Random movies

Here are some movies that aren't my absolute favorites, but I enjoyed them a lot and I recommend them to people, because they are tragically overlooked.

COMEDIES

Coupe de Ville (1990) - terrific road movie and family dramedy with Patrick Dempsey, Daniel Stern and Arye Gross as feuding brothers taking their father's treasured car across country, bickering all the way; written by Mike Binder who (many years later) made The Upside of Anger

Funny Bones (1995) - dramedy about family relations and the roots of comedy's soul, with Jerry Lewis, Lee Evans and Oliver Platt in one of his best roles ever

Cold Comfort Farm (1995) - based on a popular British novel, I've watched this quirky, tongue-in-cheek comedy many times; full of great performances and sly humor; Kate Beckinsale's first major film role

Safe Men (1998) - another quirky comedy that can be watched repeatedly about a group of bungling burglers; great cast includes Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn

Liberty Heights (1999) - yet another wonderful family dramedy with Ben Foster and Adrien Brody as Jewish brothers in Baltimore circa 1954; Barry Levinson's best movie ever, and that's saying something

Tin Men (1987) - my other favorite Barry Levinson movie, also set in Baltimore (of course), with Barbara Hershey and Richard Dreyfus in an unlikely romance and Danny Devito in top comic form

The Favour, the Watch, and the Very Big Fish (1991) - hilarious weird comedy with an amazing cast including Jeff Goldblum, Bob Hoskins and Natasha Richardson

DRAMAS

Playing God (1997) - a guilty pleasure, with David Duchovy at his most appealing as a disgraced surgeon working for a moody mobster played by Timothy Hutton; also features Angelina Jolie burning up the screen long before she was superstar

Into the Night (1985) - another guilty pleasure; Jeff Goldblum plays an ordinary man caught up in a crime spree, so fun; an early delicious performance by Michelle Pfeiffer

FOREIGN FILMS THAT ARE WORTH THE TROUBLE

Wild Reeds (1994) - the only French movie I ever completely loved; coming of age story about 3 misfit teens in 1962

When Night is Falling (1995) - Canadian film about an uptight professor who falls for a circus acrobat; quirky, sexy and romantic; by far my favorite Patricia Rozema film

Mostly Martha (2001) - one of my favorite foreign films of all time (from Germany); remade as No Reservations, but the original is better; about an uptight chef whose life is transformed when her niece comes to live with her and her boss hires an lively chef from Italy