Bill Schoppert Movies
Erik (Brad Renfro) is a 13-year-old boy whose single mother, Gail (Diana Scarwid), has just moved to a new home in Minnesota. Erik feels like a fish out of water with his Southern accent, and he has trouble making friends until he meets Dexter (Joseph Mazzello), a kid a year or two younger who lives next door. Erik and Dexter get along fine, but Gail tells Erik not to go near Dexter when she learns that he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion a few years ago. Erik ignores his mother's instructions and stands up for the frail Dexter at school, while Dexter's mom Linda (Annabella Sciorra) gives Erik the warmth, affection, and home cooking that Gail is too busy to provide. However, both boys are painfully aware of Dexter's illness, and when one of them spots a headline in a supermarket tabloid that a doctor in New Orleans has discovered a cure for AIDS, they run away together, determined to find the doctor and bring Dexter back as good as new. The Cure was the theatrical feature debut for actor-turned-director Peter Horton, who cut his directorial teeth on the TV series The Wonder Years and thirtysomething. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Mazzello, Brad Renfro, (more)
- 1993
- R
In this strange but ambitious gender-bending road movie, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Saltarrelli) and Leslie (Ginger Lynn Allen) are bisexual lovers who also have other relationships. To Leslie's chagrin, Elizabeth can't keep herself from running off with a good-looking guy every once in a while, but Leslie is the one with real problems. Her husband Steve (Chris Mulkey) is a brutal thug who beats her, treats her like dirt, and whose idea of sex would better suit most people's idea of rape. Leslie claims that she loves Steve and is too dependent on him to leave him. When Steve discovers that Leslie is involved with Elizabeth, he forces her to break off her affair, but Elizabeth decides that Leslie needs to get away from Steve, not her. Enlisting the help of her friend Cliff (Chris Denton), who has been on the verge of suicide since he discovered his wife is cheating on him, Elizabeth kidnaps Leslie and takes her to a combination dude ranch, deprogramming center, and rehab facility run by Carla (Karen Black), where they hope to wean Leslie away from Steve and get her on a healthier path with Elizabeth. This film was Ginger Lynn Allen's bid for mainstream respectability after a stint in adult films and a long string of exploitation movies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Lynn Allen, Karen Black, (more)
In this coming-of-age drama, three recent high school graduates from Detroit must make a difficult choice when they are offered a fortune to smuggle hashish from Canada into the US. As they are quickly going nowhere in their grimy suburban town, the three buddies are sorely tempted. Each of them undergoes a major change in their personal lives and they are left with the feeling of having nothing left to lose. Unfortunately, their lark across the border becomes deadly serious when they meet the dealer at an isolated farm and realize that he wants them to smuggle heroin, not hash. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Charles, Jason Gedrick, (more)
This fill-in-the-blanks children's comedy from Disney was such a success that it spawned a number of fill-in-the-blanks sequels -- along with a real-life professional hockey team. The basic story -- outcast coach handles a team of outcast kids and turns them from losers into winners -- has been told in a number of films, including Wildcats, The Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, and Youngblood. Here the sport is hockey. Emilio Estevez is Gordon Bombay, a high-powered lawyer haunted by an incident from his past: while playing pee-wee league hockey as a child, young Gordon missed a crucial shot in the state finals game, invoking the wrath of his coach, Mr. Reilly (Lane Smith). When Gordon is arrested for drunk driving, the judge orders him to take a leave of absence and coach a hockey team of misfit kids. At first, Gordon treats the coaching job with contempt. But when his team loses to a team led by his old coach Reilly, the fire under Gordon is lit. Inspired, he leads his team on a mission to succeed. The team begins to win games and soon they are ready to face Reilly's team for the big championship game. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, (more)
Harry Hook directed this second screen adaptation of William Golding's cult novel about a group of British schoolchildren who revert to savagery when marooned on a deserted island. The new adaptation replaces British school children with a group of American military cadets and instead of a shipwreck, their plane crashes into the sea. The children swim ashore onto an island and try to fend for themselves, with the only surviving adult wracked with fever and crazed with pain. As the children get the feel of the island, the group separates into two different camps: Ralph (Balthazar Getty) and his followers prefer to act civilized and want to expand their efforts toward finding a way off the island; on the other hand, Jack (Chris Furrh) and his band revert to painting their faces, carrying spears and exploiting the island for survival. When the chances for rescue become less and less likely, the two factions go to war with each other, with tragic results. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh, (more)
- 1984
Perennial second lead Lisa Eichhorn is afforded a starring role in the independently produced Wildrose. Shedding her abusive husband, Eicchorn starts life anew by taking a job as a heavy-machinery operator in an otherwise all-male Minnesota iron mine. Relentless harrassed by her sexist coworkers, Eichhorn finds a friend in strip-miner Tom Bower. Their casual relationship develops into romance, while Eichhorn questions the wisdom of entering into another love affair so quickly after her disastrous marriage. Wildrose was magnificently photographed on location in Minnesota and Wisconsin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Eichhorn, Tom Bower, (more)
- 1982
- PG
A newly single loser looks for love in all the wrong places -- namely the newpaper -- in this bittersweet comedy. Bill (Bill Schoppert) is a middle-aged man who is uncomfortably thrown back into the deep end of dating when his wife decides to leave him. Balding and insecure, Bill isn't sure how to meet women, so he begins answering personal ads in a local newspaper. However, after several uncomfortable evenings with women who don't live up to their own advertising, Bill begins to lose his confidence in advertising as a way of meeting new people. Matters aren't helped at all when Bill falls for Adrienne (Karen Landry), an actress who is sweet and attractive -- and already has a husband. Shot on location in Minneapolis, The Personals marked the feature film debut of writer and director Peter Markle. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Schoppert, Karen Landry, (more)
- 1972
- PG
In this adventure, filmed in Minnesota, a Nordic trapper returns to his home to find the bottom has dropped out of the pelt market. The pragmatic fellow does not panic and instead becomes a snowmobile racer. Unfortunately, before the big race his girlfriend is found beaten to death. The local heroin dealer is also shot and killed. The trapper becomes the prime suspect and is taken into custody. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
