''Nice Girls Don't Explode'' is a 1987 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

produced by Douglas Curtis, directed by Chuck Martinez, and starring Barbara Harris, Michelle Meyrink, William O'Leary,

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...

, and James Nardini. The film was released by

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...

Plot

April Flowers ( Michelle Meyrink) is kept away from boys by her overprotective mother ( Barbara Harris) because flames have a tendency to spontaneously erupt whenever her hormones are aroused; for April, "protection" on a dinner date is carrying a fire extinguisher. As her mother explains, April is a "fire girl," whose very unstable body chemistry causes

spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...

when she is aroused. As such, the only men April meets more than once are firefighters. When April reconnects with Andy ( William O'Leary), a former neighbor who has returned to April's life, he challenges April's and her mother's assumption and presses his luck to prove to her that her hormones are not, in fact, explosive. Hijinks result; as Andy tries to prove his point, he is thwarted at every turn by April's mother. Further complications ensue when April befriends a lonely, obsessive

pyromaniac Pyromania is an impulse-control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...

named "Ellen" (

), who becomes incensed at the constant mishearing of his real name "Ellen" for "Helen," after which he throws Bic lighter flicking snits, trying to set his tormentors ablaze.

Cast

* Barbara Harris as Mom * Michelle Meyrink as April Flowers **Margot Gray as Little April Flowers * William O'Leary as Andy **Jonas Baughman as Little Andy *

as Ellen * James Nardini as Ken * Belinda Wells as Girl In Park *

Irwin Keyes Irwin Keyes (March 16, 1952 – July 8, 2015) was an American actor and comedian, best known for his recurring role as Hugo on '' The Jeffersons''. He appeared in several films and several television series. Early life Keyes was born in New Yor ...

as Cocker * William Kuhlke as Dr. Stewart * Johnnie 'Mac' McHaynes as Nick * Zachery 'Zach' Carey as Rudy * Holmes Osborne as Dick * Peggy Freisen as Tracy * Richard Kawecki as Guard 1 * Daryl Champine as Guard 2 * Eleanor Joy Lind as Nurse * Brent Wright as Eugene * Rick L. Stevens as Todd * Jack Wright as Maitre’d * Jean E. Crupper as Aerobics Instructor * Michelle A. Austin as Girl in Aerobics Class * Jess Paul, Jr. as Chineses Ping Pong Champ * Paul Stephen Lim as Chinese Dad * Orange Cat #5 as Fluffy * Eric the Cat as Fluffy Stunt Double

Production

Part of the film was shot in the cities of

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 United ...

, and

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

Box office

''Nice Girls Don't Explode'' had a domestic box-office total of only $65,000.Box Office Mojo
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References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, nice_girls_dont_explode 1987 films 1987 comedy films New World Pictures films American comedy films Films scored by Anthony Marinelli 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1987 directorial debut films Films about mother–daughter relationships