Down Periscope

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

28K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,092

268

Lauren Holly, Kelsey Grammer, and Rob Schneider in Down Periscope (1996)

Comedy

Lt. Cmdr. Tom Dodge is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days.Lt. Cmdr. Tom Dodge is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days.Lt. Cmdr. Tom Dodge is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

28K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,092

268

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews123

Featured review

6/10

Formulaic Comedy Still Has Its Moments

Sometimes juvenile, sometimes stupid and sometimes very predictable.....but yet this was a fun movie that is charming at times, too. It wasn't good enough to be a "keeper," but I did enjoy watching this.

The humor is a little sleazy at times but the language wasn't too bad. Kelsey Grammar plays a likable role in the Navy comedy. Most of his crew are somewhat stupid characters but I did like the sonar man with the great hearing. Lauren Holy was okay as the female interest but Rob Schneider was just plain annoying and tended to overact. He's either very funny or very stupid in his films. Bruce Dern, as always, was an effective "bad guy."

The story is a favorite of the film industry: a bunch of rag-tag misfits and rebels somehow outwit and outmaneuver the larger Establishment experts with their high-tech machinery. No matter how improbable or ridiculous, Hollywood will not stop that formula Nonetheless, it's decent lightweight entertainment with a nice, sentimental ending.

Odd, though: what I remember most is the guys stuffing cotton swabs up their nose! If you've seen the film, you know what I'm talking about.

Trivia
The diesel submarine used in the movie is the USS Pampanito (SS 383), a WWII submarine currently (2024) on public display at Pier 45 in San Francisco, California.

Goofs
Throughout the movie, the team members erroneously refer to enemy targets as "bogeys". A bogey is an unidentified target; once it has been identified as hostile, then it is referred to as a "bandit."

Quotes
Stepanek: Sit on it and rotate, sir.
Executive Officer Martin T. 'Marty' Pascal: [shouts] What? What did you say, sailor? You can't say that!
[Turns to Dodge, still shouting]
Executive Officer Martin T. 'Marty' Pascal: He can't say that!
Lt. Comd. Dodge: Pascal, down. Down. Heel.
Stepanek: By the Uniform Code of Military Justice that constitutes gross insubordination, punishable by one month in a brig. I'm ready to go, sir.
Lt. Comd. Dodge: Board the boat. I like a challenge.
Stepanek: You'll throw me off within a week. I'm a dedicated pain in the butt, sir.
Lt. Comd. Dodge: Stepanek.
Stepanek: What?
Lt. Comd. Dodge: If I throw you off... it'll be in the middle of the Atlantic. Board the damn boat.

Crazy credits
As the credits begins to roll, The Village People and several cast members start singing "In The Navy."

Connections
Edited into Mercenaires (1999)

Soundtracks
Anchors Aweigh
Written by Charles A. Zimmerman, Alfred Hart Miles (as A.H. Miles) and R. Lovell (as R. Lovett)
Performed by the Men of the Concert Choir, University of Southern California
Courtesy of University of Southern California