Dan's Top Film Discoveries of 2020
I never know what to write when starting out on these lists. Coming off of the year that was 2020, I am especially at a loss for words.
I guess I’ll put it this way: 2020 sucked, watching these movies didn’t. Maybe you can find a couple new gems to watch to hopefully ensure that 2021 is less shitty.
Internal Affairs (1990)
Synopsis: An internal affairs agent becomes obsessed with bringing down a cop who has managed to maintain a spotless reputation despite being involved in a web of corruption.
After watching Internal Affairs for the first time, it was really interesting to see people picking at the logistics and believable nature of a movie like this (which operates on a certain kind of trashy, pulpy but distant wavelength). To me, none of that really matters since the rhythmic vibe lands so hard. This is one of those sweaty cop drama thrillers where everything is personal and the movie plays out in a series of back-and-forths as these two characters pick and snipe at one another until something has to break.
I guess I can't blame people for wanting to walk away from a thriller with a clearer picture of plot threads and intentions and all of that… but when everything else is firing on all cylinders like Internal Affairs does, I guess I just don't care?
No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)
Synopsis: Jason, a Bruce Lee fan, sees his karate instructor/dad beaten by martial art thugs. They move to Seattle where, after humiliations, he trains with Bruce Lee's ghost so he can defend himself and others against thugs.
One thing I love is when you watch a movie that you’ve known about and heard about your entire life, and it turns out not to be anything like the picture you’ve had inside your head all these years. I’m not totally sure exactly what it was I thought No Retreat, No Surrender would be, but (as Carlo describes it) Miami Connection + Karate Kid wasn’t it. I guess maybe I thought it was more of a standard JCVD picture? Or something more of a straight action flick from Corey Yuen (Yes, Madam!, She Shoots Straight, Righting Wrongs.) Well, it’s not really those things but it is a very special experience.
Belly (1998)
Synopsis: Tommy Brown and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
When Belly came out in 1999, it was very easy for critics to swipe the movie aside – it’s from a music video director after all. Go read some reviews from the year of its release and you’ll see it described as “clumsy,” “incomprehensible,” a “Goodfellas rip-off," and of course plenty of derogatory references to it being nothing more than a feature-length music video. Watching it now, it’s hard to understand these complaints since to me this felt like a near-masterpiece. And it’s a huge shame that we didn’t get more Hype Williams feature films directly in the wake of this potent and idiosyncratic film.
The Films of John Eyres:
Monolith (1993), Project: Shadowchaser (1992), Project: Shadowchaser II (1994), Project: Shadowchaser III (1995), Judge and Jury (1996)
I saw Monolith earlier in the year and ended up programming it for Doug Tilly’s all-nighter marathon. It’s a slap-dash and pretty rough-around-the-edges film (especially editing wise) but there’s something in there that hooked me and I needed to see some more films from Eyres. Ultimately, I ended up forcing Carlo to come along for the ride when we recorded an episode of Franchise Frenzy about all four Project Shadowchaser films. The three of these which Eyres directed are quintessential Eyres; every one of them is a different genre of action picture, and they all feel like an excuse to try on a new pair of clothes as director. This one is a Christmas action movie! This one is a space-set horror film! And this one is a Die Hard rip-off! Maybe you lose a specificity that comes with watching multiple works from a director in a row, but there’s an infectious element to watching Eyres basically use these films as their own playground.
The Films of Avi Nesher:
She (1985), Savage (1996)
I had seen Nesher’s Doppelganger before we scheduled Savage as a CRUD Buddies movie-in-the-morning, so I knew there was potential there but I’m not sure I was ready for how hard Nesher cranks the R-rated Sega CD fever-dream vibe up to eleven. This Olivier Gruner action-sci-fi head-spinner is about a farmer who is traumatized after seeing his family murdered in cold blood, so after getting checked into a hospital for years he escapes to wander the desert before being transformed into the titular SAVAGE by... Mr. Burns ghosts? Magical cave paintings? Something??!?!
And there's a virtual reality tech-mogul bad dude who is connected to all of this for some reason? And now Gruner has caveman style strength and jumps around the whole movie making animal noises and clawing dudes in the face? This movie is fucking off-the-wall for the entirety of its 100-minute running time. Absolutely un-ratable, but I'd give it a hundred stars and fifteen hearts if I could. This movie is a total mind-melter. It also has a CGI skeleton, so extra bonus points times a thousand.
I ended up watching a bunch of other Nesher joints this year, but the only other one I can truly say deserves to be on this list was another morning-screening: She, which plays like someone traveled back in time and told Avi Nesher about shit like Turbo Kid and Nesher was like "heheh, let's beat 'em at their own game!!" Truly outrageous shit where every single scene features a completely new kind of world-building, and once the Knights-exploding-out-of-shipping-containers scene turned into a one-on-one fight with Frankenstein (?!) I knew I was in love forever.
Color of Justice (1997)
Synopsis: Four young black men kill a white woman. Now the D.A. is very cautious how to pursue this case because it might start a riot. And adding fuel to the fire is a bombastic and vocal black community leader, who’s saying that they will not have a fair trial and that they were justified in their actions because they were in fear for their lives
Sometimes, when watching television movies from the 90s you’ll get hit over the head by how blunt these movies can be. There’s not a lot of room for grey areas in ripped-from-the-headlines tawdry thrillers that are using reality’s horrors as fodder for cheap, entertaining thrills. Often though, there exists a queasy line in the sand where the blunt, in-your-face dramatics and overly-simplified characterizations work in favor of a movie tackling serious issues.
In an odd way, Color of Justice – a pumped-up stylized made-for-Showtime courtroom political drama – manages to still be relevant and (mostly) effective despite having that aforementioned vibe. The cast is pretty fantastic too, with good turns from Judd Hirsch, Gregory Hines, F. Murray Abraham and more.
Saga of the Phoenix (1989)
Synopsis: Hell Virgin is granted permission to live on earth for seven days, if she promises not to cause armageddon whilst she’s there. She accepts and tries to enjoy her remaining time… but Hell Concubine has other plans.
This sequel to The Peacock King amps up the kids-movie vibes with a pesky ghoulie puppet who farts in people's faces and gets locked inside ovens.
People on the internet seem to think this is a bad thing, which is very confusing to me. Definitely watch Saga of the Phoenix.
The Living Skeleton (1968)
Synopsis: A young woman living in a seaside town is haunted by the ghosts of a ship's crew murdered by modern-day pirates.
What a delightful trip this was! I loved the structure of this spook-em-up, with an opening incident that leads into plenty of quick flash backs, elaborate revenge, beautiful cinematography and fun floating skeletons aplenty. Out of any movies I watched this year, The Living Skeleton had the most perfect balance of B-movie storytelling and effects with gorgeously produced filmmaking. It’s just the best!
The Trust (2016)
Synopsis: A pair of cops investigating a drug invasion stumble upon a mysterious bank vault.
There’s a wildly slept-on Cage performance in this darkly comedic heist crime yarn that, for whatever reason, has a poster that makes it look dour and serious and drab and boring. Seriously, that is some “left the DVD on the rental store shelf because I found something that looks more interesting” level shit right there.
The Trust ends on a downer note with the final act, which is a shame considering how offbeat and funny the rest of the movie is. Still, Cage and Wood work really well off one another and it's great to see Cage leaning into bizarre comedy beats like this again.
Alphabet City (1984)
Synopsis: A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
One of those "where the hell has this movie been?!" moments. Uber-slick neon-soaked NYC one-hellish-night yarn finds Vincent Spano's Johnny crisscrossing around town to pick up drug payments on a night where he has been ordered to burn down the tenement his family live in, while also planning on leaving his life of crime behind. Michael Winslow plays his now-addict partner, Zohra Lampert appears as his mother and Jami Gertz as his sister.
Alphabet City is all texture, audio and attitude; there's not a ton here other than this guy's life of crime spiraling out of control as he tries and fails to leave it in his wake. That soundtrack from Nile Rogers though? Damn!!!
Director Amos Poe commented on IMDb that the producers wouldn't approve the "real" ending as it was too political. I'd love to know what it was. When I watched this movie, I ended my review with “Needs a BluRay release, like, yesterday.” Months later, a BluRay was announced! Maybe I willed it into existence?
Galaxina (1980)
Synopsis: Galaxina is a lifelike, voluptuous android who is assigned to oversee the operations of an intergalactic Space Police cruiser. When a mission requires the ship’s crew to be placed in suspended animation for decades, Galaxina finds herself alone for many years, developing emotions and falling in love with the ship’s pilot, Thor.
I think my expectations around this let me be pleasantly surprised, as I was expecting some horned up Flesh Gordon kind of thing and while this is still a movie that gets mileage out of the captain's name being BUTT and the ship being a big dick, I was surprised at how not-gross it was.
Well, Galaxina still partakes in the usual shit from this era – there's some real oof-worthy racial stereotypes, it takes too long to become Galaxina's story, and even then she ends up having to be saved. That said, surrounding it with oodles and oodles of non-jokes, half-hearted spoof scenes and ridiculous creatures pretty much made me happy for the running time.
In the back of my mind it was really a bummer to see Dorothy Stratten in her final role, but at the same time I thought she was great in this – even with the movie giving her almost nothing to do until half-way through the movie. I did think the first half at least kept the joke on the dingus idiot men being dingus idiots, thankfully. And god, Capt. Cornelius Butt really made me laugh. His starlogs full of groans and sighs about not having hyperspace so he can look at the pretty colored space lines... loved all that stuff.
This was just a fun stupid movie and I'm very stupid... so... I liked it a lot!!!
QT World: Fearless I Am (2020)
Synopsis: Stareon is a likable kid that has the challenge of overcoming the evil that lurks in his own mind. He simply wants a little adventure in his life which he has become bored with. Conversely, the one on one elite academy doesn’t really add this to his day to day activities. Meanwhile, his struggle takes you on an adventure.
Over on the Movie Melt! Podcast they are often fond of movies that are a) vanity projects or b) incredibly obscure. QT World, an animated film that Movie Melt’s Matt Simpson spotted on Amazon Prime, is both of those things.
There's not a lot to know about QT World except that it is a one-person show. Anthony Lewis does all the voices and runs them through random effects filters. Hilariously, the end-credits list every position imaginable with Anthony's name beside them all (animator, texture artist, choreographer, cinematographer, producer, associate producer, director, writer, composer, production designer, costume designer...). There's a QT World website where you can buy QT branded duvet covers, 3D printed models, calendars and more. Also, on the website you can browse a big list of different explanations of what QT stands for.
Anthony contributes a number of songs to the movie, including one where they just count over the music ("one-two... three-four... five-six... seven-eight..") and multiple songs about lexical categories. There's one called "Just Morph" that goes on and on while paired with the movie's nightmarish characters morphing around.
I expected the movie to be some kind of hero's journey kind of thing, but it's so NOT that in any way. It is somehow incredibly thin and sparse yet bizarrely engaging? By the time the movie becomes about "Stareon" (oh yeah, the main character is named Stareon by the way) doing battle with their subconscious/fear (which says everyone is against him and that he should blow them all up??) I knew this was some kind of bizarre masterpiece of outsider movie making.
If a scene in QT World: Fearless I Am has six characters and one of them says something, you bet your ass you will see every single character react to it. Most scenes are just conversations with characters staring at each other, randomly mouthing their words and gesturing their arms a little bit.
At a certain point I thought "I can watch this while doing something else and just listen in on the weirdness" but then I was presented with the scene where the characters "have fun" by floating and bouncing around on screen and yeah no I had to keep my eyes on this thing.
It's fucking... unreal. It's... I don't know. It's nothing and everything and bewildering and amazing and I am very happy that it exists at all.
Outland (1981)
Synopsis: An honest marshal in a corrupt mining colony on Io, Jupiter’s sunless third moon, is determined to confront a violent drug ring even though it may cost him his life. After his wife angrily deserts him, he waits alone for the arrival of killers hired by the company to eliminate him.
You could call me something of a Hyams-head, I guess. When I was a kid, Hyams’ visual identity was burned into my brain through The Monster Squad (Hyams only produced this, but I swear the Hyams influence is all over the cinematography! Prove me wrong children!) and I damn-near wore out my taped-off-City-TV copy of Stay Tuned (1992.) Later in life, I saw The Relic (1997) in a hotel-room on HBO and it was an instant favourite. Every few years, I’d check another Hyams joint off the list and they were almost always great (or amazingly terrible in the case of A Sound of Thunder, a movie I’ve probably seen 10+ times for whatever reason.) Somehow, I never got to Outland. I think it was always said to be boring, or drab, or not anywhere near as bad-ass as the cover. Having finally watched it, I say: fuck that!
Yes, this is Hyams doing a High Noon riff in space as you've heard. But there's so much else here to love: the art and set design? Hot damn, this is all miniatures and worn-in consoles and mining-town atmosphere. I love it. Plus, there's exploding heads, so you got that going for you too.
Connery is a conflicted bad-ass and Boyle is a kind of satisfyingly slimy low-effort villain who would rather be virtual golfing than getting his hands dirty. MVP goes to Frances Sternhagen as Dr. Marian Lazarus who says stuff like 'Your wife is one stupid lady. You wanna go get drunk?" and "I'm not displaying character - just temporary insanity." Don’t sleep on this one, like I did.
Gaea Girls (2000)
Synopsis: A documentary based around the Japanese wrestling organization Gaea’s rural training camp, and traces, in the main, the careers of four hopefuls.
This movie was picked for our inaugural episode of Ballbusters over on the Campaneros Network, and it might just be one of the most under-seen and under-discussed documentary in recent memory. Gaea Girls is an absolutely grueling and intense film, about pro-wrestling hopefuls and the process they put themselves through at the hands of their teachers. Are the teachers approach to tough love so brutal that they are only ensuring a cycle of violence to ensue? Is it worth the pain they are put through once some students make it to the pro circuit? There’s no easy answers presented in this hard-hitting documentary, which only makes it all the more impressive and fascinating.
Virtual Weapon (1997)
Synopsis: A detective duo hunts a criminal organization, which is using an unknown liquid explosive material.
Antonio Margheriti's final film (aka Cyberflic) is a buddy-cop movie that gets out of the gate with a blast: Marvelous Marvin Hagler's Mike character picks Terence Hill's Skims up at the airport and says something along the lines of "Ever since you left I haven't been shot at!" and then immediately they get shot at and have a car chase featuring copious use of miniature cars. Ahhhh… thank you Antonio.
I absolutely loved what was going on here, and that was before it turned into a "guy dies and turns into a computer ghost" movie!!!
Mr. Sycamore (1975)
Synopsis: Jason Robards is a man who decides he’d rather be a tree.
No, I didn’t forget a portion of the synopsis there… this movie is just about a guy who decides one day: you know what? This life sucks and I’d like to be a tree. How about that? I’m going to be a tree. That’s about as accurate and concise a synopsis as you could ever write about this movie.
To get into a bit more detail: Mr. Sycamore is a pretty delightful existential drama-comedy-fantasy-thing based on a stage play about a postal worker who decides to give up working, dig a hole, stick is feet in, and try to take root. Some of the small comedy moments baked in here were absolutely great. Jason Robards is wonderful and the whole thing feels one-of-a-kind-seventies in a way.
This came to my attention thanks to Eloy Lugo, who always has impeccable taste in movies.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Synopsis: After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.
I know this is one of the biggest “you waited this long to watch that” entries on the list, but yeah honestly I have had a lot of Ghibli blindspots over the years. I wasn’t even that sure about how high this one was held before I finally saw it; I didn’t know if it was a masterpiece, or a divisive earlier entry, or what. I had seen Totoro and Kiki and knew I loved those, but otherwise? No expectations.
Let’s just say having watched Nausicaa in July, I’m still lowkey obsessed. It’s the movie I’ve wanted most to revisit this past year, and it drove me to go buy the first two volume of its source material. Give me all of the prog-rock album cover meets Ghibli aesthetic vibes forever and don't forget the synths on top, thanks!
Celia (1989)
Synopsis: An imaginative and somewhat disturbed young girl fantasizes about evil creatures and other oddities to mask her insecurities while growing up in rural Australia.
Fantastic, sharply political coming of age film from Australia with hints of fantasy/horror elements – though not nearly as much as the art would lead you to believe. I spent a long time thinking Celia must be some intense and horrific movie based on that cover, but no it really is much more of a straight drama with some disturbing elements. Rebecca Smart's performance in this is downright amazing.
Mausoleum (1983)
Synopsis: Traumatized by her mother’s death, young Susan is becoming possessed by the same demon that possessed her mother before she died. More and more her husband and psychiatrist are noticing the strange changes
This movie pissed me off, because I’ve seen the VHS over and over throughout my entire life and not one single person I know ever sat me down and said: “Hey Dan, you know that movie with the cover you’ve seen a million times but no one has ever recommended to you? It shreds. Hard.”
Mausoleum is great because it's just the continuing adventures of murderous green-eyed demon lady. There's other people kind of trying to figure out what's going on, but not really. It's just a series of murders by demon lady with John Carl Buechler special effects. Throw in a bunch of fog, coloured lighting, some legitimately great shots, and just the dumbest fucking "twist" ending? You got a stew goin'. A delicious one.
The January Man (1989)
Synopsis: Two years after being forced out of NYPD, quirky Nick is rehired by the mayor to catch a serial killer after the 11th murder of a woman.
The way The January Man was discussed at the time – and in retrospect also, really – was like it contained some kind of unholy amalgamation of disparate, incompatible plot threads. Like it was some peanut butter and mayonnaise mixture or something. So much talk about how it’s not enough of a serial killer movie, not enough of a comedy, not enough of a romance, blah blah.
And yet, the romantic plotting meets serial killer stuff only feels like a logical extension of the kind of usually-surface-level shit that happens in these kinds of thrillers all the time? Like the idea that it's some amalgamation of apples and oranges that don't work together just doesn't ring true to me at all. I loved the pitched-up performances (Rod Stieger screaming "DO YOU WANT TO FUCK ME??!!!" at Danny Aiello) and the offbeat 80s-into-90s comedic vibe had me laughing quite a bit throughout. Loved all the weirdo character moments, Alan Rickman's painter character becoming Kevin Kline's assistant, the pseudo-melodramatic drama triangle between Susan Sarandon, Harvey Keitel and Kline… Even the investigation stuff pulled me through, and the way that all ends with a shrug worked for me.
There's one incredibly dated, hard to get past thing about this movie that drags it down (though to some degree the movie treats it in an offhanded way that may either help you overlook it, or piss you off more) but this seemed wildly overrated regarding its "all time bomb/dud" reputation.
Anamorph (2007)
Synopsis: A psychological thriller based on the concept of anamorphosis, a painting technique that manipulates the laws of perspective to create two competing images on a single canvas.
Speaking of duds that were thrown under the bus upon release, this serial killer thriller from 2007 starring Willem Dafoe seems to have a super bad reputation. And here, at least I understand it: the movie feels like any other SEVEN knock-off – this time it’s about ART! – and has the kind of po-faced seriousness to it that for many people will ratchet you into unintentional laughter.
For me, I was able to overlook some issues of silliness and an ending that doesn't quite land because I got onto this movie's drab, bleak wavelength. Dafoe is solid, there's a surprisingly deep supporting cast, and the art-angle kept me intrigued.
Road Meat (1989)
Synopsis: Two lunatics, Nick and Vick, celebrate their wedding day at the local asylum like any couple would – by kicking off a killing spree.
An almost episodic regional Ohio comedy-horror movie about two sociopaths who marry, escape, and go on a spree murdering people who annoy them. They end up meeting an old lady, escaping from a cult, and wind up helping her "take care" of her son who's trying to kill her for her money.
Road Meat is shoddy, sketchy stuff but I was quite charmed and I laughed at a lot of the little comedic touches and really enjoyed the backyard-esque gore effects. Fun!!!
Getting It Right (1989)
Synopsis: Gavin is 31 years old, awfully shy and still living with his parents. After being dragged out to a party by his mates, he finds that three very different women are interested in him.
A slice of life British charmer from Randal Kleiser (Grease, The Blue Lagoon.) Jesse Birdsall is Gavin, a shy 31 year old virgin who lives with his parents. He's invited out to a party and ends up in some very episodic, lightly comedic romantic entanglements with three women played by Helena Bonham Carter, Lynn Redgrave and Jane Horrocks. Written by Elizabeth Jane Howard based on her book of the same name.
Aside from a few stray jokes that lean into mean territory (a few fatphobic cracks here and there) Getting It Right is mostly just delightful as it moseys along in no rush to get to its conclusion. Actually, by the end it sort of wraps up quickly and stereotypically, but it’s satisfying nonetheless. There's a lot of humor that feels honest and creeps up on you in effective ways (there's a scene where Gavin's parents dress themselves up fancy at breakfast for reasons I won't spoil that really cracked me up as it was revealed.) A definite gem if you're into this kind of thing!
Thank You & Good Night (1992)
Synopsis: Director Jan Oxenberg’s personal documentary about aging and death, and how it affects her family.
Incredible and essential doc that looks at death in a family, and how we process and (eventually) work through it. The lo-fi kind of artistic DIY effects are brilliantly executed and so very charming, and the very bleak content is approached with just the right level of wit and humor.
This was a tough, tough watch at times for me – having experienced something similar very close to me this year. In many ways, it was cathartic. It's wild that this was hard to see for so long because it's just that amazing. Seek this one out.
Murder of Innocence (1993)
Synopsis: Newlywed Laurie Wade finds her marriage, and eventually the rest of her life, shattered by her deep-rooted psychotic behavior.
Tom McLoughlin directs this and manages a truly tricky balance of hitting that sensationalized tone these movies always go for, without completely trivializing the seriousness of what happened. Does this movie have a pretty skewed and unrealistic portrayal of mental health? It's definitely not the most sensitive movie about this stuff, that's for damn sure.
But, I thought what was really effective about Murder of Innocence is that it never fully demonizes Laurie Dann (cough, sorry Laurie Wade played incredibly by Valerie Bertinelli) and instead is pretty explicit about the ways everyone in her life failed her and ignored the signs that she needed help. How McLoughlin shoots scenes of her family, her many psychiatrists and more basically looking into the camera and saying different versions of "we didn't think she was all that bad" is effective in revealing who this movie has in its targets.
Sakura Killers (1987)
Synopsis: Ninjas steal a research tape. Colonel Chuck Connors sends two agents undercover to retrieve it. Ninjas are sent to scare them off. The two seek help and are trained by a ninja master to become Ninjas themselves.
Any time this movie features some ninja action it's just an absolute delight. Sakura Killers has draggy moments, but otherwise it alternates between silly/hilarious action and legitimately cool shit. Had a real good time with this one, and if you get some pals together through the magic of the internet, I can guarantee you will too. This is your next big movie night success, just waiting to happen.
Shy People (1987)
Synopsis: New York journalist visits her distant cousin for the first time to write an article about her hard life in the bayous of Louisiana. Journalist’s wild drug addicted daughter just adds to tensions between two families’ cultures.
This has fantastic work from pretty much everyone involved – director Andrey Konchalovskiy, Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, Martha Plimpton and more.
It’s got huge swampy dramatic bayou atmosphere and some great Tangerine Dream soundtrack moments. Shy People has unfairly slipped through the cracks of time thanks to the way Cannon handled its initial distribution, despite Hershey winning Best Actress at Cannes. This one is begging to be rediscovered by the Pure Cinema crowd, I tells ya!
The Moment of Truth 3:15 (1986)
Synopsis: Violent crime is routine. Organized drug trade runs rampant in the face of powerless authority. And a vicious street gang holds dominion with a savage reign of terror. Welcome to Lincoln High! Here the cobras rule the school and everyone in it. Everyone except for Jeff Hanna.
What is at its core a standard 80s high school gang picture succeeds at being short, to the point, and full of notable character actors on the sidelines. 3:15 has enough punk grit atmosphere to not feel sanitized but doesn't go so dark it's not entertaining anymore. Solid.
Touch and Go (1986)
Synopsis: An ice hockey star is accosted by a youth gang who attempt to rob him; after he chases them off he catches the youngest member and gives him a ride home, where he meets the boy’s mother. A romantic plot ensues, as well as a confrontation with the gang leaders.
Charming take on the "I'm a [BLANK] and now I'm dealing with a crass KID??!!" type movie. This time it's a single hockey player (Michael Keaton) who gets mugged by some teens who use a kid as their front (Ajay Naidu from Office Space!). When he catches the kid and takes him home, his mother is revealed to be Maria Conchita Alonso and of course there's going to be a) some cheesy culture clash (they're living in a 'bad neighborhood,' he's a rich playboy with a fancy condo etc.) plus b) a side-plot involving the criminal teen kids who come back for revenge and c) a splash of romance.
Touch and Go is all pretty whatever from a script level (of course it's dated in a NUMBER of ways, yeesh) but Michael Keaton, Maria Conchita Alonso, and Ajay Naidu are all really endearing performers with good chemistry so it works anyway.
