Michael Emil Movies
Supporting actor Michael Emil (born Michael Jaglom, a name he has occasionally used in films) launched his film career in Tracks (1976). His brother, Henry Jaglom, is a director and Michael occasionally appears in his films. Michael has also acted as executive producer on one of Jaglom's films, Someone to Love (1987). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Henry Jaglom directed this moody meditation on the Vietnam War and one of its disturbed veterans. Dennis Hopper stars a sergeant who travels across the United States with the body of a fallen comrade, on a train to his friend's final burial place. As the train wends its way across the United States, the sergeant becomes more and more paranoid that the passengers on the train are out to get him. Finally, an energetic young woman named Stephanie (Taryn Power) befriends him, briefly giving him the courage to deal with the terrors of the war. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Taryn Power, (more)
In this enjoyable comedy, an outlandish heist of mobster money, taken by Simon (Michael Emil) the syndicate's bookkeeper, provides the momentum that starts the action. The brash Simon and his undermotivated cohort Sidney (Zack Norman) are in a wild ride down the East Coast to catch a plane to safety in a Latin American country. Along the way they hook up with Jenny (Patrice Townsend), a flirtatious fox, and Leona (Irene Forrest), a walking inferiority complex. The mix of these four characters provides enough hilarity to keep audiences entertained right through the twist at the end of the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Emil, Zack Norman, (more)
After a man (Michael Emil) and a woman (Karen Black) meet and begin to become romantically involved, his confirmed bachelorhood and her post-divorce trauma start to clash. As their interactions become more complex, and they move from one scenario to the next, they begin to learn more about one another. Director and writer Henry Jaglom used his non-tradtional filmmaking approach on this feature: set up the scene, let the actors improvise, and edit the result. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Black, Michael Emil, (more)
Henry Jaglom, the best professional "home movie" maker in the business, produced, directed, wrote and starred in Always. Also appearing is Jaglom's ex-wife Patrice Townsend, here cast as...his ex-wife. Showing up one night at Jaglom's home to finalize the divorce decree, Townsend is persuaded to stay by her former husband, who hopes to talk her out of dissolving the marriage. Sideline characters include Melissa Leo as Townsend's uninhibited sister, and Alan Rachins as a reclusive type. Mostly improvised, Always attempts to offer up a few sobering truths about relationships. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrice Townsend, Henry Jaglom, (more)
Using four famous but unnamed individuals to symbolize a notorious era in American politics, as well as to explore the nature of despair, director Nicolas Roeg has created an intriguing drama. Based on a play by Terry Johnson, the story begins with the blond Theresa Russell as a sex-goddess actress working on a scene over a subway grate, with her skirts billowing out in the updraft. A famous Professor from Princeton with white hair opens his door to the actress, who takes out a few props and goes through her rendition of the theory of relativity. Between her theatrical mode of speech and his world of mathematics, there is a certain entente. Enter the ballplayer who is her husband (Gary Busey), in love but without a clue as to the actress' inner sadness. Throw in the senator from Wisconsin (Tony Curtis) before whose sub-committee on Unamerican Activities the Professor has to appear, and the undercurrent of a societal witch-hunt that ruined many careers in Hollywood, in academics, in sports, and in politics is churned into the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Tony Curtis, (more)
Orson Welles made his final screen appearance as, appropriately enough, Orson Welles (or "Danny's Friend") in Henry Jaglom's "emotional vérité" comedy Someone to Love. The film begins as filmmaker Danny (Henry Jaglom) prepares to spend the night at his girlfriend Helen (Andrea Marcovicci)'s apartment. Helen has just adjusted to sleeping alone after the breakup of her previous relationship and tells Danny that if he stays with her, she won't be able to go to sleep. Fascinated by the explanation, Danny sends out telegrams to a bunch of his Hollywood friends to meet on Valentine's Day at a Santa Monica theater, the Mayfair, that is about to be torn down to make way for a shopping mall. Danny figures that he will throw a party for his lonely celebrity friends. He also reasons that he could introduce his brother, real estate developer Mickey (Michael Emil, Jaglom's real-life brother), to some romantic companions. The party would also be a handy way to get some film footage. The day of the party, Danny's friends arrive --a famous movie star (Sally Kellerman); a pop singer named Blue (Stephen Bishop); a jazz pianist (David Frishberg); a sophisticated continental woman named Yelena (Oja Kodar); and, bringing up the rear and ensconced in the back of the theater, Danny's Friend (Orson Welles). With his camera crew in tow, Danny takes to filming his guests as they answer questions about love and loneliness. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Henry Jaglom, (more)
- 1987
- R
A gumshoe gets in deep kim-chi when he agrees to murder a fellow's wife in exchange for $25,000 up front. No sooner does he accept the money than he is running off to his intended victim to first warn her and then sleep with her. As soon as they finish making love, he learns that she was not the wife and that the real one has been killed. Now the detective finds himself framed for murder and must somehow avoid the determined police detective who constantly dogs him while continuing his own investigation of the circumstances. His search leads him into the fashion-model world where he encounters more deception, double-crossing and danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Dee Williams, Vanity, (more)
Filmmaker Henry Jaglom plays the leading male role in his characteristically gabby New Year's Day. Jaglom is a writer who insists upon asking disturbing and intrusive questions to the revellers at a New Year's Eve party. His inclusion in the story is explained by having him sublet a California apartment where the previous attendants show no signs of leaving. The crazy-quilt Dramatis Personae include lesbian PR-agent Gwen Welles, erstwhile actress/activist Maggie Jakobson, and lustful fashion-photographer Melanie Winter. Periodically interrupting the steady stream of spontaneous-sounding conversation between these three is Jakobson's randy boyfriend David Duchovny and famed Czech director Milos Forman as a janitor (!). As always, Henry Jaglom is a matter of taste, but you'll very likely want to see New Year's Day for a glimpse at a pre X-Files David Duchovny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Jakobson, Gwen Welles, (more)
- 1990
- R
Elaine May and Marlo Thomas star in this black comedy taking place in the black comedy capital of the world -- New York City. Elaine May plays Marianne Flan, who moves back to a nightmare New York City from Beverly Hills after her husband, Roger (Peter Falk), has been fired from his job. She hires ditzy psychic Reva Prosky (Marlo Thomas) to redecorate her apartment, and they end up being pursued by a crazed killer. They flee the city and end up at a new-age retreat in upstate New York. Jeannie Berlin, Elaine May's daughter, co-wrote the script with Laurie Jones and appears briefly as the Flan's strumpet neighbor. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine May, Marlo Thomas, (more)
- 1992
Adventures in Spying brings the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew formula kicking and screaming into the 1990s. During the dog days of his summer vacation, young Bernie Coulson tumbles to the fact that one of his neighbors is a presumed-dead fugitive drug lord. Since no adult is going to swallow this story, Bernie is forced to rely upon his preteen friend Jill Schoelen to help him get the goods on the criminal. There's a $50,000 reward at stake-which seems like small potatoes as the kids confront one life-threatening situation after another, compounded by a preponderance of crooked authority figures. The adult cast of Adventures in Spying is certainly eclectic enough, ranging from onetime John Cassavetes associate Seymour Cassel to none other than G. Gordon Liddy as the bad guy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A legendary theatrical family gather for one final show at their East Hamptons estate in this verbose comedy-drama. Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors takes center stage as Helena, the family matriarch, who has made the difficult decision to sell the estate due to financial problems. A mixed group has come for what will be the last of the family's annual summer performances, a gathering that naturally brings conflicts and rivalries to the surface. Much of the trouble centers on Oona (Victoria Foyt), a financially successful Hollywood actress seeking artistic approval from such theatrical colleagues as avant-garde director Ivan (André Gregory) and gay playwright Jake (real-life dramatist Jon Robin Baitz), who each has difficulties of his own. As in all of writer/director Henry Jaglom's films, the focus is on conversation over action, as the various characters share personal torments and debate their individual philosophies. The talky, intellectual dialogue will be seen by some viewers as witty and perceptive and by others as pretentious and slow-moving. Regardless of one's opinion of Jaglom's idiosyncratic style, Last Summer in the Hamptons is distinguished by the presence of Lindfors in her final film, giving a career-capping performance that addresses the problems of older actresses and looks back fondly on the star's own history. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Foyt, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
