Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Amy Adler Quinton McHale (Tom Arnold) is in the Navy on a lush Caribbean island, lucky duck. Surrounding him are his men, including Ensign Parker (David Alan Grier) and a host of others (one is French Stewart). Not really having a lot to do, McHale runs a side business in pin-up calendars while the swabs under him bunk in hammocks outside, instead of the stuffy barracks. Alas, the Navy gets wind of this and sends a new, no-nonsense but weird Captain, Cap Binghamton (Dean Stockwell) and his true believer Lieutenant Carpenter (Debra Messing), to "clean up the ship". This upsets all, naturally. Meanwhile, a German spy (Tim Curry) is set to capture the same island for the Commie Homeland. The Captain is blind to this coming takeover, so its up to McHale and company to thwart these doings. Our Mac also gets help from a secret Navy General (Ernest Borgnine). Whoa, and perhaps Carpenter is falling for McHale and about to switch sides! What will be the finale? This light-hearted, fun film will be a silly mood lifter for those who view it. What could really be better than that in this world? The cast is terrific, with Stockwell very comedic and Arnold, Stewart, Messing, Grier, and all of the others backing him up nicely. How great to see Borgnine, too, as he was the original McHale as we all know. The scenery of the islands is wonderful, like paradise on earth, while the script and direction are up to snuff, , albeit not likely to win awards. Join this Navy, do, and you will be a contented soul.

gavin6942 Quint McHale (Tom Arnold) has made a fine life of smuggling contraband through the United States Navy in San Moreno. But his old nemesis, Major Vladikov, has set up base on a nearby island and is looking to become the world's best terrorist.While this movie is quite stupid, it's also really fun and I did find some parts amusing. It's a clean sort of fun, which you don't see much of any more, and I appreciated that. Strictly PG. And I enjoyed watching men follow Tom Arnold around (which, according to Bruce Campbell, is mostly all him and French Stewart were directed to do -- and if you watch for this, you'll see it right away).We also have Dean Stockwell, Debra Messing (before she was big), Tim Curry and Ernest Borgnine (the original McHale from the TV series). I am suspicious that whoever wrote this also wrote the "Maverick" movie, because there are some eerie similarities (some of which I can't get into without spoiling it). I don't know if that's a good thing or a very bad thing.I should also note this movie felt, to me, degrading to women. On one hand they're congratulating Penelope Carpenter (Messing) on her accomplishments as a woman, but then the next moment they are treating her different than everyone else. She is seen as supportive and inferior, and really her only purpose in the plot is to be a romantic interest for McHale -- the ultimate in secondary characters. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but they made it so obvious.All in all, I really did enjoy this movie. Why it received such a poor response from viewers, I don't know. The cast is eclectic and fun, the jokes silly but endearing. And as long as you like Tom Arnold (I don't mind him) you should be able to enjoy this film. Everyone seems to confuse it with "Down Periscope", which is too bad -- this is a good one in its own right.

JoeytheBrit I watched this on a commercial station and between each advert break they flashed up the title card as 'McHale's War' instead of McHale's Navy, and that seemed to sum up the complete lack of interest this film generates in almost everybody. The TV station couldn't even get the title right. This is a bad film – a comedy that is consistently and forcefully unfunny. I didn't laugh once throughout the entire hellish running time, and only managed the barest ghost of a smile on a couple of occasions. Let's face it – any film in which Tom Arnold is the star is in trouble from the off. For all I know he may well be a wonderful person but he isn't a star and he isn't a comedian. The only time he's funny is during the 'action' sequences and when he tries to act serious: his nostrils flare a little and his eyes widen a touch and that's it – it's a kind of one-size-fits-all expression for every emotion he is called upon to express. He's supposed to be one of those charismatic types in this film, the type of guy everyone warms to the moment he opens his mouth. That's right – Tom Arnold. Did some casting executive read this part and really think to himself 'why, that's a part just tailor-made for that Tom Arnold chap? Hmmm. Dean Stockwell is also in this, he's quite a good actor but he's awful here – in fact he hasn't been much good in anything since Married to the Mob. Tim Curry is just a cartoon character in a flesh suit these days and sleepwalks through his role. The running joke about his being the second greatest terrorist in the world is done to death in the first twenty minutes of the film and then thankfully forgotten. Only the ever-solid Bill Campbell is worth a look, but his part is woefully small. The TV show was around before my time, so I've no point of reference with regard to how accurately this film captures the atmosphere of the show, but somehow I can't believe it was as lame as this. If it was the film would never have been greenlighted.Do yourself a favour and do what everyone involved in this mess should have done: give it a wide, wide berth.

frippy I had warned my then-boyfriend that McHale's Navy was going to be an awful film. There were many signs. One was that it was based on a TV show nobody my age (20) really ever watched, not even as syndicated reruns. Another was the cast, which lit up plenty of warning lights: Tom Arnold as the lead? Tim Curry as the villain? French Stewart as the "funny" guy? Ack! But we went anyway.I remember that, even though it was a rather short film, I was very bored. I don't even recall any salient plot details apart from vaguely clever and falsely emotional bit about helping out some troubled islanders from the wicked schemes of Tim Curry. I also remember cracking up laughing when Curry's character grabbed a child character, snarling "Come here, boy!" because somebody behind me said "Peter Pan the Pirates," referring to the cartoon where Curry did voice acting as Captain Hook. It did seem like Curry was putting on his generic "bad guy with bad foreign accent" performance. And the less said about Tom Arnold, the better. Now, whenever I talk to my ex, he'll sometimes joke, "You know, you were SO RIGHT about the McHale's Navy movie. You told me it was going to suck, but I refused to listen."