Deborah Foreman Movies
Deborah Foreman made an indelible impression on fans of 1980s pop culture with her performance in the title role of the film Valley Girl, though it was hardly her only appearance in a memorable teen flick of the era. Deborah Foreman was born on October 12, 1962 in Montebello, CA. Foreman's father was a pilot and officer in the United States Marine Corps, and as a result she moved a great deal during her childhood, spending most of her time in Texas and Arizona. Despite her fresh-scrubbed good looks, Foreman was quite shy as she entered her teens, and her mother and father suggested she take modeling lessons to help her come out of her shell. It wasn't long before Foreman began landing modeling assignments, most memorably a series of print ads for Maybelline cosmetics, and after graduating from high school, she moved from Houston, TX, to Los Angeles, CA, in hopes of launching a career as an actress. Foreman made her big-screen debut with a small role in 1982's I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can, and also landed several TV guest appearances, but Valley Girl, released a year later, was her first leading role and the film that first earned her a cult following. Inspired by Frank Zappa's hit single, Valley Girl followed the unlikely romance between fashion-conscious suburbanite Julie Richman (played by Foreman) and semi-threatening New Wave guy Randy (Nicolas Cage). The film became a surprise hit and fared unexpectedly well with critics, and in 1984 Foreman landed a role as a regular on the TV series Hot Pursuit. The show, however, only lasted one season, and Foreman soon refocused her attention on film, winning leading roles in the wacky comedy My Chauffeur and the horror film spoof April Fool's Day, as well as a memorable supporting turn in Real Genius. However, while the exhibitors' organization Sho-West named Foreman Most Promising New Star of 1986, as the 1980s wore on, she had more difficulty landing worthwhile roles, and in 1992, after the release of the film Lunatics: A Love Story (in which she played the female lead), Foreman opted to leave show business behind. Since then, Foreman has established a successful career as a graphic designer and artist, and also creates unique hand-painted furniture. Foreman still acts on occasion, appearing in commercials, short films, and episodic television. ~ Mark Deming ~ All Movie Guide
- 1993
Another psychopath haunts another baby sitter in this made-for-TV sequel to the 1979 feature When a Stranger Calls. When prim schoolgirl Julia (Jill Schoelen) accepts a last-minute baby-sitting assignment from a doctor and his wife (Kevin McNulty and Cheryl Wilson), she follows all the rules: She studies diligently, checks often on the kids, and refuses to open the door for strangers -- even when a stranded motorist asks to come in and call his auto club. Julia offers to call for him, but the phone is dead, and rather than alert a strange man that she's without a link to the outside world, she lies and says they're on their way. The man returns to the door repeatedly, angrily wondering why help hasn't arrived; as he continues to badger Julia, she notices things aren't right in the house. Slips of paper disappear, doors mysteriously unlock themselves, the children vanish, and Julia barely escapes with her life. Five years later, Julia is an introverted college student with some heavy-duty locks on her door. Nevertheless, she starts getting that familiar feeling that something isn't right. Enter Jill Johnson (Carol Kane), survivor of a similar baby-sitting atrocity many years earlier. Now a guidance counselor at Julia's university, she offers to help the girl track down her stalker. With the help of an old friend, private eye John Clifford (Charles Durning), Jill picks up the trail of a disturbed ventriloquist (Gene Lythgow). But when Julia ends up with a bullet in her head in an apparent suicide attempt, even John thinks Jill's investigation is a wild goose chase. Reuniting stars Carol Kane and Charles Durning with writer/director Fred Walton, When a Stranger Calls Back features another horror veteran in its cast. Jill Schoelen previously starred in 1990's Popcorn. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Kane, Charles Durning, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
Evil Dead director Sam Raimi produced this bizarre romance, starring his brother Theodore as Hank, a paranoid shut-in who lines the walls of his Los Angeles apartment with tin foil for protection. After an accidental phone conversation with a seemingly sweet-natured Iowa farm girl named Nancy (Deborah Foreman) who might be as deranged as he, Hank is forced to conquer his fears in order to win her heart. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Foreman, Theodore Raimi, (more)
Director Anthony Hickox (Waxwork) crafted this entertaining bit of horror-western fusion about the vampiric residents of a remote, dusty desert town who have chosen to derive their sustenance from a plasma-manufacturing plant in an attempt to put aside their monstrous nature and peacefully co-exist with humans. When the plant begins malfunctioning, the town's leaders summon the designer, David Harrison (Jim Metzler), to look into the problem. Soon after Harrison and his wife Sarah (Morgan Brittany) arrive, however, they find themselves in the thick of an escalating rivalry between two vampire factions -- one led by peaceful Count Mardulak (David Carradine), who ordered the blood plant as part of his plan to integrate the dying vampire race into human society; and the old-school bloodsuckers, under the sinister Jefferson (John Ireland), who consider Mardulak and his followers traitors to their predatory heritage. While the Harrisons' fates hang in the balance, the scales are jostled further by the arrival of a man named Van Helsing (Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell, in a surprisingly low-key performance), descendant of the legendary vampire hunter, whose disorganized efforts at wiping out town's undead populace are impeded by his growing attraction to a pretty young vampire (Deborah Foreman). With tongue firmly in cheek, this semi-parody plays off audiences' familiarity with the conventions of the vampire genre, but it seldom sacrifices creepiness and suspense when needed. It marked a creative step forward for Hickox (who would later stumble with Hellraiser III), who clearly tailors his projects to seasoned horror buffs. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Jim Metzler, (more)
- 1989
- R
A free-spirited commercial artist loses his girl to a stodgy professor and decides to everything in his power to get her back in this Canadian romantic comedy. When he learns that she and her new love are heading off to the mountains for a cozy weekend, he decides to follow them. En route, the lovers encounter a crazed biker and his nutty chick, and an idiotic bumpkin. In the end, all parties involved converge upon the cabin and merry romantic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Stern, Sheila McCarthy, (more)
This farcical send-up of the movie business borrows a plot from the classic 1968 Mel Brooks film The Producers. It stars Tony Curtis as J.P. Sheldrake, a movie producer sorely in need of a flop for tax purposes. Imagine his delight when a very young would-be filmmaker shows up on his doorstep with what could be the worst B-movie ever made, Lobster Man From Mars. In the story-within-a-story, a Martian lobster-man who has come to earth to steal some badly needed air for his home planet grows increasingly addicted to munching on humans. He is pursued by an addlepated professor (Patrick Macnee) a couple of all-American teens, and a trigger-happy military man. The movie looks guaranteed to be a flop, but of course it foils Sheldrake's plan by becoming a huge success. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Deborah Foreman, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
SCTV alumnus Dave Thomas manned the megaphone for the direct-to-video Experts. John Travolta was between career highs when he agreed to appear in this anachronistic cold-war comedy. Travolta and Arye Gross play Travis and Wendell, a couple of vagabonds hired by Soviet spy Cameron Smith (Charles Martin Smith) to act as experts on the American lifestyle. It seems that Smith is in charge of one of those "typical American towns" constructed in the middle of the Soviet Union for espionage-training purposes (remember all those Red-baiting documentaries of the 1950s?) Under the influence of drugs, Travis and Wendell are relocated to the phony burg of Indian Springs, Nebraska (actually well within the Russian borders). They immediately begin indoctrinating their "American" neighbors in all the guilty pleasures of Yankee hedonism. Hardly a comedy classic, The Experts did produce one salutary by-product: it was on the set of this film that John Travolta met his future bride Kelly Preston, here cast as a peaches-and-cream Russian spy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Arye Gross, (more)
- 1988
- R
The cast and crew of the low-budget women-in-prison potboiler Big House Dolls sets up shop in an abandoned prison -- the site of a bloody riot that occurred on the night serial killer Ivan Moser (Lyle Alzado) was apparently electrocuted. When the slobbering Moser begins showing up in the nightmares of stuntwoman Susan Malone (Deborah Foreman), it's a given that the lumbering, half-baked madman is soon going to show up, power tools in hand, and do a little crude free-lance editing. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Foreman, Clayton Rohner, (more)
- 1988
- R
In this horror film, an evil magician creates a wax display of famous monsters and murderers and invites a group of unsuspecting young college students to view the collection. However, when the kids are trapped in the deadly displays, one-by-one they soon discover that the wax models are more than they appear to be. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, (more)
- 1986
Street gang member Jeff (Adam Baldwin) leaves the organization, seeking out a quieter existence. Meanwhile, gang leader Cinco (Danny De La Paz) and his minions have taken over the local high school, dispensing drugs with impunity. When Cinco is arrested, a rumor spreads that he's been sold out by Jeff. In the ensuing hostilities, Jeff's girlfriend (Deborah Foreman) is beaten and bloodied. A showdown is inevitable, and, per the film's title, it takes place just after the last school bell has rung. Filmed in 1984, 3:15 - The Moment of Truth wasn't released until 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Baldwin, Deborah Foreman, (more)
April Fool's Day just happens to be the birthday of rich college student Buffy (Deborah Foreman), so she invites a group of friends from Vassar over to her family's island getaway to spend the weekend partying. Though some practical-joke shenanigans on the ferry over from the mainland lead to unexpected bloodshed and put a damper on the festivities, Buffy unleashes a flood of more benign pranks on her guests, setting a tone of giddy abandon. With plenty of randy guys and gals on hand and no parental supervision, it isn't long before drunken escapades ensue. As the weekend progresses, however, guests begin to disappear mysteriously, and before long Buffy and friends find themselves huddling in terror in their remote getaway. The next ferry isn't due until Monday, and the partygoers aren't sure whether any of them will make it that long. The mostly Canadian cast of April Fool's Day includes Leah King Pinsent, daughter of actor/director Gordon Pinsent, and Amy Steel, a veteran of the second and fourth Friday the 13th installments. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Baker, Pat Barlow, (more)
In a well-wrought sex comedy with one foot in the feminist camp and another on a banana peel, Casey Meadows (Deborah Foreman in an excellent performance) defies social custom when she gets a job as a limo driver. The manager of the Brentwood Limousine Company, McBride (Howard Hesseman), and her co-workers give her both a hard time and some of the worst fares possible. She is eventually assigned to chauffeur an overworked executive (Sam Jones) who just broke up with his girlfriend. After drowning his sorrows in the back seat of the limo, the ingrate wakes up in Casey's bed the morning after, refusing to believe he had anything to do with her. Their antagonistic relationship is stressed all the more when she has to drive him on a vacation and the car breaks down. What Casey does not know is that she has not been given the complete scoop on her passenger. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Foreman, Sam Jones, (more)
Martha Coolidge directed this comedy taking place at fictional Pacific Tech, concerning incoming freshman Mitch (Gabe Jarret), a high school student whose Science Fair project made important inroads into laser beam technology. Mitch has been recruited by famed physics professor Hathaway (William Atherton), who asks Mitch to work in his laboratory. On campus, Mitch becomes roommates with the brilliant Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), legendary as the smartest freshman in the history of the college; but now, as a senior, he is less interested in his studies and more interested in having fun. It turns out that Hathaway is enlisting his students, unbeknownst to them, as a slave labor force to do research in developing a state-of-the-art laser device for the Defense Department (he uses his government grant funds to build a house). But Chris and Mitch begin to suspect that something is amiss with Hathaway's project. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Gabe Jarret, (more)
A satiric romantic comedy, Martha Coolidge's Valley Girl is a testimony to the short-lived Southern California '80s craze. Julie (Deborah Foreman) is a good-natured teenager following a swarm of pastel pink valley girls, who utter "gag me" at every opportunity. To her friends' dismay , Julie breaks up with her egotistical boyfriend, Tommy (Michael Bowen), while shopping at the mall. All the valley kids go to a party that night, and Tommy immediately tries to bed one of Julie's friends. Randy (Nicolas Cage), a bad boy from Hollywood, shows up and crashes the party. Open-minded Julie flirts with him before he is literally thrown out, presumably just for looking different. Smitten with Julie, Randy sneaks back into the party to talk to her again. Julie drags a whimpering valley friend with her to spend the night cruising with Randy in Hollywood. After an extended courtship, Randy is in love with Julie, and she must choose between him and Tommy, who wants her back. Her friends refuse to accept Randy, who makes many exaggerated attempts to win back her love. Finally, after she has a heartfelt talk with her dad (Frederic Forrest), love triumphs at the prom. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, (more)
- 1982
A has-been model's depression causes her to go into seclusion for nearly two decades. This romance centers on the handsome gentle man who slowly opens the door she closed so many years ago and leads her back to a normal life. He also helps the ex-model's girl keep from making the same mistakes as her mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Jill Clayburgh plays, as one character calls her, "a pill-popping dingbat" in this film adaptation of television producer Barbara Gordon's autobiographical account of her addiction to prescription drugs. Clayburgh plays Gordon in the film as a successful television documentary filmmaker whose mounting pressures force her to pop a Valium or two for nerves. She then ingests a few more pills after an argument with boyfriend Derek Bauer (Nicol Williamson). And thus begins her slow and steady compulsion to keep taking more and more Valium. Finally realizing her addiction, Gordon makes a disastrous attempt to go cold turkey but fails miserably, finally having to undergo a painful rehabilitation in an institution. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, Nicol Williamson, (more)
- 1982
Real-life father and son Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez star in the made-for-TV In the Custody of Strangers. Blue-collar Sheen and his wife Jane Alexander attempt to instill discipline in their three growing children. But their 16-year-old son Estevez chafes at their authoritative attitudes, and runs seriously afoul of the law. Picked up on a drunk-driving charge, Estevez is charged with assault and battery when he fights off the sexual advances of his cellmate. His release continually delayed by judicial red tape, Estevez holds his parents, who are virtually helpless within the strictures of the Law, responsible for the mess he's in. But the real villain of the piece is not a person but an entity: The juvenile justice system, which is overworked, understaffed and swamped with dead-end bureaucracy. Scripted by Jennifer Miller, In the Custody of Strangers debuted on May 26, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An undercover cop named Stone (Ken Shorter) infiltrates an outlaw biker gang called the Grave Diggers, only to discover that he has more in common with the two-wheeled warriors than he previously though after a professional assassin attempts to set them up for a big fall. A prominent environmental activist has just been assassinated, and the police suspect that the Grave Diggers are withholding crucial information relating to the killing. Realizing that the Grave Diggers will never speak to regular policemen, the cops recruit Stone to ride with the gang and find out what they know. Accepted into the fold after saving the life of a grateful Grave Digger, Stone begins to respect the Undertaker (Sandy Harbutt) and his crew due to the fact that they operate by their own unique code of ethics. Later, as the Grave Diggers prepare to strike back against a rival motorcycle club, Stone suspects a set-up and attempts to convince them not to fall for it. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Stone was correct. When the violence finally erupts, no one is safe from the bloodshed that threatens to destroy the Grave Diggers, and consume Stone in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
