Parents' Guide to

Down Periscope

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Some innuendo, profanity in mediocre slapstick comedy.

Movie PG-13 1996 92 minutes
Down Periscope Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Matt B.
Matt B. Adult
October 29, 2015
age 12+

Funny classic

This classic comedy has a lot of language. This is OK for children but I recommend that kids under 12 be supervised.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge (Kelsey Grammer), currently second-in-command of the nuclear submarine USS Orlando, has been waiting for a long time to be in charge of his own submarine. But his shenanigans, including getting the words "Welcome Aboard" tattooed on his penis, make him an oddball and someone his superiors don't trust or want to have around. Thus he's given command of a rumbling, rusting wreck of a submarine called the USS Stingray, and he's in charge of the biggest misfits his commanding officers can find. Dodge is sent to take the Stingray and crew out to win a two-part war game against his former ship, and, as his commanding officers continue changing the rules against him, Dodge must use every trick in the book to find a way to win and prove his worthiness.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (3):

DOWN PERISCOPE is a pretty straightforward screwball comedy involving misfits asked to overachieve even as they engage in all kinds of pratfalls and strange behavior. The laughs are predictable and somewhat funny, but nothing really stands out. The misfit characters don't really go far beyond their basic archetype -- one is trying to get kicked out of the navy, another has very good hearing, and another is the only woman -- and, although you hope they win in the end, you have a feeling they will because that's how so many movies with similar characters and themes end up.

Even with Kelsey Grammer, William H. Macy, Jr., and a background appearance from a young Patton Oswalt, the humor doesn't really amount to much. The formula has been done before so many times that it's difficult to find anything original or memorable in this movie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about slapstick comedies. Why do you think so many people enjoy this type of humor?

  • How is the only woman on the submarine treated? Does it seem like an accurate representation of how women might be treated in what has historically been an all-male environment?

  • In what ways does this movie seem like it might be a somewhat accurate representation of what life in the Navy would be like, and in what ways does it not?

Movie Details

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