Gideon58's Reviews

The Brady Bunch Movie is a twisted and clever lampooning of the classic 1969-74 TV show about the saccharine sweet blended family and the adventures they faced. Director Betty Thomas has cleverly set this movie in 1995; however, has kept the Bradys stuck in a 1970's time warp, talking, acting, and dressing like they are still in the 70's and it this clash of opposing pop cultures that help to make this movie so funny; however be forewarned: This movie is solely aimed at people who watched every single episode of the TV series. If you did (and I must confess to being one who did) you will find this film rolling-on-the-floor funny. If you did not, you will find this film meaningless. Of course with everything we know about the Bradys now (Robert Reed being gay, Barry Williams book GROWING UP BRADY, the kids all having the hots for each other), this movie takes on even more meaning.

The movie is very well cast too. Gary Cole's Robert Reed impression as Mike Brady is frighteningly on the money and Shelley Long is also good as Carol. The kids are well cast too, special mention to Christine Taylor' Marcia (whose physical and vocal resemblance to Maureen McCormick is uncanny)and the brilliant Jennifer Elise Cox, who just about steals the movie as Jan. She doesn't look too much like Eve Plumb, but the voice, the walk, the mannerisms and the attitude are dead solid perfect.

There are amusing cameos by RuPaul and former Monkee Davy Jones as well as former BRADY cast members Williams, Christopher Knight, Susan Olsen, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. Michael McKean and Jean Smart are also very funny as the evil Mr. Dittmeyer, who wants to buy the Bradys' home and his drunken wife, who has the hots for ALL the Brady men. So if you loved the TV series, you will love this movie...if not, skip it.

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The King of Comedy is an oft-overlooked gem from the De Niro/Scorcese library that is one of my favorite films and is part of my permanent video collection. De Niro gives one of his most on-target performances as Rupert Pupkin, a slightly demented fan of talk show host Jerry Langford, who wants to be a stand up comic and goes to very extreme lengths to achieve his goal.

This film is an on-target look at fan obsession and how it can completely take control of a normal human being's life...from the opening scene where we see crazed autograph hounds screaming at each other about their latest acquisition for their autograph book, we know we are not dealing with normal people here...Scorsese instantly creates a cinematic atmosphere that makes the viewer squirm, or at least it made this one squirm.

De Niro's Pupkin is alternately funny and tragic, almost heartbreaking in the way he justifies in his own twisted mind the things he does to get what he wants. Jerry Lewis practically channels Johnny Carson, in the performance of his career, as Jerry Langford, the no-nonsense talk show host who blows off Rupert and pays a terrible price for it.

I saw an interview with Lewis once where he stated that this role was the easiest thing he had ever done and that he wasn't really acting, just reading the lines, but I disagree. Lewis gives us deep insight into the pressure of celebrity fame and the sacrifices that come with that fame. Sandra Bernhard steals every scene she is in as Masha, another fan obsessed with Langford who finally gets her chance to be alone with the man. Her rendition of "Come Rain or Come Shine" is a classic.

There is a school of thought that Scorcese erred by having Pupkin come out at the end smelling like a rose and I understand those that feel that way, but I found myself so strongly sympathizing with the character that I found the ending quite satisfying. Not for all tastes, but if you are a DeNiro/Scorcese fan and love the business of show business, The King of Comedy is a must see.

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1979's The Main Event was a lame attempt to rekindle the chemistry that Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal created in What's up, Doc?, in an attempt to make lightning strike twice at the box office. Well, the chemistry between the stars is still evident, but the story just does not do them justice this time. Streisand plays Hillary Kramer, a cosmetics tycoon who learns that her accountant has absconded with everything she owns and the only thing she has been left with is the contract of a washed-up ex-boxer (O'Neal). So to recoup her money, she makes him start boxing again and becomes his manager. Streisand works very hard to make her character likable but it is a struggle and O'Neal is just miscast as a boxer. He just doesn't look or act like a boxer. It's not boring, but both stars have been seen to better advantage. The best thing about this movie is the powerhouse theme song that Barbra sings over the closing credits. It is an absolute "Wow!"

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In the style of Starting Over, Burt took on another romantic lead in 1983's The Man Who Loved Women, which starred Reynolds as a confirmed bachelor whose obsession with the opposite sex has driven him into therapy with a female shrink of course (Julie Andrews in a low-key performance).

Though not as good as his performance in Starting Over, Reynolds does exude a great deal of charm in this film and get solid support from Andrews, Marilu Henner, and in an early and very amusing role, Kim Basinger as the undersexed trophy wife of a wealthy Texan (Barry Corbin) who likes her sex with an element of danger. This comedy that was co-written by Blake Edwards and his own psychiatrist is worth a look. 6.5/10

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The Money Pit stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as an unmarried but together couple who decide to buy a broken down old house in the country and rebuild it. Even though we see what's coming because our hero has to borrow money from a miniature gangster in order to come up with half the price and that the woman who owns the house is way too anxious to get rid of this house, so anxious that she throws in an automobile with the deal, we just relax and drink in what's going on because it's Tom Hanks, who makes this movie worth sitting through;

Though the film resembles the old Cray Grant-Myrna Loy film Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House this film definitely has an 80's sensibility and showcases Hanks' effortless gift for slapstick. I love the scene where he falls through the carpet covering the hole in the floor and gets trapped in the hole. There are very few actors who could have pulled this scene off (Jim Carrey comes to mind) but Hanks makes the scene very funny, especially when he starts singing the "Name Game" song to pass the time.

The late Alexander Goudenov is very funny as Long's ex-lover as is Maureen Stapleton as the woman they buy the house from. The film also features some impressive stunt work and set design, including impressive scenes where the house's massive staircase collapses and the destruction of some of the outside construction where the director definitely was influenced by executive producer Steve Spielberg...these scenes have Spielberg written all over them. Not the greatest comedy ever made, but still very watchable due to the effortless charisma of one Tom Hanks.

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Dick Van Dyke earned a well deserved Emmy nomination for his powerhouse performance in The Morning Aftera 1974 ABC Movie of the Week where Van Dyke played a successful public relations man who begins to forsake everything in his life for the bottle.

This intense look at the disease of alcoholism is uncompromising in its approach to the story and Van Dyke pulls out all the stops to turn in this gut-wrenching performance, which, if the truth be told, probably wasn't a real stretch as Van Dyke was drinking very heavily at the time.

Van Dyke had been drinking for years but kept it well hidden. A few years later, he made his alcoholism public and got sober a few years after that. I was 16 years old when this movie premiered but I remember Van Dyke's performance haunted me long after the movie was over. I remember a scene where his wife, played by Lynn Carlin, won't give him the car keys so he can go out and get more liquor and he practically beats her up to get the keys. I also remember the final scene of a drunken Van Dyke, all alone in the world, on a beach, with his bottle, drinking and passing out.

The movie is a powerful indictment against drinking and vividly portrays the isolation from everything important in a drinker's life that alcohol can cause. Another landmark TV movie that should be made available on video if it is not. 8/10

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After years of playing bad guys on screen, Robert Preston carved out a brand new career for himself and became a household name when he was cast as fast-talking salesman Harold Hill in the original Broadway production of The Music Man back in, I believe, 1955 and had to screen test against Frank Sinatra to recreate the role in the original film version in 1962. Preston became forever associated with this role and its signature song "Trouble" and anyone who steps into Harold Hill's shoes and picks up his baton is going to be ripe for comparison.

Disney's 2003 TV remake of the musical gets an "A" for effort. It was remounted with a great deal of care and reproduced Meredith Wilson's original score intact (the opening number on the train "Rock Island" is performed in its entirety and Marian's number from the Broadway show, "My White Knight" was returned to its original place in the score instead the lackluster replacement song for the movie "Being in Love"), the scenery and costumes were exquisite and there was some first rate choreography, but no matter what else is going on with this show, if you don't have an electrifying Harold Hill, the show falls flat and Matthew Broderick was a disappointment in this role. And this is coming from a HUGE Matthew Broderick fan who has never been disappointed with him up to this point.

As much as I respect Broderick's talent (I saw him on Broadway in "How to Succeed" and he was fabulous), I thought his performance as Harold Hill was rather one-note and a little bland.

What made this musical worth watching, however, was the charismatic and luminous performance by the incredible Kristen Chenowith as Marian Paroo. Most Marians tend to fade next to Harold Hill whenever this show is mounted; however, Chenowith's engaging screen presence and breathtaking soprano made this film worth watching (Her rendition of "Goodnight My Someone" brought a tear to my eye and her "My White Knight" made the hair on the back of neck stand up).

Chenowith and Chenowith alone made this worth watching. Broderick was one note, Victor Garber and Molly Shannon were badly miscast as Mayor and Mrs. Shinn and Tommy and Zaneeta were snore-inducing, but Kristin Chenowith's magical turn as Marian Paroo makes this version of The Music Man completely watchable.

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Music and men appear in The Opposite Sex, the 1956 remake of the 1939 classic The Women. Based on the play by Clair Booth Luce, this remake stars June Allyson as a retired nightclub entertainer who loses her husband (Leslie Nielsen) to a maneater named Crystal Allen (a young Joan Collins) and how after a year, she decided to fight to get her husband back.

Allyson inherits the role played by Norma Shearer in the 1939 film, a woman devoted to her husband but so blinded by his betrayal that she just gives up on her marriage even though she still loves her husband. Collins is an eye-opener inheriting the role played by Joan Crawford in the 1939 version, a character who is not meant to garner any sympathy and you just know she's going to get what's coming to her, not to mention a prophetic precursor to the rest of Collins' career.

Though fairly dated, this musical remake holds up pretty well and talented gals like Ann Miller, Dolores Grey, Charlotte Greenwood, and Agnes Moorhead are all given moments to shine, but there's one thing about this movie that I will never forget: June Allyson performs two musical numbers in the film, one is a big production number called "Yeah, Baby Yeah". The second is a weepy love ballad she sings at a party in her home. But when she opens her mouth to sing this ballad, Doris Day's voice comes out!. I later learned that it was not Day's voice, but it sure as hell wasn't June Allyson! This story was remade again in 2008 with an all-female cast with Meg Ryan and Eva Mendes taking on the lead roles.

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The Producers is the film version of the Mel Brooks Broadway musical that won 11 Tony Awards, which was the musical version of the 1968 film that won Brooks his only Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (everybody got that?).

The story is about a washed-up Broadway producer (Nathan Lane, recreating his Tony-winning Broadway role) and a nebbish accountant (Matthew Broderick) who conspire to produce a flop Broadway show, oversell percentages in the show and then leave the country with the money. Brooks wisely allowed director/choreographer Susan Stroman (who also directed and choreographed the Broadway show) to take the helm here because Stroman has a keen eye for musical comedy and knows exactly what a musical comedy should look like. She knows exactly what audiences expect from a movie musical and she delivers.

With solid assistance from Mel Brooks' superb screenplay, music, and lyrics, Stroman has mounted this film with great care and attention to detail, expanding it nicely for the screen and makes wonderful use of NYC locations for the production.

Nathan Lane's bigger than life stage presence translates to the screen beautifully here with the performance of his career as Max Bialystock. His solo number in a jail cell called "Betrayed" where he practically re-enacts everything that happens in the movie, is just brilliant. Matthew Broderick practically channels Gene Wilder in his recreation of Leo Bloom. His paranoid, pantaphobic Leo is a joy to watch, especially when he has his security blanket taken away from him. His fantasy production number "I Want to be a Producer" is a throwback to musicals of the 1930's and is a delight.

There is also a brilliant production number called "Along Came Biayli" with Lane leading a chorus of little old ladies who do a tap dance with walkers that is inspired, purely Stroman's brainchild. Will Ferrell steals every scene he is in as Franz Leibkind, the author of SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER and Gary Beach and Roger Bart hilariously recreate their Broadway roles as the very gay director of the show and his lover/assistant. Their number "Make it Gay" is also hysterically funny. Uma Thurman makes a lovely Ulla (though her singing appeared to be dubbed). I couldn't help but imagine Nicole Kidman in this role, who was originally cast in the role. Her duet with Broderick "Her Face" was a lovely nod to Astaire and Rogers though.

The actual production of SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER was a musical comedy classic (just as it was in the original film)...hilariously staged and performed, the likes of which will never be seen again.

Even though Susan Stroman directed this film, Brooks' hand is definitely all over this film. There is a poster for a show in Max's office called "The Breaking Wind." At the end of Lane and Broderick's duet "Till Him", Lane walks up to Broderick and you expect him to thank him for his friendship, but instead he says "You're a really good singer." Even the shots of the audience watching SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER were hilarious. If you like stage musicals, movie musicals, or Mel Brooks, this film is an absolute must and I can't wait for it come out on DVD. I know it's going to become one of those films I can watch over and over again.

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The Purple Rose of Cairo is a lovely, funny, and heartbreaking entry from Woody Allen that still remains one of my favorites. This romantic fantasy tickles your funny bone and tugs at your heartstrings at the same time and I go through a myriad of emotions whenever I watch it.

Mia Farrow stars as Celia, a depression era housewife, trapped in a dead end marriage to a pig (Danny Aiello) whose only escape comes from going to the movies. She goes to see the movie of the title several times and then at one show, the main character in the movie (played by Jeff Daniels)speaks to Celia directly from the screen saying, "You must really love this movie, don't you?" The character then walks off the screen and into Celia's life, claiming that he loves her and wants to be with her forever.

Meanwhile, the actors in the movie on the screen are stuck and don't know what to do because they can't finish the movie without Daniels' character and they are seen conversing with each other about what to do and to the audience in the theater, who for some reason, sit and watch the actors on the screen trying to figure out what to do.

Further complications arrive when the character starts walking off the screen in other theaters around the country and the actor who played the character (also Daniels) arrives in town to try to convince his character to go back in the movie.

Woody doesn't delve into the territory of fantasy too much, but this one totally works with one of his most intelligent screenplays and winning performances from Farrow and Daniels and the ending is a heartbreaker. A must-see.

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Seduced by Madness: The Diance Borchardt Story gave Ann-Margaret the chance to strut her stuff as an actress in this riveting TV movie about a seductive temptress/schoolteacher who convinces three or her students to murder her husband by claiming he was abusive to her when actually she was the abusive one.

Ann-Margaret completely loses herself in this complex and unsympathetic character whose true story is the stuff that movies of the week are made of and Ann-Margaret pulls it off beautifully and effortlessly makes Diane the woman you love to hate.

Peter Coyote, an actor who has often been overshadowed by the actresses he has worked with, manages to hold his own as Diane's victimized husband, a devoted husband and father who is completely powerless over this madwoman whose universe he is unable to escape from in time.

Writer Buck Henry told a similar story in less time and to greater effect in To Die For a theatrical film which featured an amazing performance by Nicole Kidman, but Ann-Margret did Emmy worthy work as the twisted and terrible Diane Borchardt. 7.5/10

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The genius that is Stephen Sondheim was never more prominently displayed as it was in his 1979 "Musical Thriller" Sweeney Todd, a Gothic, gory, grisly, yet delicious musical concoction about a demented barber who returns to London to exact revenge on the evil Judge who not only had him permanently exiled from London, but who is also raising his daughter as his own and plans to marry her to "shield her from all the evils of the world." The barber finds love,sympathy, and assistance from a lonely pie shop owner who has her own agenda where Todd is concerned.

This musical rocked Broadway and won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actor and Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury). The production was filmed in its entirety in 1982 with Angela Lansbury recreating her Broadway role as Mrs. Lovett, the daffy pie shop owner who finds a practical use for the heads that Todd makes mincemeat out of.

George Hearn, who replaced Len Cariou on Broadway, is electrifying in the title role, so much so that you have to wonder why he wasn't originally cast in the role. Lansbury and Hearn are riveting from start to finish and commit 100% to their ghoulish characters aided, by a first rate Sondheim score, probably the closest thing Sondheim has written to an opera. Lansbury shines on "The Worst Pies in London" and "By the Sea". George Hearn stops the show with "Epiphany" and is also compelling during "Pretty Women", a duet he sings with Judge Turpin, the man he has sworn revenge on.

Cris Groendahl is vocally impressive as Antony, the young sailor who rescues Todd and falls for his daughter Johanna. Betsy Joselyn is a little over the top as Johanna and really pushes vocally to the point that during "Green Funch and Linnet Bird" she actually drives her voice off-pitch during a couple of moments.

The rest of the cast is first rate, especially Edmund Lyndeck as Judge Turpin who gets to perform "Johanna" in this production, which was cut from the original production and Ken Jennings as Toby, whose gorgeous tenor fills the auditorium on "Not While I'm Around." But it is the breathtaking musical score by Stephen Sondheim and the mesmerizing performances by Lansbury and especially George Hearn that make this night of Gothic musical theater an experience that stays with you long after curtain call. Not for all tastes, but if you're game and have strong heart, Sweeney Todd is a joy for all music theater lovers and a must for fans of Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury.

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In the tradition of Slapshot and The Longest yard, The Replacements was a charming and laugh-out loud sports film about a group of scabs for an on strike, fictional pro football team brought together by a long out of work coach (Gene Hackman) and long ago disgraced quarterback (Keanu Reeves) coaxed into a comeback.

After demanding no interference from the team's owner (Jack Warden), Hackman's Jimmy McGinty goes about putting together a rag-tag scab football team that initially looks like a nightmare but there are some secret weapons within...including a psycho cop in training (Jon Favreau), a former thief with lightening feet and slippery hands (Orlando Jones), an anorexic looking place-kicker from Scotland (Rhys Ifan) and a deaf running back (David Denman). And just when the team starts to come into their own, the regular quarterback (Brett Cullen) decides to cross the picket line, leaving Keanu's character out in the cold.

Though the film is, for the most part, pretty predictable, what makes the film special is the presence of Gene Hackman and the stylish professionalism he brings to the role of Jimmy McGinty. Hackman underplays the rIole so beautifully and allows the over the top performances by Jon Favreau and Orlando Jones among others, to shine in the appropriate moments without ever allowing himself to be pushed in the background. Hackman is so adept at doing this that you don't even see him doing it. The casting of Hackman as Jimmy McGinty was a stroke of genius because it brought an element of class and charm that would have otherwise have been missing and made this just another slapstick sports comedy, but Hackman's presence and charisma takes the film to a more quality level. [rating]3[rating]

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The Sunshine Boys was the hilarious 1975 screen adaptation of Neil Simon's play about a retired vaudevillian team, played by Walter Matthau and George Burns, who had a very bitter breakup and have been asked to reunite one more time for a television special. The problem is that the two still hate each other and want nothing to do with each other. Richard Benjamin appears as Matthau's nephew, a theatrical agent who has been given the monumental responsibility of making this reunion a reality.

This warm and winning comedy is a lovely valentine to a forgotten form of entertainment...vaudeville and it works mainly thanks to one of Neil Simon's better screenplays and outstanding work by Matthau, Burns, and Benjamin.

Burns won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this, but I think Matthau walks away with this film with his flawlessly hilarious performance as Willy Clark. Matthau was nominated for Best Actor but didn't stand a chance against Nicholson for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; however, in another year, this was an Oscar-worthy performance. Matthau commands the screen and there is not a false note in this beautifully timed performance. The scene where he is auditioning for a potato chip commercial and can't get the name of the product right is a classic. The Sunshine Boys is a warm and winning Neil Simon comedy which shines thanks to unbeatable chemistry between Matthau and Burns. 8/10

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Ballet has never really been user friendly subject matter for movie box office potential (with the rare exception of The Red Shoes) but 1977's The Turning Point was a remarkable exception to that school of thought. Not only did this film preserve on screen some of the most beautiful ballet dancing ever seen, but it brought two Hollywood icons together for the first time who both turned in the Oscar-nominated performances of their careers.

As a matter of fact, this is one of two films in Oscar history (The Color of Purple being the other) that was nominated for 11 Oscars but didn't win a single award. Nonetheless, it is still a compelling and riveting melodrama which uses ballet as its backdrop.

The film focuses on two women, Emma Jacklin (Anne Bancroft) and Deedee Rodgers (Shirley MacLaine) who were both in the same ballet company many, many years ago and were competing for the lead in a new ballet when Deedee became pregnant and Emma got the role and this is where their relationship forked and their lives went separate ways. Deedee got married to a dancer in the company (Tom Skerritt) had three children and runs a dance studio now, but part of her still yearns to be a prima ballerina. Emma became the prima ballerina that Deedee wanted to be; however, Emma's life is all about work now...she takes class, she dances, and she goes home to her dogs. When Emma's dance company comes to Deedee's town, they are reunited and both begin to quietly examine the choices that they made. Thrown into the mix is Amelia (real life prima ballerina Leslie Browne), Deedee's daughter who may be a better dancer than her mother ever was and Emma begins to groom and pulls strings to get her in the company which causes further resentment from Deedee.

This movie is about choices, regrets, crushed dreams, and dreams fulfilled. Bancroft and MacLaine turn in grand performances and the dancing of ballet superstar Mikhail Barysnikov and Leslie Browne is outstanding (even though every time Browne opens her mouth you want to stuff a sock in it.) A beautiful melodrama anchored by supreme performances by two of the best actresses in the business. 8.5/10

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Danny DeVito took the Black Comedy to its most intense level of blackness with the 1989 comedy The War of the Roses, which reunited Romancing the Stone stars Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, as the Roses, an affluent California couple who have a gorgeous home and family, tons of money and expensive things, and anything else a family could ask for but somewhere along the way, Oliver and Barbara Rose become disenchanted with each other and decide to divorce, but neither refuses to give up the house, which ignites a war between these two married combatants which has tragic circumstances.

De Vito has brought us a disturbing but never uninteresting comedy, full of funny and perverse situations, not to mention some of the most interesting camera-work I have seen in a comedy in quite awhile. Yes, the depths that this couple sink to are a little hard to swallow, but the film requires you to put your brain on check and let dramatic license have its freedom and if you can do this, there are rewards to be had here.

Douglas and Turner work very hard at their roles and De Vito is equally effective on screen as the lawyer caught between the Roses. There are a lot of funny moments in this film but there are moments of bleakness and sadness that stay with you long after the credits roll.

Though it's not an easy watch, The War of the Roses is worth seeing for its jaundiced view of marriage and divorce as seen through the demented eyes of Danny De Vito. 7.5/10

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1982 was a very good year for movies and one of the best that came out of that year was The World According to Garp an almost epic mounting of the novel by John S. Irving that many said would be impossible to film, but director George Roy Hill has crafted a vastly entertaining, yet disturbing film full of stark visual images and unusual plot twists.

The film centers on the life of T.S.Garp (T.S. stands for Technical Sargent), a young man raised in the 50's and 60's by his mother Jenny Fields, who chose to have Garp out of wedlock because she wanted a child, not a husband.

Garp is seen in college as a wrestler but really wants to become a writer and eventually does. Watching Garp write inspires his mother to write also, which Garp initially laughs off as he continues to write book after book. However, Jenny writes one book called "Sexual Suspect" which becomes a "feminist manifesto" and makes Jenny an international celebrity overnight, much to the chagrin of her son, who even though he writes several books, never achieves the stardom his mother does. but instead of basking in the fame, Jenny becomes an underdog for the handicapped, misunderstood, and mistreated including a transsexual named Roberta Muldoon who used to be a tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles and the film shows how Garp tries to carve out his own career while being in deep denial about his jealousy regarding his mother's success.

Robin Williams turns in one of the best performances of his career as Garp and Glenn Close, in a stunning film debut, is a revelation as Jenny Fields. Mary Beth Hurt plays Garp's wife Helen and John Lithgow is a standout as Roberta Muldoon. Despite the fact that I never read the book, I enjoyed this thoughtful and intelligent film immensely that asks tough questions and doesn't always provide easy answers. For a truly unique motion picture experience, try The world According to Garp. 8/10

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The film version of Harvey Fierstein's own play Torch Song Trilogy is an entertaining comedy which, though stretches credibility, remains a watchable motion picture for those who are comfortable watching films dealing with gays and gay issues. The movie is the story of a drag queen named Arnold and how he deals with life offstage through relationships with men and with his overbearing mother (the fabulous Anne Bancroft).

As much as I admire Fierstein as a writer and performer, he seems to be suffering from that Woody Allen syndrome where he has a rather distorted view of his own sexual attractiveness. Not to be cruel, but I found it hard to swallow that guys who looked like Brian Kerwin and Matthew Broderick would be attracted to a guy who looked like Harvey Fierstein, but if you can accept that, the film is imminently watchable with strong performances from Kerwin, Broderick, Bancroft, and Eddie Castrodad as David, a gay teen that Arnold adopts. Broderick played David in the original production of the play, but in the movie he plays Harvey's lover. An entertaining film with a unique story, a couple of disturbing messages, and some very good performances. 6.5/10

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Mel Gibson goes pure romantic lead for the first time and turns in one of his most charming performances in What Women Want, a cute comedy-fantasy about a womanizing advertising executive who gets quasi-electrocuted one night and upon awakening, discovers he has the ability to hear what all women are thinking, an ability he initially rebuffs, then abuses, and then runs from with all his might. Gibson is charming and sexy in this film...his dance in the apartment with the fedora to the Frank Sinatra record is a delight and he is well matched by Helen Hunt as his new boss. There are other amusing supporting turns by Alan Alda, Marisa Tomei, Valerie Perrine, Delta Burke, Loretta Devine, and Ashley Johnon as Mel's daughter. If you think Mel Gibson is the sexiest man alive, What Women Want is the film for you. 7/10

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Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan shine in the title roles of the 1989 comedy When Harry Met Sally..., an episodic romantic comedy that follows two lonely souls from a road trip after college graduation over a 10-15 year period where they actually become friends first instead of lovers, even though Harry believes men and women can't be just friends. After their initial parting after the road trip, Harry and Sally "meet cute" a couple of times and become friends who see each other through jobs and other relationships.


The dialogue of Crystal and Ryan seems to roll of their tongues with such ease and I'm sure director Rob Reiner and Crystal had input in what finally ended up on the screen, script wise. All I know was, after seeing the film for the first time, I said to myself, "This movie should definitely get an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay." And it did. Sadly, it did not win, but I have found When Harry Met Sally... to be one of my favorites...it's part of my collection and I can watch it a million times. How can you get tired of Meg's fake orgasm in the sandwich shop or the game of pictionairy (Baby Fish Mouth!), or Billy and Meg singing "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" or the four way telephone scene when Harry and Sally call Jess and Marie?

A masterful screenplay mounted by a skillful director and performed by a perfect cast. 9/10

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