Jack Warden

Set in a small Midwest U.S. town, Mitch Weaver and his best friend Sam McKenna are two social misfits who "don't take crap from anyone", as Sam's father, Pops McKenna (Jack Warden) taught them. While in school as young kids, they get a bully arrested for (planted) gun possession, and catch a crossing guard/pedophine kiddie-fondler in the act (with glue). As a teenager, Mitch's single mother dies and he moves in with Sam and his father Pops. Mitch and Sam get revenge against a spiteful meter maid by planting popcorn kernels in her car radiator, and they get revenge against a neighborhood dog that chases them to having them get a homosexual German Shepherd dog to have it's way with the dog that attacks them. (Note: gay and homophobic jokes are the recurring theme throughout the movie.) The film then cuts to their adult lives. After losing 14 jobs in three months and getting dumped by his girlfriend, Mitch (Norm MacDonald as an adult) moves in with Sam (Artie Lange as an adult) and Pops. As grownups in their early 30s, Mitch and Sam still "don't take crap from anyone" when after they get beaten up and humiliated by a group of college frat guys at their local hangout bar, the guys set up the frat guys to get arrested for fighting with the police. A little later, Pops is rushed to the hospital when he has a heart attack. Even though his heart is failing and needs a transplant, the gambling-addicted Dr. Farthing (Chevy Chase) tells Mitch and Sam that he will only raise Pops on the transplant list if he is paid an under-the-table bribe of $50,000 in three weeks. To raise the money, Mitch and Sam try to get jobs any way they can from a failed construction site job, to being payed to sample hallougenic brownies. Mitch and Sam get jobs in a movie theater with an abusive manager named Mr. Hamilton (Don Rickles), who mocks and pokes fun of the slow-witted and overweight Sam, and the wise-cracking Mitch. The guys exact their revenge by showing a premier film of "Men In Black (Who Like To Have Sex With Each Other)" a gay porn film parody to a packed house. The other workers congratulate them and tell them they should open their own business. Mitch and Sam open "Dirty Work", a revenge-for-hire business. They exact increasingly lucrative reprisals for satisfied customers until they interfere with unscrupulous local property developer Travis Cole (Christopher McDonald). Cole tricks them into destroying "his" apartment building, promising to pay them enough to save Pops. Afterwards, Cole reneges, revealing that he is not the owner. However, the grandmother of Mitch's new girlfriend Kathy (Traylor Howard) lives there. Unknown to Cole, Mitch's "note to self" tape recorder captures this confession. Mitch and Sam plot their revenge on Cole, using the tape to set up an elaborate trap. Using skunks, an army of prostitutes, homeless men, a nose-less friend, the brownies with hallucinogenic additives, and Sam's father, they ruin the opening night of an opera sponsored prominently by Cole. With the media present, Mitch plays back Cole's confession over the theater's sound system. Cole sees that his public image is being tarnished and agrees to pay the $50,000. In the end, Cole is punched in the stomach, arrested and jailed, his dog is raped by a skunk, and Mitch gets the girl. Pop's gets his heart transplant and lives, while Dr. Farthing overcomes his gambling habit, but is said to have been murdered by his angry bookies anyway.

A trained chimpanzee plays third base for a minor-league baseball team. Farm boy Jack Cooper is drafted into the minor league Santa Rosa Rockets as a pitcher because of his rocket arm. He being drafted is despite he not having organized baseball experience at any level. He is nicknamed "Deuce" by his fellow players as the two finger signal is the catcher's sign to throw a curve ball, Coop's favorite and most killer pitch. But in the early going, Coop demonstrates that he chokes under pressure as throwing his famous curve ball usually results in an out-of-the-park home run. Kirby, the son of the team owner, purchases a chimpanzee as the team mascot, who the team members name Ed Sullivan. The coach, Chubb, "decides" that Ed will room with Coop, a move not without ulterior motives. Ed ends up being an overgrown kid in mentality, which makes him a pain for Coop to manage, leading to one misadventure after another for the pair. Ed not only is a fan of baseball, but has a rocket arm of his own. As such, Chubb also decides to use Ed as a player at third base, a move which galvanizes the team on their march toward the pennant. But when something happens to Ed, Coop has to try to save him, his friend and roommate, which may jeopardize his major league prospects. Through it all, Coop begins a romance with his next door neighbor, single mom Lydia, whose precocious adolescent daughter Lizzie, who along with Ed, seems know what's better for Lydia and Coop than they do. —Huggo

Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly. Jimmy the Saint's business is videotaping the terminally-ill, so that they will be around to give 'Afterlife Advice' to their survivors. He hasn't been doing too well lately and has had to turn to loan-sharks to accommodate his failing business, as well as his expensive personal tastes. When an evil gangster-overlord buys up his note and demands a favor of Jimmy, in exchange for the interest that he can't afford, Jimmy capitulates. Jimmy is to scare someone for the gangster-overlord--really rough them up. Without giving too much away (spoiler), the scene goes down badly and Jimmy and his crew all end up with contracts on their heads for their trouble. —Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

The worst child in the world makes an unthinkable discovery: there is another child even worse than he is--and it's a girl. Ben Healy and his adopted son, the mischievous and destructive Junior, move to a new town for a fresh start in what happens to be "the divorcée capital of the world." Now the two face a multitude of women throwing themselves at Ben, though a new mom isn't what Junior wants. But Junior has more to worry about than his father's dates -- the little troublemaker might have met his match in Trixie Young, a small girl with a big chip on her shoulder.

A young boy just short of a monster is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as he pushes them to the limits. Ben is a good-hearted guy who's always wanted a son of his own, but so far he and his wife have had no success. The couple adopt Junior, a redheaded hellion who quickly makes their lives miserable. Disaster follows Junior wherever he goes, from camping trips that require emergency-room visits to birthday parties that turn into Grand Guignol affairs. When Ben's incensed family tells him to get rid of the boy, he starts to wonder if they might be right. —Official synopsis More than anything, Ben and Flo want to take their relationship to the next level and start a family. However, they are running out of time and options. Suddenly, adoption sounds fine; after all, adopting an older child means they will spare themselves the trouble of changing diapers. That's when Junior enters their life--a charming 7-year-old orphan with the face of an angel and a knack for causing chaos wherever he goes. As the misunderstood troublemaker rains on Ben and Flo's parade, the question looms large in everyone's mind. What is wrong with the Problem Child? —Nick Riganas

A San Francisco civilian police detective is forced to work on a series of murders with his former enemy commanding officer while dating his daughter. Jay Austin is now a civilian police detective. Lieutenant Colonel Alan Caldwell was his commanding officer several years before when he left the military police over a disagreement over the handling of a drunk driver. Now a series of murders that cross jurisdictions force them to work together again. That Austin is now dating Caldwell's daughter is not helping the relationship at all. —John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net> At the Presidio, the Army base in San Francisco, a female M.P. was conducting her rounds when she came across the officer's club and the door had been forced open. She went to investigate and was shot. The individuals who broke in got into their car and drove off, and what followed was high speed chase that got both the Army M.P.s and the San Francisco police involved, which ended badly for both. Jay Austin, a San Francisco Police detective, is sent to investigate and he is met by Lieutenant Colonel Alan Caldwell, who was his commanding officer, when he was an M.P. at the Presidio. It seems that Austin tried to arrest an Army officer, but didn't follow procedures, and Caldwell didn't support him, and the murdered M.P. was Austin's partner. A preliminary investigation casts suspicion on the officer Austin tried to arrest. —rcs0411@yahoo.com

At a summer house in Vermont, neighbor Howard falls in love with Lane, who's in a relationship with Peter, who's falling for Stephanie, who's married with children. Everyone is gathering at Lane's place for the weekend, and everyone's in love. Unfortunately, each beloved loves somebody else, and no one seems to realize it. —Cleo <frede005@maroon.tc.umn.edu> For the past couple of years, Lane has been living at the acreage located in rural Vermont given to her by her larger than life boozing ex-actress mother, Diane, the property which Diane and Lane's now deceased father Richard bought before Lane was born. Lane moved there in an attempt to get well following her latest suicide attempt, her depression which in large part is the result of not being able to get over shooting Diane's abusive lover, the man Diane left Richard for, dead when Lane was fourteen. Lane spends much time with two of her neighbors: Howard, a French teacher, who is in love with her, and Peter, an ex-Madison Avenuer and aspiring writer, with who in turn Lane is in love. It's nearing the end of the summer, and Lane's best friend, married Stephanie from Philadelphia, has been staying there for much of the summer both to support Lane and to get away from her unsatisfying marriage for a while. During Stephanie's time there, Peter in turn has fallen in love with her, of which Lane is unaware and which Stephanie plans not to act upon in light of Lane's feelings for Peter. As Lane feels she is ready to move on with her life, she plans on selling the acreage to pay off her medical debts, using the remaining moneys to move back to New York City to start a photography business. Lane's plans could be thrown for a loop with the arrival back for a few days of Diane and Lloyd, Diane's supportive physicist husband. Diane's plan for Peter to write her memoirs and a pronouncement by Diane end up dredging up that painful part of Lane's past that she thought she had placed behind her. —Huggo Lane is selling the family home in Vermont and moving to New York. At the moment she has her mother (and famed entertainer) Diane and step-father Lloyd living with her, as well as her sister Stephanie. Lane has been through a lot but now things seem to be getting back on track. She is in a relationship with Peter, an author. However, Peter is in love with Stephanie, who's married. Meanwhile, Howard, a neighbour, is smitten with Lane. How will things work out? —grantss

A 1920s mail pilot and a rich man's daughter crash-land on a mountain full of hungry wolves.

Reduced to minding the counter at a crusty pawn shop, Weslake stumbles onto a scheme by some disgruntled misfit clients to rob the place. Rather than blow the whistle, however, he insinuates himself as the heist's mastermind. Down-and-out Weslake (Donald Sutherland) was reduced to minding the counter at the San Francisco pawn shop of crusty Garvey (Jack Warden) when he stumbled onto a scheme by some of the boss's disgruntled misfit clients to rob the place. Rather than blow the whistle, however, he insinuates himself as the heist's mastermind. Louis Malle's hilarious remake of Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) co-stars Sean Penn, Wallace Shawn, Christine Baranski, and Professor Irwin Corey. —Anonymous Garvey is a San Francisco pawnshop operator. His unemployed and criminal friends Dillard, Turtle, and Weslake, team up with Boardwalk, a local pimp, to burgle Garvey's shop while the owner is out of town. During the elaborate planning process, Dillard falls for a Hispanic woman, the sister of a friend. Also, Boardwalk is assigned to case a local apartment, where he meets and falls for the maid. Amidst all these romantic hijinks, Weslake puts together a burglary plan, which is executed by the makeshift gang. —veloc <velo_00@yahoo.com>

The New Deal used car lot in Mesa, Arizona is in danger of being taken over by the Roy L. Fuchs car dealership across the roadway where they do business. Both dealerships are managed by twin brothers, Roy L. Fuchs and Luke Fuchs (both played by Jack Warden). However, Roy L's dealership is easily the more lucrative than his brother's, which deals in often junked used cars. One of New Deal's most prominent salesmen is Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell), a young man who never shies away from making a deal, and also has plans to run for a seat on the State Senate. Along with Rudy, there's Jeff (Gerrit Graham), a superstitious fellow, and Jim (Frank McRae), the mechanic who is easily excitable. Recently, Luke has been having problems with his heart, much to the delight of his other brother. Roy L. is desperate to keep his car lot from being demolished and replaced by a proposed freeway exit. He sends one of his mechanics over to the car lot under the guise of an 'interested party', and gets Luke to give him a test drive. However, Roy L's mechanic takes Luke on a wild ride around the block during which Luke has a heart attack and dies. Rudy, Jeff and Jim attempt to cover this up by burying Luke in an old Edsel in a service pit out back. When Roy L. and his lawyer Sam Slaton (Joe Flaherty) show up looking for Luke, Rudy explains that Luke drove to Florida in the Edsel. However, Roy L. believes that Rudy is lying, but Sam explains that there's no way to disprove this claim. The following night, Rudy and his friends go through with the first of several advertising stunts. Taking his camera crew out to a packed football stadium, they intend to hijack the signal for the football game to tell of their car lot. Things don't go as planned, when Jeff begins cursing on camera that the car he's standing by is red (he's superstitious about the color), and the woman they hired for the commercial ends up getting her dress ripped open and exposed on public television. The technique works, as the stunt makes newspaper headlines, and brings many kinds of people out to see the New Deal car lot. The next morning, Jeff cons a family into buying a station wagon by having the car lot's mascot, Toby, fake being run over during a test drive. Roy L. counters this with a little stunt of his own, but in the war to win customers, Rudy does one better, and steals away Luke's customers, by setting up a gaggle of strippers to entice vehicle buyers from Roy L's car lot. Roy L. counters this with purchasing airtime to denounce New Deal's business tactics as harmful. It is then that Rudy plans to really up the stakes, and wants to attempt and interrupt the broadcast for the President's State of the Union address. Matters are further complicated when a woman shows up claiming to be Luke's daughter, Barbara Jane Fuchs (Deborah Harmon). She visits the car lot in hopes to reunite with her father, having dropped out of college more than 10 years before to reside in a hippie commune. Rudy conceals the truth about her father by taking her out on a date, but finds that he slowly is growing to like her. Rudy eventually distracts her during the night of the broadcast, by taking her to dinner, and then to his place. Jeff and Jim do the commercial, with Jeff on drugs as a cowboy named Martial Lucky, who shoots out and blows up several of Roy L. Fuchs' vehicles for the commercial. After the broadcast, Roy L. drives immediately to the New Deal car lot and angrily picks a fight with Jeff for destroying his cars. As they fight, Roy L. notices a picture of the service pit in an old picture, and remembers how Rudy and the others were filling it in. Roy L. rushes out back, and after digging down always, finds the roof of his brother's old Edsel. Shortly after this, Jim contacts Rudy to come to the car lot right away. Rudy does not explain to Barbara why he has to go, leaving her curious. In the morning, the police arrive at the car lot along with Roy L. and his lawyer. Rudy makes up the lie that Luke came back the night before, and went to get some breakfast. During the night, Rudy, Jeff and Jim exhumed the Edsel, and have moved it out of the pit area. Jim has poured gasoline on the vehicle, and sends it off with the accelerator on. As everyone's attention is drawn to the car, they watch as it speeds out of control towards a power transformer, that erupts in a fireball, destroying Luke's body. Roy turns to Rudy, and assumes that since Luke is dead, the car lot is now his. However, Rudy explains how Luke's daughter returned, and she's staying with him. It is just then that Barbara appears after listening to a message on Rudy's answering machine and finding out about Luke's death. Barbara fires Rudy, Jeff and Jim for their cover-up scheme, and assumes control of her father's car lot, but knows very little about advertising. Roy L. gains access to the script for her commercial, and has his connections at a local television station doctor up her commercial. In place of her saying 'style of cars', the word 'mile' is substituted for 'style', making this as though Barbara has committed a case of false advertising. Meanwhile, Rudy's luck changes when Jeff's superstitious nature causes him to win a bet he made on the night's football game, guaranteeing him enough money for his campaign, and the next day, he meets with the party chairman, named Tucker (Dub Taylor). However, on their way to their destination, the car passes by the New Deal car lot, which has been closed by court order. Tucker explains that a 'concerned citizen' reported the car lot after the commercial mentioned a 'mile of cars', and that the trial is scheduled for the same day. Rudy immediately grabs back his money, and bolts from the car, heading towards the courthouse; he arrives in time for the trial to begin. As Barbara is questioned if she does indeed have a mile of cars on her car lot, Rudy mimes in the back of the room to lie and say 'yes'. Barbara does so, to which Roy L's attorney claims he can prove she is lying to the court. Rudy mushily shouts from the back of the room, "Why don't you see for yourself, Judge?" This buys Barbara some time, as the judge decides to come by the car lot the next day. After the trial, Rudy uses most of his campaign funds to purchase over 250 cars from a Mexican dealer he knows. Using the town's driver's education class, he sets out with all 250 cars headed towards the car lot in less than two hours. Rudy has the student drivers ramp their vehicles up to 70 mph, but hits a snag when a policeman ends up hitting one of the vehicles, leaving them without a 'safety margin' for error. After the incident, Rudy sends Jim up ahead to scout for any other possible issues. Jim eventually finds a police roadblock, and Rudy has his student drivers take their vehicles off road. Meanwhile, Roy L. has heard of the cars, and drives out to attempt and intercept Rudy; a fight breaks out between the two, leading to Rudy winning, and the cars heading towards the car lot. Eventually, the student drivers arrive, and fill the car lot to capacity, just as the judge arrives. This soon becomes apparent that Jim has not arrived and Rudy radios Jeff, who is sitting along the side of the road. Jeff explains that some water washed off the blue paint on his car...revealing this as a red Fire Chief's car...and per Jeff's stigma, he can't drive a red car! Rudy attempts to convince Jeff that there is actually 'gray primer' underneath the red paint, and tells him that he is the key to helping them keep the car lot. Jeff manages to overcome his fear of the red color, and makes it just in time to help them save the car lot. Roy's attorney informs Rudy and Barbara that once the freeway ramp across the street is constructed, New Deal will become the largest dealership in the state. While everyone celebrates, Roy L. curses out the judge, who then decides to see Roy L. in court for his outburst. The film then ends with Barbara, Rudy, Jim and Jeff presiding over their saved car lot.

A young 12-year veteran lawyer battles not only one-on-one injustices in the courts, but the whole system as well.

At the Hialeah racetrack near Miami, Florida, former boxing champion Billy "The Champ" Flynn works as a horse trainer and lives in an apartment above the stables with his eight year-old son, T. J. Considering a comeback after seven years away from the sport, Billy returns to the Ninth Street Gym for a meeting with manager Charlie Goodman and brings along T. J., who is thrilled that his father, whom he idolizes and calls "Champ," might fight again. At the gym, Billy is still revered as a boxer, and Georgie, a training assistant, has saved Billy's old gloves. However, Billy feels disrespected when Goodman keeps him waiting, and shouts that he will return in thirty minutes, leaving his son at the gym. Later, T. J. finds his father drunk at a bar and helps him home. In the middle of the night, Billy steals $20 dollars from T. J.'s piggy bank and drives to a casino. Returning the next morning, he announces to the stable employees and T. J. that he won $6,400 and bought gifts for everyone. Just as T. J. thinks his father has forgotten him, Billy presents him with a racehorse, named "She's a Lady." T. J. becomes the center of attention as he rides around the stable, the proud owner of a filly. On race day at Hialeah, T. J. prepares his horse and jockey for the next heat. Nearby, Annie Phillips, a rich, successful fashion designer who is part of the society crowd in attendance, overhears T. J. bragging that "She's a Lady" will win. Charmed by the boy's gumption, Annie promises T. J. that she will bet $10 dollars on the horse. During the race, "She's a Lady" is on the verge of taking the lead when she falls. From the stands, Annie watches through her binoculars as T. J. runs across the track to his stricken horse. When she recognizes her ex-husband, Billy Flynn, following the boy, she realizes that T. J. is the son she left seven years before. At the stables, T. J. and Billy wait anxiously for the veterinarian to decide the fate of "She's a Lady." As soon as Billy sees Annie approaching, he yanks her aside to disclose that he explained her seven-year absence by telling T. J his mother had been killed in a car accident. Annie understands that she gave up custody during the divorce, but wants to see her son. T. J. interrupts their argument with the good news that his horse's wound is only superficial. Annie reintroduces herself to T. J., but Billy takes his son and walks away. After reconsidering, Billy allows T. J. to visit Annie one afternoon, without revealing that Annie is his mother. Dressed in a suit, T. J. spends the day on the Phillips' yacht. Afterward, he is enthusiastic about the visit, telling his father that Annie and her husband, Mike, are not snobby like most "turf clubbers." Sometime later at a casino, Billy's winning streak comes to an end and he incurs a debt of $2,000 dollars, which he must pay in forty-eight hours or the backer, Whitey, will take possession of "She's a Lady." After unsuccessfully pursuing other options, Billy borrows the money from Annie. Later, he is furious when Whitey arrives at the stables to collect T. J.'s horse, since Billy assured him that he would deliver the $2,000 dollars that afternoon. Billy pulls Whitey from the car and punches him. When security guards try to intervene, Billy attacks them until police arrive and arrest him. In jail, an attorney informs Billy that Annie wants to look after T. J. while the case is settled. Billy tells his son about the arrangement, but T. J. does not understand. To convince his devoted son that he is "a bum," Billy declares that he is tired of taking care of T. J. and slaps him. On the yacht, Annie helps T. J. unpack when she accidentally reveals that she is his mother. As she tries to explain, T. J. says that his mother is dead and screams for her to go away. After being released from jail, Billy returns to the racetrack where he sees T. J. in the stands with his suitcase. They hug, and Billy says that he will never leave again. That evening, Annie arrives at the stables to confer with Billy about T. J., since the boy will need an explanation now that he knows his mother is alive. As Billy becomes emotional about his own needs, Annie realizes that Billy still loves her. Motivated to start earning a decent living for his son, Billy commits to a boxing comeback. His former trainer, Jackie, arrives in Miami, but expresses concern about Billy's previous blows to the head and recommends a medical evaluation. However, Billy dismisses his headaches and says he has made up his mind. Jackie agrees to help, and they begin training. Meanwhile, Billy encourages T. J. to respond to his mother's letters. At her residence in New York City, Annie explains to her husband that she wants to be in Miami for Billy's fight, sensing that her presence will make a difference. On the night of the match at Miami's Forum, T. J. and Billy are excited to see Annie in the crowd. During an early round, Billy looks strong and knocks his opponent, Bowers, to the floor. In the next round, Billy receives a cut near his eye, but fights back. As the match continues, Billy is briefly knocked down and staggers to his feet, experiencing double vision. When he goes down a second time, the referee considers stopping the fight as Billy's cut continues to bleed. Jackie and T. J. also want to end the fight, but Billy assures them he is okay. All of a sudden, Billy finds a second wind and knocks out Bowers for the victory. He holds up his son as the crowd cheers, but T. J. is alarmed by his father's disorientated and swollen appearance. While leaning against Jackie on the way back to the locker room, Billy collapses. He lies on the table and tells his son that Annie is a good person and to be happy because he won the fight. As Billy dies, T. J. calls for "The Champ" and asks the other trainers to wake him, but Jackie announces Billy is gone. When she enters the room, Annie goes to her son and hugs him.

Chance (Peter Sellers) is a middle-aged gardener who lives in the townhouse of a wealthy man in Washington D.C. Chance seems very simple-minded and has lived in the house his entire life, tending the garden, with virtually no contact with the outside world. His cultural and social education is derived entirely from what he watches on the television sets provided by the "Old Man," who raised him. The only other person in his life is Louise, the maid who cooks his meals and looks upon him as nothing more than a child who has failed to grow up. When his benefactor dies, Chance is visited by attorneys handling the estate. Chance tells them that he has lived his whole life inside the house. He was apparently abandoned as a baby and left in a basket outside the front door where the "Old Man" lived, who took him in and raised him. The lawyers force him to leave the townhouse and he discovers the outside world for the first time. Chance wanders aimlessly through a wintry and busy Washington dressed in conservative, old-fashioned business attire, a homburg hat, suitcase, umbrella and a television remote from his former home. Although finely-tailored many years ago, his clothes are of the style which has now come back into fashion, and so others presume he is an expensively well-dressed man of means. That evening, as he wanders, Chance happens upon a TV store. He sees his own image in one of the TVs captured by a camera in the shop window. While watching himself he backs into the street and is struck by a car owned by Ben Rand (Melvyn Douglas), a wealthy businessman. Rand's wife Eve (Shirley MacLaine), who is inside the limo, invites Chance to their home to recover from his injured leg. After being offered alcohol for the first time in his life, Chance coughs after he is asked his name. He says, "Chance the Gardener", but due to his cough those listening interpret his name to be "Chauncey Gardiner." During dinner at the Rands' home, Chance describes the attorneys coming to his former house and shutting it down where he lived his whole life after the death of "the Old Man". Judging by his appearance and overall demeanor, Ben Rand automatically assumes that Chauncey is an upper class, well-to-do, highly-educated business man. Although Chance is really describing being kicked out of the home where he tended to the garden after the death of his legal guardian, Ben Rand perceives it as attorneys shutting down Chance's business because of financial problems after the death of his long-term boss and mentor "the Old Man". Ben even assumes it must have been caused by "kid lawyers from the SEC," obviously attributing it to have occurred at a higher, more sophisticated level than a tax/IRS problem, as most persons would likely have assumed. Sympathizing with him, Ben Rand takes Chance under his wing. Chance's personal style and seemingly conservative and insightful ways embody many qualities that Ben admires. His simplistic, serious-sounding utterances, which mostly concern the garden, are interpreted by virtually everyone as allegorical statements of deep wisdom and knowledge regarding business matters and the current state of the economy in America. Ben Rand is also the confidant and adviser of the U.S. President (Jack Warden), whom he introduces to "Chauncey." Chance's remarks about how the garden changes with the seasons are interpreted by the President as economic and political advice, relating to his concerns about the mid-term unpopularity that many administrations face while in office. Chance, as Chauncey Gardiner, quickly rises to national public attention. He becomes a media celebrity and appears on a national television talk show. He rapidly joins the A-list of the most wanted in Washington society. Public opinion polls start to reflect just how much his "simple brand of wisdom" resonates with the jaded American public. At an upscale Washington cocktail lounge, two important, older, well-dressed men are discussing Chauncey; one says to the other, there is a rumor "he holds degrees in medicine as well as law." Rand, dying of aplastic anemia, encourages his wife to become close to Chance, knowing Eve is a fragile woman. Rand's doctor (Richard A. Dysart) makes a few inquiries of his own. Even after acquiring Chance's fingerprints and a photo of him, the physician can't find a record of him anywhere, including elementary, middle, or high schools, colleges, nor employment or a police record. Rand's doctor concludes that Chance is actually a simpleton gardener, totally oblivious and unaware to the ways of the world. But he sees that Chance has helped Rand to accept his final illness and pending death. The doctor is hesitant to say anything that will upset Rand. He also sees that Chance possesses no guile, no intent to deceive, or any interest which would adversely impact Ben or Eve, or have any adverse effect upon Eve, or the estate, following Ben's death. Just days before his death, Rand amends his will to include Chauncey. At his funeral, the President gives a long-winded speech full of bon mots and quotes by Rand. Rand's pallbearers, all influential citizens and members of the board of Rand's several companies, hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President in the next term of office. As Rand's coffin is about to be interred in the family Masonic pyramid-like mausoleum, they unanimously agree on "Chauncey Gardiner." Chance, oblivious to all this, wanders away from the funeral and through Rand's wintry estate. Ever the gardener, he straightens out a pine sapling and then walks up to the edge of a pond and then onto its surface. He pauses, dips his umbrella deeply into the water next to him, and then continues to walk further out into the pond. Rand's quote "Life is a state of mind" is stated in voiceover .

The film continues the story from the original movie's conclusion. The Poseidon is still afloat, and the six survivors of Reverend Scott's team have been rescued. After sailing through rough seas, a tugboat captain, Mike Turner (Michael Caine), discovers the capsized wreck of the ship. Accompanied by second mate Wilbur (Karl Malden) and passenger Celeste Whitman (Sally Field), he heads out to claim salvage rights on it, as the tugboat 'S.S. Jenny' lost her cargo in the same storm that capsized it. They are soon followed by Dr. Stefan Svevo (Telly Savalas) and his crew; Kurt (Paul Picerni), Doyle (Patrick Culliton), and Castrop (Dean Raphael Ferrandini) who claim to be Greek Orthodox medics who received the ship's SOS. The seven of them board the doomed vessel and soon become trapped after the corridor entrance to the cut-out hole collapses. The group with Turner also encounters more survivors; the ship's nurse, Gina Rowe (Shirley Jones), a wealthy passenger named Suzanne Constantine (Veronica Hamel), and war veteran Frank Mezzetti (Peter Boyle) who is searching for his missing teenage daughter Theresa (Angela Cartwright), which they soon find along with the elevator operator Larry Simpson (Mark Harmon) and as well as a brash "billionaire" named "Tex" (Slim Pickens). Later they find two more surviving passengers; the blind retiree Harold Meredith (Jack Warden) and his wife Hannah (Shirley Knight), who were waiting for rescue. Water continues to submerge more decks and more explosions occur. Turner and his group find the purser's office, where Svevo decides that he and his men will continue their search for other survivors. Turner agrees and Svevo and his men leave in another direction. Another explosion causes the safe in the purser's office to fall through the floor and open, revealing gold coins (each one worth 100 times its weight in gold) as well as cash and diamonds. Turner and Wilbur excitedly gather it and start looking for another way out of the ship. Unknown to Turner and the survivors, Suzanne was actually working with Svevo and sneaked a list containing information about a cargo of crates from the purser's office. She gives it to Svevo, but decides that she doesn't want to go through with his plan anymore. Svevo apologizes and orders Doyle to kill Suzanne. He shoots her, but she strikes him with an axe before she dies. After climbing up a few decks, Turner and his group find Svevo and his men gathering a cargo of plutonium. Svevo reveals that his real intention of boarding the Poseidon was to retrieve his lost shipment of plutonium to sell on the black market, adding that he can't let Turner and his group go now. However, before they can kill Turner and his group, another explosion occurs, allowing them to escape through another cargo room full of cars, where Frank and another one of Svevo's men is killed during the shootout. Water floods the deck as Turner's group proceed to up to the next deck through a flooding elevator shaft, but Hannah falls into the rising water and drowns, while Turner loses his salvaged diamonds. Svevo and his one remaining henchman head back up to the ship's stern and make it out, where the rest of Svevo's team aboard his salvage boat cut another hole in the Poseidon's hull and attempt raise the plutonium crates from the cargo hold using a crane up to the hull of the ship, which is still above water but is slowly sinking. In another section of the ship, Turner and the survivors exit the ship through an underwater side door, but due to shortage of scuba tanks, Wilbur (unknown to Turner and his group) sacrifices himself by swimming underwater and disappearing. Turner and Celeste swim to the tugboat Jenny and move it closer to the Poseidon as the remaining survivors swim towards it. Svevo's men see them and open fire and kill Tex, who willingly holds onto a bottle of champagne as he goes down. Turner's group makes it to his boat and they sail away. Water continues to flood the Poseidon and cause the on-board boilers to explode, which causes the cargo of plutonium to also do so. The Poseidon completely explodes, killing Svevo and his men. On board Turner's boat, Turner accepts that his tugboat S.S. Jenny will be taken from him when they get to port, but Celeste reveals a diamond that she salvaged from the Poseidon. Celeste asks Turner, "Are you going to kiss me now?" and Turner replies, "I was going to kiss you anyway." They kiss and the tugboat Jenny sails away into the sunset with the survivors Gina, Theresa, Larry, and Harold.

Following a knee injury, Joe Pendleton, a Los Angeles Rams second-string quarterback, practices with the team as the managers and coach comment repeatedly on his good form. Away from the football field, he focuses on fitness and relaxes by playing the saxophone. On Joes birthday, Max Corkle, a Rams trainer and Joes good friend, drops by his home with a cake and informs him that the coach wants Joe to start the game against the Dallas Cowboys instead of Tom Jarrett. Joe steps up his training, but while bicycling through a tunnel he is hit by a van. With saxophone in hand, Joe arrives at a way station to Heaven accompanied by The Escort, a celestial assistant who instructs Joe to board an aircraft for his final destination. Joe refuses, believing it is only a dream. Delicately, the archangel man in charge, Mr. Jordan, explains that this place represents the afterlife, but Joe is convinced that his death is a mistake. After verifying Joes status, a clerk announces that Joe isnt due to arrive until the year 2025, and The Escort, a rookie, admits that he pulled him away before the outcome of the collision. Since Joes body has already been cremated, Mr. Jordan says that in order for him to return to life, Joe must occupy the body of another man, as long as that mans death has not yet been discovered. Mr. Jordan and Joe proceed to scout for possible candidates. At the estate of Leo Farnsworth, a millionaire industrialist, they observe the scheming of his wife Julia Farnsworth and Tony Abbott, Farnsworths assistant. Julia and Abbott are having an affair, and they have left Farnsworth to drown in the bathtub after drugging him. Meanwhile, Betty Logan, a schoolteacher, arrives at the mansion to insist on meeting with Farnsworth about his refinery that will force the eviction of families in her hometown of Pagglesham, England. Joe is immediately smitten with Betty and wants to help her. Until they find a more athletic candidate, Mr. Jordan agrees to let Joe inhabit the body of Farnsworth temporarily. In the upstairs bathroom, Joe assumes his new identity, but only sees himself in the mirror. Mr. Jordan assures him that even though Joe can only see himself as the internal person of Joe Pendleton, others will see and hear him as Leo Farnsworth. Dressed in polo attire, Joe listens while Betty objects to the plans of Farnsworths Exo-Grey Industries. Upon seeing her husband alive, Julia screams hysterically, and Abbott quickly drags her away. Betty is confused by Joes lack of concern for his wifes outburst, and is also annoyed when Joe claims that he is not really Leo Farnsworth. Believing that he is taunting her, Betty angrily walks away, but warns him that she will be at the next company board meeting. While Joe studies Farnsworths business, Julia and Abbott wait nervously, unsure if he is plotting revenge for the murder. On the way to the board meeting, Joe invites reporters and Betty to join him. Everyone in the room is dumbfounded when Joe passionately compares Exo-Greys winning position to that of a football team that must protect its lead and do the right thing by not exploiting others. That evening, after Betty visits Farnsworth to compliment him on his courage in front of the board, Joe takes her out to dinner at a drivein restaurant. Inside the limousine, Joe confides that he cannot stop staring at her, and Betty admits that she sees something special in his eyes. As they are saying goodbye, Joe declares his plan to divorce Julia. With a new motivation, Joe tells The Escort that he wants to remain in Farnsworths body and get it into shape for football. That evening, despite rigging a heavy fixture above his bed, Julia and Abbott once again fail to murder Farnsworth. The following day, Max arrives at the estate and listens with skepticism while Joe explains that he wants to try out for the Rams quarterback and pay Max to be his trainer. Max is reluctant to jeopardize his reputation with the Rams by entertaining the whims of a millionaire. After initially seeming like at lunatic, Joe is finally able to persuade Max that he is really Joe Pendleton by playing the saxophone badly, as only Joe could. The estate immediately becomes a football training camp. After working out with the butlers of the mansion, Joe takes the next step by purchasing the Los Angeles Rams. During a locker room meeting, the players grumble when told that the new owner Farnsworth will be the quarterback in a scrimmage game and instructed to not hold back with him. At first, Joe receives no help from his offensive line and is repeatedly sacked. But, after requesting one chance to complete a play, he makes a successful pass and continues to display his skills for the rest of the practice, earning the respect of the players and defying the doubters on the sideline. Sometime later at the estate, Joe and Betty attend a gathering of The Ecology Club on the garden lawn. Watching from her bedroom window with Abbott, Julia still thinks that Farnsworth is plotting against them, and contemplates another murder. After strolling together on the property, Joe asks Betty to marry him. Just as Betty responds with excitement, The Escort interrupts Joe with the news that he must abandon Farnsworths body. Unsure what will happen to him, Joe asks Betty to remember what she saw in his eyes. Before she leaves, he embraces her and says, Theres nothing to be afraid of. Mr. Jordan visits to reiterate that he cannot change what is meant to be and that Joe must leave Farnsworths body, but Joe refuses, intent on playing in the Super Bowl and being with Betty. At that moment, Abbott shoots Joe from the bedroom window, and Joe tumbles into a well. No longer in Farnsworths body, Joe emerges from the well with his saxophone and has no choice but to follow Mr. Jordan back to Heaven. Farnsworths disappearance becomes front-page news, and Krim, the police detective in charge, gathers together the staff along with Max, Betty, Julia, and Abbott for questioning at the estate. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl between the Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers is underway at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and Max is anxious to be there, so Krim lets him watch the game on television during the proceedings. Concerned for Betty, Joe is present in the room alongside Mr. Jordan. When the Rams quarterback, Tom Jarrett, is seriously hurt and taken off the field on a stretcher, Mr. Jordan transports Joe to the game. Mr. Jordan explains that it is Toms destiny to die at this time. Joe moves toward Toms body and occupies it, springing off the stretcher and onto the field. Watching this sudden recovery on television, Max realizes that it must be Joe. At the same time, the gardener runs into the room with Farnsworths jacket that he found in the well, which prompts Julia to scream that Abbott is the murderer, and he in turn points the finger at her. In overtime, Joe leads the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. During the celebration in the locker room, Mr. Jordan appears before Joe declares that Joe now has a permanent body in Tom Jarrett and he will no longer remember Joe Pendleton, or any of the events that happened, but he will now live out the rest of his life as Tom Jarrett with all of Tom's memories, while Joe's memories of his past life and all about Mr. Jordan and Heaven will be forgotten forever. Later that evening, Joe doesnt recognize the saxophone, and thinks Max has drunk too much champagne when he calls him Joe. Max finally realizes that Joe as he knows him no longer exists. As Joe/Tom exits through a stadium hallway, Betty enters looking for Max. After giving her directions, Joe/Tom wonders if they have met before. Betty says she doesnt know him, but she has a connection to football through her close friend, Leo Farnsworth. When the lights of the hallway are switched off, Joe/Tom assures Betty that theres nothing to be afraid of and guides her out the door. Betty is touched by what he said, recalling her last conversation with Farnsworth. Joe/Tom asks her out for coffee, and when Betty realizes that he is the quarterback, she says yes at once.

Two Washington Post reporters` investigation of a minor hotel room break-in uncovers the greatest political scandal in US history and leads to the downfall of President Nixon.

On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie. Thirty-something George Roundy is a Beverly Hills hairdresser, who spends as much time sleeping with his female clients as he does doing their hair. Whether they want to admit it, all the women in his life are for the most part aware that they are are not the only one with whom he is sleeping. And some, such as the wealthy and married Felicia Karpf, have a stronger emotional dependence on George than they would like to admit. George's current girlfriend is Jill, an up and coming actress. Jill's best friend is Jackie Shawn, one of George's old girlfriends who left him because he couldn't make a true commitment to her. In turn, Jackie is currently having an affair with Lester Karpf, Felicia's wealthy businessman husband. George is unhappy working at a salon owned by Norman, with whom he is constantly butting heads. In his first act of wanting finally to be a grown up, George wants to open his own salon, but doesn't have the financial resources to do it, and no bank will lend him money for the venture. Felicia at least convinces Lester to consider investing in George. On Monday, November 4, 1968, the eve of the presidential election, this group spends the evening together, first at a dinner party hosted by Lester, and then another private party. Lester asks his potential new business partner, George, to accompany his mistress Jackie, not knowing that George and Jackie know each other. Jill, who is invited to the party by Jackie, invites director Johnny Pope as her date, he who is considering her for a role in his next movie filming in Egypt and perhaps more. Over the course of the evening, George may come to the realization of what he wants in life both professionally and personally, but achieving happiness will depend upon others in his life, they who have known George up to this time only as an uncommitted narcissist.

In an ideal society on a picturesque South Seas isle, diverse people live in harmony until an outsider disrupts the balance. In an ideal society on a picturesque South Sea island, people of several races and backgrounds live together in harmony. John Wayne is a WWII hero, who worked hard to own a shipping company and finds his true love. She is as strong a woman as he is a man. An adventure and love story. 'Guns' Donovan prefers carousing with his pals Doc Dedham and 'Boats' Gilhooley, until Dedham's high-society daughter Amelia shows up in their South Seas paradise. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

A hunted revolutionary leads a rag tag group of individuals through the desert in an attempt to elude the security forces and escape the fictitious Arab country of Zahrain. During the 1960s, in a fictitious strife-ridden Arab nation, captured revolutionary nationalist leader Sharif is being transported to a prison for execution. The police van transporting him to the prison is attacked by Sharif's fanatical followers. Ahmed, the leader of the students' revolt frees Sharif along with three other prisoners. Among them is Huston, an American who has embezzled money from the Zahrain Oil Company. The fugitives capture an ambulance and its nurse, Laila. They flee from the city toward the border but during their trek across the desert, the convict Hassan is killed in a police ambush. A romance starts between Ahmed, the student leader and Laila, the ambulance nurse. Unfortunately, Ahmed is later killed by a government strafing fighter plane. Later, Tahar, another convict, is also killed.The three lone survivors are Laila, Sharif and Huston. Will they reach their destination? —nufs68

In 1941 Hawaii, Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is transferred from the Bugle Corps at Fort Shafter (giving up his corporal stripes) to a rifle outfit, Company "G," at Schofield Barracks on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. When Captain Dana "Dynamite" Holmes (Philip Ober) learns of his reputation as a talented boxer, he recommends that Prewitt join the regimental boxing club that he heads, and promises that Prewitt will be promoted to corporal or even sergeant, if he helps win the boxing trophy on December 15. For reasons unknown to the regiment Prewitt adamantly refuses. Holmes retaliates by making army life as miserable as possible for Prewitt hoping he will agree to box. Unable to break Prewitt, Holmes orders First Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) to prepare court martial papers. Warden, however, knowing of Holmes' unfair treatment and realizing Prewitt is a thirty-year soldier (career soldier), suggests that he try to entice Prewitt to change his mind by doubling up on company punishment. The other non-commissioned officers assist in the conspiracy with brutal hazing rituals. Prewitt is supported only by his friend, Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra). Meanwhile, behind his commander's back, Warden begins an affair with Holmes' neglected wife Karen (Deborah Kerr). Sergeant Maylon Stark (George Reeves) has told Warden of Karen's many affairs with other soldiers at Fort Bliss, including his own. As their relationship develops, Warden asks Karen about her numerous affairs to test her sincerity with him. Karen relates that Holmes had been unfaithful to her most of their marriage. She lost a baby when Holmes came back from one affair drunk, and unable to assist her to the hospital. She then affirms her genuine love for Warden. Prewitt and Maggio spend their liberty time at the New Congress Club, a gentleman's club in downtown Honululu where Prewitt meets, and falls for, Lorene (Donna Reed), a local dancer and call girl. Prewitt confides to Lorene the reason he refuses to box for the company is that he blinded a close friend while sparring. Maggio encounters Sergeant 'Fatso' Judson (Ernest Borgnine), a crass and racist sergeant at the club. When Maggio complains that Judson's piano playing is interfering with his dancing, the two nearly come to blows. Maggio is told that Judson is the Sergeant of the Guard at the stockade. Later, at a tavern called "Choy's," located near the base, Judson sees Maggio holding a photograph of his family. Judson makes an inappropriate comment to Prewitt about Maggio's sister causing Maggio to smash a bar stool on Judson's head. Judson pulls a switchblade on Maggio, but Warden, sitting in a corner, intervenes to save Maggio by telling Judson that killing Maggio would "create two weeks of paperwork" for him. When the brutal Judson advances on Warden with the knife, Warden breaks a beer bottle in two and uses the jagged edge as a weapon. Judson retreats, throws down his knife and goes to the bar for a drink. However, he warns Maggio that sooner or later Maggio would end up in the stockade and he would be there waiting for him. A few days later, Karen tells Warden that if he became an officer, she could divorce Holmes and they could return to the States and marry. Warden is not keen on the idea because of his dislike of officers, but agrees to consider the matter. Prewitt manages a weekend pass, courtesy of Warden, and goes to meet Lorene who is too busy at the club to talk. However, she meets him later at a bar for a drink. He tells Lorene he loves the Army, and shows Lorene his prized possession, a bugle mouthpiece. He tells her, "I played taps last Armistice Day at Arlington National Cemetery. The President was there." Maggio then walks in drunk and in uniform, explaining that he was assigned to for guard duty that night, but deserted his post. Lorene encourages Prewitt to take Maggio back to the base. While Prewitt is calling for a taxi, Military Police arrive and arrest Maggio, and he is sentenced to six months in the stockade for desertion. Matters come to a head for Prewitt when Sergeant Galovitch picks a fight with Prewitt while on yard detail, and the two come to blows. At first, Galovitch repeatedly pummels Prewitt, who initially refuses to fight back, and then resorts to using only body blows. But as Galovitch and others watching continue taunting him, he begins boxing, hitting Galovitch in the face and nearly managing to knock him out before Holmes finally steps in and stops the fight. When Galovitch falsely accuses Prewitt of insubordination, Holmes is about to punish Prewitt again until the man in charge of the detail says that it was Galovitch, not Prewitt, who was spoiling for the fight. Instead of punishing Galovitch, Holmes abruptly lets him off the hook and disperses the crowd. The entire incident is witnessed by the base commander, who orders an investigation by the Inspector General. When Holmes' true intentions are revealed, the general orders a court-martial. When Holmes begs for an alternative, the commanding officer's aide suggests that Holmes resign his commission "for the good of the service" and leaves the Army, which the general accepts with dispatch. Holmes' replacement, Captain Ross, orders that Sergeant Galovitch be demoted to private and put in charge of the latrine. One evening, a few weeks later, Maggio manages to escape from the stockade and find Prewitt. He tells of the abuse he endured by Judson, then dies in Prewitt's arms. The next morning, Prewitt plays taps as tears stream down his cheeks. Seeking revenge, Prewitt tracks down Judson in town and invites him into a back alley to talk, then attacks him. The two fight with switchblades, Prewitt using the very same switchblade Judson had pulled on Maggio earlier. Prewitt kills Judson, but not before sustaining a serious stomach wound. Prewitt goes into hiding at Lorene's apartment. Despite Prewitt's AWOL status, his platoon sergeant carries him "present" for three days at Warden's direction. Lorene, whose real name is Alma, tends to Prewitt's wounds. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Enemy planes also attack nearby Wheeler Air Base as well as the barracks. Warden leads several of his men in battle by climbing to the roofs of the barracks and returns fire against strafing Japanese fighter planes, shooting down at least one of them. That evening, Prewitt, still weak from his unhealed wound, finds out about the attack over the radio, and attempts to return to camp under cover of darkness, despite protests from Lorene to wait until daylight. During the walk back to the barracks, Prewitt is spotted by several jittery sentries on the lookout for saboteurs. Instead of stopping and identifying himself to the sentries, Prewitt attempts to run and gets shot dead while running across a golf course, his body landing in a nearby sand trap. Warden arrives on the scene a few minutes later with military investigators and identifies the body. Warden laments Prewitt's stubbornness and states the irony that because of the attack, the December 15, 1941 boxing tournament has been canceled. Holmes' resignation results in Karen having to return to the States with him. When she finds out that Warden failed to apply for officer status, she realizes they will never be together. In the final scene, Lorene and Karen meet for the first (and only) time on a ship leaving for the mainland. Karen then tosses two leis into the water. She tells Lorene, "If the leis go to shore, a person will return to Hawaii. If the leis float out to sea, a person will never return." Lorene says she will never return to Hawaii, telling Karen that her fiance was an Army Air Corps pilot who was killed in a B-17 plane during the December 7th attack. Lorene quotes: "he was awarded the Silver Star, they sent it to his mother. She wrote me. She wanted me to have it. They are very fine people, Southern people. He was named after a general. Robert E. Lee Prewitt." Karen recognizes Prewitt's name from conversations with Warden and is aware that Lorene is lying about Prewitt's death, but she says nothing. The final shot shows Lorene holding Prewitt's treasured bugle mouth piece.