Bonnie Turner Movies

Assembled by the same production team responsible for Roseanne, this NBC sitcom starred Whoopi Goldberg as hard-drinking, chain-smoking Mavis Rae, a former pop star with but one hit song to her name. With her 15 minutes of fame a distant memory, Mavis was reduced to running a second-class hotel, which she hoped to "class up" by opening a lounge. This premise was merely an excuse for Mavis to fire free-association, non-PC insults at anyone and everyone. Her favorite targets included her stuffy lawyer brother, Courtney (Wren T. Brown), a black man trying to be white; Courtney's girlfriend, Rita (Elizabeth Regen), a white girl trying to be black; and Mavis' Iranian handyman-concierge Nasim (Omid Djalili), who had to endure endless jibes about terrorists and illegal aliens (he was of course neither). Whoopi scored an immediate hit when it first aired on September 9, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The riotous conclusion of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun's fourth season has a big spillover effect at the beginning of Season Five. The Solomon "family", a group of aliens in human form who've come to earth on a fact-finding mission, are relieved to discover that the baby borne by Harry Solomon's (French Stewart) earthling girl-friend Vicki (Jan Hooks) is human, despite her having been impregnated by the Solomon's extraterrestrial leading, the Big Giant Head (who in his own human form is a dead ringer for William Shatner!). But things haven't quite returned to normal yet: Overwhelmed by her experience, Vicki has threatened to take her story about the Solomons' alien status to the tabloids (too bad she didn't give birth to a bat-baby, or she'd make Page One). Season highlights include such episodes as "Dial M for Dick", in which the Solomons takes an interactive murder mystery staged at a mansion a bit too seriously; "Dick Who's Coming to Dinner", wherein the aliens come face to face with the ugly specte of racism for the first time; "Sex and the Sally" which finds Harry Solomon and his teenaged-looking cohort Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becoming novice panhandlers for fun and profit; and a shameless a spoof of the 1973 PBS documentary An American Family, in which the Solomons become the subjects of a documentary filmed by Dick's human lady friend Mary Albright (Jane Curtin)--forcing them to concoct bizarre "cover stories" for their otherworldy behavior. Best of all, William Shatner makes two encore appearances in "The Big Giant Head Returns", in which he is determined to reclaim his son from Vicki whether she likes it or not; and in the season finale, wherein the Big Giant Head and Vicki have somehow become man and wife (much to his dismay!), Harry prepares to re-enter the dating scene, and Sally helpfully tries to repair the alien-human romance between Tommy and his sweetie Alyssa (Larisa Oleynik). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The last thing Eric (Topher Grace) wants for his birthday is a surprise party, but his mom Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) is determined to throw him one anyway. At the same time, Eric's older sister, Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly), returns from college for a visit -- immediately winning the heart of Eric's doltish pal Kelso (Ashton Kutcher). And Donna (Laura Prepon) begins to wonder if her feelings for Eric go beyond the realm of friendship. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hyde (Danny Masterson) is afraid to go to the disco with his friends because he can't dance. Helpful Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) offers to give him a few terpsichorean lessons -- leading to a compromising situation that arouses the suspicion of next-door neighbor Bob (Don Stark). And at the disco, Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) and Jackie (Mila Kunis) cut loose with their own version of Saturday Night Fever, whereupon Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) goes into full jealousy mode. This episode won an Emmy award for Outstanding Costume Design. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Resolving the cliffhanger ending of Season Three, Season Four of 3rd From the Sun finds the Solomon family--actually a team of aliens who've assumed human form while on a fact-finding mission on Planet Earth--desperately searching for their kidnapped colleague Harry Solomon (French Stewart), handicapped by the loss of their extraterrestrial powers at the behest of their disgruntled leader The Big Giant Head. Once this crisis is resolved, we have time enough to become acquainted with the newest member of the cast, Larisa Oleynik, cast as Alissa Strudwick, the new human girlfriend of alien scientist Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) (who is still confined to his teenaged body despite his advancing years). The off-and-on romance between group leader Dick Solomon (John Lithgow), who has taken a job as a teacher at Pendleton College, and Dick's colleague Dr. Mary Albright (Jane Curtin), undergoes more "offs" than "ons" this season. That's because Mary has been promoted to college dean, making her Dick's boss--and he doesn't like the situation one teeny tiny bit. Season Four's better episodes include "Collect Call for Dick", a broad spoof of the current Beanie Babies craze in which Dick becomes obsessed to the point of addiction over accumulating a huge collection of "Fuzzy Buddy" toys; "I Am Dick Pentameter", featuring Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne) as an airheaded eccentric who comes between Dick and Mary; "Indecent Dick", wherein Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson) has become so comfortably in her earthly "female" form that she's willing to pose for a nudie magazine, much to the chagrin of her human beau Officer Don (Wayne Knight); and "Two Faced Dick", an all-stops-out laff riot in which Sally requests a "gender reassignment" and is allowed to exchange bodies with Dick. Also: The Solomons are threatened with being exposed as aliens when forced to file their first IRS form in "Dick and Taxes"; another near-exposure occurs in "Alien Hunter", with Kathy Bates playing the highly suspicious title character; and as the "family" comes to face to face with the Internet for the first time, Harry Solomon and his human sweetie Vicki discuss the possibility of having children, in "Y2dicK". The fourth season ends with the long-awaited arrival on earth of the Big Giant Head, who calls himself "Stone Philips" but whose human form very closely resembles that of William Shatner. Having shown up to rake the Solomons over the coals for failing to fulfill their mission, the Big Giant Head not only demotes Dick as high commander, but also manages to impregnate the hapless Vicki--who, in the process, becomes the first human on the series to tumble to the Solomons' alien status. 3rd Rock from the Sun wrapped up its fourth year on the air with two more Emmy Awards, as John Lithgow collected his third statuette and Kristen Johnson received her second. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Three of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun opens with another dilemma for the group of space aliens who have assumed the human form of the "Solomon" family for the purpose of gathering intelligence on the planet earth: It seems that group leader Dick Solomon (John Lithgow) has been ordered to marry Janet (guest star Roseanne), the niece of his superior back on his home planet, the Big Giant Head. Dick somehow manages to wriggle out of this because of his loyalty to his earthling sweetheart Mary Albright (Jane Curtin)--a loyalty that unfortunately proves to be a one-way street when Mary (still unaware that Dick is an alien) breaks off their relationship, thus launching a recurring motif wherein both Dick and Mary would like to get back together, but are too stubborn and prideful to admit it. In another story strand, Janet's arrival on earth proves so unnerving to Officer Don (Wayne Knight) that he immediately begins suspecting that an alien invasion is imminent--never dreaming that his own girlfriend Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson) is herself Not Of This World. As for the other two members of the alien team, scientist Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)--a middle-ager trapped in the body of a human teenager--yearns to date someone closer to his "real" age (such as Mary) and later "retires" to a nursing home, while doltish crew member Harry Solomon (French Stewart) undergoes an offbeat reunion with his former pet, who has likewise taken on human form. Midway through the third season the Solomons must themselves fend off extraterrestrials when the earth is invaded by Venusians disguised as buxom females (including models Angie Everhart and Cindy Crawford) in the two-part episode "36!24!36 Dick". And in a later two-parter, "Just Your Average Dick", John Cleese does a screamingly funny turn as nutty professor Dr. Liam Neesam, who turns out to be an alien-in-disguise himself--not to mention a worthy adversary for Dick in the war to win Mary's hand and heart. The traditional season-ending cliffhanger finds a romantic "kiss and make up" dinner being ruined when the volatile former boyfriend of Harry's human girlfriend Vicki (Jan Hooks) bursts in and kidnaps Harry--just in time for the Solomons to miss an extremely vital transmission from their home-planet superior officer, The Big Giant Head. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season two of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun begins where Season One left off, with Dick Solomon (John Lithgow), the leader of a group of space aliens who've assumed human form to gather intelligence on the planet earth, still locked in the basement of his home, while his alien clone Evil Dick fiendishly prepares to render pregnant every woman in Ohio. But fear not, fans! Coming to the rescue is...Dennis Rodman? Once the tone of the season is thus set, anything goes! In later episodes, the Solomon "family" tries to counterract the negative image of extraterrestrials in horror movies--but when they get the chance to write an episode of The X-Files, they pull out every monster-movie cliché in the book; Dick's second-in-command Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson) finds a new human boyfriend in the rotund form of Officer Don (Wayne Knight, who was then also showing up as Newman on Seinfeld); for reasons best known to herself, Dr. Mary Albright (Jane Curtin) doesn't want people to know that she's dating her college colleague Dick, one of several obstacles in the path of true romance for this truly odd couple; the Solomons get a crash course in democracy when the dumbest member of the alien team, Harry Solomon (French Stewart) runs for city councilman; and Harry meets and falls in love with his Vicki (Jan Hooks), daughter of his landlady Mrs. Dubceck (Elmarie Wendel), during the Solomons' first Thanksgiving dinner. This quaint celebration proves to be quite an eye-opener for the "visitors", as does their first taste of Christmas. Finally, Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), outwardly the youngest of the aliens but actually the oldest, must suffer the raging hormones of his adolescent human body, not only in his pursuit of girlfriend August (Shay Astar), but also when experiencing a wave of sexual ambivalence when he develops a talent for flower-arranging! In the season's two-part finale, Dick impulsively asks Mary to marry him, an act which precipitates his first-ever nightmare, which spills over into the subconscious of both Sally and Tommy and prompts Harry to seek out emergency aid from his superior, the Big Giant Head--and which may force the Solomons to return post-haste to their home planet. Closing out its third season as America's 27th top-rated program, 3rd Rock from the Sun also garnered five Emmy Awards, two of them going to series regulars John Lithgow (his second Emmy) and Kristen Johnson (her first). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley had his first starring role in this frankly lowbrow comedy, which teamed him with fellow SNL cast member David Spade. Big Tom Callahan (Brian Dennehy) is the street-smart owner of a company that makes auto parts, and one day he'd like his son Tommy Callahan III (Chris Farley) to take over the business. Trouble is, Tommy Boy is a fat, dim-witted slob who took seven years to get a business degree and has no idea how to run a business. His father's sudden death unexpectedly puts Tommy Boy in charge, with his dad's weasely assistant Richard (David Spade) trying to guide him. However, what no one knows is Big Tom's wife, the young and beautiful Beverly (Bo Derek), married him only for his money while holding on to her lover, Paul (Rob Lowe), whose presence she explains by telling people he's her son. Beverly and Paul are waiting for Tommy Boy to run the company into the ground so they can take over, sell it off and earn a quick payoff. However, what Tommy Boy lacks in smarts (and hygiene), he makes up for in determination, and he hits the road with Richard for a long sales trip in a last ditch effort to rescue his father's legacy. Tommy Boy was a major hit that turned Chris Farley into a screen star; sadly, died a little over 2 1/2 years later. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

"The Coneheads" were a sketch on the Saturday Night Live television show of the late '70s which were expanded to feature-length proportions with this film. The story concerns Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymaat (Jane Curtin), who leave the planet Remulak to prepare for an invasion of Planet Earth. But due to a malfunction, they find themselves plunged into the Hudson River and forced to take up residence in Paramus, New Jersey where Beldar gets work as an appliance salesman and makes a deal for a phony social security card. Before long, all thoughts of invading Earth are left behind as Beldar and Prymaat quickly adapt to suburban life -- except for their coneheads and metallic-sounding voices, they become a typical middle-class suburban family. The Coneheads have a child, Connie (Michelle Burke) and Beldar becomes a New York cab driver and starts up his own driving school. Connie grows into a teenager and a neighborhood boy, Ronnie (Chris Farley), develops a crush on her because he likes to rub her conehead. But a nefarious INS agent, Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean), and his toady assistant, Turnbull (David Spade), are hot on The Coneheads' trail because of Beldar's false social security card. Not only that, but the Remulakian Highmaster (Dave Thomas) is beginning to wonder what ever happened to Beldar's invasion of the third rock from the sun. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In this black comedy, the mysterious death of the owner of an amusement park prompts his widow to sell the property to a group of mobsters, the DiMaurios. When the DiMaurios take over, they lower everyone's salary and fire the park's clown mascot, Bruce Burger (David Lander). With his job taken away, the clown loses it and begins to stage his revenge. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi