Fresh
It's good-natured, innocuous frivolity that should raise a few smiles and generate good but not great spring box office.
Leonard Klady, Variety
Down Periscope
A rusty sub. A rebel commander. A renegade crew. When destiny called, they should have hung up.
1996 · 1h 32m · PG-13
Comedy
Directed by
David S. Ward
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Down Periscope
Overview
Maverick Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine — he's been given one last chance to clean up his record. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham, his nemesis, would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So, Graham stacks the deck against him and assigns Dodge to the Stingray, a diesel-powered WW2 submarine that can barely keep afloat. To make matters worse, Dodge's crew is a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then, he's tagged the "enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best.
Director and cast
- David S. Ward Director
- Kelsey Grammer as Lt. Commander Tom Dodge
- Lauren Holly as Lt. Emily Lake
- Rob Schneider as Lt. Marty Pascal
- Harry Dean Stanton as Lt. Howard
- Bruce Dern as Rear Admiral Yancy Graham
- William H. Macy as Captain Knox
- Rip Torn as Admiral Winslow
- Ken Hudson Campbell as Seaman Buckman
- Toby Huss as Seaman Nitro
- Duane Martin as Planesman 1st Class Jefferson 'R.J.' Jackson
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
11%
Tomatometer
Rotten
A soggy sub sandwich layered with cheesy action, stale jokes and gung-ho baloney.
Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
Rotten
The tone of the acting, which is set by Mr. Grammer's blandly laid-back performance, is all wrong for a genre that demands over-the-top hamming.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Rotten
More laid-back here than he is on television, Grammer seems to barely break a sweat.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Rotten
After that auspicious opening, it sinks.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
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