David Shatraw Movies

Curtis Hanson's adaptation of Jennifer Weiner's novel In Her Shoes stars Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz as a pair of very close but very different sisters. Free-wheeling irresponsible Maggie Feller (Diaz) gets through her life thanks to her remarkable looks and her lack of scruples. She constantly goes to her straight-laced, plain-Jane successful lawyer sister Rose (Collette) for financial help. The two sisters have been very close to each other in part because their troubled mother died when they were girls. Right about the same time that Maggie discovers hidden letters that reveal she and Rose have a grandmother, Maggie does something to betray Rose's trust. Maggie sets off for Florida to find the grandmother. A failed workplace romance forces Rose to rethink her career, a career that has been the center of her life. As Rose tentatively begins a new relationship and Maggie gets to know her grandmother (played by Shirley MacLaine), the two learn a dark family secret that helps smooth the path toward reconciliation. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Having barely survived a devastating car crash, and still reeling from the breakup of his engagement to girlfriend Erin (Cynthia Watros), hapless auto mechanic Christopher Titus (played by comedian Christopher Titus) manages to summon up the energy and will to appear in the third season of the Fox sitcom bearing his name. The season opener finds Christopher anxious to return to his hobby of street racing, despite the fact that he has not regained full use of his injured left arm. In the next episode, Christopher's hopes of restoring tranquility to his relationship with Erin are dashed when her mixed-up niece Amy (Rachel Roth) moves in with the couple. And in subsequent installments, Christopher plays peacemaker when his pal Tommy (David Shatraw) discovers that his father is gay; Erin inadvertently hurts Christopher's feelings when she trains to become a social worker; and Elizabeth Berkeley guest stars as Christopher's much-talked-about "perfect" sister Shannon, who has always been held up as an example to our disgruntled hero by his own father, the boozing, foul-mouthed, evil-spirited Ken Titus (Stacy Keach). Speaking of Ken, he is anxiously looking forward to testifying against his ex-wife (and Titus' mother) Juanita, who at the end of the previous season had murdered her newest hubby at Christopher and Erin's disastrous wedding ceremony. Played in earlier episodes by Christine Estabrook and Frances Fisher, the role of Juanita Titus is this season essayed by Connie Stevens--but only long enough for the character to commit suicide! Although not technically the series finale, the two-part "Insanity Genetic" is a fitting end for the weekly exercise in daffy dysfunction known as Titus. Returning from Juanita's funeral, Christopher is obsessed with the notion that he has inherited her insanity--then proceeds to "prove" it by causing a disturbance which results in all of his friends and family members being arrested en masse! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Weighed down with the dysfunctional family to end all dysfunctional families, auto mechanic Christopher Titus (played by comedian Christopher Titus!) finds that simply surviving from sunup to sundown is a near-insurmountable task during Season One of the Fox network sitcom bearing his name. In the first of the season's eleven episodes, "Sex With Pudding", Christopher suspects that his girlfriend Erin (Cynthia Watros) is cheating on him, and never mind that Erin is virtually the only worthwhile person within the hero's orbit. It's likely that Christopher is merely reacting to past disillusionments, most of them doled out by his burned-out, boozed-up wreck of a father, Ken Titus (Stacy Keach). In recalling the life lessons learned during his miserable childhood while Ken wed one unfortune woman after another, Titus informs the audience "I swore I would never be like my dad. Or my mom. Or my mom. Or my mom. Or my mom. . ." Later in the season, Chris and his brainless brother Dave (Zack Ward fantasize about what life would be like should their dad suddenly vanish (this episode was actually the pilot, but was shown second); Ken frames Dave for a robbery when Dave threatens to move out of the house; Christopher learns to regret the simple question "Want some pie" when he betrays Titus in favor of a flashy waitress named Tiffany; Ownership of a customized hot rod may end up proving that Ken has finally lost what is left of his mind; a case of "road rage" reveals that, contrary to popular belief the Titus family is not the most worthless aggregation on earth; Christopher's manic-depressive mom Juanita (played this season by Christine Estabrook) escapes from a mental institution just long enough to pump drugs into all her loved ones; and Ken gives up drinking, and proves to be a crashing bore when sober. In the season finale, a phony heart attack saves Ken from losing his driver's license--but not from a real heart attack. This episode serves to introduce Mary Lou Rosato as Ken's latest "main squeeze", Nurse Kathy (Mary Lou Rosato). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide