Bebe-Neuwirth Movie Reviews

Volume 8 in the "Cheers" collection offers us both parts of "I'll Be Seeing You," the final pair of episodes from the show's second season (Original Airdates: 05/03 & 10/84). In the first part, Diane becomes furious when she learns Sam has been named one of the ten most eligible bachelors in Boston. To get back in Diane's good graces, Sam decides to have a portrait painted of her. Cliff advises him to hire Phillip Semenko (Christopher Lloyd in a wonderful guest spot). Of course, Sam cannot stand Semenko, but the artist is intrigued by Diane's "tortured soul" and insists on doing the painting anyway. In the second part, Sam forbids Diane to have her portrait done by Semenko, but she goes ahead and does it anyway. The episode/season concludes with Sam and Diane having a horrible fight (including the nose pulling depicted on the cover). In the end Diane walks out the door promising never to come back. Sam is left alone with the painting and when he looks at it all he can say is, "Wow." A very nice moment. Both of these episodes (#43 and #44 for those keeping count) were written by the Charles brothers and directed by James Burroughs.

Roundly applauded by the English press, this American Independent has received little attention here--certainly not the attention it deserves. Writer/Director Taav has created a sexual landscape so fraught with suspicion and confusion that no character, no matter how well-meaning, and no action, no matter how benign, can be taken at face value. This is a wonderfully written, visually imaginative low budget film that is alternately quite funny and quite frightening. Will Patton and Bebe Neuwirth are excellent as the two lovers; Ted Levine, in an uncredited role, is riotous; and the climactic battle between Patton and his boss, Robert Pastorelli, is startling and original. I strongly recommend that you see it if you haven't, and that you see it again if you have.

This 3rd Volume in the "Cheers" collection offers a couple of episodes from the show's first season. "The Boys in the Bar" (Original Airdate: 01/27/83) finds Tom Kenderson (Alan Autry) coming by the bar to ask for Sam's support for his autobiography. Of course, Sam has not read the book and has to be told by Diane that in it Tom "comes out of the closet." Sam is thrown, but in the end he supports his friend. When gays start frequenting the bar, the gang decide they have to take matters into their own hands to stop Cheers from becoming a gay bar. The teaser for this episode has Harry Anderson helping Diane cover the pool table. Written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs, this episode was directed by James Burrows and is #16 for those keeping count.

"Let Me Count the Ways" (Original Airdate: 01/13/83) finds the gang trying to provide emotional support for Diane after her cat dies. Meanwhile, having received a hot tip Sam and Coach actually bet against the Celtics (secretly, of course). Rhea Perlman's sister Heide this episode, #14, which was directed by James Burrows. Actually, he directed all of them. This tape really deserves 4 1/2 stars. "Boys in the Bar" is certainly a 5, one of the early episodes to demonstrate Sam had some substance. But "Let Me Count the Ways" is an average "Cheers" episode.

Watching these old Cheers episodes just conviinces me all the more that in the beginning, Cheers was parallel to Seinfeld, Mash and any other great American sitcom, sadly this couldn't be said by the end of the show's run. Boys in the bar is the first episode to properly explore Sam's character and morals, by the end of the show's run, it was hard to tell whether Sam still had a personality. Let me count the ways is, in my opinion, one of the greatest Cheers episodes. In the show's early years, the beauty of the writing was in how out of place Dinae was in the bar, and the the rest of the gang reacted in contrast. This episode also proves the sprak that actors Ted Danson and Shelley Long created were when put together (although it was said Sam and Diane's bitter squabbling spilled over into the on-set atmosphere.) In my opinion, it was this spark that was the soul of the whole show, I rarely watched once Kirstie Alley came on board, all that was left was great characters, while the writing had no real focus. But watch these classic episodes, and you're watching some of the best television ever written.

I was wondering is there a way you could get all of the episodes on video? If not at least half. And if so how much and how many tapes is it on

I adore Julie Andrews, and was pleased as punch to see her host this show. I rate this DVD a 1 STAR, and that one star is Julie Andrews. The rest of the women on this DVD just aren't her, and they never could sing as well as Julie. Elaine Stritch is fantastic to have here though, but the rest of these singers aren't very convincing. Audra McDonald's breathing and pitch problems are just odd--you always want to root for her and hope she'll eventually find the right pitch, but alas... Bebe Neuwirth... who cares? who is she? who was she? I'm just not interested. The tragedy is, of course, that Julie Andrews hosts, but isn't singing. This lot of marginally interesting broadway singers is a display of what's wrong with broadway today. Yawn.

The women are great. Some are out of this world! Whjoever called the camera shots (probably the director) had no sense of the intimacy of the material. One instance is the beautiful and very touching performance of "Fifty Percent" from the musical Ballroom, with Dorothy Loudon re-creating her performance from the original show. The beginning of the song is very intimate; in fact, the whole song is of an intimate nature. The director kept calling camera angles that take us far too far away from her face. One shot has us looking at a huge bunch of flowers behind her for a very long time. Stll her singing of the song is extraordinarilly moving. Too bad we can't see her for a great deal of the song. To make matter worse, after she finishes the song to a huge ovation from the audience; we see the audience looking to the corner curtain for what must be a curtain call and a standing ovation. Moronically the director edits to Liza Minelli standing in the middle of the stage, right after the audience have clearly been looking to the side curtain. Did he think we were not going to pay attention?

The performances are for the most part great! The editing and camera angles are horrible. Still worth a listen, even though at times we have to interpret what the singer is doing with the song acting wise because the camera is so far away from their faces.

These women have proven once again that they belong among Broadway's elite. Living in Kansas, I have never had the priviledge of seeing great Broadway performances. I have been resigned to collecting soundtracks of top-notch shows. This DVD provided me with the opportunity to see these performers. Julie Andrews looked exquisite and hosted graciously, despite her inability to sing. Some notable numbers: Bebe Neuwirth and Karen Ziemba; Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag (Chicago), Linda Eder absolutely rocked the audience with her performance of Man of La Mancha, Liza Minnelli had the crowd on their feet, Anna Kendricks and the (too-thin) Kit-Kat girls from Cabaret sweetly perform Life Upon the Wicked Stage and Kendricks is adorable. Karen Ziemba danced with The Rockettes in I Wanna Be A Rockette. And the Amazing Audra McDonald left even the most critical man I know absolutely speechless with her performance of Down With Love.
But far and beyond, and if for no other reason, the one you buy this DVD for, is the Andrew Lloyd Webber Love Trio. Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn perform 3 different songs from 3 different Webber musicals and come together in one of the most heart-stopping performances I have ever heard. If you are a fan of Broadway, this purchase is well worth it.

I think it's fairly obvious that someone over at Disney really cared about the sequel to 'A Goofy Movie' being a quality film. 'An Extremely Goofy Movie', while not being as funny as its predecessor, definitely has a lot of heart, and to me, that was what shined about this movie the most. There are at least two scenes that are so touching that if you're a sensitive person you may actually find yourself starting to cry. Personally, I didn't cry, but I actually found myself sympathizing with Goofy's plight. Imagine that! I was sympathizing with, of all cartoon characters, Goofy! It's a sign of outstanding direction when an animated movie can move a person that much.

In my opinion, the animation for this movie is right up there in quality with 'A Goofy Movie'. It could have been released in theaters and I don't think anyone would have noticed any difference in animation quality. The animation is crisp and the colors are vibrant.

The only area in which this movie lacks is comedy. Sure, it does have its laughs, but for me, the laughs were few and far between. Like I said above, I thought 'A Goofy Movie' was funnier.

Like certain others who have reviewed this movie, I too missed Roxanne. I thought there should have at least been some passing mention of her. Still, even though she wasn't even mentioned, it doesn't affect continuity. After all, a lot can happen during high school. There's any number of things that could explain why Roxanne is absent from the film.

Overall, I thought 'An Extremely Goofy Movie' was a great movie not because it was hilarious, but because it had a lot of heart. I'm looking forward to another sequel.

If you're looking for great action, plot, classic Disney-esqe animation and situations, and a great villian, then surely rent (or even better buy) this movie!!! I've been watching animation for a while, and this has to be one of my favortie Disney movies so far. Although I wasn't too anxious for it's release (considering Disney was squirting out sequels like mad at the time), I found it very entertaining with great morals without sacrificing the entertainment. You still have your classic Goofy slapstick for the younger viewers, real life conflicts, and some stuff only the adults will get; so it's a win-win for everyone. The animation was also quite good, for a sequel anyway. In relation to the first Goofy movie, this one might appeal more to the older audiences in the sence there are less out-there humorous situations, and more down-to-earth events with the college. I also found the college backdrop to be quite enriching to the story, and the skateboarding theme was good, both of which have never been seen in Disney before. Oh, and the 'villian team who cheats like crazy' maybe a tad predictable, but let me just say Bradley Uppercrust the Third is by far one of the best villians I have ever seen. Amoung one of the many new characters, he is the college hero (a real ladies man) and therefore is not a stereotypical evil Disney villian (trust me, you'll come to love his evil grin too). All, and all, this was a superb movie in all aspects and is a great video for families, animation lovers, people who just can't get out of the 70's, or people who just want to see the great villany (::sigh::).

If you went to to school with your dad, what would you do? And that's not your dad being a staff member, but a student. In an Extremely Goofy Movie, that is what happens. But then again, will a real school let, a grow up into school as a student? Goofy returns to college, to get a diagree. But his son Max is not happy about his father joinning him in school. As the movie opens, Max (Jason Marsden) is about to go away to college, and on the eve of college, he spents the time hanging with his friends B.J. (Rob Paulsen) and Robert (Pauly Shore). And the next day B.J. and Robert show up to pick Max up, leaving Goofy (Bill Farmer) to say "Good bye my college man". But when Goofy goofs oof at working and starts to day dream, he gets fired from his job, and goes to an unepoyment office, where it is discovered that Goofy nevered gradutated from college, and he nees to gradute from college to get a new job.

I was impressed with this mini-series when it was shown on Dutch television 10 years ago. Finally I got to buy a good version on DVD from somebody on eBay. I can hardly wait for the official DVD-version.

The Wild Palms Mini Series first aired a few years ago, it was made for TV and it is based on the comic strip by the same name that appeared in Details Magazine in the early 90's. Its main audience was Generation X'ers, but I've heard that the comic strip became very popular with aging hippies, potheads, and the "underground" in general because of its offbeat pace and cerebral content. I taped it off the TV when it first aired and have watched it many, many times. I will definitely buy it on DVD when it comes out. The film stars Jim Belushi as Harry Wyckoff; Dana Delaney as Grace, his wife; Angie Dickinson as Josie, Grace's mother; Robert Loggia as Senator Tony Kreutzer, Josie's brother; and a few others like Kim Catrall, Bebe Newirth , and Ernie Hudson.

Wild Palms is a story that takes place in the year 2065, and shows how technology has advanced to the point of being at the verge of making hollographic images physically interactive with human beings. Senator Kreutzer is about to launch a new sitcom on Channel 3 called Church Windows which will project the characters into people's living rooms. It will make people "feel" like part of the TV program. The dark side of the plan is that in order for people to interact with the hollograms, they have to take the drug MIMIZINE. Prolonged use of the drug has a side effect...it causes the user to see hallucinations of cathedrals and churches and it is ultimately fatal. But Senator Kreutzer wants the whole world to get hooked on hollographic TV for his own purposes, but you'll have to watch the film to find out what that is.

Wild Palms is the first major production concerning VIRTUAL REALITY, though there was a kind of predecessor in TRON and in other lesser known films. The concept of VR has been used in movies again and again since Wild Palms in varying degrees of benevolence and malevolence (e.i. THE LAWNMOWER MAN, VIRTUOSITY, THE MATRIX), but when Wild Palms first came out the idea of VR was pretty fresh and open to exploration. The premise of VR is that human beings can communicate, interact, copulate, and in essence live and die in VR which is an extension of the real world within a network of computers (like the internet).

The conflict in Wild Palms begins with Senator Kreutzer, he is the founder of a group called "The Fathers" who epitomize capitalism and right-wing, traditional politics (their corruption notwithstanding). Their antagonists are "The Friends" whose founder is a political prisoner named Eli Levitz. Eli used to be married to Josie...their daughter is Grace.

Chickie Levitz (played by Brad Douriff) has the secret to the GO CHIP, which is the thing that will allow Senator Kreutzer to achieve his final goal once everyone is hooked into the Church Windows Sitcom.

Throughout the film there's betrayal, seduction, incest, murder, and torture. None of it is overly graphic as it is not a "gore" film as such. The atmosphere of fear and impending doom is created more by what it implies than by what it shows. Like when Josie pokes the eyes out the artist. Not much is shown in the way of gore, but the scene is pretty disturbing.... Later in the film, as he prepares for revenge ,he says to Josie, "...once I was a painter, and mixing colors was my joy...", he then pokes her eyes out, and as she's screaming on the floor he shoots her a number of times.

The film is very textural and warbles in and out of psychological focus. It mixes Oriental mysticism, politics, philosophy, hi-tech drugs, and the American Dream in a mish-mash so weird, you just have to watch it to understand it. Many of the scenes are reminiscent of Peter Greenaway films (a.i. A Zed and Two Noughts, Drowning by Numbers, etc.)

I remember seeing this mini series when I was 13 years old. Ever since then I haven't been able to get it's images out of my mind. It is an awesome movie and a great cast. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to dive into fantasy and get lost in it's wonders.

Similiar in premise to Mark L. Lester's CLASS OF 1999 with an obvious ode to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, screenwriter Kevin Williamson joins forces with director Robert Rodriguez for a fast-moving "aliens take over our school" popcorn flick. With a director known best for Mexican gun battle movies and a writer known for wise-cracking parodies of slasher flicks, a movie about aliens taking over high school classrooms would not seem like an obvious choice.

A group of high school students led by super-senior Hartnett (in his debut role) are shocked to discover that their teachers are actually alien invaders. It's up to dweeby Elijah Wood, snobby Jordana Brewster, and a handful of jocks and outcasts to stop them. As it turns out, the beings that live inside their hosts have a fatal reaction to the ingredients in the class drug dealer's stash. Using the contraband as their weapon, the group heads to the high school where the teachers are ready and waiting.

While it does provide some tense moments, this movie seems to play it safe a little too often. Rather than sacrifice its more popular characters, it always seems to stick them in escapable situations and pander to what the audience would like to see happen with them. The kids, who are on a "Breakfast Club" tip very rarely seem to be in any authentic danger. This seems more like a kiddie-version of Heinlan's "Puppet Masters" than a real serious sci-fi thriller. For all its faults, at the very least, this film has fun with its cast which includes Robert Patrick, Jon Stewart, Famke Jannsen, Usher Raymond, Duane Martin, and a dressed-down Salma Hayek. Hartnett, in particular, has very rarely been as good. Williamson's always-overwritten characters aren't quite as obnoxious as they were in his "Scream" scripts though subsquently, Rodriguez's style feels just a little toned down. What many had assumed to be his trademark Mexican stand-off style mentality of directing is not quite the case here. He's moving in a different direction and while I am a fan of his other style, it is good to see him try something different. The collaborative efforts of both seem to combine for an entertaining if somewhat predictable and harmless new take on an old story.

A pleasantly enjoyable alien invasion movie which pits the wits of a rapidly-shrinking group of high schoolers against a rapidly-growing group of water-loving alien monsters.
Plot-wise, there's not much new: 'Something's not quite right at school' is the theme that takes up most of the film, with the usual disbelieved teenagers trying to warn their parents of the danger amongst them.
Certain parts of the film are full of holes; the courageous tactic used by the kids to dispose of the aliens seems slightly ridiculous and the usual character mold of the over-sexed, dentally perfect, highschool students being pursued by something evil, puts the film in Cliché Land.
However, 'The Faculty' works well through convincing special effects, one or two surprises and the intrigue of not knowing who is human and who is alien. Reminiscent of several better films, such as 'The Thing', it fails in atmospherics but makes up its losses with a very impressive twist near the end.
Look out for a young Josh Hartnett who went on to star in 'Pearl Harbor' and an even younger Elijah Wood, who was to become internationally famous as Frodo Baggins in 'The Lord of The Rings'.
Overall, 'The Faculty' is very watchable; not destined for the Horror Hall of Fame but something which could easily make it to your video shelf, to be watched again and again.
This is a movie for fans of furtive alien takeovers of the 'Body Snatchers' kind.

This movie was great but I thought it was a little too gruesome. but it has now become my favorite movie.

Written and directed by Barry Levinson, who gave us the other Baltimore classics of Diner(82), Avalon(90), and Tin Men(87), as well as Rain Man (87), Good Morning Vietnam, Bugsy, Wag the Dog, and the Baltimore based Homicide tv series. This can be considered the "most Jewish" of these four films, especially since the word "Jewish" appears three times in the first 60 seconds. The period is the 1950's (1954) in the Jewish neighborhood of Liberty Heights in Baltimore. It is Levinson's personal homage to growing up Jewish in a time of Eisenhower, school desegregation, and rock and roll. From one Rosh haShana to the next, the world is changing: Jews meet non-Jews, whites meet blacks, burlesque meets television, running numbers meet the state lotteries. Nate Kurtzman (Joe Mantegna) is the daddy who happens to run numbers. He also owns a dying burlesque house. Ben (Eli from Freaks and Geeks) and syl-Van (Adrien Brody, Summer of Sam, King of the Hill) are Nate's two sons. Bebe Neuwirth plays the Ada, the mommy. While sensitive high school student Ben falls for Sylvia (singer and actress Rebekah Johnson), a black classmate, and ventures into the unknown world of black neighborhoods and families, college-student Van (the Levinson surrogate) falls for Dubbie (Supermodel Carolyn Murphy), a harsh uni-dimensional stereotype of the white, Protestant, country-club member. Some say that the second half of the film becomes a tad too melodramatic; others criticize the portrait of Little Melvin (Orlando Jones from Mad TV) and Dubbie, but the film remains a touching, wonderful nostalgic homage nonetheless. As for some inside scoops: Take note of the diner scenes which use some of the original "friends" from Levinson's feature debut "Diner." Also the composer, ANDREA MORRICONE, is the son of Ennio Morricone. This is his first film score. Take note of the graduation robes colors at the end of the film. Also, take note of the high holiday prayer at the film's end? Sheldon is played by Evan Nuemann, and Murray by Gerry Rosenthal. The character of Ben is based on Levinson's cousin Eddie (who lived three houses from the house used in the film). The location of the James Brown concert was filmed in Frederick, Maryland, since Pennsylvania Avenue was destroyed during subsequent riots. The synagogue location is Rabbi David E. Herman's Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue on the corner of Liberty Heights and Holmes Avenue. The Cantor is played by Barry Black, who was discovered at a wedding in Woodbury Long Island. He was asked to record Bayom Hahu. Also, take note of the car driven by the Pillsbury Jewboy (a Studebaker).

Liberty Heights, a new movie written and directed by Barry Levinson, shows gives a complex portrait of what it was like to be a teenager during the mid-Fifties in Baltimore, MD. In many of his movies, Levinson uses a character as a cinematic equal to himself. If Elijah Wood was the young, wide-eyed representative of Levinson in Avalon, Ben Foster plays the curious, more mature teenage version in Liberty Heights. The change in the age of Levinson's cinematic emissary is reflected strongly in the film. Taking place in 1954, the film covers such topics as racism, segregation, and anti-Semitism with a more cynical and much less reverential eye than the beatific Avalon. Foster's character, Ben Kurtzman, is a high school senior with one African-American girl in his class as a result of the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision. Partially as a result of a friendship with her, he begins to see the world for what it really is, exiting the sheltered world of his youth where everyone was Jewish and no one had a problem with that. It is apparent that this movie will not sugar-coat this era from the very beginning when Ben's mother, Ava (Bebe Neuwirth), refers to anyone not Jewish as "the other kind" moments into the film. Ava is certainly a kind and sympathetic character, but like everyone else, she is real. To wit, Ben's father (Joe Mantegna) is the proprietor of a burlesque theater and runs a numbers game on the side for real income. The film revolves around the three men of the Kurztman household: Ben, his father and his older brother, Van (Adrien Brody). While Ben is literally discovering African-Americans for the first time, Van, a student at the University of Baltimore, is confronted with anti-Semitism and the barriers that exist for him because he is Jewish. One of the most interesting aspects of this film is the comparison of anti-Semitism with racism against Blacks. It becomes evident that though the civil rights movement was beginning to make headlines during those times, Jews faced a similar, yet subtler brand of discrimination. The performances in Liberty Heights are excellent across the board. Foster quite ably carries the film, aptly conveying a cynical yet curious outlook on the events that unfold. Also good is Rebekah Johnson, who plays Sylvia, the Black girl in Ben's class whom he befriends. Though the same was true of all the performances, Johnson's was particularly free of any of the conventions of acting, coming across as simple and genuine. With Liberty Heights, Barry Levinson has managed to paint a compellingly complex and accurate picture of what the mid-Fifties were like. This multi-faceted story shows it to have been an era where discrimination knew no color or religion, but where change happened rapidly and, in many cases, for the better.

Barry Levinson's semi-autobiographical look at life in the mid '50's, from a Jewish perspective, is funny, interesting, and poignant, and fairly strange. It ironically stars Joe Montegna as a Jewish business man, with many troubles, Bebe Neuwirth, as his wife and some other interesting characters. One funny, but not funny, moment (if your Jewish) is when his son tries to go to a Halloween party dressed as Adolf Hitler, much to the horror of his mother and grandmother (which is understandable). An interesting side story is the relationship between one son and a highly attractive (black) girl. Prejudice runs several ways in this movie; a definite reflection of the times, but does not detract from it. [An aside-the only thing that marred the viewing of this disc was a slight bit of debris; which I cleared off and then the disc played fine-a bit of advice to all dvd users to check and clean edge to edge; never, ever, in a circular fashion.] Otherwise a fine film. Well acted, good story, which does a credit to Mr. Levinson. Recommended.

Written and directed by Barry Levinson, who gave us the other Baltimore classics of Diner(82), Avalon(90), and Tin Men(87), as well as Rain Man (87), Good Morning Vietnam, Bugsy, Wag the Dog, and the Baltimore based Homicide tv series. This can be considered the "most Jewish" of these four films, especially since the word "Jewish" appears three times in the first 60 seconds. The period is the 1950's (1954) in the Jewish neighborhood of Liberty Heights in Baltimore. It is Levinson's personal homage to growing up Jewish in a time of Eisenhower, school desegregation, and rock and roll. From one Rosh haShana to the next, the world is changing: Jews meet non-Jews, whites meet blacks, burlesque meets television, running numbers meet the state lotteries. Nate Kurtzman (Joe Mantegna) is the daddy who happens to run numbers. He also owns a dying burlesque house. Ben (Eli from Freaks and Geeks) and syl-Van (Adrien Brody, Summer of Sam, King of the Hill) are Nate's two sons. Bebe Neuwirth plays the Ada, the mommy. While sensitive high school student Ben falls for Sylvia (singer and actress Rebekah Johnson), a black classmate, and ventures into the unknown world of black neighborhoods and families, college-student Van (the Levinson surrogate) falls for Dubbie (Supermodel Carolyn Murphy), a harsh uni-dimensional stereotype of the white, Protestant, country-club member. Some say that the second half of the film becomes a tad too melodramatic; others criticize the portrait of Little Melvin (Orlando Jones from Mad TV) and Dubbie, but the film remains a touching, wonderful nostalgic homage nonetheless. As for some inside scoops: Take note of the diner scenes which use some of the original "friends" from Levinson's feature debut "Diner." Also the composer, ANDREA MORRICONE, is the son of Ennio Morricone. This is his first film score. Take note of the graduation robes colors at the end of the film. Also, take note of the high holiday prayer at the film's end? Sheldon is played by Evan Nuemann, and Murray by Gerry Rosenthal. The character of Ben is based on Levinson's cousin Eddie (who lived three houses from the house used in the film). The location of the James Brown concert was filmed in Frederick, Maryland, since Pennsylvania Avenue was destroyed during subsequent riots. The synagogue location is Rabbi David E. Herman's Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue on the corner of Liberty Heights and Holmes Avenue. The Cantor is played by Barry Black, who was discovered at a wedding in Woodbury Long Island. He was asked to record Bayom Hahu. Also, take note of the car driven by the Pillsbury Jewboy (a Studebaker).

Liberty Heights, a new movie written and directed by Barry Levinson, shows gives a complex portrait of what it was like to be a teenager during the mid-Fifties in Baltimore, MD. In many of his movies, Levinson uses a character as a cinematic equal to himself. If Elijah Wood was the young, wide-eyed representative of Levinson in Avalon, Ben Foster plays the curious, more mature teenage version in Liberty Heights. The change in the age of Levinson's cinematic emissary is reflected strongly in the film. Taking place in 1954, the film covers such topics as racism, segregation, and anti-Semitism with a more cynical and much less reverential eye than the beatific Avalon. Foster's character, Ben Kurtzman, is a high school senior with one African-American girl in his class as a result of the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision. Partially as a result of a friendship with her, he begins to see the world for what it really is, exiting the sheltered world of his youth where everyone was Jewish and no one had a problem with that. It is apparent that this movie will not sugar-coat this era from the very beginning when Ben's mother, Ava (Bebe Neuwirth), refers to anyone not Jewish as "the other kind" moments into the film. Ava is certainly a kind and sympathetic character, but like everyone else, she is real. To wit, Ben's father (Joe Mantegna) is the proprietor of a burlesque theater and runs a numbers game on the side for real income. The film revolves around the three men of the Kurztman household: Ben, his father and his older brother, Van (Adrien Brody). While Ben is literally discovering African-Americans for the first time, Van, a student at the University of Baltimore, is confronted with anti-Semitism and the barriers that exist for him because he is Jewish. One of the most interesting aspects of this film is the comparison of anti-Semitism with racism against Blacks. It becomes evident that though the civil rights movement was beginning to make headlines during those times, Jews faced a similar, yet subtler brand of discrimination. The performances in Liberty Heights are excellent across the board. Foster quite ably carries the film, aptly conveying a cynical yet curious outlook on the events that unfold. Also good is Rebekah Johnson, who plays Sylvia, the Black girl in Ben's class whom he befriends. Though the same was true of all the performances, Johnson's was particularly free of any of the conventions of acting, coming across as simple and genuine. With Liberty Heights, Barry Levinson has managed to paint a compellingly complex and accurate picture of what the mid-Fifties were like. This multi-faceted story shows it to have been an era where discrimination knew no color or religion, but where change happened rapidly and, in many cases, for the better.

Barry Levinson's semi-autobiographical look at life in the mid '50's, from a Jewish perspective, is funny, interesting, and poignant, and fairly strange. It ironically stars Joe Montegna as a Jewish business man, with many troubles, Bebe Neuwirth, as his wife and some other interesting characters. One funny, but not funny, moment (if your Jewish) is when his son tries to go to a Halloween party dressed as Adolf Hitler, much to the horror of his mother and grandmother (which is understandable). An interesting side story is the relationship between one son and a highly attractive (black) girl. Prejudice runs several ways in this movie; a definite reflection of the times, but does not detract from it. [An aside-the only thing that marred the viewing of this disc was a slight bit of debris; which I cleared off and then the disc played fine-a bit of advice to all dvd users to check and clean edge to edge; never, ever, in a circular fashion.] Otherwise a fine film. Well acted, good story, which does a credit to Mr. Levinson. Recommended.

There was no chemistry between these two. The plot was tired, and there were no twists. You could see everything coming a mile away. I had high hopes. But it was boring.

The movie was okay. I didn't get to see it in theatres and was glad to not have spend the money to see it. The character played by Kate Hudson was supposed to lose this guy in ten days for an article she was to write about. The character played by Matthew McConauhey was supposed to make her fall in love with him. However, both were short-changing themselves and it showed from the beginning they met. I'm not going to say it was the worst movie to watch but it wasn't all that it was hyped up to be either. The only thing worth watching were the fashions worn in New York City.

Would have given it three and a half stars, if the option was available.

Kate Hudson plays an aspiring journalist who assigned a job at her less-than-serious-journalism-beauty-magazine called "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." Her assignment: Find a poor, unexpecting schmuck, make him fall in love overnight, and then do all the annoying little stereotypical quirks that girls do to push guys away - she must get rid of him in 10 days. Matthew M. plays an egotistical womanizing guy who makes a bet with his friends that he can make some poor unexpecting girl fall in love with him in 10 days. What a coincedence -shocker!- these two meet!!! Yeah, I know! I couldn't believe it, either! The rest of the movie is Kate Hudson doing everything she can to be annoying (she succeeds with flying colors!) and Matthew doing everything in his power to be a sweet, sensitive, and understanding boyfriend to try to make her fall for him. There are funny parts, and there are also extremely predictable and dull parts. But, the movie is saved by the acting of both Kate Hudson (who is too cute for words) and Matthew M. (um, hello? sexy as hell) I liked it. Not the best comedy of the year, but definitely worth watching. I think it makes a pretty good date movie, since there is the romance and girl humor for the girls, and guy humor for the guys.