Anthony Edwards Movies

After allegedly stealing a customized van, 17-year-old Randy Webster (Gary McCleery) is chased down by the Houston police. Randy is killed in a car crash; on his body is found a weapon, supposedly the one used in the commission of the van theft. But Randy's father (Hal Holbrook) suspects that the "official" story of his son's death is the result of a cover-up. The elder Webster attempts to conduct his own investigation despite hostility from an hostile police department and an overcrowded judicial system. Throughout his ordeal, Webster remains convinced that his son was not a criminal, but was set up posthumously by the overzealous authorities. Based on journalist Tom Curtis' s account of a true incident, The Killing of Randy Webster was originally telecast on March 11, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Michael J. Fox is among the young sitcom stars enlisted for this made-for-TV teen film, about a battle between the rich, popular kids and their average counterparts. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Revenge of the Nerds is the juvenile sex comedy perhaps most synonymous with the 1980s, alternating gags and scantily clad women with a power to the underdogs mentality that prompted three sequels. The handsome jocks of Alpha Beta, led by Stan (Ted McGinley), run Adams College, which means that when they burn down their house after a stunt involving grain alcohol and an open flame, they kick a bunch of socially inept freshman out of their dorm and into the gymnasium. But sleeping on cots is only the beginning of their worries, as the so-called nerds soon become the target of pranks by Alpha Beta, assisted by Betty (Julie Montgomery) and the gorgeous gals of Pi Delta Pi. Instead of taking the abuse sitting down, the displaced freshman, led by Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Robert Carradine), buy a ramshackle house, affiliate themselves with the only national chapter who will take them (the all-black Lambda Lambda Lambda), and use their superior intellect to launch a counterstrike. The bespectacled but loveable geeks set up surveillance cameras in the Pi bathroom and put liquid heat in the athletes' jock straps, then draft a sister sorority of misfits (Omega Mu) to strengthen their resources. The frats quickly become bitter rivals, and the goal is to win the annual fraternity decathlon, which involves such feats as a burping contest and a go-cart race, with bragging rights (and perhaps peace of mind) at stake. Look for John Goodman and future thirtysomething cast member Timothy Busfield in small roles, and expect a torrent of nasal laughter. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Director Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing is essentially It Happened One Night for the 1980s, but its lack of surprise in no way impedes its entertainment value. John Cusack plays Walter "Gib" Gibson, a self-involved college freshman who makes plans to head to California, there to touch base (and a few other things) with a "sure thing" played by Nicollette Sheridan. Likewise planning a westward journey is coed Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), a control freak who has a wealthy, stuffy fiancé over there. Gib and Alison despise one another on sight -- so naturally, they are compelled to travel to California together. The fact that everyone in the audience knows precisely how this one will end up is inconsequential; Cusack and Zuniga deliver such engaging performances that we're pulling for them to wise up and discover one another from the very first scene. One of the best bits: the mismatched couple being bombarded with an ear-piercing rendition of "The Age of Aquarius" by their dippy traveling companions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Devil-may-care navy pilot Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is sent to Miramar Naval Air Station for advanced training. Here he vies with Tom Kasansky (Val Kilmer) for the coveted "Top Gun" award. When not so occupied, Mitchell carries on a romance with civilian consultant Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). Shaken up by the death of a friend, Mitchell loses the Top Gun honor to Kasansky. Worried that he may have lost his nerve, Mitchell is given a chance to redeem himself during a tense international crisis involving a crippled US vessel and a flock of predatory enemy planes. The story wasn't new in 1986, but Top Gun scored with audiences on the strength of its visuals, especially the vertigo-inducing aerial sequences. The film made more money than any other film in 1986 and even spawned a 1989 takeoff, Hot Shots. An Academy Award went to the Giogio Moroder-Tom Whitlock song "Take My Breath Away." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The lonely wife of a struggling tobacco farmer succumbs to temptation and sleeps with a transient harvester in this drama set in Depression-ravaged North Carolina. The drifter offers her more excitement than the bored young mother has felt in years and it is no surprise that she and he begin plotting to murder her hard-working husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Miracle Mile starts conventionally enough, with bashful musician Anthony Edwards going ga-ga over waitress Mare Winningham. After a pleasant if somewhat quirky day together, Edwards and Winningham plan a tete-a-tete at the all-night restaurant where the girl works. While preparing to call her on a pay phone, Edwards intercepts a frantic call from a soldier stationed at a Midwestern missile silo. The message: nuclear warheads have been launched, and it's only 70 minutes to Armageddon! This unsettling news casts severe doubts over the future of Edwards' and Winningham's relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This teen comedy from Savage Steve Holland stars Corey Parker as an underachieving high schooler who hatches a crazy plot with valedictorian Lara Flynn Boyle to gain acceptance into a prestigious university. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In the made-for-cable El Diablo, Anthony Edwards plays a bespectacled Eastern schoolteacher who is bullied and cowed by the wild westerners all around him. Soon, however, he is forced to summon up his courage to expedite the rescue of his prettiest female student (M.C. Gainey), who has been kidnapped by the notorious bandit leader El Diablo (Robert Beltran). Louis Gossett Jr. is on hand as the down-to-earth gunslinger who teaches Edwards the rudiments of frontier survival. Coproduced and cowritten by John Carpenter, El Diablo debuted July 22, 1990, over the HBO pay-cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This follow-up to the sizable horror hit concerns a Maine teenager who discovers the eerie power of a legendary local haunt. Edward Furlong stars as Jeff Matthews, who, with his veterinarian father Chase (Anthony Edwards), moves to latter's small hometown of Ludlow, Maine, in order to escape unhappy memories. Jeff's divorced mother, low-budget horror movie actress Renee (Darlanne Fluegel), was recently electrocuted and killed in a freak accident -- the entire incident was witnessed by Jeff. In his new community, Jeff hears stories of an ancient Indian burial ground nearby where dead pets that are interred come back to life. Jeff also becomes friends with pudgy Drew (Jason McGuire), whose abusive, bullying dad Gus (Clancy Brown) is Ludlow's sheriff. When Gus kills his son's dog, Drew and Jeff bury the animal, which returns from the dead. When the vengeful dog kills Gus, Drew and Jeff bury the lawman in the cemetery and he comes back significantly the worse for wear, wreaking evil havoc that temporarily puts several of Ludlow's residents six feet under. The original Pet Sematary (1989) was based on a novel by Stephen King, who did not participate in the sequel. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The full title of this derivative comedy is Hometown Boy Makes Good. A pre-ER Anthony Edwards plays a young medical student who sends home glowing success reports to his mother. In reality, Edwards is washing dishes rather than scrubbing up. Deciding to return home and confess all, our hero is ordered to set up a psychiatric practice by the town mayor. Despite his protests, Edwards become the community's resident "shrink"-and, amazingly, his highly uniformed technique works! It's essentially Hail the Conquering Hero and Doc Hollywood rolled into one, but it's fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first season of the prestigious NBC medical drama ER is seen largely through the eyes of new third-year medical student John Carter (Noah Wyle) as he tries to survive his shakedown cruise in the Emergency Room of Chicago's County General Hospital. Carter is swiftly introduced to his ill-tempered, ultra-demanding supervisor Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), ER head Dr. Morganstern (William H. Macy), and his new co-workers, womanizing Dr. Doug Ross (George Clooney), workaholic Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), and troubled Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield). Likewise appearing for the first time -- and almost the last -- is Ross' current amour, Head Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), a character who was supposed to have appeared only once before committing suicide, but who proved so popular that she recovered and returned to work. The many first-season plot strands include Greene's ever-growing domestic problems with his restless wife, Jennifer (Christine Harnos), the normally ice-cold Benton's anguish over the failing health of his mother (Beah Richards), and Lewis' tribulations with her irresponsible, drug-addicted sister, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite), who presumptively deposits her baby at Lewis' home and disappears. Showing up in mid-season during a major medical crisis is Dr. Angela Hicks (CCH Pounder), one of the few people who can match Benton in anger and imperiousness. Another character conflict develops between Lewis and rule-bound Dr. Kayson (Sam Anderson), who first brings charges of incompetence against her -- and then tries to date her! On a more salutary note, Greene is promoted to attending physician. The Emmy award-winning episode "Love's Labor Lost" dramatized a career turning point for Greene when a misdiagnosis causes the death of an expectant mother. Shortly afterward, new ER chief William Swift (Michael Ironside) makes trouble for the staff with his eccentric approach to medicine. Also introduced is another third-year med student, Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen (Ming-Na), who enters into intense competition with Carter -- with disastrous results. Another first-season recurring character, Lewis' erstwhile boyfriend Dr. Div Cvetic (John Terry), breaks under the pressure of the ER and runs naked into the streets, never to be seen again. Worth special notice is the episode "Motherhood," directed by no less than Quentin Tarantino; and the season finale, in which the marriage between Carol Hathaway and Dr. John Taglieri (Rick Rossovich) is scuttled at the last moment, leaving poor Carol with another emotional cross to bear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide