Savannah Smith Boucher Movies
A young doctor must fight for his life when a crippling car accident leaves him at the mercy of a deranged nurse in this thriller from cinematographer-turned-director Joe C. Maxwell. It's hurricane season in Louisiana, and as the rain falls from the sky, Dr. Zack Peters and his female traveling companion are forced off the road in a blinding flash of lightning and metal. When Dr. Peters awakens to discover that he has been rescued from the wreckage by a strange nurse (Savannah Smith Boucher), his momentary relief soon turns to terror when he discovers that his sadistic savior and her brutal brother Raymond (David Parker) have no plans of letting him get out alive. With his traveling companion missing and the screams of the other "patients" filling the decrepit old house, Dr. Peters enlists the help of another of the nurse's desperate captives in finding his lost friend and escaping the bayou hell. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A legendary theatrical family gather for one final show at their East Hamptons estate in this verbose comedy-drama. Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors takes center stage as Helena, the family matriarch, who has made the difficult decision to sell the estate due to financial problems. A mixed group has come for what will be the last of the family's annual summer performances, a gathering that naturally brings conflicts and rivalries to the surface. Much of the trouble centers on Oona (Victoria Foyt), a financially successful Hollywood actress seeking artistic approval from such theatrical colleagues as avant-garde director Ivan (André Gregory) and gay playwright Jake (real-life dramatist Jon Robin Baitz), who each has difficulties of his own. As in all of writer/director Henry Jaglom's films, the focus is on conversation over action, as the various characters share personal torments and debate their individual philosophies. The talky, intellectual dialogue will be seen by some viewers as witty and perceptive and by others as pretentious and slow-moving. Regardless of one's opinion of Jaglom's idiosyncratic style, Last Summer in the Hamptons is distinguished by the presence of Lindfors in her final film, giving a career-capping performance that addresses the problems of older actresses and looks back fondly on the star's own history. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Foyt, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
- 1994
In this horror thriller, a psychically super-charged cop uses his unusual gifts to put a permanent end to a cop killer. Highlights include a few hallucination sequences, bad dreams and the trademark of Scanners-related films, an exploding head. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Quinn, Darlanne Fluegel, (more)
Fatal Instinct is an Airplane-style spoof of the late-'80s, early-'90s cycle of erotic crime thrillers. Setting the plot in motion is a kinky murder. Armand Assante plays the cop assigned to the case; he's also the prosecuting attorney; the "Sharon Stone" part is essayed by Sean Young. A dash of Body Heat is thrown in the pot as Assante's wife Kate Nelligan plots her hubby's demise. Tony Randall has a bit as a judge, while the film's semi-mocking jazz score is provided by Clarence Clemmons -- who shows up on screen to toot his sax at various crucial plot junctures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
- 1993
- R
William Forsythe plays a serial killer who mails assorted body parts (from his unlucky female victims) to the police. As if this isn't enough, he then goes after Detective Dietz's (Leo Rossi) lady friend. This killer really is, relentless. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1991
The Applegates is the video title for the darkly satirical comedy Meet the Applegates. The titular family, for all intents and purposes human beings, are actually a clan of giant Brazilian Cocorada bugs. Paterfamilias Dick Applegate (Ed Begley Jr.) takes a job with an Ohio nuclear power plant, with the intention of triggering an explosion, thereby exterminating all humankind and allowing the bugs to live in safety. Alas, every one of the Applegates falls victim to assimilation: Dick becomes a typical suburban philanderer, his wife Jane (Stockard Channing) succumbs to the seductions of the credit card, and the Applegate kids transform into obnoxious mall-cruising teens. By the time the Applegates' Aunt Bea (Dabney Coleman) links up with them to supervise the nuclear explosion, the family considers Auntie a nuisance and plots a fitting demise for her. Director Michael Lehmann had previously skewered upper-middle class values in Heathers; completed in 1989, Meet the Applegates buzzed into local cineplexes in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Begley, Jr., Stockard Channing, (more)
- 1990
In this drama, a divorced dad fights for visitation rights with his daughter after she and her mother are relocated to an unknown locale as part of the Federal Witness Protection program. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed O'Neill, Mike Farrell, (more)
The title of Henry Jaglom's stream-of-consciousness Eating says it all. Three women (Lisa Blake Richards, Mary Crosby and Marlena Giovi), each celebrating a "milestone" birthday, decide to throw a joint party. Attending the revelries is French documentary filmmaker Martine Nely Alard, who becomes fascinated when none of the guests will touch the meticulously prepared birthday cake. As Martine begins interviewing the partygoers, she discovers the importance that food holds in each of their lives. One of the most revelatory improvisational monologues is delivered by a matriarch portrayed by Frances Bergen, the real-life widow of Edgar Bergen and the mother of Candice. Though Eating is not for everyone's taste, for those in tune with the fiercely independent Jaglom, the film is a cinematic smorgasbord. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Richards, Mary Crosby, (more)
Everybody's All American covers 25 years in the life of college football hero Gavin Grey (Dennis Quaid). When he marries campus sweetheart Babs Rogers (Jessica Lange) and is picked up by the pros, a happily-ever-after denouement is predicted by friends and family. It is clear from the outset, however, that Grey is going to have to do a lot of growing up over the next few decades. Babs does her best to keep in step with her husband's career and mood swings, and in so doing becomes the "parent" in the family. John Goodman also stars as Grey's best buddy, and Timothy Hutton is on hand for a romantic-triangle subplot. Everybody's All American is based on the novel by longtime Sports Illustrated scrivener Frank Deford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 1985
In this made-for-TV drama, an attorney aids her wrongly-convicted client in his escape from prison, then joins him on the lam. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
When a quintet of college classmates take summer jobs, their adventures lead to comic consequences. Max (Paul Reiser) gets a job working for the Cabrizzi Brothers moving company. Dwight (Robert Townsend) and Byron (Paul Provenza) become caddies, while Woody (Scott McGinnis) waits tables and Roy (Rick Overton) sells vacuum cleaners door-to-door. When all five get fired from their jobs, they combine forces to form a moving company in direct competition with the Cabrizzi Brothers. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reiser, Robert Townsend, (more)
- 1984
The made-for-TV Code of Honor covers a time span of over a dozen years. Merritt Butrick plays Captain Paul Dennison, whose career-and life-is unfairly snuffed out by fellow officer Joseph Cheever (Kevin Dobson). Fourteen years later, Cheever, now a highly decorated and universally respected major, comes face to face with Dennison's revenge-seeking sister (Kelly McGillis). Failing to recognize the girl, Cheever tries to make love to her--a fatal mistake. Code of Honor was originally telecast October 31, 1984 under the title Sweet Revenge; its production title was For the Love of a Soldier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Dobson, Kelly McGillis, (more)
In this easily predictable romantic comedy, Gail (Anne Archer) is a no-nonsense geologist from the East Coast and John (Terry Jastrow) is a down-home, intuitive Texan whose expertise lies in guessing where petroleum is located -- Gail, as a geologist, is not in the habit of guessing. As the two meet and work together on a wildcat well in Texas, their romantic and financial fortunes are transparently tied together, and nothing at all comes as a surprise after their first initial meeting and disagreement. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Archer, Terry Jastrow, (more)
- 1981
In this film, a group of frustrated feminists form a football team for their factory in an effort to foil male chauvinists. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The hook in Walter Hill's mythic retelling of the James-Younger outlaw legend is in the casting; the James, Younger, Miller, and Ford Brothers are played by a string of acting brothers, the Keachs, the Carradines, the Quaids and the Guests. The film begins as outlaws are robbing a bank. After the robbery, Ed Miller (Dennis Quaid) finds himself kicked out of the gang for needlessly killing a man during the robbery. Jesse James (James Keach) hands over Ed's share of the money and tells him to leave, a feeling held mutually by Ed's brother Clell (Randy Quaid). After the killing the gang decides to split up for awhile. The James boys return to their wives and farms, while Cole Younger (David Carradine) travels to Texas with his prostitute girlfriend Belle Starr (Pamela Reed). After the brief respite, the gang reunites to rob a well-stocked bank in Northfield, Minnesota. The robbery turns out disastrously, with most of the gang either wounded or dying. The James boys are the only ones not seriously hurt, and they leave the rest of the gang behind, escaping while they can. After the James boys leave, the remnants of the gang are captured. But trailing the Jameses is a relentless posse. Frank and Jesse manage to keep one step ahead until the Ford brothers (Christopher Guest and Nicholas Guest) make a deal with the Pinkerton detectives trailing the outlaws. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Keith Carradine, (more)
