Rachel Bard Movies

Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and stars in this philosophical comedy about a man having a hard time making a case for himself in the afterlife. When advertising executive Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) finds himself in a fatal car crash minutes after taking delivery on a new BMW, he's whisked away to Judgment City, where the recently dead are put on a sort of trial to decide their fate. If in your time on Earth you were able to face your fears and learn from your mistakes, you get to move on to a life in a better world. However, if you didn't, you have to go back to Earth and try again. As he spends the next several days watching various episodes from his life, Daniel gets the impression he doesn't stand much of a chance of moving on -- and his representative, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), seems to have little confidence in his case. In the meantime, he frequents Judgment City's many restaurants (where the food is delicious and you can eat all you want without gaining an ounce), pays a visit to the Past Life Pavilion, and meets Julia (Meryl Streep), who seems so kind, sweet, and noble that her advancement is practically assured. Daniel and Julia fall in love, but what's going to happen if they don't end up in the same place? Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep make a witty and engaging romantic team in Defending Your Life, and Shirley MacLaine appears in a highly appropriate cameo. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

First telecast in early 1985, the 2-hour pilot film for the lighthearted TV detective series Moonlighting opens with fashion model Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepard) discovering that her business manager has skipped with her fortune. The only asset she has left is the ramshackle Blue Moon Detective Agency, manned by acerbic David Addison (Bruce Willis). Maddie takes an immediate dislike to David, while he considers her a sexual conquest-to-be. The twosome continues to bicker their way through their first case, pausing for amenities only when it appears that both of them are about to be bumped off. Once safely back in the office, their verbal guerilla warfare resumes, leading the viewer to expect marvelous things from the subsequent Moonlighting TV series. Little of the series' fabled self-consciousness (talking directly to the audience, making references to the quality of the scriptwriting, etc.) surfaces in the Moonlighting pilot, but the film works well despite this "drawback." The series itself ran (or, as it turned out, limped) until May of 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Just as he is about to accept a writing assignment in war-torn London, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) proposes to his erstwhile girlfriend Daisy (Deirdre Lenihan). It turns out, however, that Daisy has neglected to tell John-Boy a few things about herself--specifically, that she is the mother of a three-year-old girl. Elsewhere, Grandpa (Will Geer) tries to improve sales of Elizabeth's lemonade by adding a few drops of a special--er--recipe. This episode marks the final appearance of Richard Thomas on The Waltons, though he would later return as John-Boy in a "reunion" special. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi