Amy Heckerling

Plenty of young movie buffs come to Hollywood hoping to break into the movie business, but Mardik Martin traveled a bit farther than most. Born and raised in Iraq, Mardik Martin's father was an Iraqi intelligence officer, but at an early age Mardik became fascinated with the movies and dreamed of going to America. When he was 18, after a stint working in MGM's Baghdad distribution office, Martin traveled to California to attend college, and while a political overthrow soon left his family penniless and unable to support him, the aspiring filmmaker refused to turn his back on his dreams. Mardik made friends with a fellow film student and rabid movie buff named Martin Scorsese, and Mardik would not only help the young Scorsese make several of his early films, he would help write the screenplays for some of Scorsese's signature works, including Mean Streets, Raging Bull and New York, New York. Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood is a documentary which follows Mardik Martin's story from his youth in the Middle East to his salad days in Hollywood, only to lose his career to drugs and start a new life in academia. Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood was an official selection at the 2008 Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After making Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Clueless (1995), two of the definitive films about the joys and terrors of American high school, writer/director Amy Heckerling moves on to college with this bittersweet romantic comedy. Paul Tannek (Jason Biggs) is a bright but socially inept college freshman who has just arrived at NYU from the Midwest. Frumpy and studious, Paul has trouble meeting people, doesn't get along with his roommates, and most of his fellow students hardly acknowledge his existence. But Paul finds a soul mate in Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari), who has even more problems than he does: she's out of money, has nowhere to live, works a humiliating job as a waitress at a strip club, and has become involved with one of her professors, Edward Alcott (Greg Kinnear), whose callous treatment hardly boosts her shaky self-esteem. Dora gives Paul some advice on how to fit in with his roommates, and Paul lets her stay with him while she looks for work; when he becomes infatuated with her, he has to figure out how to win her away from Edward. Loser marked a reunion for Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, who starred together in the hit teen comedy American Pie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This comedy extends and embellishes characters introduced on Saturday Night Live by regulars Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in their sketch series of two head-bobbing losers who go on the town, looking for action, when they hear the What Is Love? disco tune. Looking cool, brothers Steve (Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Kattan) always fail to pick up women in their hapless nightclub jaunts. In Beverly Hills, they work at a fake-flower store run by their father (Dan Hedaya). They are always denied entrance to the Roxbury, a leading discotheque, but an auto accident with Richard Grieco (portraying himself) gives them a foot in the door. Inside, they meet the club's owner (an uncredited Chazz Palminteri), and two gold-diggers (Elisa Donovan, Gigi Rice) believe they are wealthy businessmen. Steve finds his father shoving him into marriage with next-door neighbor Emily (Molly Shannon), but Doug keeps this from happening. Fortune smiles, and the Butabi brothers become the co-owners of a new nightclub. The real-life Roxbury on the Sunset Strip (once the location of the Imperial Gardens and the Players Club) was converted into a Japanese restaurant by the time this film was released. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This final installment in the Look Who's Talking trilogy is a combination of Make Room For Daddy and The Lady and the Tramp. In the six years since the original Look Who's Talking, Mikey and Julie are now old enough to speak for themselves, so the producers came up with a new gimmick -- talking dogs. The Ubriacco family adopts two surly dogs, Rocks (the voice of Danny DeVito), a street-smart mongrel, and Daphne (voice of Diane Keaton), a snobbish pure bred poodle. The story kicks in with Christmas rapidly approaching and Molly (Kirstie Alley) out of a job. Because of this, her husband James (John Travolta) must work doubly hard to impress his new boss, Samantha (Lysette Anthony). But Samantha, it seems, has hired James for more than what appears in his job description. Samantha contrives a plan to get James to her cabin in the North Woods on Christmas Eve, where she plans to seduce him. James' family races to rescue him from the snowbound cabin, but when their taxi skids off the snow-covered road, it is left to the primal instincts of Rocks and Daphne to save the day. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Though its PG-13 rating is well earned, Look Who's Talking has some elements that might appeal to a family audience. Chief among them, of course, is the "talking baby" protagonist. The product of an extramarital affair, infant Mikey (played by several different babies, and given voice by Bruce Willis) is a cynical, sarcastic observer of his new world. Mikey's mother, Kirstie Alley, having been dumped by her married lover George Segal, searches high and low for a new father for her baby. Of course, the perfect daddy is right under her nose all the time: cab driver John Travolta, who was on the scene when she went into labor on the sidewalk. The best moments in Look Who's Talking include Ms. Alley's imaginary flights of fancy, and the misadventures of Mikey as he progresses from sperm to reluctant newborn (his violent vocal protests against being yanked from the womb are worth the admission price in themselves). Look Who's Talking has spawned two sequels, neither of which are as charming or disarming as the original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold and his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) -- and their two generally repulsive children, Rusty (Jason Lively) and Audrey (Dana Hill) -- are off on a European vacation thanks to a winning stint on a quiz show. As the movie unfolds in brochures featuring London, Paris, and regions in Italy and Germany, the family undergoes a series of slap-schtick misadventures that include thinking an overwhelmed German husband and wife are long-lost relatives and getting into a funk in their train compartment. Not on a par with the first National Lampoon vacation, the end of this European vacation is something that cannot come too soon for many viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Amy Heckerling's adaptation of Cameron Crowe's Fast Times at Ridgemont High is often considered one of the finest films of a disreputable genre (the teen sex comedy), and kick-started the careers of many future stars. The center of this ensemble film is Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy Hamilton. She is a young, innocent high-school student who, as the film opens, is asking for advice from her friend, the sexually outspoken Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates). Stacy takes a liking to nebbish Mark Ratner (Brian Backer), but he is too afraid to make a move even after Stacy all but throws herself at him. She eventually hooks up with Mark's more confident best friend, Mike Damone (Robert Romanus). When not concerning itself with these four characters, the film spends time with stoned surfer dude Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) and his ongoing feud with history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston). The film includes brief appearances by such future stars as Nicolas Cage, Eric Stoltz, and Forest Whitaker. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide