Marcia Shulman Movies

The regulars at a shot-and-a-beer bar in a decaying working-class town are the focus of Nick Stagliano's drama The Florentine. Michael Madsen plays Whitey, who owns a bar called The Florentine where most of the guys he knows hang out. His sister Molly (Virginia Madsen, Michael's real life sister) is soon to be married, and Whitey has been saving up for a nice reception. But when her old boyfriend Teddy (Tom Sizemore) comes back into town, bets for the wedding would seem to be off, which may be just as well -- Whitey's buddy Frankie (Luke Perry) got hold of the wedding cash and lost it to Billy Munucci (James Belushi), a con artist with a far quicker turn of mind. Whitey has other money problems; the bar has been mortgaged to a low-level gangster named Joe (Burt Young), who has been leaning on Whitey's friend Bobbie (Chris Penn) to pay off his mounting gambling debts. Bobbie is trying to stay one step ahead of Joe, which doesn't leave him much time to patch up his ailing marriage to Vicki (Mary Stuart Masterson). The screenplay by Damien Gray and Tom Benson was adapted from the Off-Broadway drama penned by Gray. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Former documentary filmmaker Rocky Collins made his feature directorial debut with this dark comedy-drama about suburban adultery. After schoolteacher Barry Grogan (Neil Maffin) and first-grade teacher Julie Hammer (Christy Baron) pull off a covert sexual liaison despite possible discovery by nearby students and staff, they go for another risky quickie in a station wagon parked by the school. Julie is married to deputy district attorney Max (Harry O'Reilly), who's hoping to be elected D.A. Barry, with two children, is married to Dierdre (Karen Young), and when he tells her about his affair, she kicks him out of the house. When Julie tells Max, he wants to stay together to work it out. Julie agrees to stay for three months, but nevertheless continues to visit Barry, who's staying at a motel. Max loses the election, and fraud charges put him in jail. During Thanksgiving dinner, Max tells Julie's parents about Julie's way of life, and other emotional twists follow in this film influenced, according to Collins, by Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life (1959), Max Ophuls' Caught (1948), and Nicholas Ray's Bigger Than Life (1956). Shown at the 1998 LA Independent Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Joey returns to his home in Staten Island and discovers that things changed dramatically while he was in prison. His mother died, and his brother Tommy married. Joey's former flame has also married and had kids. Big brother Tommy takes Joey in, much to the displeasure of his stripper-wife Lorraine. She thinks Joey will be trouble but doesn't seem to notice that the biggest trouble is sleeping beside her in bed. After many problems, tensions escalate into the story's violent final confrontation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Much of this absorbing, grim psychological thriller is set within Brooklyn's Kings County House of Detention and follows the moral downfall of an idealistic, straight-arrow black correctional officer, 36-year-old Paul Lamont. Strongly believing in prison reform yet horrified by the never-ending amount of criminals freed by the ineffectual justice system, Lamont dreams of becoming a lawyer and working for change. His humanity, honesty and rigid enforcement of rules does little to endear him to his more thug-like colleagues who have become cynical and cruel. One day the idealistic Lamont assists a badly brutalized Haitian illegal alien incarcerated for a rape he swears he didn't commit. Lamont believes Jean Baptiste is innocent and, against his wife's wishes, pays Jean's bail and brings him home. Jean Baptiste is a gentle soul, a professional baker who tries to earn enough money to support his children back home. Soon Angela finds herself slowly falling for the guest while Lamont is forced to work increasing overtime hours. Lamont loves his wife and is normally a devoted husband, but work is beginning to exact a heavy emotional toll. Realizing that an attraction between Angela and Jean Baptiste exists, he grows unnaturally jealous and insecure. It begins to show when he participates in a brutal beating at work and it culminates with a violent confrontation at home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Sex, drugs, lies and betrayal form the basis of this gritty crime thriller that centers on two white guys, Pooch and Big Boy, lifelong friends who decide they want a piece of the local drug trade action in their old neighborhood. They end up being distracted by aspiring-model and pathological-liar Eva, who involves them in an increasingly kinky menage-a-trois that results in jealousy between the friends. Still the two, with the help of their pal Juanito, are getting close to having total control and will be able to make a proposition to the mob behind it all. Unbeknownst to the others, Pooch is working as a spy for the police, but toward the end, he is undecided about whether he should help them, or help himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on Paul Rudnick's hit Off-Broadway play, this romantic comedy centers on the chaotic love life of Jeffrey (Steven Weber), a gay man who swears off sex only to fall in love with his ideal man (Michael T. Weiss). Jeffrey's vow of chastity is inspired by a fear of AIDS, a prospect which has started to terrify him so much that he decides he'd be better off never making love again. He is happy and relieved for a time, until he meets Steve, a handsome, charming dreamboat who also happens to be HIV-positive. Jeffrey wants nothing more than to be with Steve, but his anxiety over the disease and fear of commitment stand in the way. Much of the humor falls to Jeffrey's friends, including the sharp-tongued Sterling (Patrick Stewart), an outwardly catty but surprisingly good-hearted interior decorator, and his young boyfriend Darius (Bryan Batt), a performer in the Broadway musical Cats. Nathan Lane also contributes a memorable cameo as a questionable priest. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Killer is writer-director Mark Malone's offbeat noir fantasy about Mick (Anthony LaPaglia), an alienated, existential hit-man with a secret, romantic streak which leads him into tragedy. Mick is troubled by his desire to murder a call-girl because she failed to excite him, and he confides in mob boss George (Peter Boyle). George offers to set Mick up with a prominent psychiatrist if he first makes a hit on an upscale lady who has stolen money from the mob. Mick's pal Archie (Matt Craven) wants to join him, and Mick reluctantly agrees even though Archie's cowardice in a previous hit nearly cost George and Mick their lives. When Mick arrives to carry out the hit, to his surprise, he finds his victim expecting him. Elegant, cool Fiona (Mimi Rogers), asks a great many questions about Mick, learns a great deal and they engage in some mild sadomasochistic sex. Archie too becomes Fiona's confident, telling her of his botched hit and his troubled relationship with Mick. The film's conclusion is unusual and surprising, with dense and subtle performances by the entire cast. Malone is a confident and inventive director whose use of lighting and sound is smoothly impressive. But unlike many directors, Malone never allows this technique to interfere with the performances of his actors. Killer was well-received by critics, but failed to find an a well-deserved audience until it was released on video. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Tom DiCillo directed this surrealistic black comedy starring Brad Pitt as Johnny Suede, a young man with an attitude and an immense pompadour, who wants to be a rock n' roll star like his idol Ricky Nelson. He has all the stylistic accouterments, except a pair of black suede shoes. And one night, after leaving a nightclub, like manna from heaven, a pair of black suede shoes falls at his feet. Soon afterwards, the recently completed Johnny meets Darlette (Alison Moir), a sultry bohemian whom he beds down for the night. In spite of Darlette's abusive boyfriend with a gun, Johnny begins to see Darlette everyday. But when Johnny is forced to pawn his guitar for rent money, Darlette mysteriously leaves him. Johnny's pal Deke (Calvin Levels) fronts him the money to get his guitar out of hock, and the two form a band. Depressed about Darlette's desertion, he wanders aimlessly, and he meets Yvonne (Catherine Keener), a woman much wiser than Johnny who teaches him that there are things in life much more important than a pair of black suede shoes. DiCillo based his independent comedy Living in Oblivion upon his experiences working with Brad Pitt on this film. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this black comedy starring Randy Quaid, a dead dog, a red-hot date, and a Zen-quoting cabbie with strange connections provide the ingredients for the most frustrating night in poor Michael Latchmer's heretofore dull life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Abel Ferrara liberally employs his blackjack intensity in this lunatic gang romance that comes across as a cross between Mean Streets and West Side Story. The New York City street gangs of Chinatown and Little Italy are rattling their sabers and they become drawn when a Chinese restaurant opens up on the Italian side of Canal Street. In the middle of all this tension and violence, beautiful Chinese teenager Tyan-Hwa (Sari Chang) falls in love with Tony (Richard Panebianco), a pizza delivery boy. Of course, continuing with in the West Side Story vein, the parents of the two lovebirds are against the match. Not only that, but the Mafia and the Chinese mob conspire to separate the lovers in order to maintain an uncertain peace in the community. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This drama is based on a play by Mones and is set within a grim New York neighborhood where a new kid comes to the neighborhood. Unlike the street-wise and life-toughened gang members around him, the youth is a sensitive poet who teaches the kids about the meaning and beauty of life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Timothy Hutton stars in this rabble-rousing movie in the tradition of Rocky, directed by Bob Clark. Hutton plays Jimmy Lynch, the younger brother of New York City firefighter Terry (Robert Urich). Terry is off-duty and has been drinking but rescues a young girl for a dangerous fire. When he injures himself in the fire and is hospitalized, New York City refuses to pay for his medical expenses because he was intoxicated during the rescue. Incensed that Mayor Tyler (Robert Culp) refuses to look after his brother, Jimmy decides to take them all on and mounts a series of public stunts designed to embarrass the mayor. Along the way, Jimmy becomes a folk hero, since he hides his identity behind the signature "Turk 182!" Jimmy is now a celebrity and consents to sit down for a television interview to reveal his true identity. But when the television station fails to broadcast the interview due to political pressure, Jimmy takes it upon himself to stage one final elaborate stunt to make the public aware of Terry's plight. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide