Jimmy B. & Andre on AllMovie

Detroit restauranteur Jimmy Butsicaris is probably best known to sports fans as the good buddy and severest critic of onetime Tigers manager Billy Martin. The made-for-TV Jimmy B. & Andre dramatizes an emotional chapter in the life and career of the big-hearted Butsicaris. Alex Karras plays Jimmy B., who tries to cut through State of Michigan red tape to adopt a streetwise African-American boy. Karras also coproduced this film with his wife Susan Clark, who shows up in a campy cameo as a hooker. Jimmy B. & Andre effectively captures the ethnic-mix ambiance of the Motor City; the sentiment weighs things down at times, but a story like this requires a few mushy moments.