Richard Cummings, Jr. Movies
- 1999
It's not easy being nice to Valerie Flake (played by Susan Traylor); she has a sharp tongue and a bitterly sarcastic sense of humor that she uses to level nearly everyone in her path, making her rather difficult to comfort after the death of her husband in a motorcycle accident. Valerie takes solace where she can by getting drunk and picking up men; however, she decides she needs some time out and leaves Los Angeles for Palm Springs, where she stays with her parents. A local greengrocer (Jay Underwood) soon makes it his pet project to find the softer side of Valerie's personality, but his mother (Christina Pickles) senses there's more to her than meets the eye and wants her son to stay away. Traylor's outstanding performance as Valerie is the highlight of this film, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Traylor, Jay Underwood, (more)
A stellar roster of hip-hop performers star in this streetwise story about a pair of gang-bangers who want to channel their energies into music, but soon discover how hard it can be to leave their old lives behind. DJ (Mack 10) and Lonzo (Fat Joe) are members of rival street gangs in inner-city Los Angeles; both have an interest in rap music, and after DJ's equipment is destroyed in a fire and Lonzo gets shafted by a sleazy record company executive, they decide that they have more in common than they thought, and they join forces to bring their sounds to the people. Needing financing, they approach Gator (CJ Mac), a wealthy drug kingpin, who agrees to bankroll their projects; with Gator's capital, the record label is a success, but things start to go sour when the police discover who is financing the operation, and an escalating gang war drives a wedge between the partners. Meanwhile, DJ is juggling two girlfriends, Brandy (Kidada Jones) and Leyla (Tom'ya Bowden), and is being pressured by his mother to renew his ties with his father, who abandoned the family when DJ was a child. Thicker Than Water also stars Ice Cube as Slink, MC Eiht as Lil' Ant, and Big Pun as Punny, with Krayzie Bone and Flesh-N-Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and B-Real from Cypress Hill appearing in cameo roles. Snoop Doggy Dogg was originally cast in the role of Lonzo, but he dropped out shortly before shooting began; New York rapper Fat Joe then stepped in, which added a East Coast vs. West Coast flavor that mimicked the gang rivalry between DJ and Lonzo. Mack 10 served as executive producer and helped write the original story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
From director Tim Hunter and writer Darren Star, this is the feature-length pilot episode of the popular Fox teen drama Beverly Hills 90210. For the first time, viewers are introduced to Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty), 16-year-old brother and sister twins who've just moved to Southern California from suburban Minnesota. Initially culture-shocked, the pair soon find comfort in new friends Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris), and Donna Martin (Tori Spelling). But after the gang attends a party together, trouble abounds. Brandon is suspected of sleeping with nice-girl Marianne (Leslie Bega), Brenda falls for a 25-year-old who is unaware of her age, and Steve's car is wrecked by naïve freshman David Silver (Brian Austin Green). ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Upon graduation from medical school, 27-year-old doctor Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) must work off 125,000 dollars worth of student loans by accepting a practice in Anchorage, AK. Having seldom ventured any farther than the boundaries of his native Manhattan, Joel balks at this assignment, only to be told that if he refuses, he faces a 10,000-dollar fine and 18 years in jail. Resigning himself to Anchorage, Joel shows up in the Alaskan metropolis only to be told that his services are not required and that he has been transferred to the remote village of Cicely -- population 815, mostly eccentrics and oddballs. The fish-out-of-water Joel swiftly makes the acquaintance of his new neighbors including his attractive landlady, mail pilot Maggie O'Connell (Janine Turner); Maurice Minnifield (Barry Corbin), the worldly ex-astronaut who owns Cicely; Maurice's ultra-macho best friend, 62-year-old tavern owner Holling Vicoeur (John Cullum); Maurice's 18-year-old beauty-queen fiancée, Shelly (Cynthia Geary); Maurice's assistant, Ed Chigliak (Darren E. Burrows), a laid-back Native American (and aspiring filmmaker) who seems to know everything there is to know; and Chris Danforth (John Corbett), the enigmatic, poetic morning DJ at local radio station KBHR. After several harrowing and mind-numbing experiences both personal and professional, poor Joel throws a tantrum and declares, "I will under no condition, NO condition, spend the best years of my life in the worst place on Earth!" Wanna bet? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Strange things always happen in Cicely during the Aurora Borealis, and those "things" are even stranger in this final episode of Northern Exposure's first season. Lost in the woods, Joel (Rob Morrow) is rescued by a legendary sasquatch-like creature named Adam -- who turns out to be a human being, a sociopath, and a damned good gourmet cook. Elsewhere, Chris gives up his radio job to construct a towering sculpture and along the way forms a symbiotic relationship with an African-American stranger named Bernard (Richard Cummings Jr.), who has motorcycled into Cicely on a mission...and who is no stranger after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this off-beat sci-fi adventure, a female scientist creates a sexy android version of herself and equips it with both the passionate emotions she lacks and a nuclear bomb. The trouble begins when the android is taken out for a test run and it ends up in the midst of a bank robbery where its internal bomb is accidentally activated. Things get worse, when the robot comes emotionally unglued and launches into a destructive rampage while enacting out its repressed creator's darkest desires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Hines, Renée Soutendijk, (more)
- 1989
This light comedy is a contemporary--and wacky--version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In this version, a malformed young man hangs out in the bell tower of a California college campus and has to face a number of prejudices when he is brought out into the light. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Katz, Corey Parker, (more)
- 1989
Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno return to their mutual TV role in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. Bixby is Dr. David Banner, who, after being pelted by gamma rays, occasionally turns into the green, gruesome, uncontrollable Hulk (Lou Ferrigno). This time, Banner/Hulk cross swords with an evil zillionaire gangster (John Rhys-Davies). Joining in the good clean chaos is another Marvel Comics hero, the visually challenged Daredevil (Rex Smith). Made for television, Trial of the Incredible Hulk debuted May 7, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This satirical look at the ambivalent relationship between Hollywood power brokers and African-American performers marked the writing, producing, and directing debut of Robert Townsend. The filmmaker also stars as Bobby Taylor, a struggling actor looking for his big break despite his family's and co-workers' reservations about his chosen career path. While working a day job flipping burgers, Bobby heads out to insulting cattle calls where white casting agents pass judgement on whether he seems "black enough." Meanwhile, he imagines himself playing Sam Spade, Rambo, and other movie heroes rather than the stereotypical roles actually available to him. When Bobby actually does win one such pimp-daddy part, however, he is forced to choose between accepting work that opens doors, but ultimately demeans him and returning to obscurity with his principles intact. Hollywood Shuffle's enormous supporting cast includes a wealth of black actors, from then-unknowns such as Damon Wayans to veterans such as 227 star Helen Martin. Self-financed and filmed on scraps of hand-me-down celluloid, the film helped establish actor Townsend as a director of note and also kick-started the career of co-screenwriter and co-star Keenen Ivory Wayans, who would cast Townsend in his own directorial debut the following year. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Townsend, Anne-Marie Johnson, (more)
- 1987
- R
When newspaper editor Charles Bradley (Anthony Zerbe) makes a call uncovering corrupt Los Angeles cops selling drugs, his phone is tapped and his architect son Joey (Clayton Rohner) is endangered. A detective is killed in Joey's apartment and detective Ryan (Ray Sharkey) is assigned to protect him. Ryan is in league with the crooked cops and tries to kill Joey. Joey escapes but is hit by a car driven by Jenny Fox (Talia Balsam). She takes him back to her place where Joey is nursed back to heath and the seeds of love are planted. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Project X is a top-secret government undertaking involving trained chimpanzees. Grounded pilot Matthew Broderick, assigned to teach the chimps how to operate a flight simulator, discovers that his charges are to be subjected to high levels of radiation to test potential human endurance. Risking a court martial, Broderick links up with Helen Hunt, the researcher who has taught the chimps sign language, to save the simians from destruction. The serious subtext of Project X is forgotten during a Disneyesque comic finale, wherein the lovable chimps nearly trigger a nuclear meltdown! Without taking anything away from human stars Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt, we must note that the most engaging performance in Project X is delivered by Willie the Chimp, who essays the challenging role of Virgil the Chimp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, (more)
- 1982
The civilian and military press make a media circus out of the 4077th when famous prizefighter Gentleman Joe Cavanaugh (Pat McNamara) suffers a stroke while touring the camp. After saving Cavanaugh's life, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is lauded as a hero--an appellation he quickly comes to resent. And speaking of heroes, the usually unflappable Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) is distraught over the plight of his longtime idol Gentleman Joe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
