Richard Roat Movies

Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) goes to great lengths to peek at her diagnosis after visiting a doctor about a rash. Refusing delivery of a package with no return address, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) is faced with a charge of mail fraud -- and worse still, a "basic instinct" moment with Newman (Wayne Knight). Kramer (Michael Richards) urges George (Jason Alexander) to act upon the "fact" that a photo clerk has including a sexy picture of herself in a batch of photos. And Uncle Leo's (Len Lesser) stove explodes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Ron Underwood follows up his crowd-pleasing hit City Slickers (1991) with this likable, feel-good comedy drama about a selfish businessman who discovers that he's permanently being followed by a group of ghosts. In 1959, a bus accident links the spirits of four fatally injured passengers to a newborn baby whose birth is caused by the crash. For 25 years, Milo (Tom Sizemore), Harrison (Charles Grodin), Penny (Alfre Woodard) and Julia (Kyra Sedgwick) remain bound to Thomas Reilly (Robert Downey Jr.), who believes the quartet to be imaginary childhood friends that have long since disappeared. When the four spooks suddenly realize that they are meant to use Thomas as a conduit to bring closure to their unfinished corporeal lives, they reemerge, causing Thomas to think that he's gone insane. As he becomes reattached to his supernatural companions, however, Thomas' innate decency asserts itself and he begins helping them to right the wrongs in their lives, allowing them to possess his body to achieve their goal of settling accounts and moving on into the afterlife. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

With Marilyn Monroe permanently unavailable for comment, everybody and his uncle has come out of the woodwork since 1962 claiming an intimate relationship with the legendary film star (how did she ever find the time to be a film star?) Marilyn and Me is based on the reminiscences of one Robert Slatzer, who claimed to have been secretly married to Monroe back in her Norma Jean days. Jesse Dobson manages to keep a straight face as he recites his lines as Slatzer, while Susan Griffiths is as good a Monroe impersonator as any. Better still is Joel Grey as Marilyn's first and most influential agent Johnny Hyde, whose own close relationship with La Monroe is a bit easier to believe. Actress Terry Moore, who in the early 1950s was briefly groomed as a Monroe "substitute," plays a bit as Johnny Hyde's widow. Marilyn and Me is about as convincing as the Bugs Bunny cartoon What's Opera, Doc?, and not nearly as entertaining. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When the two-part Dynasty: The Reunion first aired, it rated a cover on TV Guide. The photo depicted Dynasty regulars Linda Evans (Krystal) and Joan Collins (Alexis) grinning at one another, while their true feelings were conveyed in comic-strip thought balloons reading "Hussy" and "Hag." This pretty much sums up the overall ambience of Dynasty: The Reunion. In part one, first telecast October 20, 1991, oil mogul Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) is released from prison. Hoping for a reunion with estranged wife Krystal -- and, incidentally, to recoup his financial empire -- Blake must now deal with a shady international consortium, headed by old nemesis Alexis. Part two, first telecast October 22, 1991, gets off to a good start with a desperate escape from the henchmen of an international consortium. The big money act, however, is the long-awaited catfight between Alexis and her longtime foe, goody two-shoes Krystal Carrington (Linda Evans). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

I'll Take Romance has nothing to do with the old Grace Moore musical film of the same name. Rather, this 1990 TV movie is about a publicity contest. Dressed in Joan Crawford Chic, Linda Evans plays a Seattle TV meteorologist, assigned to host a contest to find the most romantic man in Puget Sound. Evans' boyfriend Tom Skerritt stews on the sidelines as she wends her way through the studdish contestants. Since Skerritt plays a judge, is there a remote possibility that I'll Take Romance will have a crucial courtroom scene somewhere along the line? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Most TV movie reference books have given up mentioning the hundreds of unsold pilots that dot the video landscape. Parker Kane, originally telecast in 1990 and then rerun in 1992, is one of those orphans that has fallen through the research cracks. It's possible the film is due for a revival thanks to the present-day popularity of its star Jeff Fahey. Fahey plays Parker Kane, a cop turned private eye. Always a maverick, albeit an honest one, Kane supersedes the authority of his p.i. license when a close friend is murdered. The trail of clues leads to a major-scale scam involving the dumping of toxic waste. Guest star Patti LaBelle plays a nightclub singer during the less hectic moments of Parker Kane. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Denny Dillon makes her first appearance as klutzy bailiff trainee Rhoda Wasserman. Smitten by Rhoda, Bull (Richard Moll) is willing to overlook her incompetence until she loses her gun to a dangerously disturbed defendant named Valerie Sanders (Nana Visitor). Things get worse when an unwitting Dan (John Larroquette) ends up in a sleazy hotel room with the fugitive Valerie, a true "movie nut" who intends to re-enact her favorite scene from Psycho! Listen for a reference to the original version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), which as we all know was narrated by a young and uncredited John Larroquette. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A troubled student named Jill (Kellie Overbey) volunteers to work on a school project with Mike (Kirk Cameron) and Boner (Josh Andrew Koenig). This, however, is a subterfuge: Jill has been contemplating suicide due to some very serious problems at home, and she hopes to get some free counseling from Mike's psychiatrist dad Jason (Alan Thicke). But as it turns out, Jason is presently weighed down with a few self-pity issues of his own. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When his wife becomes the new family breadwinner, a football coach must learn the ins and outs of child care and housecleaning. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In Fun and Games, a professional career woman is harassed by her boss, who then rejects her for promotion. The woman then sues her boss for sexual harassment ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Based on the best-selling memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks, the NBC miniseries Backstairs at the White House traces over five decades of American political history as witnessed from the vantage point of the servants' quarters. Played by Tania Johnson as a teenager and by Leslie Uggams as an adult, Lillian Rogers Parks served for 52 years as a maidservant at the White House. Though crippled early on with polio, Lillian diligently and loyally stuck to her duties -- and her own rock-solid set of principles and ideals -- through eight highly different Presidential administrations, often (and occasionally reluctantly) acting as friend and confidante to the First Lady of the moment. The large and stellar cast included a number of top-rank film and TV actors, obviously having the time of their lives impersonating such presidents as William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and their respective wives. Also in the cast were several African-American veterans from the landmark TV miniseries Roots. Earning 11 Emmy Award nominations, the nine-hour Backstairs at the White House was seen in five installments from January 29 to February 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kojak (Telly Savalas) vows to avenge the death of his friend, a garment manufacturer who is killed when he stands up to the Mob. After the killer escapes police custody, Kojak makes a public statement, blaming a shady district attorney for the blunder. As a result, the detective is suspended from the force--and the crooked D.A. summons all the power at the State's disposal to destroy Kojak's career. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi