Going Berserk

Last updated
Going Berserk
Going Berserk poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Steinberg
Written by
Produced byClaude Héroux
Starring
Cinematography Bobby Byrne
Edited by Donn Cambern
Music by Tom Scott
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • October 28, 1983 (1983-10-28)
Running time
84 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$234,950

Going Berserk is a 1983 American-Canadian comedy film starring John Candy, Joe Flaherty, and Eugene Levy and directed by David Steinberg. [1]

Contents

Plot

John Bourgignon is an amiable chauffeur and would-be drummer who is engaged to the daughter Nancy, of an extremely disapproving United States congressman Ed Reese. As the wedding date approaches, John's sleazy film-director friend, Sal DiPasquale, blackmails the senator into allowing him to record the ceremony. John has assorted misadventures, including being handcuffed to a dead man, running afoul of a motorcycle gang, and getting brainwashed by an aerobics cult that wants him to assassinate the congressman. The conditioning goes awry, causing John to behave like "a schmuck" and nearly ruin his engagement, but a second attempt appears to have the desired effect. At the wedding ceremony, John reveals he resisted the conditioning; the cultists are arrested, John more or less saves the day, and more or less lives happily ever after.

Cast

Reception

The New York Times review stated, "John Candy is easily the funniest thing in Going Berserk, an affably stupid comedy that's saddled with too much plot and that hasn't nearly enough energy to go with it." [2] Vulture Hound wrote, "Going Berserk co-written by Dana Olsen misses the mark with its bare minimum of plot to get us from scene to scene that reference films/tv shows you’d rather being watching than this movie." [3]

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References

  1. "Going Berserk". TCM database. Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  2. Maslin, Janet (October 29, 1983). "JOHN CANDY IN 'BERSERK'" via NYTimes.com.
  3. "Going Berserk for Candy - Going Berserk (DVD Review)". Vulturehound + Steelchair Magazine - Music, Film, Tv + Wrestling. June 9, 2016.