Roger Grimsby Movies
In his way, New York City television anchor man Roger Grimsby was a pioneer of broadcast news. Along with fellow groundbreakers Geraldo Rivera, Howard Cosell and gossip columnist Rona Barret, Grimbsy helped usher in the era of "happy talk" during Eyewitness News broadcasts. The term "happy talk" refers to a friendly chattiness and joshing camaraderie affected by the news team on air and is designed to lighten up the often depressing nature of newscasts. Grimsby, with his sharp, sly wit and deadpan demeanor took such talk to a new level. He was famous for not concealing his contempt for certain colleagues. Over his 40-year career as a television journalist, spending the latter half of it in New York City, he also worked in San Diego and San Francisco. At the peak of his popularity, Grimsby occasionally cameoed in feature films such as Bananas (1971) and Ghostbusters (1984). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Actor Dan Aykroyd made his directorial debut with this bizarre comic fantasy. Financier Chris Thorne (Chevy Chase) hopes to impress beautiful Diane Lightson (Demi Moore), so he invites her along for a trip to Atlantic City, with a pair of wealthy Brazilians, Fausto (Taylor Negron) and Renalda (Bertila Damas) tagging along for the ride. After running a stop sign in a small town just off the New Jersey turnpike, Chris and his friends are pulled over and arrested by a motorcycle cop named Denis (John Candy). The travellers are brought before J.P. (Aykroyd), the ancient and vindictive Justice of the Peace in the very strange village of Valkevania, where minor traffic offenses are usually punished by torture or death. While Fausto and Renalda are able to escape, Chris and Diane find themselves trapped in a bizarre underground maze in which fellow tourists like themselves must fight for their lives. Keep an eye peeled for the screen debut of Tupac Shakur, who appears as a member of the rap group Digital Underground. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
A star-studded cast portrays political movers and shakers in this drama about politics and the media. Richard Gere is Pete St. John, a gilt-edged "image" advisor to the likes of powerful and often crooked politicians -- including a South American candidate for the top office in his country and, reluctantly, a conservative industrialist named Jerome Cade (J.T. Walsh). Cade is after a Senate seat vacated by Sam Hastings (E.G. Marshall), a liberal politician who fits in with the views that Pete once upheld. When things start to go wrong, it looks like Cade's gruff advisor Arnold Billings (Denzel Washington) might hold one of the keys to Pete's discovery of the truth about Cade -- and may be the reason why Hastings is leaving his job. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Julie Christie, (more)
Timothy Hutton stars in this rabble-rousing movie in the tradition of Rocky, directed by Bob Clark. Hutton plays Jimmy Lynch, the younger brother of New York City firefighter Terry (Robert Urich). Terry is off-duty and has been drinking but rescues a young girl for a dangerous fire. When he injures himself in the fire and is hospitalized, New York City refuses to pay for his medical expenses because he was intoxicated during the rescue. Incensed that Mayor Tyler (Robert Culp) refuses to look after his brother, Jimmy decides to take them all on and mounts a series of public stunts designed to embarrass the mayor. Along the way, Jimmy becomes a folk hero, since he hides his identity behind the signature "Turk 182!" Jimmy is now a celebrity and consents to sit down for a television interview to reveal his true identity. But when the television station fails to broadcast the interview due to political pressure, Jimmy takes it upon himself to stage one final elaborate stunt to make the public aware of Terry's plight. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, (more)
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their government grants run out, the former three go into business as The Ghostbusters, later hiring Hudson on. Armed with electronic paraphernalia, the team is spectacularly successful, ridding The Big Apple of dozens of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Tight-lipped bureaucrat William Atherton regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when New York is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Sigourney Weaver and nerdish Rick Moranis. The climax is a glorious sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made-and we daresay it cost more than a year's worth of Japanese monster flicks combined. Who'd ever dream that the chubby, cheery Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man would turn out to be the most malevolent threat ever faced by New York City? When the script for Ghostbusters was forged by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role; Belushi's death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. The most expensive comedy made up to 1984, Ghostbusters made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series (one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled The Ghost Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
- 1980
- R
A Vietnam veteran declares a one-man war on crime in this vigilante revenge thriller. Michael Jefferson (Steve James) saved the life of his best friend John Eastland (Robert Ginty) while the two were serving in Vietnam, so when Jefferson is left permanently paralyzed after a vicious attack by muggers, Eastland is determined to get revenge. Declaring war not only on the thugs who injured Jefferson but the entire lawless underclass, Eastland becomes known as "The Exterminator" for his swift and deadly retaliation against muggers and other street criminals. While Eastland's actions may be making for safer streets, they're also illegal, and just as the mob have put a price on Eastland's head, Detective James Dalton (Christopher George) has set his sights on putting "The Exterminator" out of business. Jazz great Stan Getz makes a cameo appearance as himself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher George, Samantha Eggar, (more)
One of Woody Allen's earlier, more slapstick-oriented efforts, Bananas tells the story of Fielding Mellish (Allen), a neurotic New Yorker who follows the object of his affections, Nancy (Louise Lasser), to the fictional Central American country of San Marcos, where she is involved in a revolution. Nancy wants nothing to do with Fielding, but he soon becomes a guest of the country's dictator (Carlos Montalban), before accidentally becoming the leader of San Marcos himself. Fielding is eventually shipped back to the US and tried as a subversive, but being that this is a comedy, and an especially light one at that, everything works out in the end. A far cry from Allen's later, more somber films, Bananas still works as an often hilarious amalgam of sight gags, one-liners, and bizarre asides. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, (more)
