Jim Staahl Movies

Director John Landis helmed this Cold War farce starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase as Austin Millbarge and Emmett Fitz-Hume -- two loser misfits who dwell in the lower ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency. Convinced despite much evidence to the contrary that they're prime secret agent material, both men keep taking service exams in an effort to win promotion. Caught cheating on their latest round of tests, Austin and Emmett expect to be fired but are instead made full field agents and ushered into intense training. Little do they know that it's all a ruse and that they're about to be dumped in Pakistan to throw Russian spies off the scent of two real agents with an important clandestine assignment. A spoof of the "road" pictures popularized by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, the film features a cameo by the latter as his golf-playing self. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A high school class reunion turns bloody when a former student seeks revenge on his classmates in this black comedy. That mayhem would strike this 20-year reunion seems preordained, given that the name of the school is Lizzie Borden High. Little did anyone expect, however, that this trouble would come from Walter Baylor (Blackie Dammett), a social outcast who was the victim of a humiliating senior year practical joke. Now, two decades later, Baylor has escaped from a mental institution to kill off his tormenters one by one. Class Reunion was the first produced screenplay by John Hughes, a National Lampoon writer who would eventually find a highly successful career as a writer, director, and producer of teen-oriented movies. His debut was exceptionally inauspicious, however, as the film's uncertain mixture of gore and low comedy was met with critical derision and audience indifference. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Although season two of SCTV appears to be higher-budgeted than season one, the series' strong suit is not its production polish but instead the brilliant ensemble work of John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, and Dave Thomas (Harold Ramis is largely absent this season). The hilarity begins with "In Concert with Lola Heatherton, featuring Catherine O'Hara as the squeaky-voiced, immensely undertalented Lola. In the next episode, horror star Dr. Tongue (John Candy) gives us a few frights in 3-D. Soon afterward, a zany story arc commences as the dreaded Leutonian Liberation Front kidnaps station manager Moe Green (Harold Ramis), prompting a lachrymose "Solid Gold Telethon" with an all-star lineup including Sammy Maudlin (played "in all seriousness" by Joe Flaherty) and funnyman Bobby Bittman (played by Eugene Levy: "Howareyaaaa?"). Ultimately, the appropriately named Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin) emerges as the new manager. Subsequent season two highlights include "The Writers Strike," "1978 Melonville Municipal Elections," "Triple Feature Movie" (three pictures, one plot), "Chinese Fairy Tale" (with host Lin Ye Tang [Dave Thomas] having to apologize for program content before the show even begins); "SCTV's 30th Anniversary" (Don't miss that vintage clip of Kirk Douglas guesting on "What's My Shoe Size?"), "Sid Dithers, Private Eye," "Tax Advice With Liberace," and "The Flaming Turkey Ballet." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide