Johnny Dangerously

Johnny Dangerously is a 1984 crime comedy set in the 1930s, when Prohibition has made organized crime one of the few booming businesses in America. Johnny Kelly is an honest, good-natured young man who turns to a life of crime to pay for the medical care his ailing mother needs. Taking the name Johnny Dangerously, he goes to work for Dundee, an old-style crime boss who mentors him as he rises through the underworld, even as his brother Tommy follows a very different path.

The film was directed by Amy Heckerling, following her 1982 debut Fast Times at Ridgemont High and preceding National Lampoon's European Vacation, Look Who's Talking and Clueless. Michael Keaton plays Johnny, with Joe Piscopo as Vermin, Marilu Henner as Lil, Maureen Stapleton as Johnny's mother, Peter Boyle as Dundee and Griffin Dunne as Tommy. Harry Colomby, Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff wrote the screenplay, and Michael Hertzberg produced.

Made for 9 million dollars and released in December 1984, the film took in 17 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. Audiences rate it 6.5 out of 10 on IMDb and 6.3 out of 10 on TMDB, while critics gave it 5.3 out of 10, placing it below the audience scores.