bkoganbing
Anthony Michael Hall who bears an astonishing resemblance to a late friend of mine plays All American quarterback Johnny Walker who every college team in America is after. The fact that Hall is not exactly built like a football player at this stage of his career doesn't prevent one from enjoying this Brat Pack film which does actually have some serious things to say about college athletic recruiting.Hall plays a rather likable young kid who has the world by the short hairs of the scrotum with every college bidding for his services. Some of them go to some rather extravagant lengths as a school in Texas and California wine and dine him with just about everything any 18 year old could want in this world.Brat Pack films have a special place in the career of actor Paul Gleason who made a career of playing authority figures that Brat Pack kids would flout with impunity. No exception here in Johnny Be Good. Gleason plays Hall's high school coach and he's also in on the payola if there's any to be had. Gleason's one saving grace is that he has a lovely daughter Jennifer Tilly who is really in love with Hall. She has to get the sincerity from her mother's side.And there's a special part in her for Uma Thurman, wife of the head of Texas boosters who picks out a special boy in every class for her favorite. Talk about a cougar stalking prey.Even Howard Cossell makes an appearance here, lending some sports authenticity to the film. Cossell playing himself as no one else ever could is doing some investigative journalism into the whole recruiting mania surrounding Hall.Johnny Be Good is a likable Brat Pack comedy, as likable as its star. And this film is dedicated to Steven 'Kip' Loney who looked and sounded just like Anthony Michael Hall and who unfortunately died way too young. Kip this one's for you.
stacekar
I'm surprised at the negativity. It's a great dumb comedy with a tiny bit of morality thrown in. The recruitment tactics may not be an exaggeration of reality - trying to schmooze the all-American QB.How is it possible that Yes Man averages a 7 out of 10 and this movie is a 4.? Yes Man was barely watchable.The cast was perfect and the movie probably wouldn't have worked without them. Robert Downey Jr.'s character is so disturbed and hilarious. It seems to be a carryover from his role in Back to School. Which is another great 80's comedy. Uma Thurman is so cute in one of her first acting roles. Paul Gleason plays is a-hole character to perfection.Maybe I am just old enough to still love the John Hughes-style high school comedies of the 1980's. This isn't the best of breed, but definitely worth enjoying.
Pepper Anne
There is so much wrong with Johnny Be Good, I can't believe there was one viewer that actually had something good to say about it. And I'm an idiot for having bought this garbage. In short, the story goes like this. Senior football player is the highlight of recruiters all over, and they all want Johnny to play for their school. He spends time, though, going to two schools who promise the most crap--money, girls, beer, whatever he wants. His coach, on the other hand, is going to blackball him if Johnny doesn't go to the school that his coach tells him because he's expecting a coaching job out of it. Meanwhile, there's an NCAA investigation going on into recruitment procedures. Blah...blah...blah...Johnny realizes what a jerk he's been (in reality, I don't think a guy like that would ever say no to incredulous amounts of material pampering) and says no way. Then, he gets some sense. The end. First of all, we have the lame story of some stud high school football player enjoying the cut throat recruitment of some hot shot colleges who promises every kind of material incentive to get him to go to school. Perhaps the film is making a valid point about the disgusting lengths colleges go to to get players on their team (a cost allocated to the rest of the students, no less). However, the movie, which plays out like a baffling unrealistic boyish fantasy of wild romps and beer busts, absorbs any sort of validity the story might have.And my copy of the video is sure to notify viewers that more sexually suggestive footage had been added than was in the original release, like any of it is worth watching anyways. Not only is the story boring watching Johnny Walker go from school to school to be pampered, but the "hero" of the story is unbearably obnoxious. It figures. Somewhere after his great performances in John Hughes's movies, Anthony Michael Hall seemed to turn into an unlikeable teenager, and one that never really looked like he enjoyed acting in any of the movies he was in (see Out of Bounds). Johnny Walker is some jerk kid who expects everyone to just fall in love with him. One of those characters where, no matter what he does, everything will work out his way. (Just look at the sequence where he takes revenge on his coach--what the hell are we supposed to make of that? Especially when everyone's attitude is so apathetic). Robert Downey, Jr. is an even bigger waste, and also a confusion, babbling the most idiotic lines throughout the movie. He's hardly interesting, much less funny. And, Uma Thurman, who plays Johnny's girlfriend, Georgia, doesn't seem to get anything but crap from her boyfriend.Johnny Walker epitomizes the kind of kids I hated in high school. Jocks who always got a free ride, and walked around with a holier than thou attitude like the rest of the world should kiss their feet because they knew how to toss around a football. And he's supposed to be our hero? I can learn to like 80s teen trash, but this movie is just god awful.
