Rescue Me (1992) User Reviews (14)

Feels halfway like a River Phoenix movie

[bgaiv · 5/10 · 13 September 2020]

That is, the half with Steven Dorff. The half with the crooks is badly discordant with the other. It's basically slapstick kidnapping and feels very uncomfortable when it veers close to rape-y.

I guess that sometimes works- Fargo basically had a similar structure. Doesn't work here though.

But the Dorff half is pretty good. It's a bit half baked. Seems like they could have just had Dorff be a photographer without the stalker angle.

Dorff *very* strongly evokes River Phoenix to me. Vaguely in appearance, but definitely in his mannerisms and voice. If I'm not looking at the screen, I keep thinking it is Phoenix talking.

It's all so strong, I wonder if they had the same acting training/coaches. Or perhaps since Dorff was three years younger than Phoenix, Dorff was patterning himself after Phoenix.

Rescue Me

[a_baron · 5/10 · 17 November 2017]

Two crooks, one half dumb, the other the full package, are interrupted during a shady deal and kidnap a feisty teen almost by accident. As her father owns a bank, she suggests they ransom rather than kill the living witness, so off they all go to the West Coast pursued by a lovesick teenager and the other half of the busted deal.

This starts out with the promise of teen romance but ends up as a buddy buddy/coming of age drama. No one is killed but it can't be said that everyone lives happily ever after, including you if you watch it until the end, but the half-decent soundtrack might just about get you through it.

To Win A Cheerleader

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 19 January 2010]

The underlying premise of Rescue Me is the often proved notion that the adolescent male will do just about anything to win the affections of the female of the species. Post puberty is one dangerous age, some of us actually never grow out of it.

Stephen Dorff is this gawky 16 something who wants more than anything to win cheerleader Ami Dolenz. But in the pecking order of high school she's the property of jock Danny Nucci and he's the jealous type. But when a pair of dangerous, but not terribly bright criminals kidnap Dolenz to get ransom from her rich daddy, it's Dorff to the rescue, aided and abetted by former Green Beret Michael Dudikoff.

In this comedy, that doesn't quite click all the time, the best acting is done by the crooks William Lucking and Peter DeLuise. DeLuise especially is a whole suit short of a full deck. Good thing he's so dumb or Dorff would have been dead meat. As it is he's got to be pulled from harm's way several times by Dudikoff.

Rescue Me is your typical teen comedy that with the presence of action star Michael Dudikoff tries to expand a bit the normal audience for such things. You've got to have a juvenile mind to truly enjoy Rescue Me.

Pretty much a disaster

[whatch-17931 · 3/10 · 11 December 2020]

Red alert from the first frame of the titles: Fraser (Dorff) and the cheerleader he's after in lengthy shower scenes. It's so exploitive, it's obvious the studio decided "well, this picture's a turd, throw in some young skin." Though the amount of Dorff's armpit you see nearly defies belief. Also, Dorff looks somehow strange in this movie. Maybe his eyebrows are too plucked/defined?

Kind of seems like they had a possibly decent movie here, and some of it clicks in the buddy buddy area, but even that comes off half baked. Partly, it seems unlikely Dorff's character is still a virgin, but the bigger problem is it seems like they're missing half the story or something. Maybe they ran out of money and didn't shoot numerous scenes? They go for a lot of depth in the buddy buddy stuff, far beyond what's justified by what we see. And Fraser breaks down crying when he sees the ocean? Why now?

Mac waking up to Fraser firing his pistol is kind of funny.

The kidnappers and their motives? Uh, whatever.

The movie looks pretty good- they picked some great locations.

Actually, after reading another review where they saw it when they were a young teen and liked it, it could be you have to see it pretty young. Some movies like Stand By Me or what have you may hold appeal to younger and older audiences, but some don't.

Rescue me from this movie!

[Wizard-8 · 5 July 2016]

"Rescue Me" was one of Cannon Pictures' last movies to get a theatrical release. It was a small and low key release, and upon seeing the movie it's easy to see why Cannon didn't give it much of a push. To be certain, it's not a complete waste of time. All of the cast, from leads Michael Dudikoff and Stephen Dorff, give appealing and likable performances. And for what had to be a low budget, the movie looks pretty good thanks to some expert cinematography and some well chosen locations. However, the movie all the same is more often than not a somewhat hard slog. Some plot details and character development seem to be missing, whether it was edited out or simply missing from Mike Snyder's screenplay in the first place. And while the movie was made in the 1990s, it has an odd 1980s feel, from the music to the clothing. The biggest problem, however, is that there is very little spark. The movie moves at a sluggish pace throughout, and this slow feeling also extends to the scenes of comedy and action; the comedy (though thankfully not strident and in-your-face) is lame, and the action sequences simply aren't exciting (or well accomplished) at all. It's too bad the movie doesn't work as a whole, because it had a pretty good and original premise. Remake, anyone?

Benelovent Kidnapper Caper (spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 3/10 · 14 April 2008]

It may be an obvious disclaimer, but don't expect much from this kidnapper caper. There's plenty to make this an unconvincing story, but I'm sure that viewers will mostly be interested in its nostalgic factor, particularly since it's young stars include pre-fame Stephen Dorff and 80s mischief comedy regular, Ami Dolenz. Dorff plays Fraser, a smart, shy teen who is smitten with the untouchable bubbly blonde cheerleader, Ginny Grafton. Of course, he goes to great lengths to play hero when she is kidnapped by two bumbling drug dealers when Ginny and her obnoxious jock boyfriend (Danny Nucci) inadvertently interfere in the deal. A young, rugged looking Michael Dudikoff plays Mac, who was on the receiving end of this failed drug deal and is blackmailed by Fraser, who happened to be hiding in the trees waiting to photograph his dreamgirl skinny dipping at the lake, but instead, caught Mac, the kidnappers, and Ginny on film instead.

Fraser blackmails Mac into helping him rescuing Ginny, but the film breaks from the thrills of the chase with incessant father-figure bonding between Fraser and misunderstood Mac as well as Fraser's hopeless quest (a little late in his years) to get a girl to like him. In particular, Ginny - who seems caught up in her own world to even give much care to the fact that she's been held for ransom by Rowdy (Peter Deluise) and Kurt (William Lucking). Fraser's sensitivity seems to overtake much of the film, and aside from a few humorous moments between the dufus kidnapping duo, the rest of the movie becomes irritating, so concentrated on Fraser's desperation.

If they had a written a decent story and stuck to the whole caper aspect of the movie, this might've been a pretty decent (though likely still obscure) story.

teen stalker movie

[sandcrab277 · 1/10 · 3 April 2020]

Our teen stalker is none other than stephen dorff, current star of the new series "deputy" not much has changed ... dorff is still awkward with females as he was 28 years ago ... most women view him as a dinosauer or throwback to the old west ... after all, he was a sheriff posse member when he was appointed sheriff after his bosses unexpected death

come, Rescue Me (from my search for the DVD)

[RavenGlamDVDCollector · 7/10 · 4 April 2014]

I saw this years ago on our pay channel, and loved it, so ever since I've been collecting glamorous titles with pretty actresses, I've been trying to find this, without success. But I've forgotten most of the details, and mostly just remember the shower scene at the beginning of the movie, the two young protagonists preparing for dates. And the hot pursuit, on a motor cycle, of the baddies. Recently downloaded the trailer, and when you take a look at that, it is hard to understand why there has been no DVD release, because this sure looks good. But a search for RESCUE ME just reveals the darn TV series, perhaps I should search for STREET HUNTER next time? And I promise to write a decent review if I ever see this movie again, but sadly, I won't :( Suffice to say that having seen it once, say far more than twenty-one years ago, I just know that I'd really love to see it again, so that is saying something.

News update! News update! Yesterday, May fourteenth, 2021, I finally finally finally got a download. I'd been peeking at YouTube, but we all know you couldn't download, so I was just bummed. A contact has an app, though, so finally...! Bribe involved, of course. Watching on a cellphone is not my preferred medium, but I'm busy doing that, and posting quotes. I am surprised at just exactly how weak the setup really is. But take it as slapstick comedy and all is well.

Seems I at long last at least (kinda) realized this objective. Notice given that this entry here on IMDb will undergo major updates!

Rescue down under...

[fmarkland32 · 3/10 · 17 June 2006]

Michael Dudikoff stars as Mac, a Vietnam vet(Isn't Mikey Dudikoff too young to be a Vietnam vet?) who is blackmailed by a high school nerd(Dorff) to help track down the kidnapped girl of his dreams (Ami Dolenz) in this low budget effort. I remember actually seeing previews for this on late night TV, naturally this didn't do all that well in theaters. I think the problem is that Rescue Me often times feels like a sitcom rather than an action/comedy. There are some moments between Dudikoff and Dorff but mainly any depth is betrayed by the mindless antics here.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)

Rescue Me

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 11 August 2022]

When Ginny Grafton (Ami Dolenz) is kidnapped, so the young man who's been in love with her all through high school - Fraser Sweeney (Stephen Dorff) - teams up with town rebel Daniel "Mac" MacDonald (Michael Dudikoff) to go across the country to rescue her.

Also known as Street Hunter, William Lucking and Peter DeLuise plays the kidnappers, Dee Wallace-Stone plays Fraser's mom and even Samantha Phillips (Phantasm II) and Kimberley Kates (Chained Heat 2) show up.

The problem for everybody is that Ginny is no kidnapped princess and uses everyone against one another, even running from the kidnappers only to go to a concert and hook up with the lead singer of the band.

This movie can't figure out whether it's a coming of age story, an action film or a comedy. It can be all of those things, but it's not particularly good at any of them. It's directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, who also made Hercules In New York. That should tell you what you're getting into. That said, I enjoy Dudikoff and Dorff, so this movie was watchable thanks to them.

My second favorite Road Trip movie after Overnight Delivery(1998)

[CihanVercan · 8/10 · 26 September 2008]

First time I watched Rescue Me was on TV in 1996. As a memorable quote from Marty(1955), I would say the same that Marty has said for his situation of searching for love: "I've been looking for a girl every Saturday afternoon of my life." I've never been in love, so been Fraser(Stephen Dorff).

Rescue Me is the type of movie when you watch at the age of 14, as I did, you will be totally inspired of the joy of being a teen. As a joyful road trip movie, ideologically Rescue Me seeks the meaning of life for a high-school kid. Willy nilly, Fraser seeks that meaning in school lessons, he couldn't find; he seeks that meaning in becoming popular among girls, he doesn't get satisfied; he seeks that meaning in finding love, he loses his self-belief. Finally he seeks that meaning in framing a career plan, and finds it; which must be the best thing ever happened to a teenager.

After seeing Rescue Me for the first time in 1996, I've taken a note on my notebook to get to myself finding a pretty girl and to make her love me. It was a full review of mine upon Rescue Me, that I've thought to tell as the very first starting speech to the girl I dreamed to find.

Rescue Me is the kind of movie, which you may enjoy on your own and it's for secondary or high school teens to get a good taste of it.

I'm dumber just for having watched it

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 22 November 2020]

They should put a warning label on this one. Movies like this are puerile by concept but they can be fun provided everyone plays it right. This turd does not. It's not fun or funny and the action is worse than the worst episode of The A-Team. The characters are all annoying, played with a complete lack of skill by the cast. Michael Dudikoff's work in the American Ninja movies is like Brando compared to what he's doing here. Avoid this at all costs. Any movie that opens with close ups of Stephen Dorff's armpits should have all copies burned.

Dudikoff goes comedy

[MichaelM24 · 11 April 2002]

Well, not full-blown comedy, but this movie definitely has a lighter tone than most of Dudikoff's, and is one of his few that's not rated R. Dudikoff is a smuggler who reluctantly agrees to help nerdish high schooler Stephen Dorff when the most popular girl (Ami Dolenz) at his school, and the object of Dorff's dreams, is kidnapped. Watching Dudikoff interact with a young co-star is nice, seeing as how such a pairing hardly ever happens in his movies. Dudikoff also doesn't rely much on his martial arts, instead playing the character as someone who doesn't really like to get involved with action, which is a nice change. Not one of my most favorite Dudikoff flicks, but okay for when you want to see him in a different type of film.

Has a great song!

[davidkichi · 10/10 · 21 November 2017]

The movie is mediocre at best. However, the David Feldstein song of which he himself sings "You are my hero" is one of the best soundtrack songs ever. It's disappointing it was never put on a CD or on the radio for that matter. I hope it gets used for a new movie someday. It's that good and memorable! A DVD or blu Ray disc release would be nice for fans.