‘Radiant City’ Shines With Luster Of 1950s
Pull out your pompons, put on the old bobby socks and saddle shoes and settle down to a pleasant visit back to innocent times.
ABC’s “Radiant City,” Sunday at 9, returns to the simple 1950s, when teenagers primarily worried about getting caught necking and the only crime most people were guilty of was being too naive. At least, that’s how this tale characterizes the decade.
The stereotypes fly fast and furious as the folks who live in a low-income housing project in Brooklyn cope with a strict housing cop. The young people hang around singing songs and chasing dates.
It’s hard not to dig it all. The big hoop dresses, pedal pushers and nostalgic music - there’s even a street a cappella group - hit those remember-when chords.
In the movie, Gloria and Al Goodman (Kirstie Alley and Clancy Brown), the parents of two children, want to give up city life and move to the suburbs. The movie follows Gloria’s efforts to make this her last summer in Brooklyn.
Highlights
“Turning Point,” ABC Saturday at 10 (unavailable for review): The newsmagazine takes an eye-opening look at poachers in Zambia and a near-fatal battle to save the elephants.
“Miracles and Visions: Fact or Fiction?” FOX Sunday at 7: Roma Downey hosts this reality-based hour purporting to contain photographic evidence of miracles.
“The Simpsons,” FOX Sunday at 8: Spring break receives a spoofing when Bart takes off on a road trip. Lisa attempts to bond with her father at the nuclear power plant.
“Abducted: A Father’s Love” (1996), NBC Sunday at 9: This fact-based tale examines the rights of fathers. Chris Noth plays a loving dad who believes his estranged wife (Loryn Locklin) is abusing their infant daughter.
Although well-acted by Noth, there are so many holes in this tale it’s hard to take it seriously.
“Tango & Cash” (1989), CBS Sunday at 9: In the late 1980s, it was trendy to star in a police thriller about mismatched detectives. The plots were basically identical as the unlikely crime-fighting cops, in this case Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone, participated in the war on drugs. There’s action galore - more brawn than brains. Repeat.
Parents’ Pick
“The Sandlot” (1993), ABC Saturday at 8: This magical coming-of-age tale is about a group of kids and their love of baseball. Tom Guiry plays the new kid on the block who wants to be part of the local baseball team that plays in an abandoned sandlot.
Parents will applaud this tale because it never focuses on being the best or winning. In fact, there isn’t even a big game for these kids to win to prove their self-worth.
The point of the film is to examine respect, friendship and good sportsmanship.
Cable Calls
“Boys on the Side” (1995), HBO Saturday at 8: The reviews compared this female-bonding film to “Thelma & Louise” (1991) and “Fried Green Tomatoes” (1991). But it really isn’t much like those tales, the bonding notwithstanding.
It’s more intimate and involving. The characters are quite well-defined and enjoyable. You become caught up in the conflicts of three women, played by Whoopi Goldberg, MaryLouise Parker and Drew Barrymore, as they travel west.
“Mr. and Mrs. Loving” (1996), SHO Sunday at 8: In the 1960s, Richard and Bean (Timothy Hutton and Lela Rochon) fell in love and wanted to marry in the state of Virginia. Only an old Virginia law made it illegal for them to live as husband and wife there because of the color of their skin. Make an appointment to tune in this intelligent, well-directed and well-acted tale.