Rex Benson Movies
In this independent drama, Raymond Brody (Jeff Strong) is an insurance salesman deeply unhappy with his life. His career is not going well, he's gaining weight, and he has problems with women. One night, out of frustrated boredom, Raymond makes a prank phone call to the parents of a young woman named Tanya Stickland (Lara Phillips), whom he once saw in a medical clinic run by his sister Norma (Paula Killen). Even though he doesn't know Tanya or her parents, he leaves a message that Tanya is pregnant and has tested positive for HIV. Raymond's joke backfires horribly, leading to a terrible row between Tanya and her abusive father, which ends when she shoots him to death. Some time later, Raymond visits Tanya in prison, posing as a stranger who heard her story and was concerned, and a rapport develops between them. David Yow, former vocalist for The Jesus Lizard, and underground filmmaker Richard Kern appear in the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeff Strong, Lara Phillips, (more)
- 1992
- R
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Jack Dobson (James Belushi) is lying down, bleeding and dead, in a deserted clearing in the woods: "Yeah, that's me. No wife, no kid. Just one 9-millimeter bullet lodged in my chest." The voice from the corpse then introduces the audience to the area of his demise --Palm Beach, a town where everyone "leads three lives: public, private, and secret." Dobson is a homicide detective in Palm Beach who takes advantage of his position to bed a variety of women, while his brother Michael (William Russ) prepares to run for public office. One of Dobson's lovers is imported New Yorker Ellen (Lorraine Bracco). She sees Dobson leave a parking lot with a waitress and before long the waitress turns up dead. Dobson investigates the murder and determines that a serial killer is on the loose. When more women turn up dead with connections to Dobson, the finger of guilt points not only to Jack but also to his partner Steve (Tony Goldwyn), Steve's wife Beth (Faye Grant), and even his respectable senatorial candidate brother. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
- 1990
- R
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Based on Doug Magee's novel Slow Coming Dark, the made-for-cable Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture is about a photojournalist (Roy Scheider) who is hired by a man (Arliss Howard) convicted of killing a policeman to photograph his execution. As the execution grows nearer, the photographer uncovers evidence that suggests the convicted man is actually innocent, and he tries to save him before it's too late. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
In Richard Benjamin's directorial debut, Mark Linn-Baker stars as Benjy Stone, junior writer on the popular 1950s TV comedy/variety series The King Kaiser Show. Kaiser (Joseph Bologna)'s guest star this week is Hollywood matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), a swashbuckling Errol Flynn type, right down to his indiscriminate womanizing and fondness for mass quantities of booze. Stone is assigned to keep the actor out of trouble during rehearsals and deliver him sober to the performance. Becoming fast friends, Stone and Swann alternate baby-sitting responsibilities: Swann takes the young writer to the Stork Club and on an early-morning jaunt through Central Park with a "borrowed" police horse, while Stone takes Swann to his home, where the star is fawned over by Benji's mom (Lainie Kazan) and asked embarrassing questions about his love life by Uncle Morty (Lou Jacobi). Despite a few anxious moments, all goes well until Swann, panicking at the discovery that King Kaiser's show will be telecast live and not on film, walks out just before airtime. Shamed by Benjy into honoring his committment, Swann makes a spectacular, timber-smashing entrance, saving the show and rescuing Kaiser from being rubbed out by a gangster (Cameron Mitchell) whom the comedian has offended. The film co-stars Jessica Harper, Gloria Stuart and Selma Diamond, a real-life comedy writer for Sid Caesar. My Favorite Year was converted into an unsuccessful Broadway musical in the early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, (more)
- 1981
Rose Burton's erstwhile beau Stanley Perkins (William Schallert) returns to Walton's mountain, still determined to marry Rose (Peggy Rea) and still filling her head with grandiose tales of his fabulous success in the business world. But things quickly go sour when Rose finds out that Stanley has recently been in a mental hospital, the result of a breakdown after being summarily fired from his job. Meanwhile, Jason (Jon Walmsley) hires country singer Johnny Calico (Curtis Credel) to perform at the Dew Drop Inn--and winds up vying with Johnny for the affections of Toni Hazelton (Lisa Harrison). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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