Peter Nelson Movies

The "National Lampoon" franchise is resurrected for another politically incorrect collegiate romp with this R-rated gross-out sex comedy. National Lampoon's Van Wilder revolves around the exploits of its title character (Ryan Reynolds), a seventh-year senior who's made it his goal in life to help each and every Coolidge College undergrad succeed in life -- or at least in bed. Van's charmed life seems to have an expiration date, however; his father (Tim Matheson) has cut off his presumably vast allowance. Financial insecurity doesn't phase the big man on campus, and he soon starts up a lucrative cottage industry as a planner of high-priced campus blowouts. When an enterprising reporter from the college paper gets wind of Van's liberal interpretation of the school's code of conduct, it seems his gig is up -- unless, of course, he can charm the hard-edged Gwen (Tara Reid) into accepting his uniquely skewed world view. In addition to Matheson, Van Wilder features cameos from a number of '80s teen movie stalwarts, including Edie McClurg, Paul Gleason, and Erik Estrada. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Jacqueline Bisset stars as Maggie, a Keats-quoting professor of English literature, on the verge of celebrating her 25th anniversary. But Maggie's euphoria evaporates when she discovers that her husband Tom has been flagrantly cheating on her for these many years. Dispirited, she returns to her hometown of Harvest Moon, retreating to the tranquil lake where she had fallen in love with the late Patrick Fleming three decades earlier. By and by, the fiftysomething Maggie is attracted to Patrick's handsome son Tom (Eric Mabius), who is literally half her age. The question: Is Maggie truly enamored of Tom, or is she merely romancing the ghost of Tom's father? Valerie Harper provides some much-needed relief from the overall bathos in the traditional "wisecracking best friend" role. Based on a novel by K.C. McKinnon, the made-for-TV Dancing at the Harvest Moon first aired October 20, 2002, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A woman who believes in a troubled child must go against the law in order to help her in this made-for-TV drama, inspired by a true story. Six-year-old Caitlin is a deeply disturbed child whose violent and disruptive behavior prevents her from attending school or day care with other youngsters. However, special-education teacher Maggie Barnard (Cathy Lee Crosby) senses that there is a great intelligence in Caitlin, and she believes Caitlin can be taught if someone can find out how to reach her. However, not everyone Maggie works with agrees with her assessment, and as she attempts to break through the walls of anger and abuse that surround Caitlin's mind, she must also do battle with a system that sometimes does more harm than good to kids. Based on a true story, Untamed Love also features John Getz, Gary Frank, and Frank Novak. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After being released from an institution, a manic-depressive attempts to get custody of her 5 children and struggles with the opposition of her oldest daughter and the foster parents. ~ All Movie Guide

This drama, based on a true story, chronicles the terrifying experiences of an American divorcee who went on vacation to Turkey. As she tried to leave she found herself wrongfully accused of smuggling antiques. To her horror, she is sent to a dreaded Turkish prison. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Robert Hays stars in Murder by the Book in the dual role of mild-mannered mystery writer D. H. Mercer and his creation, hard-boiled private eye Biff Deegan. While writing his latest book, Mercer becomes so immersed in his material that he inadvertently causes Biff to come to life. Mercer teams up with his Chandleresque doppelganger to solve a genuine mystery involving art fraud, murder, and a beautiful lady in peril (Catherine Mary Stewart). Made for television, Murder By the Book was based on a novel by Mel Arrighi, titled (what else?) Alter Ego. It was filmed late in 1985 and first telecast on March 17, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this taut, futuristic drama, the maiden voyage of a hypersonic passenger jet becomes a disaster when something goes terribly wrong and it gets stuck in orbit. The film is also known as Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two Kinds of Love are experienced by young Ricky Schroder in this made-for-TV drama. One kind is the tenuous affection he extends to his estranged father (Peter Weller) when Schroder's mother (Lindsay Wagner) unexpectedly dies. The other kind consists of the teasing sensations felt by Schroder whenever he approaches a girl his own age. Two Kinds of Love was adapted from Two Kinds of Terrible, a novel by Peggy Mann. The film was originally telecast November 8, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV thriller is yet another tale of swarming killer bees. A sub-par sequel to The Savage Bees, this time around, a scientist and his cohorts set out to protect some innocent school kids from the attacking insects. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

The Dorothy Uhnak novel The Ledger was the basis of Get Christie Love! The title character, played by former Laugh-In regular Teresa Graves, is the first black woman to be hired by a big-city police force. Christie Love proves her value to her fellow officers by going undercover to smash a drug ring. First telecast January 22, 1974, Get Christie Love! served as the pilot film for the weekly TV series of the same name. That series ran from September 11, 1974 until July 18, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, young Donald Beeman (Tom Smothers) becomes disillusioned with his business career and quits to become a tap-dancing magician. However, the grass isn't always greener, and Donald soon discovers that the money-oriented aspects of his former career are starting to creep into his new life. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide