Maggie Wagner Movies

A simple brotherly joke goes hilariously awry in director Stewart Wade's zany tale of mistaken sexual identity. Todd's brother Barry wants to help his single sibling out by setting him up on a blind date. While all signs lead to a perfect match, it soon becomes obvious that Barry is having a little fun at his brother's expense when the Kelly in question turns out not to be a beautiful woman, but a homosexual male. Upon realizing that they have been duped by Todd's mischievous brother, the unlikely couple soon forms a warm friendship while concocting an elaborate scheme to one-up the unrepentant prankster. When Barry sees Todd and Kelly holding hands soon thereafter, he becomes convinced that his brother is, in fact, gay, and phones the pair's mother to break the news. As Todd's mother begins to see his son's disdain for sports and love of film as clear signs of his homosexuality that she has somehow managed to overlook, she determines to show her son that she will love him no matter what his lifestyle. But Todd's mother isn't the only one who is now convinced that her son is gay, and as suspicions begin to abound in his close-knit social circle, the hapless "homosexual" soon begins to wonder if there isn't some truth to the rumors after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Bette Midler stars as a Martha Raye-type entertainer during the World War II era in this big-budget nostalgia piece. Midler plays big-band singer Dixie Leonard, who is chosen to perform at an overseas USO Christmas show by her uncle Art Silver (George Segal), a comedy writer for famed comedian Eddie Sparks (James Caan). Dixie is shuttled to London, where she is thrown on-stage with Eddie, who takes an immediate dislike to her. But her performance is a sensation, and the audience can't stop howling at Dixie's smart one-liner comebacks to Eddie. Dixie is catapulted to stardom, and the repartee between Eddie and Dixie becomes the stuff of legend. The two spar together through World War II, the McCarthy era, and Vietnam. But Dixie stops speaking to Eddie when he fires a writer for being a communist sympathizer and, later, she doesn't speak to him again after he arranges for a reunion between her and her son on the battlefields of Vietnam. Finally, Dixie, now an old woman, is cajoled to appear on a television awards show to reunite with a now decrepit Eddie, age 91. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Religion, Inc. was originally -- and very briefly -- released as A Fool and His Money. While watching TV, ex-adman Morris Codman (Jonathan Penner) receives a message from God. Advised by the Almighty to go into business for himself, Codman inaugurates his own religion, founded on a philosophy of selfishness. Two distinguished men of letters appear in Religion Inc -- George Plimpton (as God!) and Jerzy Kosinski -- but that's not why this loser is currently available on video shelves. It seems that a pre-Speed Sandra Bullock shows up fleetingly as a long-suffering public defender. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Anna's early scenes concentrate upon Czech refugee Krystyna (Paulina Porizkova), who arrives in New York in search of her idol, famed actress Anna (Sally Kirkland), who was denied reentry to her native country after the 1968 communist invasion. Unable to recapture her celebrity in New York, Anna is forced to go through a series of humiliating auditions conducted by insensitive directors who have no inkling who she is. She must also endure marriage to a self-involved music video director (Robert Fields). When Krystyna and Anna finally meet, each draws strength from the other, enabling both women to survive whatever indignities life has to offer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi