Forgotten Comedies of the '90s Quiz

Answer: My Blue Heaven

"My Blue Heaven" is the story of Vinnie Antonelli, a mid-level mobster who, having agreed to testify, is entered into Witness Protection in the small town of Fryberg near San Diego, where he proceeds to make he life of his FBI case officer, Barney Coopersmith, a nightmare.

"My Blue Heaven" came about during author Nicholas Pileggi's work adapting his book "Wiseguy", which was based on the life of mobster Henry Hill, into Martin Scorsese's film "Goodfellas". Pileggi's wife, Nora Ephron, utilised much of the same research to write another screenplay based on Hill, which she wrote as a comedy with the protagonist renamed as Vincent "Vinnie" Antonelli. Originally, Steve Martin was cast in the role of FBI agent Barney Coopersmith, with Arnold Schwarzenegger slated to play Vinnie. However, Schwarzenegger was subsequently attached to the film "Kindergarten Cop", and, with no suitable replacement available, Martin offered to play Vinnie himself, with Rick Moranis brought in as the long-suffering Coopersmith.

Answer: Down Periscope

"Down Periscope" sees maverick submarine officer Lt Commander Tom Dodge, in an effort to secure his longed for command of a nuclear submarine, agree to take part in a special exercise commanding an elderly diesel-electric powered boat with a crew of misfits at his side.

"Down Periscope" originated as an idea by writer and director Hugh Wilson, who had previously created a number of TV shows, including "WKRP in Cincinnati", as well as directing several successful comedy films. Intended as a spoof of the submarine movie genre, the lead role of Lt Commander Tom Dodge was originally offered to actor Tom Arnold, who turned it down. The role eventually went to Kelsey Grammer, who, at the time, was enjoying considerable success in the title role of the NBC sitcom "Frasier", but had never been the lead in a movie. As the major location for the film, the museum ship USS 'Pampanito' was used to portray USS 'Stingray'. Although 'Pampanito' was unable to move under her own power, a significant amount of footage of the boat being towed was produced to simulate 'Stingray' sailing on her own.

Answer: Oscar

"Oscar" shows the day that Angelo "Snaps" Provolone, a Chicago mobster attempts to go straight by investing in a major banking corporation. Farce ensues as he finds his accountant is a thief, his daughter may be pregnant, and his maid is leaving to marry one of his rivals.

"Oscar" was developed as a remake of a 1967 French language movie of the same name, which itself was adapted from a play written by Claude Magnier. Directed by John Landis, the action is transplanted from the contemporary setting of the original film, to Chicago in 1931, with the protagonist changed from an industrialist to a mobster trying to go straight. The role of Angelo "Snaps" Provolone was originally offered to Al Pacino, who turned it down as a result of being offered a more substantial amount of money to instead appear in "Dick Tracy". Instead, Sylvester Stallone was cast as the lead, although Landis later said he felt the movie would have been better had Pacino taken the role.

Answer: Necessary Roughness

"Necessary Roughness" tells the story of the Texas State Fighting Armadillos, the reigning national college football champions, who, as a result of a scandal, find themselves having to recruit players from the general student body, leading to the team having a wide receiver who can't catch, a placekicker who needs to leave the toilet seat down, and a quarterback older than some of his professors.

"Necessary Roughness" was developed based on the story of the Southern Methodist University Mustangs who, in 1987, became the first college football team to receive the NCAA's so-called "death penalty" for numerous rule violations. In the film, the Texas State Armadillos suffer a similar fate, and are forced to recruit a new group of players directly from the student body, without the use of athletic scholarships. Directed by Stan Dragoti and starring Scott Bakula, who was starring in the NBC sci-fi series "Quantum Leap", in one scene where the Armadillos have a live scrimmage against a team of convicts, the opposition features cameos from a number of then current and former NFL players, including Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and Herschel Walker.

Answer: King Ralph

"King Ralph" introduces us to Ralph Jones, a lounge singer from Las Vegas who, through an unfortunate accident involving a photographer and a faulty electrical wire, ends up becoming the British monarch.

"King Ralph" was based on the alternate-history novel "Headlong" by Emlyn Williams, with the setting updated to the present-day, and the plot reworked into a comedy. The film sees John Goodman playing a Las Vegas lounge singer who learns that he, being the nearest living heir, has succeeded to the British throne and is now King Ralph I. The film was the first to feature Goodman, at the time appearing in the ABC sitcom "Roseanne", as the lead, although when it was being written, the title character was crafted with Bill Murray in mind. A number of stately homes around England were utilised as locations to stand-in for the various royal palaces depicted in the film, with Blenheim Palace, Apsley House and Belvoir Castle among those used to represent Buckingham Palace, and Warwick Castle and Hever Castle used to stand-in for Windsor. Highclere Castle, later to find fame in "Downton Abbey", was also used as a location.

Answer: Soapdish

"Soapdish" tells us the story behind the scenes of "The Sun Also Sets", the top rating soap opera starring the doyenne of daytime, Celeste Talbert. Little does anyone know that the goings on behind the scenes are twice as bizarre as anything that happens in front of the camera.

"Soapdish" was an original story written by Robert Hoffman and Andrew Bergman, and was made with an all-star cast, many of whom had won or been nominated for Academy Awards, including Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr and Whoopi Goldberg. Kline was cast in the role of Jeffrey Anderson after the original choice, Burt Reynolds, turned it down. Kline was subsequently forced to turn down the role of Peter Pan in "Hook" as a result of the production of "Soapdish" overrunning. In 2010, a musical version of the film began development, with Kristin Chenoweth, John Stamos and Jane Krakowski taking part in its first public performance, a staged reading, in 2012.

Answer: The Cutting Edge

In "The Cutting Edge", ice hockey player Doug Dorsey, following an eye injury in the 1988 Winter Olympics, finds himself trying to reach the 1992 Olympics as a figure skater, paired with spoiled Kate Moseley. Despite their dislike for each other, they have to find a way to work together to reach their goal of Olympic glory.

"The Cutting Edge" was directed by Paul Michael Glaser, perhaps best known as one of the leads in "Starsky and Hutch". Despite the movie being about a pair of figure skaters, both DB Sweeney and Moira Kelly had to spend three months prior to the start of production learning how to skate, as neither knew how to when they won their roles. In the first week of shooting, Kelly suffered an ankle fracture while performing a jump, which then meant that all of the skating scenes had to be pushed to the end of the shoot to allow her to recover. The injury also meant that she was forced to pull out of her role in the baseball movie "A League of their Own".

Answer: Radioland Murders

"Radioland Murders" sees the opening night of the new radio network WBN, during which a number of the staff end up being murdered, with suspicion falling on head writer Roger Henderson. Roger has to find a way of staying one step ahead of the police while trying to find out who is killing his colleagues.

"Radioland Murders" had its genesis in the early 1970s, while George Lucas was in the process of writing "American Graffiti". Following the success of the latter, Lucas negotiated a deal with Universal to produce "Radioland Murders", although the project remained in 'development hell' for almost two decades. By the early 1990s, Lucas was able to convince the studio that advances made in CG filmmaking pioneered by Industrial Light and Magic would allow the film to be produced for a relatively small budget. The script was subsequently updated, while a cast consisting largely of contemporary TV stars, headed by Brian Benben, the lead of HBO's sitcom "Dream On". Ultimately, despite the small budget of just $15m, the film turned into a box-office bomb, recouping just $1.3m during its original theatrical run.

Answer: My Fellow Americans

"My Fellow Americans" sees former United States presidents Russell Kramer and Matt Douglas, framed for a bribery scandal and forced to go on the run across America to escape the NSA. In their efforts to find evidence proving their innocence, the pair come across many of the ordinary people their policies affected.

"My Fellow Americans" was originally written as a vehicle for regular collaborators Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, for whom it would have been the eighth film they had starred in together. However, by the time the movie was entering pre-production, Walter Matthau had begun to suffer health problems and, as a consequence, was replaced by James Garner. The director, Peter Segal, was at the helm of just his third feature film. Both of the leads found the experience of working with him difficult as, in Garner's words, the director was a "self-appointed genius".

Answer: Men At Work

"Men at Work" is the story of slacker garbage men Carl and James, who come across a beautiful woman in trouble, a dead body, a pair of hitmen and a toxic waste dumping operation, and need to find a way to get out of the fix that they find themselves in that involves not being either arrested or murdered.

"Men at Work" was the second feature to be both written and directed by Emilio Estevez. The actor originally came up with the idea for the film while he was making "St Elmo's Fire", with his co-star in that film, Judd Nelson, slated to appear. Estevez never planned to have his brother Charlie Sheen in the film; Sheen eventually persuaded Estevez to cast him after reading the script and thinking that doing a comedy would be a benefit at that stage in his career. Estevez's schedule was so tight at the time that, having completed shooting of "Men at Work", he immediately went on to star in "Young Guns II". This meant that, once he had finished shooting for the day on that film, he would go and carry on work editing "Men at Work" during the evening.