Sturgis Warner Movies

Although it took eight years for cult director Frank Henenlotter to revisit the twisted world of Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his basket-bound, mutant former Siamese twin Belial, this sequel picks up the plot mere moments after the original Basket Case ended, finding the psychically-linked brothers mangled but very much alive after the rather aggressive tiff that pitched them out a Bowery flophouse window. They manage to elude the authorities, escape the hospital (to avoid having to explain the dozen-or-so murders committed by gnarled, lumpy Belial), and eventually find sanctuary at the palatial home of Granny Ruth (jazz songbird Annie Ross), an eccentric activist who rallies the cause of "Unique Individuals" like Belial who have been ostracized by society for their horrific appearance and behavior. (Unique, indeed... Ruth's tenants run the gamut from a boy with 18-inch teeth to a woman who looks like a
hammerhead shark in a summer frock.) Although the pair soon grow quite accustomed to their new home, they are eventually forced to confront their murderous past, thanks to a tabloid reporter and a cynical cop, both of whom come to regret sticking their noses into places where such appendages tend to get bitten off. Henenlotter deserves credit for exploring new terrain in this interesting follow-up, but his reliance on outrageous makeup effects diminishes the effectiveness of the "Monsters Are People Too" theme -- it's hard to work up much empathy toward Ruth's charges, depicted as mute automatons by actors wearing 70 pounds of foam latex on their heads. Not that Henenlotter doesn't return to grotesque form now and then -- particularly for the most disgusting love scene on record and the effective shock ending, which paves the way for yet another sequel. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Scripted by James L. Brooks from Dan Wakefield's novel, Alan J. Pakula's romantic comedy follows the tribulations of a freshly divorced man as he looks for love with a wary single woman. Phil Potter (Burt Reynolds sans mustache) can't quite believe it when his aspiring songbird wife Jessica (Candice Bergen) kicks him out to realize her career dreams, but the added revelation of her adultery speeds him out the door by choice. Relocating to Boston, Phil starts to settle in with the help of his psychiatrist brother Mickey (Charles Durning), joining a divorced men's therapy group. Phil really begins to feel better when Mickey and his wife Marva (Frances Sternhagen) set him up with her friend Marilyn (Jill Clayburgh), a preschool teacher who has had her share of grief from newly single men. Phil wins her over and even convinces her to move in, but an unexpected visit from a regretful, saucily clad Jessica, and an anxiety attack over buying a couch, threaten to end Phil's new life with Marilyn before it has a chance to start. Starting Over offers a ruefully comic look at how the decade's rising divorce rate did not mean fun and games for all the new bachelors; Brooks' movie debut after a sparkling career in 1970s TV with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi, it was also proof that top '70s star Reynolds could be more than just a good 'ol boy. Still, while the three leads were all praised for their work, only Clayburgh and Bergen received Oscar nominations. Starting Over was a moderate hit, and its humorous yet down-to-earth view of single life and its discontents reassured unattached thirtysomethings that, even though it may not be easy, everything could still turn out fine in modern romance. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi