Valeria Golino Movies
Wholesomely sexy Italian actress Valeria Golino was a teen model when she appeared in her first film, Lina Wertmuller's Joke of Destiny (1984). Conversant (if not proficient) in several languages, Golino thrived in international films bearing such provocative titles as Little Fires (1985), Last Summer in Tangiers (1987) and Love Story (1987). One of her first important American roles was as Tom Cruise's voice-of-conscience girlfriend in the Oscar-winning Rain Man (1988), after which she portrayed the trapeze artist who falls in love with Pee-Wee Herman in Big Top Pee-Wee (1988). Blessed with a subtle, sparkle-eyed sense of humor, Golino has been seen to good advantage in the adventure-film spoofs Hot Shots! (1991) and Hot Shots Part Deux (1992); her deadly serious delivery of the most ridiculous of lines ("What do you do with an elephant with three balls?") has been attributed by some to expert comic timing, and by others to Golino's alleged habit of learning her English dialogue by rote. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1986
This drama about a young girl's struggle to overcome the dehumanization of poverty depicts the steady, corrosive effects of her life on her psyche. Bruna (Valeria Golino) has had to work since the age of 13 to help support her father and brothers. She gets up at 3 A.M. to catch the bus to go clean offices, and when she is home, she cleans and cooks for her siblings and father. In spite of this existence, she is spunky and optimistic. As she gets older, she falls in love with Sergio (Bals Roca-Rey), and he moves in with her and her family. But that relationship ends when she meets another young man, Mario (Livio Panieri). This new romance leads her away from her siblings and father and although there is no inkling of any trouble, the drudgery of her past existence catches up with her. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valeria Golino, Bals Roca-Rey, (more)
- 1985
The Italian childhood fantasy Little Flames (Piccoli Fuochi) concerns 5-year-old Dino Jakosic. Proving too much for his parents, Jakosic is often sent to his room, where he interacts with several bizarre "imaginary" playmates who bedevil the servants with their sadistic pranks (the audience is never certain whether the playmates are real or whether the boy is pulling off the pranks himself). Valeria Golino plays the family's new maid, whom Jakosic takes a liking to. He begs his playmates to leave Golino alone, but out of jealousy they plan an awful revenge on the poor woman. In a startling sequence, Golino's boyfriend is tied to a bed and set afire. Jakosic confesses to the murder (indeed, as mentioned, he may have done it), but no one believes him capable of so horrible an act. Little Flames does not so much end as stop abruptly, with Jakosic bidding his playmates goodbye after they've wreaked their last havoc. Be sure not to book this one for your kid's next birthday party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dino Jakosic, Valeria Golino, (more)
- 1985
- PG
Neither the idiotic title Detective School Dropouts nor the film's alternate cognomen Dumb Dicks are worthy of this easy-to-take crime comedy. David Landsberg stars as a likeable schlemiel who is addicted to detective stories. He links up with down-and-out gumshoe Lorin Dreyfuss (brother of Richard--and also, with David Landsberg, the co-writer of this film), hoping that some of Dreyfuss' so-called expertise will rub off on him. This far-from-dynamic duo soon find themselves embroiled in an Italian family feud, a kidnapping, and a murder charge. One of the few Golan/Globus films to lose money, Detective School Dropouts has happily found an enthusiastic audience thanks to multiple cable-TV showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Landsberg, Lorin Dreyfuss, (more)
- 1985
In a routine drama about teen drug addiction, Antonio Morelli (Ben Gazzara) is a lawyer with good community standing who is overwhelmed when he discovers that his son has a heroin habit. Antonio lets his law practice slide, and he does everything he can to get his son off drugs -- but nothing works. Finally, in desperation he intentionally starts taking heroin himself in a risky effort to show his son what it looks and feels like from the other side of the fence. He can only hope this last-ditch effort achieves what nothing else could up to now. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Sergio Rubini, (more)
- 1984
Co-writer and director Nico Mastorakis filmed this unusual low-budget thriller in his native Athens, Greece. Timothy Bottoms stars as Jonathan Ratcliff, an American advertising executive who has lost his sight, although the specialist he consults, Dr. Steiger (Keir Dullea), feels that the cause is psychosomatic. Fitted with a camera-like sonar device that allows him to "see," even if in a non-traditional and rather limited way, Ratcliff takes a vacation in Greece. When he witnesses the murder of a woman with his seeing-eye electronic device, he becomes obsessed with tracking down the killer. Ratcliff's quarry turns out to be a taxi driver armed with a scalpel -- and good eyesight. Blind Date (1984) (alternately titled Deadly Seduction) is notable for early appearances by a trio of actresses who would go on to do bigger and better things: Kirstie Alley, Valeria Golino, and Marina Sirtis. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Bottoms, Kirstie Alley, (more)
- 1983
In an irreverent send up of politicians and feminists and others, director and co-writer Lina Wertmuller has a Minister of the Interior locked inside his impermeable luxury car with only his broken computer to keep him company. Unfortunately, this accident happens at the villa of a conservative party deputy (Ugo Tognazzi) whose wildly eccentric wife Maria Teresa (Piera Degli Espositi) is in a panic about hiding her lover (Enzo Jannacci) in the basement -- he is an escaped terrorist. While the authorities arrive to make one futile effort after another to get the Minister out of his car, the Minister's assistant deadpans his way through the household chaos, and the granny is busy smoking pot. Out of the entire crew, the conservative deputy is limned with sympathy and the flighty, witless feminist is not -- a state of affairs bound to raise the shackles of some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ugo Tognazzi, Piera Degli Esposti, (more)
