Giù le mani dal mio periscopio

Frasier plays an unconventional navy captain given the chance to lead a rag-tag crew of sailors on a submarine war game mission. Hilarity ensues.

I never understood why so many people hated this film. Maybe it's the whole tongue in cheek attitude this film took toward the military and the good ol'boy system which seems to encompass within the ranks. Or maybe the military is too much of a sacred institution to make fun of (yeah right!). Nonetheless, I felt the film was funny in many parts, despite the rather improbably ending and premise. However, this film did have a great collection of comics who have their own little quirky following. Harland Williams, Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton, Kelsey Grammar, Rob Schneider and William H. Macy all gave solid performances, reciting their lines with a great amount of wit. And to note, Lauren Holly looked ravishing with her natural blonde hair (which was a shock, considering I had only seen her in red up to that point).

I first saw this movie when it came out on video within months of its theatrical release in 1996. I remember how I laughed much more than I expected.

I haven't watched the film until it came out on cable TV recently. Even though I knew the plot and many of the jokes, I still found myself laughing as hard as when I first saw it. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie still had an appeal after all these years and many of the actors in the film did a great job without being overly done. Kelsey Grammer, in particular, played a very likeable commander and even though he had the goofiest men under his command, Grammer brought out the best in each of them.

This movie is much more believeable to watch than any of the Police Academy movies. Being a former Navy vet myself, the language made sense to me and after watching a super serious thriller like "U-571" recently, Down Periscope still kept within the framework of what is acceptable and believeable within the Navy. If you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it for pure entertainment and escapism.

Surprisingly good and quick-witted adventure that features Kelsey Grammer (supposedly in his first lead role in a feature) as an unconventional Navy sub commander who wants to run a nuclear sub of his own, however; he has earn it by competing against the U.S. Navy in a series of war-games with a crew of untested, questionable, and lovable men (and a woman, too).

Director David S. Ward ("Major League") and his writers have put together a hysterically clever and upbeat comedy that tries to make the film easy to understand, which they do quite well. Second, besides the Grammer character, most of the crew provide some or plenty of the movie's humor, which is treated like a double-edged sword. Three members of the supporting cast - Harland Williams, Toby Huss, and Rob Schneider provide the funniest scenes, which includes weird gestures, impersonations, and, well, their personalities.

"Down Periscope" is more than a Navy version of "Police Academy" or "The Dirty Dozen". What the film does is get the job done the right way and I liked it.

Being an ex-submariner on both diesel and nuc boats, I wasn't looking for a true to life Navy movie. I have enjoyed Down Periscope over and over again. Sure, some if not most of the realism of life on a submarine is skimmed over, but this adds to the appeal by creating a simplistic story line that is easy and fun to follow. I swear I knew most of the crew of the Stingray. The excellent cast made for an even more enjoyable movie. I don't want to get into specifics about little things that may not have been correct because that would only serve to detract from what I feel is an excellent movie to enjoy for its entertainment. So sit back, relax and "Let's kick this pig"