Toby Metcalf Movies
This independently produced drama from director Andrew P. Jones travels back to the Great Depression of the 1930s. It tells the sad saga of Homer Hobbs (Tyson Beckford), a young African-American man who wraps up a two-year jail sentence and returns home to his dead-end small town with a complete lack of prospects. Instinctively, Homer develops a rapport and begins to stick together with four other people roughly in the same boat as he is: Clarence (Glynn Turman), a zero who longs to be someone significant; Gracie (Lynn Whitfield), a down-and-out boarding-house owner who harbors a shocking secret; Benny (Reginald T. Dorsey), a street hustler who plans to relocate to sunny Florida and start afresh; and Lucy (Linara Washington), a woman whose scandalous past threatens to destroy the lives of those around her. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tyson Beckford, Linara Washington, (more)
- 1996
This fact-based TV movie takes place in Richmond, Virginia, the home of single mother Jody Shaffell (Valerie Bertinelli). Appalled by the fact that Jody has come out of the closet and is living in an openly gay relationship with her female lover, Jody's mother Nancy (Vanessa Redgrave) sues to gain custody of her grandson Zachary (Adam Rehman). A homophobic judge arranges for Zachary to be taken out of Jody's home, whereupon Nancy sets about to thoroughly wipe her grandson's memory clean of his previous "immoral" lifestyle--even unto demanding that the boy refer to her as Momma. The film's script is careful to weigh both sides of the argument equally, demonstrating that for most of her life, Jody was hardly a paragon of responsible motherhood, having supped full of booze and promiscuity before realizing she was gay and promptly cleaning herself up; nor is Nancy depicted as a cold-hearted villain, merely a concerned grandmother who wants what she thinks is best for Zachary. Indeed, if there are truly any "heavies" in the piece, they are the best friend and brother of the beleagured Jody, who callously testify against her in court. Originally seen over the ABC network, Two Mothers for Zachary debuted September 22, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The big-screen debut of country singer George Strait is a familiar tale of a star returning to his roots, a route traveled the same year by John Mellencamp in Falling From Grace (1992). Strait plays Dusty Chandler, one of the hottest performers in country music. Dusty feels that his elaborate stage show is overwhelming his music, a suspicion confirmed one night when he forgets several bars of a chart-topping hit and his fans don't even notice. Disillusioned, Dusty tells his manager Lula (Lesley Ann Warren) and best buddy Earl (John Doe) that he's taking a break. After shaving his beard and cutting off his ponytail, Dusty heads for the small farm town where he grew up, visiting his wise old grandmother (Molly McClure) and ending up at the ranch of the Tucker family, where nobody recognizes him. He becomes a hired hand, earning the respect of owner Ernest (Rory Calhoun) and falling in love with Ernest's daughter Harley (Isabel Glasser), a woman determined to save the struggling spread with victory in a Las Vegas rodeo. When Dusty learns that Lula has secretly replaced him onstage with her boyfriend (Kyle Chandler), he stages a showdown that wins Harley's affections. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Strait, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
