Car 54, Where Are You? (film)

Car 54, Where Are You? is a 1994 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman and stars David Johansen and John C. McGinley. It is based on the television series of the same name starring Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne that ran from 1961 to 1963.[1]

Car 54, Where Are You?
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBill Fishman
Produced byRobert H. Solo
Screenplay by
Based onCar 54, Where Are You?
by Nat Hiken
Starring
Music by
CinematographyRodney Charters
Edited by
  • Alan Balsam
  • Earl Watson
Distributed byOrion Pictures
Release date
  • January 28, 1994 (1994-01-28)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10.7 million
Box office$1.2 million

Reprising their roles from the original series are Nipsey Russell, whose character Anderson is now a captain, and Al Lewis, whose officer Schnauser now spends his time watching TV reruns of The Munsters (in which Lewis and Gwynne also starred).

The film was originally produced as a musical comedy but released without the filmed musical interludes.[2]

Plot

Partnered in Car 54 are the amiable, unreliable Gunther Toody and the prim, proper Francis Muldoon, who wants to know, among other things, if Toody has been helping himself to free kebab from the neighborhood food vendors.

As everyone gets on their case, including Dave Anderson, their captain, an assignment comes their way. Toody and Muldoon are told to protect citizen Herbert Hortz, who apparently has incurred the wrath of the local crime godfather, the claustrophobic Don Motti. And while the cops from Car 54 ineptly do their jobs, Toody gets an earful from his wife, Lucille, and is hot and bothered by a woman all their colleagues seem to have already frisked or handcuffed, the vixen Velma Velour.

Cast

Production

Though the film was shot in 1990, it was edited several times and as a result wasn't released until 1994. It was originally filmed as a musical, but most of the musical numbers were cut from the released film. Nipsey Russell and Al Lewis appear as older versions of their roles from the original series.

Reception

The film received universally negative reviews, and currently has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.[3]

The film won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress (Rosie O'Donnell), along with Exit to Eden and The Flintstones;[4] and won a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Resurrection of a TV Show and was nominated for Worst Picture and Worst Actress (O'Donnell), along with Exit to Eden and The Flintstones.[5]

References
  1. "Car 54, Where Are You?". Allmovie. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  2. "John C. McGinley on 42, Oliver Stone, and missing the Oscars to watch the NCAA championship". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  3. "Car 54, Where Are You?". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  4. "Awards for Car 54, Where Are You?". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  5. "1994 17th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
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