Farrah Fawcett was more than big hair, pretty face

Farrah Fawcett's funeral is today. The 62-year-old actress died last week after a lengthy battle with cancer.
While the Texas native will always be associated with "Charlie's Angels," the 1970s television series that catapulted her to fame, her filmography shows that she was more than just a blond with big hair and a big smile, and that she had some acting talent to go with a killer body that helped her sell more than 8 million posters in the late 1970s.
Fawcett started out in television in the late 1960s with guest roles in shows such as "The Flying Nun," which was the springboard for Sally Fields' career.
She added a few small parts in films such as "Myra Breckinridge" and "Logan's Run" before hitting the big time as one of three female detectives who work for a heard-but-never-seen boss in "Charlie's Angels."
Like some other TV stars, Fawcett bolted after a single season. But she was successfully sued by the producers and appeared in a few later episodes as part of the settlement.
And like many other TV stars who quit a hit show, her film career didn't immediately take off. Her big break came in 1984 with "The Burning Bed," a made-for-television film about a battered woman.
Along the way she dumped her husband, actor Lee Majors, and took up with actor Ryan O'Neal. They were together from 1980 to 1997, had a son together, and remained close until the end.
Fawcett caused quite a stir in 1995 when she posed for Playboy magazine. She was 48. Her issue was one of Playboy's best sellers.
Fawcett continued to make movies, such as "Man of the House" with Chevy Chase, and television appearances, including a rambling 1993 visit to David Letterman's show that was to haunt her for years. Her last acting performance was in 2004.
She and best friend Alana Stewart did produce a documentary chronicling her battle with cancer. You can catch "Farrah's Story" for free at IMDB.com or at hulu.com.
Here are six films that are representative of her career. All are available on video or DVD.

"The Burning Bed" (1984) -- Fawcett's big break after "Charlie's Angels" came in this made-for-television film about a battered woman who is raped by her abusive husband (Paul Le Mat) and she sets his bed on fire after he goes to sleep. Other stars include Grace Zabriskie and Richard Masur. The Burning Bed
"Extremities" (1986) -- Reviews were mixed about Fawcett's performance as a woman who turns the tables on a rapist (James Russo) and astounds her friends with the lengths she is apparently willing to go to exact her revenge on her attacker. Other stars include Alfre Woodard and Diana Scarwid.
"Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" (1987) -- One of three biopics Fawcett did in the late 1980s, about Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton's inability to find true love. Other stars include Anne Francis, Kevin McCarthy and Nicholas Clay. She also starred as Nazi hunter Beate Karsfeld and photographer Margaret Bourke-White.
"The Apostle" (1997) -- Fawcett co-stars with writer, director and star Robert Duvall in this film about a Texas preacher who starts anew as a radio preacher in Louisiana.
Other stars include Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash and Miranda Richardson.
"Dr. T and the Women" (2000) -- Fawcett co-stars with Richard Gere as his nutty wife in this comedy about a Dallas gynecologist and the wildly different women in his life. Other stars include Helen Hunt, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Kate Hudson and Tara Reid.
"Sunburn" (1979) -- Fawcett poses as Charles Grodin's wife while they try to unravel an insurance scam in this light comedy that was one of the films Fawcett did after leaving "Charlie's Angels." Other stars include Art Carney, Joan Collins and William Daniels.

Wedding season brings laughs

Wedding plans in real life are emotional and stressful, sometimes painful, and always expensive.
Reel-life wedding plans use those same truisms and milk them for laughs. Who doesn't laugh at Martin Short's wedding planner character in Steve Martin's version of "Father of the Bride"? And who can't help but smile when Rowan Atkinson attempts to marry a couple in the British wedding comedy "Four Weddings and a Funeral"?
Hollywood has been making fun of weddings and marriage for decades.
Julia Roberts stars as a bride with commitment issues in the comedy "Runaway Bride" with Richard Gere.
Matthew McConaughey is a confirmed bachelor until he meets Jennifer Lopez in "The Wedding Planner."
In "Made of Honor," Patrick Dempsey stars as a man who is asked to be Michelle Monaghan's maid of honor during her wedding in Scotland.
Debra Messing hires a male escort (Dermot Mulroney) to be her companion in "The Wedding Date" and then falls for the guy with the usual hilarious results.
Blushing bride Kate Hudson runs off with Liv Tyler instead of the groom in "Dr. T and the Women."
Molly Ringwald's family forgets her 16th birthday because they are so fixated on her sister's wedding in "Sixteen Candles."
Here are six comedies available on video and DVD that make light of wedding plans.

"The Heartbreak Kid" (2007) -- Ben Stiller finally finds the woman (Malin Akerman) of his dreams, marries her and then discovers on their honeymoon she's more than he thought. Making matters worse, he then meets the real woman (Michelle Monaghan) of his dreams. Also stars Jerry Stiller.
"My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997) -- Julia Roberts sets out to sabotage the wedding plans of her best friend (Dermot Mulroney) after he asks her to be part of his bridal party. Other stars include Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett, Philip Bosco and Rachel Griffiths.
"Muriel's Wedding" (1994) -- Toni Collette loves Abba, hates her life in Porpoise Spit, Australia, and dreams of her wedding day. Then her day arrives and she only wants to share it with her new best friend (Rachel Griffiths).
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002) -- A Greek woman (Nia Vardalos) has to endure her family's constant meddling as she meets and prepares to marry a non-Greek (John Corbett) man in this outstanding comedy. Other stars include Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin and Ian Gomez (Vardalos' real-life husband).
"The Wedding Singer" (1998) -- Adam Sandler escapes from a bad engagement and then tries to help Drew Barrymore do the same in this comedy about a couple that never seems able to connect. Other stars include Christine Taylor, Angela Featherstone and Matthew Glave.
"Moonstruck" (1987) -- A widow (Cher) from Brooklyn is all set to get remarried to Danny Aiello until she meets her fiance's brother (Nicolas Cage) and falls for him in this romantic comedy. Other stars include Vincent Gardenia.

Hollywood has never met a movie it couldn't make again and again

Movie remakes in a perfect world would take a so-so film and make it better.
Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. As a result, Hollywood remakes rarely are better than the original film and often beg the question, Why?
"The Taking of Pelham 123" is the latest movie remake to come out of Hollywood. The Tony Scott film starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta (deliciously wicked) is about crooks holding a New York subway train for hostage. Robert Shaw led the bad guys in the original and Walter Matthau was the transit cop pitted against him.
Coming in September is a remake of "Fame," a film about New York's high school for performing artists. Plans have been announced for a remake of Kevin Bacon's "Footloose."
They follow a host of recent movie remakes including "Halloween," "Friday the 13th," "The Last House on the Left," "3:10 to Yuma," "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth."
Some movies have been remade more than once.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" has been remade twice and loosely inspired a couple of other movies.
Other movies, such as "The Three Musketeers" and "Beau Geste," are seemingly remade by each new generation of actors.
Sometimes a director will take a second shot at his own work. George Romero has made "Night of the Living Dead" at least three times. Alfred Hitchcock made two versions of "The Man Who Knew Too Much."
Every now and then an actor will star in remakes by different directors. John Wayne starred in "Rio Bravo," "El Dorado" and "Rio Lobo," which are essentially the same movie about a family threatened by a bad guy and defended by a besotted sheriff and his gunslinger pal.
Many Hollywood remakes are of foreign films, such as "Three Men and a Baby," "Victor/Victoria," "The Ring," "The Departed" and "The Italian Job."
Here are six Hollywood movies that are as good or better than the originals.

"Father of the Bride" (1991) -- Steve Martin stars in this remade of the Spencer Tracy comedy about a father's attempt to arrange a wedding for his daughter (Kimberly Williams). Other stars include Diane Keaton, George Newbern and Martin Short. There has been one sequel based on Tracy's sequel to the original.
"Ocean's Eleven" (2001) -- George Clooney stars in this Steven Soderbergh remake of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack classic about a plan to knock over some Las Vegas casinos. Other stars include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Elliott Gould and Scott Caan. There have been two sequels to the Clooney version.
"King Kong" (2005) -- Peter Jackson does a great job remaking the original 1933 classic with Jack Black as a filmmaker who takes a crew to a secluded island and finds the big ape. Other stars include Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody and Colin Hanks. Great use of special effects in this remake.
"The Magnificent Seven" (1960) -- John Sturges transplants Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" into the American West and delivers a stunning remake about gunslingers hired to protect a Mexican village from a bandit's gang. Stars include Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughn.
"Little Shop of Horrors" (1986) -- Frank Oz does an incredible job turning Roger Corman's film about a man-eating plant into a musical starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Green as star crossed lovers. Other stars include Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin and Bill Murray.
"The Thing" (1982) -- John Carpenter makes full use of special effects in his version of the 1951 sci-fi classic "The Thing from Another World." Kurt Russell stars in this film about an alien running amok at an Antarctic research station. Other stars include Wilford Brimley, T.J. Carter, David Clennon and Keith David.