Ebbe Roe Smith Movies

Noted independent film producer Peter McCarthy made his writing and directing debut (Angie Brown served as co-director) with this surreal comedy. John Boyz (James LeGros) is an aimless sad sack who is wandering Los Angeles in the wake of the 1992 riots. John is in an unclear state of mind; he can't find a job (and doesn't really want one), the IRS has confiscated his money, his girlfriend Jessica (Lisa Zane) is sleeping around, he can't figure out what the beautiful but mysterious Elle (Marzita Rivera) wants from him, his drug-addicted brother Jimmy (Ethan Hawke) needs 3,000 dollars for a detox program, and police chief Merryl Fence (Nelson Lyon) is encouraging the citizens of L.A. to kill themselves. A stellar roster of actors and musicians appear in cameo roles, including John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Piven, Dave Navarro, Dave Alvin, and Exene Cervenka. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Screenwriter/electrician Abbe Wool makes her directorial debut with the offbeat road movie Roadside Prophets. Brooding factory worker Joe (X front man John Doe) takes a road trip in order to scatter the ashes of his co-worker Dave Coleman (David Anthony Marshall). Riding his vintage Harley Davidson, Joe leaves Los Angeles and heads for a small Nevada town called El Dorado to fulfill Dave's final wish. His journey is complicated by a small fry named Sam (the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz), a wannabe biker who continually lights off fireworks and nurtures an odd obsession with Motel 9. Joe also has to cope with making daily phone calls to Angie (voice of Sonna Chavez), his co-worker back in L.A. who is giving him sick days in exchange for the promise of a hot date. While traveling through the desert, Joe and Sam meet various eccentric characters played by the likes of David Carradine, John Cusack, Timothy Leary, and Arlo Guthrie. They eventually end up at their destination, which turns out to be a washed-up gambling town called Jackpot. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Though the original Fletch was drubbed by critics, it proved a major success for star Chevy Chase. It was inevitable, then, that a sequel would make an appearance. Surprisingly, Fletch Lives didn't come out until 1989--a full five years after the original. Once more, Chase stars as Irwin Maurice "Fletch" Fletcher, the gonzo investigative reporter created by novelist Gregory McDonald. Indulging his penchant for disguises and bizarre aliases, Fletch investigates a deep dark mystery at a crumbling Southern plantation. Various friends and enemies are portrayed con brio by Hal Holbrook, Cleavon Little, Juliane Phillips, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Richard Libertini and Richard Belzer (Chase's cohort from the old Groove Tube days). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One by-product of two consecutive Oscar wins is that Tom Hanks no longer has to appear in such potboilers as Turner and Hooch. Hanks plays Turner, a meticulously groomed, excruciatingly well-organized detective working in a small California coastal town. When local "character" Amos Reed (John McIntire) is murdered by drug smugglers, the only witness is Reed's slobbery, smelly mutt, Hooch. You're way ahead of us, folks: Turner, who despises dogs in general and Hooch in particular, is compelled to put the cantankerous dog up as his house guest. Also easily predictable is the fact that Turner and Hooch will, by the next-to-last reel, become boon companions. To its credit, the film has an abundance of laughs and thrills...but, gee, that ending! Neither terrific nor terrible, Turner and Hooch is a pleasant time-filler; we do wish, however, that more time had been spent on the budding romance between Turner and veterinarian Emily Carson (Mare Winningham). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It is obvious that Murphy (Candice Bergen) is back at the top of her game when she files a story exposing a major mob functionary who is connected with a prostitution ring. Unfortunately, the mob concludes that the exposee was actually the handiwork of Murphy's producer Miles (Grant Shaud). Receivng the first death threat of his career, Miles doesn't know whether to be terrified or flattered...but he soon finds out. Meanwhile, the revolving door in the Murphy Brown secretarial pool discharges two more hapless souls, secretaries Number Six (Lily Mariye) and Number Seven (Myra Turley). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Angie Dickinson returns as a sexy Depression-era mother who joins forces with her equally attractive daughters for a crime spree through the South as they seek to avenge the death of her husband. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rita Rizzoli (Whoopi Goldberg) is a crusading narcotics cop assigned to track down the source of some killer crack cocaine in this pretentious and preachy anti-drug crime drama. Rita poses as a prostitute and is soon hot after two small-time hoods (Brad Dourif and Mike Jolly) who murder their way up the drug-dealing ladder in hopes of becoming kingpins. Cheech Marin and Catherine Blore provide interesting cameos in this feature that co-stars Ruben Blades and Sam Elliott. Contains stereotypical characters and gratuitous violence. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this faithful remake of the Stanley Kramer classic buddy film, two members of a chain gang, one black and the other white, escape. They are chained together. At first they hate each other, but as time passes they begin to develop a grudging friendship. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Real-life married couple Cindy Williams and Bill Hudson star as New York yuppies Lisa and Tom Burke, who moved to Arizona when both are hired by a new ad agency. The couple's boss is big on "family values" and encourages his employees to project an appropriate image. Unfortunately, the Burkes are childless, and for a while it looks as if their fabulous new job will end before it begins. But not to worry: Lisa and Tom hit upon a foolproof scheme to create an "instant" family by advertising for a pair of rambunctious youngsters to pose as the Burkes' children. Since this film originally aired as an installment of ABC's Disney Sunday Movie anthology, one can easily guess the outcome from the moment the opening credits fade from view. Help Wanted: Kids debuted on February 2, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Advertised as "a realistic depiction of fictional events," the harrowing speculative drama Special Bulletin was shot on videotape and staged as an actual late-breaking news event. The story concerns a group of anti-nuclear activists who take over the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina. The group wants the 968 nuclear warheads located in the Charleston area to be disarmed immediately; if this demand is not met, the activists will detonate their own nuclear device. Written by Marshall Herskovitz and directed by Ed Zwick (who would later collaborate on the TV series thirtysomething), the Emmy-winning Special Bulletin first aired on March 20, 1983. This initial broadcast was accompanied by repeated disclaimers, assuring the audience that what was transpiring on their TV screens was not really happening. Even so, the production was so authentic-looking (right down to the fabricated previews of upcoming network dramatic programs) that thousands of panicky viewers called in to NBC, demanding further information on the siege of Charleston. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jill Clayburgh plays, as one character calls her, "a pill-popping dingbat" in this film adaptation of television producer Barbara Gordon's autobiographical account of her addiction to prescription drugs. Clayburgh plays Gordon in the film as a successful television documentary filmmaker whose mounting pressures force her to pop a Valium or two for nerves. She then ingests a few more pills after an argument with boyfriend Derek Bauer (Nicol Williamson). And thus begins her slow and steady compulsion to keep taking more and more Valium. Finally realizing her addiction, Gordon makes a disastrous attempt to go cold turkey but fails miserably, finally having to undergo a painful rehabilitation in an institution. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Fact-based drama starring Robert Redford as Henry Brubaker, the new inmate at a run-down Southern prison that's become notorious for corruption and violence. After he witnesses several instances of gross misconduct and defuses a tense confrontation with a crazed inmate (Morgan Freeman), Brubaker reveals to the guards and administrators that he's not a criminal at all, but the new warden, assigned by the governor to infiltrate the facility undercover. His identity confirmed, Brubaker takes office and sets about shaping up policies and procedures, despite resistance from, incredibly, even some of the more entitled convicts. With the help of the prison's chief trustee (Yaphet Kotto) and a compassionate ally (Jane Alexander), the warden effects some positive change, but powerful business interests line up against him when his ideas threaten their financial bottom line. A reform-minded, socially conscious, and politically liberal picture of the type usually associated with director Norman Jewison, this fact-based prison drama was the result of a troubled production that saw original director Bob Rafelson replaced with Cool Hand Luke (1967) and The Amityville Horror (1979) helmsman Stuart Rosenberg. Despite the backstage turmoil, Brubaker was an acclaimed release and an Oscar-nominated, career-finale triumph for co-screenwriter Arthur A. Ross, creator of Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) and father of successful writer/director Gary Ross. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi