Arnold McCuller Movies
In this stylized adaptation of her 1988 off-Broadway show, singer/actress/comedian Sandra Bernhard explores celebrity, stereotypes, and her own childhood in a series of monologues and musical numbers. Although much of the material comes straight from the original stage show, Bernhard and co-writer John Boskovich updated many of her pop-cultural musings and added several new production numbers. They also turned a one-woman show into something of a mockumentary, staging interviews with Bernhard's fictional manager (Lu Leonard) and adding several additional characters. Most of the action is staged in a theater full of well-heeled African American patrons who slowly leave in disgust at Bernhard's performance, which includes her deadpan fantasies about an imagined gentile childhood, a dalliance with Warren Beatty, and a trip to Studio 54. Originally given a limited release by New Line Cinema in 1990, Without You I'm Nothing was quickly pulled from theaters when the company that produced it went bankrupt. Eventually, however, it made its was to home video and DVD. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bernhard, Steve Antin, (more)
Based on a novel by Iris Rainer Dart, Beaches traces the 30-year oil-and-water friendship between free-spirited Bronx Jew CC Bloom (Bette Midler) and uptight San Francisco WASP Hillary Essex (Barbara Hershey). The two meet as children in Atlantic City (played by Mayim Bialik and Marcie Leeds) and are reunited in the 1960s, when CC is a struggling singer and Hillary is trying to break free from her staid upbringing by becoming an activist. The two ladies room together, then fall out when both are attracted to off-Broadway producer John Pierce (John Heard). CC wins John, but she quickly outgrows him as she matriculates into a bawdy performer. The recently patched-up friendship between CC and Hillary is torn asunder again when Hillary and her new husband express distaste for CC's performing style. Comes the 1970s, and CC and Hillary are reunited after shedding their respective spouses. Broke again, they once more become Manhattan roommates. Their bond strengthens, but there is tragedy in store for the duo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, (more)
Fran Drescher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tony Danza are the most notable aspects of this forgettable teen drama that features a gang of youths in a car club who decide to battle it out with the establishment in Beverly Hills. It seems their favorite haunt, the last drive-in restaurant in the neighborhood, has been forced to close. Their rebellion is marked by tactics that might be embarrassing to any serious rebels: they turn a high school banner into an X-rated statement, sabotage a police car, ruin a manicured garden, and urinate in a punch bowl. These shenanigans take place on Halloween in 1965, a time when practical jokes are usually in the hands of elementary school kids -- and that level of maturity is maintained here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fran Drescher, Leigh French, (more)
- 1978
This lively musical comedy pays tribute to the birth of rock & roll in the late 1950s and the instrumental role played by disc jockey Alan Freed who helped bring the new sound into vogue. Much of the story centers on the daring deejay's attempts to put on the very first live rock & roll stage show at the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn. To do this he must overcome the protests of concerned and angry parents, conservatives, and local police. Several performers of the era appear in the film including Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, (more)
