Tag Archives: Charles Braverman

Prince of Bel-Air (1986, directed by Charles Braverman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Robin Prince (Mark Harmon) is a laid-back former volleyball player who, at the age of 32, makes his living as a pool guy.  It’s an easy life and he enjoys it.  He sleeps with the wife (Deborah Harmon) of one of his clients and he hangs out with his richer friends.  Robin enjoys being a bachelor but that all changes when he agrees to give a job to Justin (Patrick Labyorteaux), the son of Stanley Auerbach (Robert Vaughn) and meets Justin’s cousin, an artist named Jamie Harrison (Kirstie Alley).  Justin goes from being bitter about having to work to idolizing Robin and his lifestyle.  Robin, meanwhile, falls for Jamie.

This film came out before Summer School, another movie that featured Mark Harmon as a laid-back guy who falls for Kirstie Alley, but it has a similar vibe.  Again, Mark Harmon is playing a likable guy who has never grown up and again, Kirstie Alley is playing a sophisticated woman who, at first, seems like she’s too serious for Harmon’s character.  Robin’s mentorship of Justin feels a lot like Hamon’s mentorship of his Summer School students.  (Dean Cameron even plays a supporting role in both Prince of Bel-Air and Summer School, though he’s far more memorable in Summer School.)  Prince of Bel-Air is more dramatic than Summer School.  In Prince of Bel-Air, Mark Harmon plays a character who secretly understands that there’s not much of a future in his lifestyle, even if he’s not initially willing to admit it.

Prince of Bel-Air is a likable movie.  Mark Harmon gives an amiable and relatable performance as someone who is finally trying to grow up and, as always, Robert Vaughn is a perfectly smug villain.  Kirstie Alley’s sultry performance is the highlight of the film.  In the 1980s, Alley has a smoky-eyed beauty that, when combined with her ribald sense of humor, made her irresistible.  It only takes a few minutes to understand why Robin would be willing to give up his previous life to be with her.  There’s nothing particularly deep about Prince of Bel-Air but it’s still an entertaining 100 minutes.

Retro Television Review: St. Elsewhere 2.12 “Hearing”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  The show can be found on Hulu and, for purchase, on Prime!

This week, Peter White faces the judgment of the medical board.

Episode 2.12 “Hearing”

(Dir by Charles Braverman, originally aired on February 1st, 1984)

At his disciplinary hearing for giving a controlled substance to an undercover officer, Dr. White lies to protect Shirley Daniels.  Even though Shirley tossed him the keys to the drugs on that night, White says that he took the keys without Shirley noticing.  It’s a rare case of Dr. White actually trying to help someone else.  It gets Shirley off the hook but it leads to Dr. White receiving a two-year suspension from working in an ER or prescribing medicine.  Westphall and Auschlander both agree that Dr. White’s career is probably over but Westphall, who has been White’s biggest supporter since he returned from rehab, says that they’ll find a place for him in the hospital.

The new X-ray tech, Lee Tovan (Robert Daniels), cannot hear.  His supervisor (Raymond Singer) claims that Lee is too difficult to work with.  Westphall pledges to support Lee, no matter how much his supervisor complains.

Victor meets Roberta’s wealthy parents and, to everyone’s shock (especially his), he manages to charm them.  Victor also asks Dr. Craig if he can use his house for the wedding.  Dr. Craig misunderstands and thinks that Victor is asking him to be his best man.  Victor explains that he’s already asked his friend, “Dogger,” to be best man.  Craig rolls his eyes but agrees to let Victor use the house.

Finally, Dr. Auschlander asks Fiscus to help him get some marijuana to help with his chemo side effects.  Fiscus tries and fails to call his old college weed guy and then asks Luther if he knows anyone who deals drugs.  Luther rightly points out that Fiscus is stereotyping him but he still manages to get Auschlander a baggie of joints.  Auschlander gets high.  For a first time smoker, he gets REALLY high!  He also ultimately decides that marijuana is not for him.

This episode was a bit uneven.  I liked the irony of White saving Shirley, just to potentially lose his own career as a result.  (Saying that he stole the keys probably didn’t help his case.)  Victor’s wedding storyline has been kind of dragged out more than it needs to be but it’s still entertaining to watch Dr. Craig get frustrated with him.  Norman Lloyd was adorable playing stoned.  But the storyline about the deaf x-ray tech was sabotaged by some very bad acting and some very heavy-handed writing.  That was a shame.

Next week, Victor Ehrlich gets married!

 

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story (1992, directed by Charles Braverman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Hank Gathers is one of the most intriguing “what if?” stories of modern basketball.  Growing up in the Raymond Rosen Projects of Philadelphia, Hank stayed out of trouble by playing basketball.  An outstanding high school player, he went first to USC before transferring to Loyola Marymount.  Along with his friend Bo Kimble, he was a stand-out player at Loyola.  However, on March 4th, 1990, the 23 year-old Gathers collapsed during a game with Portland and died on the court, the victim of an abnormal heartbeat.  His last recorded words were, “I don’t want to lay down!”  Gathers set records in college.  Would he have done the same in the NBA?  Sadly, we’ll never know but he definitely had the talent and the ability to be one of the best.

Final Shot is a by-the-numbers biopic of Hank Gathers, focusing on his life in the projects and his friendship with Bo Kimble.  Victor Love plays Gathers while Kimble is played by Duane Davis and they both give good performances.  Their friendship feels real and when Hank helps Bo recover from a broken leg and when Bo worries about Hank’s recently diagnosed heart condition, the scenes are sincere in a way that lifts the film above the normal biopic clichés.  Nell Carter and George Kennedy both have good roles as well, Carter as Hank’s mother and Kennedy as Hank’s high school coach and mentor.  This is the type of role that Kennedy could have played in his sleep so I appreciated that he actually gave a believable performance.

Final Shot is a made-for-TV movie so it doesn’t dig too deeply into Gathers’s life outside of basketball, the way that college treat their athletes, or the systems that made playing basketball Hank’s only way of escaping the projects.  For what it is, though, it’s a fitting tribute.

Back to School Part II #21: Brotherhood of Justice (dir by Charles Braverman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Brotherhood_of_Justice_FilmPoster

For my next back to school review, I want to take a look at one of the best films that you’ve probably never heard of, the 1986 made-for-TV film Brotherhood Justice!

Brotherhood of Justice takes place at a California high school.  It’s a school that is pretty much ruled by the football team and the divide between the children of the upper and the working class is often violently apparent.  After several acts of violence, drug dealing, and vandalism, the school’s principal (Joe Spano) is left with a choice.  He can either hire full-time security guards and turn his school into an armed camp or he can meet with the most popular seniors and ask them to do their part to maintain order at the school.

He goes with the latter option.

At first, quarterback Derek (Keanu Reeves) is excited about doing his part to make the school a better place.  He and his friends quickly form the Brotherhood of Justice and make out a list of trouble makers.  At first, Derek and his friends are just roughing up drug dealers and demanding that all students show some school pride.  (In order to maintain their anonymity, they all wear masks to hide their faces.  However, no effort is made to disguise anyone’s voice, which means that this film takes place in a world where no one can recognize the voice of Keanu Reeves.)  However, things quickly escalate.  One member of the Brotherhood — Les (Billy Zane) — is especially enthusiastic and he has a thing for knives.

Meanwhile, Derek is having issues with his girlfriend, Christie (Lori Loughlin).  Christie, who is apparently incapable of recognizing her boyfriend’s voice whenever he’s wearing a mask, thinks that the Brotherhood is idiotic.  Christie also has a new job as a waitress and one of her co-workers is Victor (Kiefer Sutherland).  Victor obviously likes Christie and he also bravely stands up to the Brotherhood when they try to harass a student who is named Pasty.  (I kid you not.)

When Derek grows disillusioned with the Brotherhood, they decide that the situation with Christie must be distracting him.  So, they decide to blow up Victor’s car…

It’s all in the name of justice!

Obviously, one of the best things about Brotherhood of Justice is that it’s a chance to see Neo and Jack Bauer compete over Aunt Becky while Cal Hockley plays with a switch blade in the background.  (Oddly enough, Derek’s younger brother is played by Danny Nucci, who later appeared with Zane in Titanic.)  But there’s more to Brotherhood of Justice than just the curiosity value of the cast.

That plot hole about the voices aside, Brotherhood of Justice is actually a really good movie and one that everyone should watch.  If anything, it’s even more relevant today than it probably was when it was originally made.  It’s easy to be dismissive of the self-righteous and judgmental Brotherhood but actually, how different are they from the outrage brigade who show up everyday on twitter?  When the Brotherhood demands that everyone follow the rules and love their school, how different are they from those assholes who, today, claim that anyone who disagrees with the president or questions the moral authority of the government is somehow guilty of treason?  If the Brotherhood existed today, they would be cyberbullying and doxxing anyone who they felt had failed to say or think the right thing.

Let’s face it — we currently live in a fascist culture.  In its own modest but important way, Brotherhood of Justice is one of those films that can tell us why.

And you can watch it below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1x2XI1t-I