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Monty Ash Movies

1996  
 
Marcy (Amanda Bearse) had hoped that Jefferson (Ted McGinley) would spend an intimate evening with her for their anniversary, but instead he parties on with Al (Ed O'Neill) and the guys at the local nudie bar, "The Jiggly Room." Drunk as a skunk, Jefferson decides to honor his wife by getting an "I LOVE MARCY" tattoo. Unfortunately, the tattoo artist is just as blotto as everyone else at party--and the "love letter" on Jefferson's epidermis winds up reading "I LOVE MARY." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1995  
 
In this Emmy award-winning episode, Greene (Anthony Edwards) takes a potentially career-destroying risk after he misdiagnoses the condition of a woman (Colleen Flynn) and her unborn child. Although Greene's OR battle to save his patients' lives is the episode's focal point, several other subplots wend their way through the story. Among these is the ever-deteriorating condition of Benton's (Eriq La Salle) mother, and the accidental poisoning of young Joey Page (Theodore Borders). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1992  
PG13  
The feature film directing debut of actress Betty Thomas, this romantic farce attempts to mimic the screwball comedies of the 1930s. Andrew McCarthy stars as Cliff Godfrey, a doll house designer and perpetual loser in love who is dumped by his fiancee on the eve of their pre-nuptial vacation to Mexico. Informed by pretty travel agent Claire Enfield (Helen Hunt) that his tickets are non-refundable, the depressed Cliff goes to a bar, where he picks up a drunk party girl, Amanda Hughes (Kelly Preston), who agrees to accompany him on the trip south of the border. Once she sobers up, however, Amanda proceeds to make Cliff's vacation a nightmare, alternately flirting with and teasing him, then rejecting him for more studly prospects. But Cliff runs into Claire, who's staying at the same hotel while photographing a travel brochure, and the two begin spending time together, as Cliff helps her on the project by modeling for her pictures. Though Cliff and Claire are discovering that they are each other's soul mate, the flighty Amanda threatens to destroy their nascent romance. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Starring:
Andrew McCarthyKelly Preston, (more)
 
1989  
PG  
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Shelly Long stars in this comedy as a spoiled Beverly Hills wife who decides--wanting to prove her husband's accusation of her selfishness wrong--to become the leader of her daughter's wilderness group. Though taking them on outings at the mall rather than in the woods, she later must prove her worth as a legitimate troop leader. After some zany incidents, all parties learn lessons of teamwork and selflessness. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

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Starring:
Shelley LongCraig T. Nelson, (more)
 
1989  
 
Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) arranges a gala celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of Cheers, replete with celebrity guests and 1889 prices. The festivities are brought to an abrupt halt when Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) goes into labor with baby Frederick. Real-life Boston mayor Raymond L. Flynn appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1989  
 
In the conclusion of a three-part story, the various intrigues at a violence-ridden high school come to head as McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) settles accounts with a gang leader and a philandering teacher. At the same time, Deputy Chief Moorehead (Robert Vaughn) clashes with McCall's boss Devane (Charles Hallahan) over the matter of a self-styled urban vigilante. And Hunter (Fred Dryer) prepares for a showdown with escaped murderess Iris Smith (Cec Verrell) on the "anniversary" of the day he sent her to prison. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1988  
R  
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Although many genre filmmakers have managed to blend horror and humor with great success, movies employing this formula often run the risk of both elements canceling each other out, resulting in a horror comedy that is neither scary nor funny. Alas, Dead Heat is a textbook example of this kind of failure. It details the weird misadventures of a pair of mismatched L.A. cops -- the straitlaced and by-the-book Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and wisecracking loose cannon Doug Bigelow (muscle-headed Saturday Night Live alum Joe Piscopo). Their quest is to reach the heart of a sinister crime ring that employs indestructible undead henchmen. In a strange twist, their inept handling of the case results in both cops -- first Williams, then Piscopo -- being killed in action and subsequently reanimated in a secret laboratory managed by the barely seen Vincent Price (whose walk-on role is more entertaining than the combined performances of the two leads). The potential for "splatstick" comedy in the mode of Evil Dead 2 or Peter Jackson's Bad Taste is defeated by two major obstacles: first, the painfully unfunny mugging of Piscopo, who was unwisely allowed to ad-lib much of his performance; and second, the MPAA's trimming of several minutes from Steve Johnson's sensational makeup effects in order to avoid the dreaded X rating -- including a clever scene involving a zombie go-go girl played by Linnea Quigley. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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Starring:
Treat WilliamsJoe Piscopo, (more)
 
1986  
 
Whoopi Goldberg earned an Emmy nomination for her guest-star turn as a con artist named Camille Brand (Whoopi Goldberg). While evading arrest, Camille unintentionally saves the life of a politician. Duly impressed, Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) is convinced that the highly untrustworthy Camille might be a valuable addition to the Blue Moon Detective Agency. This final episode of Moonlighting's second season contains a few choice "It's only a TV show, folks" moments (at one point, the villain is disarmed by the studio prop man)--not to mention a cameo appearance by famed dwarf actor Billy Barty. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1986  
PG  
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas team up one last time in Tough Guys. Harry Doyle (Lancaster) and Archie Lang (Douglas) are two old-time train robbers, who held up a train in 1956 and have been incarcerated for thirty years. After serving their time, they are released from jail and have to adjust to a new life of freedom, now as old men. Harry and Archie realize that they still have the pizzazz when, picking up their prison checks at a bank, they foil a robbery attempt. Archie, who spent his prison time pumping himself up, easily picks up a 20-year-old aerobics instructor named Skye (Darlanne Fluegel). Harry, on the other hand, has to waste away his days in a nursing home. They both have festering resentments --Archie for having to endure a humiliating job as a busboy; Harry for having to endure patronizing attitudes toward senior citizens. The two old pals finally go back to what they know best. After successfully robbing an armored car, they decide to rob the same train that they robbed thirty years ago. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Starring:
Kirk DouglasBurt Lancaster, (more)
 
1958  
NR  
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John Van Druten's stage comedy Bell Book and Candle starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer on Broadway. The 1958 filmed version stars James Stewart and Kim Novak, fresh from their successful teaming in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Novak plays Gillian Holroyd, a genuine, bonafide witch. Falling in love with publisher Sheperd Henderson (Stewart), Gillian casts a spell on him, obliging him to dump his fiancee and rush to her side. All of this goes against the grain of Gillian's mentor Mrs. De Pass (Hermione Gingold), who does her best to counterract the love spell. Meanwhile, Gillian's wacky warlock brother Nicky (Jack Lemmon) courts disaster by coauthoring a book on black magic with pompous, bibulous novelist Sidney Redlitch (Ernie Kovacs). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
James StewartKim Novak, (more)
 
1957  
 
A locked-in-the-fifties science fiction film, The 27th Day begins with five different people from five different countries suddenly disappearing from view. They have been gently abducted by the agent (Arnold Moss) of a faraway dying planet, who gives each of the five earthlings a "killing capsule" that will destroy everything on Earth and allow the residents of the alien planet to re-colonize the planet--but which will be ineffective if not used after 27 days. In typical Cold War fashion, the representatives of the "good" countries (including Gene Barry) refuse to utilize the capsules, while the Soviets, (personified by Azemat Janti and Stefan Schnabel) intend to deploy the capsules for their own nefarious purposes. Their perfidy only results in the utter decimation of the USSR. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Gene BarryValerie French, (more)
 
1956  
 
Commercial artist James Vanning (Aldo Ray) and his friend, Dr. Edward Gurston (Frank Albertson), are on a hunting and fishing trip in Wyoming when they stop to help two men whose car has crashed. The pair, John (Brian Keith) and Red (Rudy Bond), turn out to be escaped bank robbers, on the run with 350,000 dollars in stolen cash after a clean getaway, and they don't plan on leaving any witnesses -- Gurston is shot dead by Red, using Vanning's hunting rifle, but Vanning survives by accident, knocked cold but alive. He awakens to discover the stolen money, accidentally left behind, and runs with it from the returning killers -- he gets away but loses the bag in the blizzard that hits. He manages to make it to the nearest town, but not before the doctor's body is found, with a bullet in it from Vanning's rifle. Now the prime suspect in the murder, Vanning takes it on the lam, hiding out for months -- unbeknowst to him, however, he's been under observation for most of that time by Ben Fraser (James Gregory), an investigator from the insurance company whose policy covered the bank that was robbed; and has been found by John and Red -- and all of them think that Vanning can lead them to the missing money. But John and Red are perfectly prepared to torture and even maim Vanning to get the money, and they get their chance when he lets his guard down one night to talk to Marie Gardner (Anne Bancroft), a young model he meets in a bar. He manages to get away from his captors after a fierce struggle and makes his way to her place; after convincing her that it's not the police he's running from (which is not entirely true), they take off together, with Fraser and the two hoods only a half-step behind, headed to Wyoming and the spring thaw so he can hunt for the bag and the missing money and prove his innocence. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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Starring:
Aldo RayBrian Keith, (more)
 
1956  
 
Based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of September 6, 1955, this episode focuses on the frustrating legal limitations placed upon police officers when dealing with known criminals. Searching for a huge shipment of heroin, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) search and detain suspected dope pusher Sam Free (Sidney Gordon). Though the detectives manage to build a strong case against Free, deputy DA Dan Lauren (Dennis McCarthy) throws out the evidence--because the suspect was neither placed under arrest nor asked permission to be search, and because there was no search warrant. As a knee-jerk reaction to the California State Supreme Court's recent "Charles Cahan" decision, this controversial episode was severely criticized by certain citizen's-rights pressure groups (though according to Dragnet historian Michael Hayde, no one protested the earlier radio version). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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