Down Periscope (DVD, 2004)

I've always been a fan of Kelsey Grammer's character of Frasier since he 1st showed up at Cheers! I 1st saw this film just to see what Grammer might be like in another venue? I was very pleasantly surprised!

Down Periscope is a tale about a fun loving submarine officer, Lt Commander Dodge, who tries not to take his job too seriously. He's on the verge of getting passed over for a command of his own for the last time when an Admiral (Rip Torn) offers him a unique opportunity. It is rumored that 3rd world countries are buying up old diesel subs that could pose a threat. The Admiral wants to test this theory. If Dodge can win the maneuver, he gets his command. Of course there are roadblocks! Another Admiral (Bruce Dern) hates Dodge & makes it his mission to sabotage Dodge at every opportunity. His 1st bit is to give him every reject crewman he can find in the navy. They turn out not to be that bad after all. They are an odd bunch of characters though & this lends itself to the many comic happenings both before & during their mission! There's the flatulent cook, the manically by the book 2nd in command, the sonarman with the radar like hearing & a love of whale songs, the antisocial engineer, the inept electrician who tests with his fingers instead of a tool, & many more! Lauren Holly is the lone female in this flick & plays a very unsure of herself dive officer.

Besides Grammer, Torn, Dern & Holly, there is plenty of star power in this cast with William H.Macy, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton & Harland Williams. There are a few other familiar faces as well!

This film is also a little informative giving you a bit of info about what life was like for the crews of these old time subs. This is a wonderful film! Very funny! It's Grammer at his best! Who needs Frasier?!

This is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. It’s ROTFLOU!! A one sentence summary is “McHale’s Navy meets the Navy’s submarine service.” Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge (Kelsey Grammar) is a naval officer struggling to over come his notoriety for a near-miss with a Russian submarine and a resulting somewhat inappropriate tattoo in a somewhat inappropriate body location. Despite these shortcomings, his dream of achieving command of a submarine appears to have come to pass when Admiral Winsolw (Rip Torn) gives him command of the USS Stingray. Gammar’s character quickly finds out the Stingray is a rusting World War 2 hulk and the crew he was given is a collection of rejects and misfits. Further complicating Grammar’s task is his diving officer, Lt. Emily Lake (Lauren Holly) who has never been to sea before and is the only woman on the crew. As part of a large war game, the Stingray’s mission – the success or failure of which will control Grammar’s future naval career -- is for this old, diesel-powered submarine to sneak though the American defenses and attack two U.S. ports. Scheming against Grammar’s character is an evil admiral (played by Bruce Dern) who is determined that the Stingray will lose and lose big. Grammar’s anal type-A executive officer (the second-in-command) is played perfectly by Rob Schneider. Assisting in the effort is the Stingray’s sonar technician (Harland Williams) who speaks “whale” fluently. Admittedly the humor and situations are crude and slap-stick but, who cares? To quote the commedian Larry the Cable Guy, "I don't care who ya are. That there's funny!!!!!"

Take a renegade Pirate Kelsey Grammer who doesn't listen to anywone, put him in with a bunch of rejects, jerks, fun loving guys, add a girl, and you have a ball. Given the credentials of having the guts to captain a nuclear powered boat he's been dreaming of, he insteads gets a desiel submarine. This he has to get by the Navy's most sifisticated warning signs and blow up a ship in the harbor. In the end, the crew is 100% behind Grammer as they dodge torpedos, other boats and cause mischief along the way as well as gets his mucleau boat.

Great fun watching.

Very funny movie about a war game. a rather unorthodox commander, the crew from Hell, and an antique submarine. Commander Tom Dodge (Kelsey Grammar) is just one step from being booted out of the Submarine Navy, not for lack of skills, but for a temporary lack of good judgment some years before, and the unfortunate act of making an enemy of a really "prick" Admiral, Yancy Graham (Bruce Dern), who hates him. The unfortunate "lack of judgment" was a tattoo on his penis that says, "Welcome Aboard"! Dern has blocked every attempt at promotion for Dodge, and this is his last chance, or he is out. Dodge does have friends though, Three Star Admiral Winslow (Rip Torn). Admiral Windslow devises a plan to help Dodge get the recognition he deserves, a war game exercise! Dodge is given a crew of rejects, imbeciles, malcontents, and a female Dive Officer with no experience, Lauren Holly. Oh, by the way, the boat is a 1958 rusty, old, diesel sub that has been in mothballs for forty years!. The idea is that the Russians have been selling off their old diesel subs to rogue countries for a song. These old subs could conceivably be sneaked into a U.S. port with the intention of carrying out a sneak attack or terrorist activities. He is to clean up this boat and sail out into the Atlantic and the Navy would try to hunt him down. If he can successfully elude them and launch flairs in Savannah, and blow up a target ship in Norfolk, he has the chance for his own boat. Through lots of comedic situations, the crew helps Dodge successfully pull off his mission, and just like a bunch of pirates, elude the rest of the Navy and the "prick" Admiral Graham too!

This Movie, when it came out, I felt did not get the backing and support of the production company so it did not draw the audience and reviews that I felt it deserved.

The movie is a good story, a few subtle references may be unsuitable to younger children and some of the humor reminded me of Jr. High/High school humor, otherwise it is a good clean film.

I purchased this DVD as I am a fan of Kelsy Grammer from his role as Frasier on Cheer's. He was good in this film.

The DVD itself is just average as it did come with the theatrical trailer but it did not come with any commentary from the actors, behind the scenes information, deleted scenes, etc.