Robert Davi Movies

Actor Robert Davi steps behind the camera to direct himself, Chazz Palminteri, and Peter Bogdanovich in The Dukes. The title comes from the name of a doo-wop act that at one time had the most popular song in the country. Decades later, the group desperate for cash, the musicians decide to work together to pull off an ill-conceived heist. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

R&B star Usher Raymond plays his first starring role in this story which blends crime with romantic comedy. Darrell (Usher Raymond) is a successful club DJ who one night unexpectedly rescues a woman from a dangerous situation. It turns out the woman in question is the wife of Frank Pacelli (Chazz Palminteri), one of New York City's most powerful mobsters. To show his appreciation, Pacelli gives Darrell a job -- serving as bodyguard for this beautiful daughter, Dolly (Emmanuelle Chriqui). A short-lived romance blooms between Darrell and Dolly, but it isn't long before the couple are quarreling, which makes Pacelli more than a bit unhappy with his new hire. However, Pacelli also has a mob war and a disloyal and ambitious young lieutenant to deal with, and Darrell soon finds Pacelli's problems become his problems too. Also starring Kevin Hart and Robert Davi, In the Mix was produced under the title Dying for Dolly. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sopranos ingenue Jamie-Lynn DiScala stars as the infamous Hollywood madam in this made-for-cable bio-flick. Produced without the participation of Heidi Fleiss herself, Call Me traces the Pandering author's progression from pampered daughter of a liberal doctor (Saul Rubinek) to headline-grabbing proprietress of a ring of pricey Tinseltown escorts. Robert Davi and Brenda Fricker co-star as the boyfriend/pimp and the old-guard madam who offer Fleiss her entrée into the oldest profession. Corbin Bernsen plays a big-time movie producer who requires high kink from "Heidi's girls" to sate his jaded sexual appetites. The script, by Norman Snider, covers Fleiss' bust but trails off after her incarceration without covering her subsequent rehabilitation as a legitimate businesswoman. Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss premiered in April 2004 on the USA network. Snider previously worked on the script for another naughty TV flick, Rated X, which starred Charlie Sheen -- one of the few high-flying Fleiss customers to be named publicly during her early-'90s legal ordeals. Fleiss was previously the subject of Nick Broomfield's documentary Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Directed by Harry Basil, The 4th Tenor stars octogenarian Rodney Dangerfield as Lupo, a restaurant connoisseur who falls for a singing waitress named Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch). After finding out that Gina claims to be unable to love any man who doesn't sing opera, the tone-deaf Lupo vows to learn. Wasting no time, he boards a plane headed for Italy and commences singing lessons with Vincenzo (Richard Libertini), a sketchy voice coach. What he doesn't realize, however, is that Gina can't tolerate him whether he can sing or not, and that this was merely her way of getting rid of him. Luckily, a beautiful young songstress named Rosa (real-life opera star Anita De Simone) takes pity on Lupo, and takes him to her rural, wine-making family. It turns out that their wine can transform even the worst singer into an opera extraordinaire. Initially determined to use his newfound talent in order to snare Gina, Lupo comes to realize that Rosa may be his true love after all. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A carefree young woman wakes up to discover her greatest nightmare is a reality -- she's become trapped in the body of Rob Schneider -- in this shape-shifting comedy. Jessica (Rachel McAdams) is a beautiful teenager whose life would be the envy of any high school student -- she's head of the cheerleading squad, her boyfriend, Billy (Matthew Lawrence), is the quarterback of the football team, and she's pretty and popular enough to get nearly anyone to do what she wants. However, Jessica is soon to find out how the other half lives, in more ways than she counted upon; she shoplifts a pair of earrings from an shop specializing in African curios run by Mambuza (Angie Stone), unaware that they carry the curse of Princess Nawa. Thanks to the curse, the next morning Jessica awakes to find that her spirit has entered the body of Clive (Rob Schneider), a sweaty and hirsute small-time crook. As Jessica tries to figure out how she can return to her old body, she has to lead the cheerleading squad to victory and attend her senior prom while looking like a less-than-handsome 30-year-old man. Billy is understandably puzzled by the changes in Jessica, while her best friend, April (Anna Faris), finds her feelings about Jessica change a bit once she volunteers to be her prom date. The Hot Chick is the first theatrical feature for director Tom Brady; Brady co-wrote an earlier Schneider vehicle, The Animal, and was on the writing staff for his television series Men Behaving Badly. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV drama was based on the true story of Marita Lorenz (Gabrielle Anwar), an idealistic American of Latin descent who, in 1959, became fascinated with Fidel Castro (Joe Mantegna), the revolutionary leader who had recently seized control of Cuba. Against the wishes of her mother Alice (Jill Clayburgh), who works with the CIA, Marita travels to Cuba in hopes of meeting the charismatic leader. Fidel is quite taken with her, and he immediately asks her to stay on as his translator and secretary. But it quickly becomes obvious that Fidel's greatest interest in Marita is not professional; they are soon having an affair, and she becomes pregnant with his child. Marita becomes disillusioned with Fidel, believing that power has led him to betray many of the principles he fought for, but she's shocked and confused when she becomes frighteningly dizzy and passes out, only to wake up in New York City several days later, without her baby. Alice tells Marita that she was rescued in a daring raid after Fidel's henchmen poisoned her and aborted her unborn child. Alice now tries to persuade Marita to return to Cuba -- not to help Fidel, but to assassinate him. Originally produced for the Lifetime cable network, My Little Assassin also stars Robert Davi, Ada Maris, and Scott Paulin. The real Marita Lorenz served as an advisor to the production. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mika Kaurismaki directed this British-French-Finnish romantic comedy adapted from Richard Rayner's autobiographical novel about a series of Hollywood misadventures. Vacationing in the North of England, aspiring Los Angeles actress Barbara (Vinessa Shaw) stops briefly in a village where she meets town undertaker and obit writer Richard (David Tennant) -- who just can't stop thinking about her. Flying to California, Richard arrives at the Japanese restaurant where Barbara is a waitress, and a relationship begins -- while Richard learns about Hollywood at the hands of various hustlers and agents. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a wealthy man's wife conspires to take his fortune and his life after she learns of his philandering. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Season Two of the quasi-paranormal crime drama Profiler begins with the resolution of the Season One cliffhanger, as psychic forensic specialist Sam Waters (Ally Walker) takes charge of the Violent Criminal Task Force while supervisor Bailey Malone (Robert Davi) hovers between life and death in a hospital bed. Having quit the VCTF at the end of the previous season, John Grant (Julian McMahon) comes back to provide Sam with moral support; at the same time, another team member, Brubaker (played during Season One by Michael Whaley) has departed without explanation. Also, Bailey's rebellious daughter Frances (Heather McComb), who is essentially responsible for her father's plight, is now a fugitive from justice. Later on, Frances will return, intending to hurt her father by driving a wedge between himself and Grant. New to the cast is Sheik Mahoumad-Bay as Detective Marcus Peyton, a skeptic who doubts Sam's ability to "see" through the eyes of serial killers and their victims, making his first appearance in the episode "Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick." Marcus will remain on the series only until the end of the season. That title is one of many references to Sam's bete noire, the psychotically brilliant and frustratingly elusive multiple murder Jack of All Trades, who killed Sam's husband and apparently will not rest until he adds Sam and everyone else whom she holds dear to his list of victims. The "Jack" throughline permeates virtually every episode this season, especially those spotlighting the killer's protégé, paroled felon Sharon Lescher (Traci Lords), whom he has brainwashed, renamed "Jill of All Trades", and voyeuristically made over in the image of Sam Waters! "Jill" not only goes on her own murder spree copying Jack's modus operandi, but she also succeeds in wiping out Sam's first-season sweetheart, ATF explosives expert "Coop" Cooper (A Martinez). In an effort to help Sam get over this tragedy, her best friend Angel (Erica Gimpel) arranges a reunion of several of Sam's old friends--but even this is marred by a murder, which also launches a disturbing new story arc. Eventually, Sam is able to arrest Jill, wounding Jack in the process. While Jack remains out of sight, Sam has other problems relating to her daughter Cloe (Caitlin Wachs), custody of whom may be taken away from Sam and placed in the hands of her resentful in-laws. In the season's two part finale "Root of All Evil", Sam struggles to come to grips with her personal travails as she sets up trap for Jack using "Jill" as bait--but the results are far from successful! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This preposterous thriller stars Tom Berenger (Platoon) as Ernie Dewalt, a drug-addicted ex-cop with a catheter, and that isn't the worst of it. Ernie teaches creative writing at a small college where prominent professor Alex Laughton (Stephen Lang) has been blown apart with a shotgun while groping the frequently nude Jeri Kari Wuhrer in a car on Lover's Lane. Laughton's widow, Elizabeth (Valeria Golino) drags the reluctant Ernie out of retirement to clear her name, as she is the prime suspect. When he's not mainlining drugs or trading japes with investigating detective Robert Davi, Ernie is haunted by visions of Jeri, taunting him about his incompetence. It's not really Jeri, of course, and may even be the spirit of his former alcoholism, but the plot is so muddled that it's hard to tell. Ernie has a vision of himself snapping nude photos of Jeri and Laughton having sex in a field; Elizabeth is loudly whispered about in the local supermarket; and the ridiculous resolution will please no one. Bad film buffs should get a kick out of Ernie weeping to Elizabeth about his catheter, but other viewers should avoid this jaw-dropping stupidity at all costs. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

"I'm gonna dance," Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) insists in the opening scene of Showgirls, and dance she does. In this quasi-update of All About Eve, Nomi is a drifter whose sole ambition is to headline the "Goddess" topless dance show at the Stardust in Las Vegas. Of course, even Nomi must pay her dues, and she does so at the Cheetah, grinding poles and lap dancing her way to a future. Fortunately, her roommate, Molly, works at the Stardust and invites Nomi to see the show, where she meets Crystal Conners (Gina Gershon, in the Bette Davis role), with whom she immediately forms a love/hate relationship. Nomi soon learns what she must do to get ahead, and the rest of the film documents her cat-like crawl up the showgirl ladder of success. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, (Robocop, Basic Instinct, The Fourth Man), Showgirls was conceived as the first big-budget "adult" film since 1977's Caligula, and the first such production to wear the NC-17 rating; its failure at the box-office discouraged further attempts at large-scale adult productions. ~ Dylan Wilcox, All Movie Guide