Vincent Buffano Movies
- 1983
- PG
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John attempt to rekindle the box office sparks of Grease with this screwball fantasy comedy. The tale begins during a golf match in heaven among four angels --Charlie (Charles Durning), Earl (Scatman Crothers), Gonzales (Castulo Guerra), and Ruth (Beatrice Straight)-- who have been in charge of heaven for the last twenty-five years. But their game is interrupted by God (voice of Gene Hackman), who has now returned to the office and doesn't like what he sees down on earth. God wants to order up another flood and start all over again, but the angels persuade God to reconsider, reasoning that if a typical earth man can reform, it would prove that all mankind is capable of it. God agrees to the scheme and the typical man selected is Zack Melon (John Travolta) a failed inventor who, threatened by loan sharks, decides to hold up a bank. Zack points his gun at bank teller Debbie Wylder (Olivia Newton-John) and she gives him all of the money. But when Zack peers into the sack after the robbery, he sees that Debbie has substituted bank deposit slips for the cash and realizes that she has kept the money for herself. Zack tracks her down to reclaim his stolen money and the two fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, (more)
- 1981
Set in 1963, this drama looks at the life of Barnie Margruder (Carl Marotte), a teenager dealing with school bullies, his bickering parents, his conflicting feelings about sex, and an often strained relationship with his girlfriend. Barnie's life begins to change when he makes friends with Winona (Charlaine Woodard), an African-American girl from the other side of the city, who gives him a new perspective on his town and the world. Hard Feelings, also known as Hang Tough, was partially filmed in Canada; the film enjoyed a brief theatrical run there, though it never opened in theaters in the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Marotte
- 1915
Adapted by Leo Ditrichstein from an earlier German farce, Are You a Mason? served as one of John Barrymore's most popular stage vehicles. The film version likewise starred Barrymore, who breezed through the assignment with the youthful panache that would leave him all too soon. The hero, a young bridegroom, manages to get out of all sorts of scrapes by pretending to be a Mason, supremely confidant that he'll either be rescued or forgiven by his "fellow" Masons. Things get hairy when it turns out that Barrymore's new father-in-law has likewise been posing as a Mason for years, and for many of the same reasons. Hoping to make the material more "cinematic," director Thomas M. Heffron attempted at one point to stage a drunk scene from the drunk's besotted point of view. Charlie Chaplin was more successful with this gimmick in his 1916 two-reeler One AM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
In his second film appearance, the venerable C. Aubrey Smith is cast as dedicated businessman John Glayde. Too preoccupied with his work to pay attention to his wife, Glayde loses her affections when she falls for a handsome artist. By rights, he should march in and demand that his wife return, but Glayde is far too honorable for that (remember the film's title?) Thus, he does not win back Mrs. Glayde in the end, despite a screenplay that seemed to indicate that he would. John Glayde's Honor was based on a stage play by Alfred Sutro, and released by the "Gold Rooster" division of Pathe Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
