The Last Straw Trivia Quiz

Answer: A group of kindergarten children

Poor old John Kimble. They put him through the wringer at Police Academy with brutal fitness sessions, unarmed combat lessons, interrogation techniques and firearm drills but nothing they taught him could quite prepare him for a classroom full of dastardly crayon wielders. Such was his lot when he goes undercover at Astoria Elementary School in an effort to catch a drug dealer in Ivan Reitman's 1990 comedy thriller 'Kindergarten Cop'.

This was the second time Schwarzenegger would work with Reitman, their first collaboration being the 1988 film 'Twins' which was Arnold's first venture, as a lead actor, into comedy. (He *was* in the 1979 film 'Cactus Jack'.

However, on that occasion Kirk Douglas and Ann Margaret were the stars and Arnold essentially played a straight man role.)

Answer: Glengarry Glen Ross

The movie zeroes in on two days in the lives of four struggling real estate salesmen. Al Pacino deserved his Academy Award nomination as the cocky and charismatic Ricky Roma. Roma is also dishonest and extremely ruthless, his strength being his ability to identify a mark's weak point and setting up a pitch to exploit it.

Answer: Full Metal Jacket

The film was based on Gustav Hasford's 'The Short Timers' and follows a group of recruits going through their paces in basic training and then their confrontations under fire during the Tet Offensive. The interesting story in the cast is Ermey, who was initially employed by Stanley Kubrick as a technical adviser. Ermey had auditioned for the role of Hartman but Kubrick sent him away stating that he was not vicious enough for the part. Ermey was not deterred and put together a video clip of himself unleashing fifteen minutes of abusive dialogue at a group of Marines. So what, you might say.

He also had assistants on the side (out of camera shot) throwing tennis balls at him. He never once flinched nor was he distracted throughout the exercise.

Answer: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

We tend to laugh at another man's pain and this segment is hilarious, with Martin at his lunatic best in a five sentence rant that includes clenched teeth and abundant profanity. As a result of this scene the film received an R-rating in certain places. John Candy plays Del Griffith, his polar opposite - a constantly positive and talkative curtain ring salesman.

Answer: Mystery Men

The movie tells of a group of super heroes, possessed of dubious super powers (the Invisible Boy who's only invisible when no one's looking), who must save Champion City from the clutches of the evil villain, Casanova Frankenstein, played by Geoffrey Rush. Their team leader is Mr Furious (real name Roy), who claims to possess super strength which can only be triggered when he gets seriously angry.
Despite some wonderfully witty dialogue the film failed at the box office but has since garnered a cult following.

Answer: Five Easy Pieces

A quiz about movie meltdowns would not be complete without a contribution from Jack Nicholson. In this film he plays a character constantly on edge. He gets wound up by, of all things, two lesbians arguing over ecology in his backseat, the diner incident, his inability to cope with his artistic background and working a blue collar job, his girlfriend's lack of refinement and a host of other issues.

The film earned Nicholson his first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. He'd previously received an Oscar nomination in 1969 for Best Supporting Actor in Easy Rider.

Answer: Somebody Kill Me

Adam Sandler, the wedding singer, meets and falls in love with Drew Barrymore's waitress in this romantic comedy written by Tim Herlihy. The song Sandler writes starts out as a sweet and tender little ode until, without warning, Sandler unleashes the true measure of his pain, invoking unpleasant endings to both himself and his former flame. Adam opens the song by warning the audience that he'd spent a lot of time listening to The Cure before writing it. Sandler extends the joke by singing the J Geils Band song 'Love Stinks' at a wedding reception.

Answer: Joe Versus the Volcano

The payout goes something along the lines of "You look terrible, Mr. Waturi. You look like a bag of excrement stuffed in a cheap suit. Not that anyone could look good under these zombie lights. I, I, I, I can feel them sucking the juice out of my eyeball. Suck, suck, suck, SUCK." A wealthy industrialist gives Joe the option of sacrificing himself to a volcano to appease a local tribe.

The win for the industrialist is access to a rare mineral. As for Joe, he can go out having achieved something for himself and gets unlimited use of a credit card.

This was the first time Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred in a movie together. Unlike their next two pairings, this one did not do well at the box office.

Answer: Falling Down

Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film takes opportunities along the way to cast sarcastic judgment on issues such as racism, poverty, gang violence, the use of golf courses and how the burger you receive at a fast food outlet looks nothing like the advertising that features it. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

Answer: Midnight Cowboy

The film tells the story of Joe Buck, played by Jon Voight, who moves to New York in a bid to make a name for himself as a male hustler. Debate exists as to whether the line "I'm walkin' here!" was ad-libbed by Hoffman or written into the script. Whether it was or not doesn't matter; it remains one of the most memorable lines in the world of movies.