Siskel & Ebert: Worst Of 1989 - Bloodhounds of Broadway, Dream a Little Dream, Ghostbusters II

In this episode, Siskel and Ebert talk about the worst films of 1989. This films include: Bloodhounds of Broadway, Dream a Little Dream, Ghostbusters II, Harlem Nights, Her Alibi, Kinjite, Next of Kin, No Holds Barred, Old Gringo, Physical Evidence, Pink Cadillac, She's Out of Control, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, The Wizard, Troop Beverly Hills and Young Einstein.

[@tfronauer]

"I suppose Woody Allen could come up with a comedy" [about] "a father who had sexual thoughts...involving his daughter" HOO BOY

[@brianmccormick3837]

At what point in this video does Siskel or Ebert say this?

[@tfronauer]

@@brianmccormick3837 @9:32 is where Gene begins the discussion. He argues that an interesting film could be made using the same suspect themes as She's Out of Control. When Roger interjects that it shouldn't be done as comedy, Gene then muses that perhaps Woody Allen could be the one pull it off.

[@jackscratch785]

Step daughter

[@StanSwan]

Maybe Donald Trump will have a new TV show where his daughter gives him a rose?

[@BrowncoatFairy]

hahahahaha

[@lerm2866]

Thanks this is the only “worst” episode I could never find

[@solidsnake58]

I have to laugh because almost all of these movies are my guilty pleasures: Her Alibi, Young Einstein, The Wizard, Little Monsters, Dream a Little Dream, Ghostbusters 2, and even Star Trek 5.

[@meteozberk9776]

low iq bro pity to u

[@flmbyz]

I think a lot of our guilty pleasures has to do with the age we saw them in and how we didn’t have any outside influences to shape our tastes of them.

[@calql8er]

Star Trek V. What an embarrassment.

[@moonflick]

Preach. Talk about actors who shouldn't be directing.

[@zombiedodge1426]

Everyone loves to clown on Shatner, but in many ways it wasn't his fault this movie turned out like it did. The production was hit by a writer's strike, Shatner had to scrap a lot of potentially cool ideas because of budget restraints, and ILM was too busy with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to handle the special effects, forcing them to go with some second-rate FX company.

[@Scipio488]

I had forgotten that Bones was unable to select a key within his range to sing "Row Your Boat" in ST:5, which, of all the directorial mysteries in the film, now seems the largest.

[@davidthieroff9452]

I always thought Harlem Nights was so underrated. I still quote it, especially when there's barely any orange juice left.

[@SkolneyVikings]

Well I never met Ebert, but I like Ghostbusters 2. I never even knew until a few years ago that it was hated on by so many people.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

on the surface it feels like Ghostbusters 1 but they put in less effort. If you dig beneath the surface you'll see its a subtle spoof OF the first movie. And not many people get that. I didnt get it the first time I saw it. I just had fun watching (I was 10). Now I get it. Also, Gremlins 2 is a more obvious spoof of Gremlins 1 and more people got it. So they liked it and laughed.

[@BrowncoatFairy]

@@Shorty_Lickens noble intentions aren't enough to make a good movie, though. If it's a good idea but it misses the mark, well, that's on the movie, not the audience. Also, I'm not sure audiences missed the film's jabs at itself (the birthday party at the beginning, the "suck in the gut" line, etc) I think they just didn't find the whole thing very appealing to watch. For me, the statue of liberty scene is particularly hokey and ridiculous, and just seemed like a tired and uninspired effort to recreate the Stay Puft climax from the first movie, more so than a comment on or parody of it.

[@justinbergmans36]

It was a pretty big letdown, when compared to the great first film. But, there are those that do enjoy it.

[@ryanmitchell6937]

It's ridiculous it gets that much hate but I think it's an Internet trend, I doubt it was hated so much in the beginning. It's pretty much the same as the first movie: same beats, same humor, same problems...you can accuse it of being redundant and not necessary but it's not that terrible if you think the first one is good.

[@ltopomcfly5583]

Yeah, I was an adult before I learned the film was badly rated at the time.

[@Nicksonian]

Tom Selleck didn’t have the acting chops for good movies. He’s a personality, not an actor, that’s about it. That works okay on TV, but not films.

[@markelijio6012]

You got that right.

[@gspendlove]

I couldn't disagree more. An Innocent Man is one of my faves from that era.

[@markelijio6012]

@@gspendlove This highly controversial film that broke all the rules. From the creators of "The House on Carroll Street:" filmmaker Peter Yates, screenwriter Walter Bernstein and producers Ted Field, Robert W. Cort & Melinda Jason.

[@andrewevans930]

Blessing he didn’t become Indiana Jones. The screen test is on KZbin. Harrison Ford was just right for the part

[@mrsmearkase8629]

9:32 Check out the soothsaying on Gene.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Kinjite was director J. Lee Thompson's final film. His 80's output was weak overall but he did direct two fun B-Grade slashers, Happy Birthday to Me and 10 to Midnight.

[@BrowncoatFairy]

"Maybe they're just working their way through the Star Trek cast, giving everybody a chance to be a director, i dunno." Little did he know this was exactly what would happen. Just one year after this episode aired, Jonathan Frakes would pioneer what became an unofficial Director's School at Paramount for Trek cast members. He would direct "The Offspring", a really wonderful Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, and eventually direct 23 other Star Trek episodes across the various franchises. Frakes also directed two Trek movies -- First Contact (which was a great movie and a huge hit) and Insurrection. By the end of The Next Generation, Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker), Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher), LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), MIchael Dorn (Lt. Worf) had all been granted the experience of directing episodes. This tradition carried on through Voyager and Deep Space Nine as well, with lots of those cast members also being given the opportunity to direct episodes. Definitely one of the cooler things the Star Trek TV franchise did for its cast.

[@joesimon2029]

21:47 Hold on; there were 30 flavors of Rice-A-Roni in 1989 !!?? So, how many TODAY ?

[@chrislang9442]

Only 17, according to one web site that ranked from worst (Buffalo Chicken) to best (Chicken).

[@bsanaee]

Man, Ghostbusters 2 was such a disappointment. I was 13 and prepared to love almost anything they could've put on screen, but the psycho-reactive slime didn't appeal to me at all.

[@crystalshaw8744]

Dream a Little Dream was good...at least to me. I give it a thumbs-up.

[@branagain]

My vote for the worst film of 1989 was Back to the Future II. I hated that movie. Fortunately Part III improved and was closer in spirit to the first film.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I disagree. BTTF II lacked the heart of the first film but it was fun ride. Ghostbusters II was far worse.

[@markelijio6012]

Now here's an fun trivia: 1989's Harlem Nights was nominated for an Academy Award for Joe I. Tompkins' sexy, sleek and stylish costumes in 1990. Released by Paramount Pictures in 1989 and marked the final film performance of Redd Foxx, who died in 1992.

[@Nathan-gd7xq]

Norbitt is also an Oscar nominated film (for best makeup).

[@markelijio6012]

@@Nathan-gd7xq Well, great. Thanks, Nathan!

[@gspendlove]

These guys hated it but I thought it was enjoyable. I always loved Eddie, Richard and Redd, and Della's hilarious. In my eyes it's a comedy that, like Eddie's brother Charlie said about Rick James, is a "habitual line-stepper." You're always saying, "They did _not_ just do/say that." In that way, it's a little bit Tarantino-esque. I bet Quentin liked it.

[@markelijio6012]

Well, I get your point. Happy New Year 2024.

[@jstewlly4747]

Lol Siskel said 18:14 bro when Siskel funny hes hilarious

[@StanSwan]

Harlem Nights has it's clunky spots and Eddie Murphy always had to play the coolest guy that kicks ass in the end. It is so different than his work on SNL when he was willing to play the fool for a laugh. Saying all that the film is a time capsule based on the cast who are no longer with us. I also think S & E were from a different era. Calling people nasty names is a sign of affection in many cultures even in 1989.

[@markelijio6012]

Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters II did well at the box office while Kinjite was legendary director J. Lee Thompson's final film didn't do well at all. Several others such as Harlem Nights, She's Out of Control, Pink Cadillac, No Holds Barred, The Wizard, Troop Beverly Hills, Next of Kin, Her Alibi, Old Gringo, Star Trek V, Young Einstein, Physical Evidence, Bloodhounds of Broadway, Dream a Little Dream, Little Monsters and The Big Picture were all been box office bombs, flops and losers.

[@zombiedodge1426]

Ghostbusters II seriously underperformed compared to the original and the studio's expectations, though. It had one good weekend and then got swept aside by Hurricane Batman. 1989 was an insane summer for blockbusters. The criminally underrated Licence to Kill was also lost in the shuffle (putting the 007 franchise on ice for six years) and the now-beloved UHF couldn't even finish in the top ten at the box office the weekend it opened.

[@maxxxmodelz4061]

I agree with most of their reviews, when they agree, but I thought Harlem NIghts was very funny.

[@simonandsimon2352]

"She's Out of Control" is garbage, one of the dumbest, most cliche movies I've ever seen. S&E were right to roast that one, fully deserves it.

[@Mondomeyer]

She's Out of Control could have worked, but not in such a cutesy style. It just needed to lean into it's unsavory subject. Make it more like Where's Papa?

[@Stroheim333]

Young Einstein as worst of the year...? Ridiculous.

[@johnwatson3948]

As seen in Newsweek - the young director of “The Wizard” Todd Holland got in trouble with the studio for having an actor who’s leaving Universal ad-lib “The shark still looks phony” - ironically one of the funnier lines in the movie.

[@markelijio6012]

After that, Todd Holland would never work with the studio again. But today, he, Fred Savage, Bryan & Jessie Gordon, Cherie Franklin, Michael Lehmann, Donald Petrie, Michael Dinner, Jean Sagal, Joanna Kerns, Mark Linn-Baker, Heather Locklear, Jerry Levine, Hallie Todd, Philip Charles MacKenzie among others were some of TV's successful producers/directors with today's programs such as The Neighborhood, Law & Order, NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Conners et cetera.

[@johnwatson3948]

Yes, Todd Holland first did the episode(s) of Amazing Stories then success with a lot of TV and a couple of features. I met him a couple of times in the 1980’s when, along with a friend of mine, he was one of the other Student Academy Award and Focus Awards winners.

[@zombiedodge1426]

Even though Back to the Future II, from the same studio and released in the same year, had almost the exact same line! Mind you, Steven Spielberg will generally be given a little more leeway than Todd Holland.

[@johnwatson3948]

I’d forgotten that! - apparently it was a Universal exec who complained about Holland. In humorous reaction to this, it may have been Spielberg himself who added the “Shark still looks fake” line to BTF2 - Spielberg had helped launch Holland’s career after seeing his award-winning student short “The Chicken Thing”.

[@adamrobinette6832]

Ghostbusters is still one of my favorite movies. I was only 10 when Ghostbusters II came out, and I hated it. None of the characters 'felt' real in the movie. They were all there, but then dialed up to 99 to become caricatures of themselves. Like forcing what worked organically in the first movie. And much like Mater in the Cars movies, Lewis and Jeanine were fabulous in their roles in the first one. Like Lewis had a lot of screen time. But very little of it was Rick Moranis being 'Lewis'. There was just enough 'Lewis' to know who he is and that he's a timid, geeky everyman. So when 'Vince' possesses him, the contrast is hilarious. But 'Vince' is the character with the plotline not Lewis. And Jeanine was perfect to just pot shot in with her smartass attitude throughout the first movie. Neither needed to be amped up and given their own major plot line.

[@RichardMcDowell-m8c]

I am surprised Speed Zone did not make this list.

[@yournamehere6002]

GHOSTBUSTERS II was most certainly NOT the worst movie of the year, it was one of the best.

[@herberthoover2469]

Jenny Lewis was in both the Wizard and Troop Beverly Hills.

[@gspendlove]

When I first looked at at your comment I thought you said Jerry Lewis. 🤣🤣🤣 Now the image of Jerry Lewis playing Super Mario Brothers 3 is stuck in my head.

[@markelijio6012]

@@gspendlove What are you talking about?!

[@gspendlove]

@@markelijio6012 Read what I wrote again, and think about it. You'll either get the joke or you won't.

[@markelijio6012]

@@gspendlove I'm sorry I won't do this.

[@gspendlove]

@@markelijio6012 Okey dokey you may remain confused.

[@ltopomcfly5583]

S&E always blame the actors but but its really their agents talking them into bad films with the false promise of being in bigger roles if it works.

[@joelbest2424]

Toward the end of his career Bronson would take literally any part as long as they spelled his name right on the check.

[@davidconlee2196]

I'm surprised how much I love these guys

[@matthewbrown2037]

Can you imagine Hulk Hogan getting offered a part in a movie, after having to audition, if he wasn't who he was? My god he's a terrible actor. Thankfully I only had to endure one of his movies in my life, I think called Mr Nanny. Wow, it was bad, I mean really bad!

[@gspendlove]

Yeah, he's a terrible actor, and Hogan's character in No Holds Barred is a total Gary Stu. Still, I've got a little bit of love for that movie, because I was a big wrestling fan at the time. And I like Kurt Fuller and Tom "Tiny" Lister. Both of those guys were the kind of character actors who you'd see on screen and say, "Hey, I know that guy!"

[@zombiedodge1426]

@@gspendlove Stupid, stupid movie, but Kurt Fuller has a *lot* of fun playing the villain.

[@zombiedodge1426]

I counted *four* Columbia Pictures films (She's Out of Control, Old Gringo, Ghostbusters II and Physical Evidence) in this episode. They had horrible years in 1987 and 1988, too. (Okay, they had The Last Emperor in 1987 and won the Best Picture Oscar, but that was canceled out by Ishtar and Leonard Part 6.) No wonder Coca-Cola decided they were better off sticking with soft drinks and sold the whole works to Sony.

[@markelijio6012]

Well, that's where you're wrong. After parted ways with the Coca-Cola Company for 11 successful years from August 30, 1974 to June 17, 1985...Columbia Pictures has finally purchased by Sony Pictures Entertainment on Tuesday, June 18, 1985. A year later, Columbia Pictures' television unit has now folded and renamed Sony Pictures Television on Monday, June 24, 1985 under the leadership of Ed Lammi. Between June 28, 1985 and today, Columbia has now focused on features, not television. The successful hits were Glory, Ghostbusters II, Milo and Otis, Steel Magnolias, The Bear, When Harry Met Sally (co-produced by CR Films and Sullivan Entertainment) and the sleepers were Who's Harry Crumb? (co-produced by Universal Pictures, Regency Enterprises and Fries Entertainment), The Music Box (co-produced by Carolco/Le Studio Canal Plus, Winkler Films and Prairie Films), Winter People (co-produced by CR Films and Sullivan Entertainment), Breaking In (co-produced by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and ACT III Communications), Physical Evidence (co-produced by Rank Film Distributors and ICON Entertainment International) and Always (co-produced by Amblin Entertainment and the Kennedy Marshall Organization for Industry Entertainment, distributed by Universal International in the USA, Canada and other countries around the world). If there's anything missing, we'll let you know. Peace!

[@jacobjones4628]

Gene Siskel was a savage and I'm all for it lol

[@Shorty_Lickens]

7:30 "you're acting like Fred Savage produces his own movies". Holy shit, Roger are you psychic??

[@markelijio6012]

What a real pain of an ass.

[@markelijio6012]

Look, Fred Savage is a former child star of "The Wonder Years" and now he currently directs many hours of television such as "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Sex and the City," "Young Sheldon" among others.

[@christianlorre]

Psychic for the Woody Allen line.

[@hungwilliam44]

I'm so glad I'm not a movie critic having to wade through all that crap haha.

[@missstargazer79]

I honestly thought "She's Out of Control" was a made-for-TV movie, not one released in theaters. It just had a TV feel to it I guess.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I would really like to know which executives green-lighted that film. That material is totally inappropriate for a studio comedy. That should have been a drama or a key black comedy handled by a great director.

[@markelijio6012]

"She's Out of Control" (1989) was from the creative talents behind "Love at First Bite" and they are director Stan Dragoti, storywriter Robert Kaufman and co-producer Gary David Goldberg. Released by Sony Pictures Classics and went on to become a cult following for decades.

[@brianstjohn]

Oh... The Wizard... that one looks interesting (?)

[@markelijio6012]

I don't know how to tell you this. Former actor Fred Savage, best known for his performance on the original "Wonder Years" from 1988 to 1993 on ABC but he also served as an former executive producer and director of the revival edition for the same network. Today, he's working things out at his California home with his wife and children.

[@tjmurray6549]

The Wizard was a kind of interesting movie. I skipped it in the theater late 1989/early 1990. I rented it from my local video store in mid 1990. I'd rate it a C+ and again, it's kind of interesting.

[@markelijio6012]

@@tjmurray6549 It was a minor box office success for Universal Pictures and Carolco/Le Studio Canal Plus.

[@freemangriffin4953]

Old Gringo was o.k., just disappointing. It's the only film of these that I have seen.

[@williamshaw9047]

Good score by Lee Holdridge

[@williamshaw9047]

Good score by Lee Holdridge

[@williamshaw9047]

Good score by Lee Holdridge

[@markelijio6012]

Once again, Columbia, whose parent company was Sony Pictures Entertainment which purchased this on Tuesday, June 18, 1985 - the studio didn't had a major hit movie in five years. Between June 28, 1985 and today, which Columbia has produced and Sony has released, beginning with Perfect, Lifeforce, Rambo 2, St. Elmo's Fire, The Bride, The Legend of Billie Jean, Real Genius, Agnes of God, Jagged Edge et certera... but in 1989, they were a number of hits and flops: Ghostbusters 2, The Bear, Milo and Otis, Immediate Family, When Harry Met Sally, Winter People, Steel Magnolias, Who's Harry Crumb,The Music Box, Breaking In, Listen to Me, Troop Beverly Hills, She's Out of Control, The Package, Erik the Viking, The Adventures of Baron Manchausen, Lock-up and more.

[@IFStravinsky]

Pauline Kael preferred Ghostbusters II to the original.

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

didn`t she also like the Exorcist 2 better than the original

[@markelijio6012]

@@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729 Forget what Pauline says. Those Exorcist sequels were far superior than than the Oscar winning horror classic.

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

@@markelijio6012 the Exorcist 2 is one of the most incomprehensible… inept movies, ( not just sequels), movies,) of all time

[@ricardocantoral7672]

She also thought Temple of Doom was the best Indiana Jones movie. I think it's Raiders but Temple isn't that far behind in my book. There are people who hate that movie and I don't know why. I love how gritty, bloody, and violent that movie was.

[@markelijio6012]

I got your point. Happy New Year 2024.

[@nathanforester5993]

Dream A Little Dream I have no problems with...yeah it has Corey Feldman, trying to be Michael Jackson (this was probably the start of his Michael Jackson cosplay hyperfixation), but come on on....Ghostbusters 2 gets hated on way too much.

[@jackscratch785]

Next of Kin is the #1 Trucker movie.

[@gspendlove]

I'm sorry, but there's just no such thing for me as a bad Bill Murray movie.

[@branagain]

Osmosis Jones is a terrible Bill Murray movie. I’ve actually rewatched Meatballs recently for the first time in 40 years and time has not been good. I would also call Meatballs a bad Bill Murray movie.

[@WilliamHerlihy-p4g]

Have you seen Charlie's Angels? Maybe it safer to say there are no bad Bill Murray performances.

[@sebeku2]

Harlem Nights is now a cult classic

[@tjmurray6549]

I admit, that I really enjoyed Harlem Nights--I saw it in the theater back in 1989 and have it on DVD, one of many favorite movies 😅

[@CaptainCalculus]

what the h-- is a skip-tracer?

[@dr.roberts4508]

All Hulk Hogan movies Junk

[@gspendlove]

I don't know.... Suburban Commando and No Holds Barred are kinda still guilty pleasures of mine. With No Holds Barred, it's just fun to watch everyone chewing the scenery, and I'm a big fan of the late Tom Lister, who played Zeus. And there's just something about Suburban Commando that raises it above the level of just a bad movie.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

​@@markelijio6012That wasn't a Hulk Hogan movie. He was in a bit part in that movie.

[@markelijio6012]

@@ricardocantoral7672 I'm not perfect, okay? But I may not know everything about cinema but I kept on watching something good or bad.

[@markelijio6012]

Hulk Hogan had a little bit of a part in 1982's "Rocky 3," the film was an rip roaring box office success. Nominated for an Academy Award for best music, original song - "Eye of the Tiger" in 1983.

[@zombiedodge1426]

Gremlins 2?