Reviews

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi are the Blues Brothers (Jake and Elwood) and they push comedy to the ridiculous level. They are on a mission from God to raise $5k (in back property taxes) that is needed to save the orphanage where they were raised as kids. They decided to put their old band together and stage a fund raising concert. Sounds very bland until you add some sub plots such as Carrie Fisher who's trying to kill Jake (aka Belushi) for leaving her at the altar. She uses a variety of high end weaponry to do Belushi in (fails at every attempt). Another sub plot involves an interaction with an American Nazi Party on a bridge.

What I like about Blues Brothers is it goes to the extreme in sub plots. Throughout the movie the Blues Brothers seem determine to find their former band mates no matter where they are or what they're doing. They eventually raise the money. The final scene is in Joliet Prison with the Blues Brothers performing "Jailhouse Rock" for the inmates. Updated versions of the Blues Brothers didn't quite hit the mark.

The type of fighting shown in the movie "Fighting" is circuit/street fighting that pits two fighters in a battle of tough guy v tough guy. Shawn MacArthur aka Channing Tatum is a street hustler hustling on a corner near Radio City Music Hall. A group of street hustlers attempt to take over the corner that Shawn is occupying. Shawn shows some fighting skills as he attempts to fight them off. There are too many of them and they take his merchandise and money. Later on Shawn sees the same guys in a restaurant with their leader Harvey Boarden aka Terence Howard. Harvey took notice of Shawn's fighting skills and asked him if he wanted to make some real money instead of the nickel dime money he was earning at his corner. Harvey sees and opportunity to make real money (thousands of $$$).

Shawn's advantage when he fights is the will and skills necessary to win. The movie has some sub plots that gives "Fighting" depth. The sub plots I liked because we learn about Shawn. We learn that he doesn't like talking about his father and he doesn't like to be touched especially by someone who's messing with him. At a club scene Shawn meets a former college teammate (Evan Hailey aka Brian White) that he trained with. We learn there is bad blood between them. That bad blood will eventually come to a crossroad. The pacing of the movie is good as Shawn grapples with an Asian fighter who has boxing and martial arts skills. We see in this fight that Shawn can take a punch and recover quickly. The Asian fighter attempts to put Shawn in various submission holds that Shawn can counter. Shawn doesn't back down but rather counters the Asian's skillful moves. Shawn shows the ability to adjust and counter. In the end the Asian wraps his legs around Shawn's neck and Shawn lifts him up and slams him down. This move stuns the Asian fighter who lays down nearly unconscious. Two street fight promoters are watching the fight and notice that Harvey has a legit fighter to fight their guy Evan.

In the final fight Shawn and Evan meet to fight for some serious cash (i.e. $500,000.00). This is a winner take all fight. Harvey wants Shawn to throw the fight. Shawn at first agrees then changes his mind. Evan manages to put Shawn in a choke hold thinking Shawn will either tap out or pass out. Shawn knows that this is where he showed throw the fight and tap out. Shawn changes his mind and reverses the hold and gets back on his fight where he exchanges blows with Evan. Evan doesn't have Shawn's punching power and eventually Shawn knocks Evan to the ground where he commences to punch him. Evan is too weak to counter his punching and/or defend himself. Shawn sees that Evan is no longer responding.

Shawn stands up knowing he has won. This does not set well with those who set this up expecting Evan to win. In the final scene we learn that Shawn and his lady friend Zulay bet on Shawn to win. The final scene is in Harvey's apartment where Harvey tells Shawn that he (Harvey) is a dead man because beat Evan instead of throwing the fight. Shawn tells Harvey that he bet money that he would win and opened up a gym bag showing one million dollars that he won.

Shawn invites Harvey to join him, Zulay, her grandmother and daughter. As the credits role we have an aerial view of the station wagon assuming Shawn, Zulay and the rest are heading out of New York City. Harvey suggested they head west to California. Does Shawn follow Harvey and head west. "Fighting" offers a snap shot of life in the streets and those who choose to live there. It's survival of the fittest. Shawn is a young man who knows how to survive and isn't afraid of the unknown. I liked "Fighting" because you see New York City as it is.

John Candy plays inept to perfection. When his character "Harry Crumb" displays his ineptness, you see Crumb take it in stride. He somehow comes out looking good. Crumb is hired to find the recently kidnapped daughter (Nikki Downing aka of multi-millionaire P. J. Downing aka Barry Corbin. Thru ought the movie Crumb wears on disguises when he does his investigation. Each disguise is an exaggeration of the character he's portraying. In each disguise you see how comfortable Candy is and what he's willing to do to make the scene and his disguise work. Candy is one of my favorite comedians. Jeffrey Jones plays a bad guy who sends Harry down many rabbit holes hoping Crumb will fail or look like a fool. To his amazement Crumb comes out of each rabbit hole looking brilliant. In the next to final scene Jones, thoroughly frustrated, admits his part in the kidnapping of Jennifer Downing aka Renee Coleman. This news surprises Crumb and gives him a new sense of confidence as he is promoted to President of Crumb and Crumb and takes on a new case that's in San Francisco. Crumb leaves dressed as a Show Girl.

Clara easily influences Aunt Bea when it comes to matters of the heart. In this episode it's about Clara convincing Bea that she needs a beau in her life so Andy can have the freedom of marrying Helen. Unfortunately Bea makes a beau who happens to be married. When Beau shares this with Andy he's delighted and shares this news with Mr. Nosy Deputy Fife. Fife wants to know everything about the guy but Andy has little to share. This frustrates Fife as Fife assumes Bea's beau could be a bad seed. Bea's beau turns out to be a butter and egg man and Fife sees his truck when he pulls in to get some gas. To Fife's shock he learns that the butter and egg (Mr Hendricks) man is married. He learns this from talking to the man's son. Such news causes Fife to go into overdrive and he wastes little time in telling Andy. Andy then visits Mr Hendricks with Fife in tow. Hendricks is also shocked when he hears the news and decides it would be best to cancel his business with the Taylors. In the next to final scene we have Clara having a chat with Andy about his relationship with Helen. He lets Clara know there is nothing new to share. Andy knows that Aunt Beaus desire to make up a boyfriend came from a conversation she had with Clara. This is the 'The Andy Griffith Show' at its best.

In 'Opie Loves Helen' Opie develops a crush on Ms Crump (i.e. Helen) his teacher. He seeks advice from his dad and dad is not very helpful. He then goes to Deputy Fife and Fife (not knowing who the ladies is) has him choose a romantic poem from a book he has in his personal library. Opie suggests that he calls the girl up and recite a selected poem over the phone. Fife agrees to call her and recite some verses from the poem. All goes well until Fife learns that Opie has called his teacher. Ms Crump calls the sheriff's office and informs Deputy Fife the phone call he just had with Opie. This alarms Fife because he didn't know Opie was reciting the poem to her. Earlier in this episode Fife shares with Andy his dinner date with his girlfriend Thelma Lou. We learn that Fife is a tight wad and Thelma Lou is ok with his tight ways. Under normal circumstances Fife and Thelma Lou go out to dinner going dutch. He's ok with his girlfriend paying for her meal. But that's the character Don Knotts developed and he would leave at the end of 1965 at the height of tightness. He was brilliant and his desire to be a bit tight was so comical. So this scene where he's describing his experience at an Italian restaurant is a treasure. He feels he's done something special leaving a 25 cent tip. He considers himself a ladies' man and has three ladies that he romances in his 5 year stint as Deputy Fife. So we have Opie showing his romantic side and Deputy Fife sharing his dinner with Thelma Lou and he's covering the bill. What guy!

Racism has been a scourge on our culture since its inception in the 17th and 18th century. You don't have to visit the south where slavery was it's own culture to see people still embracing racial or class superiority. The one race is superior to another has gone on from generation to generation in the U. S. and other countries. In movie, 'Mississippi Burning' it's the mid 60s south and three young men representing CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) at CORE station in Mississippi were pulled over for speeding and eventually encountered Klansmen from Neshoba County. They were shot to death and their bodies wouldn't be found for over a month later by FBI Agents investigating the incident.

In this movie Gene Hackman and Willim DeFoe play the lead characters. Hackman is a sheriff and DeFoe is a Senior FBI Agent in charge of the investigation of the murdered students. The local sheriff his deputy and mayor waste little time in expressing their dissatisfaction of the presence of the FBI and the sheriff. They dismiss the theory that the three young men were killed, and the bodies are buried somewhere locally. The black town people are very reluctant to help due to repercussions from the local KKK. I've seen the movie several times and I'm impressed with how real it is.

I grew up with racism in a Midwest city that had an east and west side divided by a couple of bridges. If you lived on the east side diversity was embraced. If you lived on the west side you had best have the right color of skin. I never understood how the color of a person's skin mattered. It does to those who truly believe their race is superior.

The movie is very believable in its portrayal of the Klan and how it did its dirty work. The FBI has to bend the rules a little in order to bring the guilty Klan members to justice and sent to prison.

The Sheriff has to resort to trickery to get the mayor to ok the voucher that sends the Mayberry Band to a state competition. Unfortunately, the band is horrible. They may have instruments but their ability to play has gone south. It is only through deception that the Band gets the ok from the mayor. That ok comes with the mayor being made to believe that the marching band he sees is a much improved Mayberry Band. He buys the deception and wishes them well at the competition. As they drive off they make the mistake of playing and the mayor realizes he's been duped. The mayor is played to perfection by seasoned character actor Parley Baer.

Ms Ellie nominates Andy to be the Judge of the 'Miss Mayberry' Beauty contest. Following the nomination Andy has a conversation with Ms Ellie suggests (much to his dismay) that the reason she nominated him was so he could pick her though other candidates would enter. Ms Ellie wastes no time and berates Andy for suggesting she had that thought in mind. Taylor is then inundated with parents parading their daughters before Andy as possible winners. Eventually Miss Ellie is put in the mix of Miss Mayberry candidates, and she expresses her displeasure to Andy at the crowning ceremony.

At the last-minute Andy chooses the lady that has assisted him through the various stages of the contest (Erma Bishop). Erma is played by veteran character actress Lillian Bronson. Ms Ellie shows her appreciation to Andy as the other candidates begin to cry feeling they should've been picked. As a final touch Floyd the barber sings the song 'Hail to thee Miss Mayberry'.

Aunt Bea finally grows a beautiful rose for the annual Mayberry Flower Show. It is a beauty. Clara Edwards has entered a flower and feels confident that her entry is a winner. She has won the previous seven shows. But her entry doesn't have the depth and vibrant color that was grown by Aunt Bea. Andy was so impressed with Bea's entry that he took a photo. Unfortunately, Opie decides to play catch with his best buddy and his buddy misses catching the football. The football hits the rose and breaks the stem. They try to tape the rose back on the stem but that didn't work, and the rose is destroyed.

Much to his dismay Opie does the right thing and shows the broken rose to Andy who tells Aunt Bea. She has no choice but to withdraw from the competition. At the show Aunt Bea knew who the winner would be as Clara sat behind her and smugly talks about her about her soon to be winning rose. She says it too bad that Bea had to withdraw from the show. Andy explains why Bea had to withdraw and the camera shows a different expression on Clara's face (one of disappointment).

Opie shows up with a gift wrapped package. The package is the framed photo of Bea's entry. Opie had the photo of the Bea's rose (taken by Andy) framed and Clara saw how exquisite Bea's entry was. She knew that Bea's entry was superior to hers. With no hesitation she took the framed photo to the judges table and removed the blue ribbon from her rose and put it on the framed photo of Aunt Bea's entry. The audience was in agreement with Clara and Aunt Bea's rose was declared the winner. One of the best episodes of Clara showing much class considering her penchant for winning.

The Shiloh Ranch Chinese cook Ah Sing wants to open a Chinese Restaurant in Medicine Bow. He is denied a license due to being Asian and the concern (s) the Medicine Bow's Justice of the Peace Milo Temple has regarding the Asian culture. His concerns are not well founded and Mr Grainger is angered when He hears Mr Temple's reasons.

Ah Sing is not defeated and knows Mr Temple is wrong! The episode is well written as Ah Sing shows resilience in his efforts to fight Mr Temple using the Constitution as his weapon. Mr Grainger hires a seasoned alcoholic attorney to represent Ah Sing in a Circuit Court hearing. And to add a twist to this episode Edmond O'Brien plays Ah Sing's alcoholic attorney.

The Circuit Court judges are not impressed when O'Brien shows up inebriated. With as much tolerance as they can muster O'Brien is allowed to stay and represent his client. That turns into a blessing as O'Brien does a super job pointing out the injustice Ah Sing encountered when applying for a license. In the end his request for a license is approved. The final scene shows Ah Sing's bride arriving and a close sign is displayed as he decides to spend some time w/his new bride.

Although 'Frankie' had a seasoned cast the story and its energy level waned. Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear should be enough to carry the story of a movie forward they failed. I'm not familiar with French actress Isabelle Huppert. She played the principal character. The story has her visiting Portugal with only a few months to live. In this story you've got love, marriage and money problems to juggle. It's considered a drama.

The one silver lining could be where the film was shot ... Sintra, Portugal. Sintra is near Lisbon, Portugal and has it's share of castles. Some very picturesque castles. However, this movie was not about the magical castles but Sintra has natural beauty and that helped move 'Frankie' along. This wasn't 'Love Story' or 'Terms of Endearment' with a very compelling story. Instead we have a woman with a few months to live choosing to spend those days with her family and offering some sage advice. Yawn!

Let's say I choose to give 'Frankie another shot. I would already know that love, marriage and money problems are sub plots I'd let those issues serve as my multiple anchors. Of the ten actors giving their all (in this 98 minute drama) Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear stood out. They both have strong resumes: Marisa Tomei was amazingly funny in 'My Cousin Vinny'; Greg Kinnear played a distraught gay man in 'As Good As It Gets'. In 'Frankie' they are paired up as a couple that might get married. There's a scene where Greg gives Marisa a ring and sort of asks her to marry him. They seem to come to an agreement that marriage could or would be a good thing. I found that scene humorous because it was as though they were playing a board game and Greg decided to stop playing and give her a ring and she seemed pleased that he did. She then asked if this was a marriage proposal and he replied that perhaps it was. He didn't get on his knee or offer a rose or make it more romantic.

I wouldn't put this movie on the shelf. But know that the energy level is low considering you have such seasoned actors. I'd say give it one more try.

In this version of the classic Japanese action series, you've got a gigantic lizard/reptile that swims to New York and looks for a place to hatch its eggs. When it reaches New York conventional methods (rockets from helicopters) fail to stop this version of Godzilla. I'm wondering couldn't they get close enough (if that was possible) and cut his head off. Surely well-placed missiles could've slice of his head. Matthew Broderick's character (Dr Tatopoulos) join a group of French mercenaries to go to Madison Square Garden and pursue the creature where he/she has laid a bazillion eggs and attempt to get rid of them. Meantime there's been a few eggs hatched and the baby lizards have grown at an alarming rate. Yes, that's right they've grown at an alarming rate. That means the pursuers are being chased by some very hungry creatures with sharp teeth.

Let me add that these lizards are rather large and can scamper at a very fast pace. What I don't get is how do they can see their pursuers (ie the humans). Ok let's say they have no problem seeing them and of course there's no way to chop off their heads. Yes I'm still on that issue. How about shooting their eyes out. And why are they that hungry for human flesh. Ok maybe too many questions. What I surmised is the creators of these creatures gave them some amazing traits. In one scene Matthew Broderick is able to push back a lizard with his boot. He's in an elevator and a lizard is pursuing him. He wore some very strong boots.

This movie requires some suspension of reality as BIG mother lizard seems highly adaptable. Again, no chopping off of the head just a ton of missiles launched and hitting their target (the lizard) while on a bridge. Do I recommend it ... yes ... it has entertainment value as a mixture of drama, action and some comedy combine to make this pic viewable. The scenes in Madison Sqaure Garden are worth the view.

Floyd the Barber (aka Howard McNear) decides to deceive a lady in a lonely hearts/pen pal correspondence. He makes himself out to be a wealthy business man and she decides to visit Mayberry and meet him. Andy Taylor volunteers to help in his deception thinking that the lady (Madelyn Grayson) may be just as a much a deceiver as he is. He is right she is.

Taylor happens to be housesitting one of Mayberry's wealthy citizen's mansion while that citizen is visiting a family in New Orleans. He decides to use the mansion as Floyd's residence. Fast forward to Madelyn showing up in a Lincoln Coupe. The charade begins as Floyd meets Madelyn and his maid (Aunt Bee), his very older son (Andy Taylor) followed by an unexpected visit from Opie. Madelyn buys into this charade and is invited to sit down and begins a friendly conversation w/Floyd.

Ms Grayson is pleased that Floyd is who he says he is. Unfortunately the conversation shifts to Madelyn suggesting she stay longer then one day. She says she's not in a rush to drive to Palm Beach. She goes outside to get her luggage and asks Floyd to send out Andy to help her. Floyd shares this news with Andy. Andy decides that's it it is time for the truth to be told. Floyd goes to the kitchen and Andy waits for Madelyn to return. Andy reveals who he is and shows Madelyn his sheriff's badge. He further states that Floyd is not the wealthy man he claims to be. As he speaks the truth Madelyn begins to chuckle and asks Andy where she went wrong. She reveals that she's not a wealthy widow and is Andy going to arrest her. Andy says he's not going to arrest her because not actual crime has been committed. But he suggests she moves on. She also reveals that the car she's driving is a rental. Madelyn leaves and comments that this is the first time she's been caught in her lie. Andy says the next sheriff may not be so generous.

I can't imagine any other actor playing the role of Floyd. He was Floyd the Barber for 6 years. In this episode I found Howard McNear to be at his quirky best. He'd joined a pen pal correspondence club and reinvents himself becoming a wealthy businessman. Of course the lady (aka Doris Dowling) he corresponds was equally deceptive. Dowling plays a very convincing role as Madelyn. She arrives driving a Lincoln and dressed to the nines. A lovely lady putting on a rather convincing show.

Rambo is intrepid in his pursuit of good and fighting bad guys. In this installment Rambo is in Bowie, Az. He will be dealing with a Mexican Cartel. This installment is not shy about showing violent scenes and drug overdose. The bad guys are really bad and the women they manipulate are very weak and submissive. Oh and did I mention you've got heroine overdose and excessive beatings on women. And with many of Rambo movies women die. About two thirds of the way he muscles his way into a brothel and finds his niece who's been over injected with heroine. Fast forward and she dies. Rambo is a good man and with his niece's death comes retribution on those who caused her death.

What I find intriguing about this movie is there is an attempt to balance the violence with good deeds. When the good deeds are shown the movie takes a turn in a more positive direction. Atd this point the bad guys are now being pursued by Rambo. He has no problem taking them to an early grave. When you live by the sword you die by the sword. And that death will not be the result of natural causes.

Mayberry is supposed to be a laid back community of rural living people. In this episode it tends to be anything but. A visiting preacher from the big city gives a sermon on how folks should slow down and be more relaxed. I found it funny when Gomer Pyle gets so relaxed, during the message, that he falls asleep. How more relaxed can you get. The folks sitting around him and the visiting preacher seemed to take exception to his snoring. Later on while sitting on Taylor's porch Andy, Barney, Gomer, Aunt Bee and Aunt Bee's friend Helen decide how much fun it would be to have a community concert that evening. They recalled how relaxed they were during these Sunday evening events but they forgot how much work it took to put the event on. They would need to give attention to several items that required some repair such as: the much in need of repair band uniforms, the performing stage that was full of spiders, making a sign and having an impromptu band rehearsal.

It didn't take long for all the workers to learn that all the elements required to have a concert were in a bad state of disrepair. And it didn't long for the same workers to start petty arguments on what was needed to do proper repairs. With egos sharing space with personalities the arguments went on full alert and thankfully ended quickly. All the workers realized, especially Taylor, that a concert wasn't doable because the repairs needed would take well beyond a couple of hours. They wisely returned to relaxing on the porch.

The final scene has the visiting preacher showing up in a chauffeured vehicle and being pleased as he sees all the workers (i.e. Andy, Barney, Gomer, Aunt Bee and Helen) are sitting on the porch very relaxed. Gomer stood and attempted to explain what they tried to do but was immediately stopped by the other workers. They believed such honesty regarding their efforts was not necessary. They were right. The visiting preacher seemed ok with the relaxed state the workers were now showing.

Ben Stone zealously attempts to convince Ann Madsen (aka Allison Janney) to be a witness for the prosecution. She's in fear of her life at first then Stone convinces her she has choice and she will go to jail because of what she knows. She finally agrees and in the end the Russian mob gets to play a trump card it was holding back. In the next to final scene ADA Claire Kincaid (aka Jill Hennessy) comes into Stone's office and learns (from Stone) that Ann Madsen was shot while being surrounded by cops in the street outside her apartment. The gunman had no I. D. That was too much for Stone as he submitted his letter of resignation (in the final scene) to the D. A. Adam Schiff. Law and Order takes it stories from actually cases and this one was as real as it gets. This episode is a good example of how the Russian Mob will carefully infiltrate businesses when there is a deparate need for capital. The capital they offer appears very legit but ultimately its source (s) is/are not.

This is classic Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife at his interfering best. The Sheriff finally meets the lady he wants to court (aka Helen Crump). He enjoys her company and some other fine qualities unfortunately she can't cook and has a jealous streak a mile long. The jealous streak doesn't reveal itself until some episodes later. In the meantime Fife takes on the role of match maker and Helen doesn't make the cut. It is funny to see how bold Fife gets when he disagrees with the Sheriff about choosing Crump as the lady he wants to pursue. Fife decides to surprise Taylor with Mayberry's loveliest ladies inviting them to meet at Taylor's house for a supposed meeting with Fife's gal Thelma Lou. Tayor is not interested as Fife explains to Taylor why the ladies are there. Fife then thanks the ladies for coming and offers a flimsy excuse (starting a ladies softball team) as to the reason for meeting.

The writer gave the Sheriff more then a handful of lovely ladies to pursue. He started with Miss Ellie (aka Elanor Donaghue) who was a little too young. She was introduced in the first season as the niece of the Drugstore owner Fred Walker who ran Walker's Drugstore and didn't last past the first season. Unfortunatley, there was no chemistry and Taylor wasn't very comfortable in attempting to make an on screen romance believable. The chemistry issue was revealed in an interview with Eleanor some years later. And then we have three nurses: Julie Adams, Sue Ann Langdon and Peggy (aka Joanna Moore) followed by Thelma Lou's cousin Karen visiting from Arkansas. She was a championship skeet shooter that was equal too if not a little better at shooting then Taylor. Oh oh oh I'd be remiss if I forgot to mention Taylor's high school sweetheart Sharon. Sharon DeSpain (actress Peggy McKay) was introduced in the 'Class Reunion' episode. She was living and working in big city of Chicago where everything was at a quicker pace and there was more to do and see. Mayberry had become too slow a pace for her.

Of all the ladies Taylor has had in his life he chooses the one who can't cook and shows some insecuity whenever Taylor either innocently fiirts with or is with another woman. In time I liked that quality because her jealousy showed a flaw that was so out of place. She was a very dedicated teacher and was a good friend to Thelma Lou. When the courting dust finally settled Helen made the final cut becoming the future Mrs Andy Taylor.

I've seen this movie many times but I scratch my head wondering where were they going. They spent a lot of time planning and building but they seem to give little thought where they were going once they escaped. Not one escapee got out of Germany. A majority of them were captured and many were caught and executed. I don't get it. Even with hogans heroes the prisoners at stalag 17 had a place in mind when they helped someone escape. For me this supposed true story diminished in its appeal when the escapees failed to get out of Germany. They spent so much time determining who would go and making sure the would end in area where the guards couldn't see them. They were a little off. I was hoping one of them would get out of Germany. That wasn't meant to be.

Lindsay Crouse steals every scene she's in. Such an amazing actress. She does not do a tap dance when asked a question. In a very matter of manner she tells the prosector that she had sex with her client. It was a supposedly unique form of therapy. After the fact she admits it didn't have the result she was hoping for. Ya think. Crouse plays a therapist and her male client fell mady in lust/love with her when she had sex with him in a very unconventional therapy session. In other ancient cultures such a practice might have been acceptable. I was amused to note how Crouse's character was not overly disturbed. She was merely disappointed.

Way too much violence and in the end all that's left is a death scene. I saw bits and pieces of this movie and what I saw was the violent life of a female pimp. I read the synopsis and that intrigued me enough to give this flick a chance. I'll give any movie a 5 - 10 minute view before I decide to continue on. This one kept my interest as I was hoping there would be a good resolve. That wasn't going to happen. The saying, "You live by the sword you die by the sword", is that the heart of this grim 86 minute drama. The movie is layered in voilence and the female pimp remains in the survival mode throughout the movie. In the final scene the prinicipal actors are all shot up realizing the afterlife awaits them.

Single guy (Mark Harmon)makes a wager with his married guy friend that he can get three women to marry in three months. I watched it out of curiosity. It was dry as a bone. It was supposed to be a romantic comedy. There was romance and some comedy but most of the scenes had no energy. I liked Harmon in 'Summer School' with Kristie Alley. There was some spark between them. Harmon also shined in 'Presidio'. He and Meg Ryan had some chemistry. 'Worth Winning' tried to hard to be funny and the romance was rather stale.

So there you go if you choose to give this one a view I suggest you have 'Backdraft' as a backup.

Thelma Lou's cousin is visiting from Arkansas (Karen aka Gail Davis) and is immediately set up w/the Sheriff. Thelma Lou, Barney, Andy and Karen meet at the local eatery and Andy and Karen seem to hit it off. Andy invites her to skeet shooting that he had planned to do prior to their blind date. On the date Andy doesn't give her a chance to share that she is a crack shooter herself. Oh well. Of course Barney does his usual of saying more then he should and tells Thelma Lou and Karen that Karen has measured up to his standards. Andy didn't actually say that as Barney tends to misquote and exaggerate. Oh well again.

Andy then invites Karen to Mayberry's annual skeet shooting contest. Karen accepts. What Andy doesn't know is Karen plans to enter the contest and reveal her crack shooting skills. At the contest Andy is shocked when Karen demonstrates her shooting skills hitting every clay target. Andy ends up missing one as Karen wins the contest. Barney is not pleased as Andy asks Karen why he didn't tell her when they had their skeet shooting date. Karen tells him he never gave her a chance to talk preferring to show off his skills.

I've watched this episode several times and Karen had an opportunity to speak up but chose to say quiet. She could've easily stepped and showed her skills but the writers went a different direction.

I liked the ending as Barney attempted to show his gun shooting skills as Andy, Karen and Thelma Lou looked on. Barney's ego got the best of him. Don Knotts aka Barney Fife did a super job of showcasing his rather inflated ego.

This so called game show became unwatchable. The best a player can do is win $1000. That's not bad. However, the strategy is to get to the final round in hopes of winning $25k. To do this the player must draw cards hat add up to 21 three times. Very similar to black jack. Alfonso Robiero (spelling) is the host and does his best to be enthusiastic offering three players trivia questions typically from pop culture. If they guess the right answer a card is drawn. If they happen to get a combination of cards that equal 21 they win. There is no strategy in drawing the cards. The lovely lady that draws the cards has no special skill she just pulls the next card and flips it to reveal its value. The value can range from a 2 to an Ace (the Ace has a value of 1 or 11). It amazes me that this game show lasted as long as it did over 12 yrs. The chance of drawing 21 is very slim with the highest winnings being $6k. To win $6k you have to draw 21 twice in the final round. There is no shuffling of the deck the deck is just there and you assume it's been shuffled. On the rare occasions when 21 is drawn three times the enthusiasm is strained. The host congratulates the player and that's it. There's no climatic celebration w/confetti nothing. How about a fun game of Tic Tac Do?

Jake Ryan and Samantha Baker are not an item at least not in the beginning of movie. It takes the entire movie and some very odd moments to get them together. Jake does the pursuing as Sammie has opportunities but her shyness pulls her away from at least getting to know Jake. Samantha (aka Molly Ringwald) is a nice looking lady who's birthday is forgotten due to the upcoming wedding of her older sister Ginny. Jake (aka Michael Schoeffling) seems like a reasonably likable senior who wants to get to know Samanatha (the sophomore). He has grown tired of his current girlfriend (a very sexy senior) who's only interested in having sex with Jake. A strictly physical relationship gets old over time. Jake decides he wants to connect with Sam and to his credit he takes a few daring steps to contact her. The most daring is to call her home phone number. Unfortunately, Sam's grandparents have taken over Sam's bedroom and when Jake calls the grandma or grandpa pick up the receiver. In the end Jake gets a tongue lashing from grandma. To his credit Jake is determined to connect with Sam. The morning of the wedding He goes to her house and is told by the visiting exchange student (aka Gedde Watanabe) that the family has gone to church for her older sister's wedding. Jake drives to the church and meets up with Samanatha as everyone is leaving for the reception. She finally relaxes as Jake and Sam leave for his house. Sam's dad (aka Paul Dooley) sees her leave and she points out that Jake is the guy.

I like the realism of Sixteen Candles and remember my high school days especially my senior year. Many of the nicer looking 9th grade ladies got the attention of the senior guys. They liked the attention they received. All that would change over the four years of high school and the onset of puberty. Suddenly the time between a passing period would get replaced by a kiss as a lively chat took a back seat.

To its credit Director John Hughes took Sixteen Candles no further then the innocent high school romance. The final scene was Jake and Sam kissing over a candle lit birthday cake ... very nice.

Paul Whitlock (aka Sam Robards) shows no affect (emotion) in this emotion packed episode. In the final 10 minutes Detective Goren brings Mr Whitlock's in for questioning (no attorney is present) and informs him that he has shown no affect during this investigation and eventual arrest of his wife. Eventually Goren's emotional outburst ignites Whitlock's affect. Goren believes he's got a confession. He's wrong all he got was an emotional outburst that is useless. This is one example when Goren's tactic of using emotion is ineffective. AS the DA would later explain.