Just perfect...

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

McHale's Navy (1997): Dir: Bryan Spier / Cast: Tom Arnold, Dean Stockwell, Debra Messing, Tim Curry, Ernest Borgnine: Pathetic hunk of trash where everyone acts like a bunch of morons, and since this is McHale's Navy we are suppose to look forward to these idiots saving the day. Tom Arnold plays McHale who is popular amongst his troops because he provides them with ice cream, nudie calendars, etc. Everything is a joke until Dean Stockwell and Debra Messing arrive to whip them into shape. Tim Curry plays the "second most dangerous terrorist in the world" who wishes to take over the island. Perhaps too many villains are aiming for world domination so he settles for this tiny island because he sucks. He is constantly rolling his eyes but then again, after appearing in a film this bad it is understandable. The characters exist to be idiots and succeed with flying colours. While Stockwell is lecturing the troops he catches one pea brain eating ice cream, which is stupid since there is no reason for him to be eating it at this time. Dreadful writing and directing by Bryan Spier with horrible acting by Arnold in a role every bit as stupid as his Carpool role. Stockwell, Messing, Ernest Borgnine, and unfortunately Tim Curry also blemish their careers with this trash. It is shameless to witness a cast of this caliber drown in this garbage. It is a mindless bag of garbage that is never funny. Score: 1 / 10

Is it as good as the original series? No it isn't. Is it is the worst film ever? No, there are much worse- Disaster Movie, Home Alone 4, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Superbabies:Baby Geniuses 2 and Titanic:The Animated Movie are all much worse than this. Is it a bad film? I personally don't think so.Yes the plot is predictable and falls into stupidity one too many times. Yes there are some hits and misses in the jokes and script, I actually found a lot of it funny but some of them(ie. Vladikov's 2nd best terrorist in the world boast) got old quite fast. And yes French Stewart is given very little to do.Despite this, I found myself enjoying it. I don't know why, I just did. The film looks nice enough, some of the scenery is colourful and the photography is decent enough. I liked the soundtrack too, especially Working on My Tan which was a nice addition. While corny, the script did get some laughs from me, and Bruce Campbell while underused is fun to watch. The direction is okay, the film moves quickly and is fairly short while nicely rounded off. The cast are fine on the whole. Ernest Borgnine is a joy as always as is Dean Stockwell whose comic talent here almost equals his TV counterpart Joe Flynn, as is Tim Curry(anybody who knows me knows I am a fan of Tim's), and Tom Arnold and Debra Messing are appealing too.Overall, hardly something to rave about but I personally don't think it deserves the panning it gets. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I know most people hate McHale's navy, but I really don't care. I thought it was pretty funny. Tim Curry was really good as the villain, Vladikov (the #2 best terrorist in the world). Bruce Campbell is pretty good. David Allen Grier was, as usual, great as Ens. Charles T. Parker.I'd never seen the original series, but I'm glad that they had Ernest Borgnine, the original McHale, as Cobra.And, last, but DEFFINITELY not least, Tom Arnold. I used to watch Roseanne, and always liked his obnoxious humor. It's even better in McHale's Navy. He's got some unique style, that guy.Well, I've chatted long enough.PS. Tim Curry and Tom Arnold had both been in an episode of Roseanne.

I had warned my then-boyfriend that McHale's Navy was going to be an awful film. There were many signs. One was that it was based on a TV show nobody my age (20) really ever watched, not even as syndicated reruns. Another was the cast, which lit up plenty of warning lights: Tom Arnold as the lead? Tim Curry as the villain? French Stewart as the "funny" guy? Ack! But we went anyway.I remember that, even though it was a rather short film, I was very bored. I don't even recall any salient plot details apart from vaguely clever and falsely emotional bit about helping out some troubled islanders from the wicked schemes of Tim Curry. I also remember cracking up laughing when Curry's character grabbed a child character, snarling "Come here, boy!" because somebody behind me said "Peter Pan the Pirates," referring to the cartoon where Curry did voice acting as Captain Hook. It did seem like Curry was putting on his generic "bad guy with bad foreign accent" performance. And the less said about Tom Arnold, the better. Now, whenever I talk to my ex, he'll sometimes joke, "You know, you were SO RIGHT about the McHale's Navy movie. You told me it was going to suck, but I refused to listen."