Craig Richard Nelson Movies
- 1995
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and Seth (William Windom) are invited to the South Carolina plantation owned by Seth's cousin, a wealthy botanist. The visit becomes somewhat less than pleasant when the cousin turns up murdered. Evidently there are several people who would have benefited from this death, but the clues aren't quite so plentiful--but as always, Jessica needs only one or two clues to tighten the noose around the guilty party's neck. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Helen (Crystal Bernard) receives an unexpectedly huge cash settlement from the house fire that opened Wings' seventh season. Although Joe (Tim Daly) thinks it would be wise to invest the money, impulsive Helen embarks upon a reckless shopping spree -- one which not only threatens to deplete the insurance money but also the couple's existing bank account. Elsewhere, Brian (Steven Weber) and Casey (Amy Yasbeck) begin to wonder if great sex is enough of a foundation for a lasting relationship. Former Monkee Peter Tork makes a cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Once again, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) joins forces with Chicago P.I. Charlie Garrett (Wayne Rogers), this time at a New York cultural museum. At first, Jessica and Charlie are on opposite sides as they bid against each other during an auction for a rare manuscript allegedly written by "Sherlock Holmes" creator Arthur Conan-Doyle. Before long, however, the two sleuths are following the clues surrounding the murder of a notorious art forger suspected of copying a stolen Degas painting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When con man Eddie Dash (Richard Pryor) is released from prison he's told to fulfill the required 100 hours of community service as the bodyguard/escort of a recently released mental patient (Gene Wilder). It's not too long before Wilder figures out a way to make a little dough at the expense of his impaired charge. Together they manage to get involved in an inheritance scam that's loaded with troubles and trials for all. It's apparent to most viewers that the Richard Pryor appearing in this film is a far cry from the actor most have seen previously; this is the first film undertaken by Pryor following a very serious illness. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, (more)
- 1990
In the first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single hour-long "special"), the Night Court staff is quarantined in the courtroom building when a toxic experimental virus is accidentally spilled. Forced to share close quarters, the staffers begin to recall the separate turning points in their lives. Flashbacks reveal Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) pursuing an abortive career as a stage magician, acerbic court matron Roz (Marsha Warfield) working as a stewardess, public defender Christine (Markie Post) competing for the "Miss Buffalo" crown, and libidinous prosecutor Dan (John Larroquette) as a 25-year-old virgin! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Accused of murdering a top scientist (Mark Margolis) and causing the descruction of the Botanica Four space station, Riker is tried for murder on the planet Tanuga Four, where the judges are predisposed to enter a "guilty" verdict. What follows is a Rashomon-style testimony, which at one point suggests that Riker was having an affair with the dead man's wife (Gina Hecht). Hoping to save his colleague, Captain Picard uses the Holodeck to recreate the events leading up to the crime. Ed Zuckerman wrote the script for "A Matter of Perspective," which originally aired February 17, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A night beat cop, a good vampire who only drinks cows' blood, is after a bad vampire, who is sucking the blood of the city's human inhabitants. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Springfield
- 1987
In the second episode of a four-part story arc, newly appointed judge Christine (Markie Post) prepares to assume her Night Court duties, while her predecessor Harry (Harry Anderson), still brooding over not being reappointed, plots to get even on New York City by playing the "ultimate prank." Little does Harry know that at this very moment, Christine is pulling strings to have him reinstated. This final episode of Night Court's fourth season ends on a cliffhanger, not to be resolved until the outset of Season Five. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Who's innocent in Betrayed by Innocence? Is it filmmaker Nick DeLeon (Barry Bostwick), who loves his wife but also his work? Is it Nick's working wife Sharon (Lee Purcell), who spends more time at the office than at home? Or is it nubile, underage coed Marisa Vogel (Cristen Kauffman), who has an affair with Nick? Paul Sorvino co-stars as Marisa's policeman father, whose rallying cry is "statutory rape." Made for television, Betrayed by Innocence originally aired March 1, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Bostwick, Lee Purcell, (more)
This made-for-TV effort from horror director Wes Craven and Salem's Lot producer Richard Kobritz involves a case of cryogenic suspension gone horribly wrong. A wealthy industrialist (Michael Beck) arranges for his body to be kept on ice in a high-tech cryonic chamber with specialized instructions regarding his revival at a future date when medical science can restore him to life. Thanks to a computer malfunction, these instructions are not followed properly, and Beck emerges from the frozen crypt as an empty, soulless creature and a vessel of pure evil with an appetite for destruction. So evil, in fact, that his own mother (Beatrice Straight) decides he must be destroyed and sets out to do the deed herself. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Given the credibility of the story and the sincerity of the players, it is surprising to learn that the made-for-TV Do You Remember Love? is not based on a true story. Joanne Woodward stars as a brilliant college professor and poet, struck down in her prime by Alzheimer's disease. Her husband Richard Kiley tries to cope, but is ultimately disheartened by Woodward's degenerating condition. Even sadder is the fact that Woodward, in her cogent moments, is fully aware that she is losing her ability to function. Written by Vickie Patek, this potentially depressing drama has a logically conceived uplifting finale. Do You Remember Love? was first telecast May 21, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This quietly compelling film explores the hardships and anxieties of high school with intelligence, sensitivity, warmth and humor. Chris Makepeace stars as a shy, bookish student who has recently moved to Chicago and begun a new school. There he finds himself the target of a group of punks led by Matt Dillon (ideally cast as the weasel-like bully), who threaten him each day to turn over his lunch money for protection...or else. When he stands up to them, he nearly loses his dental work before being saved by Ricky Lindemann (Adam Baldwin), a hulking loner rumored to have murdered his own brother. Makepeace offers the boy a job as his bodyguard, and the two become unlikely friends -- that is, until the ousted bullies find a champion of their own who challenges Lindemann. When Lindemann refuses to fight back, he disappears into reclusion, and the bullying begins anew, worse than ever. Makepeace then learns the truth about Lindemann's past: he did indeed kill his brother, but the death was an accident while the two young boys were playing with a gun, and Lindemann lives tortured by guilt as a result. Just when things seem at their worst, the bodyguard returns to face his nemesis as Makepeace and Dillon square off in the final showdown of good versus evil. The real strength of the film is its handling of the relationships between its characters, particularly between Makepeace and Baldwin, and Makepeace and his family (Martin Mull and Ruth Gordon). My Bodyguard is light but thoughtful entertainment with a Rocky theme that's suitable for the entire family. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, (more)
- 1979
- R
Perhaps the least seen but most talked about film of Robert Altman's career, Quintet is a somber science fiction tale that takes place after a nuclear holocaust has thrown the world into another Ice Age. A man named Essex (Paul Newman) and his pregnant wife Vivia (Brigitte Fossey) are wandering the desolate, frozen landscape and attempting to find Essex's brother, Francha (Tom Hill). They finally locate him in a frozen city, occupied by a number of apocalyptic survivors who who pass their time playing a mysterious game called "Quintet." No one is able to explain just how it is played, but Grigor (Fernando Rey) appears to act as the referee, and the stakes of the game are unusually high - losing means being thrown out into the snow and devoured by Rottweilers. Francha is soon killed, not as a casualty of Quintet per se, but for playing an assassination game on the side to relieve his own ennui. As 'collateral damage,', Vivia and the rest of Francha's family are soon extinguished as well. Essex is not happy with the way they've been rubbed out, but as he attempts to seek revenge, he is only drawn deeper into the lethal competition of Quintet. While this picture received negative reviews on its initial release, in retrospect it is worth noting that the photography (by Jean Boffety) and production design (by Leon Ericksen) are beautiful and striking, and that the film boasts one of Altman's strongest international casts, including Vittorio Gassman, Nina Van Pallandt, and Bibi Andersson, as befits its European-art-movie ambiance; the influence of the equally opaque, allegorical, game-playing Last Year at Marienbad (1961) is especially strong. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Vittorio Gassman, (more)
Robert Altman's over-frenetic satire on American marriage rituals and hypocrisy concerns the upper-crust marriage between Dino Corelli (Desi Arnaz Jr.) and Muffin Brenner (Amy Stryker). As the film begins, a senile bishop forgets the lines to the wedding ceremony and Nettie Sloan (the groom's grandmother) drops dead in an upstairs bedroom. Nettie's death is not disclosed to the two families who converge at the wedding reception. As the two sets of in-laws slam into each other, the bride and groom disappear in the ensuing whirlwind of chaos as both extended families vie for sexual favors and try to keep hidden never-discussed family secrets. Regina Corelli (Nina Van Pallandt) is revealed to be a drug addict, while Luigi, is endeavoring unsuccessfully to keep his Mafia connections under wraps. Meanwhile, the bride's family, although more down to earth, are revealed to be no better. Tulip Brenner (Carol Burnett) begins to flirt with one of the wedding guests, Mackenzie Goddard (Pat McCormick), while Snooks Brenner (Paul Dooley) acts like a lout and drinks heavily. And flying around the edges of the action like Tinkerbell is Buffy Brenner, the Brenners' youngest daughter, who is pregnant by the groom. As other characters bang into each other -- sexual degenerates, hard-nosed radicals, raw-boned emotional wrecks -- the wedding reception heads for its inevitable nuclear explosion. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, (more)
- 1978
While the made-for-TV The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank sure looks like a pilot film, nobody involved would fess up to this. Based on the writings of humorist Erma Bombeck, the film stars Carol Burnett and Charles Grodin as an upwardly mobile New York couple who move themselves and their family to suburbia. What follows is a 1970s variation on Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, with lawn disasters, commuting problems, Little League intrigues and "committee-itis" thrown into the pot. Eric Stoltz, later to gain fame in such films as Mask, plays Burnett and Grodin's teen-aged son. Premiered on October 25, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Robert Altman's Three Women takes a surreal, improvisational and rather eerie look at the lives of three women in a western desert town. The plot centers around the youngest of the women, Pinky (Sissy Spacek), an eccentric, withdrawn woman trying to begin a new life. She finds work as an attendant at a hot springs spa catering to the elderly and infirm. There she befriends her co-worker Millie (Shelley Duvall), an equally strange but more outgoing woman; the two bond, and are soon sharing an apartment. Pinky becomes increasingly dependent on Millie, eventually adopting aspects of her personality and appearance. This obsessive attachment is threatened when Pinky discovers Millie with a man -- Edgar (Robert Fortier), the macho, faux-cowboy husband of local artist Willie (Janice Rule), the last of the title's three women. Pinky's subsequent, desperate actions precipitate the film's enigmatic conclusion, involving an unexpected series of confrontations and role reversals amongst the three women. This story tends to take a backseat to the elliptical, spooky imagery, particularly the desert landscapes, and the quirky performances -- not surprising, given that the film was reportedly shot without a full screenplay and inspired by Altman's own dreams. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, (more)
This filmization of John Jay Osborn Jr.'s novel Paper Chase ended up one of the surprise hits of the 1973-74 movie season. Timothy Bottoms stars as the Minnesotan Hart, a brilliant but naive first-year student at the Harvard Law School. Like most of his fellow aspiring attorneys, Hart is in fearful awe of his demanding, ego-deflating instructor, Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman). He is not so much intimidated by Kingsfield, however, as to resist falling in love with the professor's pretty daughter (Lindsay Wagner). An eminent theatrical and film producer, John Houseman won an Oscar for his first important film role (no, it wasn't his first film role ever; he'd played an unbilled cameo in 1964's Seven Days in May), launching Houseman on a latter-day acting career wherein he spent most of his time playing variations of Kingsfield. Houseman also recreated the role for a Paper Chase TV series, which first ran on CBS, then on public television, then on the Showtime pay cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, (more)
- 1973
Bloodsport began life under the less alluring title Poetry in Motion. Gary Busey and Ben Johnson star as, respectively, a high-school football quarterback and his "winning is the only thing" father. The more his dad pushes him, the less Busey truly wants to be an athlete. The inter-family hostility comes to a head during an excitingly filmed climactic gridiron battle. Made for TV, Bloodsport was initially telecast on December 5, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Johnson, Gary Busey, (more)
