Joe Ritter Movies
Beach Balls harkens back to the teen surf films of the 1960s, with the only addition being an abundance of nudity and profanity. Even the parents are portrayed the same stereotypical way as in the 1960s films. The routine plot has teenager Charlie Harrison (Phillip Paley) looking for hot fun in the sun amidst a bevy of bikini-clad babes. Charles Gilleran plays an Erich Von Zipper character named Babcock who leads a gang of troublemakers. The film had a limited release in May of 1988 before winding up in video stores. Rock music is provided by Douglas R. Starr. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phillip Paley, Heidi Helmer, (more)
In a crazy spoof of heroic monster movies that spawned two sequels, The Toxic Avenger is about the transformation of a mild-mannered, scrawny janitor into a thundering, muscular hero out for justice, morality, and in one case, a bit of sex. Melvin (Mark Torgl) has a job as a custodian at a work-out club where his humiliating treatment by the musclebound reaches an ugly climax in which Melvin is forced to jump out of a window. He lands in a toxic waste truck, and by some miracle of modern pollution he is transformed into a pumped-up monster, heretofore known as the Toxic Avenger (Mitchell Cohen). From that moment on, TA saves damsels and others in distress by some pretty gory mauling and maiming but finds his moment of fulfillment too. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andree Maranda, Mitchell Cohen, (more)
- 1982
New Jersey convincingly stands in for Nebraska in the independently produced Plainsong. This historical vignette deals with the hardships awaiting the first plains settlers of the 19th century. Emphasis is given the travails of three women pioneers, played by Jessica Nelson, Teresanne Joseph and Lynn Traverse. The photography in Plainsong fluctuates between color and black and white throughout. This might have been a stylistic choice--or, as in the case of A Man and A Woman (66), it might have been because the budget didn't allow for color film stock on certain shooting days. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Nelson, Teresanne Joseph, (more)
