Michael Des Barres Movie Appearances
(&
theatre, at the end)
Text © 1997+ Cyndi Glass, except where indicated.
Updated 2-5-04
For info about pending/unreleased movies, see the News
Page
- they are not listed here.
Movies are listed alphabetically, with the year of release after the title.
These plot summaries
were taken from the International Movie Database, the TV Guide web
site, the Best Video Guide site, and/or Halliwell's Film Companion, or written
by me. WARNING: Plot summaries and comments below will contain spoilers. Look
them up in the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) if you don't
want to know how they end until you watch them.
Visit the
IMDB for more information on cast and crew credits, box office grosses, trivia,
& how to buy these movies, if they are available.
Photo
from "Poison Ivy: The New Seduction," 1997.
Arizonaslim * Catch That Kid * Deep
Red * Diary of a Sex Addict * Double
Switch * Free Spirit * Ghoulies * Good Advice * High Crusade * Hungry
Bachelors Club, The * I, Monster * Joanna
* Jungle Book: Lost Treasure/Mowgli's First Adventure: In Search
Of The Elephant Eye Diamond (VHS) *Limp Fangs* Man From Elysian Fields, The * Mayor Of The
Sunset Strip * Men Named Milo, Women Named Greta * Midnight Cabaret * Mulholland Drive * Nightflyers * Ocean Park * Pink
Cadillac * Poison Ivy: The New Seduction * Silk Degrees/Target Witness * Simple Twist of
Fate * Sugar Town * Tease/Poison * To Sir, With Love * Under Siege * Waxwork II: Lost In Time * What They Wanted,
What They Got * Widow's Kiss
Arizonaslim (Mid 1970's)
Filmed in New York
Michael's Role: singer in band
Where to find Michael: ??
Plot Summary: ??
Commentary: I haven't seen this one,
and according to the people signing the guest book on Pamela Des Barres' web
site, hardly anyone else has either. It was supposed to have the band KISS in
it as well. According to Pamela, in her online chat of July 20, 1997, the film
has never been released, though she and Michael both have copies of it. You can
see footage of it in the E! documentary about Pamela Des Barres.
Catch That Kid (April 2004)
Fox, Americanization of the Danish film "Klatretosen"
IMDB Listing Yahoo
Movies Listing * Official website
Michael's Role: Mr. Brisbane (banker)
Plot Summary: "the story will
focus on three pre-teen friends (ten to thirteen years old) who dare to plan a
bank robbery. Katie is a young girl who loves to climb. Unfortunately, her
father has forbidden her to climb because of an accident he had on Mount
Everest. She ignores him and climbs the town water tower regularly. Katie's
father's injury comes back to haunt him and he finds himself paralyzed from the
neck down. The only thing that can help him is a very expensive operation, an
operation their family can in no way afford. Desperate to help her father,
Katie enlists the help of her two best friends, Clay and Austin, in a wild plan
to rob the bank where her mother works. During the heist, they have to work
together to overcome high-tech security systems, guard dogs, a nasty head of
security, and a bank vault that is suspended 30 feet above ground. "
Deep Red (1994)
Sci/Fi
Channel movie, 86 min, rated R.
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Lew Ramirez
Where to find Michael: Early in the
movie, a couple of brief scenes.
Plot Summary (from IMDB):
"After a young girl is accidentally infected with an alien substance known
as "Deep Red," the astonishing results attract the attention of the
illustrious scientist Dr. Newmeyer. Disillusioned security expert Joe Keyes
must team up with his estranged wife to protect the girl and her mother from
the obsessed scientist who will stop at nothing to get what he wants."
Commentary: Now, why couldn't
Michael have played the obsessed scientist? I wasn't too impressed with the
movie as a whole, but I did like Michael's too-brief and too-few scenes from
it. His character, looking sharp in a silver suit, makes a brief appearance,
and then in his next scene he's been beaten up at his desk, and then he dies.
One line that I remember is that someone says "Who did this to you?"
and he says tiredly, "Satan, I think."
Diary of a Sex Addict (2001)
Addict Productions, © 2001
Pictures from the movie
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Sammy Horn (lead
character)
Where to find Michael: Every scene!
Plot Summary (from IMDB): A
middle-aged chef in a luxurious restaurant reveals to his shrink his double
personality: He is an impeccable family man who loves his wife and son and at
the same time a sexually hungry person who seeks pleasure at any time with any
woman...
Commentary: Many people have warned
me off this movie, but I found it to be a brilliant portrayal. It's the
character and what he does that causes such discomfort, and Michael meets the
challenge and makes it so real that you can't help but be appalled. Filmed in a
way that seems extremely low-budget, the movie follows a tightly constructed
and narrow plot, adding a claustrophobic intensity with every scene, but if you
like to watch Michael, there's plenty to look at.
Double Switch (1987)
ABC/Disney Sunday Movie of the Week, Jan 4, 1987
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Simon, manager
of main character
Where to find Michael:
Throughout the movie in many scenes (not all, but a lot).
Plot Summary (from IMDB):
"Teeny bopper rock star Bart Holten is pushed around by his manager for
maximum profit and longs for a normal life. Through a look-alike contest he
meets Matt, a student who looks exactly like him and can imitate his dancing
style perfectly. Bart proposes to switch roles for a week. At first Matt enjoys
being chased by hysterical groupies and Bart enjoys hitting on the high school
girls, but of course both learn quickly that the other's life is quite
different from what they'd expected."
Commentary: I like this one. My
only problem with it is that the kid playing the rock star has hardly any rock
star charisma or experience, and by 1987 Michael had a lot, so when they are
together with the bodyguard pushing through crowds of screaming girls, it seems
that it's Michael they are screaming for and not the kid, who tends to blend
into the woodwork. At least he doesn't die in this one, though his scheme to
get Bart to emancipate himself doesn't work out.
Free Spirit (Apparently unaired TV Pilot/Movie) (ABC/Spelling)
(1989)
IMDB Listing
(Note: I'm not sure this is the right show, as the basic concept seems the same
but the details have been changed quite a lot. This show aired 14 episodes in
1989 and was cancelled, and it doesn't seem to have been produced by Aaron
Spelling The IMDb does not list this particular version of the pilot/movie.).
Michael's Role: Oliver Faraday,
a mystery writer
Where to find Michael:
Throughout the movie, in a lead role
Plot Summary: Oliver Faraday,
killed in a car accident, returns from the dead to investigate his own death,
making life complicated for his young widow (Caitlin) and her new husband
(John), who is a private investigator and had been Oliver's best friend.
Commentary: Try to get your
hands on this, because it's one of the most enjoyable things I've ever seen.
Oliver is gentle and sweet, with a sharp wit. He's funny as hell, with a
classy, educated brilliance that we don't often get to see in Michael's roles
because he's not usually given this much to do. This had promise - it's a real
shame that it didn't make it, because I can see many possibilities for a series
about a private investigator aided by an immortal. Well-written, while still
family-friendly. Several great lines in this; my favorite would have to be
"It was a damn nice funeral, Caitlin, thank you" along
with "That's a name to shag crooks with!" and "You think
being dead is a joke? You wait and see," and a beautifully sarcastic
"Oh, thank you so much."
Ghoulies (1985)
Empire
Pictures, 84 minutes, rated PG-13
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Malcolm Graves,
satanist father of main character
Where to find Michael: In the very
beginning ritual scene (before the main credits) and near the end, when the
main character's father exhumes himself.
Plot Summary (excerpts from TV
Guide): "Upon the death of his father, Peter Liapis inherits the family
mansion and decides to live there with his girl friend, Lisa Pelikan. Unbeknown
to Liapis, his father was a warlock, and, curious about his heritage, the new
homeowner rummages through Dad's possessions. He finds books and notes
pertaining to witchcraft and becomes so obsessed with the material that he
quits school so he can have more time to delve into the occult. During one of
his incantations, Liapis conjures up the 'ghoulies,' devilish little creatures
who do his bidding. To increase his power, Liapis calls together all his
friends and, on the pretense of performing a party trick, has them participate
in a satanic ritual. The ritual goes too far, and all hell breaks loose, with
ghoulies attacking the guests, and Liapis' long-dead father bursting out of his
grave."
Commentary: This is classic.
"Ghoulies" marked Michael's first movie since 1971, and the role was
very powerful, giving him a lot to work with. Bad special effects aside,
Michael's scenes crackle with energy and establish him as someone who can carry
off powerfully evil characters, especially in the opening scene, which is a
real ritual led by someone with experience, not an attempt that gets out of
control as happens later in the movie.
Good Advice (2001)
93 minutes, Rated R
IMDB Listing * Trailer
Michael's
Role: Himself
Plot Summary: "Ryan Turner is a
stockbroker who is self-centered and overly cocky. He is also a womanizer. He
also has a girlfriend, Cindy Styne, who is a bit of an airhead, who works as an
advice columnist for a struggling newspaper but who is so self-involved that
her work is so backed up that her boss would like to get rid of her but cause
of her contract and papers' in the red, she has to put up with her until she
can and also she cares more of what Ryan can give her than him. Ryan likes to
give his friends and clients inside information though it is illegal, recently
the info he gave was false; he was set up by a client whose wife he was
sleeping with. He would lose his job, his traders license, and thrown out of
his apartment. He moves in with Cindy, who after being proposition by a jet
setter, leaves Ryan. While moping around, Cindy's boss, Page Hensen calls
demanding that Cindy finish her back work. Ryan needing the money claims that
Cindy's incapacitated, and has to work at home, and acting as her
representative, answers the letters she receives himself and before you know it
"Cindy" is a celebrity. And Ryan has new insight into himself."
High Crusade (1994)
Centropolis
Film Productions, Germany, June 2, 1994, 100 min.
Michael's Role: Monsieur Du Lac
Where to find Michael: All
throughout, and they call him "Louie."
Plot Summary: Aliens land on Earth during
medieval times, just when England is about to go on the Crusades. Lots of
slapstick, but some subtle humor as well, if you keep your ears and eyes open.
Commentary: Hilarious. Michael is
all over this movie, stealing scene after scene. The movie itself is kind of
ridiculous, but if you know that going in and just want something funny to
enjoy, you'll like it. Another must -have, though it's hard to get.
Hungry Bachelors Club (1999)
Somford
Entertainment, Mama's Boys L.L.C., Rated PG-13, US release Nov. 12, 1999
IMDB
Listing
Michael's Role: Mr. Skinner
(character may have been renamed)
Where to find Michael:
Plot Summaries: "Once a month, single mother and culinary artist
Delmar Youngblood hosts dinner for her eclectic group of friends,
affectionately known as The Hungry Bachelor's club. At one of these gatherings
Stanley Diggers -- a lawyer as low as his name suggests and the
less-than-attentive boyfriend of her housemate Hortense -- proposes that Delmar
become a surrogate mother for his boss, so that she can earn enough money to
open the restaurant of her dreams. In the end, the The Hungry Bachelors Club'
is the recipe for love.
I, Monster (1971)
Columbia
Pictures, 75 minutes, Rated PG
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Boy in
alley/Street Tough (Junge)
Where to find Michael:
Plot Summaries:
(from Halliwell's Video Companion): "A straight remake of Dr. Jeckyll
and Mr. Hyde, holding closely to the original novel, but mysteriously using
different names. Interesting minor work."
(from IMDB): "Christopher Lee stars in this Amicus production of 'Dr.
Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde,' where the names have been changed to Dr. Marlowe and
Mr. Blake. Lee as Dr. Marlowe experiments with intravenous drugs that are
supposed to release inner inhibitions. So comes forth Mr. Blake (also Lee), who
gets more monstrous with each transformation (physically as well as
personality). Peter Cushing plays his friend and colleague, Dr. Utterson."
Commentary: Michael was in his
early 20's when this was made.
Joanna (1968)
No
Production Company, time or rating listed. Released in France and Sweden
Nominated for a Golden Globe in 1969 for Best English-Language Foreign Film
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Unknown
Where to find Michael: Unknown
Plot Summaries: (from IMDB): "Flashy story of wide-eyed girl falling
in with loose-living London crowd, growing up through heartbreak, conflict.
[Donald] Sutherland steals film in flamboyant role as frail, wealthy young man
trying to enjoy life to fullest. Panavision."
Jungle Book: Lost Treasure (1998)
also
known as "Jungle Book: Search For The Lost Treasure" (cable) and
"Mowgli's First Adventure: In Search Of The Elephant Eye Diamond"
(VHS)
IMDB Listing * Photo Captures
Production:
Franklin/Waterman & Wolfcrest, released in 1998
Michael's Role: Kohabeez
Where to find Michael: unknown
Plot Summary: Live-Action Mowgli
movie.
See Also: "Wild On The Set" (Animal Planet
series) "Big Cats" episode features a behind-the-scenes documentary
about this movie with Michael included.
Limp Fangs: The Adventures of Count Malt Liquela (1996)
Production: Creeper
Productions, directed/written/starring Christopher Michael - Website
Michael's Role: Narrator
Where to find Michael: in
"part of" the film.
Plot Summary: An "indie
horror/comedy" -- "Count Lamont Malt Liquela is awakened, and he's
obsessed with finding Creeper Premium Ale. When he tries to bite a human, his
fang is so limp that he can't finish the job." -- Reviews here.
Man From
Elysian Fields, The (2001)
Directed by George Hickenlooper, Rated R, 106 minutes.
IMDB Listing * Trailer
Michael's Role: Nigel Halsey
Where to find Michael: in a few
brief scenes at the escort agency (he is another escort)
Plot Summary: Byron Tiller,
happily married with a young child, is a writer whose last novel has ended up
in the remainder bins. Down on his luck and struggling to make ends meet, he
keeps bashing away, refusing to admit that perhaps he is not that good. One
day, at wit's end and feeling sorry for himself, he meets someone who has
actually read his book: a rather elegant looking Englishman who introduces
himself as Luther Fox. Luther runs an escort agency Elysian Fields, which
provides extremely wealthy women with attractive, intelligent dates. Desperate
for any job- and Luther guarantees good pay and convinces him that it can be
only temporary -Byron reluctantly agrees, keeping the whole thing hidden from
his wife. He soon finds himself face-to-face with an extremely attractive woman,
whose aging husband is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist grappling with a novel
that may be his last. Before long, Byron finds himself immersed in a world that
he finds almost impossible to believe and even harder to explain.
Commentary: Settle in and enjoy the ride. Michael plays brilliantly here
in a supporting role, lending an amused, weary charm to his lines.
Mayor Of The Sunset Strip (2003)
Documentary about Rodney Bingenheimer, premiere at the L.A. Film Festival in
June 2003, 1 hr. 34 min, rated R.
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Himself
Plot Summary: "A look at the
history of fame in the world through the eyes of pop star impersario, Rodney
Bingenheimer "
From the All-Movie Guide: "When Rodney Bingenheimer was just a teenager
-- a diminutive, long-haired kid who was picked on a lot -- his mother, a
divorced autograph hound, dropped him off in front of the home of actress
Connie Stevens and essentially said, "Good luck." Stevens was on location
shooting a movie and Bingenheimer says he didn't see his mother again for five
or six years after that. The Mayor of the Sunset Strip, a documentary by George
Hickenlooper (Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse), tracks
Bingenheimer's rise from the 1960s, when he was a groupie -- eventually landing
his first show-business job as a double for Davy Jones on The Monkees --
through stints as a successful club owner and influential DJ to his current
status as a fading musical icon. The film takes us from the innocent pop of
Brian Wilson and Sonny & Cher through the raucous heyday of L.A.'s punk
scene and beyond. Hickenlooper also delves into Bingenheimer's relationships,
showing him mourning his neglectful and unbalanced, but beloved, mother and
visiting with his father, who never attempted to make contact with Bingenheimer
after his mother abandoned him. He also pines for a close friend, Camille
Chancery, and helps out a seemingly hopeless middle-aged wannabe rock star,
Ronald Vaughan. While Bingenheimer used his skills as a consummate hanger-on
and his genuine enthusiasm for rock & roll to become a central figure in
the L.A. music scene for a couple of decades and is lauded in the film for his
good taste and good nature by celebrities from Cher to David Bowie to Gwen
Stefani, his current life is shown to be somewhat sad and lonely. The Mayor of
the Sunset Strip is chock full of cameos and features a star-studded
soundtrack. It was shown at the 2003 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All
Movie Guide"
Men Named Milo, Women Named Greta (2000)
Premiered Nov. 2000 on the Sundance Channel
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Christian Bell, a
"pretentious photographer"
Plot Summary (from the producer): (about
Michael's part only): "Michael has a great, hilarious role as a
pretentious photographer, "Christian Bell," who has decided to make
an "underground" film, a la Warhol.
Commentary: Sharp & pointed wit,
and always something going on behind the eyes. The producer says: "Michael
brought his own wardrobe -- we had him wear what he was wearing at the 1999
Independent Spirit Awards in L.A. You picked a great guy to create a page for,
because he's an absolute delight to work with. We loved him so much, that the
director and I conceived a role for him in our next short, called, "What
They Wanted, What They Got." Michael even entertained us on acoustic
guitar in between takes and set-ups. I cannot say enough good things about him,
both personally and as an actor."
Midnight Cabaret (1988)
Grandma
Moses Pictures/Warner/Lorimar Home Video, 92 minutes, Rated R.
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Paul Van Dyke,
theatre owner, director & actor
Where to find Michael: Michael
is the lead male actor in this movie, and he's in most of the scenes...even
after he's killed.
Plot Summary (excerpts from TV
Guide): "Throughout the movie, the audience is held off guard as to
whether it is witnessing real-life horrors or simply sampling scenes from the
bizarre off-Broadway entertainment the film's characters are involved in. At
first, Tanya, a virgin, is seduced by the glamourous aura of her costar and
director, Paul Van Dyke, but when she's drugged during one of his soirees, she
becomes wary... (Tanya begins to experience psychic flashes and the police
begin to suspect her of the murders that keep happening, the detective falls in
love with her, etc)...Sneaking into the devil's playground, Angelo discovers
that Tanya has been impregnated by Van Dyke, who is Satan himself. Exquisitely
lensed and cleverly conceived, Midnight Cabaret juxtaposes a cabaret
entertainment about devil-worship with real-life scenes about a courtship a la
Satan. Brilliantly tricking us in the beginning, director Pece Dingo and
co-screenwriter Lori Gloede use the cabaret scenes to comment on the action
proper... (reviewer states that the lead actress is inexperienced and not that
good) On the other hand, Carolyn Seymour, Norbert Weisser and Michael Des
Barres demonstrate enough sexual magnetism to have any devil cult welcome them
as comrades. Clearly the devil has the upper hand here, since the film's good
guys don't have the same hold on our imagination...This handsomely mounted film
is still a must-see for horror fans in search of outre kicks."
Commentary: This is a must-have.
Michael (near the beginning) and Carolyn (near the end) perform chillingly
spooky mostly spoken musical numbers, but the rest of it is solid and choice
acting, in a role that Michael is perfect for. In Ghoulies he had a very
similar role, but his natural charisma was helped with costuming and effects -
here it's all him. The film itself is a bit confusing the first time, and even
with repeated viewings it's not really clear what is a dream, what is real,
what is imagination, what is a psychic vision, and what is just part of the
play. Subtle touches make it perfect, such as when Paul drapes his hand over a
huge light bulb and doesn't get burnt, the way his eyes follow Tanya around,
and the way he retains control over every situation even in his absence.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Universal Pictures, 146 minutes, rated R, directed by David Lynch
IMDB Listing * Trailer
Michael's Role: Billy Deznutz
(Pimp)
Where to find Michael: Unknown
Plot Summary "A bright-eyed
young actress travels to Hollywood, only to be ensnared in a dark conspiracy
involving a woman who was nearly murdered, and now has amnesia because of a car
crash. Eventually, both women are pulled into a psychotic illusion involving a
dangerous blue box, a director named Adam Kesher, and the mysterious night club
Silencio."
Nightflyers (1987)
Vista,
New Century, Oct 1987, 89 minutes, Rated R
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Jon Winderman,
telepath
Where to find Michael: He's in
most of the scenes in the first half of the movie, and then after he is
"killed," he comes back in a few different forms.
Plot Summary (from TV Guide):
"Set in the 21st century, Nightflyers concerns an old spaceship that is
haunted by an evil force. The somewhat decrepit ship is leased by a team of
scientists who are launching a search for evidence of a fabled race of aliens
known as the Voleryn. The ship's captain, Royd, is only seen as a computer
generated hologram. Miranda, the team coordinator, falls in love with Royd's
ghostly image and he with her. Derivative and predictable, Nightflyers does
benefit from a fine performance by Stewart."
Commentary: Hardly. Michael's
definitely the highlight here. This is another must-have performance, with some
of the best dialogue he has ever been given. Michael brings out Jon's terror and
bitterness perfectly, and his scenes, particularly the ones where he plays with
the wine bottle and where he shoots himself with the medicine gun, are
brilliant. Even as he ultimately succumbs and becomes one with the evil force
behind all the odd happenings, his pathos comes through. The rest of the scenes
are snooze material, but Michael's scenes make this movie worth having.
Ocean Park (2002)
IMDB Listing
Premiered at the Phoenix Film Festival, Apr. 5, 2002, 100 minutes, not
rated. Michael won an award for Best Actor in the Feature Film Award category
of the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival (L.A.
Festival), and the film's writer won the Grand Jury Prize for "Best
Feature."
Michael's Role: Gower
Where to find Michael: Unknown.
Plot Summary: Described as
"thriller" and "neo-noir" at the IMDb.
Pink Cadillac (1989)
Warner
Brothers, 122 minutes, Rated PG-13. Location: Reno, NV
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Alex, militia
leader
Where to find Michael:
Throughout the movie, in any scene involving the militia (scenes take place in
a wooded area). Michael is the leader, complete with black leather outfit,
ponytail, and a vocal technique that sounds like it hurts.
Plot Summary (Excerpts
from TV Guide): "Pink Cadillac is very much another personal project for
Eastwood and continues the exploration of the screen persona he began in his
directorial debut, "Play Misty For Me." Here, Eastwood plays 'skip
tracer' Tommy Nowak, a bounty hunter hired to track and capture people who have
skipped out on bail...Tommy more than meets his match when he's assigned to
trace Lou Ann McGuinn (Bernadette Peters), a young mother whose bumbling,
no-good husband has involved her with a counterfeiting ring run by a white
supremacist group. Lou Ann skips town, takes her baby and her husband's beloved
vintage pink Cadillac - which she learns, has $250,000 stashed in it - and
heads for her sister's home in Reno, pursued by the white supremacists. Fully
intending to bring her back, Tommy instead falls for Lou Ann and ends up
helping her retrieve her kidnapped baby and outfox her husband and his racist cronies.
The plot isn't much, but Pink Cadillac is rich in character, containing some of
the most heartfelt and engaging moments in an Eastwood film since his unjustly
neglected "Bronco Billy."
Commentary: Michael acts macho in
this, and although his character is shorter than the other men in his militia
group, he seems to command them solely with his eyes and the power he has
established. Plus, he's really buff here!
Poison Ivy: The New Seduction (1997)
Photo 1 * Photo 2 * Photo
3 * Photo 4 * Photo 5
* Photo 6 * Photo 7 * Photo 8 * Photo 9 * Photo 10 (shown at top of page)* Photo
11 * Photo 12 * Photo 13
New
Line Home Video, 5/20/97, 93 minutes (rated R) or 95 minutes (unrated). Cinemax
version: 89 minutes (rated R)
IMDB
Listing
Michael's Role: Ivan (Joy's
father)
Where to find Michael:
Throughout - he is one of the lead characters.
Plot Summary (from back of box):
"The quiet home of a suburban family is suddenly destroyed when Ivy's
beautiful but evil sister Violet returns to her childhood home and shatters the
life of her former best friend Joy. Using her unbridled sexuality as a weapon,
she seduces both Joy's father and fiance. No deception is too treacherous, no
seduction too dangerous, and no crime too heinous for this twisted temptress,
whose young life was torn apart by an ill-fated affair between her mother and
Joy's father."
Commentary: Get it. While you're
at it, make sure it's the 95 minute "unrated" version. At the
beginning of the movie, it's 1984 (flashback sequence) and the three little
girls (Joy, Ivy & Violet) overhear a scene that changes their lives forever
- Ivy & Violet's mother, Rebecca, is the maid for Joy's parents. Joy's
father is having an affair with Rebecca, and he catches her in bed with the
pool boy. In the middle of their fight, Joy's mother comes in and finds out
about this. Rebecca is fired, and she and her daughters are cast into a new
life of poverty, while Joy grows up rich. Beginning with the next scene, we are
in 1996, and the adult Violet is back to wreak revenge on Joy and her father
for "ruining her life." She arrives, seduces Joy's fiance, gives him
drugs, breaks up Joy's father's romantic relationship, seduces Joy's father,
and generally takes over the home. It's pretty predictable as all hell breaks
loose. Michael's character has a couple of hot scenes with Violet, and she ends
up killing him by trapping him in a closed garage in a running car. There is a
nifty picture of him on the box standing behind the star and holding Violet
from behind. This is the third in the "Poison Ivy" series of movies,
the first of which starred Drew Barrymore. It seems to have been released
directly to video.
Silk Degrees/Target Witness (1994)
Arzen/Imperial,
90 minutes, Rated R, Location: Los Angeles & Big Bear Lake, CA
IMDB Listing
"Target Witness" is slightly longer and less edited, shown on
international cable.
Michael's Role: De Grillo,
terrorist
Where to find Michael: All
through the movie, whenever the action leaves the lead actors & actress.
Plot Summary (excerpts from TV
Guide): "Federal agents Baker and Johnson eavesdrop from a surveillance
van on terrorist De Grillo, but he discovers their ruse and pitches his snitch
of a mistress off the nearest balcony. As she hits the pavement, a temperamental
TV star, Alex Ramsey, storms off the set of her hit cop show - just in time to
spot the killer spotting her. Rescued from De Grillo's deadly aim by the
agents, a grumbling Alex enters the Witness Protection Program and is whisked
off to a remote retreat. Working from tips that De Grillo plans to bomb the
TransAmerica building in San Francisco, federal supervisor Schultz concentrates
his main forces there; Baker and Johnson, meanwhile, are demoted to serving as
Alex's watchdogs. Baker is certain that De Grillo's reported mission is a
planted falsehood, and deduces that his next move will be to eliminate Alex.
Johnson lets down his guard with motel employee Nicole, while Alex and Baker
begin a love-hate relationship. Although he already has a murderous mole in
place at the Feds' safe house, De Grillo wants to come out of hiding and hit
Alex himself. De Grillo's partner, Willie, has Chief Schultz on the payroll but
blows Schultz away after obtaining the address of Alex's hiding place. Nicole,
who turns out to be Schultz's hired killer, lures agent Johnson to the lake and
garrotes him. Nicole has less luck whacking Alex, who uses cop-show technique
to shoot Nicole and flee on horseback from De Grillo, Willie, and two more
"mechanics." After offing the hired goons, Alex and Baker square off
with De Grillo and Willie at a nearby cavern. A wounded Baker contrives a gas
fire that blows Willie away. Alex nearly topples down a shaft before Baker
wrestles De Grillo onto a transport device that hurtles him down a chasm to his
death."
Commentary: It's fun seeing so
much of Michael, especially in the beginning, but what this really seems to be
is a ripoff of MacGyver, right down to the final battle being in a cave (did
the writers watch "Strictly Business" too many times?) However, this
hero will use a gun and De Grillo doesn't work alone, as Murdoc did. Perhaps he
should have. Still, Murdoc fans should enjoy this. De Grillo is less
imaginative than Murdoc, but the look of pseudo-caring on his face right before
Schultz is killed is priceless - Murdoc right down to the smile. Another
electric moment is when he sees Alex, his new target, for the first time. Small
points - he is asthmatic, carrying an inhaler, for some reason that was never
quite explained; he smokes continually anyway; he eats alone in a closed
restaurant, using his silverware in the British way. Very predictable movie,
with the obligatory eventual toplessness of nearly every actress in the film. I
got a copy of this from Brazilian cable as well, titled "Target
Witness," and some of the scenes are longer and a little more graphic,
particularly the opening sex scene between De Grillo and Sheila (the girl he
throws over the balcony ten minutes later).
Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
Touchstone
Pictures, Sept. 1994, 106 minutes, Rated PG-13. Filmed in Georgia.
IMDB
Listing
Michael's Role: Bryce,
attorney for Steve Martin's character
Where to find Michael:
Near the end, in the courtroom scenes, and as the crowd is gathered around the
pit. Very small role this time.
Plot Summary (from IMDB):
"When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes
something of a misanthropist and a miser, spending all of his spare money on
collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two
sons, John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one
night he breaks into McCann's house and steals the gold and disappears, which
nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young
woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her
way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart. He names her Mathilda,
and raises her, finding companionship and a new joy in life with his adopted
daughter. But the secrets of Mathilda's life may tear them apart."
Commentary: A remake of
"Silas Marner," this film is quite good in its own right - even if
Michael hadn't been in it, I would have liked it, which is something I can't
say for some of his films. Five sets of twins play Mathilda up to age 10, and
Steve Martin is wonderful as her father. The ending is predictable but seems
impossible until the very end, when things just happen to fall into place
magically at the right time. The anguish Mathilda feels over choosing between
her two fathers is conveyed very accurately. This is one of Michael's rare
"good guy" roles, and he does a good job, infusing McCann's attorney
with pointed strength as he fights for McCann's parental rights in court.
Sugar Town (1999)
October
Films, July 8, 1999 (UK premiere), Sept 16, 1999 (US premiere), Sept. 17, 1999
(opened in NYC and L.A. only), early Oct. 1999 (opened in "select
theatres"), Mar 21, 2000 (US video); 1 hour, 32 minutes, Rated R. Filmed
in Los Angeles, CA
IMDB Listing
Please visit my Sugar Town Web Site and the interview I did with Michael
in Sept. 1999
Sugar Town premiered at Sundance in January 1999 and was met with generally
favorable response and packed showings, even in the AM. It has been picked up
by October Films and is now being distributed by USA Films.
Michael's Role: Nick (part of a
band with John Taylor, Larry Klein and Martin Kemp). Listen as Clive plays
"Gravy Stain Girl" for Nerve - Michael is the vocalist on this song,
which he co-wrote with Larry Klein. You can also hear the song in the closing
credits.
Where to find Michael: Not in
every scene, but several fantastic and memorable ones.
Plot Summary: Basically, Nick is
part of a band made up of former rock stars, and this band is trying to make it
in today's music world in L.A. Other plots are interwoven with this one.
Commentary: They could not have
cast him better. This role is phenomenally perfect, and he brings to it such a
brilliant, jaded edge, as well as a heart-breaking vulnerability. His voice
adds electricity to what could have been mundane dialogue in anyone else's
hands, and most of the dialogue is excellent. Glorious footage of him in a
beautiful car, applying eyeliner, strutting into a club like he owns the place,
cuddling in bed, wearing blue velvet to match his eyes - no, I won't give it
all away. I'll just say though, if you like Michael, you MUST see this. I even
like the song.
Tease (2000) (formerly titled Poison)
Sat.1
(Germany), 93 minutes, Location: Vancouver, Canada, TV-Movie broadcast date
Apr. 4, 2000, Sat.1, Germany
IMDB Listing
* Film's Website
Michael's Role: Evan Lazlo
Where to find Michael: He is the
main character's husband, appearing only in the beginning of the movie.
Plot Summary (Excerpts from the
website): POISON stars Rosanna Arquette as Dana, a film star whose life is
shattered by a tragic accident involving her teenage daughter. Jurgen Prochnow
is Carl Krieger, her partner in a new venture who helps her rebuild her life
and hopes to share more than business with her. The show introduces Mandy
Schaffer as Traci, Dana´s sexually provocative and overly possessive teenage
daughter, with Thomas Kretschmann as Johnny, Carl´s mysterious, charismatic,
young brother. Dana Lazlo is finally free to rebuild her life. She also
desperately wants to reunite with her daughter who has spent the last three
years in boarding school. Together with friend Carl Krieger, Dana and her
daughter find a safe haven in the country and a fresh beginning with a new
business venture. Despite her daughter´s clinging possessiveness, Dana even
begins to find love in the arms of Carl´s mesmerizing younger brother, Johnny,
who is struggling to escape his own demons. Tragedy, however, still stalks Dana
...Her passionate new romance is soured by suspicion. When those around her
start to die, Dana has to face an awfull possibility - that her seemingly
sweet, beautiful daughter will go to any lengths to ensure she doesn´t have to
share her mother´s love with anyone. The bonds between mother and daughter have
tightened into a noose and it´s a nightmare duel to the death to break free.
Commentary: He dies way too
soon, but I like Rosanna enough to watch the whole thing. Has a definite
"made-for-cable" vibe to it and is pretty predictable.
To Sir, With Love (1967)
Columbia
Pictures, 105 minutes, not rated, Filmed at East End Dock, London, England
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: There are no
credits, but the teacher calls him "Gypsy" in the boxing scene. Other
sources credit him as "Williams."
Where to find Michael: In any of
the scenes with the teenagers - see my comments below.
Plot Summaries:
(from TV Guide): "A sentimental picture starring Poitier as an
engineer from British Guiana who, because he is black, cannot find work in his
field. He accepts a teaching position in a slummy high school in London's East
End. He quickly learns that he signed on for more than he bargained for - the
students are poorly educated, viciously rebellious, and downright crude to
authority figures. Rather than end up like the previous string of instructors,
who gave up on the students, Poitier tries an unorthodox method. Instead of
relying on textbooks, Poitier teaches from experience. His belief is that the
students must be treated like adults in order for them to behave as such.
Gradually, Poitier gains the students' trust and respect. What makes To Sir,
With Love such an enjoyable film is the mythic nature of Poitier's character.
He manages to come across as a real person, while simultaneously embodying
everything there is to know about morality, respect, and integrity. One factor
in the picture's popularity and its sustaining charm is the tuneful title song,
which was a top hit for Lulu and is heard throughout the film. To Sir, With
Love went on to become the eighth largest grosser of the year, raking in $7.2
million."
(from IMDB): "Engineer Mark Thackeray arrives to teach a totally
undisciplined class at an East End school. Still hoping for a good engineering
job, he's hoping that he won't be there long. He starts implementing his own
brand of classroom discipline, forcing the pupils to treat each other with
respect. Inevitably he begins getting involved in the students' personal lives,
and must avoid the advances of an amorous student while winning over the class
tough. What will he decide when the engineering job comes through?"
Commentary: This really is a
good movie, and it's one of the few that I have in complete form (not just
Michael's scenes). The kids are uneducated but sharp, and though Thackeray gets
a bit moralistic and high-handed by today's standards, his presence in their
lives seems to be welcomed. Something I've heard recently is that the blonde
girl who is in love with Thackeray grew up to become the snooty British
neighbor of Paul and Jamie on "Mad About You." Michael, who was 19
when this was released, has barely any lines, yet he manages to make an
impression. In fact, it seems that as the movie progresses, he is shown more
and more - maybe the director was impressed? In the classroom scenes, he is
sitting in the second-last row, in front of the two boys who act up a lot. He
insists on wearing sunglasses all the time, wears black, and has a few lines, particularly
when the teacher asks them if they'd like to go on a field trip (he tells his
classmates to put both hands up). In the PE scenes, he is wearing a white
t-shirt, tight white shorts, and black socks.
Under Siege (1992)
Warner
Brothers, Rated R, Filmed in Mobile AL, and San Francisco, CA
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Domiani, captain
of Italian ship
Where to find Michael: Barely at
all, unfortunately. Near the end, an Italian ship shows up, and Michael is the
captain, dressed in a brown jacket.
Plot Summary (from
IMDB):"Casey Ryback is a former Navy SEAL captain who is now the cook
aboard the USS Missouri. Everyone aboard is about to celebrate the birthday of
Captain Adams. They've even hired a band led by William Strannix, and former
Playboy Playmate Jordan Tate to jump out of a cake and dance. What Adams
doesn't know is that he is in for a deadly surprise. Strannix walks into Adams'
office and kills Adams, and takes the ship hostage, spreading his men,
including Commander Krill, throughout the ship,but Strannix and his men are
underestimating Casey. Casey is an expert in martial arts, weapons, tactics and
explosives. After crossing paths with Jordan, Casey lets Jordan tag along with
him in his mission to stop Strannix."
Commentary: Ugh. Nothing like
sitting through this unrealistic macho explosion-fest only to find out that
Michael barely gets two minutes of air time. Why couldn't HE have been
Strannix? He does a good job though, with the little he has been given, and he
looks nice in the brown bomber jacket. I think he even gets to order people
around in Italian, but he does have a few English lines. The ship is blown up
after only a few minutes. This movie resembles nothing more than an
interminable ad for the U.S. Navy.
Waxwork II: Lost In Time (1992)
IMDB Listing
Photo 1 * Photo 2 * Photo 3 * Photo 4 * Photo 5 * Photo 6 * Photo 7
Michael's Role: George, leader's
right hand man
Where to find Michael: Not at
all until the last time jump (last third or so of the movie) when the kids find
themselves in medieval England. After that, Michael is in scene after
delightful scene.
Plot Summaries:
(From IMDB): "The couple that survives the wax museum in 'Waxwork' is
followed by a dismembered hand, which kills the girl's father, for which she
must stand trial (those lawyer types are shrewd, they weren't going for that
dismembered hand stuff). She and her boyfriend go to Sir Wilfred's house for
clues, where they find a film he has prepared for them, pointing the way to his
secret evil-thing-fighting stash. They grab the time machine compass thingy and
go back in time to look for evidence that the girl is telling the truth, and
get embroiled in different conflicts along the way."
(From Halliwell): "Having destroyed a wax museum where monsters come
to life, a couple travel into a parallel universe of "God's Nintendo
game" where the battle between good and evil is fought as scenarios from
horror movies, from Nosferatu to Godzilla and Alien, taking in Frankenstein,
Jeckyll and Hyde, Edgar Allen Poe, and The Haunting along the way. Classic
horrors are parodied, in a clever low-budget style with cut-rate wit, ham acting,
and a lot of blood-letting. The result may entertain fans of the genre in an
indulgent mood."
Commentary: Michael is brilliant
in this, with long black hair, heavy makeup and expensive-looking black
clothing. His leader is plotting to overthrow the King of England and take over
the throne. George's goal is to help him do this and get some power for
himself, so he smooths the way for the leader, obeys his every command, and
poisons the real king during a royal visit. Michael delivers the sarcastically
witty lines well. An intriguing scene between him and the girl, with him lying
on top of her and comparing sex and death, ends up with him being stabbed in
the back, and from then on he's not in it anymore. I found the non-Michael
parts of the movie absolutely unwatchable, but your mileage may vary.
What They Wanted, What They Got (2001)
Written
& directed by Lawrence Greenberg, running time 13 minutes
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Jimmy Cotton
(former rock star)
Where to find Michael: Unknown
Plot Summaries: (from producer): "We loved him so much that the
director and I conceived a role for him in our next short, which we just filmed
at the end of July, in which Michael plays the former rock star "Jimmy
Cotton" who is alienated from his daughter. "
Widow's Kiss (1994)
HBO/Rysher
Entertainment, 103 minutes, Rated R. Location: Beverly Hills, CA & Las
Vegas, NV
IMDB Listing
Michael's Role: Steven Rose,
attorney
Where to find Michael: About
halfway through, when Beverly D'Angelo's character goes to the attorney to see
about the will and finds out that her stepson must die for her to inherit. 3
brief scenes.
Plot Summaries:
(From IMDB): "A lawyer befriends a client, and before he knows it he's
married to her. Both are recently widowed with teenage sons. When the lawyer
dies of a heart attack within a matter of days his son becomes
suspicious."
(From "The Best Video Guide" page (http://www.tbvg.com/directory)):
"Beverly D'Angelo's talent is wasted on this poorly written drama that
attempts the usual 'black widow' tale. Ms. D'Angelo portrays the lethal woman,
a beautiful seductress who marries a wealthy widower and then kills him, expecting
to inherit his money. The story centers around the dead man's son's attempts to
expose his stepmother's crime. Beverly D'Angelo is the single actor in this
production with even one spark of charisma. Unfortunately, her moments on the
screen are too few to make the film worth watching."
Commentary: Well, it IS pretty
bad. And the other actors aren't that great. Still, though, D'Angelo had too
few scenes?? She was constantly there. OK, so I'm biased, but I think Michael
did a creditable job with the small role he was given, though I have wondered
how the dead lawyer's partner wouldn't be a bit suspicious; instead he even
seems to be encouraging her and flirting with her himself. A bit more of THIS,
showing the obvious chemistry between Michael & Beverly, would have been
ideal.
|
Michael
Des Barres Theatre Appearances Los
Angeles, CA: England: |
TV
Commercials Sun
Microsystems (May 2000) Radio
Commercials Sprint,
Cellular One, Outback Steakhouses, Zinfandel, Hill's Brothers Hawaiian
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