Marilu Henner Movies

The feature films contained in this two-tape set were originally seen on the Showtime cable-TV service. Both films were based on novels from the tremendously popular Harlequin Romances paperback series, which is either a recommendation or a warning depending upon your literary tastes. The first, 1988's Love With the Perfect Stranger, was directed by Desmond Davis. Marilu Henner plays a widowed fashion designer who falls in love with mysterious Britisher Daniel Massey. The second, 1987's Cloud Waltzing, was directed by Gordon Flemyng. Kathleen Beller plays a lonely-for-love journalist who falls for mysterious Frenchman Eric Gendron. Both films were lensed in England, both are predicated upon chance encounters between two people with checkered pasts, and both are chock full of unexpected dangers, unwanted separations, tear-stained reunions, gorgeous interior settings and lush outdoor locations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Love With a Perfect Stranger was the first of a series of made-for-cable movies based on the Harlequin Romance novels. Fabulously wealthy widow Marilu Henner falls for mysterious Irishman Daniel Massey the moment she spots him on a Florence-bound train. All she knows about Massey is that he lives in sumptuous fashion, and that he insists that she give up her business interests to marry him. If you're familiar with the Harlequin formula, you know where this is going. However, if we didn't tell you here, you might not know that the film was directed by Desmond Davis; for reasons of his own, Davis had his name removed from the credits. Adapted from a novel by Pamela Wallace, Love With a Perfect Stranger debuted over the Showtime cable service on October 12, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An amusing spoof of the good 'ole westerns back in the halcyon days when all the cliches were held up as icons, this parody by Hugh Wilson works best for savvy audiences. Rex O'Herlihan (Tom Berenger) is a singing cowboy with a wardrobe straight out of the Hollywood westerns of the '40s -- he worships his horse, and has a trusty sidekick too. Every town he wanders into has a sheriff on the dole, a shady cattle rancher, a prostitute with a heart of gold, an innocent young damsel, a town drunk, and the standard bad guys in black hats and long coats (Spaghetti-western style) who brutalize the poor sheep ranchers. After setting things straight in each identical town as he goes, Rex is beginning to feel like a re-run junky when he saunters into a town that is slightly different -- and the parodies continue. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This drama was originally made as a television pilot for a potential series. It centers on a police detective from Wichita who heads for Las Vegas to find his sister and ends up entangled with mobsters and crooked politicos. This film was followed by a sequel, Stark: Mirror Image in 1985. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This spoof of the 1930s and '40s crime stories ranges from the ridiculous to the sublime as it tells the story of Johnny Dangerously (Byron Thames as the young Johnny, Michael Keaton as the older), a devoted son to his ailing mother (Maureen Stapleton), so ill that she needs money for several operations. Johnny has nowhere to turn, and because gangsters tend to flourish in his neighborhood he goes to work for Dundee, a benevolent godfather-gangster type, in order to cover his mother's medical bills. Johnny hides his association with Dundee from his younger brother Tommy (Griffin Dunne) and goes so far as to pay for Tommy's law school fees -- supporting him until Tommy joins the staff of the local (and corrupt) district attorney's office for Burr (Danny DeVito). When Johnny starts working for Dundee, he clashes with the evil Vermin (Joe Piscopo) right from the beginning, but things only get worse. After Dundee decides to retire, Johnny ascends to the helm, and it does not look like Vermin is going to take that sitting down. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This remake of François Truffaut's 1977 comedy misses out on Truffaut's subtext that delves into the nature of love and instead simply recounts the sexual and romantic exploits of David, a sculptor who is an incurable womanizer (Burt Reynolds). In order to come to grips with his obsession for women, David goes to see a psychiatrist, Marianna (Julie Andrews), and sure enough, she later joins him on the couch. His tale is told by Marianna, as flashbacks reveal their relationship and other loves of David's life, most notably Louise (Kim Basinger), a married woman hooked on intimacy in odd, if not dangerous, places. In all these relationships, David is as much attracted to the women as they are to him. Unfortunately, with flat dialogue and uninspired comedy, David fares better than the film as a whole. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Although Taxi had earned scores of industry awards and the unflagging loyalty of its fans during its four-year lifespan on ABC, the series had never posted the sort of ratings that would qualify it as a hit. Thus, ABC dropped the show at the end of season four -- but the song wasn't quite over yet. Responding to overwhelming public demand, rival network NBC picked up Taxi for its fifth season, retaining the same Thursday-night time slot the series had occupied the previous year -- or, as the trade ads put it, "Same time, better network." The first NBC episode was "The Shloogel Show," in which all the cabbies embarked upon a "group blind date" that would have long-ranging ramifications. The relationships inaugurated on this episode would be explored and occasionally resolved on three later fifth-season installments, "Louie and the Blind Girl," "Arnie Meets the Kids," and "Tony's Baby." In another development, Carol Kane graduated from recurring to regular status in her Emmy-winning role as Simka, the wife of the Sunshine Cab Company's sweet-tempered immigrant mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman); the Latka-Simka marriage and its attendant old-world traditions (many of them bizarre in the extreme) would provide fodder for the two-part episode "Scenskees From a Marriage" and the season finale "Simka's Monthlies." Also providing material for several episodes was a huge inheritance bestowed upon "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd), the cab company's resident burned-out hippie; in fact, the last episode to be filmed, "A Grand Gesture," was entirely motivated by Jim's unexpected financial windfall. Additionally, we continued to learn more about the past lives of the various cabbies, notably the fact that Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) suffered from an addiction to gambling, and that the father of Tony Banta (Tony Danza) had run off to sea years earlier. Had the fans of the series and the stars had their way, Taxi would have run indefinitely on NBC. Alas, the ratings were no better than they'd been on ABC (though, ironically, the show managed to pick up three more Emmy Awards!) compelling the network to cancel the series -- permanently this time -- after its 114th episode. Happily, the series has since prospered in rerun syndication not only in local markets but also on basic cable. ~ All Movie Guide

Taxi remained a succès d'estime for ABC as it entered its fourth season, gathering scores of industry awards and garnering the love of its most loyal fans and the respect of Hollywood insiders, while still continuing to post lukewarm ratings. The series hadn't cracked the "Top 25" shows throughout the 1980-1981 season and failed to do so during 1981-1982 as well. ABC had seriously considered dropping the program after its third season, but the uproar of protest from its devotees moved the network to give the property another chance -- albeit in a new time slot on Thursday evening opposite NBC's Gimme a Break and CBS' Knots Landing. Two major developments marked the progression of events on season four. The first was the defection of Jeff Conaway in the role of part-time cabbie and would-be actor Bobby Wheeler, though Conaway would return for a guest appearance in the episode "Bobby Doesn't Live Here Any More." The second was the marriage between mild-mannered immigrant taxi mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) and his countrywoman Simka Dahblitz (Carol Kane in an Emmy-winning characterization) -- though the nuptials were postponed until Latka was able to divest himself of his slimy, womanizing "alter ego" Vic Ferrari (also played by Kaufman, who insisted that the series' producers sign "Vic Ferrari" to a separate contract!) As in previous seasons, Taxi offered a two-part episode in which the cabbies were forced to put their lives in perspective. On this occasion, the episode was the season finale "The Road Not Taken," wherein Elaine (Marilu Henner) mulled over the opportunity to leave New York for a new out-of-town job, prompting her fellow cabbies to reflect upon the various pivotal moments in their own lives. With the ratings continuing to sag, ABC reluctantly concluded that Taxi was expendable, and the series was canceled. For a while, it looked as if the property would be revived by the cable service HBO; but in the end, it was NBC that came to the rescue, picking up Taxi for its fifth (and as it turned out, its final) season. ~ All Movie Guide

Securely imbedded as the ninth most popular program on American television, Taxi inaugurated its second season on the same network (ABC), but in a new timeslot (Wednesday rather than Thursday). A few changes had been made in the cast as well. Randall Carver, who spent all of season one playing cabdriving college student/newlywed John Burns, was suddenly written out of the series with no explanation as to where his character had gone. Filling the breach was Christopher Lloyd, repeating the role of burned-out hippie minister Reverend Jim Ignatowski that he'd originated in the first-season episode "Paper Marriage." Yanked off the streets by the compassionate cabbies of the Sunshine Cab Company, Reverend Jim himself became a driver -- and a permanent cast member -- in the third episode of season two. This was also the season that introduced a handful of semi-regulars. Rhea Perlman, longtime significant other (and later wife) of Taxi co-star Danny DeVito, made a brace of appearances as Zena Sherman, the deceptively sweet-natured girlfriend of the cab company's terrible-tempered dispatcher Louie DePalma (DeVito, of course). Also, Carol Kane was seen for the first time as Simka Dahblitz, countrywoman and sweetheart of Sunshine Cab's foreign-born mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), a relationship that would culminate in marriage at the end of season three.

In addition, Marc Anthony Danza, the son of Taxi regular Tony Danza, appeared twice as Brian Sims, a nine-year-old orphan who befriended kindhearted cabbie-cum-boxer Tony Banta (Danza). Basking in the success of the previous season's two-part episode "Memories of Cab 804," the producers of Taxi served up a couple of additional two-parters during the second season. The first, "Shut It Down," found the cabbies going on strike, a situation that could only be remedied if "shop steward" Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) made the supreme sacrifice and agree to date the despicable Louie (an earlier episode had intensified the relationship between Elaine and fellow cabbie Alex Rieger [Judd Hirsch], establishing a "will they or won't they?" situation that would permeate the remaining seasons). And in the season finale, "Fantasy Borough," the entire Taxi gang indulged in some elaborate wishful thinking prompted by a set of publicity photos left in one of the cabs by Fantasy Island star Herve Villechaize. Although Taxi would pick up two more Emmy Awards during the 1979-1980 season, the series' move to Wednesdays proved detrimental to the ratings -- which explains the shift to a new Thursday-night slot when the next season got under way. ~ All Movie Guide

Older brother Chubby (Paul Sorvino) is a combative, booze-swilling, rough-edged construction worker, following in the footsteps of his brother Tommy (Tony Lo Bianco). Macho in the extreme, these fellows have no time for the sensitive moral quandaries which are at the heart of the two younger brothers' lives. Stony (Richard Gere), has worked with his father in the construction business, but longs to work with children. Albert (Michael Hershewe), the youngest, is a sensitive lad, the butt of his father and oldest brother's rough manner, and is constantly being harassed by his stressed-out mother (Lelia Goldoni). After a few attempts to communicate with his insensitive older brother and his parents, Stony must decide for himself if the rejection he will experience from his family on leaving the construction business is worth it; and if it is, what can be done to protect his younger brother from the rest of the family? ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide