David Ferguson Movies

Until its last ten minutes or so, this filmed biography of controversial recording star Jerry Lee Lewis plays like a live-action cartoon. As played by Dennis Quaid, "the killer" is a very mixed-up individual: a saintly sinner, a world-wise naïf, a skilled performer with zero sense of discipline, a loving husband who uses his wife for a punching bag. The story takes place during the years 1956 through 1958, as Lewis rises to the top of the charts with such hits as "Crazy Arms," "A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," and the title tune. Along the way, he falls in love with his second cousin, Myra (Winona Ryder), eventually marrying the girl. When it is revealed that Myra is only 13 years old, Lewis is condemned as a molester and pervert by the public (his disastrous tour of England during this crisis is depicted in hilarious Tex Avery fashion). After establishing a brisk, satirical tone through most of the proceedings, the film plummets into heavy dramatics in its final portions, jarring disastrously with all that has gone before. Otherwise, Quaid is terrific as Lewis (expertly lip-synching to the original records,) and Ryder is equally good as the long-suffering Myra. Featured in the cast are Alec Baldwin as Jerry's cousin Jimmy Swaggart (the same!), Michael St. Gerard as Lewis' great rival Elvis, and Steve Allen as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This animated musical is the newest incarnation of Astrid Lindgren's mischievous, magical Pippi Longstocking, the nine-year-old daughter of a sea captain whose adventures have delighted young readers, moviegoers and television fans for generations. The tale begins as Pippi sails the seas with her father. A storm tosses him overboard, but just before he disappears he promises his daughter that he will return to their home at Villa Villekulla. Pippi returns home to raise herself amongst a menagerie of interesting animals. She supports herself with a cache of gold coins given to her by her father. Pippi's friends include her neighbors Tommy and Annika, who find her a refreshing change from the boredom of their suburban lives. Together the trio get into good-natured trouble with the townsfolk. Real trouble comes in the form of two idiotic thieves who try to steal Pippi's money. Songs include"Pluttifikation" and "A Bowler and a New Gold Tooth." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is determined to prove that he is as good a Good Samaritan as anyone. Unfortunately, all of his best efforts have a habit of backfiring or heaping embarrassment upon our well-meaning hero. This is galling enough -- but Frasier must also consider the effect that his misbegotten good deeds, and their consequences, are having upon his impressionable son Frederick (here played by Trevor Einhorn). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi