Part 5 in my 'Cast Robin Williams In A Movie Idea' series of posts, following on from my romantic comedy, comedy remake, animated crossover, and superhero movie dream ideas, this post turns my attentions to the action comedy.
with Arnold Schwarzenegger co-starring
Title of the movie
Stand-Up & Deliver
(Movie Logo concept by me)
font: SF Slapstick Comic
Movie classification ratings
12A/PG (UK), PG-13 (US), PG (Aus)
Notes: contains moderate language and violence, physical and psychological threat sequences, occasional gory scenes
Estimate feature run-time: 1 hour, 30 mins
Year Of Production & Release
Production 1994, theatrical release 1995
Taglines
''Do The Crime, Do The Comedy Time''
''A 'Barrel' Load Of Laughs''
''These Cops Have A Funny Bone To Pick With You''
Directed by the Canadian chief of comedy movies Ivan Reitman, written and produced by me
What type of movie is it?
Buddy Cop satirical Action comedy movie, in a similar vein to 48 hrs. Buddy film is a genre in which two people, often two people of the same gender are put together. The two characters often contrast in personality which creates a different dynamic onscreen. They each hail from different backgrounds and/or have different personalities & they tend to misunderstand each other. Through the events of the film, they gain a better understanding of each other. These types of films often deal with the crises of masculinity.
To give you an idea, it's the 1988 movie Punchline, a film about stand-up comedy meets 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop with humour similar to Ivan Reitman's comedy movies such as Kindergarten Cop and Twins.
Why Ivan Reitman?
There is no one quite like Ivan Reitman and his brand of over-the-top, comedic shenanigans. I enjoy his comedy movies a great deal and I think he would be ideal for this feature. He has also directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop, Twins and Junior and Robin Williams in Fathers' Day.
Why Arnold Schwarzenegger?
He has a knack for comedy as proven in Kindergarten Cop, Jingle All The Way, Junior,
not to mention he is the king of amusing one-liners. He is one of the very few action stars who can pull off the comedy thing well and comfortably too. Seeing Arnie alongside Robin Williams, as different types of actors as they are, individually, in an action comedy of this nature, would be priceless I think.
Why Robin Williams with Arnold?
I know, this pairing sounds strange but given Arnold Schwarzenegger's turns in comedy films like Jingle All The Way, Kindergarten Cop, Junior and Robin's offerings in Good Morning, Vietnam, Mrs Doubtfire and even The Survivors where he goes all gung-ho as Donald with a gun, I just think those two would make for an interesting - if a little odd action comedy duo. Arnold can do comedy really well, and Robin Williams is well, way too good in comedy, whereas Arnold fares great in action and Robin, through his turn as Peter Pan in Hook, has shown he can make for a believable action hero protagonist. That, and as shown as Donald Quinelle in The Survivors and Dale in Fathers' Day, he is not afraid of kicking ass, whilst making a fool out of himself at the same time.
I could definitely see this pairing work on screen.
What does the phrase ''stand and deliver'' mean?
A highwayman's order to hand over and valuables; the film's title reads stand up and deliver, stand-up is in reference to stand-up comedy and the phrase in relation to the film is a robber targeting people for their valuables, as well as stealing them.
Plot: A well-known, popular stand-up comedian has been masquerading & posing as a thief/robber at a prestigious comedy club late at night, targeting innocent bystanders and ordering them to hand over and stealing their money, jewellery, and valuables. Mismatched Los Angeles detectives Ray Armstrong (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Patrick Boyer (Robin Williams) are assigned to go undercover as stand-up comics and to infiltrate the club, in order to find & capture the culprit responsible - only to later uncover a dastardly scheme involving the main thief.
Unlike fun, wise-cracking Patrick, stoic Ray doesn't have much of a funny bone on him, so Patrick has to help prepare Ray for what lies ahead of him, and the audience. With amusing and wacky results.
This film contains examples of:
Affectionate Parody - a send-up of or spoofing of a genre >> this film is a spoof on buddy cop movies ala Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs
Slapstick - characters getting hurt in obscene ways, such as smashing into walls, is highly exaggerated in nature - plenty of these in the film
Pratfalls - exaggerated nature of the fall that is inherently funny, the main characters get hurt in the most painful and amusing ways
Buddy (cop) Picture - is a film about two people and their adventures, serve as dual protagonists
Clueless detective - detective who isn't very good at it or they just don't have the gift for it >> Patrick
Good Cop/Bad Cop - one cop behaves aggressively (Ray), the other appears more sympathetic, helpful & protective (Patrick)
Hard-boiled detective - tough, cynical guy with a gun and lots of street smarts and dogged persistence >> Ray
Miranda Rights - rights read out to the innocent and guilty 'you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney' >> mentioned once in the film
Hollywood Action Hero >> Ray
Amusing Injuries >> Patrick falling foul to these, as well as Ray
The Cynic - character who believes the world is a bad place >> Ray
The Idealist - character who genuinely believes that people are good >> Patrick
Cowboy cop >> loose cannon detective - Ray
Adam Westing - form of self-parody where actors play themselves or as the exact opposite of what they are famous for, but comes across as an idiot >> Ray is a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger's action hero roles, whereas Patrick shows glimpses of Robin Williams's ad-libbing and improvisational comedy from Good Morning, Vietnam and as Mork from Mork and Mindy
Super Cop - police with the equipment putting them above and beyond the average police officer >> Ray
Crazy- Prepared - character who is prepared for an excessively prepared routine scenario >> Ray
By The Book Cop - stock character who believes in following the law as it is written, even when the criminal doesn't >> Patrick
The Cameo - brief appearance/s by a well-known star or famous person in a role that is usually taken up by an extra or walk-on >> cameos from Danny Devito and Billy Crystal as the owner of the comedy club and one of the comedians
Straight Man and Wise guy and Big Guy, Little Guy - characters who embody that fat and skinny trope >> Ray (big, huge guy) and Patrick (not so big, huge guy)
Badass Adorable - looks adorable but extremely capable of kicking ass >> Patrick
Adorkable (nerdy character trope) - adorable + dork, perhaps clumsy but endearing, down-to-earth caricature as they are not supermen >> again Patrick
Testosterone Poisoning - badass character made silly >> Ray
Large Ham - larger- than- life character full of charisma and energy >> Ray
Combat Pragmatist - character defined by their willingness to do anything in a fight to win >> see above
Bulletproof Vest - Patrick wears one of these for protection
Action Duo - opposites in Action hero and action survivor, the Action hero is a type of protagonist who uses his fighting skills to achieve his goals in a story, whereas the Action survivor is the normal guy/gal in every way. Action survivor would have an average to toned body >> Ray is the action hero and Patrick is the action survivor
Comedic Hero - less than competent protagonist who nevertheless succeeds, despite his best efforts >> Patrick
Chick Magnet - guy who draws/attracts women to him like bees to honey. Never takes advantage of them >> musclebound Ray is a bit of a ladies man with his one-liners
Deadpan Snarker >> Ray
Nice Guy - friendly, psychologically well-balanced and comes across as likeable >> Patrick
The Ahnold - affectionate parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger, may be an exaggeration of his accent >> Robin Williams's Patrick imitating Ray, or be it Arnie's voice
(above: Robin Williams as the Genie impersonating Arnold Schwarzenegger in Disney's Aladdin)
Doesn't like guns - character who despises or doesn't like using or having guns for whatever reason >> Patrick
I Know Kung-Faux - silly fictional martial arts of all types, is played for comedy >> though Patrick knows silly martial arts
Berserk Button - person who responds in extreme anger >> both Ray, but more so Ray and in some cases, Patrick
Additional notes: it will have lots of silly slapstick, pratfalls, physical comedy, farce comedy, Robin Williams's trademark improvisational comedy antics, action scenes, some amusing banter between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robin Williams with their characters not liking each other first and later on establishing good camaraderie. As well as Robin mimicking Arnie's Austrian accent!
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