Pass the Ammo

This movie was under appreciated in its time, and is now a forgotten gem. Released in the era of the high rolling TV preachers and their scandals, and the song "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex" was on the radio, it is a great commentary on greed and hypocrisy in the name of religion. Annie Potts in the highly sexualized "Samson and Delilah" scene was priceless and Tim Curry was, well, he is Tim Curry. He rocks the screen in everything he does. The ever watchable Bill Paxton is the bad boy hero and just adds to the amazing cast. I just wish someone would release this on DVD. Or Netflix. Or Amazon Instant. I would love to be able to share this with my friends. Hallelujah, Pass the Ammo, Praise the Lord!

It is really a shame this movie may never get the deserved DVD release. It has everything that you would go looking for in a movie released in the late '80s. Recognizable stars putting forth solid performances, without going overboard. Bill Paxton, Tim Curry, Annie Potts, Dennis Burkley, and Leland Crooke put in great performances in my opinion. Dennis Burkley's performance was probably the most unexpected pleasure, with Tim Curry's evangelist character a solid entry in his cache of performances. As Tim Curry movies go, it's not Tim Curry overdoing it, or conversely under-performing, but rather a balanced illustration of his range.

The plot is pretty entertaining if you derive any amusement from the circus environment of past and present ministries extorting money from hopeless people around the world. I suppose we should see the humor in them somehow, even if it is wandering the landscape of stereotypes and taking pages from the real life travesties associated with their own sinning ways. The movie plays with the stereotypes of the characters pretty well, both the feature cast and the background nobodies who fund the multi-million-dollar church business.

"Pass the Ammo" did a good job in making me laugh, which is what this sort of movie is all about. Laughs via misc sight gags, lines of dialogue, and the situations the characters find themselves in. This is a straight 80s comedy with a typical ending leaving you satisfied with where it goes. It won't leave you hanging out to dry wishing it had gone in another direction. Come for Tim Curry and stay for a special appearance by the best attempted Moonpie robbery ever.

Any film that features the immortal Tim Curry as a corrupt televangelist would be worth watching, and this one has even more to offer: Annie Potts as his loopy, big-haired wife; gun-toting good old boys fresh out of jail (and hungry for Moon Pies); dancing angels in fishnet stockings; and a trigger-happy citizens' militia that takes its TV very seriously. This screwball satire features Bill Paxton as our hero, who attempts to quietly steal back his girlfriend's legacy but inadvertently takes the TV studio Tower of Bethlehem hostage--during a live broadcast. Curry and Potts give virtuoso performances, but every one of the quirky supporting characters adds to the fun. While this over-the-top comedy may not be for all tastes, anyone who ever laughed at a Tammy Faye t-shirt should get a kick out of its razor-sharp send-up of televangelism, and fans of Curry, Potts, or Paxton shouldn't miss it.

I love this movie. I really loved the character who played "Bubba". Can you tell me anything about him? I think his name would have been listed in the credits but I could never find it. A must rent for the gang to enjoy most on any movie night. I am a big fan of fan Bill Paxton and I love him in this movie. I am surprised that he has not gotten more roles like this. This movie was a all-star cast of unknowns at the time, but as history has bore out, they are all stars in their own right. I have never been to Arizona to where this movie was filmed, but I am planning a vacation there to see where they filmed this movie soon. Anthony Geary was amazing also. Just love this flick so very much.

Don't expect much subtlety from this broad but skin-deep satire of TV evangelism, in which an amiable quartet of amateur thieves takes over a TV temple and holds the clergy hostage against a siege of state militia, local police, yellow journalists, and resident vigilantes (can you guess who gets the most sympathy?). The script is more than a little self-satisfied, taking earnest potshots at easy targets without inflicting any serious damage, and except for Tim Curry (who plays the greedy preacher with his tongue firmly in cheek), the holy rollers and gullible worshippers are all too exaggerated to be convincing (it's hard to fake so much bogus sincerity). But once the stand-off is finally underway (after a set-up stretched twenty minutes too long) the story relaxes enough to give the characters room to have fun. The film is certainly no 'Dog Day Afternoon', but it does have its moments, and no one can say it isn't lively. Too bad the real thing (Jim and Tammy Baker; the good reverend Swaggart et al) is so much funnier.