Real Men (1987)

Perfect cast and a good story

Good concept, poorly executed.

As Good As It Gets

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

CIA Agent Pillbox (John Ritter) is killed before he is scheduled to meet space aliens. Nick Pirandello (James Belushi) is a hard-charging super-agent. He is assigned to recruit doppleganger mild-mannered family man Bob Wilson (John Ritter) for the meeting. It's to save the planet from a chemical released by the military in exchange for a glass of water. The Russians are trying to stop them. Others in their agency want a Big Gun which could destroy a planet to use against the Russians.This is a strange little attempt at a spy action spoof. It doesn't really start out that way although Belushi as a super-agent could be taken that way. The strange concepts keep building up. It's not terribly funny but it is weirdly interesting. It does have Ritter and Belushi. Dennis Feldman doesn't seem to be that funny in his output. He's certainly not known as a director. This strange idea could work especially with these two comedic actors if the script is much funnier.

I am not sure this movie made it to the theaters or not back in the day, I only know it used to come on quite often on HBO and I would usually watch it when it did come on. It was not super great or anything, but it was a rather funny comedy that passed the time quite nicely. The story has a man that is an everyday kind of fellow, thrust into the middle of a very strange government plot involving aliens and spies. The reason he is thrust into this role is that he looks like the man that was supposed to receive a package from aliens, and he is the only one they would apparently give it to. That man is shot at the beginning of the film, thus this replacement is recruited against his will. A super type spy is sent in to use him to get the package from the aliens and he is also told to encourage the guy and make him feel he is doing great. There are chases and stuff like that, attacks of clowns and during the course of the film the bumbling everyman does get good. He is played by the late John Ritter, and though I am not really much of a fan of his, he does a particularly good job as the everyman being a bit of a unwilling participant at first, but getting better as time goes on. Jim Belushi plays the super spy, he does not look the part, but he does an okay job with the role. I am not going to blame him for being cast in a role more fitting for someone more polished looking. As for the rest of the cast, a treasure trove of virtual unknown stars, thankfully though the movie focuses on Ritter and Belushi's characters and the carry the film quite well.

This pleasingly wry'n'dry send-up of incredibly far-fetched spy action/adventure yarns, male bonding and hearty, breast-beating, chest-thumping "look man, ain't I so cool" machismo hits the enjoyably droll bull's eye more often than not, thanks largely to writer/director Dennis Feldman's deliciously deadpan, nonchalant, off-handed comic style and the breezy, effortless, finely judged rapport between stars James Belushi and the late, great, sorely missed John Ritter. The frequently annoying Belushi is more tolerable than usual as absurdly smooth, sharp, insightful, intelligent, resourceful, extremely confidant and phlegmatic, but overly hard and insensitive fearless federal agent Nick Pirandello, who enlists the reluctant aide of twerpy, mild-mannered, extremely passive and insecure ordinary shmoe office worker Bob Wilson (an ideally cast John Ritter) in order to assist him on a top secret government mission. You see, Wilson is a dead ringer for a fed killed in the line of duty, so he's needed to replace the deceased fellow for a crucial meeting with a bunch of alien beings who in exchange for a drink of water will give us humans pertinent information pertaining to our planet's very survival. Naturally, both the evil Russians and a band of renegade CIA agents are determined to foil our heroes' important mission. Moreover, during the course of the perilous mission Bob rediscovers his backbone while Nick gets back in touch with his softer, more tender feelings.While on occasion the picture's casual sense of oddball humor is a bit too relaxed to the point where it almost cancels out the whole movie, the many genuinely inspired bizarre touches and quirky moments (Nick's father turns out to be a busty, aggressively lascivious transsexual riotously played by none other than Dyanne "Ilsa" Thorne, several enemy agents dressed in clown outfits attack Nick and Bob in a back alley, and Nick picks up a seemingly demure woman in a bar who turns out to be a vicious leather-clad, whip-wielding dominatrix!), Feldman's surefooted direction, John A. Alonzo's crisp cinematography, Miles Goodman's bouncy, twangy, harmonic country swing score, the mock-serious, pseudo matter-of-fact tongue-in-cheek tone, and the fleet, playfully jumpin' pace keep this one appropriately amusing and animated throughout.

When a CIA agent is killed, Nick Pirandello (James Belushi) is sent in to save the world. Nick is an unorthodox, uncontrollable uber-spy with a sense of humor and some panache. Friday, 20:00, Washington D.C. is the rendezvous. The fate of the world revolves around that date and place. Nick is forced to recruit a timid insurance salesman look-alike, Bob Wilson (John Ritter) and drive cross country to the destination.This is mostly a buddy picture, in which each of our protagonists learn something from the other and they bond. Nick becomes more sensitive and Bob becomes tougher.This is not a great movie, but ever since I saw this movie on HBO during the 80's, its just stayed with me. Its fun and it moves quickly. This soundtrack is also pretty good (catchy). If you like movies like Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour 1 & 2 then you'll like this movie. It has a nice mix of action and comedy.Some of my favorite scenes : Nick's Macguyver-like nail gun creation, his shoelace Tarzan impression and the bad clown attack. One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is that Ilsa, Shewolf of the SS, is Nick's dad.-Celluloid Rehab