Patti Carr Movies

Just when it seems that nothing else could go wrong with the preparations for the marriage of Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel), Best Man Eric (Will Friedle) throws another spanner in the works by changing the locale of the wedding from the Matthews home to the very expensive Philadelphia Victorian Hotel--"borrowing" someone else's catered ceremony in the process, and forgetting to pick up the rings to boot! And why didn't Cory choose Shawn (Rider Strong) as Best Man instead? Well, he did--but Shawn had angrily refused to show up at the wedding after a particularly nasty argument with the bridegroom. Series regular Will Friedle plays a dual role in this Very Special episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

College freshman Cory (Ben Savage) feels intellectually inferior to Alexandra (Alexandra Nechita), an art prodigy who is the same age as his younger sister Morgan (Lindsay Ridgeway). Figuring that brilliance is hereditary, Ben holds his "merely average" dad Alan (William Russ) responsible for his lack of genius. As for Alexandra, she merely wants to be regarded as a normal kid by people her own age--and happily, Morgan is willing to oblige. And elsewhere, Jack (Matthew Lawrence) thinks he has died and gone to heaven when, after saving Rachel (Maitland Ward) from choking to death, she offers to give him anything--ANYTHING--in return! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having sprained his ankle during the senior class ski trip, Cory is nursed back to health by pretty Lauren (Linda Cardellini, in her first series appearance). Inevitably, he is attracted to the girl--but can't admit it without hurting Topanga (Danielle Fishel). Alas, that is just what happens when Cory and Lauren end up sharing a kiss...and Topanga find out by sheerest accident. Yes, it's another pivotal episode of Boy Meets World. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode was originally part of a "special edition" of ABC's "T.G.I.F." lineup, in which all of the network's Friday-night sitcoms were linked by events occurring on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. After Sabrina's talking cat Salem swallows a "time-ball", Cory (Ben Savage) and his friends are transported back to the 1940s. While Cory is in Europe fighting the war, his pal Shawn (Rider Strong) and his gal Topanga (Danielle Fishel) remain in America. When word comes that Cory is missing in action, Shawn grimly prepares to carry out his promise to marry Topanga in the event of his friend's demise--while Cory, suffering from amnesia, dallies with a delectable mademoiselle named Versailles (Yvonne Scio). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A slick Los Angeles callboy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama. High-living prostitute Julian Kay (Richard Gere, stepping in for John Travolta) has it all: the Mercedes, the clothes, access to Beverly Hills' swankiest establishments, and a stable of rich, older female clients. But it all falls apart after he does a favor for his former pimp (Bill Duke) and the trick turns up dead a short while later; Julian's actual client won't give him an alibi, and police detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) doesn't believe the gigolo's denials. The one person who can help him is frustrated politician's wife (and sole non-paying bedmate) Michelle (Lauren Hutton), if only Julian could let down his defenses and accept her gesture of love. Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, American Gigolo surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980s decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me". ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide