If Looks Could Kill – Grieco: Far from Home

2021-02-12

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If Looks Could Kill is a piece of vintage 90s cinema. It takes a young star—presumably on the rise—and tasks them with elevating a sub-par film. It's a challenge many budding leading men have been burdened with. Richard Grieco—most famously Dennis Booker from the 21 Jump Street TV show and its spin-off Booker—is not quite up to the task. His big screen woes mirror that of his small screen ones. Like Booker, audiences did not flock to If Looks Could Kill. His suave appearance and brash attitude were not accompanied by the requi...

If Looks Could Kill is a piece of vintage 90s cinema. It takes a young star—presumably on the rise—and tasks them with elevating a sub-par film. It's a challenge many budding leading men have been burdened with.

Richard Grieco—most famously Dennis Booker from the 21 Jump Street TV show and its spin-off Booker—is not quite up to the task. His big screen woes mirror that of his small screen ones. Like Booker, audiences did not flock to If Looks Could Kill. His suave appearance and brash attitude were not accompanied by the requisite charm.

Grossing just $7.8 million on a budget as high as $12 million, it served as evidence that Grieco may not be the next big thing. It's hard to argue that point. But If Looks Could Kill is a fun—albeit stupid fun—time. It's a spoof on more serious spy movies, offering up a case of mistaken identity to fuel its hijinks.

It also clearly served as a mild inspiration for more popular films to come. Cough ... Spider-Man: Far from Home ... cough ... With that in mind, watch it for what it is, and do a spit-take when you realize Roger Daltrey—of The Who fame—shows up just to be murdered by the principal from Kindergarten Cop.

Now, sit back, toast to the lady on the moon with a Miller High Life, and stop fidgeting with the spy car's myriad of switches! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, Chumpzilla, and Mayor McCheese are smelting gold and reforming the European Union!

This Week’s Segments:

Introduction/Plot Breakdown – McCheese and I loved this when were kids. Did it hold up? (00:00)
Lingering Questions – Is beer chugging required to sit through this 90s B-movie? (47:19)
Trivia Challenge – McCheese challenges the field to a host of Grieco-related trivia. (59:10)
Recommendations – After a word from our pals at Hop Nation USA, we offer our picks for the week; and next up: We continue our "Hops and 00-Flops," series with Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever! (1:09:49)

And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—Grieco's soft rock album and more—from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl and Amazon Music!