Tyrone Power, Jr. Movies
- 1994
An ex-con becomes a paramedic in this drama that also contains messages about the plight of the elderly. Nickel has just been paroled to a work-release program where he is to work off his final year in an ambulance service at the local hospital in the retirement resort, Seabreeze. He learns to be a paramedic from his cynical trainer Brent who sensitively categorizes his patients as "lizards, sevens, and turkeys" (translated as old folks, corpses, and fakers). During training, he encounters many characters such as Igor Vostovic, a Russian emigre institutionalized against his will. Igor becomes a father figure to Nickel and guides him to the straight and narrow. Nickel also begins to fall for Francie who spends all her time caring for her sickly grandma. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Jr., John R. Johnston, (more)
- 1989
- R
A nerdly stagehand at a nightclub falls for a performer/waitress who is forced to endure harassment from her gangster boss. After taking lessons on suavity from a gigolo "count," the young man finally wins her affections. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1989
While tending bar at a party Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) is catering for her bosses, Woody (Woody Harrelson) is humiliated by a wealthy young jerk. In retaliation, Woody makes plans to steal his tormentor's girlfriend. Fans of the old sitcoms The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Gilligan's Island, and The Beverly Hillbillies will get a chuckle out of some of the character names in this episode, which also serves to introduce Jackie Swanson in the role of Woody's debutante heartthrob Kelly Gaines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cocoon 2: The Return, like most sequels, relies a bit too heavily on one's familiarity with the first film. Without dwelling too long on Cocoon #1, we can observe that it ended with a group of senior citizens heading for the distant planet of Antarea, hoping to find a new, rewarding and elongated life. Cocoon 2 picks up the action five years later: The Antareans return to earth to check on the damage caused to their life-regenerating cocoons by earthquakes. Coming along for the ride are the elderly couples whom we met in the first film. Also carried over from the first Cocoon are young ferryboat captain Steve Guttenberg and gorgeous Antarean Tahnee Welch, who resume their interplanetary romance. Oldster Jack Gilford, whose beloved wife died in Cocoon, likewise finds romance in the form of Elaine Stritch. A secondary plot involves an insidious secret government plan to exploit the Antareans, which is foiled by sympathetic researcher Courteney Cox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, (more)
Shag is a beach flick set in 1963. The years have passed, but the old Where the Boys Are formula holds firm: Four attractive young lasses head for the surf and sand of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, looking for guys. Phoebe Cates is about to be married, so her three pals seek out a final affair d'amour on her behalf before she is lost to the world forever. The cast is fascinating for its family ties: Bridget Fonda is the daughter of Peter Fonda, Page Hannah the sister of Darryl Hannah, and Tyrone Power III is the son of you-know-who. Filmed in 1988, Shag was released that year in Europe, then offered to American audiences one year later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phoebe Cates, Scott Coffey, (more)
Cocoon is a warm-hearted science-fiction fable that avoids becoming overly corny thanks to the performances of its mostly senior cast. Wilford Brimley, Don Ameche, and Hume Cronyn are three old-timers who sneak out of their retirement home a few days a week to swim in the large pool on an abandoned estate next door. When the threesome begins to feel curiously younger, they discover strange pods on the floor of the pool. These pods are alien cocoons, which are being pulled from the ocean by a team of extra-terrestrials in human form led by Walter (Brian Dennehy), who has hired a local charter operator (Steve Guttenberg) to assist him. Walter explains to the seniors that energy from the cocoons is restoring youth and vigor to the older men every time they go for a dip. The aliens agree to let the men continue to swim in secret, but of course they can't keep their discovery to themselves. Soon the pool is swarming with retirees, with the notable exception of Bernie (Jack Gilford), who has no interest in prolonging life any longer than necessary. The aliens ultimately prepare to return home and offer the retirees eternal life if they leave Earth behind as well. Director Ron Howard treats his old-timers with care and dignity, and they respond with deeply sympathetic performances (Ameche won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar); the film's science-fiction trappings ably sustain the story's all-too-human ruminations on youth, aging, life, and death. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, (more)
