Marilyn Kagan Movies
- 1993
In this quasi-semi-documentary, a Russian angel leads viewers in a quest to discover what, if anything, remains of the great, utopian "American Dream" now that the so-called "Worker's Paradise" dream of Russia has passed completely into oblivion. Along the way, real celebrities and working members the film community in Hollywood are interviewed, and a number of "types" are impersonated by actors. Some of the celebrities interviewed include Jacqueline Bisset, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and screenwriter Jonathan Lawton (the Pretty Woman script writer). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alena Antonova, Phillipe Bergerone, (more)
- 1993
Hoping to overcome her fear of speaking in public, Marcy (Amanda Bearse) tries the time-honored tactic of pretending that she is somewhere else. During her next speech before her fellow bankers, her strategy proves successful--far too successful, as Marcy gets carried away in her own bizarre fantasy world. At that, her experience is not nearly so bizarre as Al Bundy's (Ed O'Neill) sudden obsession with rap music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
A rare attempt by a female director to attack the issue of rape from a woman's perspective, this drama is sure to cause varied reactions. A sense of the film's perspective can be garnered from paraphrasing its publicity: "Rapists have two problems and the 'Ladies Club' is about to remove them both." Statistics of the time note that a woman was raped every seven minutes while the conviction rate was an incredibly low 2%. A policewoman who was brutally raped and the sister of a rape victim who was incurably traumatized band together for a surgical attack on the offenders, aided by a physician whose own tragedy inspires her to lend her skill with a scalpel to the cause. The encounters with rapists, court hearings, and sneaking through police files to identify the men who got away bring suspense to this crusade for justice. Comic relief crops up now and again to leaven the seriousness of the topic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Austin, Diana Scarwid, (more)
- 1984
- R
The appealing Daphne Zuniga makes her inauspicious debut in this dreary slasher film as a pampered freshman sorority pledge haunted by memory lapses and bizarre, violent dreams involving her parents (Clu Gulager and Vera Miles). Despite some progress in dream-research, her condition becomes dangerously unstable during a Hell Week initiation stunt -- held after hours in her father's shopping mall -- further abetted by the discovery that a psychopathic killer has escaped from the local asylum. It's no surprise to learn where said killer turns up next, nor is it much of a challenge determining the killer's identity (a clue: Zuniga's nightmares are actually repressed memories). The cast is summarily whittled down, courtesy of several sharp implements looted from various sporting goods and gardening departments, leaving the filmmakers to tie the loose ends together for the ridiculously contrived climax. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Miles, Clu Gulager, (more)
- 1981
Violation of Sarah McDavid is a surprisingly explicit TV movie concerning the undercurrent of violence in a purportedly "good" high school. Patty Duke Astin is a new teacher at Benjamin Harrison High, where the GPA is high but where sadism and brutality amongst the students is the order of the day. Ms. Astin is able to maintain an even keel until, at the end of one school day, she is raped. Assuming she will be backed up in her accusations by the school administration, the teacher discovers that the principal (Ned Beatty), more concerned with image than with justice, wants to sweep the rape incident under the rug. As Astin struggles to make her complaint public, the film touches upon such hot-potato subjects as executive incompetence and the culpability of a "don't ask don't tell" public. The rape scene in Violation of Sarah McDavid is graphic enough to make the viewer feel nearly as degraded as the victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Foxes details the exploits of four teenage San Fernando Valley girls as they drink, dope and sleep their way into oblivion. Jeanie (Jodie Foster, in a standout performance), the most grounded of the quartet, deals with her burned-out working-student-mother (Sally Kellerman, also excellent) while playing mother to her cohorts; Annie (Cherie Curie), a promiscuous drug-vacuum, attempts to dodge her psychotic police officer-father while partying round the clock; Madge (Marilyn Kagan), an overweight tag-along, who tries desperately to fit in with her wilder friends; and Deirdre (Kandice Stroh); an insecure liar and also-ran. While the performances (particularly the aforementioned) are good, and the direction is solid, the script doesn't seem to go anywhere; maybe that's the point, though, since neither do the characters in their vacuous, instant-gratification-based existences. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Scott Baio, (more)
- 1980
John Sayles, of Trial of the Catonsville 9 and Brother From Another Planet fame, wrote the teleplay for A Perfect Match from an original story by director Mel Damski and Andre Guttfruend. Fashion designer Linda Kelsey is diagnosed as suffering from a rare form of anemia. Kelsey's only hope is to find a bone-marrow donor whose blood type matches hers. It turns out that the only suitable potential donor is the daughter (Lisa Lucas) whom Kelsey had given up for adoption 16 years earlier. The dramatic intensity of Ms. Kelsey's plight is matched by the anguished performances of Ms. Lucas and (as the adoptive parents) Colleen Dewhurst and Charles Durning. A well-above-average TV movie, Perfect Match deserved better than being scheduled for its premiere showing opposite a network telecast of Jaws. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
