Kim Chan Movies
- 1984
- R
A man is torn between true love and the lure of fine dining in this romantic comedy. Alby Sherman (Elliott Gould) was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he runs a coffee shop. Alby has dreams of doing bigger and better things, and he works up the courage to ask his rich Uncle Benjamin (Sid Caesar) if he'd be willing to front him the money to open a gourmet restaurant in Manhattan. Benjamin, however, doesn't care for Alby's girlfriend Elizabeth (Margaux Hemingway), mainly because she's Catholic, and he makes Alby an unexpected offer -- he'll give him the money, but only under the condition that he breaks up with Elizabeth and marries a nice Jewish woman. The supporting cast features Carol Kane and Shelley Winters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Margaux Hemingway, (more)
Martin Scorsese's satirical comedy/drama caustically explores the lengths to which a nobody will go to be as famous as his idol. Practicing his patter in his basement with cardboard cut-outs of his favorite celebrities, mediocre aspiring comedian Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) believes that one appearance on the evening talk show of the Johnny Carson-esque Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) will be his ticket to stardom. After he helps Jerry escape the advances of amorous fan Masha (Sandra Bernhard), Rupert takes Jerry's patronizing brush-off as a true promise for an audition and begins haunting Jerry's office. Provoked by Masha's needling and a rejection from Jerry's smooth production exec Cathy Long (Shelley Hack), Rupert makes a disastrous trip to Jerry's country house with embarrassed date Rita (Diahnne Abbott), then hatches an even more outlandish scheme to get ahead. With Masha's help, Rupert kidnaps Jerry and demands as ransom the TV appearance that he believes will turn his fantasy into reality. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, (more)
- 1982
- R
When a young, single, neurotic New Yorker finds the perfect woman, he tries desperately to get her to fall for him. Young director Jonathan Kaufer has been compared to Woody Allen with this, his first feature. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Saul Rubinek, Marcia Strassman, (more)
The Owl and the Pussycat began life as a two-character Broadway play by Bill Manhoff, about a stuffy author who entered into an explosive relationship with his neighbor, a foulmouthed, freewheeling prostitute. Manhoff wrote the part of the hooker for a black actress, but all that changed when Barbra Streisand was cast in the role for the film version. George Segal portrays the male lead, and the play's two-character austerity was expanded to a cast of 19 speaking parts. Beyond the added characters (including Robert Klein as Segal's swinging roommate), the heart and soul of the film is the Segal-Streisand relationship; he is utterly appalled by her lifestyle, she is turned off by his prudishness, and both are made for each other. The Owl and the Pussycat was adapted for the screen by Buck Henry, who shows up in a cameo role in one of the bookstore scenes. The film represented the last work of cinematographer Harry Stradling, who'd previously photographed Streisand in Funny Girl; Stradling died during production, and was replaced by Ernest Laszlo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, George Segal, (more)
The meteoric popularity of Arthur Godfrey was allegedly the basis of the 1957 drama Face in the Crowd. Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by television talent coordinator Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a TV guest spot, the result being that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top (one such victim is sexy baton-twirler Lee Remick, likewise making her film debut). Just when it seems that there's no stopping Rhodes' megalomania, his mentor and ex-lover Neal exposes this Idol of Millions as the rat that he is. She arranges to switch on the audio during the closing credits of Rhodes' TV program, allowing the whole nation to hear the grinning, waving Rhodes characterize them as "suckers" and "stupid idiots." Instantly, Rhodes' popularity rating plummets to zero. As he drunkenly wanders around his penthouse apartment, still not fully comprehending what has happened to him, Rhodes is deserted by the very associates who, hours earlier, were willing to ask "how high?" when he yelled "jump". Written by Budd Schulberg, Face in the Crowd was not a success, possibly because it hit so close to home with idol-worshipping TV fans. Its reputation has grown in the intervening years, not only because of its value as a film but because of the novelty of seeing the traditionally easygoing Andy Griffith as so vicious and manipulative a character as Lonesome Rhodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, (more)
