IN RECOGNITION OF THE DIRECTORS Part 3

 

The next two movies share the same similarities. Neither was made by a noted director; neither was highly regarded by movie critics; both starred the same actress; and both had good soundtracks. The first film is With Honors which was directed by Alek Keshishian, primarily known for music videos and documentaries. The second is The Cutting Edge, directed by Paul Michael Glaser who is best known for portraying Detective David Starsky in the seventy’s television series Starsky and Hutch.

Alek Keshishian

Like so many of the directors who were responsible for my favorite films, Keshishian was born in another country, in this case Lebanon. When he was about five, he came to the United States with his father Kevork, a pediatrician, his mother Cecile, and his younger sister Aleen who also works in show business as a talent agent and producer of music videos and documentaries. The family settled in an upper middle class Armenian community in Manchester, New Hampshire where they opened their home to other Armenian refugees.

As a child Alek played the violin, studied ballet, sang with the Boston Lyric Opera and, along with his sister, participated in children’s touring companies. In his adolescence, he attended the exclusive St. Paul’s college-prep boarding school, and after graduating, he enrolled at Harvard University. In college he continued his vocation as an entertainer by appearing in various productions and directing Harvard’s Experimental Theater. For his senior thesis he produced a new take on Wuthering Heights envisioning Catherine as Madonna and Heathcliff as Billy Idol. His work was so good that he graduated with honors and after viewing a tape of it, Madonna asked him to make a documentary of her Blonde Ambition Tour. Of course, his videos of Vanessa Williams, Bobby Brown, and Elton John probably had something to do with her decision as well. The realistic raw style he used when filming the documentary led to the National Society of Films Critics Award nominating him for Best Documentary. It is still considered a major step forward in the genre.

https://dev.thecrimson.com/article/1986/4/11/no-brontesaurus-piwuthering-heights-a-pop/

 

With Honors, 1994

 

When the movie opens, the camera spans across Harvard’s campus as the Radio Free Harvard’s disk jockey Everette Calloway (Patrick Dempsey) warns the seniors that they have one hundred and fifty days to complete their theses, the document that will determine whether they are “destined for greatness or mediocrity.” In passing he also reports that a student has seen Walt Whitman’s ghost haunting the stacks of Widener Library. While he is talking, senior Monty Kessler (Brendan Frasier) is shown leaving the rundown house that he shares with three other students, Everett, Courtney Blumenthal (Moira Kelly), and Jeffrey Hawkes (Josh Hamilton) and begins to jog around the college campus as if he is hellbent on winning a marathon. As he runs, he ignores a homeless man who is rummaging through a garbage can, hassles the crew of male athletes that Courtney coaches, then returns home. Monty differs from his roommates in many ways, but the greatest variance is that rather than depending on family wealth to pay for his education, he must prove himself worthy of his college scholarship by maintaining a high GPA.

Growing up poor in a single parent household has led Monty to choose Government as his field of study and to adopt the opinions of his thesis advisor Professor Pitkannan (Gore Vidal), an elitist that believes only the most superior people should be allowed to govern the country. Monty’s snobby roommates also influence him. For instance, Courtney calls her boyfriend Jonathan “The Face” (Kurt Clauss), as if a man’s appearance is the only thing that matters; Everett disparages his fellow students because “(Harvard) will let in anyone that’s bright;” and Jeff is disdainful of everyone that is not from a rich family like he is.

Monty’s most pressing concern is finishing his ridiculously long thesis in time to graduate with honors, which he thinks will ensure his success. Thus, rather than considering his paper simply another step toward growing up, he considers it “his life.” This evening, while his roommates are contemplating the next party, he trudges up to his room to work. Even though he is not completely satisfied with the paper, he has a total meltdown when a raging blizzard blows out the power and fries his computer’s hard drive. Fortunately, he already printed out the first ten chapters and decides to go to Kinkos and make copies, with Courtney tagging along. As they pass Widener Library, Monty trips and falls, wrenching his ankle and dropping the pages through a grate. Courtney knows the security guard (Marshall Hambro), so they go inside where she distracts him while Monty sneaks down to the boiler room to retrieve his work.

To his dismay, the ragged man that he passed earlier is down there, reading his thesis, and throwing the pages into the incinerator while calling it “a piece of shit.” It turns out that the guard allows the man, whose name is Simon Wilder (Joe Pesci), to stay there when it is cold out. Disinterested in the man’s problems or opinions, Monty only wants the document back and finally agrees to trade one favor for each page. Simon’s first request is for a pristine donut and fresh underwear. Monty pretends that he is leaving to get them but instead calls campus security who send the police to arrest the vagrant. They also conduct a cursory search for the thesis, but do not find it anywhere. Primarily concerned about her roommate’s well-being, Courtney takes Monty to have his ankle treated and the next day he hobbles on crutches to Simon’s hearing wearing a cast. He is hoping to see the bum get his just desserts, and to learn where the thesis is, but there is more to Simon than meets the eye. He knows the law well and makes such cogent arguments, that the judge only finds him guilty of contempt of court and fines him fifty dollars. Thinking Simon will be grateful, Monty pays it.

However, Simon is not so easily swayed. He knows that Monty, whom he calls ‘Harvard,’ got him kicked out of the boiler room, and accuses him of not caring about anyone but himself, snarling, “When you looked at me you didn’t see a man.” Simon is right, Monty does not care about him, but he wants his thesis back, so he lets Simon stay in Everett’s van. Even though it does not run, which means it does not have heat. Simon takes Monty up on the offer because he does not have anywhere else to go. All he wants in return is a copy of Germinal by Emile Zola which he has been reading. Jeff, who has no compassion whatsoever, just wants the man gone, but Courtney and Everett feel sorry for him; she wants to give him blankets and Everett gives him a copy of Walt Whitman’s Blades of Grass and agrees to pay him in wine if he fixes the van’s engine. Monty says he does not want Simon to be too comfortable however, because he is more likely to return the thesis and move on if he is miserable, although he eventually reconsiders and gives Simon his Harvard blanket. To show his gratitude, Simon returns extra pages, carries Monty’s books, and accompanies him to the library.

As they sit together, Simon tries to be Monty’s friend, confessing that he is “Walt Whitman’s ghost.” He even starts to opine how ‘perfect’ women are regardless of age, weight, or looks and encourages Monty to ask Courtney out. When Monty demurs that she would not be interested in him, Simon tells him that it is his job to convince her that she is interested because “when it comes to relationships, everyone is a used car salesman.” Sensing that Monty’s feelings toward him are softening, Simon offers him two pages in exchange for a bath.

Monty knows that his roommates are out, so he takes Simon back to the house and lets him use the tub. Then Jeff and Courtney walk in. He comes unglued and threatens to move if Monty does not get Simon out of the house and Courtney is unhappy that the vagrant is wearing her robe. However, Monty cools things down by offering to take Simon to the Social Security office so he will start receiving benefits and can pay rent if Jeff leaves. Simon seems fine with that, but when the social security agent starts asking detailed questions about his background, he becomes uncooperative and walks out. Monty goes after him, and Simon accuses him of being insincere because he says he wants to help people, except his ideas will not help anyone.

Monty reiterates that the thesis is his life, so Simon shows him a bag of rocks and explains that those are ‘life’ because each one represents a memory of where he was or what he was doing when he collected it. In return, Monty tells him about his childhood, admitting that his father abandoned him and his mother. While in high school he located his father’s address, wrote to say that Harvard had accepted him, and was delighted when his father wrote back saying how proud he was. He hoped that his dad would come to see him graduate, but then he died, crushing another of Monty’s dreams.

Simon gets into the habit of helping Monty get around, and one day he accompanies him to Professor Pitkannan’s U. S. Government class. Instead of being impressed by the man, Simon is appalled by his arrogant attitude toward his students and his criticism of the federal government. When the professor asks the class to name the genius of the Constitution and asks if the president can be a king, no one can give him a satisfying response. Disgusted, Simon gets up to leave and Dr. Pitkannan begins to make fun of him. Suddenly, Simon turns on him and begins giving the answer that none of the students could. He starts by stating that the “genius of the (United States) constitution” is that it can be changed, and that the president cannot be a king because the constitution makes him “a servant of the people.” In summary, he declares that “[the president] is just a bum” and walks out. Enthralled by Simon’s fresh perspective, Monty quickly gets up and follows him. (I have included a link to Simon’s eloquent statement.)

simon's speech in with honors youtube - Yahoo Video Search Results

Up until now the roommates have left Simon outside because they need Jeff’s rent, but Simon is clearly ill, and the temperature keeps dropping. In desperation, he offers Monty a chapter for a spot in the cellar, but Monty is afraid to take him up on it. That night, as he looks out on the snow-covered van, Monty asks, “Why am I in here and he’s out there?” In the morning when he goes outside to check on Simon, the van is empty, and his thesis is gone. To make him feel better, Courtney buys him (an extremely ugly) little tree and invites him to come home with her for Christmas because she will not take The Face (“I don’t take sex home.”) but he refuses. Later, after everyone one has gone, a friend of Simon’s knocks on the door and says Simon has advice for him. As Monty makes him a sandwich, the man gives him an ambiguous message that boils down to he must “think for himself.” However, when Monty pumps the stranger for Simon’s whereabouts, the man says that Simon does not want to see him, then mentions the name of a church that has a shelter. Monty ventures out into the bitter-cold night and wanders through the slums until he finds the church, but the reverend says he does not have a shelter and the only place he is aware of that homeless people stay is in the alley out back. There, Monty stumbles on a tent city populated by dozens of ragged people and locates Simon living in a makeshift lean-to.

Since Simon is noticeably weaker than before, Monty takes him home, puts him in Jeff’s bed, and finally learns the truth about how he ended up in this deplorable situation. After working on ships and in shipyards for years, Simon got Asbestosis and rather than taking responsibility for his illness, the company fired him when he became too sick to work. Knowing that he is dying, he agrees to apply for Social Security Disability and Monty takes him to see a doctor who confirms his diagnosis and says he has little time left. Having a valid doctor’s statement, Simon qualifies for benefits, meaning he can pay rent, and Jeff can go to Hell. Instead, Jeff sticks around and puts up with the situation because he really does not have anywhere else to go.

Simon’s revelations elicit two dramatic events. Seeing the world in a new light, Monty tears up his thesis and starts from scratch, reinventing his goals for the future. The due date to graduate with honors is drawing near, meaning he will need to work night and day to get it done on time. Yet, Simon, who is also running out of time, tells Monty that he has a son that he abandoned. Although Monty is mad about it at first, he forgives Simon (symbolically forgiving his own father), locates the man’s address, puts his thesis aside, and the four roommates take Simon to the suburbs so he can make things right with his child.

This is where I am stopping. If you want to know how things go between Simon and his son, or if Monty pulls a miracle at the last minute and graduates with honors, you will have to watch the movie.

 

Summary

Although the film was only nominated for Madonna’s song “I’ll Remember,” and Roger Ebert could not stand it, I do not let anybody tell me what to like including movies, and I like With Honors. I love how Monty learns to see the world through Simon’s eyes, and I love Simon’s innate understanding of people. For example, I especially enjoyed hearing him tell Dr. Pitkannan that in his opinion the president is “just a bum” because he depends on the people for his power, and the way he understands that Jeff hates him because, “I look the way you feel.”

With Honors movie review & film summary (1994) | Roger Ebert

Alek Keshishian understood the drive it takes to graduate from Harvard with honors because that is what he did, creating a video that so impressed Madonna, she hired him to make her documentary. Thus, he is aware of what a sacrifice Monty makes when he decides to risk losing out on greatness to assist a man who most people believe is a derelict. However, considering how drastically Monty’s background differs from that of his roommates, only he and Simon share similar heartbreaking histories. Because of this, Monty believes Courtney will never consider him good enough for her, in the same way that Simon believes his son will never forgive him for leaving. In essence, it is by choosing Simon over Pitkannan that Monty comes to understand human-frailty and it is by choosing Monty as a surrogate son that Simon comes to understand family.

 

Paul Michael Glaser

Like Alek Keshishian, Paul Michael Glaser grew up in an upper middle-class family in the Northeast, namely Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended private elementary and high schools, then went to Tulane University to major in theater arts and from there went on to Boston University for an MA in fine arts. However, he also differs from Keshishian in that he was born about twenty years earlier, started out as an actor, did not direct his first film, Band of the Hand, until in his early forties, and never made a film that was nominated for an award.

Glaser is best known for portraying Detective Dave Starsky in the television series Starsky and Hutch (1975-1979), but he appeared in lots of TV series and movies. Along the way he also directed episodes of Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, and The Agency, to name just a few. None of his five movies earned much praise; critic’s scores on Rotten Tomatoes range from 0 for Band of the Hand, to 66% for The Running Man, with The Cutting Edge falling somewhere in the middle at 57%. Roger Ebert only considered a couple of Glaser’s movies worth reviewing, including The Cutting Edge which he gave 2.5 stars. Yet, although he found the plot derivative, he liked the chemistry between the main characters and found the skating scenes particularly good.

 

The Cutting Edge 1992

The movie starts with hockey player Doug Dorsey (D. B. Sweeney), waking up and realizing that the girl he spent the night with, whose name he cannot even remember, failed to set the alarm clock and he overslept for the 1988 Olympics. He rushes away and makes it to the rink at the last minute. At the same time, Kate Mosley, an Olympics figure skater, is fighting with her coach Rick Tuttle (Barry Flatman) about a mistake she made during practice. Fuming, she storms out of the arena and collides with the harried hockey player. Since both are in foul moods, they immediately start insulting each other before going their separate ways. During the game, an opposing team member knocks Doug into a wall causing a serious head injury and Kate’s partner Brian (Kevin Peaks) drops her during a lift, costing her the gold medal. After they return home, Kate goes through potential partners like a shopping addict in a shoe store and Doug learns that he can never play competitive hockey again.

Two years later, Kate is studying under coach Anton Pamchenko (Roy Dotrice) and firing her eighth partner because he made an error, and Doug is working at a factory in his Minnesota hometown and getting into fights with everyone. Kate’s coach knows that she refuses to skate alone and that there are not any potential partners left. When he tells this to her father, Jack (Terry O’Quinn), Jack insists that Anton find someone else, anyway. The only person he can think of is Doug, so he travels to Minnesota to offer him a lot of money to audition to be Kate’s partner in the Nationals. Broke and desperate, Doug accepts.

Knowing how good he is, Doug is confident that he will do well, even with a spoiled rich girl that has her own skating rink on her father’s lavish estate. Kate, however, knows that Doug has never done any figure skating, and begins to insult him so he will go away. Certain that the young man has real potential, Pamchenko convinces him to at least try out by reminding him that this is his last chance. Aware that the coach is right, Doug tries to work with Kate but runs into difficulties from the outset. Unfamiliar with figure skates, he asks her why the toes have claws rather than being smooth like his, and she answers that the ‘claws’ are “toe picks” but does not explain their purpose. It does not take long for him to grasp their use, however, because he falls every time he tries to stop, which elicits even more derision from her. To get back at Kate, Doug insinuates that she is a coldhearted bitch that no man would want, so to prove him wrong, she replies that she has a boyfriend named Hale (Dwier Brown), who is a Harvard graduate. Not to be outdone, when Pamchenko tells Doug to lift Kate over his head, he picks her up and unceremoniously drops her on her ass.

Enraged. Kate flounces away and when Jack sees things are going badly between them, he writes Doug a check to pay him for a wasted afternoon. Crumpling one resume after another the man unsuccessfully tosses the pages at the wastebasket while lamenting that they tried thirty men, and none was a “go-to guy” who could work under pressure. Knowing he can make the shot with ease, Doug bets Jack double or nothing that he can hit the basket. Doug proves he is as good as his words, and Jack agrees to keep him on. This makes Kate even meaner, and she tricks Doug into admitting that he got kicked out of college when he lost his scholarship. Unlike his predecessors, however, Doug is not afraid of Kate or her father, and dupes her into confessing that she never went to college at all. Next, he challenges her to a one-on-one hockey game that he is on the verge of winning when she accidentally hits him in the face with a puck. Sensing that this pairing could work, Pamchenko smiles.

They begin to compete at everything: running, exercising, even getting to the rink first, but Doug is facing a daunting task. Not only does he have to become adept at figure skating, learning difficult jumps and lifts, but he must take ballet lessons to become a more graceful performer. He is also disappointed that Kate’s primary goal is to win a trophy, while his is simply to skate, because she loves the glitz and glamour while he loves the way the ice feels and even smells. As time passes, a relationship nevertheless begins to develop. At Christmas, he gives her his treasured Bobby Hull sweatshirt because she already has everything else. In turn she gives him a copy of Great Expectations, an adventure story most often read by adolescents, and when he asks her why she chose that book, she replies. “It was either that or ‘Curious George Plays Hockey’.”  (The movie is full of humorous quips, like these, so I have included a link.) At Christmas there is a big party, and Kate savors the idea of showing off Hale to Doug, but her plan backfires when she sees him surrounded by a bevy of attractive young women.

Cutting Edge Quotes

‘The Cutting Edge’ is The Forgotten Cult Classic of The ’90s | Decider

As the National Figure-Skating Championships draw near, Kate offers to pay for Doug’s family to see him skate, but he turns her down. What he does not tell her is that he has not told his family what he is doing, letting his father, who owns a dive bar, and his rough neck brothers think he has been in the Merchant Marine. Still, he misses them and decides to take a bus home, exchanging the world of champagne cocktails with the one that favors beer. He hangs out just talking and joking at first, then confesses that he is figure skating, is good at it, and is going to be in the Nationals. He invites his family to come watch him, but even though they say they are okay with his choice, they are not interested in seeing him perform. Let down but not surprised, he returns to the mansion alone.

The Nationals determine which competitors will go to the Olympics, so Kate warns Doug, “if you want to win you play it straight” which means wearing traditional costumes and performing to music by classical composers like Mozart. Never one to play it straight, however, Doug, who prefers rock and roll, wants them to do something interesting and fun. In the meantime, a lot of personal things have been taking place in the background causing more tension between the two. First, Hale announces that he and Kate are engaged, making Doug noticeably unhappy. Then her old coach Rick Tuttle, who is now coaching Brian and his new partner, shows up and tries to convince Kate that she is too old to compete and should dump Doug and go professional. Even though she frequently criticizes her partner to his face, she tells Rick that he is the best skater she has ever worked with and says, “he’s going to make you cry, he’s so good.” Unbeknownst to her, Doug hears this, and at practice asks her to take off the engagement ring while they are skating.

At the Nationals they run into Brian and his partner Lorie Peckarovski (Rachell Ottley), who both come on to Doug. Brian’s behavior confuses Doug because he is accustomed to he-man hockey players, but he understands women and looks at Lorie appreciatively. Jealous, Kate shoots daggers at them both, then takes her anger out on Hale. Finally saying what he has been thinking for a while, Hale accuses her of having feelings for Doug, characterizes the turmoil between them as “foreplay,” and breaks up with her. Apparently, his departure is fortuitous because she and Doug skate flawlessly in the short program that afternoon, and the next day perform their long program perfectly. The audience loves them, but the judges prove Kate right by giving them much lower scores than they deserve. Now, the only way they can go to the Olympics is if the final team, Jodie and Johnny Weidermann (Penny Papaioannou, Raoul LeBlanc) mess up, but the pair is known for its consistency, and Kate and Doug fear that they are doomed. Thus, when Jodie unexpectedly falls on her butt in the middle of the program, Kate and Doug end up in second place, guaranteeing them a spot in the Olympics.

That night they go out to celebrate and Kate, who never drinks, matches Doug shot-for-shot. When he takes her back to her room, she confesses that she and Hale broke up and tries to seduce him. Unwilling to take advantage of her, Doug begs off and goes back to his room. He is drunk too, though, and when Lorie knocks on his door, he lets her in. In the morning, Kate steps out into the hall, her door shuts, locking her out, and she comes to Doug for help. Lorie happens to answer the door which Kate takes as proof of Doug’s betrayal, and the fragile truce that has been building between them falls apart. On the plane back to America, neither is speaking to the other, and when they get home Pamchenko not only has to find a routine that will beat the competition but must do so while dealing with their animosity.

Winning will not be easy. Russian skaters Smilkov and Brushkin (Christine Hough, Doug Ladret), considered the best in the world, are competing. Anton proposes a new routine, the Pamchenko twist, which requires Doug to throw Kate into the air where she will spin a couple of times before falling into his arms. Even though the maneuver is exceedingly difficult, and questionably legal, Anton believes it is the only way they can win. (Really, the maneuver is completely impossible and illegal). The skaters practice for hours with Kate landing on the floor repeatedly, and even when the feuding couple leaves for Paris, it is not clear whether they have mastered the technique. They do okay in the short program, but before they perform their long skate, Doug wants to find out what went wrong during the last Olympics. He watches a video of Brian and Kate’s performance and finally understands the real reason the pair lost.

I decided to stop here. If you have never seen this film, or if you have not watched it in a while, it is worth another glance for the skating alone which features champion skaters as stand-ins.

 

Summary

Ice skating, originally created by residents who lived close to waterways that froze over in winter, has been around for centuries. By the 1100s, people were skating for fun, and the practice became an organized activity in the nineteenth century when the Scotts formed the Scottish Skating Club of Edinburg. In the years since, specific jumps, flips, spins, and other strenuous techniques were created and today figure skating is a demanding sport that is one of the most popular games in the Winter Olympics. There are several ways that skaters can perform, including singly, in pairs, or as dancers, but whatever they decide to do, they must have natural ability and endure years of training.

It is not surprising that this film came out in the early 1990s when the American public was watching performers like Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, and the up-and-coming favorite Michelle Kwan on TV. In fact, Kwan, who tied Carrie Heiss’s record for winning the most championships, holds more world medals than any other American. On top of that, the nineties introduced the world to the first Black female competitive skater, a French woman named Surya Bonaly, who landed a back flip on one blade at the 1998 Olympics and nearly completed a quadruple jump. That feat was not done successfully until the 1922 Olympics by gold medalist Anna Shcherbkova. Thus, this movie is not just a romantic comedy but is entertaining for those who love the sport.

The History of Figure Skating: From Its Origins to Today | TheSportsReviewer.com

Ice Skating Jumps Easiest To Hardest (In Order)

Forgotten history: Black figure skater Surya Bonaly started the quad craze 30 years ago

 

Conclusion

In the end, I asked myself what besides the directors these films had in common? To start, both showcased men who came from poor backgrounds and had difficulty fitting into wealthy environments. Even though he craves success, Monty primarily keeps to himself, turning down invitations to the realm of privilege. Even when Courtney, who he has been watching hungrily throughout the movie, invites him to come home with her, he refuses. Doug also tends to avoid the rich, choosing to go home alone rather than introducing his family and friends to Kate’s world. Unlike Monty, he hooks up frequently but only with women he is not interested in. Thus, when he gets the chance to be intimate with Kate, he not only turns her down because he does not want to take advantage of her, but also because it would not be right for him to use the girl of his dreams for sex.

Although they have drastically different temperaments, Courtney and Kate also share more than the fact that they are portrayed by the same actress. At first, they attach themselves to men they do not love because those men meet their agendas. Courtney dates “The Face” because she wants sex without emotional attachment (“I don’t take sex home”). In fact, she acts like one of the guys, talking-tough to her roommates and treating Monty like a buddy. On a deeper level, however, by inviting Monty to her home, she reveals that she cares about him. Likewise, Kate dates Hale because he works for her father, meaning he is more a friend of the family, and is based in London, so she does not have to deal with him very often. At the same time, she keeps a close eye on Doug and bristles with jealousy every time he talks to a woman, especially Lorie who is her rival both professionally and personally. When she takes her ire out on Hale and they break up, it is a relief for them both. He is free from someone that will never be good to him, and she is available to be with the only man she respects. For example, every time she and Doug disagree, she gives in.

Even though these films were made in the nineties, the characters’ values seem to be from an earlier era, with the women waiting for the men to make the first moves, and the men tamping down their desires because they don’t think it’s right to treat the objects of their affections as sluts. In fact, carnality between the protagonists is a deafening whisper in both films. Monty forgoes sex altogether rather than having sex with a woman he does not want, and Doug has sex with everyone except the person he wants more than anything in the world. In essence, both men express their feelings through abstinence, and both women let them get away with it. Maybe it was because the directors and writers were all men reminiscing about the good old days.

Even though critics on Rotten Tomatoes give With Honors a big thumbs-down (19%), a respectable 74% of the overall audience like the movie. Right now, it is streaming free on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Plex, or you can pay $3.99 to watch it on Apple TV or Fandango (although I do not see why anyone would pay if they do not have to). You never know when it will not be available, however, so if you prefer to own the DVD, you can buy it new for around $12 at places like Amazon and Walmart, or get it used for about $5 at eBay and Thriftbooks.com. The Cutting Edge is also available free on Tubi and the Roku Channel or you can stream it on Amazon Prime and Apple TV for $3.99. However, right now the new DVD is on sale on Amazon for $8 or you can get a used one at eBay for $5 or less. Be sure to check shipping, though, because some sellers add $4 for or more for that. Also note that there are three sequels, so if you want the original movie, look for the one starring Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney.

That is all for now. My next entry will be in the late spring or early summer. Till then, you can read Walt Whitman or go ice skating, think for yourself, and use your Toe Pick.