Wallace Shawn

[3] It’s not Tim Matheson or Kate Capshaw’s fault. Really, it isn’t. Both of them are plenty attractive and charismatic to carry a film like this. The problem is that A Little Sex is a boiled-down reduction of every rom-com ever made. Matheson plays a guy who talks his long-time female buddy (Capshaw) into getting married. But since he can’t keep his wiener zipped up, …

[6] Intentionally bizarre and overwrought, I’m not sure what to make of this adaptation of John Irving’s novel about an extended, eccentric family that moves into a down-trodden hotel. I liked a previous Irving adaptation, The World According to Garp, much better. Garp director George Roy Hill was better able to balance the humor and sorrow than Hotel director Tony Richardson. Richardson leans so much …

[9] A terrific script and loveable characters send Toy Story soaring. At the heart of the simple storyline are two toys with character arcs as compelling as any of their live-action counterparts. Woody (Tom Hanks) is a pull-string cowboy who’s afraid of being replaced as his owner’s favorite, and Buzz (Tim Allen) is the new, gadget-enhanced astronaut who doesn’t accept the fact that he’s a …

[9] Director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) serves up a winning Valley Girl spin on Jane Austen’s Emma, reinforced with a terrific cast, a uniformly solid collection of songs, and a plethora of catchy one-liners that are now embedded in the zeitgeist. I probably say, “I totally paused,” at every single stop sign now, and never resist the urge to use the word …