1988

Title Screen Film Genre(s), Title, Year, (Country), Length, Director, Description

The Accidental Tourist (1988), 121 minutes, D: Lawrence Kasdan
Co-writer-director Lawrence Kasdan's and Warner Bros.' quirky, award-winning romantic comedy-drama told about a quirky, middle-aged travel writer named Macon Leary (William Hurt) from Baltimore, MD whose life was up-ended by the sudden and senseless murder of his 12 year-old son. As a result of his immense grief and emotional isolation, his marriage disintegrated and he was split from his wife Sarah (Kathleen Turner) a year later. Further issues for the emotionally-upset father included taking care of his son's dog Edward, although he was able to begin to heal his broken life with a growing emotional and romantic connection to an equally-eccentric dog-trainer named Muriel (Geena Davis). The film was adapted from Anne Tyler's 1985 novel of the same name. The film's tagline described the basic plot, about grappling with loss, grief, and depression, and finding a way to heal: "Macon Leary was set in his ways. The way he lived, thought, and worked. He imagined it would always be like that. Until an unusual woman showed him the way it could be." The poignant, serious-minded complex film was nominated for four Academy Awards, and won one Oscar: Best Supporting Actress (Geena Davis); the other three nominations were for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (Frank Galati and Lawrence Kasdan) based upon Anne Tyler's book, and Best Original Score (John Williams). On a budget of about 15ドル million, it grossed 32ドル.6 million in revenue.

The Accused (1988) , 111 minutes, D: Jonathan Kaplan
This thoughtful, fact-based drama was based on a real-life incident of a 1983 rape in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It provided a provocative look at how the justice system treated victims who were often seen as worthy of blame. In mid-April 1987, Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster in an Oscar-winning role), a sexily-dressed, drunk, working-class patron was in The Mill, a seedy roadside bar, following a fight with her live-in boyfriend Larry (Tom O'Brien) - he was a drug dealer and would-be musician. A bruised, still-intoxicated and half-dressed Sarah ran barefoot and screaming from the roadside bar where she'd just been raped by three men on a pinball machine. Prosecuting Deputy D.A. Katheryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) took the case, and thought her only chances were a plea bargain with the brutal gang-rapists. She knew she couldn't get a solid conviction, because Sarah would be unfairly accused of enticing her attackers: "Raped? She f--ked a bar full of guys then she turns round and blames them for it?" The three rapists agreed to plead guilty to "reckless endangerment" instead of rape, with a lesser sentence of no more than 9 months served in jail. They were Danny (Woody Brown), Bob Joiner (Steve Antin), and Kurt (Kim Kondrashoff). To satisfy Sarah who disagreed vehemently with her tactics and felt betrayed, Murphy further pursued the case by prosecuting three of the onlooking bystanders for "criminal solicitation" - for inciting or encouraging others to commit a crime. However, she was unsupported by her own DA Paul Rudolph (Carmen Argenziano). College-frat student Kenneth Joyce (Bernie Coulson) was identified as the key witness who saw the rape (and had watched the encouraging bystanders), but was initially reluctant to testify. He then agreed since his testimony was the centerpiece for the case. He had called 911, but did not personally intervene during the incident. The entire rape episode was voyeuristically envisioned during the lengthy witness recounting (on Sarah's behalf), describing how the three barflies cheered on the rapists. Murphy presented a forceful court argument against the men who encouraged the rape of her client: "These three men did worse than nothing. They cheered, and they clapped, and they rooted the others on. They made sure that Sarah Tobias was raped, and raped, and raped. Now you tell me, is that nothing?" The three who were convicted were: Cliff 'Scorpion' Albrect (Leo Rossi), Matthew Haines (Andrew Kavadas), and Stu Holloway (Tom McBeath).

Akira (1988, Jp.) , 124 minutes, D: Katsuhiro Otomo
Director Katsuhiro Otomo's landmark, visually-spectacular anime film was a cult classic that helped to bolster the phenomenon of anime films in the West. It was based on the manga series (from 1982-1990) also written by the director. Akira provided a cautionary message about the dangers of the government, military forces and scientists who attempted to gain control over strong supernatural forces and powers. In its references to the destruction of Japan, it recalled the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (that ended WWII). Akira told about how an atomic bomb (during WWIII) had been detonated in Japan in July of 1988, and now 31 years later in the year 2019, Tokyo had been rebuilt. The film presented a Blade Runner (1982) -styled, cyberpunk, post-war dystopic view of a reconstructed "Neo-Tokyo" after WWIII, built upon artificial islands. However, the society was corrupted, violent and in the midst of a civil war, with revolutionary chaos and rampant gang warfare, frequent clashes with police, unemployment, and crime. As the tale was told, it explained in a back-story how twisted and secret military experiments in 1988 had been conducted on Esper (orphaned) children. It was really a military-weapons program to test, instill, enhance and control the childrens' supernatural abilities. It was a prime example of meddling with nature and cultivating disaster by trying to harness dangerous and destructive powers. 'Akira' - a young boy, was one of the test subjects. The intensive testing had specifically 'weaponized' Akira and made him unstable, uncontrollable, and subject to bizarre hallucinations - and his phenomenal powers allegedly caused and led to the nuclear-like destruction of Tokyo 31 years earlier in 1988. Akira 'died' due to the explosion, and his body was retrieved afterwards and dissected by scientists (and cryogenically frozen), who were hoping to find the cause of Akira's sudden and destructive psychic growth. After the restoration of Neo-Tokyo, experiments again resumed between rival groups (to further their varying goals) to discover the secret behind Akira's immense power. Leaks about 'Akira' led to hopeful (and fearful) prophecies that were being circulated by cultists and the few Espers that had survived, that 'Akira' (the name for the current secret government project and the name of the boy) would return from the dead with Messianic god-like powers and remake the world once more.

Big (1988), 104 minutes, D: Penny Marshall
Director Penny Marshall's body transference and "fish-out-of-water" fantasy, the comedic drama told about a 12 year-old boy who woke up in the body of a 30 year-old man. In a carnival scene one evening, teenaged Josh Baskin (David Moscow) approached toward an automated, wish-granting machine known as "Zoltar Speaks"; after inserting 25 cents, suddenly Zoltar became animated with glowing red eyes and a sign lit up: ZOLTAR SAYS - MAKE YOUR WISH. He made a wish to be 'big' ("I wish I were big"). He received a card - from the strangely unplugged machine - telling him: "Your Wish is Granted" but didn't feel anything different. The next morning, Josh became panicked when he realized, in front of his bathroom mirror, that he was a full-grown, unrecognizable young adult male (now Tom Hanks as a 30 year-old). His freaked-out mother (Mercedes Ruehl) didn't recognize him and thought he was an intruder-kidnapper. Fortunately, at his school, he was able to convince Billy Kopecki (Jared Rushton), his next-door neighbor and best friend, of his predicament. The two rode together on a bus to New York City, and slept in a flophouse. Josh successfully applied for a computer operator data-entry job at the MacMillan Toy Company, after faking his Social Security number and his resume's work history. While Josh was in the main showroom of an F.A.O. Schwartz toy store on a weekend, he happened to meet the MacMillan Toys company executive boss "Mac" MacMillan (Robert Loggia), and the two enjoyed tap dancing and foot-tapping to the tunes Heart and Soul and Chopsticks on a giant, floor-sized and mounted electronic piano keyboard. Josh was ultimately promoted to toy tester in charge of Product Development; however, his sudden advancement upset top-level co-workers: sexy yuppie toy executive Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins), and her competitive boyfriend Paul Davenport (John Heard). Josh's humorous experiences in the adult world formed the bulk of the remainder of the story. Josh experienced a confused sexual relationship with Susan when she asked to spend the night with him. Paul's jealous retaliation against Josh for stealing Susan away led to Susan's break up with Paul. During a brief return to his hometown, Josh walked around his neighborhood and school, and noticed younger kids, including his friend Billy, having playful fun - he longed to return to the simple joys of childhood. Eventually, Billy was able to inform Josh of a Zoltar machine at Sea Point Park where he made a wish to become a kid again. Susan followed after him and realized that Josh's earlier confession about his transformation was actually true, and that their relationship would be ending. In the conclusion, Susan drove Josh home, and outside his house she kissed his forehead before they parted ways; there was a poignant final shot of Susan watching Josh, who waved goodbye. He transformed into a 13 year-old boy again (with clothes that now didn't fit him) - he ran toward his home, and after entering, he told his mother off-screen: "Oh, ma, I missed you all so much."

Bull Durham (1988), 108 minutes, D: Ron Shelton
First-time director Ron Shelton, a former second-baser in the minor leagues, had made a prominent career of sports movies that realistically examined the participants' heart, both in terms of sportsmanship and in terms of romance. His writing (and directing) credits have also included: The Best of Times (1986) (football), White Men Can't Jump (1992) (basketball, also directed), Blue Chips (1994) (basketball), Cobb (1994) (baseball, also directed), The Great White Hype (1996) (boxing), Tin Cup (1996) (golf, also directed), and Play It To the Bone (2000) (boxing, also directed). Bull Durham would only receive a single Oscar nomination for Shelton's writing, while Costner's next film would be another baseball film, the mystical Field of Dreams (1989) , based on the W.P. Kinsella book. This humorous and intelligent romantic sports comedy-drama about a mediocre North Carolina minor league baseball team (the Durham Bulls) was the quintessential modern sports film of America's greatest game. During the film's opening title credits sequence, cultured and literate baseball and sports groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon, co-star Robbins' real life 'wife'), a junior-college English teacher and sexually-seductive baseball groupie, provided a lengthy, off-screen speech regarding her beloved team - the Durham Bulls of North Carolina. At the local ball park, Annie observed the new hotshot pitcher for the perennial losing team - the Durham Bulls; making his professional debut was moronic, erratic, dim-bulb young, up-and-coming rookie pitcher-ballplayer Ebby Calvin "Nuke" (or "Meat") LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). 12-year veteran journeyman and minor league baseball catcher "Crash" Davis (Kevin Costner) was being returned to the A-league to mentor and tutor the green young upstart LaLoosh. He had been acquired to teach the clueless LaLoosh (who was being groomed for the major leagues and was worth 100ドル grand) how to discipline his behavior and improve his concentration, including his erratic pitches. After the game, romantic-minded Crash and Laloosh - in a love triangle - were competing for dating prospects with Annie and her affection, both in a local country-western bar and in Annie's living room, where she proposed to "hook up with one guy a season." Shortly later, she announced her choice for the season - Laloosh - and told Crash: "I'm committed to Nuke for the season. You had your chance the other day." As a way to combat Annie's choice of Nuke for the season, Crash convinced Nuke to rechannel his sexual energy into his pitching and away from her - depriving Annie of sexual fulfillment. Eventually, Annie began to realize that "Crash" might be a better-suited match for her sexual come-ons. She came to Crash's place and offered herself: "I want you," but when he declined, she flatly stated: "This is the damnedest season I've ever seen. I mean, the Durham Bulls can't lose, and I can't get laid." She had a chance to sample his beliefs about three-day long kisses at the conclusion of the film when "Crash" was released from baseball playing altogether (although he might be a minor league manager) and he sought to retire with dignity. He looked up Annie and then over a drink, they kissed, and soon made love. By the end of the film, "Nuke" had been called up and promoted to the majors. Seen one last time and now wearing a T-shirt for the ska-punk band Fishbone, he was being interviewed by TV reporter Raye Anne in a baseball stadium, using words and cliches that Crash had taught him: ("...Anyway, a good friend of mine used to say, 'This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball. You hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains.' Think about that for a while").

Cinema Paradiso (1988, It.) (aka Nuovo Cinema Paradiso), 123 minutes, D: Giuseppe Tornatore
Writer/director Giuseppe Tornatore's sentimental, and semi-autobiographical homage to the movies, and a look back to boyhood - won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (for the country of Italy). It was a sentimental tale of love, fate, and regret. The remarkable score of the romantic tearjerker was by Ennio Morricone and the gorgeous photography was provided by cinematographer Blasco Giurato. Its tagline was: "An enchanted village. A wonderful friendship. Star-crossed lovers. And the magic of the movies." The main setting of the 'coming-of-age' film was the Cinema Paradiso, the only movie theater in a small Sicilian town, at first seen in the pre-war period. A young boy named Salvatore (a future film-maker), nicknamed "Toto," was friends with and mentored by the theatre's elderly, kind-hearted projectionist Alfredo. The film's nostalgic and bittersweet flashbacked story was evoked by news that the boy (now a middle-aged man) had received in Rome that Alfredo had died. The older Salvatore remembered many decades earlier in his life, and the many hours he spent in the projection booth and in the theatre audience with his wise 'father figure' Alfredo when he was a young pre-teen. He recalled how the village's priest (the cinema's owner) would ring a bell if he saw an objectionable scene in the film - it signaled Alfredo to note the location and excise the offending frames. He also thought about how he had rescued Alfredo from death when a flammable nitrate film reel caught fire, burned down the cinema house, and Alfredo lost his sight when his face was burned. The cinema was rebuilt with the winnings of a local lottery winner, and Salvatore helped Alfredo to 'project' the films. Later on when he was an adolescent, he also had fond memories of his romantic pursuit of the first love of his life - a rich banker's daughter named Elena (Agnese Nano). Due to opposition from Elena's father and from Alfredo himself, their relationship was forced to go separate ways. Only years later, Salvatore finally realized that Alfredo had interfered in order to leave open opportunities for Salvatore to go to Rome, follow his vocational goals, and become a filmmaker. In the present, the middle-aged Salvatore (with a love of cinema) returned to his childhood, small-town Sicilian home after 30 years to attend Alfredo's funeral. He also revisited the condemned Cinema Paradiso theatre in the town square - it had been closed for six years, and the town gathered to watch its demolition; a city parking lot would take its place. While there, Alfredo's widow presented Salvatore with a gift of one last unlabeled reel of film which he took back with him to Rome. By himself in a theatre, he nostalgically watched the projected reel - a collection of kisses (see montage here) that had been censored from films during his childhood.

A Cry in the Dark (1988, Australia/US) (aka Evil Angels), 120 minutes, D: Fred Schepisi
The central characters in this docu-drama (a true life story), living in Queensland, Australia, were 7th-Day Adventist Church minister Michael Chamberlain (Sam Neill), his devout and religious wife Lindy (Meryl Streep), and their three children, including 10-week old infant Azaria. In late summer of 1980, the family took a vacation camping trip to the aboriginal sacred spot Ayers Rock in the central Australian outback. During an outdoor nighttime barbecue with other campers, Linda claimed that she saw a dingo (wild dog) carrying off her sleeping baby from their open camping tent. She was frantic: "The dingo took my baby!" After a search, Azaria was never found. After an initial inquest, it was ruled that Lindy's dingo account was true. However, the explosive case caused a media frenzy and unfair witch-hunt, and some theorized that Lindy, who appeared cold-hearted, stoic and emotionless (at the request of her lawyer), had carried on a ritualistic sacrifice of her child by decapitating the baby with a pair of scissors. Michael was found with a small wooden coffin used as a "offering plate" for his parishioners' packs of un-smoked cigarettes, fueling speculation about a sacrifice. The press also published the inaccurate rumor that Azaria meant "sacrifice in the wilderness." When the police questioned Lindy more thoroughly, inconsistencies caused them to suspect her, and the case was reopened as a murder case. Her husband was charged with being an accessory. Ian Baker (Bruce Myles) was the case's prosecutor, while the couple (who testified in their own defense) were represented by Phillips (Neil Fitzpatrick). During the testimony in a second hearing, forensic experts (from London) and other academic experts provided lots of circumstantial evidence, but nothing conclusive. The infant's jumpsuit (with ripped gashes not caused by a dingo) was found in a cave about three miles from the campsite. There was conflicting and confusing evidence presented about the jumpsuit, and about the predatory behavior of dingos. For example, there were traces on infant blood in a camera case and in the family's car, but the causes were unclear. Professor Cameron (Kevin Miles) testified that there were small bloody imprints on the jumpsuit, and that the lack of saliva on the clothing indicated that it wasn't a dingo attack. He was countered by another expert who claimed saliva was present. In an obvious miscarriage of justice (there was no body, no motive, no weapon, and no hard evidence), in October of 1982, Lindy was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a life sentence - with hard labor. Michael was found guilty as an accessory and given an 18-month suspended sentence. Then over three years later, Azaria's outer jacket was found. Lindy was released from prison, and the case was reopened. In 1988, all convictions against Lindy and Michael were overturned.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988, US/UK), 120 minutes, D: Stephen Frears
Director Stephen Frears' sexy period costume drama of 18th century one-upmanship, game-playing, passionate seduction and romantic intrigue was adapted from the 1782 novel by Choderlos de Laclos. The entire film was composed of a devilishly wicked challenge or treacherous game - a series of 'dangerous liaisons' involving other people's lives, hatched by two amoral members of the 18th century French nobility: Marquise De Merteuil (Glenn Close), a bored, aristocratic, wicked and wealthy widow, and Vicomte De Valmont (John Malkovich), her womanizing rakish ex-lover. The film's tagline was: "LUST. SEDUCTION. REVENGE. THE GAME AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE."

Dead Ringers (1988, Can./US), 115 minutes, D: David Cronenberg
Co-writer/director David Cronenberg's dramatic psychological horror-thriller, with a fictionalized script by Cronenberg and co-writer Norman Snider, was inspired by Bari Wood's and Jack Geasland's 1977 novel "Twins" - about two identical brothers Drs. Stewart and Cyril Marcus. In the bizarre true-life version of the twins, the two 45 year-olds were found dead (within four days of each other) in mid-1975 in separate areas of Cyril's shared NYC apartment. Toxology tests were conducted but were inconclusive (regarding barbiturate overdoses or withdrawal), since no traces of alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics or depressants were discovered in their systems. In the creepy, disturbing and unsettling film, Jeremy Irons skillfully portrayed twins Elliot and Beverly Mantle, with over a dozen shots using split-screen technology for the scenes in which the similar-looking twins appeared in the frame together. The two twins were both gynecologists running a fertility clinic practice together in Toronto, Canada, who grotesquely shared one female patient as a lover. A strange triangular love affair soon developed, especially after the victimized female discovered the deception, and as a result, the symbiotic relationship between the twins began to deteriorate. There were other factors including prescription drug-addiction, leading to downward spiraling and psychological unraveling - a total descent into madness. Cronenber's film was only a moderate success - on a budget of about 13ドル million, its revenues were 8ドル million (domestic), and only 14ドル million (worldwide).

Die Hard (1988), 132 minutes, D: John McTiernan, See Die Hard film series.
Director John McTiernan's action-thriller blockbuster, based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, was the first in a series of five films stretching over a period of 25 years, featuring Bruce Willis as wise-cracking, tough-guy NYC police cop John McClane with real human vulnerabilities. There were many breathtaking, tense, nail-biting action sequences in one of the best action films of all-time. Off-duty NYC detective/cop Lt. John McClane (Bruce Willis) took a flight from New York to Los Angeles, arriving on Christmas Eve 1988. He planned to join his estranged wife (of six months who had relocated to LA) Holly Gennero/McClane (Bonnie Bedelia) at a holiday party in her place of business in the 40 story high-rise Plaza Towers in Century City (Los Angeles). He arrived in a limo driven by Argyle (De'voreaux White), and joined the party on the 30th floor, just as a large Pacific Courier truck pulled into the underground garage with a group of heavily-armed, hi-tech terrorists inside, led by classic bad-guy villain Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who soon proceeded to take over the building. Long blonde-haired henchman Karl Vreski (Alexander Godunov) shot and killed both the front-desk officer and security guard; a second assailant named Theo (Clarence Gilyard, Jr.), a black technical-computer expert, sealed off the building's exits and entrances, and all but one elevator. The guests at the party were taken hostage, including McClane's wife. The company's executive officer Joe Takagi (James Shigeta) was executed when he refused to reveal the computer's passcodes, to access 640ドル million dollars in negotiable bearer bonds. Over the next few hours as the terrorists attempted to hack into the vault, McClane evaded capture and pursuit as he attempted to distract the gunmen by attacking some of them individually and sabotaging their plans. During tense cat-and-mouse sequences, the barefooted McClane moved from floor to floor, and navigated through a maze of airducts and the ventilation/elevator shaft. After he finally was able to successfully alert the authorities, the LAPD, SWAT teams, the FBI in helicopters, and a live-mobile news crew arrived at the scene to report on the incident of international terrorism. Momentarily on the roof-top together, McClane confronted Gruber face-to-face, who faked being one of the escaped hostages. After Gruber escaped, McClane suffered bloodied feet after having to walk through shards of sharp glass of the blasted walls. The FBI unwisely ordered city engineers to cut the building's power, releasing the seventh and final "electromagnetic seal" or lock on the vault with the bonds. The double-crossing Gruber was planning to blow the roof with C-4 explosives as an FBI helicopter touched down, to kill the hostages who had been taken there. Then, Gruber's next objective was to escape with the stolen bonds in an emergency vehicle readied for him in the basement. McClane charged up to the roof where he learned that Holly was missing and had been held back by Gruber and taken prisoner on the 30th floor. To save the other hostages, McClane fired a machine gun into the air and ordered them to flee downstairs back to the 30th floor to escape the wired-to-blow roof. He then jumped from the rooftop to escape the high-rise's explosion, while attached to a firehose tied around his waist. Gruber detonated the roof and destroyed one of the FBI helicopters in the process. In the basement, Theo's escape scheme in an emergency ambulance getaway vehicle was thwarted. During a final tense face-to-face showdown, Gruber was holding McClane's estranged wife Holly hostage. McClane distracted Gruber with nervous laughter and suddenly reached behind his back (to get his concealed loaded gun taped to his back with his last two bullets). Gruber was wounded in the shoulder, and the bullet also broke the window behind him. As Gruber stumbled backwards through the broken window pane, he grabbed for Holly's arm and metal Rolex wristwatch-band, nearly dragging her with him. McClane rushed forward and grabbed her, released or unclapsed the band, and watched as Gruber unforgettably fell backwards to his death 30 stories below. Now that the crisis was over, the bloodied and exhausted, McClane joyously kissed Holly. They emerged in front of the building as the final terrorist Karl, thought to be dead, appeared screaming and aiming a machine gun at McClane to ambush him, but he was killed by LAPD Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson). The film concluded with McClane's limo driver Argyle preparing to drive the reunited couple away from the chaos, as they kissed in the limo's back seat.

Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) , 100 minutes, D: Julien Temple
British director Julien Temple's and Vestron Pictures' fun and entertaining musical romantic comedy and PG-rated cult film was a parody of 1950s schlocky sci-fi films. Its tagline described its alien sub-theme: "An out-of-this-world, down-to-earth comedy adventure." The absurdist script for the weak plot (an alien-human love story) with numerous pop culture references was written by a trio of writers: self-proclaimed Valley Girl Julie Brown (who also served as the film's producer and starred as Candy Pink) and her writing team members: Charlie Coffey, and Terrence E. McNally. The story idea was derived from Julie Brown's own 1984 EP (Extended Play) debut five-song album-record Goddess in Progress (with one of its songs on Side Two titled "Earth Girls Are Easy"). Due to the fact that director Julien Temple was essentially an 80s music video director (when MTV was the craze), the film reflected his directorial strengths. One of the film's actresses, iconic blonde bombshell-bimbo Angelyne, received a Razzie nomination in 1990 as Worst Supporting Actress, for her small role as "Gas Girl." The brightly-colored, 'eye-candy' plot followed the misadventures of a ditzy, Southern CA 'Valley Girl' hair-salon/manicurist Valerie Gail (Geena Davis) who caught her transgressive medical surgeon-fiancee Ted (Charles Rocket) cheating on her with a nurse named Robin. Enraged, she kicked him out and destroyed his belongings. The next day while sunbathing by the outdoor pool, a spaceship (piloted by three horny male aliens with blue, yellow, and red-colored fur) from the planet Jhazalla crash-landed next to her. After becoming acquainted with the aliens (and their rapid learning of American customs, language, and culture via a television), over the next two days and one night (while the pool was drained and their spaceship was being repaired), Valerie introduced the trio to her salon proprietor Candy Pink (Julie Brown), who offered them a make-over. She shaved off their fur to reveal their manly, hairless bodies. The human-looking group was taken to party at an LA nightclub. In addition, Valerie made love to the blue alien captain Mac (Jeff Goldblum), and two of the aliens went to the beach holding a "Blond-of-the-Month-Contest." They mistakenly held up a gas station's mini-mart convenience store, drove in reverse and also the wrong way on an LA freeway, and ended up in Ted's hospital after a police pursuit and crash where they eluded being dissected (for their two hearts) by Valerie's over-eager ex-fiancee. Although Ted momentarily reconciled with Valerie and planned to elope with her and get married in Las Vegas, as the aliens' spaceship was departing, she decided to abandon her cheating future husband and join her "Mr. Right" Mac instead.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988, US/UK), 108 minutes, D: Charles Crichton
Elderly UK director Charles Crichton's film was one of the cleverest, quirkiest and wittiest madcap caper comedies ever made. It included members of the original anarchic Monty Python troupe with American stars - in a subversively wicked and raucous tale that combined both British and American humor. The film recalled the British Ealing Studio heist comedies (such as Crichton's own The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955) ) and Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve (1941). As the tagline stated, the unexpected hit was "a tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood," in which a group of double-crossing eccentric thieves (Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin) battled the authorities and each other to recover a valuable cache of stolen diamonds. All actors were perfect in their roles, especially the self-absorbed, not-too-bright ("Don't you ever call me stupid") Buddha-misquoting Anglophobe Otto West (Kevin Kline) and the stuttering, animal-loving hitman Ken (Michael Palin). It featured such bits as Ken's attempts to murder an old woman that resulted in the deaths of her dogs (to his horror), Otto's constant tormenting of Ken ("Look! It's K-k-ken coming to k-k-kill me!"), a conservative, uptight barrister Archie Leach (John Cleese), and Wanda Gerschwitz's (Jamie Lee Curtis) use of sex to dominate the men in her life, including her total arousal to foreign languages like Italian and Russian. The leads would team up again in the comedy Fierce Creatures (1997), in lieu of a sequel.

Hairspray (1988) , 94 minutes, D: John Waters
Writer/director John Waters' outrageous, charmingly-kitsch, very funny musical comedy was not to be confused with Hairspray (2007) starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Amanda Bynes - the successful song-and-dance adaptation of the Tony award-winning 2002 Broadway smash hit that was based on Waters' earlier film. It was the director's first and only PG-rated film. His earlier films Pink Flamingos (1972), Female Trouble (1974) , and Desperate Living (1977) were much cruder, objectionable, and controversial. This widely-accessible, late 80's, over-the-top cult classic provided a nostalgic backward look at life and culture in Baltimore in the early 1960s. As an independent film with a low-budget of 2ドル.8 million, the film grossed 8ドル.2 million. It featured a tremendous rock and black R&B soundtrack (with the likes of Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, Lesley Gore, Peggy March, Gene Chandler, Gene Pitney, the Ikettes, ex-Blondie Debbie Harry and more), plus it presented burgeoning and problematic cultural issues including racism. Its poster described the tacky and conservative time period: "1962... JFK was in The White House... John Glenn was in orbit... Cadillacs had fins... Beehives were in... And girls really knew how to tease!" and "Get Back to your Roots!" The most popular WZZT-TV show for local teens at the time was the racially-segregated dance program "The Corny Collins Show" (with homage to "American Bandstand") featuring white suburban teeny-boppers. The troupe of dancers on the show were called the Council. Black teens were allowed to dance on-screen but they were reserved only for the last Thursday of the month ("Negro Day"). One of the show's fans, the film's rebellious and outspoken but likeable heroine, who desperately wished to be picked to dance on the show, was the cheery and plump ("big-boned") Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake, a future talk-show host). The daughter of Wilbur Turnblad (Jerry Stiller) who worked in the Hardy Har Joke Shop, the high school teen practiced current dance moves (i.e., The Mashed Potato, The Twist, The Pony, plus many others) in her living room (with thrift-shop decor) and her trashy mother Edna Turnblad (drag queen Divine), and revealed how she was an exceptionally-talented dancer. When the show appeared in her neighborhood at the local VFW with a Record Hop, Tracy and her introverted, mousy best friend Penny Pingleton (Leslie Ann Powers) - with wild beehive "hair-hopper" hairdos ("ratted up like a teenage Jezebel!") - attended and tried out. A fan favorite based upon an "Applause-O-Meter," Tracy was selected, and although she was criticized as too fat for the show by one of the Council members - the snobby, blonde rich-girl rival Amber Von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick, aka Vitamin C), she was voted to become one of the show's regulars (and a member of the Corny Collins Council). Tracy began to take over the spotlight from Amber by choosing to dance with Link Larkin (Michael St. Gerard), Amber's popular and cute dance partner on the show, and then began dating him and receiving his promise ring. In a side plot, Tracy's friend Penny also began to date Tracy's classmate Seaweed (Clayton Prince), the son of fast-talkin' black deejay Motormouth Maybelle (Ruth Brown) who hosted the once-a-month "Negro Day" show. Now regarded as a "checkerboard chick," Penny was reprimanded by her high-strung, over-reactive and paranoid mother Prudence (Joann Havrilla), who was against inter-racial dating. The Pingleton parents went so far as to hire demented psychiatrist Dr. Fredrickson (director John Waters) to convert Penny back into dating only whites. He assaulted Penny with a strait-jacket, a spinning, psychedelic pinwheel to hypnotize her against dating Seaweed, and a fluorescent electric cattle prod. Tracy began to speak out on causes she believed in, and led pro-integrationist forces to expand "Negro Day" with the help of Motormouth Maybelle. The chant became "Segregation never, integration now!" Everything came down to a confontational climax as the underdog Tracy was again competing against Amber Von Tussle, the show's former most popular star, to vie for the prestigious Miss Auto Show 1963 crown. Tracy's views were undermined by the TV show's strict anti-integration station chief Arvin Hodgepile (also Divine), by Amber's antagonistic competitiveness and mean-spirited personal disdain, and by Amber's wealthy, pushy, racist, pro-segregation parents who owned the whites-only Tilted Acres amusement park: Franklin Von Tussle (Sonny Bono) and nasty stage mom Velma Von Tussle (Debbie Harry). Once the dance show was integrated and Tracy won the Auto Show contest, she taught the others how to dance "The Bug" (with Link), acquired the Auto Show crown, and urged the audience: "Let's dance!"

High Hopes (1988, UK), 110 minutes, D: Mike Leigh

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), 164 minutes, D: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese's and Universal's controversial, profound, challenging, and unorthodox epic film about temptation and guilt - it was adapted from Nikos Kazantzakis' 1955 best-selling novel of the same name, by scriptwriter Paul Schrader (with additions from Scorsese and Jay Cocks). The thought-provoking, dramatic film also featured a fantastic musical score by the legendary Peter Gabriel. The film's only Oscar nomination was for Scorsese as Best Director - he lost to director Barry Levinson's sweep for Best Picture - Rain Man (1988) . The lengthy 163 minute religious drama was condemned with charges of blasphemy for its concluding "last temptation" sequence, and for its dualistic portrayal of a very-human, conflicted, flawed and mortal Jesus Christ figure (Willem Dafoe) who was faced with earthly pleasures, questions, and challenges. Although mostly unwarranted, many attacks were made on the way the film depicted Jesus' humanity. In the film's first sequence, a tormented, self-analytical, guilt-ridden and worried Jesus explained that he was collaborating with Rome by making wooden crosses for crucifixion so that they could kill his fellow Jews. He in fact assisted in the crucifixion of a zealous Jew accused of sedition against the Roman state, and nailed him to a cross. Full of self-contempt, Jesus also feared his Messianic destiny and hoped that by his actions, God would invoke his wrath upon him rather than love: ("God loves me. I know he loves me. I want him to stop....I make crosses so He'll hate me. I want Him to find somebody else. I want to crucify every one of His Messiahs"). Jesus also consistently expressed doubts about his nature, his Messiah nature, and his own mission in life. Later, he turned his back on his own mother Mary, telling her "I have no family." The film attracted protests and boycotts from religious groups even before it reached the theatres. The resulting controversy hurt domestic ticket sales -- its box office was only 8ドル.4 million (domestic) and 8ドル.7 million (worldwide), on a budget of 7ドル million.

Mississippi Burning (1988), 128 minutes, D: Alan Parker
Director Alan Parker's and Orion Pictures' controversial crime/social drama and civil-rights thriller was set during the segregationist period known as Jim Crow in the Deep South in the mid-1960s. The tagline was: "1964. WHEN AMERICA WAS AT WAR WITH ITSELF." The heavy-handed movie was the winner of only one Oscar from its seven Academy Award nominations: Best Cinematography (Peter Biziou). The other seven nominations were in major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Gene Hackman), Best Supporting Actress (Frances McDormand), Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. On a production budget of 15ドル million, the buddy detective thriller grossed 34ドル.6 million (domestic). The film's script (it was not a docu-drama) was written by Chris Gerolmo, and loosely based upon a true-to-life case involving the 1964 murders of black activist James Chaney and two white activist-colleagues Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner. The politically-charged film was shot on location in the sweltering environments of Mississippi and Alabama, and provided a propagandist (semi-fictionalized and manipulative) account of the investigation in Jessup County, MS (standing in for Neshoba County) regarding the disappearance (and murder) of the three civil rights workers. They were in the Deep South during the "Freedom Summer" campaign to register black voters in Philadelphia, MS. The story revealed the corruption, racism, and prejudicial hatred and oppression of blacks to maintain the white status-quo. Ex-small town Jessup County Sheriff and wily, Southern old-boy and FBI veteran investigating Agent Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) pursued the case in the bigoted and segregated area, sometimes with unorthodox and extra-legal means, to solve the case. He was faced off against conventional, younger, less-experienced, and by-the-book straight-arrow FBI investigator Ward (Willem Dafoe), a higher-ranked agent from the North. Both faced hostility, violence, silence, and lack of cooperation from the white locals, the fearful blacks (who were being lynched and beaten), and Jessup County Sheriff Ray Stuckey (Gailard Sartain). As the case dragged on, the FBI agents were blamed as outside agitators, and blacks continued to be assaulted, targeted, and firebombed in their homes and churches by the KKK. Even the two agents were intimidated by shotgun blasts and a burning cross outside their hotel. Anderson began to work with one of the townsfolk who owned the beauty shop - a submissive and conflicted wife named Mrs. Pell (Frances McDormand), who was married to Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (Brad Dourif), secretly a Ku Klux Klan member. A breakthrough came when Mrs. Pell eventually confessed to Anderson that her husband and another KKK member Frank Bailey killed the civil rights workers, with the help of KKK Grand Wizard Clayton Townley (Stephen Tobolowsky) and other co-conspirators, and buried their bodies in an earthen dam. As a result of her betrayal, Mrs. Pell was severely beaten by her husband for squealing, and required hospitalization. The difficulty remained in how to prosecute the guilty (as a state-level or federal crime), and how to acquire confessions from the Klan members. As the film was concluding, redneck Klansman Lester Cowens (Pruitt Taylor Vince) broke under pressure from his own associates, and ratted on his accomplices. Most of the guilty were convicted and sentenced to 3–10 years in prison. In the film's ending, the two FBI agents attended an integrated church congregation, but in the church's graveyard, the gravesite of James Chaney (with the words: "NOT FORGOTTEN") had been desecrated.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Jp.) (aka Tonari no Totoro), 87 minutes, D: Hayao Miyazaki
Director/writer Hayao Miyazaki's fanciful, charming and imaginative anime tale was a fable about two young daughters and their friendship with gentle, loveable forest spirits in late 1950s Japan, who helped the girls to cope with sadness, illness, fear and uncertainty. The immersive experience allowed viewers to enter a childhood fantasy world that was magical and joyful. The enchanting and beloved fantasy was the director's breakthrough film with Studio Ghibli, and ultimately, the plump and neckless title character became the studio's mascot and official logo, becoming similar in importance to Winnie The Pooh in Britain, or Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell in the US. There were many references to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland - beginning with rabbit-like creatures that led to falling into a hole to take an adventure. The film also featured a smiling, 12-legged Cat-Bus (a la "The Cheshire Cat"). Director Miyazaki went on to also helm other classic animes, including Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl's Moving Castle (2004). Originally released in Japanese, the family-friendly film was double-billed with Isao Takahata's similar Studio Ghibli animated production of Grave of the Fireflies (1988), a war film. It also came out as a late 2002 full-screen Fox DVD version (an English dub version using a 1993 limited US theatrical release version from Troma). My Neighbor Totoro was also re-released as a two-disc set by the Walt Disney Company in 2005 with the film's second English-language voice dub (with the voices of Elle and Dakota Fanning as the two sisters). The film grossed 41ドル million in total revenue (worldwide).

Rain Man (1988), 134 minutes, D: Barry Levinson
Director Barry Levinson's Best Picture-winning drama and bittersweet character study was essentially a comedy road film. Mid-twenties, boastful yuppie California car dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a fast-talking, slick and ambitious hustler, was in the business of importing expensive sports cars to Los Angeles buyers. His uncaring and insensitive nature was illustrated in his interactions with his pretty Italian secretary/fiancee Susanna (Valeria Golino). When he learned of his estranged wealthy father Sanford Babbitt's death, Susanna was appalled that he was emotionless when he first heard the news and at the Cincinnati, OH funeral. At the reading of the will, Charlie interpreted his father's paltry gift to him of a 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible and some prize-winning rose bushes as a personal insult. The remainder of the 3ドル million estate was entered into a trust fund for another secret beneficiary. During a crucial sequence, Charlie explained to Susanna how he was soothed as a younger child (his mother died when Charlie was very young) by an imaginary friend: ("When I was a kid and I got scared, the Rain Man would come and sing to me....You know, one of those imaginary childhood friends"). Charlie traced the beneficiary to Wallbrook, an institution for the mentally disabled. He met one of the high-functioning, autistic-idiot savant patients (with an amazing memory and facility with numbers), named Raymond (Oscar-winning Dustin Hoffman) and realized it was his own older sibling - they were brothers unknown to each other, forgotten and separated at infancy. Raymond had been at the hospital since he was 18 years old (when Charlie was still a two and a half year-old toddler), and Raymond was the other beneficiary - Charlie was told: "He doesn't understand the concept of money." The anxious, idiosyncratic, and self-absorbed Raymond had established many routines in his life, including watching TV programs The People's Court and Jeopardy, and he often recited "Who's On First?" (the famous Abbott and Costello dialogue) if agitated. When denied half of the inheritance, Charlie decided to kidnap his brother (and Susanna returned to LA on her own, due to her frustration with his manipulations). The two brothers were forced to head back to California in the Buick (due to Raymond's fear of flying) - on back roads. Raymond walked with a stiff gait, cocked head, a reliance on routines, and endless chatter. Popular catchphrases were often quoted in his dialogues, such as: "Kmart sucks," "I'm an excellent driver," and "Ten minutes to Wapner." The shallow, selfish, greedy and exasperated Charlie attempted to separate Raymond from the lion's-share of the money, but the memorable six-day cross-country car trip also brought about self-discovery, values reassessment and reconciliation. Their relationship and bond intensified and grew touching as they developed a caring and connected understanding for each other, and Charlie's initial plan to wheel-and-deal his brother to give up the fortune had a change of heart. In particular, after Raymond muttered "Funny Rainman," Charlie realized that his childhood imaginary friend ("Rainman") was actually his brother who comforted him as an infant by singing the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There." He also learned the reason for Raymond's institutionalization - he was sent away for nearly scalding young Charlie to death: ("Hot water burn baby"). During their journey, they took at entertaining detour to Las Vegas, where Raymond became an expert at counting cards to win at gambling. Susanna unexpectedly showed up to join them, and she danced with Raymond in an elevator and gave him his first kiss. Once they arrived in Los Angeles, the long-term custody of Raymond with Charlie was discussed. Charlie was offered a check for 250,000ドル to "just walk away" and allow Raymond to return to the institution. Charlie refused the check - he claimed that his priorities had changed ("It's not about the money anymore") and he wanted to take care of his brother by himself. Ultimately, Charlie realized that Raymond needed round-the-clock institutional care. In their tear-jerking emotional farewell scene at a train station where they parted, the two brothers, now bonded, had touched heads together.

The Thin Blue Line (1988), 101 minutes, D: Errol Morris
This engrossing documentary expose about a gross miscarriage of justice from writer/director film-maker Errol Morris had the intriguing tagline: "A softcore movie, Dr. Death, a chocolate milkshake, a nosey blonde and 'The Carol Burnett Show.' Solving this mystery is going to be murder." [Note: Morris' original intention was to make a documentary about notorious Dallas forensics psychiatrist James Grigson, who had earned the nickname 'Dr. Death' for the number of times his expert testimony had been instrumental in sending defendants to the electric chair.] The crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas, Texas in late November of 1976, was re-enacted in the film. The crime occurred during the Thanksgiving Day weekend in 1976, after 28 year-old drifter Randall Dale Adams (Himself and Adam Goldfine) ran out of gas on the highway. He hitched a ride with 16 year-old teenager David Ray Harris (Himself and Derek Horton) driving a stolen blue compact car (he had also stolen his father's .22 caliber revolver and shotgun). A few hours later, after drinking, smoking pot, and watching two soft-core porno films at a local drive-in, Harris' car was routinely stopped for not having proper lights shortly after midnight by Dallas police officers Robert Wood (Ron Thornhill) and Teresa Turko (Marianne Leone). Officer Wood was killed with five shots as he approached the car - it was unclear who had pulled the trigger - was it Randall Adams or David Ray Harris? The second police officer Turko (who had cast aside a chocolate milkshake) couldn't confirm conclusively the type of car or its driver. Police became suspicious about teenaged Harris after he had returned to his small Texas hometown of Vidor, where he bragged about killing "the f--king pig." When police questioned him, he perjured himself and pinned the killing on his hitchhiker partner Randall Adams. About a month after the crime, Adams was arrested and questioned (without a lawyer present), all the while protesting his innocence. He was forced to sign a false confession that he had been picked up and was in the car with Harris, but didn't know what had happened. Assistant District Attorney Doug Mulder charged Randall Adams with the murder, and pushed for the death penalty. David Ray Harris escaped with any charges because he was an underage juvenile and couldn't be sentenced to death. Adams was defended by defense attorneys Edith James (Herself) and Dennis White (Himself), while the judge presiding over the case was Donald J. Metcalfe (Himself). During the murder trial, Harris claimed it was Adams who (1) was driving, and (2) shot and killed the officer with the stolen gun under the seat. Harris said he was crouched down in the passenger seat. Other misleading eyewitnesses also claimed that Adams was the killer, but DA Mulder was able to keep their testimony a secret so that they couldn't be cross-examined. Adams calmly contradicted Harris' account. He said he had been dropped off at his motel room at about 9:30 pm by Harris a few hours before the crime, and that he had watched The Carol Burnett Show on TV before going to sleep. Nonetheless, Adams was convicted and sentenced to death in 1977, but his sentence was later commuted to life in prison. As a result of the film, the convicted murderer Adams, who had been wrongly imprisoned for twelve years, was finally set free.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), 171 minutes, D: Philip Kaufman
Co-writer/director Philip Kaufman's erotic and dramatic epic, adapted and based upon Czech novelist Milan Kundera's 1984 novel, centered on the themes of passion, love (with its polar opposites of loyalty and betrayal) and freedom (sexual, personal and political) over a year's period. It was set in the late 60s in Prague, Czechoslovakia (and then in Switzerland) during the time of the Russian tank invasion and take-over of the city (the Prague Spring in August of 1968). The film blended together recreations of documented history and fictional relationships (with contrasting lightness and heaviness) to depict the Soviet invasion. It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Jean-Claude Carrière) and Best Cinematography (Sven Nykvist). On an overblown budget of approximately 18ドル million, the film failed spectacularly, and made only 10ドル million (worldwide). The romantic drama (171 minutes in length) told about a complex love triangle between libertine, suave and playboyish Czech doctor Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his two lovers (reversals of each other) - his naive country-bred wife Tereza (Juliette Binoche), and his frequent free-spirited mistress/painter Sabina (Lena Olin). [Note: The two actresses were making their English-language debuts.] During the film, the male lover repeatedly and arrogantly entreated: "Take off your clothes." It featured open and liberated adult sexuality and many erotic scenes although little explicit sex (it was regarded by Rolling Stone as "the most openly sexual American film in ages"). Its tagline was simply: "A Lovers Story."

The Vanishing (1988, Netherlands/Fr.) (aka Spoorloos), 107 minutes, D: George Sluizer
Director George Sluizer's original, unnerving and haunting Dutch psychological thriller was a masterpiece in suspense regarding a female's sudden kidnapping and 'vanishing'; it was based upon scriptwriter Tim Krabbé's novella The Golden Egg. The plot was told with a tantalizing, carefully-constructed, complex non-linear narrative (with cross-cuts and flashbacks), veering back and forth between the actions of the two main characters (the two males) to add intricate pieces to the puzzle. Everything ultimately climaxed in the film's fatalistic or nihilistic ending, mirroring what had happened to the victimized female. In the film's story, a Dutch couple were in a car driving from Amsterdam to a small house in the French countryside for a bicycling holiday, when they stopped at a gas station and the young female suddenly and completely vanished. After revealing the horrible crime early in the Dutch film, the plot wasted no time in identifying the villainous killer - a pleasant, seemingly-ordinary but strict and perfectionist university chemistry professor, while the mystery became more about the missing female's whereabouts and her boyfriend's frantic efforts to find her. For three years, the distraught and curious male sought to make sense of things, recalling memorable images of his girlfriend and vigorously attempting to understand the reason for her disappearance, and who might have been responsible.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), 104 minutes, D: Robert Zemeckis
Director Robert Zemeckis' technically-marvelous film blending animated, ink-and-paint cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood live actors, was a convincing comedy/mystery noir thriller set in Los Angeles in 1947. It was very loosely based on Gary Wolf's 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (with comic-book and newspaper strip characters who spoke with word balloons instead of voices) -- in a very sanitized version. Earlier efforts to combine humans and ink-and-paint cartoon characters side-by-side in a film (Disney's Song of the South (1946) and Mary Poppins (1964) , for example) were considered primitive next to this film, which used computers to precisely repeat camera movements and calculate shading, to allow them to cast shadows and have complex lighting. Unprecedented cooperation from Warner Brothers and Disney allowed for classic cartoon characters to be seen together for the first time, such as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny parachuting together, having both Tinkerbell and Porky Pig end the movie, and, of course, the famous piano duel between Daffy and Donald Duck in a Cotton Club-style nightclub, the Ink & Paint Club. The film was a delightful spoof of the hard-boiled Sam Spade films and reminiscent of Chinatown (1974), complete with a sultry, femme fatale humanoid Toon named Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner, uncredited, with singing voice by Amy Irving, Amblin Entertainment executive producer Steven Spielberg's wife at the time), and a case involving alleged marital infidelity ("pattycake"), murder, a missing will, blackmail, and a conspiracy hatched by evil, Toon-hating Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) (of Cloverleaf Industries). Doom's plan was to bring freeways to LA, thereby ruining the existing Pacific & Electric Red Car public transport electric trolley system. The film revolved around the murder of Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), a gag-gift promoter and props supplier (Acme Novelty Co.) for all Toon productions and the owner of the ghetto-ized Toon-town where the Toons, regarded as a segregated minority group, lived just outside Hollywood. Framed for the murder, zany Maroon Cartoon Studios actor Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), a stuttering, disaster-prone 'Toon,' solicited help from reluctant, hard-boiled, boozing private eye Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) to clear his name. Valiant was still grief-stricken over the death of brother Ted by a falling cartoon piano, but was financially - and emotionally - supported by girlfriend Dolores (Joanna Cassidy), as he solved the case.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988, Sp.) (Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de 'Nervios'), 90 minutes, D: Pedro Almodóvar
Spanish director/writer Pedro Almodovar was the uncredited author of this low-budget, outrageous, mad-cap, overly-dramatic comedy's story (based upon Jean Cocteau's play "La Voix Humaine" or "Human Voice"). It was nominated for the 1989 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film (representing Spain), but lost to director Bille August's Pelle the Conqueror (1987), the nominee from Denmark. The vibrantly-colorful film was the highest grossing Spanish film in the US at the time, and was the breakthrough film that helped introduce Almodovar to new audiences. He went on to direct a number of notable films, including Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989), Live Flesh (1997), All About My Mother (1999), Talk to Her (2002), Bad Education (2004), Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), and The Skin I Live In (2011) . The farcical and absurdist, wild, and screwball plot about women on the verge of hysteria was told with a circular story-line and through a series of overlapping, inter-twining and inter-connected segments and chaotic events. In one tale, voice-over TV actress Pepa Marcos (Carmen Maura) in her late 30s or early 40s wanted to learn why she had been dropped (via her phone's answering machine and missed phone calls) by her 3-year, long-term (older and married) lover Ivan (Fernando Guillén), a fellow voice-over actor. The frenzied Pepa was miserable and distraught by the recent separation and his decision to pack up and leave her, and was toying with suicide by consuming a batch of cold gazpacho she had spiked with sleeping pills. And then at the same time, Pepa's naive, frantic, desperate and neurotic best friend Candela (Maria Barranco) was hiding in fear from police because of the criminal activities of her ex-boyfriend - a radical Shiite Muslim terrorist. Candela had known of her boyfriend's terrorist cell group and their plans to hijack an airplane that evening (and divert it to Beirut), and she feared being an accomplice. She attempted but failed to commit suicide by jumping off Pepa's apartment balcony. And thirdly, Ivan's son Carlos (Antonio Banderas), Ivan's offspring from a previous marriage to his unhinged ex-wife Lucía (Julieta Serrano), and Carlos' icy and snobby girlfriend-fiancee Marisa (Rossy de Palma) arrived to rent a penthouse apartment in the complex where Pepa and Candela lived in Madrid. They were stunned to encounter the jilted Pepa's burned bed and destroyed phone, due to her state of upset and panic. Not knowing, the virginal Marisa imbibed on Pepa's spiked gazpacho and fell deeply asleep for most of the film - and experienced a loss of her virginity and orgasms but only during her dream-state. (While Marisa slept, Carlos began to take a romantic interest in Candela). Carlos recommended that Pepa seek advice to help Candela, and she went to speak with aggressive feminist lawyer Paulina Morales (Kiti Mánver) (who was working on Ivan's divorce to Lucia), and who turned out to be Ivan's new lover! And then it was learned that Ivan's crazy and unstable ex-wife Lucia had just been released (uncured) from a 20-year stay in a mental hospital, and was gunning for Pepa. Meanwhile, the police showed up to investigate Candela's terrorist-hijacking threat, and complicating matters even further, Ivan and Paulina had been booked on the flight that evening that was to be hijacked by the terrorists. Lucia pursued Ivan to the airport to vengefully kill him by commandeering a biker at gunpoint to drive her there. Pepa and her neighbor Ana (Ana Leza), the biker's girlfriend, also raced by cab (with a mambo-loving driver (Guillermo Montesinos) with a pompadour) to the airport, where Lucia's threat to murder Ivan was thwarted and she was arrested. Ivan wished to speak to Pepa, who had saved Ivan's life, but she told him it was too late and she wanted nothing more to do with him. When she returned home, she revealed to Marisa (who had awakened from her deep sleep) on her balcony that she was pregnant with Ivan's child.

Working Girl (1988), 113 minutes, D: Mike Nichols
Director Mike Nichols' and 20th Century Fox's modern farcical romantic comedy provided a look at corporate culture in the late 1980s within business workplaces of big finance in NYC. From an original story by US writer Kevin Wade, it was a hugely-popular blockbuster; on a budget of 28ドル million, it grossed 63ドル.8 million (domestic) and 103ドル million (worldwide). Its six Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and two noms for Best Supporting Actress), led to one Oscar win - Best Original Song ("Let the River Run") by Carly Simon. A year after the film's theatrical release, it was refashioned in 1990 as an NBC TV series sit-com (with 12 episodes) starring Sandra Bullock as Tess McGill. The breezy and freewheeling comedy about gender issues and corporate manipulation was mostly a fairy-tale masquerade involving a love-triangle, and a dueling power match-up between a lowly, free-thinking office secretary and her back-stabbing executive female boss. The film's tagline was directed toward those who felt like the underdog: "For anyone who's ever won. For anyone who's ever lost. And for everyone who's still in there trying." Some critics called the "post-feminist" film a recognition that the radical women's movement in the 1960s and 1970s had failed to make a serious difference for females in the corporate workplace. By the end of the film, although the "working girl" (who had learned 'power-dressing') had presumably attained what she had desired - success as a junior executive with her own office, but she was still left marginalized. She had fought with, opposed and conquered her over-ambitious female boss, only to be alone again without female support. The plot followed the story of an ambitious, hard-working and aspiring Staten Island "working girl" named Tess (Melanie Griffith) who had just turned 30. Her career goal was to ascend the ladder of success at a male-dominated stock-market firm in lower Manhattan. After changing positions at the firm due to frustrations with her sexist colleagues, she was reassigned to the Mergers and Acquisitions department that was run by a domineering, duplicitous female, although slightly younger than Tess. Behind the back of her boss during her supervisor's absence due to an injury, Tess was able to transform herself and successfully team up with a handsome investment-mergers broker (her boss' boyfriend), to climb the corporate ladder as she had wished (with her own betrayals and duplicity), and to follow-through on a merger-idea that her boss had brazenly co-opted without her permission.

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