Dunne, Griffin

An American Werewolf in London

Remember back in the early 1980s when special-effects makeup artists were tripping over themselves to create the next big effect? The Howling boasted a fantastic werewolf transformation scene courtesy of makeup wizard Rob Bottin. Then along came Bottin's mentor, Rick Baker, with his own spectacular effects in this popular horror comedy directed by John Landis. An American Werewolf in London is more of a makeup showcase than a truly satisfying movie, but the film is effectively moody when David Naughton discovers that a wolf attack has turned him into a bloodthirsty lycanthrope. Jenny Agutter plays his love interest (watch out, he bites!), and who can forget Griffin Dunne as Naughton's best friend, an undead corpse who progressively rots away as the plot unfolds? All things considered, it's easy to see why An American Werewolf in London became a modern horror favorite. --Jeff Shannon

Johnny Dangerously

This dispensable 1984 comedy is a mostly humorless parody of '30s gangster movies, the kind of thing that might work reasonably well in a five-minute sketch on Saturday Night Live but which nearly beats a viewer to death over the course of a feature. Michael Keaton and Joe Piscopo play rival Mafia bosses, but once the novelty of that is introduced, it's already old. There's plenty of sustained effort from the rest of the cast (Marilu Henner, Danny DeVito, Maureen Stapleton), with Griffin Dunne getting special points. Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) directs as if this were indeed on television. --Tom Keogh

In Amy Heckerling's hilarious send-up of 1930s gangster films, Michael Keaton stars as Johnny Dangerously, a devoted son who turns to a life of crime in order to pay for his mother's operation. As a dapper kingpin, he manages to provide support for her never-ending medical problems while romancing a steamy torch singer (Marilu Henner), battling arch-rival Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo) and exposing a corrupt D.A. (Danny DeVito). It's a zany, wild spoof that's riddled with as many gags as bullet holes.

40 Days and 40 Nights

After being brutally dumped by his knockout ex-girlfriend, Matt (Josh Hartnett, Pearl Harbor) is so torn up inside that he vows to give up sexual activity--including masturbation--for Lent. His friends and coworkers start betting on how soon he'll crack. Their skepticism is given fuel when Matt meets Erica (Shannyn Sossamon, A Knight's Tale) at a laundromat. They're immediately smitten with each other, but Matt struggles to stay true to his vow, even though it threatens to founder his potential relationship with Erica. Based on this description, you might think that 40 Days and 40 Nights is religious educational video--however, the barrage of sex gags and frequent nudity would quickly dispel this notion. Almost nothing in this movie remotely resembles human behavior. Some movies are so deeply stupid that they're depressing to watch; this is one of them. --Bret Fetzer

An outrageously sexy comedy starring Josh Hartnett (PEARL HARBOR, BLACK HAWK DOWN) and Shannyn Sossamon (A KNIGHT'S TALE), 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS is another hilarious hit from the producers of NOTTING HILL and BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY. On the heels of a disastrous breakup and a string of unfulfilling romantic conquests, Matt Sullivan (Hartnett) yearns to become a better, more complete person. In the midst of his despair, he chooses to test himself by making a vow of no sex whatsoever for 40 days and 40 nights! With everyone betting he won't finish ... and a seductive new girl in his life (Sossamon) ... it's all Matt can do to just hold on! Fun, fresh, and wildly entertaining -- you'll agree with critics everywhere who found this sexy comedy adventure totally irresistible!

Amazon Women on the Moon - Collector's Edition

Contrary to popular rumor, this 1987 collection of comedy skits is not about a group of female employees from Amazon.com on a mission to the lunar surface. It's a series of unrelated spoofs and sketches designed to resemble an aimless night of TV channel-surfing, and the satirical targets include grade-Z science fiction films of the 1950s, sex films of the 1930s, hospital soap operas, and Playboy video centerfolds. There's a charity drive in which legendary bluesman B.B. King pleas for donations to help "Blacks Without Soul," and Ed Begley Jr. thinks he's the son of the Invisible Man, which would be fine if he weren't as visible as everyone else. The various sketches feature an all-star cast including Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne, Carrie Fisher, Michelle Pfeiffer, the late Phil Hartman in an early role, and many others. It's strictly hit-or-miss, and many of the sketches fall flat, especially since the subjects being spoofed (the title sketch is a send-up of the actual 1954 movie Cat Women on the Moon) are funny enough without being satirized. Even though Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide describes most of the sketches as "astonishingly unfunny," this can be a very amusing movie if you're in the mood for a no-brainer with a lot of familiar Hollywood faces. Now a modest little cult film, it's the kind of disposable entertainment that maintains its appeal almost in spite of itself. --Jeff Shannon

After Hours

This well-regarded cult film is a tense Kafka-esque tale concerning what happens to a likable computer guy who is in the wrong place at the wrong time in the city that never sleeps--New York. This is a New York infested with bizarre characters vividly brought to life by a once-in-a-lifetime cast. Griffin Dunne's wonderfully controlled comic performance as Paul Hackett is the glue that holds this increasingly surreal film together. Scorsese utilizes a full array of independent and underground film techniques, including special film speed manipulations, angles, and edits, deftly capturing the strange rhythms of an after-hours New York City. Many will find the jokes clever, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Some, however, will find the film an excruciating series of staged circumstances setting up a sadistically cruel dark nightmare of horrors. And there are a few lines of dialogue so poorly written they remind you how unbelievable the thin story really is. But forgive the film these few lapses--overall it's a wild, surreal ride. The most offbeat character is the beehive-sporting, Monkee-obsessed neurotic played to perfection by Teri Garr. And the moment when Griffin Dunne uses his last quarter to play Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is" and dances with Verna Bloom while an angry mob searches SoHo for him is an inspired bit of lunacy. --Christopher J. Jarmick

A Manhattan Yuppie's night out becomes a comic nightmare courtesy of director Martin Scorsese. Griffin Dunne and Rosanna Arquette star in a "wild funny and wonderful original" (Judith Crist) Year: 1985 Director: Martin Scorsese Starring: Griffin Dunne Rosanna Arquette Verna BloomRunning Time: 97 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 085391919209

Who's That Girl?

After Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna was proclaimed a promising screen presence, but the one-two punch of Shanghai Surprise and Who's That Girl put a dent in her ascent. Directed by James Foley, who worked with Sean Penn in At Close Range (and shot the video for "Papa Don't Preach"), it's an aggressively 1980s gloss on the screwball comedies of the 1930s. Jonathan Demme pulled off the gambit in Something Wild, but lightning did not strike twice. As the proceedings begin, platinum blonde bubblehead Nikki Finn (Madonna in Judy Holliday-gone-punk mode) has just been released from prison for a crime she didn't commit. Loudon Trott (Griffin Dunne, After Hours), a fastidious tax attorney, is assigned by future father-in-law Mr. Worthington to make sure she gets on the bus to Philly. (Turns out Worthington was involved with Nikki's bid in the pokey.) Loudon is also charged with delivering a rare cougar to eccentric superior Montgomery Bell (Sir John Mills)--on the day before his nuptials. In short order, the cat escapes and Nikki drags Loudon away from his wedding preparations to clear her name. Along the way, these two diametrically opposed entities fall improbably in love. The movie may have bombed, but the soundtrack, featuring four Madonna tracks, was a hit. Co-written by Ken Finkleman (The Newsroom) and lensed by Jan DeBont (Speed), Who's That Girl is manna for Madonna-philes. All others are advised to proceed with caution--or head straight for Howard Hawks' timeless Bringing Up Baby instead. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Four years unjustly jailed haven't dampened the spirits or determination of Nikki Finn. The spunky parolee sets out to clear her name - and sets the Big Apple spinning in deliriously funny ways. "Madonna is sexy and funny - a very engaging comedian" Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote of her work in Who's That Girl. The music/movie superstar displays kicky comic flair and sings four terrific soundtrack tunes (Causing a Commotion The Look of Love Can't Stop and the title song). Griffin Dunne co-stars as an uptight soon-to-wed attorney whose mild lifestyle swerves into the path of uproarious oncoming traffic courtesy of Nikki. This frisky caper proves screwball comedy is alive and swell.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 012569734050 Manufacturer No: 73405

Quiz Show

This vigorously entertaining film, sharply directed by Robert Redford from Paul Attanasio's brilliant screenplay, is based on the game-show scandals of the 1950s, when TV quiz shows were rigged to attract higher ratings and lucrative sponsorships. The fact-based story focuses on the quiz show Twenty-One and popular contestant Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a charming, well-bred intellectual who agreed to win the game by using answers supplied by the show's producers. This unfair advantage turned Van Doren into a prototypical media darling at the expense of reigning Twenty-One champion Herbie Stempel (John Turturro, in a bravura performance), a working-class Jewish contestant who, according to the show's sponsors, had worn out his welcome in the public eye. When a congressional investigator (Rob Morrow) catches on to the scam and Stempel blows the whistle on this backstage manipulation, Quiz Show becomes a smart, political exposé about the first generation of television, the corrupting effect of celebrity and success, and the ongoing loss of innocence in American society. Bristling with superior dialogue and energized by an excellent cast including Paul Scofield as Van Doren's morally upstanding father, Quiz Show succeeds as history lesson, intelligent thriller, and morality tale, setting the stage for the countless scandals that would follow in a nation addicted to television. --Jeff Shannon

Academy Award(R)-winner Robert Redford's (1981, Best Director, ORIDINARY PEOPLE) critically acclaimed triumph, QUIZ SHOW, was cheered as one of the year's 10 best films by more than 80 critics nationwide. It's an exciting look behind the scenes at the thrills and high-stakes competition of TV's hottest big-money game show! But fame and fortune become a hotbed of scandal when a Washington investigator (Rob Morrow -- NORTHERN EXPOSURE) uncovers corruption beneath the quiz show's glittering facade. The scandal implicates both the wildly popular champion (Ralph Fiennes -- 1996 Academy Award(R) Best Actor nominee, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and the disgruntled ex-champ (John Turturro, O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?). A powerful story with unforgettable performances -- don't miss this suspense-filled hit!

My Girl

A doomed Macaulay Culkin becomes the object of affection for a little girl (Anna Chlumsky), estranged from her widowed father (Dan Aykroyd). This somewhat daring premise has various emotional buffers to keep young viewers from going into shock from Culkin's demise, but the film is also not shut off from real feelings. And while the story remains safely predictable, at the end of the day it is still a bittersweet experience. Culkin's performance is okay in that somewhat mannered way of his post-Home Alone career, but Anna Chlumsky is unusually sophisticated in her understanding of her character and situation. Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis are perfectly stable as the kids' single parents. Directed by Howard Zieff (Private Benjamin). The DVD release has a full-screen presentation, Dolby sound, theatrical trailer, and optional French and Spanish soundtracks. --Tom Keogh

Once Around

Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter lead an all-star cast in this critically acclaimed tale of life, love and chance. Jilted by her boyfriend, Renata (Hunter), the oldest daughter of a close-knit Italian-American family, falls in love with Sam (Dreyfuss), an abrasive and forcefully charming businessman. But neither her spirited sister (Laura San Giacomo), her down-to-earth father (Danny Aiello), or her supportive mother (Gena Rowlands) can tolerate Sam's often obnoxious intrusion into their family circle. Aggressive and overwhelmingly generous, Sam proceeds - with only the best intentions - to disrupt and nearly demolish Renata's family. Love, humor and forgiveness go once more around as the Bellas try to balance Renata's happiness with their family's survival in this funny and often touching story, directed by Lasse Hallstrom.

I Like It Like That

A Latina woman from the Bronx shakes up her life--which consists of a difficult marriage and three kids--by taking a job at a Manhattan recording company. Playing the central character, Lauren Vélez has a captivating rough beauty that suggests her suspension between misery and grace. Director Darnell Martin also has a kind of unpolished approach that keeps the film looking a bit amateurish. But Martin's observations of and insights into the heroine's world--a slice of American Latino life that hasn't been particularly well represented on film--are original and potent. Griffin Dunne is very good in a supporting role as the heroine's exploitative boss. --Tom Keogh

Director Darnell Martin's acclaimed debut film stars Lauren Velez Jon Seda Rita Moreno and Griffin Dunne as members of a battling Bronx family filled with love passion and real-life choices. When her well-meaning husband China is arrested a young mother Lisette finds herself unprepared to support the family. Fast-talking her way into a job with a record producer Griffin Dunne Lisette quickly discovers her own hidden talents. But the boys in the neighborhood report back to Chino that Lisette is "dating" her bigwig boss leading to a major confrontation that changes their life together.System Requirements:Running Time: 106 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396042162 Manufacturer No: 04216