Cliff Frazier Movies

When pimp Ramrod (Wings Hauser) is wanted by the police for murder, an undercover detective, Tom Walsh (Gary Swanson), enlists the aid of prostitute Princess (Season Hubley), a loving mother struggling to support her kid, to help capture the fiend. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The owner of a professional football team must restore the titular train and run it from Tennessee to NYC in 24 hours if he is to inherit $1 million in this comedy. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Season three of the racy HBO football sitcom 1st & Ten bears the subtitle "The Championship," which may or may not bode well for our heroes on the California Bulls. In addition to returning regulars Delta Burke as the Bulls' sexy owner Diane Barrow, and Reid Shelton, as bombastic team coach Ernie Denardo, special emphasis is placed upon quarterback Tom Yinessa, played by Jason Beghe; indeed, the first of the season's four episodes is titled "Yinessa's Interview" (other episodes include "Easy Come, Easy Go," "A Family Affair," and "The Big One"). In another development, quarterback T.D. Parker (played by none other than O.J. Simpson) decides that his playing days are over -- and in a twinkling, he is appointed the Bulls' assistant coach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Bulls Mean Business' is the new subtitle for 1st & Ten as the raunchy HBO sitcom enters its fifth season. This refers to the fact that the members of the California Bulls football team now all have a financial stake in the franchise. As for sexy team owner Diane Barrows, she has flown the coop (actress Delta Burke left to devote all her time to her other starring sitcom Designing Women). Replacing Diane in the owner's box is the even sexier Kristy Fulbright, played by Shannon Tweed, the famous softcore movie diva. (Given this series' propensity for feminine nudity, it is somewhat disheartening to report that Ms. Tweed remains fully clothed throughout her tenure on the program!) Titles of the season's 14 episodes include "The Bulls Own Up," "The Inmates Buy the Asylum," "Caught in the Draft," "Down and Out in Bulls Stadium," "The Clock Runs Out," "The Dark Side," "Saturday Bloody Saturday," "Injustice for All," "Team Picture,"Out of the Past," "Final Bow," "Duty Calls," "The High and the Mighty," and "The Irreducible Bottom Line." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having lost the Championship and two of their best players, John Manzak (John Matuszak) and Johnny Gunn (Christopher Meloni), the California Bulls bind their wounds, grit the teeth they have left, and hope for the best as the sexy, profane HBO football sitcom 1st & Ten begins its seventh and final season. The series' subtitle this year is "In Your Face!," and that pretty much sums up the attitude of the battered gridiron vets under the aegis of tough team coach Ernie Denardo (Reid Shelton) and buxom team owner Kristy Fulbright (Shannon Tweed). New to the team is receiver "Miracle Miles" Coolidge (Keith Amos), who just might have the right stuff to guide the Bulls to another Championship. Without giving anything away, we can observe here that "Miracle Miles" figures prominently in the season's best-remembered episode, involving a surprise cameo from a most unlikely guest star. Episode titles this season include "Opening Night," "Old Dogs, New Tricks," "She's Ba-ack," "Altared States," "Going in Style," "Don't Powderburst My Bubble," "The Squeeze," "Take My Wives Please, "Bull Day Afternoon," "Sex, Bulls, and Videotape," "Irma Za-Greb," "If I Didn't Play Football," "A Roast is a Roast," "Close Encounters of the Third Down," "Flashbacks," and "Championship Game." The director for all but one of the above-mentioned episodes was Peter Bonerz of The Bob Newhart Show fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ruby L. Oliver's indie debut is a semi-autobiographical drama focusing on the struggles of woman living in the ghetto of Southside Chicago who must cope with an alcoholic husband and three troubled children (two layabout sons and an unmarried, pregnant daughter). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Calvin (Ice Cube) never wanted to take over the family business, a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Disgusted with the shop's crime-ridden neighborhood, and caught up in his moneymaking schemes, one morning Calvin decides to sell the shop to the shady Lester (Keith David). Chastised by his pregnant wife, Jennifer (Jazsmin Lewis), for his rash decision, Calvin spends the day cutting heads at the shop, and starts to understand the importance of the legacy his grandfather and father have left to him. The bickering barbers include Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), the old-timer with his own unique perspective on black life; Terri (rapper Eve in her film debut), a hot-tempered woman with a trifling boyfriend; Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), a college educated snob; Ricky (Michael Ealy) a reformed criminal; Isaac (Troy Garity, the son of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden), a white B-Boy, whom no one is ready to let cut their hair; and Dinka (Leonard Howze), a recent African immigrant who's too shy to express his feelings for Terri. Calvin learns to appreciate them all, and discovers that the place where they work is more than just a place to get a haircut -- it's a meeting place for the neighborhood, a place where folks can speak their minds and find out what's happening. Calvin gradually changes his mind about selling the shop, but it may be too late. Meanwhile, a bumbling thief, J.D. (Anthony Anderson) spends a painful day trying to crack open the ATM he's stolen from the grocery store across the street. Barbershop was directed by Tim Story and produced by George Tillman Jr. and Robert Teitel, the producers of Soul Food. Barbershop had its world premiere at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide