Glenn Gordon Caron Movies

The garage becomes a unofficial gambling emporium when the cabbies place bets as to whether Alex (Judd Hirsch) can bring in more fare money than Louie (Danny DeVito) during a single night, or vice versa. Elaine (Marilu Henner) is particularly anxious over the outcome of this wager, especially since she has promised to go on a date with Louie if he wins. Naturally, Louie is not above cheating and duplicity to emerge victorious--and for a while, it looks as though the "good guys" aren't going to come out on top in this venture. ~ Rovi

Cheated out of her fortune by a crooked business manager, former fashion model Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) has but one asset to her name: the Blue Moon Detective Agency, an incredible unprofitable concern run by cocky P.I. David Addison (Bruce Willis). Maddie is all for liquidating the agency as quickly as possible, but David manages to flummox her into keeping it up and running. Though it is hate at first sight for the mismatched couple, Maddie and David almost immediately begin collaborating on a crimesolving career, beginning with the case of a dying client and a broken watch. Originally telecast as a single 97-minute "TV movie", this pilot episode of Moonlighting has since been divided into two hour-long segments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the concluding half of Moonlighting's pilot episode (originally telecast as a single 97-minute TV movie), impoverished former fashion model Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) has been talked out of liquidating her sole asset, the Blue Moon Detective Agency, by flippant private eye David Addison (Bruce Willis). She has also been plunged into a baffling mystery involving a dead man and a broken watch. As reluctant partners Maddie and David face numerous perils together, a relationship of sorts develops--namely, they can't survive without each other, and they can't live with each other! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Generally remembered today as the show that made a star out of Bruce Willis, the weekly, hour-long Moonlighting was in its time regarded as the hippest, most innovative series on television, one which for an all-too-brief period completely redefined that entire "mystery and detection" genre. Debuting with a two-hour TV movie pilot on March 3, 1985, the series starred Cybill Shepherd as Maddie Hayes, formerly a top fashion model and latterly fallen upon hard times. Upon learning that during her moneyed days she had acquired the Blue Moon Detective Agency, Maddie decided to sell the two-bit operation for a quick financial turnover. Instead, she ended up running the agency and reluctantly becoming a detective herself, with the dubious "aide" of Blue Moon's ace gumshoe, cocky and chauvinistic David Addison (Bruce Willis). Although Maddie and David quarrelled constantly -- even while on the job, and often while in the clutches of the villains (a time when cooperation would seem to be not only essential but crucial) -- it was clear that the two were very attracted to one another. After two seasons of verbal sparring and furtive smooching, David and Maddie consummated their relationship at the end of season three. Thereafter, although they continued operating the agency, the couple's romance slowly disintegrated; in fact, upon finding that she was pregnant with David's child, Maddie chose not to wed her erstwhile lover but instead to become the wife of a near-total stranger, Walter Bishop (Dennis Dugan). After the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, things were never the same between David and Maddie, and ultimately they went their separate ways.

The trials and tribulations of the two stars were counterpointed by the eccentricities of the other two full-time Blue Moon employees: ditsy receptionist Agnes DiPesto (Allyce Beasley), who spoke in rhymes and yearned for life in the fast lane, and junior detective-file clerk Herbert Viola (Curtis Armstrong), a recurring character until achieving regular status in season four, for whom Agnes carried a torch. Several other characters made sporadic appearances, among them Maddie's aristocratic parents, Herbert and Virginia (Robert Webber, Eva Marie Saint); David's estranged ne'er-do-well dad, David Sr. (Paul Sorvino), and his reprobate older brother, Richard (Charles Rocket); Maddie's yuppie suitor Sam Crawford (Mark Harmon) and her cousin Annie (Virginia Madsen), who briefly captured David's heart in season five; and a "utility" character named MacGillicudy (Jack Blessing).

What set Moonlighting apart from all other private-eye shows was its insouciant, "it's only a TV show" attitude. Almost from the outset, Maddie and David occasionally interrupted the action by pausing to wink, nod knowingly, or even converse with the audience. The series also indulged in episode-length spoofs of other pop-culture properties, including It's a Wonderful Life, Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and even a black-and-white satire of film noir, narrated by Orson Welles in his last voice-over assignment before his death. Also, the characters would from time to time stop whatever they were doing to launch an out-of-character comedy skit; one episode continually switched back and forth between the main plot and an extended spoof of The Honeymooners. In addition, the characters of Maddie and David would make frequent, pointed references to the actual lives and careers of Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, with emphasis on the two actors' well-publicized offscreen arguments. This Pirandellian mindset resulted in some very bizarre moments, such as the episode wherein David and Maddie were given advice on their fragile relationship by Dr. Joyce Brothers and Ray Charles!

The friction between the series' leads may have been fascinating to the casual viewer, but it tended to slow down production of the series, as did ongoing script problems and bitter disagreements between the stars and the production staff (during the final season, executive producer Glenn Gordon Caron, who'd created Moonlighting in the first place, was forced off the show, allegedly at the insistence of Cybill Shepherd). As a result, Moonlighting never offered any more than 18 episodes per season, and sometimes as few as 12. Even these travails were fodder for the scriptwriters: beginning in season three, each episode started with a lengthy and frequently very funny mea culpa explanation as to why the series produced so few new episodes; and at the start of season five, virtually the entire cast and crew showed up on-camera to apologize for past production delays, and to promise not to disappoint the fans in the future. Though it eventually collapsed under the weight of its many backstage woes, Moonlighting was well worth having while it lasted. The series remained on ABC's prime-time schedule until May 14, 1989. ~ Rovi

The directorial debut of Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of the television series Moonlighting (1985-89), this intense, gritty drama was received as one of the best-ever cinematic treatments of substance abuse. Michael Keaton stars as Daryl Poynter, a hustling, successful Philadelphia real estate agent who has become addicted to cocaine. He's already got problems, including nearly a $100,000 embezzled from his employer and lost on the stock market, when he wakes up one morning with a young woman dead in his bed from a coke overdose. His company is asking questions about the missing funds, and the dead girl's father is plastering his neighborhood with posters accusing Daryl of being a murderer, so he decides to hide out in an anonymous drug treatment program. There, however, Daryl runs into tough-minded counselor and former addict Craig (Morgan Freeman), who has heard all of Daryl's lies and tricks before. Daryl also finds romance with an abused fellow addict, Charlie Standers (Kathy Baker), and understanding with his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor (M. Emmet Walsh). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

A suburban mom bestowed with the gift of second sight works as a part-time consultant to the district attorney's office in this series starring Emmy Award-winning actress Patricia Arquette and inspired by the true-life story of research medium Allison DuBois. Allison (Arquette) can speak with the dead, and frequently sees the future in her dreams. She is an invaluable tool in solving the crimes that perplex her boss, D.A. Devalos (Miguel Sandoval), as her powers help the authorities to capture criminals who might have otherwise gotten away with their gruesome crimes. When Allison is not helping to solve crimes alongside Detective Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt), she spends the majority of her time with her husband, Joe (Jake Weber), and three daughters, Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva), Bridgette (Maria Lark), and Marie (Madison Carabello). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The 1939 Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer romance Love Affair, remade with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in 1957 as An Affair to Remember, became a vehicle for real-life couple Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in this 1994 rendition. The well-worn story remains the same, as a man and a woman, both engaged to other people, fall madly in love while traveling, indulge in a brief but intense affair, then agree to part and sort out their feelings. They are to meet again at the top of the Empire State Building if their feelings persist, but a series of unfortunate circumstances threatens to keep the lovers apart. Despite polished visuals and a time-tested narrative, this variation suffers in comparison to its two predecessors, not to mention the previous year's Sleepless in Seattle, which had drawn on An Affair to Remember for several of its most memorable sequences. It does features Katherine Hepburn's first film appearance in 13 years. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

In this made-for-TV film, a down-and-out private eye's life is further complicated by the arrival of his estranged pre-teen son. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

After a childhood spat drove brothers Wilder (Arliss Howard) and Wallace (Dennis Quaid) apart, they went their separate ways, until a chance meeting brought them back together again. Gifted with a psychic ability to spark fires, Wilder supresses his gift, marries the lovely Vida (Debra Winger), and attempts to lead a normal life. However, he runs into his brother, who is using his powers to work as a carnival attraction, and their reunion leads to disaster when the brothers begin to compete for Vida's attention. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi