| Going Berserk | |
|---|---|
) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Steinberg |
| Produced by | Pierre David Claude Héroux |
| Written by | David Steinberg Dana Olsen |
| Starring | John Candy Joe Flaherty Eugene Levy Alley Mills Pat Hingle Richard Libertini Paul Dooley |
| Music by | Tom Scott |
| Cinematography | Bobby Byrne |
| Edited by | Donn Cambern |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $234,950 |
Going Berserk is a 1983 comedy film starring John Candy, Joe Flaherty, and Eugene Levy and directed by David Steinberg.[1]
Plot
John Bourgignon (Candy) is an amiable chauffeur and would-be drummer who is engaged to the daughter (Mills) of an extremely disapproving United States congressman (Hingle). As the wedding date approaches, Bourgignon's sleazy film-director friend (Levy) blackmails the senator into allowing him to record the ceremony, while Bourgignon runs afoul of a motorcycle gang and later finds himself kicked out onto the nighttime city streets while handcuffed to a dead man (Hudson). Worst of all, a local aerobics studio has become the front for an inept religious cult which has targeted the senator for assassination, and attempts to drug and brainwash Bourgignon into killing his future father-in-law during the wedding ceremony. In the end, with the questionable help of his even more hapless friend (Flaherty), Bourgignon more or less saves the day, and more or less lives happily ever after.
Cast
- John Candy as John Bourgignon
- Joe Flaherty as Chick Leff
- Eugene Levy as Sal DiPasquale
- Alley Mills as Nancy Reese
- Pat Hingle as Ed Reese
- Richard Libertini as Sun Yi
- Paul Dooley as Dr. Ted
- Dixie Carter as Angela
- Eve Brent Ashe as Mrs. Reese
- Ann Bronston as Patti Reese
- Murphy Dunne as Public Defender
- Kathy Bendett as News Reporter
- Elizabeth Kerr as Grandmother Reese
- Dan Barrows as Minister
- Brenda Currin as Sal's Secretary
- Frantz Turner as Wallace
- Gloria Gifford as Francine
- Bill Saluga as Skipper/Kung Fu Leader
- Ernie Hudson as Muhammed Jerome Willy
- Kurtwood Smith as Clarence
- Julius Harris as The Judge
- Elinor Donahue as Margaret Anderson
Reception
The New York Times review stated, "John Candy is easily the funniest thing in Going Berserk, an affably stupid comedy that's saddled with too much plot and that hasn't nearly enough energy to go with it."[2] Vulture Hound wrote, "Going Berserk co-written by Dana Olsen misses the mark with its bare minimum of plot to get us from scene to scene that reference films/tv shows you’d rather being watching than this movie." [3]
References
- ^ "Going Berserk". TCM database. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/29/movies/john-candy-in-berserk.html
- ^ https://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/06/going-berserk-for-candy-going-berserk-dvd-review/
External links
- Going Berserk at IMDb
- Going Berserk at Rotten Tomatoes