Hap Lawrence Movies

Paul Mazursky directed this comedy, which blends a broad satire of the film industry with a thoughtful tale of a middle-aged man looking back on his life's failures. Harry Stone (Danny Aiello) is a film director who desperately needs a hit -- so desperately that he gets talked into directing an inane sci-fi film about a group of farm kids (led by Ally Sheedy) who grow an enormous pickle that they turn into a spaceship, allowing them to visit the planet Cleveland (ruled by Little Richard and his right hand man, Griffin Dunne) where everyone eats nothing but meat. Convinced that the film will flop, Harry is in a state of panic as he returns to New York with his Parisian girlfriend Francoise (Clotilde Courau), a mere 20 years his junior, and visits his ex-wife Ellen (Dyan Cannon); his mother Yetta (Shelley Winters); and his son Gregory (Chris Penn). Meanwhile Harry flashes back on his childhood and the film he could have made of it, and pitches his dream film (a historical epic about the life of Montezuma) to studio executives, who instead want him to make a movie kids can relate to. The Pickle was filmed in 1991, but only received a token theatrical release two years later. Actually, the sci-fi story with Little Richard as the undisputed ruler of Cleveland looks like it might have been an ideal vehicle for Edward D. Wood Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmed in 1982 in New York, this comedy hinges on a tried-and-true plot device: a man has less than a day to get married or he loses a fortune (no waiting for blood tests or licenses here!). When the fabulously wealthy W.D. Westmoreland (Jonathan Winters) dies, his grandson Luke (Art Hindle) discovers that he will inherit $250 million if he marries before he is 35. Since he turns thirty-five tomorrow, that leaves him less than 24 hours to find a bride and make it legal. Everything impedes his good intentions, including his father, who stands to inherit that money if Luke remains a bachelor. There are a lot of volunteers for Luke's open position of an immediate wife, but what makes matters even more complicated is he has developed an interest in a young, average-looking woman from the countryside. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this inane teen comedy, a rafting competition is going to determine whether four friends will graduate or not (an interesting amendment to college practices), and up against their team is a group of offensive rich kids. Meanwhile, a band of expelled military rafters is out to thwart the race as a whole. Bob (Tim Matheson) of the aspiring group of graduates, and Heather (Jennifer Runyon), a convert from the military rafting side, are a hot item, as are many other couples, since sex seems to be the only known activity carried out on land. A game of charades with a dog -- in order to locate a hostage -- is the funniest sequence in an otherwise routine story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Lensed on videotape, Emergency Room was the first presentation of the syndicated Commworld Prime Time Showcase. Sarah Purcell and LeVar Burton star in this hospital melodrama. Purcell plays the doctor in charge of the E.R., dealing not only with an onrush of patients but also with hospital red tape and an on-again, off-again romance with a fellow physician (Gary Frank). The guest cast includes Penny Peyser, Paul Stewart, Julie Sommars, Gary Lockwood and Conchata Ferrell. Most markets first saw Emergency Room in mid-July 1983. The film was barter-sponsored to local stations by Procter and Gamble, as was the second and last Commworld Prime Time Showcase effort, Desperate Intruder (see separate entry). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Comedy falls as flat as a blowout in this film by Joseph Sargent about a down-to-earth trucker (Robert Blake) and the rich and looney witch (Dyan Cannon) he is forced to take on a haul from New York to L.A. Madie (Cannon) is running away from her money-grubbing husband who is conniving to get the most inexpensive divorce he can. Charlie (Blake) the trucker is under pressure from a ruthless creditor and is in desperate need of cash. As the mismatched duo continues in a stressful journey across country, sparks fly but fail to ignite much of anything along the way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Maxwell Smart, the infamous Agent 86 from the '60s television sitcom Get Smart makes his feature-film debut in this goofy espionage spoof. This time, Smart and his cohorts must stop enemy spies from detonating a bomb that would destroy all the world's clothing. On television, the film was renamed The Return of Maxwell Smart. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Susan Sarandon gives a sprightly performance in this sex farce involving couples swapping mates. Shirley MacLaine is Evelyn, a doctor, who is spending some quality time horseback riding when she is spotted by Greg (Stephen Collins), who is driving his sports car. Greg looks at her a bit too long and crashes the car, and since Evelyn is a doctor, she feels free to ride up to the prone Greg and rip off his pants. Soon the two are having an affair behind the backs of Greg's TV weather-girl lover Stephanie (Susan Sarandon) and Evelyn's workaholic husband, Walter (James Coburn). When Walter finds out about the affair from Stephanie, the two decide to reciprocate and engage in an affair of their own. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This TV movie stars Jean Stapleton as the real-life "Aunt" Mary Dobkin, a physically handicapped woman living in the Baltimore of the 1940s. Concerned that juvenile delinquency is destroying her neighborhood, Aunt Mary organizes the "Dobkin Dynamiters", a baseball team comprised of disadvantaged and minority children. As she fights to have her biracial team officially sanctioned by the highly segregated Baltimore power structure, Aunt Mary is further challenged by the amputation of her left leg and right foot. Nonetheless, she perseveres over the next two decades, providing nearly 35,000 disenfranchised boys the opportunity to escape the streets and play ball. Sportscaster Ernie Harwell, who'd once called the shots for the Baltimore Orioles, makes a cameo appearance in this 1979 Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi