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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 09/01/09

1:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Joy in the Morning (1965 USA): Airing, somewhat inappropriately, in early afternoon, Joy in the Morning features Richard Chamberlain and Yvette Mimieux as young newlyweds facing off against the usual adversaries: parents who just don't understand, school administrators unwilling to bend rules, and deeply ingrained class prejudice. Chamberlain attends law school by day and works a security gig by night, whilst barefoot and pregnant Mimieux is home alone when she isn't babysitting. Set during the Roaring ‘20s, the film is a fairly routine romancer rendered required viewing by its superb supporting cast, including Arthur Kennedy as Chamberlain's Irish immigrant father, Sidney Blackmer as a hard-ass college dean, and Oscar Homolka as a well-off acquaintance.

7:30 PM Sundance
California Dreamin' (Nesfarsit) (2007 ROM): Just to prove that Romanian film doesn't begin and end with depressing dramas such as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Four Months, Three Weeks, and Two Days, there's this acerbic black comedy from director Cristian Nemescu, tragically killed in a road accident during the film's post-production. (And I do mean black: just because there's humor here doesn't mean the film bears many similarities to the latest Judd Apatow flick.) Armand Assante and Jamie Elman star as American military men assigned to transport a shipment of arms through Romania to the former Yugoslavia during NATO's 1999 assault on Kosovo. When their train gets tangled up in bureaucratic red tape and grinds to a halt in a remote Carpathian berg, the two Yanks start huffing and puffing - and the locals dig in their heels and insist rules apply to Americans, too! The winner of the Un Certain Regard award at Cannes 2007, California Dreamin' is a hilarious, angry howl that skewers Americans and Romanians with equal fervor.

11:20 PM HBO Signature
Showgirls (1995 USA): "I used to like Doggy Chow, too!" That's just my favorite of many notable quotables featured in this camp classic from director Paul Verhoeven, writer Joe Eszterhas and friends. Elizabeth Berkley stars as Nomi Malone, a young woman who will do anything - anything! - to make it in Vegas. It's not an easy route to the top, though - you gotta start with lowly lap dancing before you can graduate to the high-falutin' topless variety! Showgirls popped up on HBO whilst I was vacationing last month, but happily it isn't ready to go back into the video vault just yet. My only regret is that the film is airing in pan and scan, but in this case, the absence of its original aspect ratio is trumped by the jaw-dropping majesty of Eszterhas' screenplay. Also airs 9/12 at 10:50 PM.

Wednesday 09/02/09

11:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
No Questions Asked (1950 USA): The wonderful world of insurance - and the scams associated with it - gets a look-in in this decent if unspectacular MGM pseudo-noir. Barry Sullivan takes the lead as Steve Kiever, a wet behind the ears eager beaver looking to make a big splash at his new place of employment. When boss Manston (Moroni Olsen) remarks that he'd pony up a decent reward for the return of some stolen goods if it would mean the firm could avoid paying out a larger settlement, Steve gets ideas - dangerous ones. Soon enough he's caught in a trap of his own making, as the local hoodlums decide they want a bite of the apple, too. George Murphy co-stars as (what else) a police officer, Arlene Dahl plays Steve's ambitious fiancée, and Jean Hagen is Joan, Steve's oh so loyal secretary.

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