Tom Tarpey Movies

A college student clashes with his co-ed roommate, then falls for her in this romantic comedy. Sheltered freshman Chris Wooden (Patrick Dempsey) arrives at his university ready to hone his writing skills. His hard-partying roommate, however, proves to be a distraction. Alex Page (Helen Slater) -- short for Alexandra -- has been placed on a guys' floor by mistake, and the aspiring actress/good-time girl drives Chris crazy. Eventually, as both students hone their respective crafts and spend more time together, they become friends and finally lovers. But Alex's freewheeling ways put a kink in things; Chris is an old-fashioned guy, and he wants a plain-vanilla girlfriend. Things come to a head when a random biker Alex promised to marry shows up looking to rearrange Chris' face. Happy Together is one of the few feature credits of Mel Damski, who has directed countless TV movies since the late '70s. Astute viewers will notice a pre-Thelma and Louise Brad Pitt in a small role. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Director Blake Edwards departed from his customary sex farces to direct an unusual satirical Western comedy-thriller. In 1927, legendary lawman Wyatt Earp (James Garner) comes to Hollywood to serve as an advisor to a film studio making a movie about Earp's life. He meets silent screen cowboy star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis). The two stumble upon a murder that has apparently occurred on the set but is linked to a renowned bordello. The aging cowboy and the young actor set off on a series of time-warp misadventures to try to solve the mystery. Along the way, they encounter the shady Alfie Alperin (Malcom McDowell) and the intriguing Cheryl King (Mariel Hemingway). ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Everyone knows that teenagers are smarter than adults, and if given a chance the kids could save the world--if they don't blow it to bits first. The Manhattan Project tells of how 16-year-old Christopher Collet tries to alert his community to the dangers of nuclear energy. John Lithgow, a doctor in a pharmaceutical research plant wherein covert plutonium experiments are taking place, is the boy friend of Cowlet's mom Jill Eikenberry. While Lithgow is romantically occupied, Cowlet and his girl Cynthia Nixon steal the plutonium and construct their own atomic bomb. They do this, of course, as a warning to foolhardy grownups--none more foolhardy than the folks who put up good money to make this film. Manhattan Project was directed by longtime Woody Allen collaborator Marshall Brickman, whose expert sense of comic timing obscures the thickheaded "message" of this picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Convicted murderer Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald had hoped that, by telling his side of the story to investigative journalist Joe McGinniss, the authorities would be persuaded of MacDonald's innocence. Instead, McGinniss ended up unswerving in his belief of MacDonald's guilt, and the result was the devastating best-seller Fatal Vision. In this two-part TV adaptation of McGinniss' book, Gary Cole plays MacDonald, a former Green Beret officer, while Frank Dent essays the role of McGinniss. MacDonald's wife and two children are brutally murdered in their Fort Bragg, North Carolina home on February 17, 1970. The prime suspect, MacDonald insists that the killings were committed by a gang of stoned-out hippies, a story that at first is accepted in toto by the doctor's father-in-law Freddy Kassab (Karl Malden). But after MacDonald is officially exonerated, Kassab notices several holes in his son-in-law's story, and becomes convinced that MacDonald was in fact the murderer. Through Kassab's persistence, as well as the uncovering of new forensic evidence, MacDonald is ultimately convicted for all three murders in 1979. Since the TV premiere of Fatal Vision on November 18 and 19, 1984, there has been a growing movement by MacDonald's sympathizers to discredit McGinniss' book and to retry the case--a movement that has been hampered time and again by MacDonald's own erratic behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a radio station's management announces that there's going to be an upswing in commercials on the air, with a strong emphasis on ads for the U.S. Army, the anti-establishment deejays form a united front against the "suits." With station manager Jeff Dugan's (Michael Brandon) unofficial approval, the other employees hijack the station, playing the kind of music they like before the authorities can arrive. Martin Mull appears in his feature-film debut as a zoned-out record spinner. In addition, the film includes live appearances by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, and REO Speedwagon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The story of "red light bandit" Caryl Chessman, previously dramatized in the 1955 film Cell 2455, Death Row (based on Chessman's own book), was adapted for television as Kill Me If You Can. In a radical departure from his usual duties as MASH's Hawkeye Pierce, Alan Alda plays Chessman, who in 1948 was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault. Under the laws of the era, Chessman was sentenced to die in the gas chamber. But by studying the law and publishing four books on his plight, the brilliant (albeit still repugnant) Chessman managed to forestall his execution for 12 years. Though no effort is made in the film to make the sociopathic Chessman any better than he was, John Gay's script comes out squarely in opposition of capital punishment. Kill Me If You Can first aired on September 25, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide