Felix Montano Movies
This film is a unique combination of documentary, drama and comedy, and uses real people as well as professional actors to chronicle the experiences of Dirk Shafer who in 1992, was voted Playgirl magazine's man of the year. For the athletic, blond and extremely photogenic Shafer this fame was a double-edged sword. On one hand, he really needed the money; on the other, he had just come out of the closet. Still he went for the gusto and spent much of the year touring about and getting interviewed on talk shows. Only a few close friends and family members knew that he was a homosexual; to everyone else he was the epitome of heterosexual masculinity. This naturally, created problems with Mike, the man Shafer wanted to get involved with. Included are filmclips from actual talk-show appearances, and interviews with family and friends, not all of whom were tickled to discover that he was gay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Shafer, Vivian Paxton, (more)
In this stylized adaptation of her 1988 off-Broadway show, singer/actress/comedian Sandra Bernhard explores celebrity, stereotypes, and her own childhood in a series of monologues and musical numbers. Although much of the material comes straight from the original stage show, Bernhard and co-writer John Boskovich updated many of her pop-cultural musings and added several new production numbers. They also turned a one-woman show into something of a mockumentary, staging interviews with Bernhard's fictional manager (Lu Leonard) and adding several additional characters. Most of the action is staged in a theater full of well-heeled African American patrons who slowly leave in disgust at Bernhard's performance, which includes her deadpan fantasies about an imagined gentile childhood, a dalliance with Warren Beatty, and a trip to Studio 54. Originally given a limited release by New Line Cinema in 1990, Without You I'm Nothing was quickly pulled from theaters when the company that produced it went bankrupt. Eventually, however, it made its was to home video and DVD. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bernhard, Steve Antin, (more)
- 1989
- R
Tony award-winning British musical comedy star Robert Lindsay makes his first important American film appearance in Bert Rigby, You're a Fool. Lindsay, of course, plays the title character, a coal miner who dreams of becoming a big showbiz star. Only problem is, there's very little demand for Bert Rigby's impersonations of Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly. Undaunted, Bert heads to Hollywood, where, while working as a butler in the household of movie mogul Jim Shirley (Corbin Bernsen), he must fend off the advances of Shirley's hot-to-trot wife, Meredith (Anne Bancroft). Befitting the old-fashioned nature of Bert Rigby's behavior and tastes in entertainment, director Carl Reiner adopts a "retro" approach to his material; at times, the film looks as though it was made in 1939 rather than 1989, despite its R-rated sex, profanity, and body-function jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lindsay, Cathryn Bradshaw, (more)
In this madcap comedy, Geena Davis plays Valerie, a manicurist living in the valley with her cold fiancé, Dr. Ted Gallagher (Charles Rocket). At the Curl Up and Dye beauty salon where she works, Valerie enlists the help of her boss, Candy Pink (Julie Brown), for some style advice to try and win back Ted's affections. After undergoing a brand-new hairstyle, Valerie learns that Ted is having an affair and she kicks him out of the house. Soon, while lounging around in her bikini, a spaceship from the planet Jhazzalan crash-lands in her swimming pool. Curious, Valerie befriends the ship's inhabitants -- three horny aliens covered in fur named Mac (Jeff Goldblum), Whiploc (Jim Carrey), and Zeebo (Damon Wayans). Introducing her new friends to Candy, the aliens get a shave and a total makeover transformation into hot, available dates. They all go out dancing at L.A. nightclubs and party. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
