Richert, William

A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon

The late, much-missed River Phoenix had his first starring role in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, one of the more unusual teen comedies of the 1980s. Jimmy (Phoenix) is a lower-class kid whose parents have gotten him into a wealthy school, where he hangs out with kids who can't comprehend not having money. Jimmy puts the moves on almost every girl he meets, including Denise (Ione Skye from Say Anything and Gas Food Lodging), the girlfriend of his best friend Fred (a very young Matthew Perry, who has gone on to huge success on the TV show Friends), even though his own girlfriend, Lisa (Meredith Salenger), is about to move to Hawaii. On the evening of graduation, Jimmy ruins just about every relationship he has and wrecks his dad's car along the way. A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon is based on a novel that screenwriter-director William Richert wrote when he was 19, and you can tell--the movie is full of self-aggrandizing gestures, bad poetry, and wounded looks. But despite that--or because of it--the movie also has something of the genuine chaos of late adolescence, when you start to realize that the dreams you have might not be what you want, and that your worst fears might not be the worst that could happen. Phoenix is a truly charismatic presence, though his fresh face is a bit at odds with his scamming character. The movie isn't a cinematic Catcher in the Rye, but it's exploring the same troubled territory. --Bret Fetzer

Jimmy's about to change his entire life in just one night. It's the eve of high school graduation, the beginning of the rest of his life. But for Jimmy Reardon, it seems like the end. His girlfriend, Lisa, is moving to Hawaii. His friends are going Ivy League. And if his father gets his way, Jimmy is going to a very dull, all male, business school. Jimmy, however, has other plans for himself. In just 24 hours, he's going to demolish his relationship with Lisa, several friendships and his dad's car. River Phoenix (Stand By Me) stars as the irrepressible Jimmy Reardon in this rambunctious comedy.

Winter Kills

This exhilarating kaleidoscope of a movie, from a surreally layered novel by Richard Condon (The Manchurian Candidate), combines post-Watergate paranoia, gallows humor, political sci-fi, dazzling suspense set pieces, something we might call postmodern historical burlesque, and gonzo performances by a truly all-star cast. It's held together by Jeff Bridges as the surviving scion of a Kennedy-like dynasty who reluctantly sets out to solve his brother's assassination. John Huston's own dynastic credentials and rough-hewn aristocracy make him perfect casting as the family patriarch, a simultaneously genial and appalling American monster. Writer-director William Richert, a virtual unknown, somehow corraled an amazing ensemble, including an unbilled Liz Taylor, North by Northwest production designer Robert Boyle (who also contributes a delicious cameo), composer Maurice Jarre, and the great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. The widescreen camerawork and zesty primary-color palette demand DVD, which may finally do right by this quintessential '70s film that the '70s just weren't ready for. --Richard T. Jameson

Winter Kills

This exhilarating kaleidoscope of a movie, from a surreally layered novel by Richard Condon (The Manchurian Candidate), combines post-Watergate paranoia, gallows humor, political sci-fi, dazzling suspense set pieces, something we might call postmodern historical burlesque, and gonzo performances by a truly all-star cast. It's held together by Jeff Bridges as the surviving scion of a Kennedy-like dynasty who reluctantly sets out to solve his brother's assassination. John Huston's own dynastic credentials and rough-hewn aristocracy make him perfect casting as the family patriarch, a simultaneously genial and appalling American monster. Writer-director William Richert, a virtual unknown, somehow corraled an amazing ensemble, including an unbilled Liz Taylor, North by Northwest production designer Robert Boyle (who also contributes a delicious cameo), composer Maurice Jarre, and the great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. The widescreen camerawork and zesty primary-color palette demand DVD, which may finally do right by this quintessential '70s film that the '70s just weren't ready for. --Richard T. Jameson