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Pass The Ammo (1988)

Directed by: David Beaird
Starring: Tim Curry, Annie Potts, Linda Kozlowski, Bill Paxton, Glenn Withrow, Dennis Burkley, Leland Crooke and many more
Rated: R (adult language and themes)


Pass The Ammo is the type of comedy you either love or hate. I happen to love it.

A word to the wise - I got a copy on DVD and then found out this film has yet to be released on DVD. I can thank eBay, and presumably some people in Taiwan for the VHS to DVD rip. The quality is not stellar, as you'll see from my caps of Glenn, but it's pretty good.

Tim Curry plays the Reverend Ray Porter and Annie Potts plays his wife Darla. They run the Tower of Bethlehem church and broadcast their show to millions around the world, from their congregation in Arkansas. Claire (Kozlowski) is a small town girl, just happy to be reunited with her man Jesse (Bill Paxton). But when her recently released from prison cousins Joe (Dennis Burkley) and Arnold (Glenn Withrow) show up, she realizes something else is going on.

Claire lost $50,000 to the Tower of Bethlehem when her grandmother died, and Jesse is aiming to get it back for her. Armed with guns and a man on the inside, they show up at the Tower of Bethlehem to rob the place. When their inside man is shot when the police show up, they are trapped inside the building, and as they try to find their way out, they unwittingly stumble onto the set, which is broadcasting a live show. With the entire studio audience as hostages, not to mention a host of angels in the choir, singing twins and a converted football player dressed as Samson (played by Brian Thompson, famous in these parts as the Alien Bounty Hunter on the X-Files), their plan goes from getting the money to getting out alive. A sympathetic Sheriff (Leland Crooke) has to deal with the Governor and his patsies, as well as the local militia who think terrorists have taken over the Tower.

While Jesse tries to convince Claire things will be okay, and Claire tries to convince Jesse all she wants is to marry him, Joe serenades the police with a song about them, while Arnold befriends a stoner in the control room (awesomely played by Tony Geary - as an aside here, General Hospital is my first memory of television. I vividly recall watching the TV as a woman wrote a name in the blood of a dead woman on a kitchen floor. I was five, and that was the infamous Diana Taylor murder storyline). Arnold also begins to fall in love with an angel in the choir and hilariously gives an interview dressed as "Mr. Lucifer," complete with horns and a cape.

As the National Guard is called in and the church is ordered bombed, everything goes to hell and it's anybody's guess who will survive.

This movie was hilarious. Tim Curry does a fantastic job as the slightly slimey Rev. Porter, complete with Arkansas accent. To his credit, I detected only one instance of Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping. I especially lost it during his "Satan Got Behind Me" monologue (speaking of which, if anyone out there hasn't seen the episode of Millennium called "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me", you MUST see it. It is the reason why I love writer Darin Morgan. That and Eddie Van Blundht. The H is silent.)

Tim Curry has always kind of creeped me out - I blame the teeth - but he was just so good in this. Annie Potts was similarly hilarious as his Jesus-loving wife Darla. Dennis Burkley and Glenn Withrow as Joe and Arnold were just awesome - Dennis Burkley and Tim Curry have a fantastic scene about finances, while Glenn Withrow and Tony Geary just made me lose it in the reincarnation scene. Glenn's got great comedic timing ... I just about died when Darla begins singing and asking the choir to follow her in an effort to leave, and Arnold stands up in his devil costume, surrounded by angels, and begins singing and following them. I totally don't want to ruin this movie for anyone, but you HAVE GOT to find it.

The storyline with Jesse and Claire was a little boring in comparison to the antics of Joe and Arnold and the Rev. and his wife. The "southern militia" was quite stereotypical, but then, so was everything else. The stuff happening outside the church didn't hold my attention much, although it was important to the storyline. I really enjoyed Leland Crooke as the Sheriff.

It's a shame this movie never got the attention it deserved. It was filmed just after the PTL scandal and at the height of Jimmy Swaggart's sex scandal, but somehow didn't manage to ride the wave of interest the cases generated.

It's definitely a great film if you're a fan of Glenn's, he gets a lot of screen time and is really funny.

Purchase Information

Pass The Ammo is not yet available on DVD, although sometimes copies float around eBay.
It is available on VHS.

Pictures
(Click to enlarge)



It sure would be something if Claire blew Joe's head off. Arnold looks a little too happy with that idea lol.



Once they got over the shock of ending up onstage, it was time for the big guns.



Hands down one of my favourite scenes in the movie, Arnold and Stonewall (Tony Geary) discuss reincarnation.



Arnold is ready for his interview as "Mr. Lucifer" lol. [Sorry, I couldn't resist...I tried, I really tried...but I couldn't lol]



Arnold has his eye on one of the choir angels. (I love the fact he didn't take off the hat before putting on the costume lol.)



Pass The Ammo black and white still from moviegoods.com



Pass The Ammo black and white still from moviegoods.com.

Video Clips



Arnold breaks into the control room as they take over the station.