Jay Daniel Movies

Yet one more derivation of Malcolm in the Middle, the WB Network sitcom Maybe It's Me went into production under the less sensitive but more amusing title Maybe I'm Adopted. The "Me" in question was 15-year-old Molly Stage (Regan Dale Neis), a resident of "the smallest town in the smallest state," who did her best to survive life with her nutty family: soccer-coach dad Jerry (Fred Willard), super-stingy mom Mary (Julia Sweeney), Christian-rocker brother Grant (Patrick Levis), punkish sibling Rick (Andrew Walker), spawn-of-satan twin sisters Mindy and Cindy (played by real-life twins Daniella and Deanna Canterman), and eccentric (to say the least) Grandma Harriet (Ellen Albertini Dow). That grand old trouper Dabbs Greer was seen as goofy old Grandpa Fred. Series creator Suzanne Martin claimed that the Stage clan was based on her own family; if so, the poor woman deserves all our sympathy. Part of a Friday-night WB comedy block, Maybe It's Me debuted on October 5, 2001, its original September 21 premiere date preempted by continuing coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a four-part story arc, detective David Addison (Bruce Willis) briefly curbs his flippancy to find out why his partner Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) is so unhappy of late. Following Maddie around town, David ends up trailing the wrong woman--and "wrong" hardly begins to cover the situation. Mark Harmon makes his first series appearance as Maddie's yuppie inamorata Sam Crawford, while Donna Dixon shows up as the "other" blonde--and listen for that "Three Stooges" reference, courtesy of the versatile Robert Wuhl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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. ~ All Movie Guide

Originally made for television, the story focuses on a reporter trying to track down a killer while he wins his wife back. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In this mystery a psychiatrist and his wife are surprised to find that the quiet seaside town they just moved to is plagued by strange deaths that occur during mysterious storms. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV "roman a clef", Joe Don Baker stars as Tommy Vanda, a Hoffa-esque labor leader. Told in flashback, the film recounts Vanda's humble beginnings on the Chicago docks, where he gains fame and notoreity amongst his coworkers and his bosses by spearheading a wildcat strike. Rising to top dog of the Cartage Union, Tommy doesn't care whon he has to crush on the way up the ladder. Inevitably, Tommy's peccadilloes catch up with him, resulting in federal charges, an arrest, and (remember who he's supposed to be) a mysterious disappearance in the night. Written by Ernest Tidyman of The French Connection fame, Power was telecast in two two-hour installments by NBC on January 14 and 15, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV espionage thriller was approximately fourteen years too late for TV's "spy cycle". Dale Robinette plays a Bondlike secret agent, while Ralph Bellamy is the "M" counterpart. Robinette is assigned to solve the mystery of several UFO sightings in Utah. The instigator turns out to be an eco-villain (Patrick MacNee), who threatens to destroy the ozone layer unless he's paid one billion dollars within 48 hours. When Billion Dollar Threat failed to yield a weekly TV series, its producers revamped the project--and the result was the equally unsuccessful Once Upon a Spy (80). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Famed for their supporting performances in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, Burt Young and Talia Shire struck while the iron was hot to star in the made-for-TV Daddy, I Don't Like It Like This. Young also wrote the screenplay for this middling domestic drama. He and Shire play an endlessly bickering middle-class couple; the husband, an ex-boxer, is frustrated by his inability to fulfill his dreams, while the wife is hampered by emotional and intellectual immaturity. Both Young and Shire take out their hostilities on their son (Doug McKeon), who reacts to the ongoing strife by retreating into his own imagination. Daddy, I Don't Like It Like This was the first directorial assignment for Adell Aldrich, daughter of "cult" director Robert Aldrich. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This TV movie stars Jon Rubinstein as a Nassau County assistant D.A. named Dan Corey. Yes, he's idealistic, and yes, he butts his head against (drum roll) THE SYSTEM. His current case involves a battered woman who claims to have killed her doctor husband in self defense. Corey, flying in the face of the Politically Correct Brigade, doesn't believe her (he says he has "bad vibes", which should give you an idea when this film was made). Corey: For the People was the pilot for a series that didn't make it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Together with Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and John Singleton's Boyz 'n the Hood, director Peter Bogdanovich's Targets is among the most impressive first features ever made. When Bogdanovich's cinematic mentor Roger Corman suggested that Bogdanovich might want to make his directorial debut, he offered to "donate" 20 minutes' worth of footage of the Corman-directed The Terror and the services of Boris Karloff, who owed Corman two days' worth of work (at a cost of 22,000 dollars). Karloff became so caught up in the 29-year-old Bogdanovich's enthusiasm that he agreed to work an additional two days at a bare-minimum salary.

The script, by Bogdanovich and his then-wife, Polly Platt, was inspired by the 1966 shooting spree of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Karloff, as Byron Orlock, more or less plays himself: an aging horror star, consigned to low-budget drive-in fare. Unlike the workaholic Karloff, Orlock wants to retire from films, noting that his movies seem inconsequential in light of the real-life horrors occurring every day. As Bogdanovich, playing young-and-hungry director Sammy Michaels, desperately tries to convince Orlock to star in just one more picture, the film's attentions shift to Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). An otherwise amiable, normal-looking lad, Bobby seems to harbor an inordinate fascination with guns, particularly high-powered rifles. One bright and sunny morning, Bobby suddenly and unexpectedly shoots and kills his wife, his mother, and an unlucky delivery boy. He leaves behind a note confessing to these crimes, noting that, while he fully expects to be captured, many more will die before the day is over. From this point onward, the film switches from Bobby's day-long bloodbath (from the vantage point of an oil storage tank, calmly picking off passing freeway motorists) to Orlock's grumbling preparations to make a personal appearance at a local drive-in movie.

Inevitably, Bobby also shows up at the drive-in, hiding himself behind the huge screen and shooting down the patrons as they sit complacently in their cars, watching the latest Byron Orlock film (actually The Terror, in which Karloff also starred). Once the reality of the situation sets in, panic ensues, leading to the ultimate confrontation between the escaping Bobby and the bewildered Orlock. ("Is this what I was afraid of?" Orlock ruefully exclaims as Bobby cowers at his feet.) The tension never lets up throughout Targets' jam-packed 90 minutes. The film was virtually thrown away by its distributor, Paramount Pictures, which was uncertain about packaging a film about a sniper in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations. Only when it was reissued to college campuses and film societies did Targets begin building up its much-deserved reputation. Though Targets was not, technically, Boris Karloff's last film, it serves as a worthy valedictory for this cinematic giant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide