Benjamin Bottoms Movies
- 1982
Real-life brother and sister Jimmy and Kristy McNichol star in this made-for-television drama about a claustrophobic cult. Jimmy McNichol stars as David, oldest son of the seemingly well-adjusted Bowers. When David disappears from his family to live with the Light of Salvation cult, sister Janet (Kristy McNichol) refuses to automatically side with her parents and dismiss the group. Young Janet tries to give her brother's judgement the benefit of the doubt, looking for her own answers, as her desperate parents consult a mind de-programming expert. Taut and edgy at times, the film shows how vulnerable young people get targeted by cults and their charismatic leaders -- only to turn into mindless drones. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy McNichol, Anne Jackson, (more)
Returning from the original American Graffiti are Debbie Dunham, Steve Bolander, John Milner, Carol/Rainbow, Terry the Toad and Laurie Bolander (Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Paul LeMat, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith and Cindy Williams), but Richard Dreyfuss is missing and Harrison Ford shows up in a gag cameo. The sequel brings its principles into the more radical end of the 1960s, with Steve and Laurie, now married, on the fringes of the protest movement. Debbie and Carol have been lured into the flower-power milieu by rocker Newt (Scott Glenn). And John has parlayed his love of hot rods into a drag-racing career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins, (more)
- 1979
Timothy Bottoms stars as the real-life John Baker in the made-for-TV A Shining Season. A champion University of New Mexico track athlete, the 25-year-old Baker is only momentarily halted when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. His efforts to coach a losing girls' track team in his last months proves an inspiration for the sports world in general, and for a similarly doomed child in particular. Adapted by William Harrison from the book by William Buchanan, this film was first telecast the day after Christmas, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
An Americanized version of Truffaut's The Wild Child, this drama centers on the attempts of a behavioral psychologist to educate a boy, raised in the wilds by dogs, and teach him how to function in society. This film spawned a brief television series, Lucan. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
