Down Periscope

Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Bruce Dern, Rip Torn, William H. Macy, Harry Dean Stanton, Harland Williams, Patton Oswalt, Ken Hudson Campbell, Toby Huss, Duane Martin, Jonathan Penner
Directed by: David S. Ward
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A slacker lieutenant commander (Kelsey Grammer) is assigned to command the worst submarine in the fleet with a crew of misfits.

Review:

Tim: Down Periscope is an okay little comedy. It doesn't do a lot right, but it doesn't do a whole lot wrong, either. When I first started watching the movie, I expected it to be almost a spoof of Navy movies. While some of that might be true, the story was more closely just a regular comedy. I appreciated at least some attempt to make this movie believable. The film isn't overly funny (which hurts it, as a comedy), but it was somewhat entertaining.

The basic premise is that this lackluster lieutenant commander is finally given command of his own submarine. Unfortunately, it's the worst ship in the fleet, barely able to stay afloat. He's also given the worst submarine crew of all time, made up of morons and losers that no one else would want. It's all a plan to set him up for failure for one reason or another. This is the central theme of the film and from this, most of the comedic elements flow. None of this is especially funny. I am trying to recall a laugh-out-loud moment, but I am struggling to think of even one. The movie is somewhat amusing, but that's the best for which it can hope.

The cast isn't bad, but they aren't leveraged properly. Kelsey Grammer was the best part of the film. He does give a good performance, keeping it serious enough to ensure the movie doesn't devolve into utter nonsense. The biggest problem is that his character is presented as a bit of a rube in the beginning and once he takes command, he shows some pretty brilliant leadership. The movie didn't do a good job of showing this transition. Did he just not care when he wasn't in command? Did he always possess this skill? I never really got what his deal was, and that hurts the film. Still, with not much to work with, Grammer still manages to be fairly good.

I really like Lauren Holly, but her role here was an absolute disgrace. She comes across as the token female in the group. The movie tries to talk about the sexism she faces on the sub (which is interesting and an area I wish this film explored more), but the end result is just a visual gag of the crew shrinking all her clothes. Brilliantly funny, writers (note: very strong sarcasm). The rest of the film depicts her as an unconfident noob who needs the big strong man to save her (and of course, she falls for him). It's just atrocious and I hate how her talent was wasted.

Rob Schneider isn't very good (shocking!!!!) and he gives way too over-the-top of a performance. The guy really, really needs to learn restraint. William H. Macy was a welcome presence but is completely wasted with nothing to do. Rip Torn was pretty good, and Bruce Dern gives a fine performance as the main antagonist. Harland Williams was okay and it was fun seeing Patton Oswalt in a super small performance (he first shows up like halfway through the film- at least that's when I first noticed him). The rest of the cast is average at best, forgettable at worst.

I want to be clear that I did not hate Down Periscope. It's a perfectly average comedy that has a few entertaining moments but almost no truly funny ones. The movie feels a little long, even at 92 short minutes. This isn't a movie that you will hate, but you could skip it and you would miss very, very little.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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