Robert Mickelson Movies
Comedian and filmmaker Jordan Brady offers an inside look at the art and business of stand-up comedy in this documentary. In I Am Comic, more than eighty professional comedians -- ranging from struggling beginners to veterans with over a fifty years of experience -- talk about the nuts and bolts of their work, discussing how they create their material, how an act comes together over time, the rigors of performing and their relationship with their audience. The film also focuses on one particular performer, Ritch Shydner. During the 1980s, Shydner was a working comedian who seemed poised for a major breakthrough -- he appeared on a number of top talk shows (including Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman), he had his own special on HBO, he appeared on several situation comedies as a guest star and starred in several pilots for comedy shows built around him. Despite it all, Shydner never hit the big time, and he eventually quit touring to become a writer for television. After more than a decade away from the stage, Shydner is hoping to make a comeback, and Brady follows him as he tries to connect with a new audience and adjusts to the changing landscape of professional comedy. Featuring interviews with Phyllis Diller, Lewis Black, Sarah Silverman, Jeff Foxworthy, Dave Attell, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carlos Mencia and many more, I Am Comic received its world premiere at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ritch Shydner
Directed by Robert Mickelson, Off the Lip follows Kat (Marguerite Moreau), equipped with a spanking new journalism degree, on her first big assignment. Though the job sounds ideal at first -- its only requirements are a positive outlook, good instincts, perseverance, and a willingness to travel to Hawaii -- Kat finds that her search for a surfer known only as "The Monk" is much harder than she had initially foreseen. As it becomes increasingly clear that the mysterious surfer has no intention of being found, other problems pop up at an alarming rate; among them are her boyfriend's (Mackenzie Astin) constant meddling, her washed-out guide's (Mark Fite) deteriorating mental health, and her supervisor's unwanted affection. To make matters worse, Kat's efforts land her a spot on the FBI's most wanted list. As the obstacles mount before her eyes, Kat begins to wonder who she's really searching for -- The Monk or herself? ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marguerite Moreau, MacKenzie Astin, (more)
Tony (Daniel Baldwin) runs a rather intriguing Hollywood brothel. His primary hookers -- Francesca (Julie Delpy), Mimi (Georgina Cates), and Dolly (Pamela Gidley) -- are given to elaborate, costumed, role-playing fantasies to please Tony's peculiar, highly emotional clientèle. The harlequin-outfitted harlots find their lives suddenly complicated by their increasingly strange customers, a relentless husband (Patrick Dempsey), and a political rally involving a sexually uninhibited mayoral candidate (Seymour Cassel). ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi
Actor Bill Paxton produced this unusual film about a clan of Irish-American con artists practicing in the American South. They live in a secluded compound and have their own time-honored customs. Pat (Mark Wahlberg) is returning to the hideout for the funeral of his father, who irked the clan by marrying an outsider. Because his mother is not Irish, the compound's boss, Jack Costello (Luke Askew), tells him that he's no longer welcome there. But Bokky, played by Paxton, takes the younger man under his wing and teaches him the clan's trade. Bokky specializes in cheating homeowners by charging them to apply driveway or roof sealant, then leaving before they discover that it's only black oil. He also buys and resells shoddy mobile homes. Pat soon proves more nervy and creative than his boss. They try to scam a bartender, Jean (Julianna Margulies), but Bokky falls in love with her. Jean needs cash to pay for an operation for her hearing-impaired daughter, so Bokky finally agrees to work for a cowboy con artist named Double D (James Gammon), who has been trying to recruit him for a big job in Nashville. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, (more)
- 1994
- R
Elizabeth Pena and Christina Applegate play Carmen and Kathy, two women from Los Angeles with practically nothing in common. Carmen is a working-class Latina and single mother from the East Side barrio, while Kathy comes from a wealthy family in Beverly Hills. However, both of their boyfriends, Richie (Tony Dean Fields) and Lyle (Peter Berg), have ended up in a jail in the Mojave Desert as part of a confidence scheme. Carmen and Kathy want to be near the men they love to show their support, so they head out to the desert in Kathy's convertible to wait out their stay in jail as they share living quarters in an old trailer home. Across the Moon was the second feature film for director Lisa Gottlieb, who previously helmed the cult favorite Just One of the Guys and episodes of the TV series Dream On. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Peña, Christina Applegate, (more)
- 1991
- R
This clever and well-crafted production (produced for Home Box Office) goes the distance with its innovative concept, which is equal parts Raymond Chandler and H.P. Lovecraft. Taking place in 1948 Hollywood -- in an alternate reality where magic spells, curses and demons are commonly used and accepted -- the story revolves around hard-boiled gumshoe Harry P. Lovecraft (Fred Ward, looking nothing like his character's namesake and everything like Mike Hammer), the only detective in the business who relies on brains and instinct instead of gazing into a crystal ball or casting runes. This pure perspective is sought out by wealthy eccentric Amos Hackshaw (David Warner), who is trying to retrieve the legendary "Necronomicon" (a key component in the works of the real H.P. Lovecraft). The book is reputed to have the power to release the "Elder Gods" from their cosmic confines and return them to Earth, whereupon Hackshaw believes they will appoint him ruler of all mankind. The chief rival for possession of the book is a seedy gangster (Raymond O'Connor) whose favorite nightclub singer (Julianne Moore) takes a shine to Harry. Followed by a sequel, Witch Hunt, which applies a more sublime (if unnecessary) re-interpretation of the material, and features Dennis Hopper in the Lovecraft Role. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred Ward, David Warner, (more)
- 1991
- R
Corey Haim takes on white supremacist rollerbladers in Prayer of the Rollerboys, the futuristic tale of teen angst and sweet love on skates. Haim stars as Chris Griffin, a pizza delivery boy whose younger brother Miltie (Devin Clark) gets caught up with the local drug-pusher gang, the Rollerboys. With the help of Casey (Patricia Arquette), a female cop out for revenge for her own brother's death, they help bring down the dreaded 'boys for good. But the deeper Chris and Miltie get into the crew, the scarier their racist attitudes become, especially when its revealed that repeated use of their drug will sterilize the entire population of L.A. outside of the Rollerboys' inner circle. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Corey Haim, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1984
In this odd mix of social commentary, forbidden romance, police action thriller, and teenage delinquency, a well-meaning social worker slowly careens off the charts when a 15-year-old teen is about to receive a stiff sentence as an accessory to a crime. Bobby (Gary McCleery) is driving the getaway car when his two brothers run into trouble in a robbery and shoot a policeman to death. The trio of siblings is quickly apprehended, and Bobby is thrown in jail until the judge can decide whether to try him as an adult or not. Not a moment behind it all is Laura (Margaret Klenck), a young woman who runs a non-profit agency dedicated to making sure young teens are not given adult sentences for their criminal behavior. When it looks like Bobby will get a life sentence, Laura cannot accept the inevitable and asks a close friend (and drug-runner) to help her out - and then she walks into the sheriff's office with a gun and gets Bobby out of jail. Her drug-running friend spirits them off to Florida, where Laura and Bobby hide out and begin a romantic entanglement - just another mistake in a long series of mistakes that have placed the two in a dangerous and impossible situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary McCleery, John Seitz, (more)
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