Kevin McCormick Movies
Television actor-turned-director Brian Robbins follows up Varsity Blues (1999) and Ready to Rumble (2000) with another sports comedy. Keanu Reeves stars as Conor O'Neill, an underachiever and inveterate sports gambler who needs a bailout loan from a friend to pay off his mounting debt. As a condition for receiving the necessary funds, Conor is saddled with coaching a corporate-sponsored Little League baseball team for underprivileged youth in Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green housing project. Reluctant at first, Conor slowly begins to enjoy his new authority role, especially when he makes the acquaintance of his players' attractive teacher, Elizabeth Wilkes (Diane Lane). Based on the real-life chronicle Hardball: A Season in the Projects by Outside magazine editor Daniel Coyle, Hardball also stars D.B. Sweeney and Mike McGlone. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane, (more)
Directed by Joel Schumacher, Dying Young was adapted from a novel by Marti Leimbach. When Victor Geddes (Campbell Scott) discovers that he is suffering from leukemia, his wealthy family hires pretty, young Hillary O'Neil (Julia Roberts) to help nurse him through his chemotherapy treatment. As the two struggle through the debilitating effects of Victor's treatment, they fall in love and attempt to make the most of their time together. Campbell Scott's real mother, the late Colleen Dewhurst, plays his "reel" mother in the film. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Campbell Scott, (more)
Director of the first Police Academy movie, Hugh Wilson is also responsible for the action comedy-caper Burglar. Bernice Rhodenbarr (Whoopi Goldberg) is a retired cat burglar who works at a bookstore. Bad cop Ray Kirschman (G.W. Bailey) blackmails her, so she agrees to do a job for Dr. Cynthia Sheldrake (Lesley Ann Warren) in order to get the money. While she is doing the robbery, she accidentally stumbles onto the scene of a murder. Since she is the prime suspect, Bernice is forced into many chase scenes as she plays detective to find out who the real murderer is in order to clear her name. She is aided by her only two friends: the hapless dog groomer Carl Hefler (Bob Goldthwait) and the drunken floozy Frankie (Elizabeth Ruscio). Along the way, she almost gets killed by numerous tough guys while being closely followed by two stupid cops (Anne DeSalvo and John Goodman). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, (more)
- 1987
This made-for-cable thriller stars Powers Boothe as a former policeman whose son (C. Thomas Howell) has fallen prey to a band of white supremacists. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Lauren Bacall more or less plays herself in The Fan. Cast as famous Broadway musical comedy star Sally Ross (with an astonishing lack of temperament!), Bacall finds herself the unwilling love object of psychotic fan Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn). As security around Ross tightens, Breen vows that if he can't have Ross, no one else can. James Garner and Maureen Stapleton are underused as, respectively, Bacall's ex-husband and mother-hen secretary. Based on a good novel by Bob Randall, The Fan comes off as a slightly more expensive "stalker of the week" TV movie. Still, the film proved grimly prescient in the light of John Lennon's assassination (which occurred after the film was completed, but before its release) and the ongoing dilemma of current Broadway stars (even the lesser lights) who are forced to hire bodyguards to protect them from worshipful wackos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Bacall, James Garner, (more)
Two runaway teens face life on the streets in New York City with a devil-may-care attitude and a punk-rock image. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Curry, Trini Alvarado, (more)
- 1978
- R
John Travolta played his first romantic lead in this drama about an ill-fated May-September romance. Trisha (Lily Tomlin) is a wealthy middle-aged housewife living in Southern California. Trisha's life has become dull and uneventful, and her long-term marriage to Stu (Bert Kramer) has gone stale. One day, a handsome young drifter named Strip (Travolta), nearly 20 years her junior, happens along the beach near Trisha's house. He finds Trisha attractive, and he approaches her. Soon the two have fallen into an affair, but while Trisha enjoys Strip's company and thinks that he's handsome, it's obvious that he's more interested in her than she is in him. Moment by Moment was written and directed by Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin's longtime companion and frequent writing partner. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lily Tomlin, John Travolta, (more)
John Travolta graduated from minor celebrity to superstar with Saturday Night Fever. Travolta plays Tony Manero, a Brooklyn paint-store clerk who'd give anything to break out of his dead-end existence. In life, Tony is a peasant; on the disco dance floor, he's a king. As the soundtrack plays one Bee Gees hit after another (including "Stayin' Alive"), we watch white-suited Tony strut his stuff amidst flashing lights and sweaty, undulating bodies. Tony's class aspirations are mirrored in his relationship with his dance partner, Stephanie (Karen Lynn Gorney), a secretary eager to move into the glamorous world of Manhattan. Saturday Night Fever's huge success grew meteorically thanks to the towering popularity of its soundtrack; during the first half of 1978, when the movie's disco songs saturated the singles charts up to four at a time, it was no longer clear whether the hit movie was feeding the hit songs or the hit songs were feeding the hit movie. This crossover between music and movies set the pace for many movies to come, as it also marked the rise and fall of 1970s disco culture. Two versions of this film exist: the original R-rated version and a PG version, edited down to more "family-friendly" fare and fed to the public with the tagline, "Because we want everyone to see John Travolta's performance." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Karen Gorney, (more)
