Mad Dog Time (1996)

Director:

Larry Bishop

Writer (WGA):

Larry Bishop (written by)

Release Date:

8 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Bring your brains.

Plot:

With his boss in the madhouse, a mobster is temporary boss of the criminal empire just as vicious rivals threaten the control of the empire.

Plot Keywords:

Mob Boss | Nightclub | Cigar Smoking | Bathrobe | Voice Over

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 30

4:10 AM

TMC

Cast

Ellen Barkin	...	Rita Everly
Gabriel Byrne	...	Ben London
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Vic
Jeff Goldblum	...	Mickey Holliday
Diane Lane	...	Grace Everly
Burt Reynolds	...	'Wacky' Jacky Jackson
Larry Bishop	...	Nick
Joey Bishop	...	Mr. Gottlieb
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Jake Parker
Angie Everhart	...	Gabriella
Henry Silva	...	Sleepy Joe Carlisle
Michael J. Pollard	...	Red Mash
Gregory Hines	...	Jules Flamingo
Billy Idol	...	Lee Turner
Billy Drago	...	Wells

Also Known As:

Trigger Happy (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

93 min | Germany:85 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | DTS-Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Germany:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bruin Grip Services

Trivia:

Joey Bishop, in his final film, plays a character named 'Mr. Gottlieb'. Bishop's real name is Joseph Abraham Gottlieb.

Quotes:

Ben London: You can never really know the size of a person's brain until you have to clean it off the carpet, and let me tell you, Sleepy Joe had quite a brain.

Tribute to Rat Pack movies better than you'd expect

Before I start, I should point out that I know the editor of this film. We've never met, but we belong to the same fanzine(those things which came before message boards), and we have talked on the phone, so I do have a bias here. Anyway...

Somehow, it's ironic how while the "Rat Pack" culture of the late 50's and early to mid-60's made a comeback in the mid-90's, this movie, from the son of one of the original Rat Pack, and which was made in a similar fashion, was a flop. Not only that, it was a critical flop; I believe Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was the only one who did not savage this(he gave it a mixed review, as I recall). And while I don't think this is the greatest film in the world, and I am not a fan of the Rat Pack, or "cocktail," culture, I do think this is worth seeing.

For one thing, this looks stylish, and moves right along. For another, the core performances are all good. Richard Dreyfus is surprisingly restrained here as the head gangster coming back from a sanitarium, and has a droll edge to him. Jeff Goldblum goes back to the quietly ironic performances he gave in his pre-blockbuster days, like THE BIG CHILL. And while Ellen Barkin is only required to vamp in this movie, she does it entertainingly. Admittedly, it's not a great film; the dialogue is mostly made up of puns, and a lot of them don't work(like the whole "Zen of Ben" speech). And Gabriel Byrne and Kyle MacLachlan are awful here. Still, I was entertained, and if you like gangster films, you might be too.