Marco Rizo Movies

Ruben Blades stars in this low-budget independent salsa musical (filmed in Spanish Harlem at a cost of $600,000), chronicling the rise and fall of a salsa artist who wants to hit the big time. Blades plays Rudy Veloz, a salsa musician who grabs one-night gigs in Latino nightclubs. He idolizes Julio Iglesias and dreams of putting together a band that will incorporate a blend of musical styles so that Rudy can crossover to mainstream commercial success. However, he is warned by his mentor, Cheo Babalu (Virgilio Marti), that his music is garbage and that he should write from the soul. Rudy ignores him, pursuing his passion for middle-of-the-road success. Rudy is noticed at a concert by a record producer, who puts out a successful single of one of Rudy's tunes. The success of the single goes to Rudy's head, and he walks out on his loyal girlfriend Liz (Elizabeth Pena) and drops his long-time manager, Ray (Frank Robles). But Rudy can't match his hit single with another crossover tune and his producer drops him. Without support of the producer or his friends, Rudy falls back into obscurity. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Lucy's friend Caroline Appleby (Doris Singleton) arrives in Hollywood, demanding to meet some of the celebrities with whom Lucy has claimed to be so chummy. First on Caroline's list is Van Johnson, whom, of course, Lucy has never met. Our heroine manages to get herself into a hole by inviting Caroline to watch a rehearsal of a dance act that Lucy and Johnson are purportedly performing at the Beverly Palms Hotel nightclub, taking advantage of the fact that the nearsighted Caroline has lost her glasses and won't be able to see anything. When the glasses are located, a desperate Lucy begs Johnson to bail her out -- and the result is an astonishing display of the terpsichorean skills of both Van Johnson and Lucille Ball, to the accompaniment of the old standard "How About You." ~ Rovi

When Ricky (Desi Arnaz) decides to get out of show business and into another line of work, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and the Mertzes (Vivian Vance, William Frawley) go along with the plan. The two couples invest heavily in a local diner called "Bill's Place," which the owner, Mr. Wilson (James Burke), has assured them is a gold mine. Suffice to say that not only is the diner a bottomless money pit, but the Ricardos and the Mertzes are run ragged trying to handle all the work themselves -- and worse still, an argument results in the couples splitting the diner down the middle into two equally unprofitable eateries. ~ Rovi