I took my expert on naval affairs to see the new Kelsey Grammar comedy,
"Down
Periscope", just to make sure that they had all the uniform ribbons
right, the lingo
correct and see if he thought a movie about a maverick commanding officer
and a
bunch of misfits would be funny. "The ribbons are OK, lingo good,
and yeah, it's
funny, but I served with lots of guys like that." was the response.
Makes you
wonder.
Grammar, who has made a name for himself on the TV show "Fraiser"
as an off-kilter comic, is just the guy to have "Welcome Aboard"
tattooed on his penis. As
the commander in charge of a Korean-War-era sub he lands Rob Schneider as
an executive officer, Lauren Holly as dive officer and an assortment of
nuts as
crew. Admiral Rip Torn sends them off on a war game to prove that a lone
diesel
sub could enter Charleston and Norfolk harbors. It is a pretty decent plot
that
gives everyone a chance to be silly. Ken Hudson Campbell, who was Animal
in
TV's "Herman's Head" shines as the cigar chomping cook. And
I barely
recognized Jonathan Penner who has a recurring role on TV's "The Nanny"
and a
starring role in the soon to be released "The Last Supper".
"But that is the Pampanito, a WWII sub that is now a museum in San
Francisco.
And that is not Norfolk; it's California. The periscope is from "Hunt
for the Red
October" but the consoles look like "Crimson Tide's"."
my anti-submarine warfare
expert and husband says. And he is right. "And Jim's tattoo was 'Your
Name' on
his left cheek. He won a lot of bar bets with that. How many Navy guys
can say
they have your name tattooed on their fanny?" Not too many I hope.
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