Presley, Priscilla

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

The fast-paced and often seamy world of rock 'n' roll is his beat, but even detective Ford Fairlane (Andrew Dice Clay) is stunned when the king of shock-jocks, Johnny Crunch (Gilbert Gottfried), is electrocuted on the air. After all, Crunch was his only paying client! Crunch had hired Ford to track down a mysterious teenage groupie name Zuzu Petals - a search which quickly finds Ford tangled up, and trading insults, with a ruthless record executive (Wayne Newton) and merciless hit man (Robert Englund).

The Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad!

David Zucker--of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker creative troika behind Airplane! and television's Police Squad!--directed this 1988 feature film based on the latter show. Leslie Nielsen returns to his old TV role of Lt. Frank Drebin, the deadpan idiot with a detective's badge. The reinvention of the failed series as a theatrical feature seems to have inspired everyone involved to make a pretty funny movie, and the jokes gather a momentum that lasts until the final act. Ricardo Montalban is a perfect foil as a villain whose aquarium is being invaded by Drebin during routine questioning, and George Kennedy is delightful in a self-parodying part as an earnest but obtuse lawman. There's a hilarious bit when Drebin--wearing a live police wire while going to the bathroom--can be overheard over the loudspeakers at a speech given by a flustered mayor (Nancy Marchand). Yes, that's O.J. Simpson as a detective who ends up on the wrong side of numerous Drebin blunders. --Tom Keogh

The Naked Gun 33 1/3 - The Final Insult

The usual way of the world is that sequels amount to thinner and thinner carbon copies of the original. But not in the case of Naked Gun movies, which only seemed to get funnier with each new entry. This third episode in the series finds Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) retired from his police squad and married to the woman of his dreams (Priscilla Presley). But he is pressed back into action to infiltrate a group of terrorists who plan to blow up the Oscars. The filmmakers make hay with spoofs of prison films and, particularly, of the Oscars themselves, in an award-show send-up that includes such real-life stars as Raquel Welch and Pia Zadora--and Drebin being mistaken for Phil Donahue. The takeoff on the dreadful production numbers that always drag out the Academy Awards will have you howling. --Marshall Fine

The Naked Gun 2 1/2 - The Smell of Fear

It's more of Leslie Nielsen's Lt. Frank Drebin, the bumbling cop from the old Police Squad! television series. This time, Drebin uncovers a plot--led by supervillain Robert Goulet!--to sabotage America's energy policy. The jokes don't stick as well as those of the first film (Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!), but there are some very funny slapstick moments, including several involving former First Lady Barbara Bush (played by an actress, of course). --Tom Keogh

Elvis by the Presleys

The King of Rock and Roll would have turned 70 in 2005, the same year Elvis by the Presleys was released. An impressive number, but it's a pea in the ocean compared to the amount of posthumous products bearing his name; and the really amazing part is that some of them actually manage to shed new light on this much-studied icon. Assuming one has the time, stamina, and interest to wade through the enormous amount of material presented on Elvis by the Presleys, this ambitious, well-made documentary-reminiscence certainly falls into that category.

The presence and participation of Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla, and daughter Lisa Marie, as well as Priscilla's parents and sister, Elvis' first cousin, and "Memphis Mafia" member Jerry Schilling, lend an air of authenticity to the project. There isn't a lot here about Elvis' music, although the interpolation of many clips from his TV appearances, movies, concert performances, and recordings more than adequately convey the singer's ineffable (and apparently eternal) appeal. Elvis by the Presleys is more specifically designed to provide an inside look at the day-to-day life of Presley, his family, and those in his immediate orbit, and on that level it succeeds rather well.

There is a lot of talk here--nearly four and half hours' worth (including bonus material), spread out over two discs. Some of the territory covered is yawn-inducingly familiar: Elvis was well-mannered but moody, he was exceedingly generous, he loved Christmas, he appreciated his fans, and on and on. But there are more surprising (at least to the casual fan) revelations as well: Presley was an accomplished horseman; he was not only a good Christian but a voracious reader with an interest in spiritual as well as purely religious matters (he even joined the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles); and he suffered mightily from insomnia. Moreover, while this is a loving tribute, it's not hagiography. Priscilla makes it clear that she and everyone else around Elvis were expected to surrender their own lives to suit his needs and whims, a demand she eventually found unendurable. Nor do they gloss over Elvis' final years, when he was fat, drug-ridden, and disillusioned. Little matter that Elvis Presley is dead. Long live the King! --Sam Graham

ELVIS BY THE PRESLEYS, a new entertainment special that will feature a collection of new, intimate interviews with his former wife, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, and their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, includes exclusive, never-before-seen television performances, photographs from the Presley Estate archives and Presley family home movies.

In the special, Priscilla and Lisa Marie speak with unguarded candor about their lives with the legendary Elvis Presley and offer an intimate look at their family and private life. Rare interviews with Elvis's first cousin, Patsy Presley Geranen, and Priscilla's parents, Ann and Paul Beaulieu, are also featured.

Vintage, never-before-seen performance footage will be interwoven with photographs from the Presley Estate archives and press coverage of Elvis over the years. Private home movies of the Presley family illustrate and illuminate his story with vivid detail, honest insight and great warmth. Different aspects of Elvis's life, including his tours, his time in Hollywood and his home life, are depicted with the insight that only his family can bring. His career ups and downs, his kindness and generosity and his human frailties are all brought to light as well as a reflection on his place in entertainment history and his enduring legacy.

Love is Forever

Love Is Forever

LOVE IS FOREVER (DVD MOVIE)

The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear

It's more of Leslie Nielsen's Lt. Frank Drebin, the bumbling cop from the old Police Squad! television series. This time, Drebin uncovers a plot--led by supervillain Robert Goulet!--to sabotage America's energy policy. The jokes don't stick as well as those of the first film (Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!), but there are some very funny slapstick moments, including several involving former First Lady Barbara Bush (played by an actress, of course). --Tom Keogh

The Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad!

David Zucker--of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker creative troika behind Airplane! and television's Police Squad!--directed this 1988 feature film based on the latter show. Leslie Nielsen returns to his old TV role of Lt. Frank Drebin, the deadpan idiot with a detective's badge. The reinvention of the failed series as a theatrical feature seems to have inspired everyone involved to make a pretty funny movie, and the jokes gather a momentum that lasts until the final act. Ricardo Montalban is a perfect foil as a villain whose aquarium is being invaded by Drebin during routine questioning, and George Kennedy is delightful in a self-parodying part as an earnest but obtuse lawman. There's a hilarious bit when Drebin--wearing a live police wire while going to the bathroom--can be overheard over the loudspeakers at a speech given by a flustered mayor (Nancy Marchand). Yes, that's O.J. Simpson as a detective who ends up on the wrong side of numerous Drebin blunders. --Tom Keogh

The Naked Gun 33 1/3: the Final Insult

The usual way of the world is that sequels amount to thinner and thinner carbon copies of the original. But not in the case of Naked Gun movies, which only seemed to get funnier with each new entry. This third episode in the series finds Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) retired from his police squad and married to the woman of his dreams (Priscilla Presley). But he is pressed back into action to infiltrate a group of terrorists who plan to blow up the Oscars. The filmmakers make hay with spoofs of prison films and, particularly, of the Oscars themselves, in an award-show send-up that includes such real-life stars as Raquel Welch and Pia Zadora--and Drebin being mistaken for Phil Donahue. The takeoff on the dreadful production numbers that always drag out the Academy Awards will have you howling. --Marshall Fine