Richard Benjamin Movies

Given a grim diagnosis during a routine doctor's checkup, a man who once had it all finds his attempt to disappear into a working-class suburb and spend his remaining days subsisting on vodka and junk food hopelessly disrupted when he falls for the beautiful divorcée next door and a busybody neighbor notices a miraculous stain on his stucco wall. Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) had a comfortable life and a beautiful fiancée. But just when it seemed that the future couldn't look any brighter for Henry, a visit to the doctor's office casts a dark cloud over his sunny outlook. Shattered, Henry wants nothing more in life than to simply vanish into his surroundings, and what better way to accomplish that feat than to purchase a cookie-cutter house in a working-class suburb and spend his final days awaiting the inevitable in peaceful solitude. Unfortunately for Henry, his new neighbors aren't about to let the handsome neighborhood newcomer spend his days sulking. The first to stop by and welcome Henry to his new home is local yenta Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), who comes knocking on his door with a fresh plate of homemade tamales and laundry list of questions.

Later, after taking notice of sad-eyed divorcée Dawn (Radha Mitchell) and her taciturn eight-year-old daughter, Millie (Morgan Lily), who hasn't spoken a work since her father left, Henry finds his self-imposed exile shattered when Esperanza notices a stain on his stucco wall that seems to possess miraculous powers. Before Henry can say "Hail Mary," Esperanza is leading pilgrimages to the "holy site" in his backyard and inviting Father Salizar (George Lopez) to give his blessings to the sacrosanct blemish. As skeptical as Henry may be about the healing powers of the curious apparition, however, his growing friendship with young Millie not only brings him closer to Dawn, but also proves to him that there's no escaping the power of hope. Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin, and Jessica Walter co-star in a wry existential comedy drama penned by first-time feature film screenwriter Albert Torres, and directed by Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This true-crime biopic explores the life of mother-and-son grifters Sante and Kenny Kimes, from Kenny's childhood apprenticeship in early-'80s Honolulu to Sante's murder trial in late-'90s New York City. Fortyish Sante Kimes (Judy Davis) uses her looks and her brazen disregard for the law to acquire whatever she wants in life, from jewels to cars to large insurance settlements. Her most frequent accomplice in these endeavors? Son Kenny (former General Hospital actor Jonathan Jackson), who spends most of his childhood serving as a bit player, then later a co-star, in his mother's schemes. When a slavery -- yes, slavery -- conviction sends Sante to prison, Kenny enjoys a more or less normal adolescence with his wealthy father (Chelcie Ross), who has long refused to marry Sante. But upon her return from the big house, the now over-the-hill Sante re-enlists her son's assistance in her amoral activities. Eventually fingered for the murder of a wealthy Manhattan matron, Sante finds herself in court, where her son's testimony may well end her lifelong crime spree once and for all. Adapted by Randy Stone and Teena Booth from Jeanne King's book Dead End: The Crime Story of the Decade: Murder, Incest and High-Tech Thievery, A Little Thing Called Murder premiered January 23, 2006, on the Lifetime cable network. It was actually the second TV movie to explore the Kimes' story, following Mary Tyler Moore's turn in the 2001 CBS offering Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Paul Rudnick provides the script for the Scott Rudin-produced comedy Marci X, directed by Richard Benjamin. The new song "Shoot Ya' Teacha" by controversial hardcore rapper Dr. S. (short for Dr. Snatchcatcher, played by Damon Wayans) causes a public outcry. The stress causes a heart attack for the owner of the hardcore rap record label Felony Assault (played by director Benjamin). It's up to his stylishly sunny daughter Marci (Lisa Kudrow) to take over his business. She tries to rescue the record label by changing the negative image of Dr. S. in order to appeal to a youth-oriented crowd, which leads the pair into an unlikely romance. Actress Christine Baranski appears as a conservative senator who threatens to ban the rapper. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Richard Benjamin directs the straight-to-video romantic comedy The Shrink Is In. Courteney Cox plays Samantha Crumb, a travel writer who suffers from a long list of phobias and disorders. When her psychiatrist, Dr. Louise Rosenberg (Carol Kane), suffers a mental breakdown, Samantha gets an idea to catch herself a man. She sets out to pose as a psychiatrist in order to win over the affections of her neighbor Michael (David James Elliott). Meanwhile, she inevitably meets and falls in love with shy Henry Popopolis (her real-life husband David Arquette). The Shrink Is In also stars Kimberley Davies and Viola Davis. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Rhea Perlman and Richard Benjamin guest star as a suburban couple from whom Jamie (Helen Hunt) purchases a house. Jamie has done this as a Valentine gift for husband, Paul (Paul Reiser) -- but Paul is not entirely grateful. The whole megilla ends in a court trial and an enforced stay in the Land of Crabgrass. ~ Rovi

Excessive military spending provides the impetus behind this sharp, satirical account of an honest Air Force colonel who is so shocked at government spending in its development of a troop transport vehicle that he decides to launch a personal investigation as to why it has taken the military 17 years and $14 billion to create it. When a certain Pentagon General finds out about the Colonel's inquiry, he does everything he can to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A poor woman is the beneficiary of a case of mistaken identity in this comedy. Luckless Connie (Ricki Lake) leaves home to move to New York, only to find herself stuck with no job, no money, and a louse of a boyfriend (Loren Dean) who gets her pregnant and abandons her. Despondently taking a train back to Boston, Connie meets Hugh and Patricia Winterbourne (Brendan Fraser and Susan Haskell), a wealthy couple also expecting a baby. Patricia notices Connie admiring her wedding ring, and lets her try it on; moments later, the train jumps the tracks, and Connie wakes up in a hospital to discover that the staff thinks she's Patricia Winterbourne, who died in the wreck along with Hugh. The Boston Winterbournes, led by sharp-tongued Grace (Shirley MacLaine), had never met Patricia, so they have no way of knowing that Connie isn't Patricia. While Connie isn't trying to cheat anyone, it doesn't take her long to realize that this isn't a bad environment for raising her baby, especially after she meets Bill Winterbourne, Hugh's twin brother (also played by Fraser). Mrs. Winterbourne was based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich, previously filmed as No Man of Her Own and J'ai Epouse Une Ombre. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi

When suburban police officer Alex Kearney (Anthony Edwards) angers a wealthy, influential citizen by stopping him for a traffic violation, he finds himself transferred to the city's worst precinct. Struggling to adapt to his new inner-city surroundings, Kearney must deal with his gruff new partner, Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker), as the two attempt to break up a crime ring. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Jeff Grant (River Phoenix) is a San Diego teen who discovers his father Richard (Richard Jenkins) and mother Elizabeth Grant) are KGB agents. When he applies to the Air Force Academy, a routine FBI check leads to the shocking news. Soon the suburb of Fountain Grove becomes the focus of international agents and espionage. FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Sidney Poitier) helps Jeff absorb the shock and he battles KGB agent Konstantin Karpov (Richard Bradford) in a race to capture the Soviet agents. The excellent performances from Poitier and Phoenix are the highlight of this feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This standard, tongue-in-cheek, gangsters and good guys saga is carried on the star power and screen presence of Clint Eastwood as Lt. Speer, a taciturn, tough, play-it-by-the-book cop, and on Burt Reynolds as Mike Murphy, Speer's old friend in the force, now turned private eye but still a captivating rogue at heart. With a sub-text of playing their well-known screen personas off each other, Eastwood and Reynolds provide more than a surface interpretation of the characters that made them famous. After Murphy's partner is murdered, he focuses on pitting one mob boss against another in an attempt to have both mobsters kill each other. In the meantime, Lt. Speer -- who has never approved of Murphy's private detective business -- does not really know if Murphy is for or against the two top gangsters. Set in the era of speakeasies and Prohibition, an added layer of "film noir" can be discerned under the complex plot, verbal repartée, and episodes of toned-down violence (a kind of parody in themselves). Although this may not be the best film either star has made, it is still interesting to see them together on screen. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this serio-comic made-for television adventure, an L.A. family gets more than it bargained for when it abandons the smog and hubbub for the peace of rural Oregon. Unfortunately, instead of finding a violence-free environment, they discover that they are surrounded by ultra-right-wing survivalists. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this early '80s send-up of venerable horror clichés, Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss star as John and Mary, an ordinary couple who inherit a mysterious house from a deceased uncle. Along with kids Debbie (Kari Michaelsen) and Billy (Kevin Brando), they move into the musty mansion, unaware that vampire Waldemar (Jeffrey Tambor) and his wife are desperately seeking an ancient book housed within its walls. Soon, Billy finds the book and learns that opening it releases an assortment of scary creatures. John and Mary, however, refuse to believe Billy's tall tales, not even after Mary ends up with puncture marks in her neck and an aversion to normal food. Soon, a mer-man is stalking Debbie in the bathtub, relatives are disappearing and monsters have taken over the house. Help arrives in the form of the wise Van Helsing (Severn Darden) -- or does it? Saturday the 14th provided the directorial debut for veteran horror screenwriter Howard R. Cohen, who would return to the same territory with 1988's Saturday the 14th Strikes Back. Benjamin, who is married to Prentiss in real life, also appeared in the horror satire Love at First Bite. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi