# Nothing but Trouble (1991 film)
**Nothing but Trouble** is a 1991 American comedy horror film directed by [Dan Aykroyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-aykroyd) in his directorial debut, in which a wealthy New Yorker and a lawyer on a road trip to Atlantic City are detained for a traffic violation in the decaying hamlet of Valkenvania and imprisoned by its grotesque judge. It stars [Chevy Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevy-chase), Demi Moore, John Candy in dual roles, and Aykroyd, who wrote the screenplay and credited his brother, Peter Aykroyd, with the story.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58965) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-18-ca-1113-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Dan Aykroyd's directorial debut; screenplay by Dan Aykroyd; Peter Aykroyd received the story credit[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58965) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-18-ca-1113-story.html) |
| Cast | Chevy Chase (Chris Thorne), Demi Moore (Diane Lightson), John Candy (Dennis and Eldona), Dan Aykroyd (Judge Alvin "J.P." Valkenheiser and Bobo)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) • [3](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/nothing-but-trouble) |
| Titles | Working titles Git and Valkenvania; Warner Bros. changed the title to Nothing But Trouble in December 1990[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE) |
| Release | 15 February 1991, Los Angeles and New York openings; 93 minutes; PG-13; Warner Bros.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58965) |
| Reception | 15% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (26 reviews); Metascore 13 from 16 reviews[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102558/criticreviews/) |
| Box office | Gross USA of $7.5 million[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) |
| Notable appearance | Tupac Shakur appears as a member of the hip hop group Digital Underground[3](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/nothing-but-trouble) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
In New York City, wealthy businessman Chris Thorne meets the lawyer Diane Lightson in an elevator and invites her, visibly upset, to a party in his penthouse. There the two realize they share an interest in a land development deal. Chris believes the project is a fraud, but Diane convinces him to drive her to a meeting with the client in [Atlantic City, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-city-new-jersey). Two wealthy [Brazilians](https://www.edgepedia.org/brazilians), Fausto and Renalda, overhear the plans and invite themselves along, thinking the trip is recreational.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUTTROUBLE?cp=1&cxt=Filmography3&pos=2&sid=17f6c413-cd2d-4ee6-b73f-17b5522afa4c&sr=0.07441001)
[Reckless driving](https://www.edgepedia.org/reckless-driving) draws the attention of a deeply critical local police officer, and the group is taken to the court of Judge Alvin "J.P." Valkenheiser, who holds a special vendetta against the wealthy and erudite. The couple is imprisoned in a Gothic mansion crammed with contraptions in a bizarre New Jersey town and must escape the judge and his household.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) • [7](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0T1DU6PSBAE5MWV43QXMVS48BH)
## Production and title changes
A 12 July 1990 Daily Variety news brief announced that *Git*, a Warner Bros. picture to be helmed and written by Dan Aykroyd, had changed its title to *Valkenvania*. A production chart the next day indicated that principal photography began 7 May 1990 in Los Angeles.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58965) Second unit photography took place in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City, and the Allentown Morning Call noted on 31 August 1990 that scenes had been filmed in the [Lehigh Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/lehigh-valley), a region a little over sixty miles north of Philadelphia.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE)
In December 1990, Warner Bros. changed the title to *Nothing But Trouble*. Aykroyd responded in a 20 December 1990 Daily Variety news brief by stating that he would always think of the picture as *Valkenvania*. Although the movie was scheduled to open in December 1990, its release was pushed back to February 1991.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE)
A budget could not be determined by the AFI Catalog, but several contemporary reviews noted that the movie's sets and kinetic gadgetry looked "expensive" and indicative of a "generous budget."[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE) A retrospective piece in Midwest Film Journal describes the film as inspired by Pennsylvania ghost towns, the weird aftermath of a rural traffic stop, and Aykroyd's dreams, and states that Aykroyd was given around $40 million to make it, on the strength of his clout from *Ghostbusters* and *The Blues Brothers*.[8](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2021/02/26/class-of-1991-nothing-but-trouble/) The end credits include the acknowledgement "Special thanks to John Hughes."[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE)
## Reception
Critical reception was resoundingly negative. A 16 February 1991 New York Times review faulted Aykroyd's script for its "loose narrative ends," and a 19 February 1991 Hollywood Reporter review criticized the film's "skit-level" comedic scenes.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE) Vincent Canby of the New York Times called it "a charmless feature-length joke about the world's most elaborate speed trap," and Variety wrote that "it's a good bet a film is in trouble when the highlight comes from seeing John Candy in drag."[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102558/criticreviews/) The film holds a 15% Tomatometer from 26 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critics consensus calling it "a grotesque comedy that is more likely to make audiences ill than make them laugh," against a 48% audience score from more than 10,000 ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) Its Metacritic Metascore is 13 from 16 reviews.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102558/criticreviews/)
The film grossed $7.5 million in the United States.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998) Aykroyd did not direct another feature; an Associated Press retrospective of [Saturday Night Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/saturday-night-live) alumni lists *Nothing but Trouble* among the flops of that era, noting Aykroyd's grisly prosthetic face as the judge.[9](https://apnews.com/article/7e6475d12a0be575c1f9825fc276a6a2)
## Legacy
The film has retained a following as an oddity. Midwest Film Journal characterizes it as "a hopped-up, hallucinatory horror-comedy," and notes that it contains a scene with Aykroyd, Chase, and [Tupac Shakur](https://www.edgepedia.org/tupac-shakur); the cast listings credit Shakur as a member of the hip hop group [Digital Underground](https://www.edgepedia.org/digital-underground).[8](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2021/02/26/class-of-1991-nothing-but-trouble/) • [3](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/nothing-but-trouble) In a Library of Congress interview, director [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis) recalled that "Danny only directed one movie which was called 'Valkenvania,' but they released it as 'Nothing but Trouble.'"[10](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/Interview_John-Landis.pdf) The film remains available on digital platforms, streaming free with ads on services including Tubi, Plex, YouTube Free, and The Roku Channel.[11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nothing-but-trouble)
## References
1. [Nothing But Trouble (1991), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58965)
2. [Nothing but Trouble (1991), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nothing_but_trouble_1998)
3. [Nothing but Trouble (1991), WaarKanIkDatKijken cast list](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/nothing-but-trouble)
4. [Nothing But Trouble (1991), AFI Catalog history page](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUT-TROUBLE)
5. [Nothing But Trouble (1991), Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102558/criticreviews/)
6. [Nothing But Trouble (1991), AFI Catalog synopsis](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58965-NOTHING-BUTTROUBLE?cp=1&cxt=Filmography3&pos=2&sid=17f6c413-cd2d-4ee6-b73f-17b5522afa4c&sr=0.07441001)
7. [Nothing but Trouble, Prime Video listing](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0T1DU6PSBAE5MWV43QXMVS48BH)
8. [Class of 1991: Nothing But Trouble, Midwest Film Journal](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2021/02/26/class-of-1991-nothing-but-trouble/)
9. [Happy 50th 'SNL!' Here's a look back at the show's very first cast, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/7e6475d12a0be575c1f9825fc276a6a2)
10. [Behind the Scenes with John Landis, National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/Interview_John-Landis.pdf)
11. [Nothing but Trouble streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nothing-but-trouble)
12. [MOVIE REVIEW : Aykroyd No Triple Threat in 'Trouble'](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-18-ca-1113-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1990 to 1994 › Titles K to W*
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