Danny Kortchmar Movies

Race, class and honesty become issues for a handful of disparate characters in this independent drama. Nate (Josh Stamberg) and Jen (Jennifer Mudge) are a pair of recently married thirty-somethings living in San Francisco; Nate is a journalist, while Jen's inherited wealth frees her from having to work a steady job. Jen wants to do something positive with her money, and her longtime friend Renny (Coby Bell) asks her to invest in a housing project he wants to develop – a secure gated community for middle-class African-Americans. Meanwhile, Nate has been visiting Elizabeth (Lenore Thomas), a fellow reporter who was assigned to Nairobi at the same time as Nate; he became deeply infatuated with her while they worked together, and now she's seriously ill and has only a short time to live. Elizabeth tells Nate that Victor (Donnie Keshawarz), a mutual friend, once sexually assaulted her, and Nate toys with the idea of getting revenge by writing a news story about him. Unknown to Nate, Victor, who is now homeless, has appeared at his door, and Jen, against her better judgment, has told Victor he can stay with them for a few days. Nate's anger towards Victor and resentment of Renny comes to a head that evening, though he learns not everything he's been told so far is actually true. Drifting Elegant was the first feature film for director Amy Glazer; the film was adapted from the play by Stephen Belber, which Glazer directed for San Francisco's Magic Theater Company. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Containing material not seen in the televised broadcast, this video shows Bon Jovi doing acoustic renditions of their big hits including "Blaze of Glory," "Bed of Roses," "Love for Sale" and many more. ~ Rovi

Largely improvised by director Rob Reiner and his cast, This Is Spinal Tap looks and sounds like a "real" documentary, with Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest as David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls, and Nigel Tufnel, the key members of a going-nowhere British heavy metal band called Spinal Tap. The "group" started as an informal skiffle band, eventually maturing into an R&B act called the Thamesmen (their hit was "Gimme Some Money"). After going through a psychedelic period with "Listen to the Flower People," the band mutated into Spinal Tap, a hard rock outfit responsible for such albums as "Intravenous DeMilo," "The Sun Never Sweats," and "Bent for the Rent." This Is Spinal Tap finds them in the midst of their first American tour in years as they support their new LP Smell the Glove, with filmmaker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner), who specializes in TV commercials, on hand to document the occasion. Just about anything that can go wrong does: shows get canceled, stage props go wrong, wireless guitar pickups start broadcasting air-traffic reports, no one shows up for in-store appearances, David's girlfriend tries to take over the band, they wind up billed second to a puppet show at an amusement park, and the group teeters on the verge of breakup. After the film's initial release, McKean, Guest, and Shearer did a short club tour as Spinal Tap; the "band" reunited in 1992 for a new album, Break Like the Wind, followed by a full-fledged tour and TV special, The Return of Spinal Tap. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi