Roger Simon Movies
About a Boy director Chris Weitz takes the helm for this affecting drama about an illegal immigrant who struggles to give his teenage son a better life by working as a gardener in L.A. Determined to move out of the city in order to get his son away from gangs and into a decent school, the devoted father comes into possession of a truck that allows him to earn a better income by taking more gardening jobs. But with immigration agents on every corner and vicious gangsters trying to lure his son into a life of crime, it's a constant struggle just to survive in such an unforgiving city without being deported. Demián Bichir, José Julián, and Dolores Heredia star in a film written by Eric Eason (Journey to the End of the Night). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Demián Bichir, José Julián, (more)
When an American psychologist makes a shocking discovery about her Czech grandfather, it threatens her new romance with a famed Czech author. The doctor (Gina Gershon) came to Prague to attend a conference and to learn about her heritage. While there, she becomes involved with an ex-"dissident writer" (Rade Serbedzija) who is as famous for his work as he is for his womanizing. He falls so in love with the doctor that he vows to give up his playboy ways. At first they are happy, but then the doctor discovers that her half- Jewish grandfather horribly betrayed his people and was responsible for many unnecessary deaths. Two of those victims were related to the writer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gina Gershon, Rade Serbedzija, (more)
Woody Allen and Bette Midler star as a well-heeled couple who spend their 16th wedding anniversary at the mall shopping for a party that they're throwing that night. In the course of the shopping afternoon, they watch their marriage hit the rocks as serious problems develop when the guy admits to an earlier infidelity, and an out-and-out argument develops. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Woody Allen, (more)
Ron Silver stars as Herman, a Holocaust survivor who believes that his wife Tamara (Anjelica Huston) perished in the concentration camps. He marries fellow immigrant Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein), whose family sheltered him from the Nazis, and resettles in the Coney Island area of New York. Not all that devoted to Yadwiga, Herman begins an affair with Masha (Lena Olin), who becomes pregnant by him. Reasoning that, since Yadwiga is a gentile, his marriage is not legal in the eyes of his religion, Herman marries Masha as well. The triangle metamorphoses into a quadrangle when Tamara, who was not killed after all, reappears. Olin and Huston were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Academy Awards. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ron Silver, Anjelica Huston, (more)
- 1986
- R
Adam Swit (Raphael Sbarge) is hounded by his consumer parents in their plush L.A. home, beset by his sexually deprived sister, and faces agony at school at the hands of the tougher kids. In order to escape his troubles, he daydreams about a fantastic young woman. Lo and behold, a dead-ringer for his dream woman shows up at school one day as a transfer student (Page Hannah) and Adam sets out to befriend her right away. On their first date they find a teacher in the parking lot who has just been severely worked over by a gang of thugs. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Raphael Sbarge, Page Hannah, (more)
It's The African Queen meets Richard Pryor in this schmaltzy and salty attempt by Pryor to appeal to the family crowd. Pryor plays Joe Braxton, an inept burglar whose parole officer Donald (Robert Christian) wants to help out. Knowing that Joe is an excellent mechanic, he refers him to Vivian Perry (Cicely Tyson), the director of a school for emotionally disturbed children. The school is about to close for lack of funds, and Vivian wants to flee Philadelphia with eight of her charges and get to a farm in Washington State where the children can grow up in the fresh air and away from the urban environment. Joe is enlisted to drive the bus, which continually breaks down en route, permitting Joe plenty of time to interact with the kids -- taking them fishing, teaching them strip poker, and convincing a Vietnamese girl not to sell her body. The prim and proper Vivian holds up her nose at the vulgar and sloppy Joe, so it is inevitable that at journey's end the two will find true romance. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Richard Dreyfuss plays Moses Wine, an ex-Sixties radical who pays the bills as a private eye. Wine is hired to stem a smear campaign against a popular political candidate. Gradually the plot thickens into a murder case, involving a hippie leader whose values, like Wine's, have been severely compromised over the years - and who plans to blow up a major LA freeway as a protest. Susan Anspach provides a great deal of dramatic (and sexual) tension as Wine's boss. Among the minor players are future stars Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham. The Big Fix was adapted by Roger L. Simon from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, (more)
- 1971
- R
One of a number of films that dealt with addiction following the explosion of recreational drug use in the 1960s, Jennifer on My Mind opens as footloose twentysomething Marcus (Michael Brandon) is wandering through Europe. In Venice, he meets a beautiful young woman named Jenny (Tippy Walker); they fall in love, start travelling together, and smoke an awful lot of marijuana. When Jenny decides to return to the United States and heads back to New York, Marcus tags along, but before long (as usually happens in films of this sort), Jenny moves from pot to harder drugs, and Marcus has to deal with the fact the woman he loves has become a heroin addict. Written by Erich Segal, who had earlier gained fame for Love Story, Jennifer on My Mind also features a prescient supporting performance by Robert DeNiro, who plays a taxi driver. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Brandon, Tippy Walker, (more)
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