the mishmash of the plot, one never knows what really happened, and by its "open ending", you can see how it would have been a series. The cast is wasted, with only flashes of talent from Gary Graham and Joe Lara. Otherwise, its effects are mundane and its suspense level virtually non-existent.

Presence: Lord of the Flies Meets Gilligan's Island
All too frequently, big budget Hollywood films sport an impressive cast of well-known actors whose talents go to waste is a mess that leaves the audience shaking its head at its ineptitude. Such a waste of big stars can happen on a low budget film too. In PRESENCE, director Tommy Lee Wallace takes the acting ability of popular film and television star June Lockhart (LASSIE, SERGEANT YORK), Joe Lara, and future bimbo star Nikki Cox and totally misuses their talent in a movie that was supposed to fighten but wound up as merely amusing. The plot involves the time honored cliche of a group of scientists, military men, and bikini wearing CPAs stranded on a lost island when their plane crashes only to find that the island had been inhabited by CIA spooks running forbidden bioharazrd experiments. Naturally, the experiments had gotten out of hand, creating scaly-like creatures right out of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. As if this was not incredible enough, the survivors meet a tribe of natives who seem to have wandered off from the set of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND. You would think that with so many model types in bikinis, such a movie ought to have at least one or two love interests. Model Kathy Ireland bounces her locks around without entangling any man. PRESENCE is so full of cheesy scripting and unbelievable plotting that the eggs that Hollywood lays in its big budget disasters are not limited to them alone. The best part: Kathy Ireland in a bikini. The worst part: everything else.

PRESENCE OF DANGER ISLAND
RELEASED AS A PILOT FOR A SERIES "DANGER ISLAND" AS THE ORIGINAL TITLE. REASON FOR MY 5 STARS IS BECAUSE MY OLDEST BROTHER PLAYED FRANK. AND JUNE LOCKHART WAS MARRIED TO ONE OF MY MOTHERS BEST FRIENDS FROM HER CHILDHOOD DAYS. ANYWAY, THE MOVIE IS WORTH WATCHING BUT PLEASE ONLY EAT FRESH FRUIT WHILE WATCHING IT, DAY OLD FRUIT SPOILS FAST. THE FILM, WELL THINK OF IT AS ED WOODS VERSION OF GILLIGANS ISLAND

Incredibly ridiculous
Whoever wrote this script must've watched too many Gilligan's Island eps. Joe Lara's incredible talent was wasted in this film.The other actors/actresses deserve hazard pay for attempting to act in a film suitable only for the limited intelligence of a pubescent l2-year-old. ... Read more