Surprise, surprise, I watched a lot of movies as a teenager. Still do. Two of my main go to channels were TBS and TNT. While they show a lot of repeats of tv shows during the day (Sitcoms for TBS, drama for TNT), at night they showed a lot of movies. Big Trouble in Little China, Halloween, Man’s Best Friend, so many nights stuck in front of the tv.
Growing up in Ohio, I also stayed up as a child way too late and watched late night movies hosts, mainly Big Chuck and Little John (R.I.P. Big Chuck). You go banter between the hosts, some sort of goofy or crappy movie, and usually skits in between. Well, as the aforementioned teen movie fan, both TNT and TBS satiated my desire for those types of shows. TNT gave me Monstervision, TBS gave us Dinner and a Movie. I will go more into detail on Monstervision in my next article, today I want to touch upon Dinner and a Movie.
Dinner and a Movie was a show similar to one of the aforementioned ‘host and a movie’ type shows. It was on TBS from 1996-2011 with its peak from 96-2002. The hosts, Paul Gilmartin and Annabelle Gurwitch (swoon), would show a movie and during commercial breaks throughout the movie would banter and make a recipe that had a name in theme with the movie. On occasion they would have guests make an appearance. And on August 14, 1998, the guest was none other than “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan. The meal they made? Hollywood “Hulk” Hoagies. The movie? Mr. Nanny.
I think we can all agree that Hulk Hogan has never been a good actor. But at least from my point of view, some of his movies are enjoyable as what I call ‘empty calorie’ movies. Just sit there, turn your brain off, and just let the movie wash over you. And this is exactly what it is. A fun, harmless, enjoyable family movie. Plus if you are a slapstick fan, even more reason to watch it at least once.
Hogan plays Sean Armstrong, a…gasp…former professional wrestler. He is daydreaming about several wrestlers beating him up in a ring. While not named, you can see Afa of the Wild Samoans, George “The Animal” Steele, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Kamala, and Brutus Beefcake, but in the gear and facepaint of The Zodiac about 2 years before he play it on tv. He is woken from slumber by his friend Burt Wilson, played by sitcom legend Sherman Helmsley. Burt runs a failing security company and has a job for Sean.
Burt has been hired for a security detail by a big time tech firm and being a large, muscular man, Sean would be perfect. Is it as a personal bodyguard to the CEO? Nope. Some sort of counterintelligence agent making sure no one steals sensitive information? Nope. He is hired to be the nanny to the CEO’s two kids. OH! That’s why it is called Mr. Nanny. Makes a lot of sense now.
So the crux of the movie is Sean trying to get along with the two children. This is where the movie is at its most wacky and slapstick like. While there is a cute scene in the third act with Hogan and the daughter in tutus that most people know due to it being all over the marketing, that is not the part I remember the most. They show that the older son is very mechanically inclined, very Q or Tony Stark like. So earlier in the movie Sean goes to use the private gym in the mansion that the son has rigged to cause as much damage as possible. In talking about it in my previous podcast, we counted at least 4 times that Sean should have died brutally. Heart attack, blunt trauma, electrocution, and so on. And as someone who grew up with sight gags and slapstick, this is why it worked for me.
And as expected, Sean starts to warm up to the kids and vice versa. He helps the son with bullies as he also explains that he was bullied in the past and that is why is he as big as he is. And of course, tea parties and tutus with the daughter and he has a tender moment singing a song to her before bed one night, as he also uses this to repair the relationship with the kids and their father, who dove into his work after the death of their mother.
I would be remiss if I did not talk about the other plot of the movie. See, the father has developed a microchip for an anti-missle system and a gentleman wants it. So we do get some good ol’ Hulk Hogan fight scenes a few times. And would it surprise you that all of the characters storylies are somehow connected by the end of the movie? Oh, you have watched movies like this before and saw it coming. My apologies.
I would like to mention the villain, Thanatos, played by David Johansen. He chews up the scenery with such relish, I was surprised the sets did not turn into the sets from “Our Town” by the end. Music fans would know David from either the New York Dolls or as his alter ego, Buster Poindexter, famed for the 80’s hit “Hot Hot Hot”.
Now, is the movie tame? Very. Is the movie 100% predictable? Of course. You could go get a snack or go to the bathroom and not miss anything. But that is the charm to it. I love a good violent action movie as well as gory horror movies. But sometime you need a good, sweet family movie. Even today, this is something you can have young children watch and be ok with it. Like I said earlier, we all need ‘empty calorie’ movies and this fits the bill. Give it a chance, you may surprise yourself. and this fits the bill. Give it a chance, you might surprise yourself.
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