Ralph Foody Movies

John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of "Little Johnny", the largely fanciful tale of the invalid boy who promises to get well if Babe hits him a homer (as in Pride of the Yankees, the cured Johnny makes return a appearance as grownup). The most amusing fabrication is the casting of narrow James Cromwell as the Babe's orphanage mentor Brother Mathias, who in real life weighed 300 pounds. Many of the characters are composites, notably Bruce Boxleitner's Jumpin' Joe Dugan. At least Ruth's two wives--Trini Alvarado as Helen, who suffers Babe's many peccadilloes and dies under strange circumstances, and Kelly McGillis as Claire, who keeps Babe on a very short leash-are depicted with a modicum of accuracy. The baseball sequences are well handled (though there could have been less slo-mo) while Elmer Bernstein's charmingly old-fashioned musical score is right in tune with the film's approach to its subject. The Babe is rated PG; had this been the whole truth and nothing but, and R rating would probably have been in order. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dolly Parton and James Woods as the screen's hottest new romantic team? That's only one of several casting surprises in this romantic comedy. Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) has had enough of life in her small Arkansas town, not to mention her small-minded Arkansas boyfriend Steve (Michael Madsen). So she decides to head for the big city of Chicago, where she applies for a job as a receptionist at a talk radio station. However, she arrives at the studios just as the staff are frantically searching for the psychiatrist hired to host a call-in show for people seeking advice with their personal problems. Shirlee is put on the air by mistake, and, while she lacks a degree in psychology, she has common sense to spare, and her no-nonsense advice makes the show a hit. Soon "Doctor Shirlee" is the talk of the town, but reporter Jack Russell (James Woods) senses that she might not be all she's supposed to be. Jack does some investigating and finds out the truth about Shirlee, but by this time the two have met and he's fallen in love with her. Will Jack obey his responsibilities as a journalist, or follow his heart? Straight Talk's supporting cast includes filmmaker John Sayles, monologist Spalding Gray, actor and producer Griffin Dunne, and future Lois Lane Teri Hatcher. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Dillinger is a messily directed, haphazardly edited TV movie, which takes a revisionist squint at the criminal career of the 1930s' Public Enemy Number One. Mark Harmon captures some of the charisma but little of the ruthlessness of John Dillinger, while Sherilyn Fenn gives an anachronistic interpretation of the gun moll who eventually betrays Johnny D. to the Feds. Vince Edwards is supposed to be FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover, but comports himself more like a grouchy crossing guard. The film is rife with poorly staged gun battles (including the Biograph Theatre finale), shot in a shivery "MTV" fashion which suggests that the camera operator has St. Vitas' Dance. Most of Dillinger was lensed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the 1930s-style exteriors were well chosen, though the interior scenes at FBI headquarters look like they were filmed inside the Milwaukee Public Library--which indeed they were. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a washed-up boxer (Roger Daltrey) invites a British priest (Dennis Waterman) to minister in his South Chicago neighborhood, he never suspects that the priest is not who he says he is. ~ John Bush, Rovi

The Package, a thriller involving political assassination and intrigue, is an excellent action feature using a familiar theme and providing good performances by the cast. Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones) is a prisoner entrusted to Gallagher (Gene Hackman) for transportation back to the United States. Boyette escapes and Gallagher must find him. In doing so, Gallagher finds himself getting into far more than he had bargained for as he becomes involved in a political assignation plot that he must stop. Both Hackman and Jones are excellent in reprising familiar roles. Hackman is never better than when portraying the decent man in a precarious position, and Jones plays Boyette with the same cunning and intelligence that he brought to The Executioner's Song. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

A magical jeweled skull makes the wish of 11-year-old Charlie (Fred Savage) come true in this routine but entertaining situation comedy. Charlie wishes he can switch places with his father Marshall (Judge Reinhold), a shallow junior executive of a toy-manufacturing company. Marshall retains his adult form but has the mind of an 11 year old. Charlie still looks 11 but has all the cynical wisdom and experience of his father. The switch provides for many amusing episodes, as father and son try to cope in each other's worlds. Marshall (as Charlie) goes to school while Charlie (as Marshall) tackles the pressures of the corporate boardroom. The performances of Reinhold and Savage are the highlights of this amusing comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A former FBI agent is recruited to root out the gangsters who killed a fellow agent's son in this Arnold Schwarzenegger action film. After being booted out of the bureau for excessive violence, Kaminski (Schwarzenegger) lives in small-town exile with his bitter wife, Amy (Blanche Baker). He gets the chance to return to the big city, however, when Chicago mobsters murder the son of his old colleague Shannon (Darren McGavin), as well as scads of prosecution witnesses against them in an impending court case. Shannon promises to reinstate Kaminski if he'll help engineer the downfall of gang leader Max (Robert Davi). Working undercover and without government sanction, Kaminski infiltrates the mob by posing as a bodyguard/assassin. Along the way, he tussles with beautiful gambling addict Monique (Kathryn Harrold), who starts off as an enemy but ends up more. The action comes to a head when Kaminski's mob bosses send him to kill none other than Shannon. Released post-Terminator and pre-Predator, Raw Deal is one of several non-science fictional action flicks that cemented Schwarzenegger's '80s box-office appeal. Director John Irvin would return the following year with the gritty Vietnam drama Hamburger Hill. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Jane Fonda stars in this made-for-TV movie, which uses the backdrop of World War II and urbanization to tell the story of one woman's fight to keep her family together. Gertie Nevels (Fonda), the wife of a Kentucky sharecropper, wants nothing more than to one day own her own farm. Thriftily hiding her savings from husband Clovis (Levon Helm), she prepares to make her dream come true -- until Clovis summons her to come join him in Detroit, where he's gone to work in a factory to help with the war effort. Arriving with her children in tow, Gertie finds Clovis all settled into a tenement-like block house and living the life of a union man. Soon, though, the downside of urban life -- from monstrous neighbors and repressive schools to the pitfalls of the industrial landscape itself -- threaten Gertie's family both individually and as a whole. Despite Clovis' freewheeling way with money and his propensity to blame her for the family's problems, Gertie continues to save money. A lifelong whittler, she begins selling hand-crafted wooden dolls, and when the union goes on strike, Gertie finds herself supporting the family. Adapted from Harriet Arnow's novel by Hume Cronyn and Susan Cooper, who would go on to collaborate on the similarly themed Foxfire in 1987, The Dollmaker was directed by feature and TV veteran Daniel Petrie. It debuted on ABC on May 13, 1984, and earned Fonda an Emmy for her work. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Expanding on their Saturday Night Live characters, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star as Jake and Elwood Blues, two white boys with black soul. Sporting cool shades and look-alike suits, Jake and Elwood are dispatched on a "mission from God" by their former teacher, Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman). Said mission is to raise $5000 to save an orphanage. In the course of their zany adventures, the Blues Brothers run afoul of neo-Nazi Henry Gibson, perform the theme from Rawhide before the most unruly bar crowd in written history, and lay waste to hundreds of cars on the streets and freeways of Chicago. In case you aren't swept up in the infectuous nuttiness of the brothers Blue, you might have fun spotting film's legion of guest stars, including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Steve Lawrence, Twiggy, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), Frank Oz, and Steven Spielberg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi