Charles Darden Movies
- 1986
- PG13
Pamela Segall gives a winning performance in this gender-bending comedy about a girl who wants to be a boy and gets her wish. 14-year-old Milly Niceman's "deepest, darkest heart's desire" is to be a boy, as she feels that boys' lives are simpler and more interesting than girls' lives. After her best friend's brother sells her an "eclipse powder," she wakes up in the middle of the night to discover that she has grown a penis. When she becomes a boy, calling herself Willy, she finds that her girlfriend has now developed an amorous interest in him/her. Willy also makes friends with a handicapped boy named Alfie (Eric Gurry), who also confesses his "unnatural desires" for Willy. Finding that being a boy is as confusing as being a girl, Willy wishes upon a star to be changed back to a girl. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Segall, Eric Gurry, (more)
This routine film should have been called the "rock singer's husband" because it is about the life of a baseball player affected by his love for a singer. Darryl Palmer (Michael O'Keefe) plays for the Atlanta Braves, and when he walks into a nightclub and sees an attractive woman singing (Rebecca DeMornay), he pulls up to home plate and is anxious to meet her. From then on, his persistence in courting her is unstoppable in spite of several unhappy setbacks, and finally their romance makes it to first base when she realizes she loves him too, and they are married. From that point onward, his career starts to soar, while her career begins to slide in the opposite direction. In fact, she has given up her job to go live with him on his home turf, and the sacrifice, in the end, proves to be too much. A separation is inevitable, and while he still has his teammates (Randy Quaid, Cleavant Derricks), he would rather have his wife back. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Keefe, Rebecca De Mornay, (more)
- 1983
- PG
In this weakly limned melodrama, Marvin (John Cassavetes) is a homeless man who stops the 11-year-old Tige (Gibran Brown) from killing himself one night, and after a bumpy start, the two become as close as a father and son. Tige's real father left him long ago, his mother has just died, and Tige is seriously ill himself. Marvin takes this in and then hunts down Tige's father (Billy Dee Williams), who is married and the father of three other children. After some initial reluctance, the father finally accepts Tige into his household, but the boy's life does not necessarily get any better from there. With a plot that is transparently melodramatic and characters barely etched on the surface, the intention to manipulate viewers with "tragic" scenes is uncomfortably apparent. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cassavetes, Billy Dee Williams, (more)
- 1981
Set in 1963, this drama looks at the life of Barnie Margruder (Carl Marotte), a teenager dealing with school bullies, his bickering parents, his conflicting feelings about sex, and an often strained relationship with his girlfriend. Barnie's life begins to change when he makes friends with Winona (Charlaine Woodard), an African-American girl from the other side of the city, who gives him a new perspective on his town and the world. Hard Feelings, also known as Hang Tough, was partially filmed in Canada; the film enjoyed a brief theatrical run there, though it never opened in theaters in the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Marotte
