Robert Clotworthy Movies
Ellen Barkin stars in this mystical comedy about a detestable male chauvinist temporarily reincarnated into the body of a woman. Steve Brooks (Perry King) foolishly accepts an invite for an evening of debauchery from three former girlfriends, and thinks he's got it made when he shows up to find them waiting for him in a hot tub. Eager to exact revenge on the scoundrel, the women proceed to drown him, and Steve is cast into a purgatory in which two unseen voices are deciding whether to send him to heaven or hell. Steve is given one chance to save himself from damnation -- if he can find a woman alive who actually liked him. To complicate his task and teach him a lesson, Steve is reincarnated as a sexy woman (Barkin), just the type who would have been the target of his cheesy advances. Sloppily adjusting to his new body, Steve (now Barkin) tells people he is the sister of the missing Steve Brooks, and begins working at his old advertising agency as a means toward completing his arduous task. As Steve's sister, he also enlists the help of his best friend, Walter (Jimmy Smits), despite the complication that Walter is noticeably attracted to the woman he has become. Steve's homophobia -- and several of his other hateful traits -- are put to the test. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, (more)
- 1985
- R
In an unusual comedy by Joan Darling, Brian Dennehy and Anne Archer star as the Richard, a druggist, and his wife Peggy, a pair of debt-ridden parents who rebel against the system. Nothing goes right while they try to uphold the system, then things get even worse when they leave it. Richard decides to pull the plug on modernity when he cannot meet his utility bills and creditors are at his door like wolves. He shuts off the electricity and sets up candles, buys a goat, and digs a well in the back yard. He finally does hit water, but it happens to be the city's water main. Peggy is not quite as crazed as her husband so she goes to see a shrink -- who promptly dies on her. If anything can go wrong for Richard and Peggy, it will. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Anne Archer, (more)
Vin Diesel returns as the nocturnally gifted antihero Riddick in this sequel to the 2000 cult item Pitch Black. Riddick, on the run from the law and evading mercenaries eager to claim the price on his head, seeks refuge on the planet of Helion, only to discover he's walked into a world in chaos. Helion has been seized by the Lord Marshall (Colm Feore), leader of the Necromongers, a race of bloodthirsty warriors determined to wipe out humanity throughout the universe. Aereon (Judi Dench), leader of Helion's "elementals," pleads with Riddick to join them in their fight for survival; Riddick agrees, hoping to fill out some of the blank chapters in his history along the way. As he plots his battle strategy against the Necromongers, Riddick becomes reacquainted with Kyra (Alexa Davalos), whom he knew as a girl but has since grown into a strong and beautiful woman eager to join him in the fight against the Lord Marshall. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, (more)
- 2000
Pressured to enter into a phony gay marriage with his boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson), who risks deportation if he doesn't wed an American immediately, Drew (Drew Carey) agrees to the union on the condition that he get his job back at Winfred-Louder. After the ceremony in Vermont, Drew meets a troop of Trail Scouts and volunteers his services as a troop leader. Alas, now that he is "officially" gay, he is banned from being a scoutmaster. When an INS agent shows up to investigate the validity of the marriage, Drew must choose between telling the truth and "outing" Wick, or telling a lie and ruining his incipient Trail Scout career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
References to the films of Alfred Hitchcock abound in this roller-coaster of an episode, in which Jim (James Garner) is mistakenly identified as a spy named Terrence Halsey. Unable to convince the Feds that he isn't who they think he is, Jim ends up being dispatched to South America, there to help a wide-eyed heiress (Dorrie Kavanaugh) whose villainous husband (Don Chastain) is using her family's good name to engineer a swindle. See if you can spot the "swipes" from such Hitchcock classics as North by Northwest, Saboteur and especially Notorious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Teenaged farm boy Tucker "Tuck" Holland (Stewart Petersen) is shy and lonely, afraid that he will be ridiculed because he stutters. As he walks home from school -- alone, as usual -- Tuck notices a construction site, where a new skating rink is being built. For the next several weeks, he hangs around the site, eagerly anticipating the rink's opening. Sure enough, once the building has gone up and Tuck has strapped on his skates, he manages to overcome his shyness and reticence by becoming a champion on the ice -- and absolutely no one cares that he still has trouble getting his words out! This ABC Afterschool Special is based on a novel by Bob Rodgers, and features Ron Howard's father, Rance Howard, as Tuck's dad. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Petersen, Jerry Dexter, (more)
- 1974
The Walton family spends a great deal of money to purchase a new suit of clothes for John-Boy's high school graduation. But when their cow suddenly dies, the Waltons desperately need ready cash to replace the bovine. Will John-Boy (Richard Thomas) stubbornly hold on to his graduation suit, or will he do the Right Thing and sell it back? Without revealing the ending, it can be noted that Grandpa Walton (Will Geer) comes to the rescue. Featured in the supporting cast is child actor Jeff Cotler, the brother of series regular Kami Cotler (Elizabeth). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
This made-for-TV movie is a remake of the theatrical feature Conrack, using the original title of the source novel by Pat Conroy. Set in 1969, The Water Is Wide stars Jeff Hephner as Conroy, an idealistic young teacher whose first assignment is at a run-down school located on Yamacraw Island in South Carolina. The state's imperious school superintendent Henry Piedmont (Frank Langella) has written off the unkempt, illiterate black children of Yamacraw as thoroughly unteachable, while the school's authoritarian black principal Mrs. Brown (Alfre Woodard), evidently unwilling to buck the Anglo-Saxon establishment, insists that Conroy doggedly adhere to an established curriculum that has never worked with the students. Instead, Conroy utilizes compassion and humor as teaching tools, reaching out to his students through a variety of humanistic methods, including adopting the kids' own archaic Gullah dialect in order to teach them proper English. Not surprisingly, Mr. Piedmont and Mrs. Brown are dead set against Conroy's "radical" approach to teaching -- even when it is obviously working -- but fortunately, our hero has a strong ally in the form of deputy superintendent Bennington (James Murtaugh). Echoing elements from another Pat Conroy novel, The Great Santini, the young protagonist is plagued throughout the film by memories of his uncompromising Marine-officer father, who has instilled in Conroy a hatred (and fear) of all authority figures. Produced as part of CBS's Hallmark Hall of Fame series, The Water Is Wide was first broadcast on January 29, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Hephner, Frank Langella, (more)
Kathleen Turner stars as V.I. Warshawski in Jeff Kanew's film version of the hard-boiled detective character from Sara Paretsky's series of crime novels. Warshawski is a freelance private investigator in Chicago, who lives the part of the hard-boiled detective. But in her heart of hearts, she is a softy. One night, while she is drinking at her favorite bar, she meets an ex-Blackhawks hockey player named Boom-Boom Grafalk (Stephen Meadows). The two connect and a romance appears to be in the making. But Warshawski is nevertheless surprised when Boom-Boom appears at her doorstep later that night with his 13-year-old daughter, Kat (Angela Goethals) in tow. He asks Warshawski if she could watch her and Warshawski agrees. Later that night, Boom-Boom is killed in a boat explosion and Kit hires Warshawski to track down her father's killer. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Turner, Jay O. Sanders, (more)
A year after appearing in the box-office sleeper Shanghai Surprise, pop superstar Madonna starred in the screwball comedy Who's That Girl? She plays Nikki Finn, who is being released from prison after serving a four-year sentence for a murder she didn't commit. Meanwhile, wealthy lawyer Loudon (Griffin Dunne) is about to get married that afternoon to the snobby Wendy (Haviland Morris), the daughter of Simon Worthington (John McMartin). Worthington does not approve of the wedding and he wants Nikki out of town as soon as possible, so he sends Loudon to collect Nikki and take her to the bus station. Instead, the flamboyant Nikki seeks her revenge while trying to find out what happened to her friend Johnny, which causes Loudon a lot of trouble. Naturally, wild action ensues -- some of it involving an escaped Cougar belonging to Loudon's boss, the millionaire animal collector Montgomery Bell (John Mills) -- and Loudon having to choose between the prim Wendy and the unpredictable Nikki. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madonna, Griffin Dunne, (more)
