''Pass the Ammo'' is a 1987 American

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

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

Annie Potts Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty i ...

Linda Kozlowski Linda Kozlowski (born January 7, 1958) is an American former actress. She is best known for her role as Sue Charlton in the ''Crocodile Dundee'' film series (1986–2001), with the first installment earning her a Golden Globe Award nomination. ...

and

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

. The film is a spoof of

televangelism Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-proc ...

released right after the real-life scandals related to

Jim Bakker James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted fraudster. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program '' The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with ...

and

Jimmy Swaggart Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostalism, Pentecostal televangelism, televangelist, southern gospel, gospel music recording artist, pianist, and Christian author. His television ministry, which began in 1971, an ...

. The movie's working title during production was ''...And Pass the Ammunition,'' a reference to the phrase "praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."

Plot

Reverend Ray Porter runs a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

and televangelism empire based in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Four rednecks, one of whom was bilked out of her inheritance by Rev. Porter's ministry and another of whom just got out of prison, try to rob Porter's ministry. A series of wrong turns inside the church during the robbery leads Claire, her boyfriend Jesse, Arnold and Big Joe onstage right in the middle of a broadcast, and the four robbers turn what was supposed to have been just a robbery into a hostage situation. During the hostage negotiations, a series of snowballing scandals involving the ministry come to light. The robbery, hostage taking, and scandal revelations all are broadcast live over

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

as locals gather in bars to watch. Porter and the robbers develop a rapport that resembles shop talk among thieves as they discuss the best ways of investing stolen money. The Christian network's producer, a drug-addled electronics wizard named Stonewall, adds minor complications to the ongoings, playing with the images in comical ways that keep the television audience laughing. The local sheriff, whose duck-hunting trip was interrupted by the incident, seems to sympathize with the would-be robbers. He has to deal with his own moral struggle in trying to enforce the law when his sympathies lie elsewhere. He just wants to see the situation end with nobody getting hurt, and he butts heads with the network's owner and federal agents who demand harsher action. The owner of the satellite network, G. W. Wraith (loosely based on

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

), demands that the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

be called in, leading to a siege and an unexpected outcome to the entire situation.

Cast

as Jesse Wilkes *

as Claire *

as Reverend Ray Porter *

as Darla Porter *

Dennis Burkley Dennis Henry Burkley (September 10, 1945 – July 14, 2013) was an American actor. In a career spanning four decades, he appeared in numerous films and television series. He was best known for his role as Theo in Son in Law. Early life Burkley ...

as Joe "Big Joe" Becker *

Glenn Withrow Glenn Withrow (born November 24, 1953) is an American actor. Early life Withrow was born in Highland Heights, Kentucky. He has one older brother, Jeff, and one younger brother, Roger. Withrow attended Campbell County High School in Alexand ...

as Arnold Limpet *

Leland Crooke Leland Crooke is an American actor from stage and film. He is known from several stage plays and films by David Beaird. Career In February 1980, Crooke gave his stage debut in the play Bal ( Richard Nelson's loose adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's p ...

as Sheriff Rascal Lebeaux *

Anthony Geary Anthony Geary (born May 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama ''General Hospital''. He originated the role of Luke in 1978 and received a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for O ...

as Stonewall *

Richard Paul Richard Paul (June 6, 1940 – December 25, 1998) was an American actor who was born in Los Angeles, California. Early life Paul was born in Los Angeles, California. Richard earned a Bachelor of Arts in public affairs from Claremont Men's Coll ...

as G.W. Wraith *

Paul Ben-Victor Paul Ben-Victor (born July 24, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Greek mobster Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', Alan Gray in ''Entourage'' (2005–2008), and Ray in '' Body Parts'' (1991). ...

as Eddie DePaul *

Megan Blake Megan Blake is a pet lifestyle expert and an actress based on Malibu, California. She was Miss Georgia in 1983. Career Blake host segment, produces and writes for Animal Attractions Television. The show's mission is to help people have the ...

as Cherry *

Brian Thompson Brian Earl Thompson (born August 28, 1959) is an American actor. His career began with a small role in the 1984 film ''The Terminator''. He played the villainous "Night Slasher" in the 1986 film '' Cobra''. His first named role was on ''Werew ...

as Kenny Hamilton

Availability

The film was released on VHS by

International Video Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

sometime after its theatrical run and later in 1991 by Avid Home Entertainment in the SLP Mode.

References

External links

* * * {{David Beaird 1987 films 1987 comedy films American comedy-drama films Films scored by Carter Burwell Films about Christianity Films about television Films directed by David Beaird Films set in Arkansas Parodies of televangelism 1980s parody films Films with screenplays by Joel Cohen Religious comedy films 1987 comedy-drama films 1987 drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films