Mina Kolb Movies

Three divorced fathers, played by Paul Reiser, Matthew Modine, and Randy Quaid, experience the joys and hardships of their former marriages, their relationships with their kids, and getting back into the dating scene in this whimsical comedy. Dave (Modine) is diligently playing the field, while Vic (Quaid) is enraged over his ex-wife's spending problem and Donny (Reiser) is struggling with the love he still feels for his ex and his own feelings of rejection. However, what develops over the weekend changes each man's life forever. Vic goes on a nightmare date with a neurotic woman (Janeane Garofalo), Dave loses control of his female interests when they all show up at the house simultaneously, and Donny finds himself literally out on a limb in order to communicate with his teenage daughter. Though it deals with serious subject matter, Bye Bye Love is a lighthearted look at modern American divorce and the often humorous ways in which people adjust to a new life. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

In this comedy, the members of the Shakers, an aspiring rock band, perform at a series of weird and wacky weddings. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Long before an episode of David Lynch's Twin Peaks was narrated by a log, this installment of The Jeffersons featured a talking dollar bill. During a brief stopover at his old Queens dry-cleaning store, George recalls the day that he opened the store back in 1968. Inevitably, George's thoughts drift back to his first customer -- and, of course, his first dollar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Robert Altman, the director responsible for M*A*S*H, came up with another acronymic title for his 1979 comedy H.E.A.L.T.H The letter stand for Happiness, Energy And Longevity Through Health--the name given a health-food convention at a Florida luxury hotel. In the tradition of his earlier Nashville and A Wedding, Altman utilizes the hotel as a gathering place for numerous interrelated, interconnecting plot threads. The unifying theme is a satire of corrupt politics, a la Watergate. Playing the unflappable hotel manager, Alfre Woodard stands out in a stellar cast including Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Lauren Bacall, Henry Gibson, Dick Cavett, and Paul Dooley (who cowrote the screenplay with Altman and Frank Barhydt). By rights, H.E.A.L.T.H should have been a real crowd pleaser, but the film's preview went so poorly that its release was held up for nearly a year. Virtually thrown away by 20th Century-Fox, H.E.A.L.T.H has appeared recently on The Fox Movie Channel, but never received a commercial video release, which hasn't helped it it attain a following. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Irvin Kershner directed this comedy-drama about one man's struggle with relationships and himself. Brooks (George Segal) is a middle-aged commercial artist who is at a personal and professional crossroads; he wants to take a stab at a career in fine art, but he can barely land enough assignments to support himself as it is. And while his marriage to Selma (Eva Marie Saint) is starting to collapse, his mistress Grace (Janis Young) suggests that she would like a relationship of greater permanence with him. Hoping to land an important commission from Lepridon (Sterling Hayden), a powerful business mogul, Brooks attends a party at an exclusive private club, but after a few cocktails too many, Brooks gets into a screaming match with one of the club's leaders. Brooks is depressed, figuring that he's blown what could have been a major career opportunity, when word travels through the grapevine that Lepridon was amused and impressed by Brooks' dressing-down of the club's topkick and is ready to give him the job. Brooks is elated, but he wants to keep his good news a secret for the time being; in a celebratory mood, he goes to a party where Selma, Grace, and a number of his friends are also in attendance. Brooks is approached by Nelly (Nancy Phillips), the wife of his neighbor Will (David F. Doyle); Nelly wants Brooks to join her for a quickie, and he eagerly agrees, not realizing that the children's playroom where they've chosen to meet is monitored by a closed-circuit TV camera, with the other party-goers an audience for their lovemaking. Loving garnered many enthusiastic reviews and became something of a cult item among film buffs in the 1970s; Sherry Lansing, who would later become a powerful producer and studio president, appears in a small role as Susan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi