Reviews

After watching this show for the first time, I found this interesting. This gives a chance for a company CEO work in the "front lines" and see how things in the company are really like,see the good and bad things that happen in their company, but most of all, they can see that they have great employees and talented ones that could be a great asset to them, but they never had a chance to display their talents. Along with the good, there are the bad ones that could hurt their company. This is something that they may not know or realize it. In addition, I found it interesting to hear some of the employees stories.

Another thing I can agree with in the beginning of the show they say "CEOs are "out of touch of their own companies", but I would go a little further in saying that odds are, some of these CEOs aren't in touch at all, because odds are, some of them have never spent an hour in the "front lines". They may have come out of business school, right to the corporate office, so they truly do not know or understand what it's like to work in their company.

The concept you are seeing in this show is something that is not really new. The former owner and CEO of Godfafther's Pizza embraced this philosophy back in the 80s and 90s.

As much as I enjoy watching this show, I wonder how long will it last, because as this keeps going on, I can see the employees will eventually start to figure out that the new hire brought in, is the CEO of that company and those employees will be on their best behavior to look good and this is where this show can lose it's realism. Hopefully, this will last, but only time will tell.

In this one woman show Whoppi Goldberg did on Broadway, she had shown how versatile she could be when she took on characters like the Surfer Chick and Fontaine for example.

As Fointaine (one of my personal favorites), I loved it when he/she sang "Around the World in Eighteen (expletive) Days". The story "Fontaine" tells about leaving the US to travel to Europe was funny, but then it turns depressing when he/she talks about and describes visiting the Anne Frank Museum; She learns about Anne Frank; How she and her family hid from the Nazis; Being found by the Nazis and finds out about her eventual fate. It's amazing how she goes from funny to sad quickly.

Another favorite character was the "Surfer Chick". If you never saw her doing this and just listened, you may have never guessed it was Whoopi. The voice was very believable. It was funny when she would say "He said okay; I said okay; Okay, Okay, Okay"; Very funny. But just like "Fontaine", the story would go to funny to depressing when she talks about being pregnant; Her boyfriend leaves her when he finds out and she has to make a tough decision of either keeping and raising the baby by herself at a young age or getting an abortion.

The two characters mentioned stood out the best more than any other, because although they may be fictional, they were very believable. You laughed during the funny parts and you could feel the pain and hurt during the sad moments.

This early performance by Whoopi was one of her best. I believe this performance i out of print, but if you manage to find a copy; Watch it. It's worth it.

In this Jeffersons spin off and Marla Gibbs vehicle, this was a show that could've been good, but it wasn't.

It had a good start and cast with Marla Gibbs as the same wise-cracking Florence Johnston and Larry Linville as Lyle Block; A cross between George Jefferson and a somewhat mellow Frank Burns. The two played well off each other; The problem was, both had very little to work with. The lines hey recited ranged to mediocre at best to bad. One that sticks out was in the pilot, where Lyle Block (Linville) says to Florence (Gibbs), "so in other words, tough noogies", which Florence responds by saying, "isn't it time for you to watch the Muppet Show??" That produced a lot of laughs in the beginning, however, the problem was that was probably the best line uttered on the show; It was repeated on every episode and hearing it got old very quickly.

With two brilliant comedic actors in Gibbs and Linville and some decent writing this show could've gone places, but it didn't have that and it wasn't a surprise when CBS dropped it after 4 episodes.

In this Jaleel White vehicle, this show was decent and for the most part funny. It may not be a great show, but it was enough for me to be able to watch it and I enjoyed it.

The problem with Jaleel White it seems like people can't see him beyond Steve Urkel and this could be his curse. This show had shown he can be more than Urkel and be good at it, but I'm guessing that all people will see him as nothing but Urkel, in addition to being on a network (UPN), which will mean not too many people will see it. If you had given it a chance and look at White beyond Urkel, it may have been a show that people might enjoy.

Watching this movie, had me laugh, be sad, but most of all something to think about, all rolled into one.

Howard and Carter get the news that everyone dreads to hear; Their mortality. Carter starts writing up a bucket list of things to do before he "kicks the bucket". Howard convinces Carter to do it and they both try doing these things right now, before they die and leave the hospital to do it.

I liked the ending because it was very touching and it gave you a laugh as well. The best part about is, when you laugh, it doesn't totally eclipse the feeling of the scene; You still feel sad, but you feel like it's okay to laugh as well

The beauty thing about this movie is, it gives you something to think about. Even though you may receive that horrible news, you should try and live whatever time you have left, to the fullest, do the things you want to do before you die and find joy in your life.

My thoughts after the movie is, why wait until we receive that news? Why not write up your "Bucket List" and do those things now while you have your health. There's always the possibility in life you may die tomorrow and not get the chance to do it.

THIs is a great movie and to have in your DVD library is a must.

I found this one night when I was channel surfing and thought I'd give this a shot since I like Gershwin songs and I loved what I saw in this tribute musical to the Gershwin Brothers. The play is funny and the music was well sung. Lori Alexander's rendition of "Someone to Watch Over me", gave me a smile and when she sang "I've Got Rhythm"; It was so rousing it made me want to stand up and cheer when she and the cast finished. Not to mention,Bruce Adler singing "Nice Work if You Can Get it" was a beauty piece as well.

I was lucky to tape the rebroadcast, but lost the tape years ago. I wish this could be on DVD, since this was brilliantly done.

After watching the pilot episode, I found myself laughing hysterically as I saw Sam Briggs go through one mishap after another, while he's trying to make a good impression with his girlfriend, Melanie Clayton's parents.

In addition, who else could could play the role of Melanie's rigid father, Dick Clayton, better than Kurtwood Smith? He has always made me laugh back when he played "Red" Forman in That 70s Show. I can't think of anyone better who would be a better fit for the role.

Although I enjoyed this show immensely, I have one reservation, which is, will I still enjoy it six months from now, or will I want to watch something else? It's funny as I mentioned watching Sam go through one mishap after another and watching things go from bad to worse, but will the one thing that makes this show successful be it's downfall? It may come to a point, where it may not be funny anymore, just like Kenny McCormick on South Park when he died in every episode. Creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker once found it funny, but after awhile it was no longer funny to them, trying to find new ways to kill Kenny, so they killed him off for good. This is what I fear what will happen to the show as things start becoming predicable and unfunny. Will the show find the same fate as Kenny? Only time will tell.

This was a movie that was highly recommended to me by a good friend and I'm glad to say I saw it.

This was a movie that tells the story of Walter Gretzky suffering a stroke, along with the struggles and triumphs he had to deal with since then. I can remember first hearing about this when it actually happened, but I knew little of it.

This movie is special to me in a way, because being a stroke survivor myself (going on four years now), I can relate to some of struggles Mr. Gretzky had to deal with and it has inspired me to go out and try to do the things I used to do once again (If I can ice skate and play hockey again, I'd really be happy!!!).

Although my stroke was not as big as Mr. Gretzky's, I've had to deal with problems (and still do) in life. At times I can get so frustrated and I've had the feeling to quit on some things at times. This movie is a reminder to me that things can get better and to keep trying.

After watching this film, I bought the DVD and it's something I can watch again and again. It's a keeper.

I found this documentary to be refreshingly different, where it profiles five different Arabic/Muslim stand up comedians. It shows them in a different light, where if you think of an Arabic and/or Muslim person, the first thing that may come to mind are stereotypes such as terrorists, taxicab drivers, but stand up comedians? I thought just like others would be no way, considering what you see on the news, TV or movies.

As a fan of stand up comedy, prior to seeing this documentary,I have never really heard of any Arabic/Muslim comedians, with the exception of Dan Ahdoot, but I found my sides aching from laughter the whole time I saw this.

Each comedian tells their story of why they became a stand up comic, living in the post 9/11 world, as well as their ambitions, such as Maysoon Zayid, hoping to get into acting.

This documentary is worth watching and will have you laughing. My favorite is Ahmed Ahmed telling the story on why he took the role of Terrorist #4 in the Kurt Russell movie, "Executive Decision", despite the negative stereotypes the movie can promote.

If you are a fan of stand up comedy like me, this is a documentary you should watch. Better yet, buy the DVD; It's a keeper.

Normally, I'm not a fan of reality TV shows, but this one I found it fun to watch.

A group of contestants, who have no idea what and where they're going, find themselves headed off to Tokyo, Japan to participate in one of those crazy Japanese game shows and this competition has a flavor of Survivor, or Last Comic Standing, where the contestants compete in teams, doing crazy challenges, Japanese style, where the winning team is rewarded, but the losing team goes through a "punishment" type of thing, once again Japanese style. It can vary, like being rickshaw operators in the streets of Tokyo for example, then the losing team is back in the studio and two will compete head to head in an elimination match, where one will go home. In the end, only one will remain and can say they survived a Japanese game show.

Before I've watched the first episode, I've seen one of these game shows before, where the things they have the contestants do can boarder on insanity,some even dangerous, but can have you laughing to no end.

This is a game show as I mentioned is silly, some can even say moronic. This is a show that is not for everyone. I wouldn't say Emmy material, but if you want to have fun, laugh and have a good time, this is a show to watch.

With plenty of thrills, action and best of all humor, this movie was worth the full price of admission and is something I'd like to see again soon.

In this new installment of the series, it's 1957 and the Nazis are history and "Indy" faces a new enemy; The Russians. Although I miss the Nazis, times change and Cate Blanchet as Irina Spalko performed well.

If there are any drawbacks to the movie, I could say the formula of the movie is the same as to all past Indiana Jones movies and there are parts of the movie I was able to figure out quickly, I was thinking who cares? Normally, this could be a turnoff, but the way Spielberg and Lucas carry it off, it doesn't matter to me. Although, if the movie's formula is tinkered with, I'm a little fearful that it could affect the movie's quality in a big way, so I guess you can say, why mess with a good thing.

And of course, who could forget the humor? Many funny scenes in the movie. My personal favorite when "Indy" and Marion are sinking in quicksand; "Indy" tells Mutt to get some rope and he hands him a snake, mistaking it for rope. We all know about "Indy's" phobia of snakes.

Maybe you can say I'm biased because I've been an Indiana Jones since the beginning, but I believe most people will agree with me that this is one of the year's best and you have to see this in the movie theater, since this was made for the "big screen".

From the lobster roll to the Vietnamese sandwich and to something simple as the peanut butter sandwich, Rick Sebak has come out with another gem of a show.

What makes this show great is are the stories of the sandwich. From the origins of the sandwich, to how Elvis Presley fell in love with the peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwich, to how to order a Philly cheese steak.

Then we are treated to seeing regional and different sandwiches such as the St. Paul sandwich, the Primanti, the Hoagie, the Falafel and the Hot Italian Beef sandwich.

I forgot to mention the Po'Boy and I know there are many other wonderful looking and tasting sandwiches I haven't mentioned, but Sebak makes all those sandwiches look appetizing and I want to try each and every single one of them.

Just like A Hot Dog Program, do not try and watch this on an empty stomach. You will be hungry and craving a sandwich; Especially the ones featured in the show.

This is one of my favorite shows Rick Sebak has come out with.

It's great seeing the hot dog stands across the country, and hearing people's stories of the place, such as Pink's in Hollywood, with Ruth Buzzi talking about going there and "sneaking food", to who "Mory" and "Florie" are in Chicago, Gray's Papaya, which has been featured in a movies, as well as TV and Nathan's in New York City. It makes me want to go to those places and I liked seeing Nathan's annual Fourth of July Hot Dog eating contest.

In addition, I enjoyed seeing all the hot dog variations; From the slaw dog to the Chicago Dog, the Chilli dog, the origins of a corn dog and a hot dog where the wiener is deep fried. I haven't tried the latter, but after seeing a Chicago dog, it made me want to try one. I managed to find a place in Seattle that makes it and it was delicious. Now I need to go to Chicago and go for the real thing.

Word of warning though. If you watch this show on an empty stomach, you will get a craving for a hot dog or two. You may not be hungry and you may want one anyway.

I was in the hopes that Leatherheads would be a great film to watch after seeing the trailers to it. The beginning was good and there were many funny moments throughout the movie, but what bothered me the most about this movie was it lacked originality. I saw a minimum of 2 movies with their characters in it. George Clooney as Dodge Connolly, I saw as early pro football's version of Paul Newman's character, Reggie Dunlop from Slapshot; An aging player, who's trying to keep his team from folding. John Kasinski, as Carter Rutherford; Another Roy Hobbs from The Natural; A talented player with a past he's trying to hide, with Renee' Zellweiger as Lexie Littleton; A female version of Robert Duvall's character, Max Mercy from The Natural; The investigative reporter trying to find out about Rutherford's past and the romance part between Dodge and Lexie reminded me of Annnie Savoy and Crash Davis from Bull Durham. The only thing missing from this movie were the Hanson Brothers and Wiford Brimley, as Pop Fisher.

It would be one thing if this movie was spoofing sports movies, but it's clear that it wasn't.

In addition, I thought there were scenes that were very predictable. For example, when Dodge and Lexie were in a gin joint and when it started to get silent, I was thinking, the police raid is going to happen......NOW and sure enough you heard the police whistle blowing and you can hear a cop saying this is a raid. I was thinking, it's prohibition and I saw that one coming a mile away.

Although it's not all that bad, but I would not recommend paying full price for this movie; I'd wait until either you can see it at an economy price, or wait until it's in a second run discount theater or DVD.

All American Girl in the beginning was a pleasure to watch. I liked Margret's comedy of her family life, but mainly, being an Asian-American guy, I could relate to most of the things going on, as I used to hear he same things from my Grandmother when I was a kid. For example, "Marry a nice Japanese girl"

When I was growing up, I had to deal with being different compared to most other Asians my age, as I didn't like the same type of sports they played to dating girls outside my race. After watching this, In some ways, I didn't feel alone being the way I am and I could see some similarities in Margret and myself.

The problem I had with the show was when they made changes in the show, when got rid of virtually the entire original cast and replaced them with another group. When I watched the show, I found it unfunny. I felt couldn't identify with the show any longer and I stopped watching it, which is too bad because in my opinion, this show had a great start.

When I first saw this show, I didn't think to much of it, as it doesn't take too much skill or thought to win, all you need is one thing; Luck.

Question is, why do I like this show? It's exciting and entertaining to watch. The best part is when it gets down to "crunch time"; You can see the large amounts of money on the board. You see the contestant having to chose the case and hope it doesn't contain one of the large amounts of money. Next, you've got those models opening the cases; Very beautiful; And the "bank" makes their offer to buy you off for as little as they can. In the end, you'll see if that person got a good or bad deal in the end.

This is where it gets exciting., as you can hear me screaming in front of the TV, "NO DEAL!!" or "Take The offer and get out!!!" (At times, that's the nice way I say it). Many times when I watch it people with me are telling me to calm down or relax it's only a game show).

It's a show that's very easy to get wrapped up in it.

The other thing I like about it is the humor. Howie Mandel as he talks to the "bank" tells you what the bank says, which is usually trash talk,or at times, they have even done mini performances like in the Chruistmas show where they bring out a carolers, "trash singing" to the tune of "Jingle Bells" and make the offer. Rude, but funny.

In addition, when they go to a commercial break, Howie will lead you on that it will continue now and once he gets you "hooked" then he says something like "we'll find out when we come back". You want to scream for bring suckered into it, but at the same time you want to laugh because it's funny. Howie is very good at that.

Deffinatley a show worth watching.

I used to watch this show. My perception of it was although it may not have been the greatest cooking show there is (or was) and at times, I thought he can be a little annoying, but overall, I enjoyed watching it.

What I liked about the show, was Ainsley would really go out of his way to show you that cooking is not rocket science; It's easy. Bonus points from me, when he goes to someone's house he shows that person who may not be much of a cook, that with even the simplest things in your pantry; With a little thought and a little creativity, you too can make a meal that can looks wonderful and tastes great too (I tried some his recipes from that segment and it tasted great).

As stated earlier; Overall, an enjoyable show to watch.

"Once again, "Grapes" has done it; He produced another great National Hockey League highlight video, showing all the great hits, bloopers, overtime goals scored. as well as Stanley Cup playoff and finals highlights, as well as the "tea time" (fights) segment for the 1995-96 season.

I liked the "Coach's Corner" segment Besides the one-liners uttered and the "Digs" HNIC host Ron Maclean gave each other, I liked the part of where Cherry looks back on his good and bad memories of the Montreal Forum,as a player and coach for the Boston Bruins, on the day they closed it, as well as his personal retrospective of the McNichols Arena when he coached the Colorado Rockies, on the day the Colorado Avalanche made their home debut.

The best part was when he had a segment on running a practice. The tips he gave on skating backwards when playing defense and running a practice is invaluable.

Over the years, I've learned so much when he's given these tips on his tapes, I've always said "Grapes" should produce an instructional DVD or tape on playing hockey and coaching it. I would be the first in line to buy it.

Being a fan of "The Brady Bunch", I was interested when I first heard that CBS was going to release this show as a Spring replacement.

Since I couldn't watch the episodes at the time it aired due to other commitments, I set the VCR for the first episode. When I watched it, I didn't like what I saw. It looked horrible. I thought that maybe it was a fluke, so I taped another episode and it was more of the same.

What bothered me the most is it seemed like the Brady Family was going out of their way to say, "we are no longer that goody-goody little family you used to know and remember, way back when".

Also, it seemed like every week, a new crisis struck the Brady family; From Marcia becomes an alcoholic, or Bobby becoming a paraplegic in a racing accident. You had to ask yourself what tragedy could happen next; Peter gets shot in a bank holdup? Or maybe Cindy ends up missing.

With every week being what seems like "The Brady crisis of the week", it makes the show unbelievable and you end up thinking; No family could have as many problems as they do.

Just watching it makes it painful to watch; Not painful in the sense that you're feeling the Brady's tragedy, but getting that "I can't take anymore of this crap" feeling.

Only 4 episodes were aired and Maureen McCormick had the good sense to stay away from this "turkey". In a way, I felt it was 4 episodes too many.

Jim Carrey was outrageously funny in the role of Fletcher Reede; An overworked lawyer who tells one lie after another and on his son Max's 5th birthday, he wishes his dad can go through one day without telling a lie.

I thought Jim Carrey was perfect in the role as he does his usual zany acts as he tries to tell a lie, but can only tell the truth. I've always been amazed at the things he can do with his face as well as his hyperactivity. In addition, the things he will do to himself in the bathroom scene in the courthouse as I found out no sound effects were used in that scene where he's actually slamming his head and body into walls, the radiator heater as ell as the toilet seat.

If there are any drawbacks, Jim Carrey tends to overact a bit, but he's someone who can do it and get away with it.

Jennifer TIlly's character, Samantha Cole, Fletcher's client was good, but this was different to me as she plays an evil person who wants to take her ex-husband to "the cleaners" in the divorce. I best remember her as Vicki in "Let it Ride".

At the end, when the credits are rolled, various outtakes are shown and they are worth watching, as he's up to his usual craziness and even a prank is pulled on him.

After this movie was released; In some ways, this became the end of Jim Carrey as we know him (ie: Ace Ventura, Lloyd Christmas and The Cable Guy)as he started to take on different types of roles.

This is a movie worth adding to your DVD library.

When the Goerge Michael Sports Machine came to my local NBC affiliate, back in 1985, It was at one time, one of the best sports shows on television. I used to tune into it every week and over the years. Even when things in my life changed, such as my work schedule, or college, which prevented me from watching it at the time it was on, I would tape it and made sure I watched it when I came home.

What made this show good, was it was different in the sense that it didn't just cover the mainstream sports, (ie: Baseball, football and basketball), or the sports that are considered "en vogue". You were given a well rounded coverage that included the above mentioned, but you received excellent coverage of non-en vogue or mainstream sporting events, such as hockey, rodeo, unlimited hydroplane racing, track and field to name a few. Also, Goerge Michael provided coverage to Nasscar and arena football, before the sport made names for themselves. In addition, he covered fun events like professional wrestling.

I also enjoyed the segment on his show, where he did profiles on different athletes. He profiled people like Cellular One hydroplane driver, Steve Reynolds, on his recovery, 5 months after he flipped his hydroplane and suffered head injuries stemming from the Indiana Governor's Cup race in Madison, Indiana.

Over the years, We got to follow Jim Abbot, the pitcher, who was born without a left hand; Progress from high school, to his college days at Michigan and ultimately making to the Major Leagues with the California Angels.

Georege also followed Jim Morris, the high school teacher and baseball coach, who decided to follow his dream of pitching in the Major Leagues. You may know this, as this became a movie made by Disney in 2002.

My favorite time was at the end of the month when he would show The Plays of the month and of course the plays of the year. The Latter was an extended version for the entire year. On both, you were treated to a "mixed bag" of great plays, bloopers and just downright foolishness from the world of sports. I looked forward to that the most.

What's disappointing, is it seems like within the last 6-10 years, the formula they used that made the show good; They've abandoned it and have succumbed to the mainstream and the "en vogue" , where now the show is dominated with plenty of baseball, football and basketball. Sure they show the other sports, but you see less and less of it, unless it's "fashioable". I've been turned off from the show, where now, the only thing I'll tune into is at the end off the month,to watch the plays of the month and year.

In a year of many bad movies (USA Today reported the year 2000 was one of the worst year for movies in 75 years), this was one of the year's best.

This movie received very little hype and fanfare compared to many box office "turkeys" of that year did. It seems as though Disney did not have very high expectations for this movie, considering the little promoting they did and release date they gave it. This was grossly underrated.

Denzel Washington was excellent as Coach Herman Boone. A highly qualified coach who is tough, but fair to his players. He has faced racism and discrimination throughout his life, is given the head coaching job at T.C. Williams high in Virginia, because of his race.

Will Patton as was wonderful as Coach Bill Yoast. Another highly qualified coach who will experience what Coach Boone has, as the head coaching job is taken away from him and takes a demotion as Assistant Coach to Boone, after the white players said they would sit out the season in out of loyalty to Coach Yoast, but mainly, due to their prejudice to Coach Boone.

the rest of the cast was good as well. Ryan Hurst as Gerry Bertier, Ryan Gosling as Alan Bosley, had to overcome their prejudices and fears towards their African-American teammates and coach, while Wood Harrris as Julius Campbell, and Donald Faison as Petey to name a couple, will have to deal with their teammates' prejudices I mentioned and come together with their white teammates to become a team. The cast was wonderful. I could go on and on about it, but it there's more to this movie than the cast.

Director Boaz Yakin seemed to capture the turbulent times of this era; The post Civil Rights Movement, integration of the public schools in the south and racism in particular. I almost felt like I was there, having to deal with this.

I liked the football scenes as well. Once again, I almost felt like I was there cheering on the Titans as they were going for the perfect season and their battle for the Virginia AAA state football title.

When I first saw this movie in the theater, I was taken in immediately and I said to myself I will add this DVD to my library. Needless to say, I have it.

Another interesting thing is, when this movie is shown on television, I'll watch it. Normally, I won't watch it because these movies have scenes edited out, parts of the dialog is bleeped or dubbed, due to the inappropriate scene, time and/or language content. In addition, you have to deal with those annoying commercial breaks.

The reason why I'll watch it is, the scenes that ended up on the editing floor for whatever reason on the theater and DVD version. On the latter. you can find it in the deleted scenes section on the bonus features of the DVD, but on the television version, those same deleted scenes, you can find them back in the movie. On a particular note, you can see Lucinda Jenney's only scene in the movie as Coach Yoast's ex-wife, Arleen Yoast, when she gave custody to their daughter Sheryl to him.

Another scene is where Julius and Gerry are at a barbecue and they are discussing their futures. Julius says he wants to go to Ohio State and play for then coach Woody Hayes. This is interesting, because I don't recall seeing that scene when I saw it in the theater and you will not find it on the DVD version of the movie or in the deleted scenes section.

Besides being one of the year's best films, this is also one of the best sports movies ever made.

Being an unlimited hydroplane "nut" (I grew up on the sport and lived only 12 miles away from the Seattle racecourse) I've been excited about this movie's release, since I first heard about it as far back as 1999 when I was at the General Motors Cup at Seafair race. Needless to say, I've waited nearly 6 years for the movie.

The storyline to the movie was good. I liked the story about father and son's and the love of the sport. It's easy to tell, that unlimited hydroplane racing is in their blood. I especially liked Jake Lloyd's character, Mike McCormick, because in some ways, it reminded me of my childhood. Except I used to race wooden hydroplanes with my friends on my parent's lawn and I had hydro pictures and posters on my wall.

I Also liked the story of how the city of Madison, Indiana's struggle to host the American Powerboat Association (APBA), Gold Cup. For those unfamiliar with the sport, the Gold Cup is the oldest motor sports trophy and is one of the most coveted races every hydro team wants to win.

What disappointed me about the movie was, I sort of felt that Hollywood was trying to alter hydroplane history and facts. Here's 's some of them.

• The All red paint scheme of the Miss Budweiser, was not used by owner Bernie Little and the race team until 1994.

-The second race on the circuit was in Chicago. There was no race there.

If they wanted to show another race site in a big city, why didn't they use Detroit? It was the 3rd race on the circuit that year and it has a longtime history in the sport. It seems like they insulted Detroit; I can see many longtime Detroit hydro race fans are insulted over this.

-Seattle was the 3rd race site. I assume they wanted to show Seattle, since it has a longtime history in the sport, like Detroit, but they moved it up about a month early, when it usually follows Madison and the date has traditionally been on the first weekend of August.

-The "us vs them" attitude in the movie or "David vs Goliath". Although it is very true that there are many rivalries in the sport and it looks good in the storyline, it seems seldom that you see this attitude all the time as was depicted.

Many times I've seen when one race team is in trouble, especially the smaller race "camps" ones like the Miss Madison, I've seen many competing race teams help each other out, by sending their pit crew members to the troubled race camp, or loaning them parts for their boat, so they can race. Miss Budweiser owner, the late, Bernie Little for example, has done this over the years because he has said, it is important to have those boats out on the racecourse competing. I'm not saying that what you saw in the movie doesn't happen, but to me, it's very rare.

That being said, when I look at the movie overall, I liked it, despite it's faults. It had many good qualities, like the father/son storyline and the city and race team's struggles, like I mentioned. This will be a good movie for the hydro fan as well as a ports fan. I'll buy the DVD when it comes out.

On a final note, here's a little trivia from the movie:

-The driver of the miss Budweiser at the time was actually, the late Dean Chenoweth (His surviving family probably didn't give their consent to use his name).

-The original Miss Madison from that time, couldn't be repaired and restored in time for the movie. Instead, The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum put together a replica of that Miss Madison, using the Savair's Mist hull in her place. The boat has affectionately been referred to as the "Mist Madison".

-The Atlas van Lines, was actually, the Pay 'n Pak's 'Lil Buzzard.

This is one of those movies; If you're looking for intelligence or an Oscar worthy movie, forget it; With this movie, you won't get it. However, if you're looking for a movie where you're looking to be entertained, and laugh out loud, you've found it in this movie.

The characters were a "mixed bag" of people from the jock who got kicked off the football team; The pregnant girl; The boy whose hormones are in overdrive; The suffer girl and of course "Chainsaw" and Dave; the 2 borderline psychos with warped minds, sense of humor and they love the move, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (they were my favorites). They all flunked the English skills test and have the opportunity to retake it, but they have to take a remedial English class in summer school. And then there's Freddie Shoop; The gym teacher looking for tenure, and is forced to teach these kids.

What makes this movie funny, is Freddie Shoop (in addition of the above mentioned), gets in trouble with the school's Vice Principal, when he took his students on "Field trips" to the beach, the petting zoo, amusement parks (to name a few places). So he makes a deal with the Vice Principal; To have them all pass the English skills test; So he will be granted tenure and not be fired, while making a deal with the students; So they will study and pass as well. All this while trying to win the love and affection of a fellow summer school teacher.

What makes this movie interesting now, is this movie has 7 actors who have moved on to bigger and better things. Besides the obvious, (Mark Harmon), there's Kirsty Alley, in her Pre "Cheers" days. Then there's Patrick Labyorteaux (Bud from "Jag"), Ken Oldnt, Cortney Thorne-Smith, of "Melrose Place" and "Ally McBeal" fame and "According to Jim", Shawnee Smith (Linda, From "Becker")and Richard Steven Horovitz whose done many voice characterizations for various Saturday morning cartoons.

Great Movie. I bought this years ago for my video library and will purchase the DVD soon.

For whatever reason, I didn't catch this movie in the theaters, but waited until it came on video. I'm glad I did and didn't rent it on DVD. I saved myself a couple of bucks!!!

I was hoping for this movie to beat least halfway decent, after seeing the first in the theaters back in 2001. I normally don't have huge high expectations for the sequel, since it isn't as good as the first, but just as I thought; This wasn't good.

In the first movie, I saw Elle to be cute, charming and funny. The second time around, she was just very annoying and couldn't stand her for very long. What comes to mind in one scene when Elle is picking out her outfit to go to work in Congresswoman Victoria Rudd's Office the next day. she finds one and says, "this is too cute for words", I was thinking, you are too annoying for words.

Also there were too many things that were "recycled". She Goes to work at Congresswoman Rudd's office., as I mentioned. She finds out that she doesn't fit in with everyone else initially. Remove Harvard Law school; Insert the latter. Grace Rossiter (Regina King) is nothing more than the sequel's version of Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair) . Those are a couple of examples.

It wasn't all bad. I liked Bob Newhart as Sid Post and Bruce McGill was good as Congressman Sanford Marks. It was funny when Congressman Marks discovers his dog is gay. Unfortunately, the good comes to an end beyond that.

** out of *****