Michael Jeffrey Woods Movies
- 1996
- R
Complexly plotted and suspenseful, this crime drama pays much heed to the psychological undertones of the relationships between a gang of thugs who take on their own boss. It begins on Hooker's wedding night. After the ceremony his friends celebrate while doing their assigned tasks. In one scene Michael, the handsome ring leader, has a meeting in a restroom with a strange cop. Later, four gang members are seen using violence to force a gambler to pay his debts. Afterward these four decide they need more compensation for their grim work. It is Michael, who fancies himself far more clever than he is, who comes up with the idea that they team up and take on their crime boss Leo. Unfortunately, his plans go awry and more bloodshed ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Amos, David Proval, (more)
Dolly Parton and James Woods as the screen's hottest new romantic team? That's only one of several casting surprises in this romantic comedy. Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) has had enough of life in her small Arkansas town, not to mention her small-minded Arkansas boyfriend Steve (Michael Madsen). So she decides to head for the big city of Chicago, where she applies for a job as a receptionist at a talk radio station. However, she arrives at the studios just as the staff are frantically searching for the psychiatrist hired to host a call-in show for people seeking advice with their personal problems. Shirlee is put on the air by mistake, and, while she lacks a degree in psychology, she has common sense to spare, and her no-nonsense advice makes the show a hit. Soon "Doctor Shirlee" is the talk of the town, but reporter Jack Russell (James Woods) senses that she might not be all she's supposed to be. Jack does some investigating and finds out the truth about Shirlee, but by this time the two have met and he's fallen in love with her. Will Jack obey his responsibilities as a journalist, or follow his heart? Straight Talk's supporting cast includes filmmaker John Sayles, monologist Spalding Gray, actor and producer Griffin Dunne, and future Lois Lane Teri Hatcher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Parton, James Woods, (more)
Action film director John Badham bites the hand that feeds him in this action movie spoof that features ribbing of pretty-boy Hollywood action stars by Michael J. Fox and a parody of colorful, hair-trigger James Woods types by the man himself. Woods plays New York homicide detective John Moss, who is within an inch of closing in on a serial killer who calls himself The Party Crasher (Stephen Lang) because his specialty is shooting his victims in the middle of discos. Chasing The Party Crasher after his latest victim has been dispatched, Moss finds himself hanging onto the door of a speeding truck with The Party Crasher at the wheel. When Moss is thrown off the truck and nearly killed, The Party Crasher escapes, and Moss is taken off the case. Moss is given a new assignment --to tag around with Hollywood action film star Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox), the popular hero of the "Smoking Gun" movies. Lang spotted Moss on a television news show and thinks he would be the ideal cop to study for adding authenticity to an up-coming police action picture. Posing as Moss's rookie partner, Lang follows Moss everywhere, proceeding to spoil his pursuit of The Party Crasher and interfering with Moss's burgeoning affair with his girlfriend Susan (Anabella Sciorra). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, James Woods, (more)
- 1983
Bare Essence, based on a novel by Meredith Rich, began as a two-part TV movie, premiering October 4 and 5, 1982. General Hospital alumnus Genie Francis stars as Tyger Hayes, the daughter of a powerful movie mogul. When Tyger's father dies, her much-married mother Lady Bobbi Rowan (Linda Evans) invites the girl to come to work for the perfume company that had financed her dad's last movies. Learning to play the dog-eat-dog survival game in a hurry, Tyger rises to the top of a sweet-smelling compost heap. Bare Essence was subsequent spun off into a short-lived series. Telecast April 29, 1983, the "final chapter" leaves the fates of Tyger, her mother, her business, and hit-and-run victim Niko Theophilus (an Onassis clone played by Ian McShane) up in the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
