Eddie Deezen Movies

The first of several sight gag and slapstick-rich comedies he produced without the team of Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams, this lowbrow comedy from executive producer and star Leslie Nielsen suffers by comparison to his work with the "ZAZ" team. Nielsen plays Dick Steele, secret agent WD-40, called out of retirement to stop the world-conquering plans of his old nemesis, General Rancor (Andy Griffith), an armless madman determined to avenge himself upon Steele (who is responsible for Rancor's lack of appendages). With the help of Russian agent Veronique Ukrinsky (Nicolette Sheridan), Steele prepares to battle Rancor at his tropical island lair, where the daughter of Steele's long-ago love is being held captive. Along the way, such films as True Lies (1994), Speed (1994), Jurassic Park (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) are spoofed. Director Richard Friedberg had previously directed Nielsen in a series of automobile rental commercials and goofy "how-to" golf videos. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of Mel Brooks, this Italian comedy offers an episodic parody of classic thrillers and horror movies. Film includes cameos from several stars including Mel Brooks, John Astin, Larry Storch, Phyllis Diller, John Carpenter, and John Landis. The story begins as director Ezio Greggio is being stabbed ala Psycho in his shower. Before he dies he recaps the events leading to his death. The scene was L.A. and FBI rookie Jo Dee Fostar has been assigned to interview psycho inmate Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza. Meanwhile Fostar's girlfriend swipes $400,000 bucks from her boss and ends up hiding in the Cemetery Hotel, run by Antonio Motel. Inspector Balsam investigates cases of dead hotel victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this animated children's film from Amblin Entertainment, a group of four dinosaurs, including a tyrannosaurus rex, a triceratops, a hadrosaur, and a pterodactyl, are brought forward in time to New York City to entertain and befriend the children. However, when the dinosaurs are threatened by an evil circus owner, it is up to their young friends to save the day. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

When Chanticleer the Rooster (Glenn Campbell) is tricked into leaving town to seek fame as an Elvis-style Las Vegas singer, his farm is plunged into eternal darkness. This animated musical from Don Bluth centers on a young farm boy who embarks on a magical journey into the animal world to try and bring Chanticleer home. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This gangster satire involves a boss (William Hickey) who turns over the reins of his organization to an incompetent son (Eddie Deezen). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, the members of the Shakers, an aspiring rock band, perform at a series of weird and wacky weddings. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Critters 2: The Main Course is the sequel to the highly enjoyable horror comedy Critters. The people of the Kansas town first menaced by the little, furry creatures find that they are not yet safe as they are again assaulted when the creatures reproduce. Charlie (Don Opper) is joined by Lee (Roxanne Kernohan) as all join forces to save the town. The special effects, particularly the ""critters" are again, superb, but the direction by Mick Garris is less self-assured than in the original feature. While still enjoyable, Critters 2 is not nearly as much fun as the original, but still well worth a view. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

A government worker (Tom Bosley) informs several diner patrons of a $4 million treasure he stole from a group of Libyans and then hid, but dies before uttering more than a few clues. What follows is a mad dash for the cash. As part of the film's promotion, the sponsors offered $1 million to the first person to correctly guess the location of the loot. (The winner, Alesia Jones, was selected from over 300,00 entries.) ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

With a title like Assault Of The Killer Bimbos, the viewer gets pretty much what he or she would expect: a dumb-but-hip instant cult favorite that knows - and revels in - its limitations. Christina Whitaker and Elizabeth Kaitan are the two lead, er, bimbos, who are working as go-go dancers in a dead-end nightclub when their boss is murdered. When the two girls are accused of the crime, they hit the road for Mexico, picking up yet another bimbo along the way, along with three beach bums, and engaging in various adventures as they attempt to expose the real killers. First-time director Anita Rosenberg delivers a certain amount of wit, getting the most out of her low-rent cast, and the film's self-awareness goes a long way toward making it more palatable than one might expect. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a relocation to Florida throws lowlife New Yorkers Barney (Paul Rodriguez) and Jake (Michael O'Keefe) into a dilemma when Jake falls for a beautiful schoolteacher, Olivia Farragut (Lucinda Jenney), who is struggling to find enough money to keep her school open. However, when they discover that Olivia stands to inherit a fortune, if only she will marry a true gentlemen, Jake decides to transform himself into the epitome of good breeding. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The first film to be adapted from the popular children's television series Sesame Street, Follow That Bird follows the story of Big Bird after a social worker (Sally Kellerman) takes him away from Sesame Street to live with a family of birds in Illinois. Unhappy in his new surroundings, Big Bird attempts to hitchhike back home to Sesame Street. Over the course of his journey he meets a number of odd and charming characters, in the form of cameos by Chevy Chase, Sandra Bernhard, Waylon Jennings, Dave Thomas and John Candy. The music for this engaging family film was written by Van Dyke Parks and Lennie Niehaus. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Child actress Soleil Moon Frye played the title role in the lightweight half-hour sitcom Punky Brewster. After being abandoned by her parents, resourceful eight-year-old Penelope "Punky" Brewster moved into an an empty Chicago apartment with her little dog, Brandon. They were discovered and subsequently adopted by the building's owner, middle-aged photographer Henry Warnimont (George Gaynes), the archetypal "old grouch with the heart of gold." Punky quickly became friends with Cherie Johnson (played, amazingly enough, by Cherie Johnson), who lived in the apartment upstairs with her legal guardian, registered nurse Betty Johnson (Susie Garrett). The two youngsters attended school with their other friends, stuck-up Margaux Kramer (Ami Foster) and mischievous Allen Anderson (Casey Ellison). Their teacher during season one was Mrs. Morton (Dody Goodman), succeeded in season two by Mike Fulton (T.K. Carter). Also on hand during the series' inaugural season was Eddie Deezen as the apartment's goofy maintenance man, Eddie Malvin. The series debuted September 18, 1984, on the NBC network, whose programming head, Brandon Tartikoff, had actually had a childhood friend named Punky Brewster (still alive at the time the series was produced -- and, incidentally, generously compensated for the use of her name). Though the series lasted only two seasons on NBC, it proved to be a huge hit in rerun syndication after its cancellation on September 7, 1986. Thus, beginning in the fall of 1987, new episodes of Punky Brewster were seen in first-run syndication with virtually the entire cast (except for T.K. Carter) intact. The property remained in production for an additional two years, during which time the character of Henry Warnimont forsook his photography career to open up a restaurant, appropriately christened "Punky's Place." And from 1985 to 1989, an animated cartoon spin-off featuring the same cast in voice-over roles, It's Punky Brewster, was seen on NBC's Saturday-morning manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide