Stephen Surjik Movies
Tom Riley, Tom Burke, Carmen Electra and Michelle Ryan co-star in British director Stephen Surjik's smutty sex comedy I Want Candy. The picture concerns two film students Baggy (Burke) and Joe (Riley), enrolled at a university in Leatherhead, England. The pair just recently completed a script that they plan to shoot for their graduation thesis, and want to use it to break into the British movie industry. Alas, their professor informs them of a two-minute imposition on the length of the thesis film. Discouraged, Joe and Baggy head off on a trip to London, where they attempt to solicit the interest of producers in the script - but they only succeed in catching the eye of a porn mogul, Doug Perry (Eddie Marsam) who agrees to finance the project if and only if they will turn it into a porno feature and talk ingénue Candy Fiveways (Electra) into starring. Undaunted, the boys set off to locate Candy and convince her to perform in their movie. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2006
After a blow on the head, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) awakens in the tiny backwater town of Purnell, Wyoming, with both his memory and all traces of his identification gone. As Monk tries to figure out what's happened, a local woman named Cora (Laurie Metcalf) appears, declaring that he is her husband--and with no proof to the contrary, Monk takes Cora at her word, returning to her house and acting the role of dutiful helpmate! By and by, however, Monk's inherent detective skills begin to resurface, and soon he is investigating the mysterious disappearance of a waitress named Debbie (Bre Blair)--which may or may not be linked with the fate that has recently befallen local big shot Roger Zisk (Jim Parrack), whose body is covered with painful bee stings! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
While visiting his elderly friend Rusty (Art Evans) at his neighborhood firehouse, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is blinded by the same intruder who kills Rusty. Despite facing the probability of permanent sightlessness, Monk insists upon solving the old man's murder, using his previously unexploited "sixth sense" to harvest clues. It turns out that there is a connection between Rusty's missing coat and helmet, and another fire that occurred at the same time as the murder. In a fit of hubris (he actually seems to thrive on being blind), Monk not only captures the killer, but also figures out that the culprit didn't act alone...and that there's a lot more to the story than a mere murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Joely Fisher starred in this weekly, hour-long drama series as Zoe Busiek, a professional blackjack dealer. After her sister Sue was killed in a car chase, Zoe left Vegas, returning to her hometown to care for Sue's three children. Here she came face-to-face with a disreputable insurance company who refused to honor Sue's policy and provide for her kids. This experience led Zoe into a whole new career as a full-time insurance-fraud investigator, with all the adventure and mystery attending this job. Also starring Rae Dawn Chong and Chris Potter, Wild Card premiered August 2, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joely Fisher, Rae Dawn Chong, (more)
- 2002
Originally titled Emma Brody, the weekly 60-minute drama series American Embassy was intended to be the "diplomatic" version of Fox's Ally McBeal, but the events of September 11, 2001 changed all that. Arija Bareikis starred as Emma Brody, a young Toledo woman who had entered diplomatic service to get over an unhappy romance. Assigned to be vice-counsel at the U.S. Embassy in London, the inexperienced Emma fell prey to the autocratic whims of her boss, Elque Polk (Jonathan Adams), who demonstrated his lack of confidence in the girl by assigning her cases that apparently no one else wanted. The heroine could take some solace in her friendships with mercurial CIA operative Doug Roach (David Cubitt) and her cross-dressing neighbor Gary Furbush (Michael Cerveris). The first episode, which aired over Fox on March 11, 2002, ended with a terrorist attack, indicating that the rest of American Embassy would be anything but a lighthearted lark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arija Bareikis, David Cubitt, (more)
- 2000
TNT's first dramatic series, Bull is set in the world of high-powered finance and IPOs. Robert "the Kaiser" Roberts (Donald Moffat) is the head of a business empire, and cannot comprehend why his identically named and ethically minded grandson (George Newbern) wants to break away and start his own firm. Bull's ensemble cast features turns by Stanley Tucci as a dodgy operator, and Ryan O'Neal as the Kaiser's errant son. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Newbern, Malik Yoba, (more)
- 1998
One of the most successful Canadian drama series of the late 1990s, Da Vinci's Inquest was also one of the CBC's slickest efforts -- not to mention one of the most realistic. Nicholas Campbell starred as Dominic Da Vinci, a former cop who worked as a police coroner in Vancouver. Like Quincy before him, Da Vinci used his official capacity to right wrongs, help those in distress, and in general boldly go where the "regular" cops feared to tread. In this he was assisted by a number of friends, business associates, and family members, who frequently found themselves in jeopardy, obligating the hero to effect a last-minute escape. Compared by some critics to the American TVer Homicide (albeit with a bit more melodrama), the series was created by Chris Haddock, who also wrote many of the 60-minute teleplays. Da Vinci's Inquest began its long and profitable CBC TV run on October 7, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A wicked satire on mass media, this made-for-TV movie depicts the war initiated between two media moguls intent on buying the same football team. They are able to dig enough skeletons from each other's closets and are determined to continue despite the huge number of victims on both sides. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Byrne, Ben Kingsley, (more)
- 1994
A series of violent attacks occur at the Excelsius Dei Convalescent Home in Worcester, MA. Assigned to investigate, Mulder and Scully are met by nurse Michelle Charter (Teryl Rothery), who claims that she was raped by an evil spirit which emanated from the body of one of her patients. Somehow, this phenomenon is tied in with an experimental drug that may or may not cure Alzheimer's. First telecast December 16, 1994, "Excelsius Dei" was written by Paul Brown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Everyone's favorite headbangers from Aurora, Illinois, are back in this sequel to the 1992 hit comedy Wayne's World. The success of their TV show allows Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) to finally move out of their parents' homes, but now they have to figure out what to do with their lives. Wayne's girlfriend, up-and-coming rock star Cassandra (Tia Carrere), is enjoying a career boost thanks to her new manager Bobby Cohn (Christopher Walker), but Garth thinks that Bobby is more interested in her body than her place on the charts. Meanwhile, Wayne is visited in a dream by the late Jim Morrison (Michael A. Nickles), who convinces him to promote a massive rock festival, "Waynestock," featuring Aerosmith as headliners. Garth, on the other hand, is finally relieved of his pesky virginity by femme fatale Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger), though it turns out that Honey has a hidden agenda. Drew Barrymore, Harry Shearer, and Charlton Heston play cameo roles in Wayne's World 2, and Jay Leno, Rip Taylor, and Todd Rundgren appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, (more)
- 1991
Originally produced for Canadian television by the CBC, the Stephen Surjik-directed costume thriller Grand Larceny features Jennifer Dale (Separate Vacations) as the Becky Sharp-like Betsy Bigley, a conniving young prima donna who will cross any boundaries to claw her way to the top. The story begins in 1901, with Bigley scraping the bottom of the barrel. Arrested for the titular crime and wheeled away in a paddy wagon, Bigley swears vengeance against the lowlifes whose two-timing led to her incarceration, and devises a complex scheme to deliver herself involving a faux gold mine and a smitten detective. If it works, Betsy's plan will free her from confinement and enable her to reclaim her place among the cream of society. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Dale
- 1986
- R
Prolific actor-stuntman Conrad Palmisano directed this average action-thriller about the owner of an inner-city gym. Earl (Paul Coufos) happens to also be a skilled fighter, and when he is pressured by real-estate developers to close the gym, he fights in order to save it. Former Saturday Night Live regular Tony Rosato co-stars with Irene Cara, who sings a cover version of "She Works Hard for the Money," as well as portraying Earl's love interest, Simone. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Coufos, Irene Cara, (more)
- 1984
These two middle-aged geezers take a shot at professional ski racing in between romantic overtures to a pretty female sports writer. ~ All Movie Guide
