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Car Wash

Richard Pryor's face is plastered all over the cover of Car Wash, but don't be fooled. This slight comedy, made in 1976, is an ensemble piece much like Robert Altman's or Alan Rudolph's all-star movies in that there are a lot of familiar faces who have relatively little screen time or business to attend to. Set in smoggy Los Angeles, the film opens with a radio announcer's voiceover, "Hey, hey, L.A. It's a brand new day." And the camera pans the street, zooming in on the Dee-Luxe Car Wash, which is owned by the ultimate cheapskate, Mr. B (Sully Boyar). In rapid succession, we're introduced to a dizzying array of characters who all work or hang out at the car wash: drag queen Lindy (Antonio Fargas), brothers Floyd and Lloyd who want to be in show business, a hip brother, an angry brother, a taxi driver (George Carlin), cashier Marsha (Melanie Mayron), and a plethora of "types" who wash, dry, and polish everything in sight while making time to make time. Car Wash doesn't do much or have a lot to say, the laughs aren't particularly original, and the actors don't have much to do save for Fargas, whose role as a drag queen was groundbreaking because the character wasn't discriminated against or killed at the end. Even Richard Pryor is wasted in his single scene as a wealthy preacher named Daddy Rich. Car Wash, which was written by mainstream director Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin, Falling Down, The Client), is ultimately uneventful. Its revival on DVD is puzzling because it looks about as faded, dated, and undistinguished as a rusty old car. --Paula Nechak

B.A.P.S.

Can two clueless Georgia homegirls with big hearts -- and even bigger hair -- find happiness fame and thrills in the swank hills of Beverly? Anything is possible when you are B.A.P.'sRunning Time: 91 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 794043692529

What was director Robert Townsend thinking? His movies, such as The Five Heartbeats and The Hollywood Shuffle, are sweet, enjoyable little pictures. But this "comedy" about two flashy Georgia women hoping to find money and men in Los Angeles is stereotypical, unfunny, embarrassing, and boring. Halle Berry and newcomer Natalie Desselle are trapped in pitiful roles playing against the distinguished but miscast Martin Landau and a wasted Ian Richardson. B.A.P.S., by the way, stands for black American princesses. There are better urban comedies out there, the badly named Booty Call for one. --Rochelle O'Gorman

The Richard Pryor Collection (Which Way is Up?/ Brewster`s Millions/ Car Wash/ Bustin` Loose)

The Fog

Horror master John Carpenter offers up a triple treat with The Fog: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, and Janet Leigh all in the same movie. As if that weren't enough, both John Houseman and Hal Holbrook make appearances, each clearly enjoying the novelty of being in a horror flick. The Fog opens just before the centennial celebration of the seaside town of Antonio Bay. Then the witching hour strikes, glowing fog rolls in, and all hell breaks loose. Carpenter wrote the script with producer Debra Hill, his collaborator on Halloween, and the two know their craft. It's a creepy story and a tight script, and, as in their previous effort, the audience gets to know the main characters a bit before they're put in danger. The movie also has a sly sense of humor: "Things seem to happen to me," says slasher vet Jamie Lee. "I'm bad luck." Barbeau is also obviously having a great time, sinking her teeth into her role as a frightened disc jockey watching the fog roll in from a lighthouse. The Fog offers a few shocks and plenty of good old-fashioned clammy chills. You'll never look at weather systems the same way again. --Ali Davis

Car Wash (Full Screen)

Richard Pryor's face is plastered all over the cover of Car Wash, but don't be fooled. This slight comedy, made in 1976, is an ensemble piece much like Robert Altman's or Alan Rudolph's all-star movies in that there are a lot of familiar faces who have relatively little screen time or business to attend to. Set in smoggy Los Angeles, the film opens with a radio announcer's voiceover, "Hey, hey, L.A. It's a brand new day." And the camera pans the street, zooming in on the Dee-Luxe Car Wash, which is owned by the ultimate cheapskate, Mr. B (Sully Boyar). In rapid succession, we're introduced to a dizzying array of characters who all work or hang out at the car wash: drag queen Lindy (Antonio Fargas), brothers Floyd and Lloyd who want to be in show business, a hip brother, an angry brother, a taxi driver (George Carlin), cashier Marsha (Melanie Mayron), and a plethora of "types" who wash, dry, and polish everything in sight while making time to make time. Car Wash doesn't do much or have a lot to say, the laughs aren't particularly original, and the actors don't have much to do save for Fargas, whose role as a drag queen was groundbreaking because the character wasn't discriminated against or killed at the end. Even Richard Pryor is wasted in his single scene as a wealthy preacher named Daddy Rich. Car Wash, which was written by mainstream director Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin, Falling Down, The Client), is ultimately uneventful. Its revival on DVD is puzzling because it looks about as faded, dated, and undistinguished as a rusty old car. --Paula Nechak

Petrified

When a black market antiques deal is botched by a goon and his girlfriend the mummified remains of an alien they were selling is revived by the blood of the murdered dealer Eldridge. The blood and lust hungry mummy is on the run and stumbles upon an in-patient psychiatric facility that is home to dozens of beautiful voluptuous nymphomaniacs. Meanwhile the mummy is being tracked by FBI Special Ops agent Buzz York. While the mummy wreaks havoc at the facility the resident Dr. Von Gelder does everything in his power to protect his greatest experiment eternal youth in the form of the beautiful Cory.System Requirements:Running Time: 72 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 852733001256 Manufacturer No: FMF206

The Horrible Doctor Bones

Redemption

Smokey and the Judge

Starring Rory Calhoun, Wayde Preston and Gene Price. Smokey (Gene Price) is the good guy (sort of) in this laugh-a-minute chasefest in the tradition of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. Our law-officer hero copes as best he can with three

B*A*P*S [Region 2]

What was director Robert Townsend thinking? His movies, such as The Five Heartbeats and The Hollywood Shuffle, are sweet, enjoyable little pictures. But this "comedy" about two flashy Georgia women hoping to find money and men in Los Angeles is stereotypical, unfunny, embarrassing, and boring. Halle Berry and newcomer Natalie Desselle are trapped in pitiful roles playing against the distinguished but miscast Martin Landau and a wasted Ian Richardson. B.A.P.S., by the way, stands for black American princesses. There are better urban comedies out there, the badly named Booty Call for one. --Rochelle O'Gorman