Johnny Dangerously is a 1984 American crime comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling; two of its four screenwriters, Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff, had previously created the hit series Diff'rent Strokes.

The film, a parody of 1930s crime/gangster movies, stars Michael Keaton as an honest, goodhearted man who turns to a life of crime to finance his mother's skyrocketing medical bills and to put his younger brother through law school.

Joe Piscopo, Marilu Henner, Maureen Stapleton, Peter Boyle, Griffin Dunne, Dom DeLuise, Danny DeVito, Dick Butkus and Alan Hale Jr. were in the film.

Part of the film's comedic appeal is the clever and frequent use of malapropisms by Johnny and other crime characters, especially in instances where curse words were intended.

He helps rob a rival nightclub belonging to Roman Moronie, a malapropist of swear words.

One day, Johnny comes to Dundee's headquarters to find he has taken on two new gang members: Danny Vermin, and his sidekick Dutch.

As the two gangs continue to war, Johnny falls for Lil Sheridan, a young showgirl new to the big city.

Johnny learns that Tommy is in danger and plots an escape, requesting that the warden move up his execution to that very night.

With Lil Sheridan as his getaway driver, they elude their pursuers in a laundry truck which has been covered in layers of shelf paper, enabling them to change their vehicle's description by peeling it off little by little.

The pet shop owner wraps up his story and sends the boy off with a kitten and the lesson "crime doesn't pay."

"[6] According to Mary G. Hurd, the film "is loaded with sight gags, one liners, numerous sexual jokes, and puns".

[9] Foster finds the comedies of Amy Heckerling to rely on "fast-paced, witty repartee and droll humor", and draws comparisons to those of Frank Tashlin and Jerry Lewis.