David Bowe Movies

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello not only starred in the delightfully "retro" Back to the Beach, but also served as executive producers. Appropriately set 25 years after such drive-in faves as Beach Blanket Bingo, the film finds Frankie and Annette as husband and wife, living far from the surf 'n' sand in Ohio. Heading to California to visit their daughter Lori Loughlin, Frankie and Annette are appalled to learn that she has been keeping time with punker Tommy Hinkley. In time-honored fashion, our hero and heroine set about to make the beach safe for funlovers everywhere by driving out Hinkley's unsavory pals. Along the way, Frankie nearly bollixes up his marriage by dallying with Connie Stevens-one of several pop-culture icons appearing in Back to the Beach, including Don Adams, Bob Denver, Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Dick Dale & the Del-Tones , Stevie Ray Vaughan, and even Pee-wee Herman! Back to the Beach is fun for a while, but its six-person writing team can't figure out a logical way to wind it all up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sandy Duncan, Judith Light, and Jill Eikenberry star in director Paul Schneider's made-for-television musical comedy about a 1960s-era female singing trio that reunites to take part in a television special produced to pay tribute to the pop superstars of yesteryear. Back in the 1960s, pop was king and the Bouffants were at the top of the charts thanks to their catchy hit single "My Boyfriend's Back." Two decades later, an ambitious NBC producer begins planning a television special dedicated to honoring pre-Beatles pop acts, and he wants to name it after the Bouffants' biggest hit. Now in order to make that happen, he sets out to find all three of the original Bouffants and offer them a chance to reunite on stage. But The Bouffants broke up for a reason, and convincing sarcastic bowling alley queen Vicki (Light), high-profile cosmetics executive Deborah (Eikenberry), and downhome housewife Chris (Duncan) to put aside their differences for the sake of the special will prove a more daunting task than he ever anticipated. Additional appearances by such notable '60s-era singing icons as Gary Lewis, the Penguins, Peggy March, and Mary Wells ensure that music lovers are not only in for a few nostalgic laughs, but a toe-tapping trip back to the time when everyone tuned into their radios eager to discover the next great hit. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, the members of the Shakers, an aspiring rock band, perform at a series of weird and wacky weddings. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. play a couple of what-the-hell flyboys flying contraband to Laos during the Vietnam War. Gibson doesn't seem to care about anything but the "guts and glory" aspects of the job, but Downey has serious questions about the moral implications of their mission. When a Laotian general expresses more concern over the wellbeing of an opium shipment than the men who are risking life and limb to fly it in, Gibson comes around to Downey's way of thinking. By film's end, Gibson is stuck in one of those character-building dilemmas so common to films of this nature: should he deliver his cache of weaponry, or should he dump it all to rescue a bunch of refugees? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Professional wrestlers Peter Paul and David Paul star in this muscle-bound comedy about two slowwitted truck drivers who are hired to transport a heap of toxic waste across the country to Los Angeles. Along the way, the boys run into a 16-year-old girl genius who is on the run from a secret government research center because she holds plans for a mysterious secret weapon. With government agents in pursuit, the two lunkheads and the teen prodigy have to make it to L.A. with their toxic waste and avoid being captured by amoral government forces. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

While his parents are out of town, enterprising Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) rents out the Banks' mansion to the singing group Bell Div DeVoe (Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell and Michael Bivins) for a music-video shoot. At the end of the session, the house is in a shambles, but the kids are certain that they can clean up the place before mom and dad get home. Unfortunately, Philip (James Avery) and Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten) arrive back in town earlier than expected! Bell Div DeVoe performs "Do Me". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the eve of his televised execution, a serial killer (Bruce Davison) takes a TV newswoman (Joanna Cassidy) hostage. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

The manic writing-directing comedy team of Tom Stern and Alex Winter (the latter of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) followed up their deranged short-film collaborations and the short-lived MTV series The Idiot Box with this comic fantasy, which amounts to a virtual car crash of anarchic, mind-blowing weirdness. The brain-damaged plot follows self-centered sitcom actor Ricky Coogin (Winter), official spokesman for the E.E.S. (Everything Except Shoes) corporation, into the jungle-bound South American nation of Santa Flan. Coogin has been sent as an emissary on behalf of E.E.S. to placate the media uproar over a substance called Zygrot-27, a chief ingredient in many E.E.S. products which has been decried as a fatal environmental toxin. Accompanied by his friend Ernie (Michael Stoyanov) and environmental activist Julie (Megan Ward), Ricky takes a detour into the jungle to a bizarre amusement park overseen by bombastic barker/inventor Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid), who specializes in the display of "Hideous Mutant Freekz" (the film's original title). The trio soon discover that Skuggs manufactures his oddities himself, and they find themselves at the mercy of his hideous freakmaking factory -- which coincidentally uses Zygrot-27 as a catalyst. Once he has the hapless heroes strapped down, Skuggs reveals his intention to transform Coogin into an evil mega-freak who will destroy all the others in a slam-bang, standing-room-only closing event. Miffed at the notion of sustaining an acting career as a spine-covered, pus-gushing monster, Coogin joins a rebellion within Skuggs' captive stable of other man-made freaks -- whose ranks include such monstrosities as effete human worm; a bearded lady (Mr. T in a frilly dress); a man with a sock-puppet for a head (voiced by Bob Goldthwait); and Ortiz the Dog-Boy (an uncredited Keanu Reeves). Their plans to turn Ricky into a zygrot-powered superhero go astray, however, leading to a hilariously apocalyptic finale. Doomed to home-video status by lethargic distribution from Twentieth-Century Fox, this unappreciated gem deserves a second look; packed with hilarious visual gags, ultra-gross setpieces and body-function jokes, Freaked is a hallucinogenic funhouse of a movie. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Richard Benjamin directed this farce that plays like "Guess Who's Coming for Insemination?" Whoopi Goldberg stars as Sarah Matthews, who runs an African-American oriented bookstore in Oakland. She is raising her daughter, a beautiful high school student named Zora (Nia Long), on her own after her husband's death many years earlier. As a result of a science class blood test, Zora discovers that the man she thought was her father actually wasn't. Instead Zora finds she was the result of artificial insemination. After researching the sperm bank's records, Zora discovers, much to the surprise of Sarah and herself, that the anonymous sperm donor is in fact, Hal Jackson (Ted Danson), a loud, crude obnoxious (and white) used-car dealer who advertises on late-night television. Zora visits Hal while he is filming a commercial and Hal brushes her off. Enraged, Sarah tells Hal off, but after meeting Zora he now feels a paternal itch. Not only that, but he is beginning to feel an attraction to Sarah. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A young man dies before his time and is given a second chance at life by a helpful angel in this comedy drama. The teen, Eddie, was well on the road to becoming a delinquent. He died when he was hit by a car after fleeing a convenience store where he had just stolen a snack. Howard, a novice angel, arranges for Eddie's resurrection, and while the youth learns to redeem himself, Howard, disguised as a social worker, stays close by. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Originally planned as a silly vehicle for Chris Farley, in the hands of director Ben Stiller and star Jim Carrey, The Cable Guy became an opportunity for Carrey to flex some of his darker comedic muscles as stalker Chip Douglas. Matthew Broderick plays Steven, an average Joe who is forlorn over his recent breakup with girlfriend Robin (Leslie Mann). When he moves into a new apartment, Steven comes in contact with Chip, who shows up to hook up the cable. Before he knows it, and whether he likes it or not, Steven has a new best-friend in the obnoxious and clingy Chip. However, Steven soon learns that obnoxious is a walk in the park compared to Chip's behavior when Steven tells him he doesn't want to be his pal anymore. What's worse, no one -- including Robin or his family -- believes Steven when he accuses the seemingly harmless Chip of being a malevolent menace. George Segal and Jack Black also star along with Stiller, who plays twins loosely-based on the Menendez brothers. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Desperate for an A-list guest as his final show draws ever closer, Larry (Garry Shandling) determines that he must overcome his discomfort with affectionate old friend David Duchovny in order to secure an appearance from the X-Files star. Meanwhile, Artie (Rip Torn) struggles to keep the emotional staff afloat in hopes of producing a memorable swan song for The Larry Sanders Show. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide