Arlene Golonka Movies

A young gay man goes looking for love in at least one of the wrong places in this comedy set in Los Angeles. Kyle (Sean Tataryn) is an 18-year-old aspiring poet who has found his way out of the closet and now has left behind the stifling environment of the Valley for the more bohemian surroundings of the Silverlake district. Naive Kyle spends his days in coffee shops working on his maudlin verse and looking for love, and he thinks that he may have found it when he meets Mike (Christopher Bradley), a ruggedly handsome 30-year-old man who works in construction and has a taste for aggressive sex. Mike picks up Kyle and soon has him at home and in handcuffs; Kyle is hoping for a bit more tenderness in a relationship, but Mike is good looking enough that he doesn't complain too loudly. However, it isn't long before it becomes obvious that the two have almost nothing in common, and while Kyle wants to make their romance work, Mike can hardly be bothered and is already looking for new prospects as Kyle tries to psych himself up for his first major reading. Mink Stole, best known for her work in the films of John Waters, appears as the owner of a coffee house that Kyle frequents. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

For the first time in Murder She Wrote history, a murderer whom Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) had turned over to the police in a previous episode makes a comeback appearance. The man in question is Jessica's first publisher (and erstwhile sweetheart!) Preston Giles (Arthur Hill), who had been exposed as the killer in the series' very first episode. Released on parole, Preston goes back to work at a high-level corporation. Although Jessica had hoped to avoid a reunion with Giles, she is unable to do so when he is accused of murdering his company's duplicitous financial controller. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Actress Dyan Cannon, whose 1976 directorial debut Number One was nominated for a "best short subject" Academy Award, moves on to feature-length projects with The End of Innocence. In addition to directing, Ms. Cannon wrote the screenplay and played a leading role in this story of a young girl spiritually torn apart by forces beyond her control. Rebecca Schaeffer plays Stephanie Lewis, unwanted and ignored by her eternally squabbling parents. Mom and Dad do further damage to Stephanie's battered psyche by giving her mixed messages concerning sex and religion. The girl's self-esteem dwindles to microscopic proportions thanks to a series of no-good boyfriends. Suffering a nervous breakdown, she is placed in an asylum, where for the first time she treated as a human being rather than a nuisance by compassionate psychiatrist John Heard. Completed in the late 1980s, End of Innocence was released in 1990, one year after the death of star Rebecca Schaeffer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This comical, erotic sci-fi adventure is every nerd's fantasy come true as it tells the story of ultra-geeky Wesley Littlejohn who readily volunteers to participate in his voluptuous substitute biology professor Ms. Xenophia's (an alien from outer space) extra credit research experiment. Once in her lab, Drax, her faithful assistant jabs him with a needle and suddenly wimpy Wesley becomes the campus stud-muffin and finds himself surrounded by cooing crowds of scantily clad coeds. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is appointed foreman of the jury in an apparently "open and shut" murder trial. The accused claims that he killed the victim in self-defense, when said victim found the accused in bed with his wife. Half of the jury is for conviction, half for acquittal; as for Jessica, she is convinced that there is more to the case than meets the eye. Indeed, she believes that more than one murder is in play here--and as usual, she's right! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

In this standard young teen/older woman sex story, Bobby (Matt Lattanzi) has had trouble with French at school, and sex out of school, and so his rich parents hire a winsome 30-year-old tutor (Caren Kaye) to help him with the first subject, without thinking that she would help him with the second as well. The father (Kevin McCarthy) is not exactly subtle about his interest in the tutor, but the discerning woman prefers his much more sensitive son. A few comic moments with Bobby's friends trying to teach him about sex, and a more respectful treatment of the sexual relationship between the tutor and young teen alleviates some of the otherwise, run-of-the-mill storyline. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Natalie Wood and George Segal star in this labored and old-fashioned sex farce, directed by Gilbert Cates. Wood and Segal play Mari and Jeff Thompson, a happily married couple who are thunderstruck when they see all their friends and acquaintances are headed for divorce court. Eventually their own marriage is put in jeopardy by their obsession with staying together. Seeing all the marital discord around them, Mari and Jeff begin to question the stability of their own relationship. Furthering their uneasiness is the arrival of Barbara (Valerie Harper), to whom Jeff is attracted. Barbara and Jeff have an affair and Mari decides to go out and have an affair of her own. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Having published absolutely nothing since his bestseller "Freefall to Destiny", hard-drinking writer Jack Skowran (Anthony Zerbe) pins his future career hopes on his next book, which he claims will be a "Where Are They Now?" tome about a group of high schoolers who used to hang around the same drive-in back in the early 1960s. Asked to help Jack research the book, Jim is unaware that the author is actually endeavoring to solve a 17-year-old murder which took place on the yacht of a prominent publisher. Not surprisingly, there are some very powerful people who don't want the murder case reopened--and they hire a professional hit man to throw Jim off the trail for keeps. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Stretching the Airport concept as far as it will go, this third film in the series sticks a jet full of old actors 50 feet underwater in the Bermuda Triangle. Oxygen (and credibility) grows short, and Jimmy Stewart plays an art collector targeted for a heist. Jack Lemmon is the unfortunate pilot, and Christopher Lee shows up along with Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Cotten, and Olivia de Havilland. Jerry Jameson, auteur of The Bat People, was selected to helm this entry featuring that film's star, Michael Pataki. George Kennedy, the only man to appear in all four Airport films, is along for the ride as well. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Most TV movies about obscene phone callers concentrate on the reactions of the victims--and the subsequent dangers they're exposed to. The Secret Night Caller takes a different tack, telling its story from the point of view of the caller. What makes the film doubly disturbing is that the dirty-mouthed phoner is played by Brady Bunch star and TV icon Robert Reed. Reed portrays an IRS agent (and seemingly contented family man) who is overtaken by his compulsion to phone strangers and whisper profanities. Even worse, Reed's access to tax-office records enables him to ring up people all over the country. The drama concentrates on Reed's mounting realization that he has to stop himself before someone else does. Though seedy and manipulative at times, The Secret Night Caller is elevated by the multifaceted performance of Robert Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A post-I Dream of Jeannie, pre-Dallas Larry Hagman guest stars as Terry Vine, the smarmy host of a radio advice show. Enjoying the idolatry of his many female fans, Vine begins dating one of them, who after he proves himself to be a louse threatens him with exposure. Shortly afterward, the woman is found murdered--and Vine is targeted by Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) as the Number One Suspect. Ingredients essential to the story include a second murder--not to mention a delicious comeuppance for the two-timing Terry Vine! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi