Anne Meara Movies

Several noted American actors dot this autobiographical feature from Hungarian filmmaker Gabe Von Dettre (also know as Gabor Dettre) about the difficulty of getting a break in the movie industry. Brad Dourif plays a filmmaker who often talks to the audience about the main question on his mind -- why can't he get a project financed when so many people with less talent and fewer credentials are working steadily? This film (which was many years in production, as evidenced by the presence of several actors who are no longer living) was shown as part of the 1999 Hungarian Film Week Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

ALF is barred from attending the wedding party of Grandma Dorothy (Anne Meara) and her new hubby Whizzer (Paul Dooley). As a result, he comes down with a bad case of the dreaded "Melmacian hiccups", for which there are only two cures: a healthy dose of cat-juice, and something so awful that ALF shudders at the thought of it. Reluctant to stuff their pet cat Lucky into the blender for the sake of ALF's health, Willie (Max Wright) and Kate (Anne Scheeden) resort to an adroit bit of trickery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks, Awakenings stars Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care. Julie Kavner and John Heard also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jim Breuer, Burt Young, and Colin Quinn headline this zany crime comedy about a group of petty thieves who bungle their plot to lift $1 million in mob cash. Upon learning that mobsters are scheduled to pick up $1 million at a local delicatessen Joe, Chris, Sal, and Johnny scheme to swoop in and steal the cash before it exchanges hands. Unfortunately this gang is none too bright, and before they know it they've got the law, and the underworld gunning for them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Fame is set at New York's High School of Performing Arts, where talented teens train for show-business careers. The film concentrates on five of the most gifted students: singer Irene Cara, actors Paul McCrane and Barry Miller, dancer Gene Anthony Ray, and musician Lee Currieri. More so than the subsequent TV series Fame, the film emphasizes the importance of keeping up one's academic achievements in this specialized school. The faculty includes no-nonsense English teacher Ann Meara, erudite musical instructor Albert Hague, and martinet dance teacher Debbie Allen. Of the film's cast, Ray, Currieri, Allen and Hague were carried over to the TV version of Fame, which premiered in 1981. The score for the film version of Fame was honored with an Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Camp Hope is a summer camp for fat kids; it is also the locale of this Disney family comedy. All of the kids at Camp Hope have a weight problem. It is the one place they can go without feeling different. But when the previous owners declare bankruptcy, the camp is purchased by an obnoxious fitness freak who becomes obsessed with changing his chubby charges into budding body builders. He immediately begins serving them low calorie foods and subjecting them to rigorous exercises. Part of his motivation is greed: he is in the process of writing a book, and filming an infomercial on weight loss. The boys at camp rebel and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season five opener, a tense hostage crisis at a Baltimore middle school enters the second day. It soon develops that the deranged man who is holding several teachers and students at gunpoint is connected to an earlier murder in which a pet pig was the only witness. Meanwhile, Munch (Richard Belzer) refuses to make things easy for Pembleton (Andre Braugher), who continues having trouble recovering from his stroke, both at work and at home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this actioner, Irish rum-runners working in America during Prohibition attempt to send their profits back to Erin to help the IRA cause. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Judy Berlin allows the audience to take a glimpse of a day at once strange and ordinary with the residents of Babylon, Long Island. Judy (Edie Falco) is an aspiring actress who is quitting her job as a "pilgrim" in a local historical museum's display to take her chances in Los Angeles. Her mother is a gifted but bitter schoolteacher (Barbara Barrie) who has long loved principal Arthur Gold (Bob Dishy) from afar. However, Arthur has a wife, Alice (Madeline Kahn), who's more than a bit eccentric and has driven him to distraction. Arthur and Alice have a son, David (Aaron Harnick), who like Judy has showbiz aspirations (he wants to be a filmmaker), though unlike Judy he has no idea of what to do about it; when Judy and David meet, could romance be lurking around the corner? First-time director Eric Mendelsohn has equipped this offbeat comic drama an outstanding cast, which also includes Julie Kavner, Anne Meara, and Novella Nelson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A convict agrees to go undercover and gather evidence on a notorious crime lord in order to win an early release from prison in this tough, gritty crime drama. Much of the tension develops from the inner conflict of Jimmy Kilmartin (David Caruso), who feels torn between his desire to win freedom for the sake of his family and his belief in a code of honor that sees ratting on others as an unforgivable sin. His misgivings are compounded by fear when he learns that his target is to be the notorious Little Junior (Nicolas Cage), a violent eccentric with a hair-trigger temper. Luckily for the ex-con, Junior takes a shine to Jimmy, welcoming him into his inner circle. While this pleases the investigators, it means further trouble for Jimmy, who would undoubtedly be killed were his deception ever discovered. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Pint-size rap music star Lil Bow Wow shows that he can play ball as well as he raps in this youth-oriented comedy about a young boy whose dream comes true in an unexpected way. Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) is a 14-year-old boy, who, since the death of his parents, has been living in an orphanage run by the unpleasantly eccentric Stan Bittleman (Crispin Glover). While the tough but caring Sister Theresa (Anne Meara) tries to encourage the kids, Calvin knows that he and most of the other kids his age are poor prospects for adoption. Calvin loves basketball and idolizes Michael Jordan, but he's too short to be much of a challenge to the older kids when shooting hoop at the playground. One day, Calvin discovers a pair of old basketball sneakers with the initials "MJ" written on the inside. Calvin is convinced they once belonged to Michael Jordan, but he can hardly believe what happens when he puts them on -- suddenly he's able to make superhuman jump shots and dunks just like a miniature version of Air Jordan himself. Calvin's newly developed talent on the court comes to the attention of Frank Bernard (Eugene Levy), the manager of the Los Angeles Knights, an NBA team having a humiliating season. Bernard brings Calvin to the team as a novelty item, but with the help of Coach Wagner (Robert Forster) and the new kid's can-do attitude, the Knights start to climb out of the cellar and look like possible season champs. However, Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), who used to be the team's star player, isn't happy to have his thunder stolen by a 14-year-old boy -- especially when he's made Calvin's roommate and de-facto guardian on the road. Like Mike also features cameo appearances by a number of pro basketball stars, including Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, and Jason Kidd. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is back in London, there to attend the opening night of a play based on one of her novel's. The play's producer (Robin Sachs) has a reputation for ruthlessness and duplicity, so it really surprises no one when he is murdered. Nor can anyone be surprised when Jessica (Angela Lansbury) takes it upon herself to prove that the play's leading lady (Jean Marsh) is not the murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide