Charlie Laiken Movies
In a comedy as flat as the cardboard cut-outs of movie stars that appear in one scene, Steve Martin plays Larry Hubbard, a wild and lonely guy who has been dumped by his girlfriend. Since misery loves company, he takes up with Warren, a fellow Lonely Guy (Charles Grodin), and eventually both Warren and Larry find some surprising companions, especially after Larry writes a best-selling Lonely Guy Guide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, (more)
Alan J. Pakula directs the political thriller Rollover, produced by leading lady Jane Fonda's production company, IPC Films. Featuring a racist plot and negative stereotypes about the Arab world, this film reflected the American fear of the Middle East prevalent in the early '80s. Fonda stars as former film star Lee Winters, who inherits a multimillion-dollar company when her corporate bigwig husband is murdered. She teams up with banker Hubbell Smith (Kris Kristofferson) in order to find her husband's killer and survive in the world of high-stakes international finance. They become lovers and travel together to Saudi Arabia to secure a loan and to guarantee Lee's spot as the company's board chairman. However, they end up discovering an Arab company's plan to withdraw money from the world's banks in order to destabilize the Western economy. Rollover also stars Hume Cronyn and Josef Sommer. This story also foreshadowed Jane Fonda's marriage to corporate bigwig Ted Turner in 1991. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
- 1981
Future Star Trek: The Next Generation star Brent Spiner probably doesn't include Rent Control on his current resume. Spiner plays a super-neurotic writer who goes to great and absurd lengths to win back his ex-wife. Elizabeth Stack, daughter of Robert, is the lady in question. Rent Control wants to be a Woody Allen movie, but director Gian L. Polidaro is not in the same angst-ridden league as Allen. Filmed in 1981, Rent Control didn't find a distributor until three years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Spiner, Annie Korzen, (more)
