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| Over
30 years, CHER has been a singer, an Oscar-winning actress, a fashion
extremist, an infomercial queen, a grieving ex-wife - and most at
all
SURVIVOR. |
Mermaids
(1990)
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|
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| In the early '60s, nomadic
single mom Mrs. Flax (Cher) packs up her two daughters, Charlotte (Winona
Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci), in a beat-up Chevy wagon and moves to
small-town Massachusetts. Preteen Kate is obsessed with swimming, while
15-year-old Charlotte is searching for ways to rebel against her mom (and
mom's flirty ways). The route she chooses is to become fascinated with
Catholicism and all its arcane rituals, even though the family is Jewish.
Her coming of age is handled with plenty of Wonder Years-style voiceovers
as she fantasizes about Christ, the saints, the Pope, the Church--all things
Catholic. Cracks in her religious armor begin to appear, though, in the
form of a hunky local guy (Michael Schoeffling) who works at the convent.
Meanwhile, her mom strikes up a romance with the town shoe-store proprietor,
Lou (Bob Hoskins). |
Good
Times (1967)
Sonny
& Cher
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| This is such a colorful, whimsical
video that it shows the beginning of the struggles and climbs and the raw
talent & determination both Sonny & Cher had early on. You
will laugh your way through their goofy movie spoofs and sing along with
their catchy tunes. |
|
Tea
With Mussolini
(1999)
DVD
|
|
|
In filming this semi-autobiographical
account of life in Italy during the dawn of World War II, director Franco
Zeffirelli imbues Tea with Mussolini with the mixed blessings of fond reminiscence.
It's a warmly inviting film, as impeccable as any Merchant-Ivory production,
but like a hazy memory it's uncertain in its narrative intentions.
And yet with an exceptional
cast to compensate, the film's as engaging as it is inconsequential-Jeff
Shannon |
Faithful
(1996) VHS
|
| On her 20th anniversary, the
unhappy, neglected wife of a wealthy businessman is seized by a hit man
who ties her up and awaits a signal from her husband to murder her. Coproduced
by Robert De Niro; filmed in 1994. |
If
These Walls Could Talk (1996) DVD
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|
|
| If These Walls Could Talk is
a bold and provocative examination of how the laws and attitudes about
abortion in the United States have both changed drastically and remained
so much the same |
Suspect
(1987) DVD
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|
|
| Suspect is an endearingly silly
suspense movie with an excellent cast. Cher stars as Washington, D.C.,
public defender Kathleen Riley, who is beginning to question the meaning
of her career. |
|
The
Witches of Eastwick (1987) DVD
|
|
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| Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle
Pfeiffer play the women who discover their untapped magical powers by accident.
The smart and sexy singles, out of place in the conservatism of their village,
find happiness, however briefly, in the arms and bed of the libidinous
devil, but he's got his own ulterior motives. Miller revels in the sensual
display of sex, food, and magic, whipping up a storm of effects that finally
get out of hand in an overblown ending. It's a handsome film with strong
performances. |
Moonstruck
(1987) DVD
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|
|
| Cher is focused and funny as
a widow who feels she should marry an older fellow (Danny Aiello), but
then falls for his black-sheep brother (Nicolas Cage). Olympia Dukakis
and Vincent Gardenia are perfect as her parents, and John Mahoney (of TV's
Frasier) has a memorable, small role as a middle-aged man on the make who
gets a lecture from Dukakis's character. |
Mask
(1985) VHS
|
|
|
| Based on the true story of
Rocky Dennis, who was born with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, a disease that
causes calcium to accumulate in the skull and makes the head grow to twice
the normal size. Despite his fatal disorder, the 16-year-old Rocky just
wants to live a normal life with his mom and her biker-gang buddies. His
optimistic and fun-loving outlook wins him many friends and supporters,
including a beautiful blind girl who he meets while working at a summer
camp. |
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