Samantha Brown Movies

A thief plans one last heist -- though hardly for the typical reasons -- in this offbeat drama. Neicy (Kerry Washington) is a stylish, well-dressed young woman who maintains an air of intelligent arrogance in her part-time job as a window dresser at an upscale Boston department store. Neicy has a secret to looking good on a window dresser's salary -- she's an expert shoplifter, who has learned how to steal the best outfits for herself and her friends, and occasionally makes a few bucks lifting items she can sell to others (though she charges much less than the market will bear). Neicy's boyfriend Angelo (Eugene Byrd) thinks she ought to get out of shoplifting before she's arrested, but since he makes his living selling marijuana, Neicy doesn't have much respect for his opinions in this area. However, when Neicy discovers she's pregnant, she begins to think that a less risky occupation might be in order after all; her boss at the department store thinks enough of her work to suggest a career in design, and is even willing to give her a better paying job in New York. But Neicy has never gotten much affection from her mother (Lonette McKee) and wants to do something to prove her love; when she sees her mother admiring a beautiful and very expensive necklace, Niecy decides to steal it as a gift for her. However, the jewelry store in question has much better security than the shops Neicy is used to, and she's forced to bring an outside accomplice into the picture -- Christian (Todd Williams), a jewel thief whose demands involve more than just money. The second feature from the writing and directing team of DeMane Davis and Khari Streeter, Lift premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two generations of R&B superstars -- legendary Motown diva Diana Ross and teen hitmaker (and star of the TV series Moesha) Brandy -- share top billing in this made-for-TV drama about the troubled relationship between a mother and daughter. Olivia King (played by Diana Ross) is an aspiring vocalist who gives up her only child in the pursuit of her career. Years later, Olivia is a major star in pop music, and the daughter she left behind, Kayla (Brandy), is a gifted young singer on the rise. Can Olivia win back the daughter she left behind years ago, and can Kayla find it in her heart to forgive her mother? The supporting cast includes Allen Payne, Christine Ebersole and former Yo! MTV Raps host Ed Lover. Produced for ABC Television, Double Platinum was first aired in May of 1999, and was released on home video two months later. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

New Jersey Drive opens with Jason (Gabriel Casseus) heading off to juvenile detention then unfolds in flashback as, chronologically, the incidents leading to his arrest surface one by one. First the audience sees his violence and poverty-ridden project; next his go-nowhere delinquent friends are introduced, as is their hobby: joy riding. Soon some of the teens, including Jason, begin to convert their hobby into a part-time job as they steal cars and sell them to a sleazy chop-shop owner for pennies on the dollar. Eventually, luck runs out when they are caught in a police sting; one boy is shot to death by the crooked Officer Roscoe (Saul Stein), who then warns Jason not to tell a soul; however, they continue stealing cars. Meanwhile, Jason beats up a neighborhood acquaintance on the playground for a slight to his sister and finds himself the target of the boy's murder attempts. The action draws to a head as both Roscoe and the vengeful boy close in. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi