Meg Wyllie Movies
- 1995
Paul (Paul Reiser) looks forward to his birthday party with fear and loathing. It's not that Paul dreads getting older, simply that all of his birthday parties (shown in vivid flashback) have ended in disaster. This cautionary fable concludes with the Saga of the Grandfather Port -- and do you want your face in the cake, or the cat on your head? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This "very special" episode goes back in time to recount the hectic three months leading up to the wedding of Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt). Last minute complications include a call from Aunt Selma, a tiff over Incan gifts, and a detour to a manhole. And wait till you see who performs the ceremony (hint: Julia Roberts is not among the guests). Originally telecast in a single hour-long time slot, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Carl Reiner won an Emmy award for his portrayal of "TV legend" Alan Brady, a role originally created by Reiner on the old Dick Van Dyke Show. Paul (Paul Reiser) is at his wit's end trying to mollify the famously temperamental Brady so that he can complete a documentary. The key to the solution turns out to be in the hands of Theresa (Penny Fuller), the mother of Paul's wife, Jamie (Helen Hunt). Highlights include a discourse on Milton Berle (yes, it's true what they say about him) and Jamie's impromptu Laura Petrie imitation. This was one of several episodes directed by Gordon Hunt, father of series co-star Helen Hunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This "very special" episode goes back in time to recount the hectic three months leading up to the wedding of Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt). Among other matters of importance, the couple must decide upon the appropriate nuptial music: "Color My World," "Alley Cat," or "The Hokey Pokey"? Originally telecast in a single hour-long time slot, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Murray the dog "teams" with Kim the grocer (played by Ping Wu) to provide five turkeys for Jamie's ten-person buffet thanksgiving. Among the guests is Aunt Lolly (Meg Wyllie in her first series appearance) -- but whose aunt is she? And will the marshmallows hold out? This is the episode in which John Karlen and Penny Fuller take over the roles of Jamie's parents, Gus and Theresa Stemple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Just before embarking on a DEA assignment to South America, undercover cop Tony (Ray Abruzzo) takes his lady love Christine (Ray Abruzzo) to a restaurant, where he proposes to her--and promptly marries her! Meanwhile back at Night Court, the staff is in a state of disarray and despair, the result of a labor dispute which has robbed them of their regular maintenance man Art (Mike Finneran) and left an incompetent boob in his place. This first episode of a two-part story ends with a startling announcement--the third such announcement of the evening, as it turns out! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Determined to woo journalist Margaret Turner (Mary Cadorette) away from Harry (Harry Anderson), Dan (John Larroquette) escorts her to the opera. It is Dan's intention to make his romantic overtures in a fortissimo fashion--but Harry is still several notes ahead of him. And back in court, a group of religious zealots "adopt" towering court bailiff Bull (Richard Moll) as their new Deity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A self-centered womanizer makes a wager that he will be able to propose to three women in a three month time and have each one accept in this romantic Philadelphia-set comedy. His three victims are an icy concert pianist, an innocent blonde receptionist for the Philadelphia Eagles, and a rich, horny hausfrau. The fellow plans to prove his success by videotaping each proposal. Sure enough he succeeds, but things quickly sour when the ladies find out that he's duped them. They then team up to get revenge and teach him a thing or two about real love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon, Madeleine Stowe, (more)
Dan Aykroyd must have practiced for months to perfect his Jack Webb inflections for Dragnet. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz's directorial debut (also written by Mankiewicz, along with Aykroyd, and Alan Zweibel) is a gentle spoof of the legendary '50s television police drama -- pitting '50s conservatism smack up against the attitudes of the '80s. Basically, the film is another 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop clone. Aykroyd stars as Joe Friday, the nephew of the original Friday. But with his brown suit, fedora, and lockjaw, he could just as well be the incarnation of Jack Webb. He is involuntarily assigned a smart alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck (Tom Hanks), and they are appointed to investigate a series of religious cult murders in L.A. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, the Reverend Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer). From there, they are only at step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness and Normalcy). After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial victim Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul). So much so that even after his superior Captain Gannon (Harry Morgan, reprising his role from the '60s revival of the Dragnet program) orders him off the case, Friday continues on, with the requisite car chases and crashes that usually climax any '80s cop movie or comedy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, (more)
Garry Marshall directed this film which starts as a light comedy but moves into heavy-duty drama later on. David Basner (Tom Hanks in a good performance) works in an ad agency, where he enjoys bantering with his co-workers and meets a lot of women. He hasn't been especially close to his father (Jackie Gleason) and never thought about him much until his Dad is left devastated when his wife of 36 years walks out on him. He is soon faced with serious health problems as well. This propels the elder Basner on a downward slide that affects David and their relationship. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason, (more)
- 1985
Suffering from an identity crisis--or rather, yet another identity crisis--Bull (Richard Bull) is receptive when a sports promoter gives him the opportunity to fulfill his "lifelong dream" by becoming a professional wrestler. The Night Court gang bands together to convince Bull to change his mind and return to his old job. Former "Incredible Hulk" Lou Ferrigno appears as The Klondike Butcher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Trailer-park teenager Lance Guest regularly escapes from his humdrum existence by playing the video game Starfighter. His expertise at this recreational endeavor attracts the attention of affable stranger Robert Preston. Before he knows what's happening, Guest is whisked by Preston into the outer reaches of the galaxy! It turns out that the Starfighter game is being played in deadly earnest in outer space, and that Guest is expected to join Preston's Star League, then do battle with the wicked Kodan forces. Guest's principal ally is the lizardlike Grig (Dan O'Herlihy--and we didn't recognize him either). His great rival is the traitorous Xur (Norman Snow). The contrast between Guest's earthbound life as the son of single-mother Barbara Bosson and his new position as Starfighter is daunting at first, but soon the boy is manning a spacecraft and zapping the baddies as though he's been doing it all his life. The Last Starfighter was clearly designed with "sequel" in mind: giveaways include the resurrection of a "dead" character and the surprisingly casual escape of the villain. While the film didn't stir up enough business to warrant a sequel, the Starfighter video game remained a much-sought-after commodity by joystick-happy "warriors" all over the country. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lance Guest, Robert Preston, (more)
- 1983
- PG
In this skewed, unreal view of a woman's choice in men, almost nothing is believable. Amy (Lucie Arnaz) is a savvy, well-educated lawyer in Santa Fe who divorces her husband, an exec in the banking business, to become involved with Will (Craig Wasson) a street musician with the same iron-clad brain as her ex when it comes to women. The musician is regularly picked up by the police for his loitering, though he seems never to fully realize why they are doing this to him. Amy drops him at last, and when she finds out she is pregnant, she goes to the hospital to have an abortion -- and is introduced to a Boris Karloff-type doctor. Before anything further happens, Will comes along and forcibly carries her off to a remote, run-down building in a ghost town where he ties her to a bed intending to keep her there until she has the baby. Hard to believe, but things only get worse from here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucie Arnaz, Craig Wasson, (more)
- 1982
During a smog alert, an old man and a child, both residents of a sanitarium, die of respiratory ailments. Medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is convinced that the deaths were linked to a nearby oil refinery, which is polluting the air with sulfur emissions. His task now is to prove that the refinery executives have deliberately ignored official warnings to cut back on production during smog emergencies--and as usual, bringing the villains to justice is a lot easier said than done. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This 1981 sequel to the 1979 made-for-TVer Goldie and the Boxer once again stars O.J. Simpson and Melissa Michaelsen as, respectively, boxer Joe Gallegher and Joe's 10-year-old manager Goldie Kellog. When Joe incurs the wrath of an evil promoter, he and Goldie high-tail it to Hollywood. They take refuge in the home of Babe (Stubby Kaye) and Cuddles (Sheila MacRae) a pair of Tinseltown "fringies" distantly related to Joe's trainer Wally (Jack Gilford, taking over for the first film's Phil Silvers). Produced by Orenthal Productions (guess who ran that company?), Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood first aired February 19, 1981. It has been rerun incessantly since June of 1994, thanks to the latter-day notoriety of star O. J. Simpson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- O.J. Simpson, Melissa Michaelsen, (more)
- 1979
- G
The first volley in the never-ending "Presley movie" blitzkrieg, the made-for-TV Elvis: The Movie stars Kurt Russell as the King, Season Hubley as Priscilla, Pat Hingle as Col. Parker, Shelley Winters as Elvis' mom, and Bing Russell (Kurt's real-life father) as Elvis' dad. The film recounts Presley's life from age ten to his 1969 Vegas comeback. Presley imitator Ronnie McDowell expertly dubs in Kurt Russell's renditions of "Love Me Tender," "Heartbreak Hotel," et al. When first telecast on February 11, 1979, the ratings for Elvis: The Movie went through the roof, even beating out a competing telecast of Gone With the Wind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Shelley Winters, (more)
- 1979
The elderly residents of a nursing home tire of being oppressed and stage a revolution in this made-for-television comedy. Following the ensuing riot they rush out and commandeer a passing train to go out for a few final adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harold Gould, Strother Martin, (more)
- 1977
The Angels, assuming the usual false identities, embark upon a luxury cruise to Hawaii in hopes of proving that their ship isn't "jinxed." Unfortunately, the passengers and crew members continue to be plagued by mysterious accidents -- and more unfortunate still, the mystery villain is aware of the Angels' true identities, and he isn't above killing them off, one by one. If the shipboard sets in this episode seem familiar, it is because they are the same ones that were later utilized on another popular Aaron Spelling-produced series of the 1970s, The Love Boat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1976
Though Roy (Kevin Tighe) is worn to a frazzle by a heavier-than-usual workload, he must put up with the rest of the Squad, each one of whom has his own special idea of how Roy should spend his upcoming vacation. Back on the job, the Squad tends to a martial-arts instructor who is injured while conducting a class, a brace of hang-gliders standed on a high mountain, and a man suffering from an usual case of stomach trouble. Watch for a pre-Dallas Linda Grayin a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Lipstick is a cheap exploitation film pretending to make a social statement about rape and revenge. Chris (Margaux Hemingway), a fashion model is raped by Gordon Stuart (Chris Sarandon) her sister's music teacher. When he tries to rape her sister Kathy (Mariel Hemingway), Chris kills him. She is tried for the crime and defended by Carla Bondi (Anne Bancroft). Margaux Hemingway, in her film debut, is dreadful, giving a wooden performance which is only matched by that of the usually interesting Chris Sarandon. Despite some discussion of this film by feminist film critics, its only saving grace is the performance of Mariel Hemingway, who is also making her debut and gives the mature and nuanced performance she would again give in Manhattan. Lipstick, trite, bloody and dishonest, pretends to condemn rape but instead sensationalizes and exploits it. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaux Hemingway, Chris Sarandon, (more)
- 1975
Hoping to someday own their own farm, three Puerto Rican street kids hijack a truck--fatally injuring a priest in the process. But this is hardly the thieves' biggest worry: in pulling off the heist, they have run afoul of a big-time hoodlum. While Kojak (Telly Savalas) tracks down the young hijackers, his fellow detective Crocker (Kevin Dobson) faces an a different sort of professional challenge as he prepares to deliver a lecture on rape to an audience of Catholic schoolgirls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Susan Clark won an Emmy for her performance as legendary woman athlete Babe Didrickson (1916-1956). The film starts in Port Arthur, Texas, with teenaged Babe depriving herself of a social life in order to excel at track and field. Her well-honed skills and fierce competitive spirit win Babe a slot at the Los Angeles-based 1932 Olympics. Able to excel in practically any sport, Babe becomes a pro golfer, tennis player and billiard champ. In 1940, she meets and marries roughhewn ex-wrestler George Zaharias (played by Alex Karras, Clark's real-life future husband), who becomes her mentor and manager. Despite the anticipated career and personal conflicts, George stays by Babe's side for the next sixteen years, ultimately buoying her spirits during her three-year ordeal with terminal cancer. Babe was adapted by Emmy nominee Joanna Lee from Babe Didrickson Zaharias' autobiography This Life I've Led. Footnote: for a glance at the real Babe Zaharias in action on the golf links, see the Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn vehicle Pat and Mike (52). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Aging socialite Athena Champion (Kim Hunter) desperately seeks out the aid of her friend Chief Ironside (Raymond Burr). Several elderly men have recently been murdered--all of them old boyfriends of Athena who had attended her debutante's ball. Suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers', Athena is worried that she may have killed the victims without knowing it--and she wants Ironside to determine whether she is innocent or guilty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally made for television, this story focuses on a woman selected for jury duty. During a murder trial, she discovers that the accused is the wrong man; she also finds that the real killer is after her. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Cloris Leachman, (more)
