sol- 'Trigger Happy' - or 'Mad Dog Time' as it is better known - this gangster spoof circles around a vicious crime boss recently released from a mental asylum and his underlings who wish to take his place. From such a plot summary alone, the film certainly sounds quite promising. Donning a bathrobe and walking with outstretched arms like a messiah, Richard Drefyuss also has a memorable first scene as the mentally unstable mobster, however, the rest of the film is far less impressive. The most notable aspect here is the star-studded ensemble cast. In addition to Dreyfuss, there are pivotal roles for Gabriel Byrne, Jeff Goldblum, Diane Lane, Ellen Barkin and Henry Silva, while the likes of Burt Reynolds, Billy Idol, Gregory Hines, Richard Pryor and Rob Reiner also appear. The film trips up though by trying to assign sizeable roles to each of its big name stars. The result is a film with too many main characters for one to get to know in any real depth, which in turn renders the film hard to follow on occasion. It is not a consistently funny movie either; amusing moments abound, mostly from the strange ways various characters are killed, however, there are far too many jokes stemming from the fact that three of the main characters have rhyming first names. A stylistic decision to have fades to blue, red, etc. (instead of black) is a little jarring too. Infamous as the film that Roger Ebert selected for the worst movie of its year, 'Trigger Happy' is not as worthless at all that, but it is also easy to appreciate why the film was a disappointment to fans of its stars back in its day.

Maynard Handley I cannot understand why this movie doesn't have better ratings or a better box office. I'm a harsh critic of movies --- I probably stop watching twice as many as I watch fully, because they're heading into cliché, want to be funny but aren't, or simply bore me. But I loved this movie. I loved the way it kept being funny without making a big deal of it. I loved the way it mocked the gangster movie ethos. And I loved the cool calm assuredness of Jeff Goldblum's character --- competence and intelligence in a character, without either histrionics or "flaws to make him more interesting" are so appealing.

offyerswod "Mad Dog Time"..."Trigger Happy" whatever you wanna call it...simply doesn't hit the mark. Maybe its just me, maybe i just don't like Gangster comedies ( as i thought Oscar , Johney Dangerously and Mafia also sucked ) It's probably more "witty sharp wordplay" than all out Comedy, only its not as witty and sharp as it ( or the other reviewers )Make it out to be. The Rick , Mick , Vic Thing was old to begin with making it a running gag was at times painful to watch. There wasn't enough Changes of Location or Feel for the period they were supposed to be in. The Majority of the film was either set in "Dreyfus's Club" or a variety of Offices /dim rooms... ( what was with that Sit down Gun stand off thing Goldblum kept winning ?) The supporting cast was... on Paper excellent ( great to see Silva & Drago)but characters were killed off before they had time to develop. and Richard Pryors cameo was a Joke ! The Romance and Love element of the film also bogged it down.4/10 I don't think i'll return to it anytime soon.

donbodell I originally saw this very dark comedy around 2000 or so on cable TV. What a surprise and delight! Everyone is covertly armed in this movie! Dreyfuss plays the "mental" don (remember the New York don who was supposed to be schizophrenic? Art imitates life or vice-versa?). Diane Lane and Ellen Barkin are at their most beautiful and NOT to be toyed with! Thus proving that beauty and toughness DO go together! Then there is the great "bullshit" scene between Barkin and Jeff Goldblum (Rita and Mickey) where they verbally play off the world "bullshit." This film is both subtle and bald. For all the shooting, it can be a very quiet film. And, you have the opportunity to see several actors in their final or near final roles. Joey Bishop. Richard Pryor. Henry Silva. It is not a film for everyone. But, if you like a film that has a lot of word play and keeps moving without blowing up everything in sight, this is the film for you. Roger Ebert dumps on this film. He's flat wrong. THIS is a fine, fine film! Maybe just not one for Ebert. I consider it as a 10 because of how well it is done and how funny the script can be, while not really being a straight comedy kind of film. I like it so well that I bought it on DVD because it just doesn't get shown very much on cable TV. Now, it's all mine!