Austin Nichols Movies

A conservative Presbyterian mother reaches out to the gay community for support after driving her homosexual son to suicide in this made-for-television movie adapted from Leroy Aaron's 1995 novel. Bobby Griffith (Ryan Kelley) hails from a devoutly Christian family. Lately Bobby's been questioning his own sexuality, and upon confiding this information to his older brother, the news quickly circulates to their parents and other siblings. While Bobby's father and siblings resolve to stand by him despite their opposition to his startling revelation, his mother Mary (Sigourney Weaver) believes that her son is committing a sin, and encourages him to change his ways with the help of the church. Despondent over his experiences in the church, Bobby decides that his best option is to move out of the family home, all the while hoping that his mother will find a means of accepting him for who he is. But Mary is staunch in her position, and when Bobby realizes he'll never live up to his mother's expectations he takes his own life. Devastated, Mary seeks consolation from her pastor but fails to find the answers she's looking for. In time, Mary begins a dialogue with the gay community, and discovers that sometimes support can come from the places we least expect. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Created by the same team responsible for the quirky, iconoclastic HBO western series Deadwood, John from Cincinnati was a magical mystery tour of the California surfing scene. Set in the town of Imperial Beach, the story focused on the multigenerational Yost family, led by Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood), a onetime surfing legend who had been forcibly retired (except for a few early-morning forays into the waves) by a serious knee injury. The fall of the Yost fortunes had a deleterious effect upon Mitch's son Butchie (Brian Van Holt), who had become a seemingly hopeless druggie; conversely, Butchie's own son Shaun (Grayson Fletcher) was a surfing phenom who bade fare to surpass his grandfather's celebrity--if he ever got the chance. Holding the family together was Mitch's levelheaded wife Cissy (Rebecca De Mornay), owner of the surfing-goods store that provided their income. Into this dysfunctional family unit came a fabulously wealthy and truly bizarre dude known as John Monad (Austin Nichols), who when pressed for details identified himself as "John from Cincinnati." Outwardly a boorish dimwit with an annoying habit of repeating everyone else's conversations, John was clearly operating on some Higher Plane or other, implicitly possessing the ability to heal the sick and revive the dead, and holding out the hope of redemption for the fractured Yosts. With John in the vicinity, no one found it odd that, for example, Mitch suddenly developed the ability to float in the air; everyone seemed to accept the newcomer without question or prejudice. Only the Yosts' friend Bill Jacks (Ed O'Neill), a fancier of birds and pro wrestlers, distrusted John and his motives, suspecting that he was more Satan than Saint. The series' events--subtly but inextricably linking each character with the other--unfolded in a leisurely, day-by-day "need to know" basis, with small, tantalyzing clues as to the story's outcome (Rapture? Armageddon? The Perfect Wave?) buried within each episode. Cocreated by Deadwood's David Milch and "surf noir" novelist Kern Nunn, and featuring Luke Perry and Deadwood alumnus Jim Beaver in key supporting roles, John from Cincinnati began its HBO run on June 10, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A true-life story of a basketball team who broke down barriers while racking up victories is the basis for this sports drama. Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) was a high school and college basketball star who, after six years of working with high school teams, became the head coach at Texas Western University in 1962. At that time, Texas Western's basketball program was not well respected, but Haskins was determined to change that, and in 1966 Haskins assembled what he was certain was a winning team. However, Haskins' starting lineup was comprised entirely of African-American athletes at a time when racially integrated teams were still a novelty in the South and West. Despite generating a firestorm of controversy, Haskins and his players showed they could succeed where it counted -- on the court. In post-season play Haskins and the Texas Western team found themselves competing for the NCAA championship against the University of Kentucky's all-white team, lead by legendary coach Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight). Glory Road also stars Derek Luke, Alphonso McAuley, Mehcad Brooks, Al Shearer, Damaine Radcliff, Sam Jones III, and Schin S. Kerr as members of Haskins' winning team. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young woman struggles to reconcile her dreams, her ambitions and her family in this coming-of-age drama. Jordan (Gina Philips) is a teenager from Miami whose father is Hispanic and whose mother is Jewish; feeling the tug of both cultures, Jordan has rarely felt comfortable anywhere but at the podium during a debate. Jordan's skills as a high school debater are so strong that she's offered a scholarship to study at Harvard and debate on the team led by Coach Amal (Sean Astin). Jordan accepts, but after a heated competition, Jordan meets socially with a member of an opposing team and is assaulted. Disillusioned, Jordan quits debate and tries to put her life back in order. Over the next two years, she's torn between her feelings for two guys -- Chris (Brian Greenberg), who is sweet but insincere, and Elias (Adam Rodriguez), who spends too much time trying to be cool to allow her to realize how much he really cares for her. Eventually, Jordan comes to terms with ambitions and rejoins the debate team, but when she takes the podium for one of the most important contests of her life, she discovers the leader of the opposing team is the man who attacked her years before. Also starring Joaquim de Almeida, Shirley Knight, Azura Skye and Eve Gordon, Thanks To Gravity was the first feature film from writer and director Jessica Kavana. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Richard Loncraine, Wimbledon follows the plight of aspiring tennis-star Peter Colt (Paul Bettany), whose bad luck seems to manifest itself just about everywhere. Professionally, Peter is near the very bottom of the world tennis ranks, and personally, he can't find love despite his best efforts to do so. In a rare turn of events, however, Peter is chosen as a wildcard to play at Wimbledon, the tennis world's most prestigious competition. While there, he meets American tennis ingénue Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), and his confidence on the court and off improves tenfold as he falls further in love with her. Driven by his newfound luck, Peter climbs to the top of the tournament players at record speed, until he actually has a fighting chance of winning the men's singles title -- the question is whether or not his good fortune will hold out long enough for him to get the trophy. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

When a deaf man is run over by a car, the early evidence suggests that this is just another case of vehicular homicide. But the CSI unit quickly determines that the victim was actually dead before the accident occurred. Making things difficult is the obstructive attitude of the school in which the dead man was enrolled. And in another case, five customers of an upscale coffee shop are slain in an apparent mob hit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide