John Paragon Movies

David Hasselhoff, Thomas Gottschalk and Cheech Marin play modern-day descendants of the original Three Musketeers. Though it's now the 20th century and derring-do is generally considered passe, these retro musketeers still subscribe to the old "all for one, one for all." They go to the rescue of a young boy who has been kidnapped by gangsters. Alison Doody, Harrison Ford's vis-a-vis in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, costars as a distaff Musketeer, while another Jones alumnus, John Rhys-Davies, huffs and puffs in a supporting role. Ring of the Musketeers has just enough violence and peril to justify its PG-13 rating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a bumbling but brilliant scientist (Rick Moranis) accidentally makes his two-year-old son into a giant who becomes larger every time he comes in contact with electricity. Though he and his wife try to control their son, the child inevitably escapes and wreaks havoc, eventually terrorizing the streets of Las Vegas. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

It's a sleepover when Pee-wee and Miss Yvonne plan a pajama party. Cowboy Curtis despairs because he hasn't any PJs, until Jambi comes to the rescue. And when Pee-wee declares that he loves his fruit salad, Roger the Monster quips "Then why don't you marry it?" -- whereupon our hero replies "All right, I will" (and he does!). P.S.: The secret word is "Watch." "Pajama Party" was first released on video in tandem with "To Tell the Tooth" in Volume 4 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Usually the question is "Wish? Did someone say 'Wish'?" But not today, when Jambi the genie is suffering from that most dreaded of all diseases, "Mekka-Lekka-Hi-Mekka-Heinyitis." Pee-wee is forced to call in a specialist, magical medico Dr. Jinga-Janga (played by Bernard Fox in homage to his "Dr. Bombay" character on Bewitched). Meanwhile, Randy makes trouble, and everyone SCREAMS REAL LOUD when hearing today's magic word, "Go." "Sick? Did Someone Say Sick" was released on video in tandem with "Miss Yvonne's Visit" in Volume 8 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

UHF is the film debut of comedy-rock satirist Weird Al Yankovic, who also co-wrote the screenplay. George Newman (Yankovic) and his friend, Bob (David Bowe from The Cable Guy), are fired from their jobs at Burger World. So George decides to take over channel 62, a failing local TV station that his Uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) won in a poker game. George turns it around into an overnight success after letting the janitor, Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards from Seinfeld), host a kid's show. George then fills the broadcast day with bizarre programming, bringing the ratings up and saving the station. Soon, rival station CEO R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) of channel 8 threatens to sabotage the successful station and George must come up with a way to save it. Only loosely constructed around this story line, UHF is mostly a series of TV, movie, and music parodies strung together and played for cheap laughs. UHF also stars Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Fran Drescher. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Season three of Pee-Wee's Playhouse finds the irrepressible Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) and the whole Playhouse gang (human and otherwise) back for even more hilarious adventures -- though not as many adventures as in previous seasons, inasmuch as only a handful new episodes were produced. In "I Remember Curtis," Pee-Wee reminisces about his old pal Cowboy Curtis (yes, that's a young Laurence Fishburne) with the help of clips from previous episodes. Future Law & Order co-star S. Epatha Merkerson is prominently featured as Reba the Mail Lady in "Reba Eats, Pterri Runs." Jimmy Smits guest stars as a muscular computer repairman in "Conky's Breakdown." In "To Tell the Tooth," Pee-wee must practice what he preaches after admonishing his friends not to be scared by the dentist. A frantic search is conducted for several of Pee-Wee's favorite playthings in "Mystery." A popular singing trio is spotlighted in "Dr. Pee-Wee and the Del Rubios" "Front Page Pee-Wee" finds our hero transforming the playhouse into a newspaper office. And rascally Randy accidentally causes a"Fire in the Playhouse," though Fireman Frank (Stephen Parry) prevents things from getting out of hand. ~ All Movie Guide

This lightweight and slightly ribald comedy marks the feature film debut of Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), a buxom seductress best known for hosting a popular syndicated television show that features wonderfully bad old horror movies. After losing her latest job for refusing to sleep with her new boss, Elvira tries to launch a Vegas career. Just before that scheme falls flat, she finds salvation when an aunt dies and leaves her a huge old New England mansion. When the black-clad and sexy Elvira, with her flamboyant make-up and acres of cleavage hit the town, she creates an instant scandal amongst the old folks and inspires lusty dreams in the minds of the young. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this youthful surfing adventure, a hot young surfer wins a wave-tank contest in his native Arizona and decides to temporarily abandon his studies to hit the fantastic waves of the Hawaiian North shore pipeline. Once there, he is derided by the other surfers because nobody believes that a boy from the desert could possibly know anything about surfing real waves. Fortunately, an aging hippie (and supremo surfer), who designs boards for a living, believes in him and so teaches him the ropes. While learning about the sea and preparing for an international surfing competition, the boy also learns valuable lessons about life and love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

There are screams aplenty when Conky reveals that the secret word is "It." But Pee-wee doesn't want to scream, especially after a toothache sends him to the dentist. For all his preaching about proper dental care, Pee-wee is terrrified at the prospect of oral surgery -- though it (big scream!) turns out, his fears are unfounded. "To Tell the Tooth" (sometimes mislabeled "To Tell the Truth") was first released on video in tandem with "Pajama Party" in Volume 4 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The big news for season two of Pee-Wee's Playhouse is the selfsame Playhouse's "new look"--which extends to redesigning several puppet characters, notably Globey. Though Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens), Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne), and many other regulars are still in attendance, there are also several new faces including Suzanne Kent as neighbor lady Mrs. Rene and William Marshall as the King of Cartoons, replacing the previous season's Gilbert Lewis. The season's ten half-hour episodes include "Open House," in which Pee-wee supervises the Playhouse's makeover; "Puppy in the Playhouse," wherein our hero tries to adopt a doggy that already belongs to one of his best friends, Reba the Mail Lady (S. Epatha Merkerson); "Store," wherein Miss Yvonne goes shopping at Pee-Wee's imaginary convenience shop; "Pee-Wee Catches a Cold," an object lesson in how anything can be cured with a good dose of chicken soup; "Why Wasn't I Invited," in which a misunderstanding almost causes Pee-Wee to miss the Countess' big party; "Tons of Fun," highlighted by a lip-synched performance "That Certain Feeling" (original artist: Bob Hope); "School," which brings Christopher Columbus briefly back to the land of the living; "Spring," a study in disconsolation as Pee-Wee fails to make the baseball team; "Playhouse in Outer Space," which proves that even a secret word like "Zyzzybalubah" can crop up in casual conversation; and "Pajama Party," which delivers just what the title promises (and it's co-ed, too!) For its second season, Pee-Wee's Playhouse earned still another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series. ~ All Movie Guide

Today's secret word is "Okay" --- and as a bonus, everybody gets a secret name in this episode. Pee-wee coaxes his Playhouse pals to sketch his portrait in crayon. He then pays a visit to a mousehole, only to get stuck. Jambi saves the day by shrinking Pee-wee's head, but is it a permanent shrinkage? (After all, he only gets one wish.) Calvert DeForest, a.k.a. "Larry 'Bud' Melman' from Late Night with David Letterman, guest-stars as new gang member Rusty. "The Gang's All Here" was first released on video in tandem with "Party" in Volume 5 of Pee-wee's Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide