Michael Montgomery Movies

The long-running cartoon from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera that began life in 1969 as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? becomes this live-action, tongue-in-cheek comedy-adventure featuring a computer-generated version of the easily frightened, mush-mouthed Great Dane. Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Fred, the blonde, confident, ascot-sporting leader of Mystery Inc., a ghost-busting service that exposes phony supernatural phenomena as the work of shysters. Working with Fred are: his rich, beautiful girlfriend, Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who has a bad habit of getting kidnapped by villains; Velma (Linda Cardellini), the real brains of the group who pines secretly for Fred; cowardly slacker and dog's best friend Shaggy (Matthew Lillard); and the snack-gobbling pet pooch Scooby. However, after solving its latest case involving a beleaguered toy company owner (Pamela Anderson), the group fractures over Fred's habit of grabbing credit for everyone's hard work, despite the pleas of Shaggy and Scooby. Two years later, they are reunited at Spooky Island, a theme park and teen spring break destination that owner Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson) claims is plagued with ghosts. Suspicious as usual of any claims involving the paranormal, the Mystery Inc. clan is soon probing a scheme involving ancient rites, summoned spirits, and brainwashed college students, forcing the group members to resolve their differences and uncover the truth. Directed by Chris Columbus protégé Raja Gosnell, Scooby-Doo features the voice of Scott Innes as the title character. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

One of Fred Williamson's more unusual efforts as both actor and director, this one features the action star as a cigar-smoking detective named Mac Derringer. He is enlisted by his ex-wife (Vanity), a phone-sex operator, to catch the masked psychopath who murdered her co-worker. With the aid of partner Gary Busey and friend Peter Fonda, Derringer closes in on the maniac, but is soon framed for murder. Williamson has an interracial love scene, there's a stoolie who raps, and a subplot involves blackmail and pornography. The Jeffersons' Isabel Sanford appears as Derringer's mother, and the familiar genre cast features Stella Stevens, Robert Forster, and Henry Silva. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In Ernest Goes to Jail, Jim Varney returns as leering idiot savant Ernest P. Worrall, star of scores of TV commercials and feature films. Varney also takes on a second role in the film: an unrepentant, cold-blooded murderer named Felix Nash. When Ernest serves on the jury for Nash's murder trial, Nash arranges for look-alike Ernest to go to jail, while he stays on the outside to plan a major bank heist. Fortuitously for the criminal, it's the same bank where Ernest works as a security guard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The budget may be loftier, but Eye of the Tiger is essentially an up-to-date AIP motorcycle flick. Ex-convict Buck Mathews (Gary Busey) lives as quietly as possible in his old home town. The corrupt local sheriff (Seymour Cassel) would give anything to drive Buck out of town: thus, the sheriff looks the other way when a motorcycle gang headed by Blade (William Smith, who else?) invades the community and targets Buck for extermination. With no one else on his side, Buck turns to honest cop J.B. Deveraux (Yaphet Kotto), but he's a few days away from retirement and doesn't want to get involved. It turns out that the only "good guy" Buck can depend upon is a "bad guy": A well-connected Latino drug lord who owes Buck a favor. When the chips are down and Buck's daughter is kidnapped, Deveraux joins in the climactic offensive against the bikers--which, of course, boils down to a mano-y-mano struggle between Buck and Blade. You've seen it all before, but in this case familiarity does not breed contempt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide