''Paramedics'' is a 1988
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
George Newbern
George Young Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the ABC show ''Scandal'' and Bryan MacKenzie in '' Father of the Bride'' (1991) and its sequels ''Father of the Bride Part II'' and '' Fat ...
and
Christopher McDonald
Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor.
McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...
.
Plot
When this group of rowdy and raunchy, laid-back
medic
A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder.
Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...
s are transferred from their cushy uptown district to the rough south-end, they find plenty of trouble when they discover the tough guys are playing a "corpses-for-dollars"
scam
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
and they want to crack the case. Mike "Mad Mike" and "Uptown", having been sent to the new district by their boss, Captain Prescott, as a form of punishment, soon discover that two
paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
s are working with gang members in order to provide dead bodies, which would be harvested for
organs
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
to be sold on the
Black Market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
. So they decide to bring down the black market and their old boss, who has nothing to do with the black market, but has ended up their boss again in the South District. All of this Uptown is dealing with his girlfriend, Savannah, who wants him to focus and go to
med school, and Mad Mike, who is smitten with a French woman (Liette), who is transporting a heart from France that is needed for a transplant.
There is a subplot about a mystery woman named "Danger Girl" who seduces her lovers to the point they meet with bizarre accidents, as was the case of the judge who had a near fatal
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
and a man who drove his car into a
water fountain
A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...
. At the end of the film, she meets up with Captain Prescott, who much to his chagrin, has been named Deputy Chief of the South District, on the recommendation of heroes Uptown and Mad Mike, who receive special recognition for breaking up the black market scheme.
Cast
*
George Newbern
George Young Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the ABC show ''Scandal'' and Bryan MacKenzie in '' Father of the Bride'' (1991) and its sequels ''Father of the Bride Part II'' and '' Fat ...
as "Uptown"
*
Christopher McDonald
Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor.
McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...
as Mike "Mad Mike"
*
John P. Ryan
John Patrick Ryan (July 30, 1936 – March 20, 2007) was an American actor, best known for his role as Warden Ranken in the 1985 film ''Runaway Train''.
Biography
The son of Irish immigrant parents, Ryan graduated from Rice High School and st ...
as Captain Prescott
*
James Noble as Chief Wilkins
*
John Pleshette
John Pleshette (born July 27, 1942) is an American actor and screenwriter, best known for his role as Richard Avery on the television drama ''Knots Landing'', and for portraying Lee Harvey Oswald in the TV movie '' The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald ...
as Dr. Lido
* Elaine Wilkes as Savannah
*
Lydie Denier
Lydie Denier (born 15 April 1964) is a French-American model and actress. She has appeared in numerous TV series and films.
Biography Early life
She was born in Pontchâteau, France. Denier was raised in Martinique, attending school at the ...
as Liette
*
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (born September 4, 1953) is an American actor and singer. Best known for playing Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington in ''Welcome Back Kotter'' (1975–79), he has also appeared in a number of films and television shows, in ...
as "Blade Runner"
*
Karen Witter
Karen Lorre (born December 13, 1961, in Long Beach, California), widely known by her maiden name, Karen Witter, is an American actress, model, and writer.
Early life
Lorre was born Karen Witter in Long Beach, California.
Lorre was a pre-med psy ...
as "Danger Girl"
*
Ray Walston
Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...
as Heart Attack Patient
*
Leigh Hamilton as Despatcher
* Peter Isackson as Breedlove
* Eric Boardman as White
* Lisa Applewhite as Nurse Helms
* Helanie Lembeck as Lieutenant Holcomb
*
Bill Johnson as Caesar "Big Caesar"
DVD release
Lions Gate Home Entertainment has not announced any current plans to release the film onto DVD.
Notes
References
External links
*
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1988 films
1980s sex comedy films
American sex comedy films
1980s English-language films
Films shot in Dallas
Medical-themed films
Vestron Pictures films
Teen sex comedy films
1988 comedy films
Films directed by Stuart Margolin
1980s American films
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