Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 24th, 2003
Synopsis
Ever had an imaginary friend as a kid? Then this movie is for you. Elizabeth (Phoebe Cates) has just split with her husband and returns home to find the imaginary friend that she lost twenty-one years before. Drop Dead Fred (Rick Mayall) is ready for mischief and mayhem after being cooped up. After Fred sinks her best friend’s boat (played by Carrie Fischer) Elizabeth decides it is time to get rid of Fred once and for all. Instead she finds herself and gets her life back.
Vide...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 12th, 2003
Synopsis
Barbra Streisand is a perfume tycoon who, due to the dishonesty of an employee, suddenlyfinds herself broke. Her only remaining asset is a contract with a washed-up boxer (RyanO’Neal). Streisand decides to turn her fortunes around by managing O’Neal. The pair take aninstant dislike to each other, and squabble all their way into romance. The Main Eventmimics the rapid-fire delivery of the classic screwball comedies, but the effect is not so muchfunny as shrill and tir...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 10th, 2003
Synopsis
Barbra Streisand is happily married and raising three children. This isn’t to say that lifedoesn’t have its pressures, of course. (Just try raising three children.) She finds out she ispregnant again, and living in a world which values her husband’s time and accomplishments farabove hers, she begins to engage in a series of elaborate and bizarre fantasies in which, one wayor another, she breaks completely with her current life. (An affair with Fidel Castro a big enoughbreak...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 6th, 2003
Synopsis
Misadventures aplenty are in store for our hapless duo. On offer are “Sons of the Desert”(which, at 65 minutes, counts as feature-length), “The Music Box” (which won an Oscar),“Another Fine Mess,” “Busy Bodies” and “County Hospital.” In virtually every case, a simplepremise (such as delivering a player piano or visiting a friend in the hospital) is milked formaximum chaos. A terrific introduction to two comedic geniuses.
Audio
There are two versions...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 6th, 2003
Synopsis
The Great Depression. Ryan O’Neal is an itinerant con man, selling bibles to newly widowedwomen. Unexpectedly, he winds up saddled with Tatum O’Neal, a sharp, cynical child who mayor may not be his daughter -- she certainly shares his gift for the fast move. The two engaged ina picaresque journey, which pulls of the neat trick of being funny but not wacky, moving but notsentimental. The last film of Bogdanovich’s golden period (following Targets, TheLast Picture S...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 2nd, 2003
Synopsis
An early Rob Reiner film, The Sure Thing features a young John Cusack as a collegefreshman. Tired of having no luck with the ladies at his East Coast college, Cusack is lured onwest by the promise of hooking up with the titular sure thing (Nicolette Sheridan). Hiscomplicated road trip is further complicated by his having to share the journey with DaphneZuniga, a classmate who wants nothing to do with him. You can probably guess where this isgoing to go, but it gets t...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 31st, 2003
Synopsis
Welcome to the world of Julie (Deborah Foreman) and Randy (Nicolas Cage). Randy is apunk, and Julie is the eponymous Valley Girl, she of the instantly recognizable slang (“totally,”“grody,” “gag me,” etc.). Theirs is a light-hearted Romeo and Juliet story, as they fall in lovedespite the disapproval of peers. Don’t be expecting the outrageousness and excess of somethinglike American Pie. Rather, this is a sharply observed comedy, driven more by characterthan by slaps...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 31st, 2003
Synopsis
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. So there are these three friends, right? They’re allsomewhere on the geeky spectrum, but you’ve got the macho dude, the fat boy, and the sensitivetype. And they all want to get laid. And there’s also one special girl that the sensitive type hasfallen for... You’ve seen it before, you’ve seen it better. You’ve seen it as an after-school special(minus the nudity). Worth a look though, if only to see the only abortion sequence scored toU2.< ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 30th, 2003
Synopsis
Chaplin’s career was a long one, and the four films here cover a good span. Chaplin is bestknown for his silent work, and that is represented by Modern Times and The GoldRush. Though the former is also technically his first talkie, it is still primarily silent. Thelatter comes in two versions: the original 1925 release, and the 1942 re-issue, which featured afew new scenes, and the intertitles replaced by Chaplin’s narration (though the film remainsbasically a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 24th, 2003
Synopsis
