McHale's Navy

McHale's Navy was a TV series in the 1960s which was pretty good mostly because all the characters worked well together. The goofy moments came off because the actors were familiar with each other, and they could play off each other.

The movie version on the other hand, totally abandons the formula that the TV series used, and tries to be a comedy version of a Steven Segal movie. It totally bombs at every level. None of the actors in this movie seem to be into their roles, and it feels like nobody ever saw even one episode of McHale's Navy. The bits that are stolen from the TV series are just totally flat when this cast tries them.

This movie has a great cast of comedy actors, except for the lead actor, Tom Arnold. It should have been funny, but Tom Arnold is the kiss of death for anything he touches. When a great cast of comics is following a really dull and untalented actor like Tom Arnold, what you get is this very boring and unfunny movie.

The original series starred Ernest Borgnine fresh off his film career which included an Academy Award winning performance as MARTY. The real stars of the show were Tim Conway and Joe Flynn, two comics with perfect timing. The rest of the crew was basically just wall paper (wall paper does have it's place, Gavin MacLeod made a career out of playing wall paper in this program, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, and THE LOVE BOAT). The humor of the show required that Conway or Flynn or both be on screen to get a laugh. Like many TV shows of the time, two theatrical features were made (in color) and the second only with Conway and Flynn. A remake of the whole thing flops mainly because of the lack of comic timing (a mix of slapstick and vaudeville) that Conway and Flynn brought to the original. About the same time as this remake Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd attempted to remake another service related TV comedy SGT. BILKO. Martin and Ackroyd have timing and still flopped with the genre. So maybe the two shows could only be made at the time they were made with the people who made them. That makes them really special and why Nick at Nite and TV Land will have little competition from new Hollywood. Note: If you have any original ideas move to Hollywood, apparently there are no writers in Hollywood with original ideas. They can use you.

I just caught this movie on Encore. I'd never had much interest in seeing it based on the negative comments that have been made about it. It was much better than I (and a lot of other people) gave it credit for being. I came to the IMDB site because the credits went by too fast and I wanted to check some of the actors. I was surprised to find that so many people really disliked this film. First of all, I'd like to point out that the original show was fantasy. C'mon--does anyone really think that the series represented what it was like in the South Pacific during the Second World War? It also doesn't give you much of a starting point except the characters and their interactions. With apologies to Tim Conway, Joe Flynn, et. al., the original series had only one star--Ernest Borgnine. It was called McHale's Navy for a reason. So it's fitting that Tom Arnold should be the focus of the movie. I think they did keep to the spirit of the original series and, where these comments started, the movie was just as much a fantasy as the series was. In terms of the plot, it too kept with the spirit of the original series. For those of you looking for plot depth or profound characters missed the point of both the series and the movie. It was supposed to be entertainment, escapism, with a mild segue into reality. If you want something profound, watch Schindler's List or something by Kurasawa, or anything Shakespeare by Brannagh. But don't ask me to eat the same thing for dinner each night--I'll get tired of it and I'll yearn for cotton candy. Movies of this type are called "guilty pleasures." They're supposed to be fun. Having said that, one man's fun is another man's Bergman. This movie isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea but it isn't a bad movie. Just take it for what it is--a little bit of fun, a little bit of fantasy.

So I just finished up with Down Periscope, so I'm off to the other Navy comedy. I have no idea why this is rated so low.

It's silly, but it's a comedy and is supposed to be. I can watch this one every so often and it's still funny. Relax a little bit and laugh, it's not real.

I know most people hate McHale's navy, but I really don't care. I thought it was pretty funny. Tim Curry was really good as the villain, Vladikov (the #2 best terrorist in the world). Bruce Campbell is pretty good. David Allen Grier was, as usual, great as Ens. Charles T. Parker.

I'd never seen the original series, but I'm glad that they had Ernest Borgnine, the original McHale, as Cobra.

And, last, but DEFFINITELY not least, Tom Arnold. I used to watch Roseanne, and always liked his obnoxious humor. It's even better in McHale's Navy. He's got some unique style, that guy.

Well, I've chatted long enough.

PS. Tim Curry and Tom Arnold had both been in an episode of Roseanne.