Paul Borghese Movies

Conceived as a satirical reimagining of Reginald Rose's play and teleplay 12 Angry Men, this comedy toplines funnyman Jackie Mason, who plays himself. Days before his new Broadway show is scheduled to open, Jackie receives a summons to serve jury duty. His attorney, Raoul Felder, tries to extricate him, and Jackie makes a concerted attempt to talk his way out of the jury, but his efforts have the opposite effect. His fellow participants in the box include an airheaded model (Stacey Sipowicz), a women's rights advocate (Pamela Saubaugh), a self-deprecating Jewish man (Marty McDonough), a transvestite (Frank Anthony Polito) and many others - all arguing amongst one another to try to determine if an Arabic teenager named Yusef (Justin P. Nardecchia) is guilty of slaying a respected police veteran. Naturally, Jackie stirs up chaos, and tempers flare as the summoned argue with one another. But eventually Jackie becomes convinced of Yusef's innocence, and begins trying to convince the others of this position. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A wise guy turns his own trial upside down by serving as his own lawyer in this comedy drama based on a true story. In 1987, an extensive investigation into the activities of the Lucchese crime family led to charges being filed against most of the key members of the gang, leading to the prosecution of 20 different men, each represented by their own council. That is, except for Giacomo DiNorscio, aka Jackie Dee (Vin Diesel), a longtime Lucchese family "mechanic" implicated in everything from kidnapping to drug dealing. While Jackie Dee is obviously a common criminal and guilty of all he's charged with, he also has a fierce sense of loyalty to his colleagues, despite the fact his cousin Tony Companga (Raul Esparza) previously tried to kill him out of fear he might talk. Sean Kierney (Linus Roache), the prosecutor tackling the Lucchese Family case, tries repeatedly to persuade Jackie Dee to testify against his partners in exchange for leniency, but he stubbornly refuses. Tired of the way things are being handled, Jackie Dee informs family attorney Ben Klandis (Peter Dinklage) that he intends to represent himself in court; this seemingly suicidal move turns into an unexpected success as Jackie Dee's sense of humor and streetwise charm has a remarkable impact on the judge and jury. Find Me Guilty also stars Ron Silver, Alex Rocco, and Annabella Sciorra. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The first film by Duncan Tucker, Transamerica stars Felicity Huffman as a pre-operative transsexual named Bree (whose given name was Stanley). One week before going under the knife, Bree learns that she fathered a boy who is now 17 and is in trouble with the law. Bree would like to ignore this information, but is forced to meet the young man, Toby (played by Kevin Zegers), by her analyst Margaret (Elizabeth Peña), who will not allow the surgery to happen unless Bree meets him and confronts this aspect of her past. Upon meeting, the son believes that Bree is simply a do-gooder. She buys a car and the two road-trip back to her home in Los Angeles, Bree all the while attempting to keep from Toby the truth of the situation. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A frustrated New York actor whose sick of being typecast due to his Italian-American heritage sets out to seek help from the one actor who could provide his big break in a satirical showbiz comedy starring William DeMeo, Carmen Electra, Sandra Bernhard, and Tyson Beckford. Johnny Argano is Brooklyn born and bred. Though he's confident that he has the skills to make a name for himself on the big screen, he resents the fact that casting directors only seem to select him for stereotypical roles. In Johnny's eyes, the only way to break the vicious cycle of typecasting is to get the attention of his screen idol Robert De Niro, and in order to make that happen Johnny will have to pen a screenplay that truly stands apart from the pack. With his career on the line and nothing left to lose, the frustrated actor gathers together a dedicated team of die-hard filmmakers to raise the money they need to get their film made, and convince the star of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to accept a starring role in the movie that will make them all famous. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Noted baseball fan Billy Crystal directed this made-for-cable drama set in the summer of 1961, as two of the strongest hitters in the major leagues, Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) and Roger Maris (Barry Pepper), find themselves neck and neck in a battle to break Babe Ruth's long-standing record for most home runs in a season. Both men were playing for the New York Yankees at the time, and as the two men came within grasping distance of Ruth's record, their loyalty as friends and teammates was put to the ultimate test. 61 also features Richard Masur, Bruce McGill, Anthony Michael Hall, and Renee Taylor; the scenes set in Yankee Stadium were filmed at Michigan's Tiger Stadium, shortly after the Detroit Tigers shuttered the venerable playing field and relocated to a newer facility. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A "let's save the business" film comparable to Malibu Bikini Shop, Bikini Drive-In, and so on, this exploitation comedy manages to be funny and sexy enough most of the time to please genre fans. The plot concerns porn star Marilyn Chambers (as herself) helping her friend save a vegetarian cafe by making the waitresses wear bikinis. Comic highlights are provided by Pamela Safaraba as Bettina Borg, a homely spinster on the neighborhood morals council who tries to shut down the bikini bistro with vociferous protests. But the point of any film like this is nudity and sex, and Bikini Bistro does okay in this department, with several scenes of nubile young hardbodies getting it on in closets and on rooftops. Okay, that is, until the final scene featuring the aging Chambers and a tweedy restaurant critic. It's shot in softer focus than usual, but enough of the ravages of time are obvious to be somewhat distasteful. Otherwise, this formulaic sex comedy is often funny and occasionally titillating assembly-line fare. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi