Bill Erwin Movies

Boys will be boys, and that's not always a good thing, as this dark drama with comic overtones reveals. Matt (Keith Carradine) and Harley (David Keith) were best friends in high school, but since then their lives have followed a very different course. Matt drifts from job to job, swilling beer and making trouble wherever he lands, while Harley is a building designer with a nice home and an attractive wife, Fox (Janet Gunn), who wants to have a baby, though Harley isn't so certain he wants to be a parent. One day, Matt walks off his job at an Alaskan oilfield and heads to California, appearing on Harley's doorstep; Harley has neither the heart nor the desire to turn Matt away, and soon Matt is giving Harley a new taste of the bachelor lifestyle as they head out drinking, carousing, and chasing women from dusk till dawn. But Fox soon becomes wary of the way Matt is bringing out the less wholesome side of Harley's personality, while Harley notices Matt's behavior is advancing past good-natured rowdiness into something more sinister. Matt's fondness for fast sex with prostitutes and his sudden friendship with a gangster (Jan Triska) leads Matt down a dangerous road that proves to have disastrous consequences for the two friends. Cahoots was the first feature film for writer and director Dirk Benedict, who is best known for his career as a television actor, having starred in the TV series Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Stand-up comic Carrot Top is usually seen with his wacky inventions, such as a bald-head blowdryer and an anatomically correct fanny pack. Similar goofy gimmicks are combined with physical humor and stunt work in this comedy about the plight of Venice Beach inventor-surfer Edison (Carrot Top) and his roommates Ty (Mystro Clark) and Zak (Jack Plotnick) as they all near eviction. For rent money, Edison tries (unsuccessfully) to sell his dopey devices, including his Glo Gunk and his bug-killer helmet. A la Melvin and Howard, Edison offers a roadside assist to wealthy tycoon Armand McMillan (Jack Warden), who dies and wills controlling shares of his business to Edison, putting Edison at odds with McMillan's mean-spirited nephew (Larry Miller) and McMillan's closest corporate competitor Grace Kosik (Raquel Welch). In the Big tradition, Edison gets positive reactions to such inventions as TV dinners with real TVs and his Bull Shirt lie-detector -- while schemes and intrigue lurk around every corner of the corporate corridors. The comedian received a satirical jab from Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) when the words "Carrot Top movie" are seen on a document of villainous "evil schemes." ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In the mode of Quentin Tarantino, this film, directed by Gary Fleder from a script by Scott Rosenberg, concerns itself with hip, smart gangsters. The film is set in Denver, and the title comes from a Warren Zevon song. A retired, good-hearted gangster named Jimmy the Saint (Andy Garcia) runs a company that videotapes dying people giving life advice to their children and grandchildren, to be delivered when they come of age. Jimmy's former crime boss, The Man with the Plan (Christopher Walken), summons him. The Man is wheelchair-bound and doesn't have long to live; he explains that Jimmy owes him a favor and must perform one final job. It involves frightening the boyfriend of the ex-girlfriend of Bernard (Michael Nicolosi), the son of The Man, who has been so shaken by the girl's rejection of him that he has been fondling schoolyard children. Jimmy rounds up his old gang -- including Pieces (Christopher Lloyd), a porno theater projectionist; Franchise (William Forsythe), an ex-biker with a trailer-trash family to support; Critical Bill (Treat Williams), a psychotic, trigger-happy ex-con; and Easy Wind (Bill Nunn), an exterminator. Pieces and Bill pose as cops as part of the needlessly elaborate plan, which misfires badly. The Man, enraged, gives Jimmy 48 hours to leave town, and he orders his comrades wiped out, hiring the notorious hitman Mr. Shhh (Steve Buscemi) to track them down. But Jimmy can't seem to get the others to leave town, and despite The Man's decree, Jimmy is also reluctant to leave, because he's become romantically entangled with Dagney (Gabrielle Anwar). Jack Warden's character serves as a kind of Greek chorus who comments from time to time on the unfolding action. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This film noir style, made-for-TV movie contains three parts, each based on stories by three different authors (Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, and James Elroy). It looks as if a con-artist (Peter Gallagher) has finally met someone who can pull the wool over his eyes in "The Frightening Frammis." In "Murder, Obliquely," a shifty man (Alan L. Rickman) manages to win the affections of a woman (Laura Dern). Little does she know that his former girlfriend might have been murdered by his own hands. The mobster Mickey Cohen (James Woods) and Howard Hughes (Tim Matheson) both have their eyes on the same woman and Buzz Meeks (Gary Busey) has been contracted to seek her out in "Since I Don't Have You." ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Julia Cole (Diane Salinger) is more than a little upset about turning 40. She's depressed about growing older, distressed at the lack of attention from her workaholic husband Charles (John Calvin), and bored with being a stay-at-home wife and mother. On her birthday, she finds a bottle of enchanted soap bubbles. Blowing them transports her to moments of happiness from earlier times in her life. Soon, she not only regains her youthful vigor, she cannot even remember how old she is. She changes her appearance, her personality is transformed from reclusive to outgoing, and her values change from strict to permissive. Eventually, she realizes that happiness is not age-dependent. George Clooney and Wallace Shawn are the biggest names in this low-budget, independently produced romantic comedy, also known as The Magic Bubble, directed by Deborah Taper Ringel and Alfredo Ringel. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

When Eddie (K.C. Martel) elopes to Las Vegas with hat-check girl Tina (Melissa Young), Mike (Kirk Cameron) and Kate (Chelsea Noble) go along for the ride--not so much to witness the ceremony as to talk Eddie out of his foolishness. Upon finding out what's happened, Mike's parents Jason (Alan Thicke) and Maggie (Joanna Kerns) leap to the conclusion that it is Mike and Kate who intend to tie the knot. This is the last episode of Growing Pains' sixth season, and the last with the original production crew. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Where else but on network television would you be able to see a movie starring Bob Newhart, Linda Gray, and Michael Jackson's pet chimpanzee "Bubbles"? The Entertainers was advertised as "the touching story of a chimp, a chump and the woman they love." Newhart is cast as Todd Wilson, a second-echelon nightclub comic who has a chance to make it big in Las Vegas. The hitch: Wilson won't get hired unless he reteams with his old partner Bubbles. It really is better than it sounds, thanks to supporting appearances by several veteran cabaret entertainers, short on name value but big on talent. The Entertainers was first telecast November 21, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A talented kick-boxer attempts to retire and finds himself framed for murder in this stylish action thriller. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they've left him "home alone," he learns to fend for himself and, eventually has to protect his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who are planning to rob every house in Kevin's suburban Chicago neighborhood. Though the film's slapstick ending may be somewhat violent, Culkin's charming presence helped the film become one of the most successful ever at the time of its release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

A dying burglar hires Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) and David (Bruce Willis) to investigate a heist committed 25 years ago. No, the old man doesn't want to clear his name; instead, he wants to prove to the cops that he has committed the "perfect crime." Maddie wants no part of this, but David is intrigued. And besides, it will get their minds off the much-talked-about "Anselmo Case" (remember?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A travel snafu bollixes up Maggie's plan to take the family on a trip to Martha's Vineyard. The result: Maggie (Joanna Kerns), Jason (Alan Thicke), Carol (Tracey Gold), Ben (Jeremy Miller) and baby Chrissy are stranded on the mainland, while Mike (Kirk Cameron) and the baby's nanny Julie (Julie McCullough) end up alone on the island--and in the same overnight shelter! This episode is highlighted by the performance of frequent Growing Pains supporting actor Bill Erwin in a dual role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Animation producer Don Bluth's fondness for overly cutesy characters and muddy color compositions work to the benefit of his feature-length cartoon The Land Before Time. Littlefoot, a brontosaurus child, must fend for himself when his mother is killed (shades of Bambi). With several other orphaned dinosaurs, Littlefoot seeks out the fabled Great Valley, where food and shelter is plentiful. Along the way, the kiddie dinos learn several vital (and politically correct) life lessons, all the while keeping themselves scarce whenever the fierce tyrannosauri gallumph into view. The cuteness of the characters (emphasized by the voice work) takes some of the harsh edges off the story, which makes the film eminently suitable for younger children; and the smeary color design is ideal for the time-frame of the film, which is set in the turbulent, nature-run-rampant period just before the dinosaurs died out. Apparently they didn't all die, inasmuch as a Land Before Time sequel was released on video in 1994. The earlier film inspired a 1988 Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Ruby-Spears, Dink: The Little Dinosaur. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi