Hanky Panky Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Hanky Panky Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 17, 2026

It feels like the 70s and early 80s were filled with filler movies like Hanky Panky, an entirely serviceable but eminently forgettable little romp involving misplaced characters, long journeys, stabs at humor and romance, and very little stray from a formula that could be labeled as "tried and true" but maybe also, by the time this film rolled around, "tired and trite." The film stars the ever-reliable Gene Wilder (Blazing Saddles, See No Evil, Hear No Evil) as a beta male business man who finds himself caught up in a very deadly game involving women, murder, bad guys, big chases, the whole nine yards. It's mildly entertaining in that "good for a rainy Saturday afternoon" type of easy escapism -- which it still admirably fills even in 2026 as the Blu-ray has finally arrived on the scene -- but it's hardly a classic and certainly no more than a blip on Wilder's otherwise impressive filmography, though he will certainly remember the film for introducing him to co-star and future wife Gilda Radner.

Janet Dunn (Kathleen Quinlan) witnesses a man collapse right after she tells him she’s on the run, and they’re (whoever they are) watching and listening. Moments later, she’s on the run, hails a cab, beats up a bystander, and leaps in…but finds her sharing it with everyman Michael Jordon (Gene Wilder) who sees the good stroke of luck of a beautiful woman leaping into his cab as an opportunity for some, well, hanky panky in celebration of a big deal he’s just cut in a city where he knows nobody. But when Michael finds himself tangled up with the people chasing her, and Janet winds up dead, he’s left holding the murder weapon and forced to flee for his very life and freedom. So, he winds up on the other side of the ledger on which his wild story began, and now tagging along with him is another unwitting participant in his own escape, Kate Hellman (Gilda Radner).

Hanky Panky is an imminently serviceable little movie with plenty of fun beats and character moments punctuated by energetic and well crafted chase scenes and bits of action. The latter is not much in the way of novel or exciting, the but the action does progress and propel the movie to the next funny bit. The humous asides are probably where the film is at its best, such as when Michael dons a magician’s costume and unwittingly puts on a magic show for a busload of passengers.

Wilder is fun in the role, a highlight being when he recounts the entire tale — and a tall tale at that — as he’s being held at gunpoint by a police officer early in the second act. The senses of panic, frustration, irritation, and surprise all leave him nearly out of his mind, even as he’s recalling the details of the story down to a T. Wilder embraces the wildness of the movie, and the role fits his screen persona like a glove. It might not be amongst his best work, and the film is not the best of his career, but it represents a good, solid outing that shows him in his zone.

Hanky Panky Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Alliance brings Hanky Panky to Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer. The image is pretty ordinary in terms of its adherence to the studio's (Mill Creek's) typical middling quality. It can looks solid enough at-a-glance, decently filmic and presenting with good detail, but problems become evident with more than a cursory glance. There is definitely some wear and tear in evidence in places, some pops and nicks and things of that nature, which overtly detract from the experience. But then various compression issues come into view practically throughout the whole film. At least detail is moderately high, offering enough definition to core elements like faces, clothes, and environments to satisfy basic 1080p expectations, but even so the whole thing is in dire need of some attention to bring out a finer filmic experience rather than one that looks artificially sharp, with hard-edged grain getting in the way of a more natural look.

Colors are all over the place, too. Red carpet and a red waiters' jacket are severely overpowered at a posh New York restaurant near film's start, but a bright red sports car seen later in the film appears far more balanced. Certainly, colors can appear decently full and vibrant without appearing overpowering, such as the yellow cab into which Janet leaps, also early in the film. It's an uneven affair, to say the least. Skin tones generally hold to "adequate," while black and white levels never quite dial in to a consistent level of satisfaction. Overall, this is an image that satisfies in the most basic requirements for gained sharpness and color expression that Blu-ray offers, but the presentation is otherwise hindered by a troubled source, poor compression, and not much curb appeal, if any. I'm tempted to give it a 2.5, but after some reflection, I feel a 3.0 is more appropriate.

Hanky Panky Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Alliance's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack leaves quite a bit to be desired. The audio is poorly balanced. Listen to a dialogue scene at the eight-minute mark. It's shallow, hollow, sounding like it's competing with background hums and hisses. Sadly, unbalanced and mismanaged dialogue are the norm here. While the spoken word images well enough to the center, it lacks authoritative clarity and balance in far too many shots, scenes, and sequences. Additional elements are nothing to write home about, either, whether music, ambience, or sound effects. Only the dialogue struggles are prominent, but that's enough to mar the entire presentation.

Hanky Panky Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Hanky Panky contains no supplemental content. The main menu is a static image (the same as on the front Blu-ray cover) and is music-less. It offers only options to play the film and toggle subtitles on and off. There are no DVD or digital copies included, and there is no slipcover. They don't get any more bare-bones than Hanky Panky.

Hanky Panky Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This was my first time ever seeing Hanky Panky, and I can't help but to wonder how many times I idly passed by its rental VHS back in my youth, walking back and forth for what felt like hours on end along the shelves at Rick's Video in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Its cover just screams "VHS rental fodder," and even having never before seen it prior to today, it gave me those nostalgic tingles hearkening back to the simpler days of my childhood. It's just that firmly planted in its era. So it hasn't aged well, but I think for nostalgic purposes and a good time killer, even more than 40 years later, it's hard to beat. It's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's also a really comfortable calling card for its time and style, and I would say the same for its place in Wilder's filmography. Sadly, Mill Creek's Blu-ray struggles to do the film any sort of justice: Middling video, poor audio, and no extras make this a tough recommend unless a purchase falls into some bygone rental price point from back in the mid-80s.