The Eric Roberts Collection: Bad Substitute (dir by Steven Krasner)

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

If you want proof that Eric Roberts will appear in just about anything, just consider 2024’s Bad Substitute.

Though the title brings to mind a Lifetime film (and, as soon as I heard the title, I imagined Vivica A. Fox saying, “Looks like you hired the bad substitute,”), Bad Substitute is actually a comedy in the style of Bad Teacher, Bad Moms, Bad Bosses. and all the other bad films. Eric Roberts plays the principal of a high school who has to find someone willing to teach summer school. With all of his regular teachers having an excuse to get out of giving up their summer, Roberts is forced to turn to a teaching assistant (played by Steven Krasner, the film’s director and writer) who has just been dumped by his girlfriend and now has his entire summer open. The bad substitute has a class of misfits who need to prove themselves by passing their exams and he has a crush on the dedicated teacher working next door. You can pretty much guess where all this is leading.

Now, to be honest, for all the flaws in this film, I really don’t have any interest in trashing the Bad Substitute. The film pretty much is what it was advertised to be. It is what it is and I think most people’s critical ire is better served by being focused on expensive but bland studio films as opposed to an obviously low-budget and rather amateurish production that looks like it was filmed on someone’s phone. Bad Substitute may not be a good film but it’s also not actively hurting anyone.

What I will say is that Eric Roberts makes an impression as the principal, showing what a good actor can do with even limited resources. His befuddlement at discovering that all of his teachers are claiming to have COVID should be put in museum because it’s a moment that perfectly captures the mood of the past few years. Bad Substitute, whatever else you may say about it, should give every aspiring filmmaker hope. Maybe Eric Roberts can be in your film too!

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

Music Video of the Day: Year of the Snake by Arcade Fire (2025, dir by David Wilson, Mark Prendergast, Arcade Fire)

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I think it’s time for another road trip. Arcade Fire always inspires those feelings within me.

Enjoy!

Retro Television Review: Homicide: Life On The Street 3.8 “All Through The House”

Posted on April 13, 2025 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 Sundays, I will be reviewing Homicide: Life On The Street, which aired from 1993 to 1999, on NBC! It can be viewed on Peacock.

It’s time to celebrate the holidays!

Episode 3.8 “All Through The House”

(Dir by Peter Medak, originally aired on December 16th, 1994)

It’s Christmas in Baltimore! Decorations are up. A heavy snow is falling. The Homicide Detectives are starting the night shift on Christmas Eve …. there’s no way this is going to be depressing, right?

Russert and Lewis (who no longer has a permanent partner because Crosetti committed suicide) investigate the murder of a woman who was set on fire. The victim’s mother (Nancy Marchand) is in the midst of throwing a Christmas party and refuses to acknowledge the fact that her daughter is dead. Instead, she obsesses on the amount of red decorations. It’s a human moment. How would you react if you found out a member of your family had been murdered on Christmas Eve?
Still, this storyline kind of reinforced the fact that it really doesn’t make much sense for Russert to be a regular on the show. She’s a shift commander but it’s a totally different shift from the one that the rest of the characters work. She was originally introduced having an affair with Beau but that appears to be over. Russert really has nothing to do and her choosing to work Christmas Eve didn’t really make much sense.
Scheiner, the crusty old medical examiner, shows up wearing a Santa hat. Assistant State’s Attorney Ed Danvers also makes an appearance. He mentions that he’s got someone coming to his apartment to celebrate Christmas Eve with him but Kay is working! Did they break up!?
Meanwhile, Bolander and Much investigate the mystery of a dead man dressed as Santa Claus….
SERIOUSLY, HOMICIDE!?
Much suggests that Santa was killed by angry elves.
Okay, Homicide, that made me laugh.
Munch thinks that the man is someone who has been ringing the bell for the Salvation Army for decades. Bolander says that they need to inform the man’s child….
STOP IT, HOMICIDE!
While Bolander goes to the morgue to try to get a positive ID on the guy, Munch sits in an apartment with a kid who want stop talking about how his father promised to spend Christmas Eve with him….
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, HOMICIDE!?
Munch takes the kid out. They go bowling. They hit some baseballs. The kid’s antagonistic and Munch is miserable.
Oh wait! The kid’s father is alive! Yay! It turns out that someone stole his Santa Claus outfit and that person — that thief of holiday joy — is the one who was brutally murdered while dressed as jolly old St. Nick.
Uhmm …. that’s still pretty depressing but at least the kid’s not an orphan.
Back at headquarters, a disheveled Bayliss tries to get someone to play Hearts with him because he needs to make some quick money.
Seriously, what’s happening with Bayliss? He went from being clean-cut and idealistic to being a somewhat seedy, convenience store-robbing burnout in record time!

Merry Christmas, everyone! This was a good episode, actually. Any episode that involves Munch getting frustrated is usually enjoyable and Russert and Lewis made for a good team. And, in the end, Santa was not dead. It’s a Christmas miracle!

The Eric Roberts Collection: Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 (dir by Jon Cassar)

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s disaster time!

In 2001’s Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534, a plane is making its way across the country. The pilot is the arrogant Jack Brooks (Kevin Jubinville), who is convinced that all a pilot has to do is let the instruments and the plane’s computer run the flight. He has total faith in technology. His first officer is Mike Hogan (Eric Roberts), a veteran pilot whose career went downhill after he was unfairly blamed for a crash in Boston. Mike is old school. He doesn’t have much use for all this technology nonsense. Mike thinks that a pilot has to listen to his own instincts and be willing to improvise. That sounds dangerous! It’s a good thing that Jack’s in charge of this plane!

Unfortunately, turbulence and a concussion temporarily puts Jack out of commission. Mike is going to have to conquer his own fears and insecurities to land this plane. Fortunately, he has the support of the head flight attendant, Katy Phillips (Alexandra Paul). Also, one of the passengers has some flight experience! Grant Blyth (Dean McDermott) is willing to help out. Of course, Grant is also a convicted murderer who was being flown to prison but whatever. I just find it interesting that, in the movies, convicted murderers and their handlers are always put on commercial flight. That seems kind of irresponsible to me.

Rough Air is a throwback to the old disaster movies of the 70s. The airplane is full of people who have to set aside their differences to work together and try to avoid a disaster. There’s a soccer star (Mark Lutz) and an engineer (Russell Yuen) and a rich guy (Carlo Rota) who only exists that he can be told to shut up whenever he doubts Mike. Unfortunately, this film isn’t quite as fun as any of those old disaster movies. There’s one funny moments where Jack wakes up and deliriously demands to be allowed to fly the plane but otherwise, this is a pretty boring flight. Not even Eric Roberts giving a typically committed performance can save this flight from being forgettable.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

Song of the Day: Shed a Tear by Teresa Laughlin

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is from 1974’s The Trial of Billy Jack. Yes, Billy Jack killed a lot of people and broke a lot of laws but ultimately, he was just a man who protected animals, children, and other living things.

And, eventually, despite all of the murder convictions, he ended up serving in the U.S. Senate.

That’s a wonderful American story.

shed a tear, running deer
don’t turn back billy jack
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

whenever trouble came about
i could feel you coming out
you were there, i could feel you
in the air
when anyone had a happy moment to share
you were there
when anyone had a burden they couldn’t bare
you were there to share the load

shed a tear, running deer
don’t turn back billy jack
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

when they took you from the church
i couldn’t bare to watch the town stare
you aren’t an animal, you’re a man
it wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair
and they trialed you for murder
they said you were guilty, it just wasn’t fair
wanted to tell them they were unjust
i didn’t dare, i could only stare
what will happen to you now
you’ve got to live, but i don’t know how
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

shed a tear, running deer
don’t turn back billy jack
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

Music Video of the Day: Malibu Pier by The Living Tombstone (2025, dir by Deathcats)

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Malibu!

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Check It Out! 3.13 “Edna, Howard, Cathy & Morty)

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing the Canadian sitcom, Check it Out, which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and Peacock!

This week, Edna continues to allow Howard to humiliate her.

Episode 3.13 “Edna, Howard, Cathy & Morty”

(Dir by Alan Ehrlich, originally aired on November 28th, 1987)

When her friend Cathy (Deborah Grover) comes to town and talks about her wonderful marriage to Morty (John Stocker), Edna once again wonders how long she’s going to have to wait for Howard to ask her to marry him.

If this episode seems familiar, it’s because I’ve lost track of how many times Check It Out! has done an episode featuring Edna getting frustrated with Howard’s refusal to settle down. Honestly, Edna can do better. The first season at least pretended like Howard was a born romantic who truly loved Edna. From the second season on, Howard has been taking Edna for granted and Edna really does need to move on. Howard is in his 60s, now matter how much this show insists that he’s actually in his 40s. If he’s not ready to commit yet, he never will be. At this point, it’s hard to really care about Edna’s situation with Howard.

On the plus side, this episode did feature Viker trying to become a magician. I laughed because Gordon Clapp could make just about anything funny. For that matter, the pre-credits sequence made me laugh. It featured Edna imagining that she was on the Dating Show and everyone reacting with shock when she announced she was going to pick Howard. I don’t blame them! You can do better, Edna!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/6/25 — 4/12/25

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidinfluencing (Netflix)

The latest Netflix docuseries takes a look at kid influencers and the adults who get rich off of them. The first two episodes were a disturbing portrait of manipulation and exploitation. The third episode got bogged down with politics, with Taylor Lorenz demanding that the social media be regulated and various politicians making an unwelcome appearance. The problem with the third episode is that it often felt as staged as the youtube videos that dominated the first two episodes. That said, overall, this was a sobering call for parents to be a bit smarter about keeping track of what’s going on with their children, especially when it comes to their online lives.

Happy Hour (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this 90s, celebrity-driven game show on Friday night. Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa were the hosts. Dweezil was the epitome of cool while Ahmet kind of needed to calm down a little.

It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (Apple TV+)

Erin and I watched this holiday classic on Saturday afternoon. You can read her thoughts about it here.

Song of the Day: Diamond Diary by Tangerine Dream

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is from the soundtrack for the 1981 film Thief, which I watched earlier this week and will be reviewing next Tuesday.

Retro Television Review: Welcome Back Kotter 4.23 “The Bread Winners”

Posted on April 12, 2025 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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing Welcome Back Kotter, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979. The entire show can be purchased on Prime.

This week, we finally finish this show up.

Episode 4.23 “The Bread Winners”

(Dir by Norman Abbott, originally aired on June 8th, 1979)

Epstein is excited about getting a job working at an antique store. However, a chance meeting with the store’s owner leads to Freddie getting the job instead. Epstein gets upset and, after a tense confrontation at the Horshack residence, Epstein challenges Washington to a boxing match at the local gym. However, once at the gym, Epstein and Washington realize that they’re friends. They care about each other. They’re not going to let a little thing like a job come between them. The owner of the gym is so moved that he gives Epstein a job.

And so ends Welcome Back, Kotter. After 95 episodes, Kotter ends not with a bang but with a definite whimper. We don’t even see the Sweathogs defy the odds by finally graduating. It’s an underwhelming finale but apparently, it was made when there was still the possibility of a Kotter spin-off, which would have focused on Horshack and his marriage to Mary. This episode also sets up the possibility of a show featuring Washington working at the antique store or even Epstein working at the gym. (Henry Beckman plays the owner of the gym while Priscilla Morrill plays the owner of the antique store and both of them get a lot more dialogue and character-building moments than the guest stars typically got on Kotter.)

On the plus side, the show did manage to get nearly the entire cast to show up for the finale. Barbarino is absent, of course. But Gabe Kaplan makes one of his rare appearances, giving Washington some advice on how to make up with Epstein. Julie shows up at the beginning of the show but, noticeably, Marcia Strassman doesn’t share any scenes with Kaplan. John Sylvester White, as Woodman, gets to do his crazed laugh one last time. Beau gets a few lines of dialogue. We get a peek at Horshack’s homelife with Mary and even Epstein’s girlfriend, Kelly, shows up for a few scenes.

Again, this was an underwhelming finale but that makes sense when one considers that season 4 was an underwhelming season. Looking over this show, the first two seasons were the best. During those seasons, the show had a bit of an edge and the actors really seemed to be trying to ground their outlandish characters in at least a hint of reality. The third season saw the show turn into a living cartoon and Kotter never really recovered. By the fourth season, the actors cast as the Sweathogs were too old to still be playing high school students, Kaplan was refusing to appear on the show that was based on his stand-up act, and way too much time was wasted on Julie getting upset and glaring at people.

Well, we’re done with Welcome Back, Kotter. Next week, a new show will premiere in this time slot. It’s been a while since I started a new show so I’m looking forward to finding one that will be a slight change of pace. What will the show be? Check here next Saturday to find out!