Gideon58's Reviews
 

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Elisabeh Shue's utterly enchanting performance in the starring role is the centerpiece and main selling point of 1987's Adventures in Babysitting, a highly improbable but richly entertaining comedy, that is sort of a distaff re-thinking of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
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Shue plays Chris, a high school senior who is dumped by her scummy boyfriend (Bradley Whitford) right before their big date. With no other plans, Chris accepts an offer to babysit for Brad (Keith Coogan), who has a major crush on Chris, and Sara (Maia Brewton) while their parents go to a party.
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Right after Brad's BFF Daryl (Anthony Rapp) shows up with the latest edition of Playboy that features a centerfold who bears an uncanny resemblance to Chris, Chris gets a phone call from her BFF Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller), who has run away from home but is in some serious trouble at the downtown Chicago bus terminal and asks Chris to come pick her up. Chris has no choice but to pile the boys and Sara into the station wagon and drive downtown, beginning one of the most bizarre comic adventures ever filmed, which includes car trouble, an encounter with some very dangerous criminals, and a garage mechanic (Vincent D'Onofrio) who bears an uncanny resemblance to a comic book hero that Sara worships, a strange detour into a blues club, and Chris' encounter with a dreamy frat boy (George Newbern) who becomes her savior.
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This movie isn't exactly steeped in realism and it is hard to believe that everything that happens here happens in the course of a few hours and credibility is stretched to its limit at every turn. There is one scene where the children are actually climbing the exterior of the building where the party is that their parents are attending! But what makes this movie so deliciously entertaining is Elisabeth Shue's wonderful performance as Chris...no matter how dangerous or ridiculous their situation becomes, Chris never forgets that she is the babysitter and that these kids are her responsibility, not to mention making Brad feel like a king without leading him on.
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Shue receives solid support from Keith Coogan and Daryl Rapp and from Calvin Levels as a sympathetic thief. According to the IMDB, Elisabeth's brother, Andrew, who played Billy on Melrose Place, is an extra in this film but I have never noticed him (the frat party is probably a good place to start looking if you care). Shue makes this a fun little ride and if you liked Ferris Bueller, you'll like this.

Big Night
 

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Big Night is the utterly charming and richly entertaining sleeper of 1996 that nobody saw and it's really a shame. This is the story of Secundo and Primo, a tight pair of Italian brothers who run an intimate Italian bistro in 1950's Brookyln who are facing bankruptcy until a business associate, so impressed with their food, promises to have his good friend, jazz musician Louis Prima, come to the restaurant for dinner and it is the preparations for this "big night" that send the brothers and everyone in their orbit into a tailspin. This joyous celebration of everything that is Italian-American completely envelops you with an almost voyeuristic atmosphere and characters who vividly touch your soul.

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The brothers are flawlessly played by one of our most solid and underrated character actors, the brilliant Stanley Tucci and Monk's Tony Shaloub and neither actor has ever been more appealing on screen.

Tucci's Secundo is smart, sexy, charismatic, and generous of soul and Shaloub's Primo is an arrogant boob who always remains likable. Tucci co-wrote and directed this gem with actor Campbell Scott, who also appears briefly as a slick-talking used car salesman and Tucci and Scott's one scene together is a standout, but it is the atmosphere and rich characterizations that take center stage here...Ian Holm steals every scene he is in as the brothers' benefactor and Minnie Driver, Isabella Rosellini, and Allison Janney are impressive as the women in the brothers' lives.
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This movie is a joy from start to finish and made me wish that I was Italian. If you've never seen this one, please, treat yourself...and don't see it while you're hungry!

Love field
 

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Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance anchors 1992's Love Field a surprisingly moving marriage of character study and buddy movie that draws the viewer in with the draw of vividly human characters involved in a somewhat over the top story that manages to hold our attention due to the extreme likability of the two main characters.

Pfeiffer plays a Dallas beautician named Lurene in 1963, who is so devastated by the assassination of JFK that she decides, against her husband's wishes, to travel to Washington DC to attend JFK's funeral and, en route, befriends a black man (Dennis Haysbert)traveling with his daughter, and the relationship that develops between the two when circumstances find the three of them on the run together.
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The story takes on an unexpected richness because these two people are part of the racially turbulent 1960's and because of the beautifully evocative performances from the stars. Pfeiffer, in particular, gives us a sad and slightly pathetic creature, wearing a platinum blonde Marilyn Monroe wig that seems to represent her desire to be someone else, her Lurlene is slightly ditzy, bored,lonely, but with a heart as big as all outdoors and the quiet dignity that Haysbert brings to his character in this tense situation is on target. Brian Kerwin also scores in the most significant role of his career as Lurene's abusive brute of a husband, but it is the performances and chemistry of the two stars that make this journey a memorable one.
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The Queen
 

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Helen Mirren's complex and mesmerizing Oscar-winning performance anchors The Queen, an intimate story told on a grand scale, documenting, in what could only be a blend of fact and speculation, the movements of the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II in particular, during the days following Princess Diana's death. Peter Morgan's uncompromising screenplay hypothesizes much of the Queen's thoughts and emotions during this difficult period as this story takes us into extremely private moments with the conflicted monarch of which no one could be privy, but basically, this story portrays the Queen as an icy and cold-hearted harridan who is curiously unmoved by Diana's death and does nothing to publicly grieve or acknowledge the Princess, who by this time, was already divorced from Prince Charles and had basically turned her back on the Royal family.
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The film shows how Englanders begin to publicly air their resentment of the Queen for her actions, or lack thereof, and her battle of wills with Prime Minister Tony Blair, who tirelessly advocated that the Queen acknowledge Diana publicly and what she had come to mean to the rest of the world as "the People's Princess."
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Stephen Frears' bold direction does not sugar coat the screenplay, which doesn't necessarily paint the title figure in a flattering light, but puts a human face on this mysterious icon. Mirren's delicately nuanced performance is breathtaking and Michael Sheen (FROST/NIXON) proves to be a formidable screen presence in his interpretation of Tony Blair. Mention should also be made of James Cromwell as Prince Phillip and Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother, who also make the most of their screen time, but it is the bold screenplay and Mirren's artistry that make this film sing.

Re: Adventures in babysitting
 

One of my favorites from my early childhood.:)

Cabaret
 

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1973 was a very good year for legendary director/choreographer Bob Fosse. He won an Emmy for directing and choreographing the television special Liza with a Z, he won a Tony for directing the Broadway musical Pippin, and blindsided Francis Ford Coppola by winning an Oscar for Best Director for Cabaret, the dazzling 1972 film version, which is Fosse's re-thinking of the 1966 Broadway musical.
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The stage and screen versions are quite different and as independent works, they stand on their own as outstanding achievements and it is not necessary to have seen the play to appreciate the movie. The main focal point of Fosse's re-thinking of the musical is that he wanted it to be a more "realistic" musical and therefore made sure that all of the musical numbers (with the exception of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me")all took place within the walls of the Kit Kat Club. He cut several numbers from the original score, but if you listen, some of them can be heard as background music in several scenes. Fosse's artistry as a director can be evidenced in the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" scene...to this day, the scene gives me chills every time I watch it.

He also shifted the focus of the way the story is told...the play tells the story from the leading man's point of view, but Fosse switches the focus to the character of Sally Bowles, the brassy, sassy party girl who believes in "divine decadence' and wears bright green fingernail polish.
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Fosse also takes two secondary characters from the play, who are older, and makes them young and attractive in order to make their story more youth-friendly, I imagine.

Liza Minnelli turns in a dazzling Oscar-winning performance as Sally, a gutsy, self-absorbed party girl who shows signs of vulnerability and a desperate need to be loved. Minnelli makes the most of her musical and non-musical moments in the film...her climactic confrontation with Brian (Michael York)is brilliantly performed. York is charming and sexy as Brian and Joel Grey's Oscar winning turn as the Master of Ceremonies is a delight.

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This film ruled at the '73 Oscars, winning eight awards in all (it lost Best Picture to The Godfather and deserved every accolade it received. A sparkling, eye-popping, thought-provoking, haunting film experience that should be savored over and over again.

Billy Elliott (2000)
 

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Billy Elliott is an enchanting and exuberant film that celebrates the joy and the passion of dance and how it can infuse anyone. Not since Footloose has a film so beautifully captured the passion and joy that can be experienced from the art of the dance. Billy is an ll-year old Irish boy who lives with his widowed father and older brother, who both work as coal miners. Billy is taking boxing lessons at a local gym but inexplicably finds himself drawn to a ballet class that is being taught on the other side of the gym and after taking a couple of classes, Billy has tapped into a real passion for the dance which he fights but cannot deny, despite having to initially attend class behind his family's back.
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Eventually, with the encouragement of his teacher, who sees his passion after he takes his first class, Billy actually finds himself auditioning for a prestigious ballet academy, but this is not what this film is about. This film is not about the work and dedication it takes to dance or the roadblocks that can stand in your way nor is about it about the threatening of traditional gender stereotypes or about dancing being an indicator of sexual orientation, all of which are touched upon here, but this is not what this film is about. This film is about the pure joy of dancing and the passion that it can ignite inside a person.

Director Stephen Daldry has mounted an imaginative and infectious story on a truly original canvas. Lee Hall's screenplay loses the film points, primarily for its needless subplot involving a coal miner's strike which distracts from the enjoyment of the primary story being told.
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Young Jamie Bell is nothing short of breathtaking in the title role, a riveting performance that should have earned him an Oscar nomination. The casting of Bell is inspired because he is not a dancer, further sustaining the film's underlying theme of someone who is not necessarily supposed to be a dancer, but has a passion for it that forces him to work at it. I love when Billy is walking out of his audition and one of the auditors asks him what it feels like when he's dancing and he replies, "It's like...electricity."
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Julie Walters (Educating Rita) received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance as Billy's teacher, who recognizes the lack of technique in Billy but sees his passion more than makes up for it. Strong support is also provided from Gary Lewis and Jamie Draven as Billy's dad and brother, respectively (though their thick Irish brogues make them hard to understand at times). A warm and energetic film that will make your heart full. Later turned into a stage musical, also directed by Daldry.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
 

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Director Sidney Lumet (Network; Serpico, 12 Angry Men)has managed the impossible and has mounted a surprisingly riveting drama thanks to superior acting from a hand-picked cast and Lumet's solid directorial hand. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a rather mean-spirited story that is made watchable because of its professional polish and the talent in front of and behind the camera. This intense family drama is the story of Andy and Hank Hanson, two brothers in deep financial trouble, who hatch a plan to rob their parents' jewelry store, a plan that goes horribly awry, resulting in the death of two people. What these brothers plan to do is completely vile and reprehensible; however, thanks to an intricate screenplay by Kelly Masterson, which requires close attention, as it flashes forward and backward to explain what drove these brothers to do what they do and the harrowing consequences of their actions, you understand how the Hanson brothers are driven to do what they do but you can't help but accept the eventual consequences of their actions.
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Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman is brilliantly unhinged as Andy, the unconscionable mastermind behind this scheme, with major father issues, whose embezzling at work and drug addiction have driven him to this desperate point. Ethan Hawke delivers the performance of his career as Hank, the high-strung younger brother, three months behind in his child support and labeled a loser by his own daughter, desperate to regain his daughter's respect. Albert Finney is rock solid, as always, as the father, bitter and unapologetic about the kind of father he was, frustrated with the police's lack of interest in nailing the culprit of this horrific crime. Marisa Tomei delivers one of her stronger turns as Andy's empty-headed wife, who is having an affair with Hank and the legendary Rosemary Harris shines briefly in the role of the mother. Brian F. O'Byrne is also memorable in a brief role as Bobby, Hank's partner in executing the robbery.

These are unpleasant people wrapped up in an ugly story which you actually find yourself questioning the fact that it is actually unfolding before your eyes, but the actors and director so completely commit to the misery that is this story, that it envelops you and stays with you long after the credits roll.

Re: Before the devil knows you're dead (2007)
 

It was good but not great, imo.

A Star is Born (1976)
 

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Barbra Streisand brought her own vision to A Star is Born, the third version of this classic Hollywood story about the romance between an up and coming star and her alcoholic husband whose career is fading into oblivion. Streisand put her own stamp on this movie, making the story more acceptable to her and more accessible to 1970s film audiences.

She changed the setting of the story from films to the world of music, making her Esther Hoffman a struggling singer who is discovered by an alcoholic, self-destructive rocker named John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson)who grooms her for stardom while his own career falls apart.
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We all know this story and have seen either of the previous versions and some were unsettled by the fact that in this version, John Norman doesn't commit suicide, he is killed in a car accident instead, taking away a lot of the power of the story.

The point of the original story is that the actor sacrifices his own life so that his wife won't give up the career she's worked so hard for. One of the most amusing parts of the original and 1954 versions is the whole episode about Esther changing her name so it looks better on a marquee. Here, our feminist heroine, Esther Hoffman, refuses to change her name and for me, this small but vital plot points diluted a lot of the power of this story.
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This production is overblown and uneven. It should be understood that Streisand was just on the edge of insanity while making this film. She was involved at the time with future film producer Jon Peters, who was running her career and her life. Peters butted heads with leading man Kristofferson as well as credited director Frank Pierson, who pretty much directed this film in name only...Streisand and Peters had the last word on everything regarding this film, much to its detriment, due mainly to Streisand's complete trust in Peters, who really knew nothing about film-making at this time.

But no matter what else she does, this movie comes alive whenever Streisand sings. Highlights for me were "Queen Bee", "Woman in the Moon", "With One More Look at You" and, of course, the Oscar-winning "Evergreen."
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With all the hats she was wearing while making this film, needless to say, Streisand was not very focused on her performance here, which can be described, kindly, as uneven. Kristofferson, in a role originally offered to Elvis Presley, is strong and surprisingly sexy as John Norman Howard and Gary Busey also scores as John Norman's manager. For hard-core Streisand fans only.

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
 

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Anatomy of a Murder. is a riveting and powerful courtroom drama that still makes for mesmerizing entertainment even though its 1959 release was eclipsed by Ben-Hur being released the same year.

I saw this film for the first time about a year ago and still found it fascinating from start to finish. Otto Preminger, a director who was known for pushing the dramatic envelope, mounted this superb drama about a laid back, unassuming country lawyer who decides to defend a soldier who has been accused of murdering a man who tried to rape his wife.

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Preminger assembled a first rate cast here, featuring actors at the peak of their careers as well as future stars who show here why they became stars. Ben Gazzara exudes a quiet intensity as the soldier on trial; Lee Remick (replacing Lana Turner) lights up the screen as his sexy, nubile young wife; George C. Scott is electrifying as the prosecuting attorney; Arthur O'Connell is the defense attorney's leg man; Joseph Welch as the Judge; Eve Arden as a wisecracking secretary, and towering above them all is James Stewart, in a powerhouse performance, as Paul Biegler, the small town attorney whose laid back persona belies his brilliance as a defense attorney.
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Preminger brings us a very adult (for 1959) drama that still packs a wallop today, accentuated by a jazzy music score by Duke Ellington and an effective screenplay by Wendell Mayes. A true classic and, for my money, the best film of 1959...they don't make 'em like this anymore.

Arthur (1981)
 

.http://www.movieforums.com/community...1&d=1397742624The late Dudley Moore had the most famous role of his too-short career in 1981's Arthur a raucously funny and alternately touching tale that generates warm smiles, big belly-laughs, and an occasional tear if you're in the right mood.

Moore received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as Arthur Bach, a drunken playboy who "races cars, plays tennis, fondles women, but he has weekends off and he's his own boss." Arthur is destined to inherit 750 million dollars when he marries a snooty society girl named Susan Johnston (Jill Eikenberry)who is the spoiled daughter of an undercover gangster. Things get sticky when Arthur meets Linda Morolla (Liza Minnelli) a waitress/struggling actress from Queens who steals neckties for her father's birthday.
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Moore lights up the screen in one of the single funniest performances of the last 50 years. The late Sir John Gielgud won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his flawless turn as Arthur's acid-tongued butler and best friend, Hobson, whose outward disdain for Arthur's behavior covers more paternal feelings.

There are other funny contributions by Barney Martin as Linda's father. Stephen Elliott as Susan's father, and Geraldine Fitzgerald as Arthur's demented grandmother.

The film was directed with a keen eye for comedy by a first time director named Steve Gordon, who, sadly, died the following the year. There was a forgettable sequel several years later and the film was remade in 2011 with Russell Brand as Arthur, but this instant classic is not to be missed.

A streetcar named desire
 

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Four years after premiering on Broadway, Elia Kazan brought Tenneesee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire to the big screen with most of the Broadway cast intact (Vivien Leigh replaced original Blanche Jessica Tandy, though Leigh did play Blanche in the original London production).

This powerful and steamy classic is the story of a mentally fragile woman named Blanche DuBois (Leigh) who arrives in New Orleans to visit her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter) and immediately becomes involved in a battle of wills and souls with her sexy and brutish brother-in-law(Marlon Brando).

Filmed in beautiful black and white, this movie beautifully creates summer in New Orleans, you can practically feel the sweat dripping off the characters. The acting, in a word, is brilliant. Vivien Leigh creates such a delicate china doll character in Blanche that many believed she was mentally ill when she was making the film. She wasn't, she was just that good an actress. Marlon Brando ushered in a new brand of leading man and a whole slew of unforeseen acting techniques in his performance as Stanley Kowalski. Brando electrifies the screen in this performance...so powerful, so sexy, so animalistic, so intense...when he's on screen you can't take your eyes off of him. Stanley is like a traffic accident...you can't look and you can't look away. Probably one of the five greatest performances by an actor in cinema history, it must be experienced to be believed.
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Leigh and Brando get rock solid support from Kim Hunter as Stella and Karl Malden as Mitch, Stanley's co-worker and Blanche's potential beau. Leigh, Hunter, and Malden all received Oscars for their performances. This was the first film in history to win three of the four acting Oscars (this feat would not be duplicated again until 1976's Network) and, surprisingly, it was Brando who would be overlooked, losing to Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen, but there is a school of thought that Brando was robbed and I agree. Kazan's direction is steady and despite the "cleaned up" Hollywood ending, this is still a bold and penetrating motion picture experience that will haunt long after the credits fade. Remade for television in 1984 and 1994.

A time to kill
 

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A compelling story and first-rate performances make A Time to Kill a minor classic. This engrossing story is about an idealistic young white attorney, practically just out of law school, who agrees to defend a black factory worker on trial for murdering the two men who raped his daughter. A richly complex story has been constructed here that gives equal times to all sides, but most importantly, raises the veil on bigotry in the south and gives us an unsettling look at vigilante justice and things we'd like to believe don't exist anymore, like the KKK.

Akiva Goldman's screenplay, based on a novel by John Grisham, presents a disturbing story populated with characters painted in shades of gray.

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The cast is superb...Matthew McConaughey snagged the role of his career as Jake Briganst, the young lawyer who has divided a town and put his family in danger, as well as his own life, by taking this case; McConaughey has never topped this performance and probably never will; Samuel L. Jackson delivers his accustomed powerhouse performance as Carl Lee Haley, the tortured defendant; Kevin Spacey is brilliant as the prosecuting attorney; Sandra Bullock is the idealistic law student who agrees to assist Briganst; Donald Sutherland is Jake's alcoholic mentor; Brenda Fricker is Jake's secretary; future Oscar winner Chris Cooper is a cop caught in the line of fire; and Keifer Sutherland completely inhabits the unsympathetic role of a KKK supporter whose brother was one of Carl Lee's victims. There's also a stylish turn by late TV legend Patrick McGoohan as the judge that deserves mention.

Thanks to inspired direction by Joel Schumacher(definitely one of his better efforts),this is a compelling and deeply moving motion picture that will have you riveted to the screen. As far as I know, the only film in which father and son Donald and Keifer Sutherland appear together, though they share no scenes.

Barefoot in the park (1967)
 

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The 1967 film adaptation of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park still holds up as one of the strongest film adaptations of Simon's massive body of work. This charming story of newlyweds adjusting to married life in their run-down, fifth-floor walk-up in Greenwich Village is slightly dated (you'll laugh when you hear what their rent is)but for some reason this film is still completely captivating, almost 40 years after its original release.
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Jane Fonda takes over the role of Corrie Bratter, originated on Broadway by Elizabeth Ashley, the headstrong, young bride who wants to be the center of her husband's world and yet have everything her way. Fonda is a delight in this role, but IMO it is Robert Redford, who really shines in this movie, reprising his Broadway role as Paul Bratter, the young lawyer who is having trouble concentrating on getting his career in gear and keeping his nubile young bride satisfied as well. Redford delivers a beautifully low-keyed performance here...softening the classic Neil Simon one-liners, making their effectiveness all the more amusing. Redford never goes over the top yet never allows Fonda to blow him off the screen either. It's a great performance.

Mildred Natwick received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her deft turn as Corrie's ditzy mom, Mrs. Banks and Charles Boyer is charming as Victor Velasco, the Bratters' eccentric upstairs neighbor and Mrs. Banks' potential suitor. Veteran comic actor Herb Edelman also scores as Harry Pepper, the guy who installs and repairs the Bratters' phone. OK, the bit about climbing the five flights of stairs gets a little old, but it does not detract from this thoroughly winning comedy that is still fun to watch after all these years.
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Bowfinger (1999)
 

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Steve Martin scored a bullseye with Bowfinger, a smart and cleverly mounted comedy, which Martin also wrote, which stars Steve Martin as Bobby Bowfinger, a down and out Hollywood producer on the verge of going out of business who gets hold of a script to produce and wants big time action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to star in it. When Ramsey won't give Bobby the time of day, Bobby decides to shoot the film without Kit's knowledge or consent.
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This premise is a wonderful set-up for some very funny sight gags. Eddie Murphy is on target as Kit Ramsey and as a milquetoast lookalike hired to do Ramsey's stunt work and close-ups. Murphy delivers one of his funniest performances as the lookalike and there are other effective contributions from Heather Graham, Jamie Kennedy, Christine Baranski,Terrence Stamp, and Robert Downey, Jr. A smart and winning comedy about the inner workings of modern Hollywood with a great screenplay and starring performance by Martin and Eddie Murphy in the dual role of a lifetime. http://www.the-editing-room.com/img/bowfinger.jpg

Boys don't cry
 

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Boys Don't Cry was an unsettling, uncomfortable but ultimately rewarding film experience that gnaws away at you long after the credits roll. The film is based on the life of Teena Brandon, a woman who felt she was a man trapped in a woman's body and attempted to live her life as a man. Hillary Swank won her first Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her powerhouse performance as Teena, who changed her name to Brandon Teena and attempted to live her life as a man.
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This film has little to do with homosexuality. As a matter of fact, early on in the film, when her best friend refers to her as a lesbian, she blows a gasket. This encounter, coupled with problems with the law, force Brandon on the road to a new life where he meets a shy young factory worker, played by Chloe Sevigny, and begins a romance with her, which is complicated by her friend (Peter Sarsgaard)whose constant challenging of Brandon in Sevigny's life leads to an inevitable and tragic showdown. The performances by Swank, Sarsgaard, and Sevigny (also nominated for Best Supporting Actress) are nothing short of mesmerizing.

A truly adult motion picture experience, this film features some uncompromising violence and a very graphic rape scene. Once you have the children safely tucked in bed and if you have the stomach for it, treat yourself to what was probably the most powerful film to be released in 1999. You've never seen anything like this and never will again.

Re: Bowfinger (1999)
 

Totally agree. Love this movie. Incredibly funny, well-acted, and eminently quotable. Often when Hollywood does a "we're making fun of ourselves!" movie it's a little over-the-top, but this one's a little more incisive than most, I think, especially with the Scientology send-up. And it really nails the bad movie-within-a-movie. It seems to really understand the way in which bad movies are bad (the title and its corresponding explanation being the best example), rather than just making it awful in an obligatory way.



If anyone's interested, I wrote a review in my since-dormant-but-might-come-back-someday "Yoda's Overlooked Movies" thread. It's one of my favorite comedies.

"We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!"

Re: Cabaret
 

Are you this guy on IMDB who wrote this review back in 2005?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068327/reviews-107

Re: Cabaret
 

He must be. They're all ending up here. :)

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Re: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
 

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Re: Boys don't cry
 

Great film.

Re: Bowfinger (1999)
 

I didn't love this movie, but it is certainly very underrated, and really good.

Re: Arthur (1981)
 

Arthur was funny as hell! I especially liked the scene where he falls out of the car.

HEDGE! I FELL OUT OF THE *** ****ed CAR!

I loved Arthur when it came out but I haven't seen it since the 80's. Dudley Moore was also great in a small role in Foul Play.

This is one of my all time favorite films. I voted for it high on the 90's countdown, but I fear it won't make the list. I don't think enough people have seen it; it's a shame because I think it deserves to be there.

Awesome movie; very intense with incredible performances. I very much felt the desperation of the characters.

Re: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
 

i've seen this one at the library and been curious to try it out. Even more curious after reading the review. Nicely done, by the way

Arthur is one of my favorite movies. It's funny as heck, but there is also a genuine sadness and loneliness to Arthur that makes it a lot more complex than just a movie about a funny drunk. The performances feel honest and there is rarely a combo as good as Hobson and Arthur.

Plus it has Liza. ;)

Re: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
 

I don't think it's even good, at best. Some of the final scenes are downright embarassing in their laughable melodrama. I know it wasn't Lumet's intention, but that's how I see it.

I'm with Mark. I thought it was overly melodramatic and really sloppy. Also one of Hoffman's weakest performances.

Hmmm, I've been in a couple situations where I felt my life was spiraling dangerously out of control, and this movie captured that very realistically in my eyes. I truly identified with the characters and felt what they were feeling. It's not a pleasant film, that's for sure. No light moments whatsoever.

"10"
 

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Though he will probably always be remembered for 1981's Arthur, my favorite Dudley Moore performance is still from the 1979 Blake Edwards classic "10". Moore plays George Webber, a man who seemingly has it all: a flourishing career as a songwriter, money, a gorgeous home, an equally gorgeous girlfriend (Julie Andrews), but still feels like something is missing in his life.

Then one day, while stopped at a traffic signal, he glances at a girl (Bo Derek)in a limo, on her way to her wedding. George becomes obsessed with this vision, this perfect "10" and forsakes everything in his life, including Andrews, to find and be with this woman. After getting six fillings drilled by the girl's dentist/father (James Noble), in an attempt to learn where the girl went on her honeymoon, George flies to Mexico to find his "10" and eventually learns the lessons you would expect from such a venture.
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In addition to some great physical comedy offered by Moore, there are moments of great warmth here too. The scenes at the outdoor bar in Mexico where Dudley encounters a lonely woman (Dee Wallace) and plays the piano are lovely. Brian Dennehy is effectively cast against type as the bartender. Also cast against type is Robert Webber as George's gay songwriting partner who tries in vain to make George see what an idiot he is and appreciate the things he has.
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This is not just a smarmy sex comedy, but a warm character study of a man chasing something he really doesn't want or need and features one of Dudley Moore's most charming performances.

1776
 

1776 is the 1972 film version of the groundbreaking Broadway musical that chronicles the people and events that led to the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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The musical centers on soon to be second President, John Adams, who according to this musical was a tireless but obnoxious advocate for the thirteen colonies independence from Great Britain and it was his zeal for this cause that led him to being central to the creation of the Declaration of Independence.
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William Daniels brilliantly recreates his Tony-nominated Broadway role as John Adams, the restless and ever-vocal spokesperson for Independence who would not be silenced. He receives solid support from Howard da Silva, who does a scene stealing turn as Benjamin Franklin, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, John Cullum as Edmund Rutledge, and the lovely Blythe Danner as Martha Jefferson. Virginia Vestoff also recreates her Broadway role as Abigail Adams, John's wife who is presented as communicating with John through letters brought to life.
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The heart-pumping musical score features highlights such as "Sit Down, John", "He Plays the Violin", "Yours, Yours, Yours", "But Mr. Adams", "The Egg", "The Lees of Old Virginia", and the haunting "Molasses to Rum" (brilliantly performed by Cullum). One number, "Cool Considerate Men" was cut during the film's original release but has been restored to some prints. If you're a musical comedy fan with an open mind willing to experience something a little different, give this treasure a try.

The best song and dramatic moment in the film:
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Adam's rib (1949)
 

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Aided by the stylish direction of George Cukor and a flawless screenplay by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn created cinema magic in Adam's Rib, a caustic and brilliant comedy classic that forever redefined the battle of the sexes without really taking sides or failing to entertain. Tracy and Hepburn play Adam and Amanda Bonner, attorneys who find themselves on opposing sides of an attempted murder case.
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Adam is the assistant DA trying to convict a dizzy housewife (Judy Holliday) of the attempted murder of her adulterous husband (Tom Ewell)and Amanda decides to to defend Holliday when the question of the "Unwritten Law" comes into play...a man can be exonerated from murder in defense of his home but does the same law apply to a woman?
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Tracy, Hepburn, and Holliday shine with solid support from Ewell and the wonderful David Wayne as the Bonners' neighbor who as a mad crush on Amanda. A classic comedy from the golden era of film-making that's a joy from start to finish.

A History of Violence (2005)
 

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A History of Violence is a disturbing and completely riveting drama that shines a light on several aspects of the concept of violence and its varying effects on the lives it invades.
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What appears to be a simple story slowly unfolds to reveal several different layers of a richly textured look at violence on several levels. The film stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, a small town everyman who owns a diner, is married to an attractive lawyer (Maria Bello)and is the father of two children whose life is changed forever when during what appears to be a random act of violence at his diner one night, Tom kills two people in self-defense and in defense of his business and patrons.

The publicity that surrounds this event shines an unflattering light around Tom which he is clearly uncomfortable with but we're not sure why until a stranger pulls into town claiming that Tom is not who he says he is. Tom denies the allegation but it eventually becomes clear that Tom is actually a former mafioso named Joey Cusack, who has been tracked down by his brother, with whom he has unfinished business.
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The slow reveal of this story is quite unsettling because as we watch, we begin to figure out what is going on, but we hope we're wrong. The film not only looks at mob violence, but it also looks at violence as an instrument of self defense; it looks at the possible connection between violence and genetics as Tom's son is observed dealing with a school bully in a rather unsettling way, and it even examines violence between a husband and wife as Tom's world begins to unravel and he attempts to take control of his life again by taking control of his marriage.

Mortenson turns in a complex and evocative performance as Tom/Joey, a quiet man driven to extremes as the new life he has constructed for himself begins to fall apart. Maria Bello gives the performance of her career as Tom's wife Edie, who has had the emotional breath knocked out of her marriage and is at a loss as to how to deal with the fact that her entire existence has been a lie. Ed Harris does a bone-chilling turn as the mobster who tracks Tom/Joey down and, as we learned, was disfigured because of him and William Hurt received an Oscar nomination for his flashy turn as Joey's brother, a performance that gets more interesting with multiple viewings.

A haunting and powerful film experience that will get inside you and eat away at your soul and provide just as many questions as it does answers.
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All about eve (1950)
 

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Just about as perfect a film as they come, 1950's All About Eve was an instant classic upon its release and remains one of the most talked about films by cinema historians fifty years later. The film received an unprecedented 14 Oscar nominations (a record unbroken until Titanic) and walked away with 7 Oscars, including Best Picture of the Year.

Joseph L. Manckiewicz, for the second year in a row, won dual Oscars for directing and writing this sparkling comedy drama about an aging actress named Margo Channing (Bette Davis), who befriends a star struck fan named Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) who we slowly learn has her own agenda in befriending her idol. This film is an on-target skewering of the New York theater scene and the poor souls who toil in it.
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Davis and Baxter are both flawless and were both nominated for Best Actress. George Sanders won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as an acid-tongued theater critic named Addison DeWitt, who becomes a prime player in the delicious twists this story takes. Gary Merrill plays Bill Sampson, a theater director and Margo's much younger lover. Hugh Marlowe (in probably the most significant role of his insignificant career) and Celeste Holm play Lloyd and Karen, the playwright who writes almost exclusively for Margo and his wife, Margo's best friend. There are also memorable turns by Thelma Ritter as Margo's housekeeper and a very young Marilyn Monroe as Addison DeWitt's "protegee", Miss Casswell.
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The cast all work at the top of their game, thanks to inspired direction, but it is the screenplay that is the real star of this classic. I can't think of another movie in history with dialogue that sparkles and dances the way it does here. Mackiewicz's Best Screenplay Oscar was richly deserved. His Best Director Oscar primarily stemmed from having a perfect cast.
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Ironically, Claudette Colbert was originally slated to play Margo but had to drop out due to an injury, twist of fate that allowed Bette Davis to give the most amazing performance of her career which should have won her an Oscar as well. A true classic in every sense of the word...don't miss this one.

It's the type of movie I love, but I only liked it. I'm not sure why so I plan on seeing it again.

All that jazz (1979)
 

1979's All that Jazz is definitely one of my favorite films, a permanent part of my video collection and a film I can watch over and over again without tiring of it.
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This dark, twisted, self-indulgent, musical version of Fellini's 8 1/2 seems to be Fosse's exploration of his own personal demons as he lays his life out there for all to see in a not too flattering light as a career-driven, hard drinking, smoking, womanizing director/choreographer who is only alive when he's on a Broadway stage creating dances or behind a camera lens but is clueless on how to deal with regular life and the little imperfections that most regular folks are able to cope with and accept.
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Roy Scheider delivers a brilliant performance as the Fosse alter-ego Joe Gideon, who is trying to stage a new Broadway musical and put the finishing touches on a movie he directed and the stress of all this work puts him in the hospital after a heart attack. This story was based on the period in Fosse's career when he was beginning to mount the musical Chicago for Gwen Verdon and was still editing his 1974 film Lenny with Dustin Hoffman and had a heart attack shortly afterwards.
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This film sucks you in from the beginning with shots of dancers warming up onstage as the opening bars of George Benson's "On Broadway" begin to fill the audio. Soon the camera pulls back to reveal hundreds of dancers onstage as Gideon weeds out the dancers he wants to cast in "NY to LA", the fictionalized version of Chicago. This number is just brilliant and is a wonderful introduction into the world of NY theater auditions for the uninitiated. Fosse, is, more than anything, a choreographer, and his dance direction in this film is nothing short of astonishing. I can watch the "Take Off With Us/Air-Rotica" scene over and over again and never tire of it. I also enjoyed when Ann Reinking (as Joe's girlfriend, basically playing herself) and Erzsebet Foldi (playing Joe's daughter, Michelle (Nicole))do a dance for Joe to Peter Allen's "Everything Old is New Again" in his living room. Joe's fantasy production numbers after he enters the hospital are also dazzling, especially long-legged Reinking's rendition of "You Better Change your Ways".
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There are also small quiet moments in the film that are equally effective, in particular a lovely scene in a dance studio with Joe and his daughter where she tries to talk him into getting married and giving her a little brother. This is not a side of Gideon we see much of (Fosse either) and it is a lovely moment. Jessica Lange's ethereal quality was used to great advantage in her small but showy role as Joe's Angelique. Leland Palmer (who starred in Fosse's Pippin on Broadway) registers as Audrey Paris, Joe's ex-wife and Michelle's mother, a fictionalized Gwen Verdon. Her scene with Scheider in the dance studio where she calls him on his constant infidelity is a gem.

Cliff Gorman scores as Davis Newman, the star of Joe's film, THE STAND UP (this film's version of Lenny), who is seen visiting Gideon in the hospital and psychoanalyzing him at the same time.
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The "Bye Bye Love" finale is a little over the top and WAY too long but I like the end of it when he says goodbye to everyone before his death (especially loved the looks exchanged with John Lithgow and his hug with daughter Michelle). All in all, All that Jazzis a must for Fosse-ites and fans of musical theater..whether it's stage or screen. Not as good as Cabaret, but still a unique movie experience to be savored.

I only saw it once and don't remember it too well; I just remember thinking it was great.

A love song for bobby long (2004)
 

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A Love Song for Bobby Long is a somber and lumbering story that makes the mistake of thinking the story and characters presented here are a lot more interesting than they really are.

This is the story of a young girl named Percy(Scarlett Johansson)who, upon learning of her mother's death, journeys to New Orleans to claim her mother's home and, upon her arrival, finds an alcoholic former college professor (John Travolta) and an alcoholic former writer (Gabriel Macht) living there.
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The rest of the movie is a long and not terribly interesting character study of these three characters and how they eventually bond. The primary problem with this film is that the most interesting character in the story is already dead at the beginning of the film. Her relationship with the three main characters is fuzzy at the beginning of the film and kept fuzzy throughout most of the film's running time and for some reason this seems deliberate. Perhaps if we had known a little more about the relationships Percy's mom had with these people, the film might have been more successful in sustaining our interest. I have never been much of a proponent of flashback as a film making technique, but this is one story that really could have used a flashback or two that might have shed some light into the relationship this woman had with Percy and with these two men. We eventually are given some insight into the kind of woman this was; unfortunately, by the time this happens, we are bored to death and really don't care anymore.
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The actors work very hard at keeping the proceedings watchable but they are fighting a very talky and unimaginative screenplay. Despite Scarlett Johansson's strongest performance to date and Travolta's first serious foray into the category of "Character actor", the whole thing comes off like a photographed stage play...bad Tennessee Williams and about 45 minutes before the credits roll, we just want the characters to drink enough to pass out so we don't have to listen to them anymore.

A midsummer night's sex comedy
 

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A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy was Woody Allen's amusing variation on the Ingmar Bergman classic Smiles of a Summer Night which had been previously re-worked as a Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim called A Little Night Music.

This film is about three couples at the turn of the century who gather at one of their country homes for the weekend and it is clear at the beginning of the story that these three couples are hopelessly mismatched and we see the very human foibles that split up and mix up these three couples during this memorable weekend in the country.
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Woody and Mary Steenburgen play the hosts for the weekend, a seemingly happily married couple whose happiness is clearly surface deep. Tony Roberts plays a womanizing physician and Woody's best pal who arrives for the weekend with his nurse (Julia Hagerty). In her first screen pairing with Woody Allen, Mia Farrow plays a former flame of Woody's who has arrived with her much older fiancée (Jose Ferrer) who she is scheduled to marry on Monday. Watching these three couples fuss and fumble all over each other in an attempt to be with the person they really want to be with is what makes this charming period comedy work.
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As always in Woody's films, music is crucial in setting the mood and Woody has chosen some classic Mendelsohhn pieces that set the perfect mood for the piece. The performances are uniformly fine, with Roberts a standout. Not one of Woody's better known films, but if you'd like to see where his relationship with Mia began, take a look.

Auntie mame (1958)
 

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Rosalind Russell turned in the most dazzling performance of her career in 1958's Auntie Mame.
This classic was released the year I was born, but it has become one of my favorites and is part of my permanent video collection. Based on the memoirs of Patrick Dennis, this brilliant episodic film chronicles the relationship between Mame Dennis, a stylish, eccentric, and bombastic Greenwich village socialite and her young nephew, Patrick, who is brought to live with Mame as a child after the death of Mame's brother.
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It is evident from the beginning that Mame hasn't a clue how to be a mother but her immediate unconditional love for Patrick is evident as well and even though we know Mame would walk through fire for Patrick, we also know that at some point Mame will screw up or suffocate Patrick in her loving but iron grasp.
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Russell is perfection in what seems to be a tailor-made role and was clearly robbed of the Oscar that alluded her for her whole career. Coral Browne garners major laughs throughout as Vera Charles, an alcoholic actress and Mame's best friend. Forrest Tucker is a charmer as Beaurogard Jackson Pickett Burnside, an oil millionaire who romances Mame and Peggy Cass steals every scene she is in with her Oscar-nominated performance as Agnes Gooch, the stenographer hired to write Mame's memoirs.
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This long, episodic film, lovingly directed by Morton DeCosta, was later turned into the Broadway musical MAME which won Angela Lansbury a Tony Award and that musical was later turned into a movie starring Lucille Ball, but my advice is...stick with the original. "Life is a banquet...and most poor suckers are starving to death!"

^^This.^^ I'd probably go

I don't understand the love this gets. :shrug:

Re: A history of violence (2005)
 

Excellent review. I too really liked this film.

Re: A history of violence (2005)
 

It's my favourite of Cronenberg's work (who I am, admittedly, not a fan of).

Re: A history of violence (2005)
 

I really didn't care for this. The dialogue was some of the worst I've ever heard, and the acting was mostly atrocious, and nothing else was interesting enough to save the movie for me.

Re: A history of violence (2005)
 

That saying "to each his own" is so accurate. Could you maybe interpret specifically why you hated this film? In my eyes there was nothing wrong with the acting,and the dialogue was perfectly fine. The film was fast paced and was well shot. Easy 7.5 or 8 from me.

Re: A history of violence (2005)
 

It was pretty good. Based on a graphic novel. Guess that's why it was stylized despite the serious theme.

Along Came Polly
 

Along Came Polly is an entertaining romantic comedy filled with laughs starring Ben Stiller as Rueben Pfeffer, a tightly wound insurance agent, whose bride cheats on him on his honeymoon and upon returning home, embarks on a romance with a free-spirited girl (Jennifer Aniston) who he knew in junior high school.
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This breezy comedy is a total delight with a surprisingly fresh screenplay that has Stiller uncharacteristically pulling it in and allowing leading lady Aniston to shine.

http://www.movieforums.com/community...1&d=1397750216Phillip Seymour Hoffman steals every scene he is in as Sandy, Rueben's best friend,a former child actor who hasn't worked in years but is still so self-absorbed he has decided to film his own "E-True Hollywood Story" and then sell it to E. In a role that appears to have been written for Jack Black, Hoffman garners big belly laughs every time he appears on the screen, from a rehearsal for "Jesus Christ Superstar" to a silly two on two basketball game, to a last minute substitution for Rueben at a very important business meeting, Hoffman delivers one of the funniest supporting performances I've seen in years. Debra Messing has the thankless role of the cheating bride and Hank Azaria is quite buff as the object of Messing's lust.
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There are also funny contributions from Alec Baldwin as Rueben's boss and Michele Lee and Bob Dishy as his parents. It's not exactly groundbreaking, but a marvelous cast at the top of their game, make the film worth your time.

Analyze This
 

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When you see the names De Niro and Crystal on a marquee the assumption would be that Crystal is going to be providing the laughs, but it's just the opposite in Analyze This, a sharp and amusing comedy which, IMO, proves Robert De Niro, in addition to being a great actor, is also one of the funniest people on the planet. I did not say a good comic actor, I said funny.
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The man is funny and he had me on the floor for the majority of the film as Paul Vitti, a mob boss who has allowed the pressures of his work take such a physical and emotional toll on him that he begins therapy with Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal)and then implants himself smack dab in the middle of Dr. Ben's life, forsaking all other patients.

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Crystal hits all the right notes as Dr. Sobel, but it is De Niro who makes this film so special with his grandiose send-up of several characters he has played in the past. De Niro and Crystal get help from a strong supporting cast including Lisa Kudrow, Bill Macy, Pat Cooper, and especially the late Joe Vitrelli as Jelly, Vitti's stooge, who steals every scene he is in.

Anchorman: The legend of ron burgundy
 

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Achorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy confirmed my long dormant suspicion that Ferrell is a comic genius who had been so underrated up to this point. I have not laughed so hard at a movie since Young Frankenstein, and like that classic, no matter how many times I watch this movie, I'm laughin g out loud.
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Ferrell plays Ron Burgundy, a self-absorbed TV news anchorman working at a San Diego TV station in the 1970's who finds his world as king of the 6:00 news rocked by the arrival of Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), a woman who longs to be a news anchor; however, in the 1970's, this was pretty much unheard of. The relationship between Ron and Veronica is very entertaining but the lion's share of the laughs in this film come from Ferrell, who I am convinced improvised approximately 60% of this movie, but the stuff that works clearly outweighs the stuff that doesn't.
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The 1970's are lovingly recreated here with settings, costumes, and some wonderful forgotten and not forgotten music from the 70's (wait until you see this film's cover of the classic "Afternoon Delight").
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This movie is just one comic highlight after another, including the "trip to Pleasuretown", Ron's jazz flute solo, and the news anchor rumble in the alley. Ferrell is a riot and Applegate shows a surprising gift for slapstick comedy and there is a scene-stealing performance from Steve Carell as Brick, the weatherman on Ron's news team. One of the funniest movies I have ever seen and every time it comes on, I have to watch and I have to laugh.

Anchors aweigh (1945)
 

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Anchors Aweigh is an entertaining MGM musical that fans of the genre will enjoy but I wouldn't rate it up there with classics like Singin in the Rain or The Band Wagon.

This was the first of three musicals that Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra appeared in together. Kelly and Sinatra play Joe Brady and Clarence Doolittle, respectively, two sailors on leave in Hollywood who befriend a young boy (Dean Stockwell)who introduces them to his attractive young aunt (Kathryn Grayson) a struggling actress who is working as an extra at MGM. Though both guys are initially attracted to Grayson, she eventually voices a preference to Joe but Clarence later hooks up with a waitress (Pamela Britton)who, he learns is from his hometown of Brooklyn.

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The paper-thin plot leaves room for several great musical numbers including "We Hate to Leave", Joe and Clarence's lament to their fellow sailors as they're leaving the ship; Grayson's torrid rendition of "Jalousie"; Sinatra's dreamy rendition of "I Fall in Love Too Easily" (a number which is sadly deleted from some prints of this film), and "The Worry Song", a fantasy dance that Kelly does with animated Jerry the Mouse from Tom and Jerry fame. Kelly also does a sort of Kissing Bandit fantasy ballet which rivals his Pirate's Ballet in the later The Pirate.
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Kelly is in peak form here, in a robust and energetic performance that earned him his only Oscar nomination for Best Actor and Sinatra's endearingly shy character here is undeniably sexy. An entertaining diversion for fans of the MGM musical factory.

Annie get your gun
 

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1950's Annie Get Your Gun was originally planned to star Judy Garland in the title role; however Garland had just finished a stint in rehab and doctors recommended a year off. Instead she was given two weeks off and was assigned to report to wardrobe tests for the film. She even filmed a few scenes and a couple of musical numbers (which are included on the DVD), but Garland looks worn and haggard and she clearly was in no shape, physically or emotionally to work, so she was replaced by that bundle of bombastic( an adjective which I think the actress has the patent on)energy, Betty Hutton, who makes the most of this role and the classic Irving Berlin score.
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I have to admit I wouldn't have minded hearing Garland's interpretation of "I've Got the Sun in the Morning" or "They Say that Falling in Love" (Hutton's weakest moment) but for the most part Hutton shines as Annie and gets solid support from handsome Howard Keel as Frank Butler. Their duet "Anything you can do" is another highlight. A first rate stage musical gets first rate screen treatment from the MGM dream factory.

Along Came Polly was harmless fun; nothing great, but enjoyable.

Despite my love for Robert De Niro, I was not taken with Analyze This at all. Maybe one I need to give a 2nd watch.

Anchorman I thought was great in a lot of ways but the silly fights between rival news stations severely hurt this film for me.

Re: Gideon58's Reviews
 

I thought Analyze This! was quite good. I've only seen it twice and not since 1999, but it's big claim to fame, for me, is that it stopped me watching The Soprano's when it started. Well, that and the fact I missed the first episode and thought it was a mini-series and, therefore, didn't bother with the next few episodes. By the time I'd realised my mistake, it was a good 5 or 6 episodes in. :facepalm: I finally watched it last year. :D

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Another of my guilty pleasures is Airport, the 1970 all-star cast drama based on the best selling novel by Arthur Hailey. This soapy potboiler follows multiple stories throughout a busy metropolitan airport. Subplots that appeared in the book naturally had to be watered down or removed entirely, but that was to be expected in telling a story of such size back in the late 60's. However, after 35 years, I still find this film a lot of fun to watch (even though it really should be experienced in a theater). Burt Lancaster is all stone-faced authority as Mel Bakersfield, the airport manager who neglects his wife (Dana Wynter) while lusting after his passenger relations agent (Jean Seberg).
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Dean Martin almost gives an actual performance as Vernon Demarest, the smooth-talking pilot who also neglects his wife (Barbara Hale) while having an affair with a stewardess (the lovely Jacqueline Bisset)whom he has impregnated. George Kennedy began his long association with the character of Joe Patroni here(he would play the role in three subsequent sequels). Van Heflin is extremely effective as D.O. Guerrero, the sad and twisted man who plans to blow up an airliner.
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Helen Hayes won an Oscar playing Ada Quonsett, a little old lady who stows away on the plane, but that Oscar should have gone to Maureen Stapleton, who is just devastating as Guerrero's wife, who is totally dismayed about her husband's plan and is tragically heartbreaking during one brief scene near the end of the film. For those who like their adventure films spiced with some somewhat corny, soap suds, put your brain in check and have your fill with Airport.

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Tom Cruise followed up his smashing success in the classic Risky Business with All the Right Moves, a quiet and moving drama in which Cruise plays Stefan Djordjevic, a somewhat sexist and dim-witted high school senior whose convinced that his prowess on the football field will allow him to go to college anywhere he wants, providing a one-way ticket out of the tiny, sleepy mining town where he lives where the entire town attends every game.
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Stefan's college plans get derailed when, after a confrontation with his coach (Craig T. Nelson), Stefan gets thrown off the team and the coach has him blackballed to the point where no college will talk to him. Cruise's interpretation of Jorjevich is quietly impressive because this character is nothing like Joel Goodson, his character in Risky Business. Stefan is cocky, sexist, self-absorbed, and not terribly likable, but Cruise still manages to infuse the character with sympathy.
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Nelson is solid as the coach (nothing like his TV coach)and strong support is also provided by Lea Thompson as Stefan's girlfriend, the late Christopher Penn as Stefan's buddy who has to give up his football aspirations when he gets his girlfriend pregnant, Charles Cioffi as Stefan's dad and especially Paul Carafotes as Stefan's explosive buddy, "The Vooch". Nothing earth-shattering here, but it did prove that Cruise had the range to play different kinds of character.

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A richly textured character study wrapped inside of surprisingly original story, As Good as it Gets was a striking and emotionally charged motion picture experience that will take the viewer through a myriad of emotions and find them trying to catch their breath and collect themselves as the credits roll.

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This unusual story revolving around three disparate characters who IRL would probably never cross paths except for the fact that two of them live in the same building and one of them hangs where the third works. Jack Nicholson won his third Oscar, giving one of his most dazzling performances as Melvin, a sexist, homophobic, anal-attentive, germophobic, anti-social writer who it seems has been living a fishbowl existence which has brought him to the belief that the earth was put here to serve and accommodate him and his needs.

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Marvin finds himself accidentally involved with Simon (Greg Kinnear, who should have won an Oscar), a sensitive, gay artist who lives in Marvin's building and becomes part of his life when Marvin is forced to care for Simon's dog after Simon gets beaten up by some thugs through a set-up by a sleazy bisexual con-artist (Skeet Ulrich). Helen Hunt won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Carol, a workaholic waitress with a sickly son who is Marvin's favorite waitress at his favorite restaurant. Any more details as to how these three people's lives intersect would spoil one of the most entertaining and delicious stories that was also nominated for Best Picture of 1997. A one-of-a-kind motion picture experience that must be seen and savored.

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Ann-Margaret turned in one of the best performances of her career in the 1984 TV version of A Streetcar Named Desire, a well-mounted remake of the Tennessee Williams play that became the 1951 classic film that made a star out of Marlon Brando and won a 2nd Oscar for Vivian Leigh.

Ann-Margaret gives an intense and chilling interpretation of Blanche, the mentally fragile southern belle who is brutalized by her boor of a brother-in-law (Treat Williams)when she arrives in New Orleans to visit her sister Stella (Beverly D'Angelo). Ann-Margret has never lost herself in a role the way she lost herself in this one, a performance that lacks the china-doll fragility of Leigh's Blanche but adds an underlying layer of strength that was missing from Leigh's interpretation. Treat Williams lacks the electricity that Brando brought to Stanley but D'Angelo brilliantly conveys the tattered emotions of the conflicted Stella.
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The other plus of this production is that it restores the original Tennessee Williams ending to the play which was drastically changed in the theatrical film in order for the story to be more acceptable to audiences in 1951; however, it completely dilutes the power of the original piece but it is restored to its original beauty here and packs the emotional punch felt by audience at the 1947 premiere of the play. Coupled with the performances of Ann-Margret and Beverly D'Angelo, this is a remake which can proudly stand up next to the original.

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A Very Brady Sequel was the 1996 sequel to The Brady Bunch Movie which tries to touch upon all the episodes of the classic TV series that the first movie didn't. The paper-thin premise of this sequel centers on the appearance of a shady con-man (Tim Matheson) who arrives on the Bradys' doorstep claiming to be Carol's long-lost first husband, Roy, who, according to this film's opening scene, was lost at sea. The con-man is really there to get his hands on a statue that has sat in the background of every episode of the TV show and we now learn that it is part of a set and worth a lot of money.
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But the funniest part of this movie for me is a subplot in which after Roy's arrival, Greg (Christopher Daniel Barnes) and Marcia (Christine Taylor) learn they may not be brother and sister and start lusting after each other. This is, of course, a knowing wink to all those who have read Barry Williams' book Growing up Brady where he confesses to having been madly in love with Maureen McCormick and had trouble looking at her in a sisterly way when they were working. This movie addresses this in a hysterical scene where Greg and Marcia are sharing the room in the attic and start undressing in silhouette. This scene is cleverly shot and perfectly performed by Barnes and Taylor.
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The rest of the cast has settled comfortably into their roles for this sequel, especially Gary Cole, who is just spooky as Robert Reed as Mike Brady and Jennifer Elise Cox, who steals every scene she is in as Jan. The fun peters out before a truly lame finale, but for true fans, there is fun to be had here.

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Beautiful Girls, is director Ted Demme's superficially entertaining excursion into Big Chill/Return of the Secaucus Seven territory that centers on a struggling pianist named Willie (Timothy Hutton) who, while having second thoughts about his engagement, decides to return to the snow-covered Minnesota suburb of his birth to attend his high school reunion and his varied encounters with his buddies from high school.
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There are, of course, several stories going on here, the most interesting being a triangle with Willie's best friend (Matt Dillon)juggling his current girlfriend (Mira Sorvino) and his married mistress (Lauren Holly) who he claims to have broken up with and Willie's fascination with a 12 year old girl who lives next door. This variation on a theme is no more or no less entertaining than any of the others, but it does boast an attractive cast, with a star-making turn by young Natalie Portman as the aforementioned 12 year old...the kind of role that Portman would soon be playing in her sleep. Uma Thurman, Michael Rapaport, Max Perlich, Rosie O'Donnell, and Martha Plimpton also have their moments in the sun. And if you don't blink, you'll see a very young David Arquette playing Willie's little brother. It's not Merchant Ivory, but there's some clever writing and the cast works hard for your attention.
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Because I Said So is a tired retread of so many so called romantic comedies that is made tolerable because of Diane Keaton's presence in the starring role.

Keaton plays Daphne Wilder, an effervescent single mom of three, approaching her 60th birthday, who places an ad on the internet to find a prospective mate for her youngest daughter Milly (Mandy Moore). She finds one guy (Tom Everett Scott) who she thinks is perfect but there's another guy (Gabriel Macht) who thinks he's perfect and Milly ends up dating both of them, to her mothers dismay. Nothing terribly exciting here, but Keaton somehow magically elevates this film to a point where you start to believe it is something special. Something about Mandy Moore has always bothered me and this film has not changed my opinion of her. Macht, who last made an impression in A Love Song for Bobby Long, is charming but is fighting the script every step of the way. With a more interesting screenplay, this could have been a minor classic, but as is, the undeniable screen charisma of Diane Keaton does make it worth checking out.

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After strong, scene-stealing performances in 48 hrs and Trading Places, Eddie Murphy firmly established himself as a superstar with Beverly Hills Cop.
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With a script originally intended for Sylvester Stallone, Murphy commands the screen in one of the greatest, single comic performances ever captured on screen, splashed against the backdrop of an action movie that is still riveting from start to finish. Murphy plays Axel Foley, a Detroit police officer who travels to Beverly Hills after a childhood buddy (James Russo) is murdered in his hallway, shortly after arriving in Detroit from Beverly Hills.
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Of course, this motivates Axel to hop in his crappy blue Chevy and travel to Beverly Hills. where he finds himself the ultimate fish out of water, and immediately butting heads with the Beverly Hills police department, but finding help from a childhood friend (Lisa Eilbacher), who is actually working for the man Axel is looking for, an extremely powerful and dangerous drug dealer named Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff). Things get sticky because Axel can't prove anything and can't get help from the Beverly Hills police so he and a couple of detectives are on their own to prove that Axel's instincts are on the money.

What could have been a standard cops and robbers adventure turned into something much more with the casting of Murphy in the starring role. I shudder at the thought of what this film would have been like with its intended star Stallone, but something tells me the screenplay was probably severly revamped when Murphy came on board...thank God.
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Murphy gives a thousand mega-watt performance here, blowing everyone off the screen with the exception of Judge Reinhold as Beverly Hills cop Billy Rosewood and the then unknown Bronson Pinchot as Serge, a gay receptionist in an art gallery. Twenty two years later, this is still Murphy's best performance and best movie and I don't think he will ever match it and shouldn't even try. An instant classic.

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Two time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey is the heart and soul of Beyond the Sea, the glossy and engrossing film biography of the late crooner Bobby Darin, chronicling Darin's life from his battle with a life-threatening disease as a child, his incredible music career, his marriage to actress Sandra Dee, and the expected downfall of his career that we usually see in movies like this.

Spacey produced,directed,and co-wrote this spectacular look at the singer who, more than anything, wanted to be "bigger than Sinatra." The love and respect that Spacey has for the subject is glaringly apparent, not only from the care and obvious expense that went into the project, but from Spacey's energetic and vivid portrayal of Darin (and yes, he does most of his own singing too).
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I can't recall the last time I have seen an artist work so hard at making a movie work, but Spacey's tireless dedication to this project shows in the finished product. Spacey's performance lights up the screen in one of the most entertaining showbiz biopics ever.

How accurate is the film in regards to the facts of Darin's life and career? I don't know and I don't care, all I know is that I found this movie richly entertaining and can watch it over and over again.

All of Darin's music is on display here, including "Splish Splash","Mack the Knife" and the title tune, which is effectively used to frame Darin's courtship of Dee in the film. Speaking of which, this was the one serious flaw in the film, the totally unconvincing and lifeless performance of Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, but Spacey does receive effective support from John Goodman as his manager, Bob Hoskins as his devoted brother-in-law and Caroline Aaron as his sister. Grandly entertaining from start to finish and a must for Darin and Spacey fans.
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Adam Sandler works another variation of his angry man-child character to great effect in Billy Madison a silly and improbable comedy that does provide laughs. Sandler plays Billy, who is the spoiled son of a zillionaire (Darren McGavin), who sits around the pool all day drinking beer and looking at girlie magazines, save the occasional trip to a neighbor's house to leave a flaming bag of dog poop at his front door.

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Billy's dad wants to leave him the company but his ass-kissing assistant (Bradley Whitford) insists that Billy is an idiot, at which time Mr. Madison must admit to Billy that he only graduated from high school because Madison paid all of his teachers to give him passing grades. Billy then proposes to his dad that he go back to school, starting in the 1st grade, and spend two weeks in each grade until he graduates in order to get control of the company. There is comic potential in this story and Sandler does his best to mine the gold that is there. Sandler has a good supporting cast behind him including McGavin, Whitford, Chris Farley (very funny as a bus driver), Norm McDonald, Theresa Merritt, and Joshua Mostel. Bridgette Wilson makes an attractive romantic interest as Billy's third grade teacher and there is even a very clever musical number thrown in that provides laughs. Love the game of dodge ball with the first graders too. A must for Sandler fans and watchable for everyone else.

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Blades of Glory is another side-splittingly funny sports-oriented comedy from the demented mind of Will Ferrell that is the funniest film he has made since ANCHORMAN. This non-stop laugh riot stars Ferrell as Chaz Michael Michaels and Jon Heder (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE) as Jimmy McElroy, two professional figure skaters and mortal enemies who find themselves banned from singles competition in the Olympics and after three years away from competition, are convinced to return to Olympic competition as the first male-male pairs skating duo in history.
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This hilarious premise provides the backdrop for one of the funniest comedies I've seen in quite a while, full of outrageous physical comedy, silly homo erotic moments, and some silly sight gags made all the sillier by some intentionally cheesy looking special effects. Ferrell has rarely been funnier and has a surprisingly solid screen chemistry with Heder, who makes the most of the best role he's had in quite awhile. There are also funny supporting turns from Will Arnett and Amy Poehler as a brother and sisters pairs team who are threatened by the new team, Craig T.Nelson as Chaz and Jimmy's coach and Romany Malco (The 40-Year Old Virgin) as their choreographer. A riot from start to finish. Don't miss this one.
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Filled with non-stop laughs from start to finish, Blazing Saddles is Mel Brooks' comic masterpiece about a bumbling govenor who wants control of a tiny western hamlet called Rock Ridge where all the citizens have the last name of Johnson. He hopes to scare them out of their town by sending a black man (Cleavon Little) to be the new sheriff and that's where the fun begins.
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Like most of Mel Brooks work, this movie has something to offend everyone and makes no apologies about it. The movie could be considered racially offensive by some ultra sensitive but it's done with such humor and such in the spirit of the silly and entertaining story that is being presented that being offended seems silly. Not to mention the fact there is constant breaking of the 4th wall, another Brooks staple, that reminds us constantly that we are watching a movie and nothing here is to be taken seriously and we certainly don't.

This movie is a true classic with one of the most quotable screenplays ever (Richard Pryor was one of the screenwriters) and features a perfect cast. Writer-director Brooks has a dual role as the dim-witted governor and a yiddish speaking Indian chief; Harvey Korman is brilliant as the governor's stooge Hedley Lamarr; Gene Wilder became a star playing the drunken ex-gunfighter who saves the day at the last minute; and Madeline Kahn's turn as chanteuse/spy Lilli Von Schtupp is nothing short of brilliant and earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

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Dom DeLuise is also very funny as a prominent figure in the film's off-the-wall finale. Highlights include Kahn's musical number, "I'm Tired", the campfire scene (enough said), the slaves rendition of a Negro spiritual, the governor's staff meeting and the one-of-a-kind finale. An instant classic and make sure you see an unedited print...a director's cut would be a dream.

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One of Eddie Murphy's best performances in one of his least seen films was the 1992 winner Boomerang. This smart and sophisticated romantic comedy stars Eddie as Marcus Graham, a womanizing advertising executive who loves the thrill of the chase where women are concerned, but once he has completed the chase, he is ready to move on. His sexual exploits have made him the center of his circle of friends (Martin Lawrence, a paranoid racist, and David Alan Grier, an insecure milquetoast) who live vicariously through him and admire his style as the ultimate player. Everything changes for Marcus when he acquires a new boss named Jacqueline (Robin Givens), Marcus is enamored of Jacqueline, but is completely thrown by the fact that Jacqueline is a female version of himself, a player who avoids commitment and uses Marcus when it is convenient for her. Throw into the mix another co-worker of Marcus named Angela (Halle Berry) who is nuts about him, but he doesn't know she's alive.
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Everything works here and it is so refreshing to see a movie with a predominately black cast where the characters are people with brains and real jobs. Murphy exudes mass amounts of sex appeal in one of his best roles and Halle Berry, though allegedly playing a plain Jane, just couldn't come off that way if she tried. This might have been one place where the film erred...I just didn't buy Berry as the sweet thing who Murphy takes for granted in favor of the flaming sexpot Givens, whose character actually turns out to be a complete bitch.
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There are some wonderful comic bits contributed along the way by Grace Jones, Geoffrey Holder, Tisha Campbell, and the legendary Eartha Kitt, memorable as an aging cosmetics queen with the hots for Marcus. A winning and original take on the Battle of the Sexes that is entertaining from start to finish.

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A luminous performance by Audrey Hepburn that earned her a fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination, Breakfast at Tiffany's is the glittering 1961 comedy-drama based on a story by Truman Capote which follows the misadventures of a good time girl named Holly Golightly a completely beguiling and exasperatng party girl who isn't actually a prostitute but is not above accepting $50.00 for "the powder room" from gentleman who desire her company.

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Holly is a girl for the moment...her apartment, though having lived there for years, looks like she just moved in three days ago and she refuses to give her cat a real name because it implies commitment. Holly's perfectly isolated but satisfactory existence is interrupted when she meets a struggling writer (George Peppard), whose fascination with Holly leads him to want her to unpack and name the cat. Hollywood folklore claims that Holly's story was cleaned up considerably for 1961 movie audiences who probably couldn't have handled Capote's story in its raw form.

I think if this movie were ever remade today, it would stick more to the original story where Holly would be a prostitute and Paul Varjak (Peppard's character) would be gay. If the truth be told, I think the relationship would be a lot more interesting if Paul were gay, but 1961 movie audiences were not having that, so we get a more standard love story. The story as it is an entertaining one, lovingly mounted by director Blake Edwards with a deft screenplay and charming performances from the stars.
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Solid support is provided by Martin Balsam, Patricia Neal (in a wonderfully stylish turn as Varjak's "benefactress"), Buddy Ebsen, and Elvia Allman. Only Mickey Rooney misses the boat as Holly's Japanese landlord. It's definitely a watered down version of its original source, but it is also one of the most romantic and endearing films of the 1960's that cemented Audrey Hepburn's position as Hollywood royalty forever and introduced a song that would become a pop standard called "Moon River" that would win an Oscar for Song of the Year.
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Brighton Beach Memoirs was the first of a trilogy of plays that Neil Simon wrote about his own life, renaming himself Eugene Morris Jerome. This play was a Broadway smash and made a star and Tony Award winner out of Matthew Broderick.

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When it was time to bring the play to the screen, Broderick was unavailable because he was back on Broadway in the second play of the trilogy, BILOXI BLUES, so Jonathan Silverman was pegged to star in the film version as Eugene, the slightly neurotic teen going through puberty and other realities of being a Jewish teen during WWII with the help of his loving family. Silverman makes a suitable replacement for Broderick and seems quite at ease speaking directly to the camera.
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I'm one of the few who really liked Blythe Danner as his strong willed mother...maybe the accent was a bit much, but Danner infuses the character with warmth and strength and Bob Dishy has one of his best roles as Eugene's father, a quiet tower of strength whose world weariness never allows him to neglect his family. Judith Ivey plays Danner's sister, a lonely woman whose lack of self-esteem seems to have stemmed from feeling she has lived in her sister's shadow her whole life and Brian Drillinger also scores as Stanley, Eugene's older brother, who loses his paycheck gambling and then loses his job and doesn't know how to tell Mom and Dad. Gene Saks directs with a loving, if loose hand and the film could have been more tightly paced, but the performances of Silverman, Danner, and Dishy made it worth my time.

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Brokeback Mountain is a masterpiece of storytelling that takes some uncomfortable topics and situations and places them in the context of a moving and beautiful story. This is the story of Ennis Delmar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), two cowboys whose isolated summer sheep herding assignment turns them from strangers to friends to lovers in the matter of a couple of months.

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After their assignment is over they are separated for four years, in which time they both marry and have children. They are then reunited and it's like no time has passed at all. Unfortunately, Ennis' wife, Alma (Michelle Williams)witnesses their passionate reunion and chooses to live with the secret instead of confronting Ennis. What we then see is two people who seem to genuinely love each other, kept apart by circumstance.
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The word love never passes between Ennis and Jack. Ennis calls it "this thing." The men claim to be straight after their first encounter (though I have my doubts about Jack). The words "gay" or "homosexual" appear nowhere in the screenplay, though the word "queer" is used once. What we see more than the passion these men share when they're together is the passion they long for when they are apart. Ang Lee's sensitive and detailed Oscar-winning direction captures every nuance of emotion and passion between these two men without preaching to us or taking a stand on the underlying issues here. Ledger and Gyllenhaal give breathtaking, Oscar-worthy performances and receive solid support from Williams as Alma and Anne Hathaway as Jack's wife, Lorene. For me, this movie is above everything else, a love story, a beautiful, moving, emotionally charged love story where the protagonists just happen to be men.

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Butterflies are Free is the delightful 1972 film adaptation of the Leonard Gershe play about a young man who has been blind from birth (Edward Albert)who moves into his own apartment and almost instantly falls in love with his kooky next door neighbor (Goldie Hawn), a flighty free spirit who has trouble with anything resembling commitment, which he turns a blind eye (so to speak) to but is picked up immediately by his clingy, over-tective mother (Eileen Heckart).
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This breezy comedy still holds up pretty well for a film that's over 30 years old, thanks to an enchanting performance from Hawn in one of her earliest roles and a flawless supporting turn from Eileen Heckart as the mother-from-hell, who swoops in to protect her baby boy from this evil woman. Heckart underplays her role so beautifully here, a perfect supporting performance that won her a richly deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I love when she first meets Jill, who is in her underwear, and Jill explains that she came over so her son could help her with her blouse to which Heckart replies, with the sweetest smile on her face, "Where is your blouse?" Some were surprised by Heckart's Oscar win here, but for me this performance is the definition of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role."
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Edward Albert, son of GREEN ACRES' Eddie Albert, made an impressive screen debut here as Donny, the young man between these two women. Albert won a Golden Globe for Outstanding Newcomer for his work here but it is the work of Hawn and the divine Ms. Heckart that make this film worth watching.

California Suite is the 1978 film adaptation of Neil Simons' quartet of one-acts set at a swank Los Angeles hotel.
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Out of the four stories, the strongest is "Visitors from London" which stars Maggie Smith as an actress in town for the Academy Awards after receiving her first nomination, in deep denial about her in-name only marriage to a closeted antique dealer (Michael Caine). Smith delivers a flawless comedy performance that ironically won her her second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actress. Caine is just as effective in this bittersweet tale.
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"Visitors from New York" stars Jane Fonda as a workaholic New Yorker who has flown to California to retrieve her daughter (Dana Plato) who ran away from home to move in with Fonda's ex (Alan Alda). Fonda's character is a little on the unsympathetic side but she and Alda make their scenes work. "Visitors from Philadelphia" stars Walter Matthau as a man in town for a convention who tries to conceal from his visiting wife (Elaine May) that there's a passed out hooker in his bed. This episode is pure slapstick with little substance but Matthau makes it bearable. The other episode "Visitors from Chicago" stars Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Sheila Frazier, and Gloria Gifford as two couples vacationing together who get involved in some silly travel situations. This is definitely the weakest of the four playlets and looks like it should be in another movie of its own. A well-mounted, but spotty effort at best, California Suite is worth the rental for the glorious performance of Maggie Smith alone.
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Great reviews!

I agree with you on All the Right Moves, As Good as it Gets, Boomerang, Billy Madison, Beverly Hills Cop, and Blazing Saddles.

I couldn't get into Blades of Glory and shut it off pretty quick. Maybe one I'll try again.

I hope you're kidding.

I REALLY hope you're kidding.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the 1958 film version of Tennessee Williams' classic Broadway play, that is still powerful entertainment despite a watered down screenplay.

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The story follows the Pollitt family, headed by Big Daddy, who has just returned to his southern plantation after an extended hospital stay in time for his 60th birthday party where his family will gather and long hidden resentments, greed, machinations, manipulations, and, of course, secrets will rear their ugly head.

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Big Daddy has two sons: Gooper is a brown-nosing, if well-intentioned moron who desperately seeks his father's approval so he can inherit the estate someday and bows to his father's every demand and keeps Big Daddy awash in grandchildren. Despite all his good intentions, Big Daddy can't stand Gooper or his grasping and perpetually pregnant wife or his obnoxious children. Gooper's brother Brick is an alcoholic loser who has arrived at the plantation for the birthday party, but has injured his leg trying to relive his youth as a track star and lays up in his bedroom drinking and ignoring his beautiful wife Maggie, who Big Daddy adores and continues to pressure for grandchildren, but Maggie can't get Brick to touch her since the death of his college buddy, Skipper.

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Williams' play makes no bones about the fact that Brick and Skipper were lovers, but all references to homosexuality were dropped in the screenplay, making much of Brick's motivations for distancing himself from Maggie unclear, but making the film suitable for 1958 film audiences.

Despite the watered down screenplay, the film is still an emotionally-charged experience thanks to the taut direction of Richard Brooks and sterling performances from an all-star cast. Paul Newman has rarely been better as the tortured Brick and Elizabeth Taylor is a revelation as sexual dynamo Maggie the Cat. During production, Taylor lost third hubby Mike Todd in a plane crash and Taylor apparently channeled her grief into her work, producing one of her finest performances. She and Newman both received richly deserved Oscar nominations. Newman should have won. Burl Ives is brilliant as Big Daddy. Ives ironically won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for that year, but for another film (The Big Country). Jack Carson also gave one of his strongest performances as Gooper as did Madeline Sherwood, playing his obnoxious wife, Mae. Judith Anderson is heartbreaking as Big Mama and Larry Gates has his moments as Big Daddy's doctor, who is forced to reveal that Big Daddy is dying. Though slightly diluted from its original source, still a powerful movie experience that merits multiple viewings. Don't miss this one.
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Change of Habit was the film that marked the final film appearance of the Pelvis, playing an idealistic young doctor in a ghetto neighborhood, who happens to sing and play the guitar who receives assistance at his clinic from the three young nuns (Mary Tyler Moore, Jane Elliot, Barbara McNair), who the doc tries to teach the ways of the streets circa 1969.
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The story is silly mainly because Elvis is not even close to believable as a doctor and Moore is not much more credible as a nun. Elliot does have some funny moments as the rebel of the trio of nuns and Elvis does sing a couple of songs, but other than that, this film is pretty forgettable.

CHAPTER TWO
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Chapter Two is a long and rambling film version of one of Neil Simon's best plays. Like Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues, this story is based on a part of Neil Simon's own life. James Caan plays George Schneider, a fictionalized Simon, a writer who has just returned from a trip around the world after the death of his wife. Sadly, George made the mistake of visiting all of the places he traveled with his late wife and it has apparently not aided his grieving process.
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At the urging of his brother, Leo (well-played by Joseph Bologna), George agrees to go on a blind date with an attractive divorcée named Jennie McLaine (Marsha Mason). Their first date is actually over the phone but they do eventually come face to face and move into a whirlwind romance which leads to a quick engagement and marriage...perhaps too quick because shortly into his new marriage, George realizes he really hasn't finished grieving over his first wife and begins to push Jennie away.
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Simon's first wife passed away and he eventually met and married Marsha Mason, so essentially, Mason is playing herself here and not surprisingly does it pretty effectively. However, in attempt to expand the play for the screen, it has become labored and way too long...the scenes of George and Jennie on their honeymoon go on way too long and bring the film to a dead halt.

Another problem is James Caan's wooden performance as George. Caan never seems to grasp the rhythm of Simon's writing and makes George a little too melancholy. Bologna is solid, as always, as is an anorexic looking Valerie Harper, who appears as Jennie's best friend, Faye. If you're a Marsha Mason fan, it's worth checking out, others beware.
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CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is Tim Burton's dark adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, which was turned into Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory back in 1971, with Gene Wilder in the title role.
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The story is basically the same. Five children from around the world find golden tickets inside candy bars made by world famous candy maker Willie Wonka, which allow them a tour inside the never before open to the public factory, led by Wonka himself, in which the children learn some rather unsettling lessons about being a kid. It should be mentioned that this review comes from someone who never read the book but was a huge fan of the 1971 film. This film does have a solid fan base because the story is more closely connected to the book than the first film was, but that doesn't necessarily make it a better film.

I had a lot of problems with this film, the primary one being Burton and Johnny Depp's interpretation of the character of Willie Wonka, which clearly had to be a collaborative effort. As dark as the book might have been, I have always felt that this was supposed to be a children's story and that Wonka should be an appealing character to children. Depp works very hard at producing a completely unique interpretation of the character but this Wonka comes off as hating children, which I found troubling. There is a mean-spiritedness to this Wonka that was absent in Gene Wilder's characterization. He's not a nice person and why the children would be so enamored of him here makes no sense.
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The children are nastier than they were in the original as well...Mike Teevee, in particular, is one of the nastiest children I have ever seen in a movie. I also found something rather unsettling about the fact that the Oompa Loompas were all played by a single actor (Deep Roy).

On the plus side, I thought Freddie Highmore was absolutely wonderful in the pivotal role of Charlie, the only good little boy in the bunch. Highmore makes Charlie the only really likable character in the movie and the only actor from this version I preferred from the 71 version.
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Another thing I liked in this version is that we get to see the other four children leaving the factory after the tour, which we didn't in the '71 film. In the first film, you get the feeling that they might be dead...a lesson from Wonka which is also troubling. Mention should also be made of an impressive turn by the great Christopher Lee, playing Wonka's father...a character we never met in the '71 film but whose presence here does provide some insight into this Wonka's personality.

The songs are dark and dreary but the film does boast impressive art and set direction. A mixed bag to be sure, but you'll probably like it better if you never saw the '71 film.

CHICAGO
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The 2002 screen version of the Kander/Ebb/Fosse Broadway musical Chicago was a long time coming but well worth the wait.

This amazing musical became the first musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture since 1968 and helped to pave the way for the return of musicals to the big screen.
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When the film rights were first purchased for this musical over 20 years ago, Goldie Hawn and Liza Minnelli had been announced to be the stars, which gives you a good idea as to how long this project stayed on the shelf. Thank God, Harvey Fierstein, Miramax, and the amazing Rob Marshall finally found a way to bring the project to fruition.

This dark and slightly jaundiced musical traces the tale of two ladies Roxie Hart (Renee Zellwegger) and Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who have committed murder and use their notoriety as murderesses to become stars. Richard Gere plays the slightly unscrupulous lawyer who is trying to keep both girls from being convicted of murder in order to collect his fat fee.
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In the stage musical, the scenes are introduced as vaudeville acts and director Marshall cleverly legitimized this set-up for the film by making the entire film a dream of Roxie's by opening the film with a closeup of Zellweger's lovely blue eye which segues directly onto the stage of the Onyx, the nightclub where Zeta-Jones (in an electrifying performance that won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar)is seen washing the blood off her hands before going onstage to perform the show's signature song, "All that Jazz" while Roxie is seen murdering her scummy lover (Dominic West) and trying to get her husband (John C. Reilly) to cover for her.
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This film is a feast for the eyes and ears and Marshall has definitely channeled Bob Fosse in his staging of the musical numbers. "Cell Block Tango", "They Both Reached for the Gun", "Roxie", "Razzle Dazzle", and "All I Care About" are just amazing.
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The performances are uniformly first-rate, with special mention to Queen Latifah as Mama and John C. Reilly as Roxie's husband, Amos, who stops the show with "Mr. Cellophane." Five numbers from the original score have been cut but there was only one ("Class") that I really missed. Otherwise, this musical is a must-see. I think even people who don't like musicals might even enjoy this one. A joy from start to finish.

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a splashy and lushly mounted musical, based on a children's book by Ian Fleming (!)which the producers were hoping would strike the same gold as Mary Poppins but wasn't nearly as good.
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Dick Van Dyke, four years after Mary Poppins, stars as Caractacus Potts, an eccentric inventor with two small children, who buys and restores an old car and through story he tells his children, becomes a magical car that can float on water and fly in the air. Just as he was in Mary Poppins, Van Dyke is the only American actor among an all-English cast (though he wisely doesn't attempt an accent this time) in this fluffy children's musical that children can still get pleasure from; however, for most of us who grew up on it, has not aged too well.
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The lackluster songs are by Richard M.and Robert B. Sherman who also wrote the songs for Mary Poppins and the dances are choreographed by POPPINS choreographers Marc Breaux and DeeDee Wood.

Sally Ann Howes is a lovely leading lady with a Bond-girl-type character name, Truly Scrumptious. James Robertson Justice plays her father, a candy manufacturer, Benny Hill is a toymaker, Gerte Frobe(GOLDFINGER) plays an evil baron who loves to play with toys and Anna Quayle plays his children-hating baroness. There's also a delightful turn by Lionel Jeffries as Van Dyke's equally eccentric grandfather. Robert Helpmann is bone-chilling as the Child Catcher, a character who still gives me nightmares. A little too sappy for grown-ups now, but it might still keep unruly children still for a couple of hours.

CLUELESS
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Clueless is a breezy and entertaining teen comedy that follows a group of rich, spoiled California teenagers through their version of teen angst (we should all have had teen years this difficult).

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Alicia Silverstone delivers a star-making performance as Cher, the spoiled and self-absorbed daughter of a Beverly Hills attorney who bought his daughter a jeep before she got a license. Stacey Dash, plays Cher's best friend, Dionne. As Cher explains, "This is my best friend, Dionne...we were both named after great singers of the past who now do infomercials." This is an endlessly entertaining film filled with great laughs that introduces an entire new facet of "teenspeak" which I won't spoil by getting into here.

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A wonderful supporting cast of fresh-scrubbed faces, some of whom would become stars later includes Brittany Murphy, Donald Faison (SCRUBS), Breckin Meyer, Paul Rudd, and Jeremy Sisto. There are also expert comic turns from Dan Hedaya, in one of his sharpest performances as Cher's father, Wallace Shawn as a stuffed shirt debate teacher and screenwriter Twink Caplan, who is very funny as the fellow faculty member Shawn falls for, Miss Giest. A delight from start to finish filled with laughs, all accompanied by a rocking music score.

COACH CARTER
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Coach Carter is an inspiring and richly entertaining film, based on a true story. This is the story of Ken Carter, a man who returns to his high school alma mater to become the new basketball coach. Carter creates priorities for the guys on the team by presenting them with a contract that they must sign and honor if they are to play on the team. The contract states that they are to maintain a 2.3 GPA, go to their classes every day, sit in the front row of their classes,and wear a tie on game day. As much as Carter loves the game of basketball, he still feels their education should be the guys' number one priority. The team, which had a 4-22 record the preceding season, racks up 15 victories in a row until Carter learns that a couple of the team members are not keeping up their GPA. He then puts a lock on the gym door and cancels all games until the guys get their grades up. The furor this causes in the small town is understandable, since basketball scholarships are probably the only way these inner city kids are going to be able to go to college, but Carter is determined to send the message that there is life after basketball.
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Samuel L. Jackson turns in a commanding performance, as always, in the title role, as the man who cares what happens to the guys after they hang up their sneakers. Jackson's performance and a screenplay that's a bit preachy but does offer surprises make this film more than worth your time.

COLD TURKEY
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Before he changed prime time television forever as the creator of shows like ALL IN THE FAMILY,MAUDE,THE JEFFERSON,GOOD TIMES,and ONE DAY AT A TIME, Norman Lear hit a bullseye as the director and co-writer of Cold Turkey, a savage black comedy which takes a wicked swipe at the tobacco industry, thanks to a razor sharp screenplay and a first rate comic cast.

This dark satire follows what happens when a tobacco company, so secure about the popularity of their product, decides to announce a nationwide contest where they agree to award $25,000,000 to any town where the entire population of the town can quit smoking for 30 days.

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A small mid western hamlet called Eagle Rock,Iowa decides to take up the challenge, led by the town's energetic minister, Rev. Clayton Brooks (superbly played by Dick Van Dyke). Some citizens are quick to balk at Brooks' challenge because he doesn't smoke and therefore it is no sacrifice to him. Brooks, a former smoker, silences these nay-sayers by agreeing to start smoking again until the contest starts, getting re-addicted and therefore making the same sacrifice he's asking the citizens of Eagle Rock to make.

This lays the foundation for some outrageously funny scenes,including Brooks' efforts to get one citizen (Tom Poston) to participate who refuses not to mention how Brooks deals with finding a substitute for smoking after the contest starts.

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The first rate supporting cast includes Pippa Scott as Mrs. Brooks, Vincent Gardenia as the Mayor, Edward Everett Horton as the head of the Tobacco company, Jean Stapleton as the mayor's wife, and memorable comic bits also contributed by Bob and Ray, Barnard Hughes, Barbara Cason, Graham Jarvis, Judith Lowry, and Paul Benedict. A smart and nearly forgotten comedy classic that still holds up, thanks to the genius that is Norman Lear.

COMING TO AMERICA
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Eddie Murphy had one of his biggest hits with Coming to America, an expensive and somewhat entertaining comedy which found Eddie playing the crown prince of a fictional African country who travels to Queens, New York to find himself a wife after deciding that he's tired of being waited on hand and foot and not thrilled about having no say in the wife that has been selected for him. Eddie's Prince Akeem and his manservant Semi (Arsenio Hall) arrive in Queens, pretending to be broke and get jobs at a fast food restaurant where Akeem falls for the owner's daughter (Shari Headley).
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This film is lavishly produced and well cast (James Earl Jones and the late Madge Sinclair are perfect as Akeem's parents, the King and Queen)but there's a certain emptiness about the whole thing that doesn't sustain a film of such length and expense.
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Murphy is charming as Prince Akeem and he also gets to shine in one fabulous scene in a barbershop where he and Hall play everyone in the scene, but the film does not sustain interest until the end.
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Eddie later became involved in a lawsuit that claimed he stole the idea of the film from someone else which also casts a pall over the film which makes it hard to view all these years later, but it was one of Eddie's biggest hits and for his hardcore fans, there are laughs to be found, but personally, I think Eddie has done better work (Boomerang, The Distinguished Gentleman, Bowfinger, Beverly Hills Cop, Dreamgirls), but judge for yourself.

CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
Though most Woody-philes consider Annie Hall to be his masterpiece, I have to go with Crimes and Misdemeanors, the caustic and brilliant 1989 comedy drama about the ambiguity of the moral choices we, as humans, must make and the consequences of said choices.

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This beautifully mounted film tells two different stories that initially seem to have nothing to do with each other, but Woody's genius as a writer does eventually bring the two stories together.

One story stars Martin Landau as a wealthy opthamologist who finds his comfortable life threatened when his mistress of two years (Anjelica Huston) begins making loud noises about going to his wife (the lovely Claire Bloom) about their affair and some financial misdeeds she also has knowledge of. Feeling he has no other choice, Landau turns to his mob-connected brother (the late Jerry Orbach) for assistance in handling the problem.

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The other story finds Woody as a financially strapped documentary filmmaker who agrees to shoot a sort of "cinema verite'" about his brother-in-law, an obnoxious, egomaniacal television star/producer(Alan Alda, in one of his best performances) while, in the process, falls for one of Alda's producers (Mia Farrow). The story fascinates as we watch the effect the choices these characters make and how the consequences of said choices slap them in the face.

The only physical linking between the two stories is the character of a rabbi with failing eyesight, played by Sam Waterston, who is Woody's other brother-in-law and Landau's best friend and moral barometer.
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Allen won Oscars for his screenplays for Annie Hall and Hannah and her SIsters, but I think his work here trumps both of those scripts...an incisive and funny story with smart and haunting dialogue. The performances are superb right down the line with standout work from Landau, who received a richly deserved Oscar nomination for his tortured Judah, the man haunted by his choices and Alda, playing one of the most unlikable characters I've seen in films in quite awhile. Anjelica Huston seems a little too mature and intelligent a presence for her role, but she somehow makes the character vulnerable and believable.

Mention should also be made of Joanna Gleason and Caroline Aaron who appear as Woody's wife and sister, respectively. In a word, a masterpiece that is a must for budding Woody-philes and for anyone studying the art of screen writing.

Re: Gideon58's Reviews
 

Did you really write all these? :suspicious:

Re: Gideon58's Reviews
 

He wrote them at IMDb a few years ago, and now that he's joined here, we're getting them. :)

Re: Gideon58's Reviews
 

Your writing seems really good, but what I would say, and I am sure others will agree with me, is that you should perhaps just add a little bit to the posts in terms of layout. At the moment its large blocks of texts, maybe just include a bold title of the film at the top and a poster from the wikipedia page or an image from the film, it's fairly simple but it allows people to distinguish between your posts and spot what films you're reviewing easily :)

CARRIE (1976)
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Carrie is a slightly campy, but extremely effective thriller, based on the novel by Stephen King, which chronicles the adventures of Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), an introverted high school student who is completely ostracized by her schoolmates and antagonized at home by her psycho mom (Piper Laurie)until she discovers she has telekinesis...the power to move things with her mind and how, once she learns how to channel this power, exacts some horrifying revenge on everyone who has wronged her.
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Spacek is a revelation in the role that officially made her a superstar and Laurie is equally as riveting as her mother. Both actresses received Oscar nominations for their performances. The film also features effective support from Nancy Allen, John Travolta, Betty Buckley, Sidney Lassick, William Katt and Amy Irving as others caught in Carrie's orbit of revenge. An instant classic upon release that still packs a wallop today.

DAMN YANKEES
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Gwen Verdon was a Broadway legend with long gorgeous legs and an undeniable stage and screen charisma. Her legendary stage career earned her four Tony Awards, thanks in no small part to her long time Svengali and ex-husband Bob Fosse. Sadly, the only time Verdon was allowed to bring a role she created on Broadway to the big screen was in Damn Yankees, the sparkling 1958 film adaptation of the Richard Ross-Jerry Adler musical about a middle-aged baseball fan named Joe Boyd (Robert Shafer)who sells his soul to the devil for his favorite team, the Washington Senators, to win the pennant.
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The devil, apparently in desperate need of converts, appears in Joe's living room in the form of a Mr. Applegate (Ray Walston)and changes Joe Boyd into Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter), a young and unbeatable baseball player who helps lead the Senators to the pennant until he starts to get homesick and Applegate sends in his # 1 agent/witch named Lola (Verdon) to distract Joe.

The film is well-mounted by Broadway legend George Abbott and Verdon and Ralston effectively reprise their Tony-Award winning stage roles and Fosse is even showcased, dancing in a rare duet with wife Verdon on "Who's Got the Pain?" and trust and believe, seeing Fosse and Verdon dance together is worth the price of admission alone.

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Other great songs in the score include "Whatever Lola Wants", "Heart","Those Were the Good Old Days", and "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo". Not the greatest musical ever made, but Verdon, Ralston, and Fosse's brilliant choreography make it worth watching and re-watching.

DATE MOVIE
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Presumably from the people who brought you Scary Movie, Date Movie is a an amusing take-off on the genre of film-making most commonly referred to as the "Chick Flick." This film follows the romance between a former fatty named Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan)and a young man named Grant Funkyordoter (Adam Campbell). As expected, this film takes pretty accurate pot-shots at films like [i]When Harry Met Sally, Notting Hill, Pretty Woman, Bridget Jones' Diary, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Hannigan, a proven farceur thanks to her work in the American PIE movies and the CBS series HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, plays Julia with sincerity and energy and Adam Campbell, who looks like David Spade and sounds like Hugh Grant, perfectly inhabits the role of Adam. There are also funny bits contributed along the way by Eddie Griffin, Fred Willard, Jennifer Collidge (in a dead-on spoof of Streisand in Meet the Fockers), Sophie Monk, and Tony Cox. It's become fashionable to trash films of this ilk, but it held my attention and made me laugh and if you're looking for a film that will tickle the funny bone, laughs can be had here.

DE-LOVELY
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De-Lovely is a lush and sumptuously mounted musical biography of composer Cole Porter, light years away from the Cary Grant version called Night and Day.
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This grandly entertaining musical features Kevin Kline, in the performance of his career, as the divinely decadent Cole Porter, who was as well known for his sexual shenanigans as he was for his amazing music. The film chronicles Cole's development as a composer and his marriage to Linda (Ashley Judd), a woman who married Cole despite his rumored bisexuality.
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Apparently, Linda's love for Cole was more about what the name Mrs. Cole Porter would mean for her than an overwhelming desire to be the love of Cole's life. I later learned that, in real life, Linda was much older than Cole, which makes her acceptance of his lifestyle more understandable, but the casting of Judd as Linda makes this film more audience-friendly and that's OK. Kline and Judd light up the screen here and I have never found Judd more appealing on screen than she was in this movie.
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No biography of Porter would be complete without the music and all of Porter's finest work is on display here, performed by a glittering array of guest performers including Elvis Costello, Cheryl Crow, Natalie Cole, and Alanis Morrisette. The imaginatively staged musical numbers include "Anything Goes", "Well, Did you Evah", "Begin the Beguine","Love for Sale", "Be a Clown", "Blow Gabriel Blow", "So in Love" and the title tune.
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The film is directed with loving attention to period detail and features Oscar-worthy art direction and costume design. A feast for the eyes and ears, De-Lovely is a must for musical theater addicts, as well as fans of Kline and Cole Porter.

DERAILED
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Derailed is a valiant attempt at Hitchcockian suspense that succeeds about halfway through the film and then falls apart. Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston star as two strangers who meet on a commuter train and are immediately attracted to each other. They plan to cheat on their respective spouses and plan a clandestine meeting at a seedy downtown hotel to consummate their lust. They forget to put the chain on the door and are interrupted by a stranger (Vincent Cassell), who bursts into their room, robs and beats Owen and rapes Aniston and then leaves as mysteriously as he departs.

The film worked for me up until this point, but then degenerates into a silly tale of repeated blackmail and valiant attempts by Owen to keep his almost-affair a secret, which includes using the money he has saved for his daughter's diabetes treatment to insure Cassell's silence after he shows up at his home, a la Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction.

As Owen's #1 priority becomes keeping his own secret, the story just gets sillier and sillier and we have clearly lost interest by the end. The selfishness of Owen's characters sucks away any likability the character had and Owen's mannered performance seems to consist mainly of trying to cover up his English accent. Aniston makes a strong attempt at playing a Stanwyck-type femme fatale but never completely convinces and Cassell's acting is way over the top as well. For hardcore Owen and Aniston fans only.

DICK TRACY (1990)
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Bringing comic books to the screen is a rather recent trend in cinema but it looks like it is definitely here to stay and one of the best offerings of this genre was the 1990 version of Dick Tracy, Warren Beatty's colorful and smart re-thinking of the square-jawed comic book character. Beatty has mounted a beauty of a film here that is gorgeous to look at (the film won an Art Direction Oscar for its flawless and dazzling settings as well as for Costume Design).
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Beatty has also wisely chosen to underplay and let his huge, all-star cast shine in their various roles and above them all is Al Pacino, who walks away with the film effortlessly with his completely over the top but totally watchable performance as Big Boy Caprice, I don't think Pacino has ever been funnier on film and even received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his efforts.

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Madonna also leaves an impression as Breathless Mahoney (one of my all time favorite movie character names)as do Paul Sorvino as Lips Manlin, and Mandy Patinkin as 88 Keys among others.
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Patinkin and Madonna give effective service to the songs by Broadway genius Stephen Sondheim (one of them, "Sooner or Later", also won an Oscar). Though fairly predictable, Dick Tracy is a colorful and entertaining ride through comic book land that is definitely worth a look. A treat for the eye and ear.

DISAPPEARING ACTS
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Disappearing Acts is the 2000 HBO TV movie, based on the novel by Terry McMillan (Waiting to Exhale)that examines the relationship that develops between an uneducated and unemployed contractor (Wesley Snipes) and a music teacher/aspiring song writer (Sanaa Lathan) that becomes extremely complicated when he gets her pregnant but is unable to support her.
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Sadly, this movie is an excruciatingly real look at relationships between black couples in society today (and before anyone calls me a bigot, I am black)...two people drawn together by sexual heat and think that this enough to keep them together until the realities of a relationship begin to rear their ugly heads, such as the the woman becoming primary bread winner and supporting both her and her man, but not wanting to give up the sex either. Not to mention the fact that these people are from two completely different worlds...Lathan's circle of friends are all intelligent folk with jobs who feel Lathan is being dragged down by a relationship whose only glue is sex.
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What happens between Snipes' Franklin and Lathan's Zora is not pretty, but it is undeniably real. It should also be mentioned that one unique aspect of McMillan's novel is that it is written in first person from Franklin and Zora's alternating points of view...one chapter is written by Franklin and the next by Zora, throughout the novel and this fresh perspective of looking at what happens to these people from both sides is lost in the film; however, Snipes and Lathan have never been sexier on screen and it is their chemistry that makes this movie watchable, even if you do end up taking sides, and, trust, you will end up taking sides.

DOWN & OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS
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Down and Out in Beverly Hills is a smart American remake of the French film Bondu Saved From Drowning updated to modern day Beverly Hills. In this version, a homeless man accidentally wanders onto the property of a wealthy Beverly Hills family and tries to drown himself in their pool. Upon rescue, the family takes pity on him and take him in but the bum gets a little too comfortable and begins biting the hand that feeds him (in more ways than one).

Nick Nolte gives a rock solid performance as Jerry, the homeless bum who ends up running the Whiteman home. Nolte has rarely been so convincing in a role...apparently he spent several weeks on the streets of LA pretending to be homeless in preparation for the role. Richard Dreyfuss plays Dave Whiteman, the wealthy owner of a hanger company who takes Jerry in and initially envies Jerry's freedom before Jerry goes too far. Bette Midler is very funny as Dave's social climbing wife Barbara and Tracy Nelson plays their snooty college student daughter. Evan Richards also has some funny moments as the Whiteman son, Max.
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Paul Mazursky's spirited direction (Mazursky also cameos as one of Dave's fat-cat friends)and a clever screenplay help to make this one of the more entertaining comedy confections from the 80's. There is also a scene-stealing performance by a dog named Mike, who plays the Whiteman family pet, Matisse.