Randy Quaid Movies

Based on the award-winning play by Sam Shepard, this drama offers an unblinking look at a family desperately clinging to the last threads of the American dream. Weston Tate (James Woods) is an alcoholic Viet Nam veteran struggling to hold on to the family's farm; he often brags about his grand plans for the place, but in truth the land is just one step away from foreclosure. His wife Ella (Kathy Bates) is determined to hold her family together, though she often dreams of running away and isn't above sleeping with corrupt land developer Taylor (Randy Quaid) if it will help keep the farm in her family's hands. Their son Wesely (Henry Thomas) has the soul of a poet and dreams of a better life, while his sister Emma (Kristin Fiorella) has inherited her mother's strength, but also her mother's burden in holding the Tates together. Noted filmmaker Bruce Beresford adapted Shepard's play for the screen and served as executive producer; Michael McClary directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The manic writing-directing comedy team of Tom Stern and Alex Winter (the latter of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) followed up their deranged short-film collaborations and the short-lived MTV series The Idiot Box with this comic fantasy, which amounts to a virtual car crash of anarchic, mind-blowing weirdness. The brain-damaged plot follows self-centered sitcom actor Ricky Coogin (Winter), official spokesman for the E.E.S. (Everything Except Shoes) corporation, into the jungle-bound South American nation of Santa Flan. Coogin has been sent as an emissary on behalf of E.E.S. to placate the media uproar over a substance called Zygrot-27, a chief ingredient in many E.E.S. products which has been decried as a fatal environmental toxin. Accompanied by his friend Ernie (Michael Stoyanov) and environmental activist Julie (Megan Ward), Ricky takes a detour into the jungle to a bizarre amusement park overseen by bombastic barker/inventor Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid), who specializes in the display of "Hideous Mutant Freekz" (the film's original title). The trio soon discover that Skuggs manufactures his oddities himself, and they find themselves at the mercy of his hideous freakmaking factory -- which coincidentally uses Zygrot-27 as a catalyst. Once he has the hapless heroes strapped down, Skuggs reveals his intention to transform Coogin into an evil mega-freak who will destroy all the others in a slam-bang, standing-room-only closing event. Miffed at the notion of sustaining an acting career as a spine-covered, pus-gushing monster, Coogin joins a rebellion within Skuggs' captive stable of other man-made freaks -- whose ranks include such monstrosities as effete human worm; a bearded lady (Mr. T in a frilly dress); a man with a sock-puppet for a head (voiced by Bob Goldthwait); and Ortiz the Dog-Boy (an uncredited Keanu Reeves). Their plans to turn Ricky into a zygrot-powered superhero go astray, however, leading to a hilariously apocalyptic finale. Doomed to home-video status by lethargic distribution from Twentieth-Century Fox, this unappreciated gem deserves a second look; packed with hilarious visual gags, ultra-gross setpieces and body-function jokes, Freaked is a hallucinogenic funhouse of a movie. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Eastern Europe, this direct-to-cable adaptation of Mary Shelley's iconographic monster tale features Patrick Bergin as Victor Frankenstein, a medical genius obsessed with the secret of creating life, who uses a bizarre cloning apparatus to grow a complete human being (Randy Quaid) from his own cellular material. Though sensitive and intelligent, the rebellious humanoid is driven by a murderous rage against his creator, compelling him to destroy everything that he holds dear. Aside from the introduction of a psychic link between Victor and his monstrous genetic offspring -- a concept never satisfyingly explored -- this adaptation brings nothing particularly fresh or revolutionary to Shelley's novel. However, production values are admirably high and performances are superb throughout, particularly that of John Mills as the blind forest hermit who befriends the monster. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Bill Murray co-directed (along with Howard Franklin) this mixture of The Out-of-Towners and After Hours, concerning Grimm (Bill Murray), a frustrated city planner who is fed up with the corruption and venality of New York City. Getting together a couple of accomplices -- Phyllis (Geena Davis), who admires Grimm for his audacity, and Loomis (Randy Quaid), a follower to Grimm's leader since grade school -- Grimm decides to rob a bank, pocket the money, get out of town and take off to tropical splendor. Dressing in a clown suit, Grimm devises a unique way to rob a bank -- taking a group of hostages at the bank and inviting the police to surround the bank. Amazingly, although pursued by a police chief (Jason Robards), the trio manage to pull off the robbery. However, the problems really start when they try to get from the bank to the airport -- which proves to be more difficult than the robbery. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Texasville is Peter Bogdanovich's much-delayed sequel to The Last Picture Show. Adapted from Larry McMurtry's novel and told as a series of episodes, Texasville follows the characters from The Last Picture Show as they reunite in a small Texas town nearly 30 years after the end of the last movie, and face a number of adult problems, as well as confronting lingering emotions and memories from adolescence. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Chevy Chase, star of National Lampoon's Vacation and its sequel, is back as the paterfamilias of the Griswold family (including Beverly D'Angelo as his missus) to skewer the Yuletide season. Chevy mugs, trips, falls, mashes his fingers and stubs his toes as he prepares to invite numerous dysfunctional relatives to his household to celebrate Christmas. Amidst the more outrageous sight gags (including the electrocution of a cat as the Christmas tree is lit) the film betrays a sentimental streak, with old wounds healing and long-estranged relatives reuniting in the Griswold living room. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was still capable of attracting an audience five years after its release: It was one of the top-rated seasonal TV specials of 1994, outrating even the first network telecast of It's a Wonderful Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this black comedy starring Randy Quaid, a dead dog, a red-hot date, and a Zen-quoting cabbie with strange connections provide the ingredients for the most frustrating night in poor Michael Latchmer's heretofore dull life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dave (John Lithgow), a meek, unassuming man who's the co-owner of a butcher shop, discovers his obnoxious business partner Ernie (Bruce McGill) dead in the meat locker. Dave thinks he might have accidentally locked Ernie in and caused his death. Much of the movie involves Dave's efforts to dispose of the corpse. He's aided in his efforts by the dead man's wife Sunny Cannald (Terry Garr), who used to be his girlfriend. Romance between the two is rekindled while Sunny tries to help Dave, meanwhile covering up a secret of her own. Complications are caused by the world's most incompetent private detective Randy Quaid), who Sunny had hired to get evidence that her husband was cheating on her. This somewhat disjointed black comedy got a "stiff" reception by most reviewers, despite the comic talents of the cast. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A transit engineer and his family must face the gargantuan task of moving from New Jersey to Boise, Idaho in this lively comedy starring Richard Pryor. It all begins after he gets a really great job out West. Unfortunately, his family is less than thrilled with the prospect. The furniture movers, who prove to be crooks, and their crazy neighbors conspire to make matters all the worse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Randy Quaid plays the mayor of a small town in Alberta. Quaid also doubles as a the local high school history teacher, and it is in this capacity that he poses a threat to housewife Lindsay Wagner. Ms. Wagner takes a peek at her teenaged son's classroom notes, and comes to the correct conclusion that Quaid is espousing a philosophy of anti-Semitism. She is successful in having Quaid removed from his teaching job, but finds herself blocked by her own neighbors in getting Quaid ousted as mayor. Standing her ground against community hostility and physical threats, Wagner takes Quaid to court, hoping to exercise the Canadian laws against promoting race hatred. Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Evil in Clear River is a frightening glance at what can happen when "revisionist history" is filtered through the mind of a bigot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Chilean Revolution of 1973 provides the framework of this propaganda drama that chronicles the aftermath of the assassination of President Salvador Allende. Much of the story centers on the effects the revolution has upon an American couple who lived there during the tumult. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam was first telecast April 3, 1988, over the HBO cable service. Based on the book of the same name, the program is devoted to poignant recitations of letters to and from American participants of the Vietnam war. The letters are heard over images culled from news footage, home movies and still photography, with contemporary music added to put things in the proper historical context. The 2-hour film, featuring readings from various well-known actors (see cast list), was a co-production involving Bill Couturie, a previous Emmy winner for Vietnam Requiem, and the Vietnam Veterans Ensemble Theatre Company. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though there are several actors in Fool for Love, two share the majority of screen time: Sam Shepard as Eddie, and Kim Basinger as May. May toils away at a fleabag motel; Eddie is her former love, long absent. Unexpectedly re-entering May's life, Eddie picks up where he left off, and soon the couple is alternately bickering violently and making love with equal fervor. Peripheral characters include Harry Dean Stanton as a boozed-up bum, Martha Crawford as an aristocratic would-be murderer, and Randy Quaid as the current man in the heroine's life. This one-two punch of iconoclastic playwright Sam Shepard and unconventional director Robert Altman proved a failure at the box-office and with critics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide