Don Miller Movies
Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) wrote and directed the basketball-oriented seriocomedy White Men Can't Jump. Woody Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a white con artist who hustles basketball games with black players, lulling his victims into the misguided notion that white men can't match up with black hoopsters. One of his victims, African-American Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), becomes Hoyle's "agent," arranging his various inner city scams. Deane doesn't feel as though he's selling out his own people; he goes along with Hoyle to provide a better life for his wife, Rhonda (Tyra Ferrell), and son. The film breezes through several zany sequences, including one liberal-baiting satirical moment set at a black/white "solidarity" basketball game arranged by an ambitious politician. Crooked gamblers intrude upon the last scenes of the film, but Hoyle is rescued by his girlfriend, Gloria (Rosie Perez), a Jeopardy freak who realizes a lifelong dream by winning big on the Alex Trebek-hosted game show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, (more)
Carl Reiner directed this situation comedy about a neglected wife who, in frustration, has her first affair, with humiliating consequences. Kirstie Alley plays Marjorie, the ignored housewife of Harry Turner (Scott Bakula), an obnoxious member of a family of physicians. Marjorie's sister Jeanine (Jami Gertz), sensing her frustration, suggests she have an affair. Marjorie meets a ramrod-handsome man (Sam Elliott) in the check-out line at the local super market. They look into each other's eyes and soon they're having an afternoon of passionate lovemaking. Actually a bit too passionate -- after round five, Marjorie's lover dies from a heart attack. A kind-hearted salesman named Nicholas Meany (Bill Pullman) quickly comes to Marjorie's aid, trying to make the death look like a suicide. Complications compound as Marjorie tries to hide the incident from Harry and his family, but instead she keeps sinking deeper and deeper into a hole of deceit. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, (more)
- 1931
This drama is set at Notre Dame and follows the exploits of a great football coach (patterned after Knute Rockne) who is conflicting with a promising but arrogant freshman running back. The story centers on the coach's struggle to help Bucky O'Brien understand that his glory hog ways will not help the team. Bucky ends up getting demoted to blocking for his more talented teammate, Jim Stewart. Bucky is frustrated by his new role and refuses to play. He is promptly benched during the big Notre Dame vs. Army bout. In the end, the Army is beating the pants off the Fighting Irish, and at the last moment Bucky is put into the game. This time he plays for the team and they win. A sub-plot involves the caring coach's efforts to help an ailing player who is hospitalized. The film was dedicated to Rockne, who died a few months before its release, and features several real players from Notre Dame, including the Four Horsemen--Don Miller, Elmer Layden, Jim Crowley, and Harry Stuhldreher. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, William Bakewell, (more)
