Max Alexander Movies

Brain Donors is a game attempt to redo the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera in a contemporary setting. John Turturro plays the "Groucho" character, a shifty lawyer (he's even given a Grouchoesque three-barrelled moniker). Bob Nelson is the "Harpo" counterpart, a puckish handyman. And Mel Smith completes the trio as a Chico-like cabbie. All three conspire to save a failing ballet company on behalf of dowager Nancy Marchand, who does a film-length impersonation of Margaret Dumont. At times, Pat Proft's script comes off more like a 3 Stooges short than a Marx Brothers romp, but that's not so bad. What hurts the film is its fluctuating pace, which shifts into neutral just when it should go into hyperdrive. Will Vinton's Claymation opening titles supply some of the film's biggest laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It seems like lately everyone is out to either raze or save the infamous Heartbreak Hotel. This way off-beat rock & roll farce chronicles that struggle. The club features such way-out acts as the Beat Legends, the Young Adults, Roomful of Blues, and NRBQ. The trouble begins when Robert Burgess, the estranged, ultra-conservative, ex-CIA agent father of the club's laid-back owner Jeff Burgess decides to run for president. Believing that his son's involvement in the club will be detrimental to his career, he decides to secretly hire terrorists to blow up the Heartbreak Hotel. The city also wants to destroy the nightspot because it keeps driving down property values in the area. The town fathers end up hiring the Scum of the Earth, a gang of motorcycle thugs, to do their dirty work. Meanwhile, inside the club, Jeff coolly refuses to deal with the terrorist leader. The terrorists soon have their own problems when their ace hit man commits himself to Jesus while waiting outside in the getaway car. While this goes on, a band of Beatles clones are taking drugs in the club cellar when the phone rings. They answer, and it is a holy call from the King himself. He warns them that the club is in grave danger. On video, the film is called It's a Complex World. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sally Field goes the Roseanne route in Punchline. Field plays a housewife and mother who suddenly develops the urge to be a comedienne. Her comic instincts are on target, but her timing and delivery stinks. Tom Hanks, a stand-up comic with a few years' experience under his belt, offers to teach Field the ropes. As they get to know each other, Hanks and Field begin to pick up on each other's shortcomings; though Hanks has far more talent than Field, for example, he has a positively ruinous habit of expressing his deep-down dislike of everyone else in the world, and this frequently alienates his audience. Writer-director David Seltzer times Punchline like a good joke; he continually sets up for the expected, then pulls a last-minute fast one, keeping the film lively and unpredictable throughout. The supporting cast, coincidentally including future Roseanne star John Goodman, is uniformly superb. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, an overweight patient escapes from a mental institution and travels to New York City for some fun and adventure. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Long heralded as the west coast's best place to catch the hottest comedians on their ascension to superstardom, Los Angeles, California's The Improv is one of the best-known comedy clubs in the world. The comics featured in Koch Records Best of the Improv series have since gone on to become household names, but are shown while still climbing the ladder of success. Best of the Improv, Vol. 5 includes sets by Ellen Degeneres, D.L. Hughley, and Richard Belzer. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi