Bruce Taylor Movies

Eric Schaeffer and Donald Ward managed to scrape together 22,000 dollars to make this independent film about the making of an independent film. Schaeffer plays a New York City cabdriver (which he really was), while Ward co-stars as his roommate (which he really was). They have no money, no script, and admittedly not much talent, but they're determined to put a movie together about a couple of slightly overweight twentysomethings who are united by their "outsider" status. Talent agent Lisa Gerstein, the men's mutual friend, takes a maternal interest in their project. Along the way, they manage to charm genuine celebrities such as Phoebe Cates and Martha Plimpton into appearing in their film. (Cates really was cajoled into appearing when she stepped into Schaeffer's taxi!) My Life's in Turnaround debuted at the Seattle Film Festival, where it scored a hit (despite its misogynistic undertones) and earned Schaeffer and Ward a multimillion-dollar studio deal. Incidentally, the word "turnaround" is a Hollywood term referring to a movie project that has been in development so long that its chances of ever being produced are slim to none; detractors of Schaeffer and Ward (and there are many) tend to wish that this had been the fate of My Life's in Turnaround. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two adolescent children of wealthy parents deal with the emotional travails of spoiled youth by indulging in self-serving and self-destructive behavior including but not limited to drugs, parties, and teen sex. Starring Luke Perry of television's hit-show, Beverly Hills 90210, as John and Timothy Owen as Alex, this drama's plot centers on the friendship and betrayal between them--especially after Alex's girl, Stevie (Estee Chandler) arrives on the scene. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Hulk Hogan, in an inarguably appropriate casting choice, plays a professional wrestler in this action-packed drama. Rip (Hogan) is a grappling star who is approached by Brell (Kurt Fuller), the new head of the World Television Network. Brell wants Rip to wrestle on his network, but Rip insists on honoring his commitment to another outlet. Brell responds by launching a show called "Battle of the Tough Guys," in which the beefy regulars of a particularly rough drinking establishment fight each other on camera. Zeus (Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr.) soon emerges as the bad guy champion on this new show, and Brell uses Rip's friendship with his assistant Samantha (Joan Severance) to arrange a bout between Zeus and Rip. Rip is not at all interested until Zeus injures his brother and makes the fight a matter of personal pride. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The "pals" of the title, played by Don Ameche and George C. Scott, are Army chums living a sedentary retirement. Occasionally the twosome becomes a threesome when Scott's mother Sylvia Sidney shows up. All three are resigned to living out their lives on fixed incomes in a Georgia trailer park-and then, Ameche and Scott discover a large sum of money in an abandoned car. Well, "large" is putting it mildly: they find nearly four million bucks. They also find a heap of trouble when mobster James Greene, who'd stashed the cash in the first place, starts nosing around. The made-for-TV Pals was originally telecast February 28, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A punch-drunk pugilist is set up as meat for a young boxer in this routine mat melodrama. The highlight of the film is the performance of Steve Buscemi as the oily, mob-connected fight promoter Nicky. Eddie (Brad Davis) is the addle-brained boxer Nicky hangs out to dry for quick money. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this clean, low-key thriller, Terry Reilly (Bradley Whitford) is a doorman for an apartment building whose life becomes endangered when he starts looking a killers who is targeting doormen, having already murdered three recently. After the three men died, each with their neck broken, Terry is listed as a witness in the newspaper reports of the crimes -- a big mistake that draws the attention of the killers. Now a target, Terry joins up with the daughter of one of the victims and they start to connect the murders to the delivery of packages to new residents in the apartment buildings. Now the two amateur investigators have to gather evidence and stay alive at the same time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide