Brenda Vaccaro Movies

The Bronx bakery owned by the family of Marco Poloni (Costas Mandylor) is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Marco's Uncle Fab (David Proval) is poised to sell the place to a nationwide donut chain. To save the establishment and keep it in the family, Marco enters the "Golden Whisk Dessert Competition," hoping to win the 250,000-dollar grand prize. He further persuades the restaurant's brilliant pastry baker Grace Carpenter (Lauren Holly) to be his partner in the contest, to which she agrees, even though she's fed up to the gills with Marco's explosive temper. Grace isn't the only person who's annoyed at Marco; one of the competing contestants is his former food academy classmate (and now his bitterest enemy) Jacques du Jacques (Andrew Lauer), while among the judges is Marco's onetime teacher and mentor Emile Fragonard (Jean-Pierre Bergeron), who had washed his hands of his contentious student years earlier. And then there's the matter of Grace's jealous boyfriend. A joyous reunion for ex-Picket Fences co-stars Lauren Holly and Costas Mandylor, the made-for-cable Just Desserts premiered February 8, 2004, on the Hallmark Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Film superstar Nicolas Cage's directing debut, Sonny follows a very unconventional family as they struggle to overcome personal and financial adversity. Young Sonny (James Franco) returns home to New Orleans from Army service to find his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), a prostitute, in dire financial straits due to her marketability decreasing exponentially as her age increases. Jewel takes heart at her son's return, however, as she had raised him to be a male prostitute and his mid-'20s vitality should be able to provide a much-needed boost to her family's income -- which until now has primarily been based on Jewel's boyfriend Henry's (Harry Dean Stanton) small-time thievery, as well as the income generated by Jewel's new recruit, Carol (Mena Suvari). Sonny initially scoffs at the thought, having been offered a chance for a legitimate job from his Army buddy (Scott Caan), but when that possibility falls through, Sonny finds he has no choice but to work for his mother. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Yet another Saturday Night Live alumnus makes his bid for big-screen success as Rob Schneider, best remembered as the "Making copies!" guy, tackles his first leading role in this broad comedy. Deuce (Rob Schneider) earns a meager living as a professional fish tank cleaner until he's asked to housesit for a gigolo. Deuce mistakenly answers the gigolo's business phone and finds himself having sex with a woman he's never met and getting paid for it (not a bad deal, since women generally avoid Deuce like the Ebola virus). It's not long before Deuce learns that there's more to selling your body than one might expect: for example, being re-styled by your pimp or having to explain your new source of income when the owner of the house gets home. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo was the first feature film produced by Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison; Sandler himself makes a cameo appearance, while Oded Fehr, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Marlo Thomas highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Ally's efforts to help a divorce (Brenda Vaccaro) make her separation legal in Jewish law go awry when she offends the woman's rabbi (Jason Blicker). ~ TV Guide, Rovi

In this romantic comedy-drama, a couple learns that the relationship between the mind and the body can take many different forms. Rose Morgan (Barbra Streisand) is a plain and pudgy middle-aged college English professor who shares a house with her mother, Hannah (Lauren Bacall). Rose got the brains in her family, but her sister Claire (Mimi Rogers) got the good looks, and as Claire prepares for her wedding to Alex (Pierce Brosnon), Rose can't help but despair over the blank page that is her love life, especially since she's long had a crush on Alex. Gregory Larkin (Jeff Bridges) teaches mathematics at the same school as Rose, and he has come to the conclusion that sex serves no purpose but to complicate relationships between men and women; after a series of disastrous romantic affairs, Gregory is looking for an intellectual relationship with a woman -- and nothing more. One day, Gregory passes by Rose's lecture hall as she discusses the role of chaste love in literature, and he's intrigued; he takes her out on a date and is impressed by Rose's quick wit and broad range of knowledge. Gregory is so taken with Rose that he proposes marriage, but under the condition that theirs be strictly a meeting of the minds, without sexual relations. While Rose is very much attracted to the handsome mathematician, the prospect of spending the rest of her life either alone or with Hannah seems far worse than a marriage without passion, and she agrees to his proposal. However, Rose's affection for Gregory makes it difficult for her to stop with a handshake, and one night she puts on her best nightgown and attempts to seduce her husband, much to Gregory's annoyance and confusion. Gregory leaves on a lecture tour shortly afterward, and after Hannah reassures a heartbroken Rose that she was beautiful as a child, Rose goes on a crash course in self improvement. She goes on a diet, starts working out, changes her hairstyle, learns a few makeup tricks, and revamps her wardrobe, and by the time Gregory returns, he discovers that there's a very different woman in the twin bed next to his own. The Mirror Has Two Faces, based on the 1958 French comedy Le Miror a Deux Faces, was Barbra Streisand's third project as a director; she also served as co-producer and helped compose the film's theme song, "I Finally Found Someone." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The 1939 Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer romance Love Affair, remade with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in 1957 as An Affair to Remember, became a vehicle for real-life couple Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in this 1994 rendition. The well-worn story remains the same, as a man and a woman, both engaged to other people, fall madly in love while traveling, indulge in a brief but intense affair, then agree to part and sort out their feelings. They are to meet again at the top of the Empire State Building if their feelings persist, but a series of unfortunate circumstances threatens to keep the lovers apart. Despite polished visuals and a time-tested narrative, this variation suffers in comparison to its two predecessors, not to mention the previous year's Sleepless in Seattle, which had drawn on An Affair to Remember for several of its most memorable sequences. It does features Katherine Hepburn's first film appearance in 13 years. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Soft-core drama czar Zalman King, creator of such erotic fictions as 9 1/2 Weeks (1986), Two Moon Junction (1988), and Wild Orchid (1990), directed this tale of doomed romance that served as the feature-length pilot for a long-running cable television series. David Duchovny stars as Jake Winters, an architect and city planner preparing to wed his fiancee, successful interior designer Alex (Brigitte Bako). What Jake doesn't know, however, is that the guilt-stricken Alex is carrying on a torrid affair with a macho construction worker and part-time shoe salesman named Tom (Billy Wirth). Torn desperately between her two lovers, Alex chronicles the relationships in her diary. After she commits suicide, a despondent Jake discovers the eye-opening journal and has a violent confrontation with Tom that leaves neither man with much emotional resolution. In an effort to understand women and his own grief, Jake places an anonymous advertisement in newspapers, encouraging women to confess their erotic secrets to him through the mail, and setting the stage for Red Shoe Diaries, the series. Although he was soon famous as the male lead in The X-Files, Duchovny honored his agreement with King to star in the adult series, appearing in wrap-around segments at the beginning and end of each episode. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Regular citizens take on the mob when a gang of thugs is hired to subdue their community. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Brenda Vaccaro is featured as Sheila Kowalski Finley, a freewheeling society matron who has the cute habit of taking jewelry that doesn't belong to her. When her husband's chauffeur is murdered during a political fundraiser, Sheila is among the suspects, if for no other reason than she was carrying on an affair with the dead man. Inasmuch as she is an old friend of Sheila, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) sets herself to finding out who really "dun it"--and the suspects this time include the chaffeur's OTHER clandestine lover! (Be assured that Sheila's kleptomania will be deftly worked into the plotline). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The murder of a popular romance novelist sets America's favorite rumpled detective on the case. Columbo gets off on the wrong gumshoe when he forces an innocent gigolo to confess to the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Ten Little Indians, the classic mystery by Agatha Christie, is again adapted, with enjoyable results. The setting of the now familiar mystery is moved to Africa, where the ten guests of a mysterious host are killed one by one as they travel on safari. None of the guests, played with great fun by a cast including Donald Pleasence, Brenda Vaccaro, Frank Stallone and Herbert Lom, know why they have been invited, but as they begin to be murdered, one by one, they fear for their safety and begin to suspect each other. The ending of this wonderful mystery should never be divulged, and the story remains surprisingly fresh despite its many adaptations. This film, while only average, remains highly enjoyable because of the charm and surprise of Christie's wonderful plot and great surprise ending. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Young, ambitious high school students Darcy Elliot (Molly Ringwald) and Stan Bobrucz (Randal Batinkoff) have a hitch thrown into their plans to attend college and pursue professional careers when they discover that Darcy is pregnant. Deciding against abortion or adoption, the couple decides to carry the child to term and to try to raise it themselves; however they are unprepared for the myriad of decisions and responsibilities that they are forced to deal with. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi