An abused Ojibwa teen murders his romantic rival, witnessed only by his cousin whom he coerces into helping cover the crime. In the future, the boy has hidden most aspects of his earlier life, only utilizing bits when it furthers his career as a businessman. His cousin on the other hand has spent most of his life in and out of jail. After his most recent stint, he attempts to come clean to his participation in that earlier crime. It’s a suffocatingly dark tale, reflecting on cycles of abuse and the human shells that are left behind. Michael Greyeyes’s portrayal of the cold-hearted adult is haunting. He has built a new life, pulling on a mask whenever it’s needed, but is never free of his past.

Aspiring actor Robert Townsend dreams of his big break, but is worried that being cast as a stereotype in an exploitation film isn’t the way he wants to make it. Interspersed into this tale are fantasy vignettes satirizing other aspects of the film industry told from a Black perspective. Co-written and also featuring Keenan Ivory Wayans, a lot of these bits are similar to some seen in In Living Color. Though they are almost all humorous, I somewhat wish the sketches were nixed and the focus was entirely on the Black actor’s experience in Hollywood. The entire film is less than an hour and a half and it feels like a longer story was sold short.

Henry Fonda visits his insurance company to borrow money from his policy to pay for his wife’s dental work. The employees there report him as being the same man who has robbed the office twice before. Fonda’s life, and those of his family members, spirals downward as he awaits trial and circumstantial evidence piles up against him. The claustrophobic pressure is palpable as there is nothing that relatable everyday man Fonda can do to clear his name even while he and everyone who knows him is certain of his innocence. There’s no great exciting action sequences in the film, but the acting and direction are thoroughly effective in their rendering.

Very soon to be released convict Jim Belushi escapes from jail in order to see the Cubs play in the World Series. On the way, he stumbles across uptight executive Charles Grodin’s filofax and for reasons unknown, takes over the latter’s life. I watched this because of the Cubs connection but there’s sadly barely any baseball shown in the film. Instead, it’s all about Belushi’s hijinks as he ruins Grodin’s life. For some reason, everyone in the film seems to treat Belushi as an attractive, lovable scamp, but there’s no actual evidence shown supporting this. It’s somehow billed as a comedy yet is almost completely unfunny.  

Accompanied by police officer Lloyd Nolan, conman John Hodiak has agreed to travel across country and testify against his former crime partner in exchange for a reduced sentence for himself. Also on the train to New York is another scam artist, Lucille Ball, and the former partner Elisha Cook Jr. The group takes advantage of various stops to take in the sights and Hodiak and Ball fall in love. It’s a sweet little romp with some little twists where honor amongst thieves is questioned. I always enjoy seeing Lucy perform, but it’s especially nice when it’s a change of pace from her I Love Lucy character.

After Kiefer Sutherland is acquitted of the brutal rape and murder of her teenage daughter, Sally Field is determined to avenge her daughter’s death. It verges a bit into TV movie territory, but Kiefer commits to full-throttle creeper while Sally breaks out her best full-power mama bear to bring him down. The rape scenes are brutal one; the first one perhaps made worse that it happens among the decorations for a younger sister’s birthday party. Perhaps an artifact from the original novel that takes some different directions, there’s a weird parallel story about an undercover FBI agent that doesn’t go anywhere.  

Oh! Calcutta! is rather infamous for its (at the time) risqué nudity. Because of this, I’ve been curious about it for a long time. Sadly it’s quite disappointing. The vast majority of the film consists of skits that are just a bit more blatant than any other variety show from the era. Think Hee Haw or The Carol Burnett Show with a bit more skin. Having the first one include rape as its central premise puts a downer on the whole proceedings and takes awhile to wash away with some of the funnier bits. And not all of the sketches are at all funny. For me, he most interesting parts of the whole production were the beginning and the end where the entire cast is naked together on a bare stage.