Kinder, Gentler Jeffrey

Has Jeffrey Lyons lived down his rep as a softie? Recall, last summer we pressed him about his alleged niceness to movies that others were panning. (Lyons insisted he was no pussycat. In fairness, we mentioned a study that showed the PBS “Sneak Previews” reviewer was “average in terms of leniency” among prominent critics.)

What with all the 1988 Top 10 and Bottom 10 lists, though, we thought we’d better check up on just how tough he was last year. “As far as I’m concerned, the issue is dead,” Lyons complained good-naturedly.

But when we asked about his year’s best and worst 10 lists, he gave us 11 favorites--and only eight he disliked!

His Top 11: “Mississippi Burning,” “Rain Man,” “Bat 21,” “Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown,” “8 Men Out,” “Bull Durham,” “Da,” “Stand and Deliver,” “Colors,” “Beaches” and “Pelle the Conqueror” (which he saw late and “just had to add” to the list).

His Bottom 8: “Tequila Sunrise,” “My Stepmother Is an Alien,” “Midnight Crossing,” “Iron Eagle II,” “Cocoon II,” “Arthur 2, On the Rocks,” “Rent-A-Cop” and “Dead Ringers.”

“I know there were more I didn’t like,” he explained. “But why be nasty?”