Bill Dunleavy Movies

Jamie (Helen Hunt) is selected to produce a commercial for the New York Bureau of Tourism. She promptly picks her husband Paul (Paul Reiser) to direct the film, secure in the belief that their working together will strengthen their marriage. Unfortunately, nobody likes being called "sweetie" in front of a bunch of teamsters. Watch for the "real" Big Apple and at least one of the Cats from the show of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Blaze is a comic-strip re-telling of the curious late-1950s relationship between famed striptease artist Blaze Starr (Lolita Davidovitch) and Lousiana governor Earl Long (played in gorgeously flamboyant fashion by Paul Newman). Their romance is counterbalanced with the story of Long's efforts to win voting rights for Louisiana's black citizens. The governor's political enemies ruin his chances at re-election, then try to put him out of the way permanently with a trumped-up insanity charge. But with faithful Blaze at his side (and in close proximity to other portions of his anatomy), Long confounds his foes by winning a congressional seat. On the eve of this triumph, Earl Long dies, bringing this boisterous story to a sobering conclusion. Since the film is based on Blaze Starr's own reminiscences, one might prepare oneself with several grains of salt. The real Blaze Starr shows up early in the film as a stripper named Lily. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide