Pass the Ammo (1988)

This is one of those quirky little comedies that never becomes a big hit, but has the charm and endurance of a cult movie like "Harold and Maude." Not to everyone's taste, but if if you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing that you'll really like. A young woman and her boyfriend enlist the help of some friends, recently released from jail, to rob the televangelist of the money that her recently deceased aunt had given to "God" and which should have been her inheritance.

Tim Curry as the televangelist is fun, but Annie Potts also turns in a wonderful performance has his wife. The remainder of the actors are between competent and quite good. The entire production is professional quality, unlike many cult classics.

"Pass the Ammo" is not without subtlety. There is a charming scene between the preacher and a career bank robber, talking about money, in which the preacher is shocked that the bank robber just spends all his take. "Why that's just wasteful," he exclaims. The bank robber asks about IRAs, and he says, "Well, they have their plusses and their minuses." Their geniality is that of two people in the same profession talking shop.

"Pass the Ammo" is not great theatre. It's not great cinema. It is, however, a good deal of fun for the right people, of which I am one. I recommend it if you are a Curry fan, or like odd little comedies, or found the fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Baker entertaining.