Buffy Sedlachek Movies
It is hardly an unusual occurrence when the Minneapolis airport is snowed in...even on Christmas eve, stranding thousands of disgruntled tourists. What makes this particular snowbound evening a bit different from others is the identity of two would-be flyers who must wait out the blizzard before they can take off to their respective destinations. Maddie Parker (JoBeth Williams), on the verge of divorcing her briefly unfaithful husband, has arrived at the terminal with sister and daughters, en route to her mother (Dina Merrill)'s house in Chicago. At the same time, Maddie's sportswriter husband, Matt (Michael Ontkean), who plans to visit his dad in Miami, is likewise cooling his heels in the selfsame terminal. Thus thrust together, Maddie and Matt are given ample time to decide if they ought to give their relationship a second chance. Meanwhile, long-married older couple Earl and Ruth Pulmer (Charles Durning and Barbara Barrie), battle-scarred veterans of many a domestic skirmish, benignly stand on the sidelines and kibitz. Although the conclusion of the film is foregone, getting there is half the fun. A Chance of Snow made its cable TV debut via the Lifetime network on December 7, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- JoBeth Williams, Michael Ontkean, (more)
More than a decade after 1982's Six Weeks, director Tony Bill once again explored romance, sentimentality, and dying young with Untamed Heart. The film stars Christian Slater as Adam, an shy and awkward busboy who saves waitress Caroline (Marisa Tomei) from being raped in a park late one night. Naturally, the two begin to fall in love. As their relationship progresses, Caroline discovers that Adam has a heart defect, though he claims he has a baboon heart. Rosie Perez also stars as Cindy, Caroline's sassy comic-relief-providing co-worker. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Marisa Tomei, (more)
This cheerful holiday comedy, a surprise box office smash, featured a generous dollop of raunchy, crude humor and was greatly elevated by the presence of masterful performers in the lead roles. Jack Lemmon is John Gustafson, an ice-fishing Minnesota native who has been feuding with his neighbor and former best friend Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) for decades. The battle of wills between John and Max is characterized by crude name calling and harmless practical jokes. Max is unaware that John is having serious problems, chiefly that his daughter Melanie (Daryl Hannah) is experiencing marital woes and that his house is about to be confiscated by an officious IRS agent (Buck Henry). When it seems that John and Max may finally put aside their childish rivalry, however, sexy new neighbor Ariel (Ann-Margret) arrives and dates both men, pitting them against each other more fiercely than ever before. Despite their mutual loathing, the death of a friend, John's problems, and a budding romance between Max's son Jacob (Kevin Pollak) and Melanie may force the two old friends to reconcile. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
- 1987
- R
A macho misogynist meets his match in this independent comedy-drama. Shortly before Christmas, Eddie Jenks (John Jenkins) gets a call from his old friend Billy Regis (Chris Mulkey). Billy has just learned that his girlfriend Patti Rocks (Karen Landry) is pregnant; Patti doesn't know that Billy already has a wife and two kids, and Billy wants Eddie to lend moral support for what he expects to be an ugly scene when he breaks the news to her. Over the course of a long drive, Billy regales Eddie at great length with his low opinion of women in general and Patti in particular, but when Eddie finally encounters Patti in the flesh, he discovers an intelligent, down-to-earth woman rather than the slatternly slob he'd been led to expect. As it turns out, Patti already figured out that Billy was married, wants no help from him in raising the child (which she intends to keep), and refuses to be apologetic about pursuing sex when she wants it, the same way a man would. Chris Mulkey and John Jenkins previously appeared as Billy and Eddie in David Burton Morris's 1975 feature Loose Ends. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris Mulkey, John Jenkins, (more)
