Robert Gwaltney Movies

Cocoon 2: The Return, like most sequels, relies a bit too heavily on one's familiarity with the first film. Without dwelling too long on Cocoon #1, we can observe that it ended with a group of senior citizens heading for the distant planet of Antarea, hoping to find a new, rewarding and elongated life. Cocoon 2 picks up the action five years later: The Antareans return to earth to check on the damage caused to their life-regenerating cocoons by earthquakes. Coming along for the ride are the elderly couples whom we met in the first film. Also carried over from the first Cocoon are young ferryboat captain Steve Guttenberg and gorgeous Antarean Tahnee Welch, who resume their interplanetary romance. Oldster Jack Gilford, whose beloved wife died in Cocoon, likewise finds romance in the form of Elaine Stritch. A secondary plot involves an insidious secret government plan to exploit the Antareans, which is foiled by sympathetic researcher Courteney Cox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sportswriter Frank Deford wrote the screenplay to this romantic melodrama about a washed-up baseball pitcher and a second-rate lounge singer. Vinnie (Raul Julia) is the veteran hurler who has just been cut in spring training by the Boston Red Sox. He stops off at a hotel where Donna (Beverly D'Angelo) is singing in the lounge. Donna's baseball-loving daughter Yvonne (Jenny Lewis) recognizes Vinnie from her baseball card collection and is convinced he should be her new daddy. After an initial misunderstanding, Donna and Vinnie resolve their differences, but Yvonne's wealthy grandfather Robert (Parris Buckner) threatens to gain custody of the little girl. Vinnie and Donna leave with Yvonne, who forges a $10,000 check of her grandfather's so the trio can escape. Vinnie again makes the rounds in Florida in hopes of making one last comeback in the majors. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide