Mercedes Ruehl

A young movie fan gets thrown into the movie world of his favorite action film star.

In the summer of 1942, two young boys are sent to stay with their stern grandmother and their childlike aunt in Yonkers, New York. In 1942 in the Bronx, Evelyn Kurnitz has just passed away following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred, and decides to ask his stern and straight talking mother, from whom he is estranged, if his two young sons can live with her and their Aunt Bella in Yonkers. She reluctantly agrees after a threat by Bella. Despite their Grandma owning and operating a candy store, Jay and Arty don't like their new living situation as they're afraid of their Grandma, and find it difficult to relate to their crazy Aunt Bella, whose slow mental state is manifested by perpetual excitability and a short attention span, which outwardly comes across as a childlike demeanor. Into their collective lives returns one of Eddie and Bella's other siblings, Louie Kurnitz, a henchman for some gangsters. He is hiding out from Hollywood Harry, who wants what Louie stole and is hiding in his small black bag. Jay and Arty's mission becomes how to make money fast so that they can help their father and move back in together, that money which may entail stealing the $15,000 their Grandma has hidden somewhere. Bella's mission is to find a way to tell the family that she wants to get married to Johnny, her equally slow movie theater usher boyfriend, the two who could also use $5,000 of her mother's money to open their dream restaurant. And Louie's mission is to survive the next couple of days. —Huggo

A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he once made, finds redemption in helping a mentally unstable homeless man who was an innocent victim of that mistake. Jack Lucas was once a famous, arrogant and egotistical New York City call-in radio talk show host. Largely self-inflicted due to remorse and grief, Jack goes on a quick downward spiral, both personally and professionally, after a glib comment he makes to one of his regular callers results in that caller going on a murder spree. Three years later, the only emotional and financial support a despondent Jack receives is from his current video store owning girlfriend, Anne. When Jack hits rock bottom, he meets a seemingly crazy and homeless man calling himself Parry. Parry does have mental health issues, namely hallucinations centered around the story of the Fisher King, which is why he has an obsession with obtaining the Holy Grail. When Jack learns of Parry's own background and the reason he got to where he is, Jack feels he needs to be part of Parry's salvation. He figures the way to do so is to connect Parry with Lydia Sinclair, a shy and uncoordinated woman who Parry loves from afar. In doing so, Jack may himself be able to recapture his old life back. But if he does, he may not realize that he was no saint in that former life. —Huggo A former radio shock-jock (Bridges) sinks into a boozy depression when his flip comment on the air is blamed for a shooting spree in an upscale cafe. Living off the kindness of long-suffering girlfriend Anne (Ruehl, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), Jack has an epiphany when he is rescued from street punks by Parry (Williams), a homeless former professor who has created a world of his own invention to insulate himself from the pain of witnessing his wife's death in the cafe shooting spree.

In Los Angeles, California, petty thief Edward "Eddie" Dash (Richard Pryor) makes a meager living posing as a jazz musician on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One day, Eddie drives to the Los Angeles County Probation Department, where he negotiates the terms of his community service. He agrees to spend 100 hours helping a patient from the Rivington Clinic sanatorium re-acclimate to outside life. George (Gene Wilder), the patient in question, is a pathological liar. When Eddie arrives, he has second thoughts about helping George, but George is elated to meet Eddie. They leave the clinic, and Eddie takes George to the Hollywood Wax Museum. There, George is frightened by "Frankenstein" and runs out of the museum, where he collides with a stranger named Al (Phil Rubenstein). The man mistakes George for his gambling partner, Abe Fielding. In order to repay a gambling debt, Al invites "Abe" to dinner that night. George protests, but Eddie sees an opportunity to make money and convinces him to go to dinner as "Abe." At the restaurant, Al asks "Abe" about his five-month disappearance, and George pretends to be "Abe" by fabricating stories about his and Eddie's recent adventures. Eddie is bewildered but tries to play along. After dinner, a woman named Elaine Fielding (Mercedes Ruehl), who claims to be the real "Abe's" wife, arrives in a limousine and demands to know how he spent the past five months. As they are driven home, Elaine tells "Abe" that she has no intention of believing his lies. She accuses him of having an affair and hints that the woman's jealous husband will seek revenge. At Elaine's house, George assumes that the real Abe Fielding has already been discovered by Elaine's husband and murdered without anyone's knowledge. He attempts to explain to Elaine that he is not Abe Fielding, but she walks around in her lingerie, and he becomes tongue-tied. The next day, Eddie drives through Beverly Hills, California, to the Fielding mansion, where George has adopted the persona of "Abe." Hoping to convince Elaine that Eddie should stay with them, "Abe" claims that Eddie is a famous retired prizefighter, and she agrees. When the friends are alone, Eddie expresses admiration for the far-fetched stories, but George is sad about succumbing to his illness as a pathological liar. That evening, "Abe" catches Eddie pilfering valuables from the mansion, but Eddie declares he is taking the objects to be cleaned. Later, "Abe" attempts to seduce his "wife," but their tryst is interrupted when a car pulls into the driveway. Eddie answers the door and Rupert Dibbs (Stephen Lang), the real Abe's business manager, storms into the house. Rupert welcomes "Abe" home, flirts with Elaine, and insults Eddie, who secretly pockets a pile of cash and several credit cards before driving away. George, as "Abe," feels bad about the ruse and tells Elaine that he must leave. He returns to his therapy group at the Rivington Clinic. Meanwhile, Elaine meets with Rupert, who reveals that she is an actress hired to impersonate "Mrs. Abe Fielding." Elaine wants out of the scheme, but Rupert convinces her to give the "role" another try. Rupert then goes to the county jail to pick up Eddie, who had been arrested for stealing the real Abe's credit cards. Rupert tells Eddie the truth about Abe Fielding. In real life, Abe was a free spirit who traveled the world, and none of his father's business associates, including Rupert, knew much about him. When Abe's father died, the young man was set to inherit a brewery fortune. After a brief search, it was discovered that Abe Fielding had died in a "freak accident." Rupert, coveting the inheritance for himself, needs to keep the estate out of probate, so he chose George to pass as "Abe," thinking the impersonation would be easy for a pathological liar. With the exception of Eddie, all of the people George met after leaving the hospital were actors hired by Rupert to corroborate "Abe's" identity. Rupert offers Eddie $10,000 to bring George back from the Rivington Clinic and continue living "Abe's" life. When "Abe" returns to the mansion, he attempts to impress Elaine, taking her to a German restaurant and delighting her with a yodeling song. They spend an intimate evening together. The next day, Elaine and Eddie take "Abe" to the dentist, per Rupert's request. While sitting in the waiting room, they realize that Rupert wants the dental records so that he can kill George, pass him off as "Abe," and claim the company fortune. Elaine and Eddie confront Rupert at his office, but the businessman denies their accusations. When Elaine leaves, Rupert admits their suspicions are true and asks Eddie to kill "Abe." Eddie is aghast, but a short while later, he drives "Abe" to the mountains under pretense of a hunting trip. At the hunting lodge, "Abe" unknowingly dons a wiretapped jacket given to him by Rupert, who listens in on "Abe" and Eddie while they hunt. Two gunshots ring out, and Rupert concludes that "Abe" is dead. A few days later, Rupert's actors meet in the tycoon's office for their final payment. Rupert asks them to attend "Abe's" memorial service at the Fielding brewery that afternoon as a final performance. At the funeral, Eddie confronts Rupert about the scam. Just then, the guests hear yodeling from the casket, alerting them to the fact that "Abe" is still alive. As "Abe" rises from his deathbed, Rupert claims he is an impostor, but the actors turn against Rupert and pretend that George is really "Abe." A chase ensues through the brewery and Rupert pushes "Abe" into a brewer's vat. However, Eddie follows and hits Rupert over the head with a bottle, rescuing his friend George. Finally able to tell the truth, George announces that his true name is "George Washington." Everyone would rather believe he is Abe Fielding, the proper inheritor of the brewery fortune. In the final scene, Elaine and George get married, and George and Eddie agree to be friends forever.

Benadette Peters stars in this ironic film based on Tama Janowitz's best-selling collection of short stories that defined the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s Eleanor lives with the artist Stash. Just like his artist friends, he is completely unknown but is waiting for the big break. Stash is mean to her and finally she leaves him. Ironically, she gets her big break - as a hat designer. —Mattias Thuresson

Based on the true story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books, which later developed into a close, long-distance friendship that evolved over the course of two decades. When a humorous script-reader in her New York City apartment sees an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature for a bookstore in London that does mail order, she begins a very special correspondence and friendship with Frank P. Doel (Sir Anthony Hopkins), the bookseller who works at Marks & Co., 84 Charing Cross Road. —Kathy Li 1949 marks the beginning of the nineteen year (1949 to 1968) unconventional and long distance love affair between Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) and Frank P. Doel (Sir Anthony Hopkins). Straightforward Helene is an aspiring New York City-based writer who works as a script editor. She is a voracious reader, especially of non-fiction. Frank is the efficient and knowledgeable head clerk at Marks & Co., a second-hand bookstore located at 84 Charing Cross Road in London. Unable to find the out-of-print books she wants at New York City bookstores without having to pay an arm and a leg, she writes to Marks & Co. hoping they can fill her order for a reasonable price. Frank and the bookstore staff are able to provide Helene most of what she wants at an acceptable price, including shipping. As such, she provides them with standing orders for more and more books. But as time goes on, their correspondence not only deals with Helene's orders, but what is happening in their lives and in the world around them, including Frank's loving marriage to his wife, Nora (Dame Judi Dench), and their two children. Helene dreams one day of being able to travel to London to meet Frank and the other Marks & Co. staff; the people who have been able to fulfill a great need in her life. —Huggo