Pass the Ammo

This movie solidified my sheer love of all things Tim Curry (ha!). Seriously, a college pal was a video store employee at the time, found this and thought, "Hmm...." So a bunch of us had a Tim Curry Night Party at her place, and this was the "matinee" -- after viewing it, we should have made it the feature! My personal story aside, if you really want a good look at the inner workings of televangelism (at its all-time worst), and a good laugh to boot, then this is the movie for you! I just watched it again (for the kazillionth time, it seems), and I never fail to find something hilarious in it. So next time you're at the video store, looking for an interesting comedy, get this one! You won't be sorry!

This is one of those quirky little comedies that never becomes a big hit, but has the charm and endurance of a cult movie like "Harold and Maude." Not to everyone's taste, but if if you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing that you'll really like. A young woman and her boyfriend enlist the help of some friends, recently released from jail, to rob the televangelist of the money that her recently deceased aunt had given to "God" and which should have been her inheritance.

Tim Curry as the televangelist is fun, but Annie Potts also turns in a wonderful performance has his wife. The remainder of the actors are between competent and quite good. The entire production is professional quality, unlike many cult classics.

"Pass the Ammo" is not without subtlety. There is a charming scene between the preacher and a career bank robber, talking about money, in which the preacher is shocked that the bank robber just spends all his take. "Why that's just wasteful," he exclaims. The bank robber asks about IRAs, and he says, "Well, they have their plusses and their minuses." Their geniality is that of two people in the same profession talking shop.

"Pass the Ammo" is not great theatre. It's not great cinema. It is, however, a good deal of fun for the right people, of which I am one. I recommend it if you are a Curry fan, or like odd little comedies, or found the fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Baker entertaining.

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!

I saw Pass the Ammo because as some people might know already I am a huge Tim Curry fan. The thing was I had been meaning to see the film for about one-and-a-half years since I first heard of it, but this is an example of a film that is very difficult to find. Thank goodness for good old YouTube. So I finally got to see the movie I had been waiting to see for so long recently, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is not the best movie ever made, or a masterpiece of cinema but it is a lot of fun. Over-the-top yes it is, but it is still fun.

Before watching a film, I sometimes look up some reviews, and some of them have been mixed. Some of them have been very complimentary, praising Tim Curry and Annie Potts and the film's sense of fun, then there were those that criticised it for being over-the-top and flabby. I can understand why people would consider this over-the-top, as it is, but it is meant to be, not to mention very eccentric- the dialogue of Darla especially is evidence of that. But I disagree it is flabby. True, Pass the Ammo doesn't have the best pacing in the world, in fact some of it is somewhat uneven causing a few scenes towards the beginning to drag a tad.

However, even with the minor flaws I do consider Pass the Ammo one of the most underrated films out there. And while I adore comedy, it has been a while since I enjoyed myself this much. Recently the closest I've come to laughing hysterically in a movie was in Clue, Oscar and a few of the Muppet movies. Pass the Ammo is so wonderfully over-the-top and eccentric in the plot, writing and performances that I found myself letting go and having a good old time.

I liked the idea of the plot(a televangelist, his wife, crew and audience being held hostage in the studio), it mayn't be the most original of all plots, but it kept me interested and was well constructed, and I loved the sweet little twist at the end. One definite strong point was the writing, I loved the eccentric vibe to it. In particular, Darla's dialogue like when she accuses Ray of adultery is absolutely hysterical, and so were "bubba, hand your mama that grenade launcher" and "they're gonna (enter obscenity) the preacher on live TV".

Even the direction was good, nothing outstanding, but it worked. The costumes, sets and scenery are winning, as are the wonderfully nutty musical numbers with the angelic choir. Then there is the cast who give it their all. Bill Paxton and Linda Koslowski are appealing in their roles as characters that are rather unorthodox and such but you end up sort of liking them. Tim Curry has been better in my opinion particularly in Rocky Horror, Clue, Legend, Peter Pan and the Pirates and It, but he is excellent as Ray. However, Annie Potts steals the show, she is absolutely wonderful and just hilarious. And I loved the chemistry between her and Curry, you could really tell they were friends just by how they acted on screen. Less than ten years later they worked on the equally underrated Over The Top series, and they were just as brilliant then together. Anyway, back to the film, the rest of the cast ranged from competent to good, some of them were very good such as Leland Crooke.

Overall, delightful and I think underrated too. 9/10 Bethany Cox

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.