Andrew Chalmers Movies
A grieving mother who has lost her partner and the rebellious daughter who flouts authority both become locked on parallel paths of destruction in this look at contemporary family values, reproductive rights, and pre-teen angst from co-directors Laurie Colbert and Dominique Cardona. Dr. Finn Jefferies works at a Toronto abortion clinic, and shares her life with a longtime partner and an eleven year-old daughter. When her partner dies, Dr. Finn becomes lost. Despite the fact that she wants the best for her daughter Zelly, Dr. Finn finds the intensity of her job and her unbridled grief gradually impeding her from being a responsible parent. Now, as Dr. Finn falls into the arms of a new lover, Zelly and her friends prowl the streets smoking dope, stealing, and ditching school. But sometimes, in the darkest depths of grief, suffering has a way of challenging ones concept of who they truly are and what they really know. Through it all one thing remains certain: if their mutual grief doesn't bring Zelly and her mother closer together it will drive them further apart than they ever imagined. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brooke Johnson, Yanna McIntosh, (more)
- 2006
- Add Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front to QueueAdd Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front to top of Queue
You've met Samantha and Felicity, and in this, the third installment of the American Girl series, viewers are treated to an all-new family-friendly adventure that will warm your heart during the chilly holiday season. Molly Ringwald and Maya Ritter star as director Joyce Chopra brings the best-selling books about the lovable Molly McIntire to life on the big screen for the first time ever. The year is 1943 and war is raging across the globe. Molly's father is tending to wounded soldiers far from home, and all of the rubber rationing and turnips have gotten put the usually cheerful youngster into an uncharacteristically drab mood. To make matters worse, young Molly soon discovers that her father will not be able to return home for the holidays. But Molly isn't about to let her spirit be broken by the fact that her father is away performing his patriotic duties. Thanks to a little help from her family and friends, Molly is about to learn a lasting lesson about the importance of pulling together in times of need. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maya Ritter, David Aaron Baker, (more)
- 2004
- R
- Add A Home at the End of the World to QueueAdd A Home at the End of the World to top of Queue
Directed by Michael Mayer and based on The Hours author Michael Cunningham's novel of the same name, A Home at the End of the World chronicles the 1980s reunion of childhood best friends Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts). Where they were once best pals -- and teenage lovers -- in the suburbs of Cleveland, Bobby has become a charismatic but go-nowhere heterosexual slacker, and Jonathan is now living as an openly gay man in New York City, hoping to serve as father to his eccentric roommate Clare's (Robin Wright Penn) child. When Bobby impulsively moves to the city to be closer to his former friend, their bonds are tested sooner than anyone would have thought. Bobby falls for Clare, and in doing so, effectively eliminates what would have been Jonathan's position in the baby's life. Jonathan temporarily takes off; when his father dies, and he attends the Arizona funeral, Bobby and Clare unexpectedly turn up with the news that she's expecting. Despite the still-existent tensions, the trio becomes a family unit among themselves, ultimately buying a house in Woodstock, Upstate New York, where they all move together, challenging traditional notions of family, commitment, love, and devotion. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
- 2004
Having lived a respectable and rather dull existence for most of his time on earth, database designer Frank Griffin (Joe Mantegna) is rudely awakened from his ennui when his wife Ellen (Jean Smart) announces that she is having an affair and wants a divorce. Although the couple agrees to stay together for the present out of respect for their daughter Zoe (Jordy Benattar), it is clearly going to be an unhappy Christmas for Frank. In his efforts to get his mind off his problems, Frank signs up to be a volunteer Santa Claus, subjecting himself to a curious training regimen conducted by a relentlessly optimistic fellow named Ozzy (Charles Durning). Although his first Santa experiences are grueling, Frank finds a kindred spirit in photographer Donna (Kari Matchett), who has similarly split from her husband and is raising her son Gabe (Andrew Chalmers) by herself. In his efforts to help Donna and to patch up his own domestic troubles, Frank begins to wonder if he should consider a future not with Ellen but with Donna. . .and that's only the beginning of the story. A few mildly risqué scenes notwithstanding, A Very Married Christmas proved to be suitable family fare when it was first broadcast by CBS on December 5, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
