Loretta Devine Movies

The OR staff has its hands full with the victims of a spectacular car crash caused by flagrantly careless driver Bob Seibert. In the course of events, it is revealed that Seibert is a drug abuser, wife beater and all-around louse--and he is also in desperate need of a liver transplant. Ironically, the perfect donor turns out to be the very man whom Seibert killed on the road, placing the surgical interns smack in the middle of a major ethical dilemma. Elsewhere, George (T.R. Knight) is forced to work side by side with the same nurse who gave him syphillis; Webber (James Pickens Jr.) gets what-for from his wife (Loretta Devine) for having brain surgery without her knowledge; Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina (Sandra Oh) do their best to lose themselves in their work and forget their romantic travails; and we finally find out the reason for the rift between Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Addison (Kate Walsh). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the concluding half of Grey's Anatomy's Season Two finale, Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) appears to have survived his heart transplant, and in the ensuing euphoria he proposes to Izzie (Katherine Heigl)--but we're still some distance removed from a happy ending. Elsewhere, the relationship between Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is soured a bit by the presence of Finn (Chris O'Donnell), while Callie (Sara Ramirez) and George (T.R. Knight) wonder if they can be in lust rather than love; Cristina (Sandra Oh), placed in charge of the ER, nearly suffers a meltdown over the plight of the seriously wounded Burke (Isaiah Washington); and Webber (James Pickens Jr.) arranges a "prom night" for his terminally ill niece. To keep audience interest piqued until the opening episode of Season Three, two life-changing events take place just before fadeout time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As Season Three of Grey's Anatomy gets under way, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has only a few fleeting moments to ponder her romantic rendezvous with Derek (Patrick Dempsey) at the end of Season Two before Derek and George (T.R. Knight) are quarantined in the same room by a flu epidemic. In another unresolved issue from the previous season, Izzie (Katherine Heigl) is so devastated by the death of heart patient Denny Duquette that she decides to give up her medical career completely. Elsewhere, the wife (Loretta Devine) of surgery chief Webber (James Pickens Jr.) forces him to choose between the hospital and her; and two of the surgeons look after an infant found in a most unexpected place. This episode is highlighted by an extensive flashback to that wonderful night in 2005 just before the series' regulars began their "tour of duty" at Seattle Grace Hospital. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The white-run Mafia and the black-run numbers game meet head on with explosive impact in this period crime thriller. Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is an African-American ex-con who, after a stay in prison, returns to Harlem at the height of its renaissance before World War II. Looking for work, Bumpy becomes a lieutenant for Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson), the queen of Harlem's numbers racket. Bumpy's old friend Illinois Gordon (Chi McBride) gently expresses his concern about Bumpy's life of crime, and social worker Francine Hughes (Vanessa L. Williams), who is attracted to Bumpy (and vice versa), suggests he should be doing something more positive with his life. But Bumpy contends that the numbers game is the only business in the community that blacks are able to control themselves. The numbers game is very profitable -- enough so that mob boss "Lucky" Luciano (Andy Garcia) wants in on the action. He assigns one of his key men, "Dutch" Schultz (Tim Roth), to try to strike a deal with Stephanie, but negotiation isn't Dutch's strong suit -- he finds that murder is a far more effective tactic in taking control of a business, and Dutch is not the sort of person who's bothered by violence. Hoodlum was director Bill Duke's second film set in the milieu of the Gangster days of the 1920s and 1930s, after his breakthrough picture A Rage in Harlem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dorothy Dandridge was a singer, nightclub entertainer, and actress who became the first African-American woman to receive an Academy award nomination as Best Actress (for her standout performance in 1954's Carmen Jones; she lost to Grace Kelly). However, despite her striking beauty and obvious talent, Dandridge was a sexy, glamorous black femme fatale at a time when Hollywood pin-up queens were supposed to be giggly blondes. The film industry didn't know what to do with her, and while her nightclub act was a bit too smooth for the Southern roadhouse circuit, as a black performer she wasn't allowed to stay in many of the hotels and resorts where she performed. Dandridge also had a sad personal life, filled with tragedy and romantic disappointment, and she died of an overdose of pills in 1965, at the age of 41. This made-for-cable biographical drama stars Halle Berry as Dorothy Dandridge, supported by Brent Spiner, Obba Babatunde, and Klaus Maria Brandauer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on the play Dearly Departed by David Dean Bottrell and Jessie Jones (who also penned this screenplay), this new comedy from the director of Jason's Lyric looks at a family gathering after one of their clan dies of a stroke. In the midst of a sweltering summer, the Slocumb family convenes. They include Charisse (Jada Pinkett Smith), the long-suffering, frustrated wife of philandering Junior (Anthony Anderson); there's also the Bible-spouting Marguerite (Loretta Devine), who prays to save her hard-living son Royce (Darius McCrary) from a life on welfare. Lucille (Vivica A. Fox) is the devoted family peacekeeper who is struggling with a money-grubbing funeral director, and her husband Ray Bud (L.L. Cool J) has major contempt for his family and wishes he were burying them instead. Kingdom Come also features Cedric the Entertainer as an intestinally challenged reverend and Whoopi Goldberg as the family matriarch. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

After getting his big break, an aspiring TV reporter (Terrence 'T.C.' Carson) finds that showbiz ain't all it's cracked up to be. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This independent drama takes an unexpectedly light and emotionally sensitive approach to a potentially controversial subject -- a teenager taking up a career as a prostitute. Sixteen-year-old Jake (Tara Subkoff) is a pretty but troubled girl who has been abandoned by her mother. Needing a place to stay, she shows up on the doorstep of her sister Darlene (Kristy Swanson) and begs her to take her in. Darlene refuses, and Jake is left with nowhere to go. Marci (Sandra Bernhard), Darlene's next door neighbor, takes pity on Jake and gives her a meal and a place to stay for the night. The next morning, Marci heads off for work and Jake tags along to discover that Marci manages a massage parlor. Jake is a bit naive about what goes on at such places, but after meeting Marci's charges -- Bambi (Sahara Lotti), Coco (Loretta Devine), and Teddy (Renee Humphrey) -- she catches on that the women are offering their male clientele more than a simple rubdown. Needing money, Jake asks Marci for a job; Marci says no, since Jake is underage, but after much begging and pleading, Marci agrees under the condition that Jake make herself scarce when Jean (Susan Barnes), the owner, comes around. Jake becomes friendly with Bambi, Coco, and Teddy, who show her the ropes of her new "career" and let her stay at their communal apartment. Soon Jake is making a good living, and Darlene is impressed enough to get a job of her own at the parlor. However, Darlene doesn't get along with the other women any better than she does with Jake, and when Jake's friends get on Darlene's bad side, she turns Jake in for working underage, which leaves everyone out in the cold. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Patrik-Ian Polk directs this ensemble film about a quartet of gay African-American men looking for love in all the wrong places. The film opens with a quartet of friends hanging out by the pool with cocktails discussing who would be better in bed, Ricky Martin or Busta Rhymes. Outside of their overheated imaginations, though, the four are not seeing much action. During his 30th birthday party, Hill (Dwight Ewell) discovered his French beau getting a little fresh with a guest, causing their long term relationship to split. Marcus (Seth Gilliam), a closet romantic longing for Mr. Right, has a habit of scaring off one-night stands with his AIDS paranoia. Drag queen Chris (Jazzmun) talks constantly about a boyfriend no one has ever met, and rich Latino kid Dante (Renoly Santiago) is merrily promiscuous. As the film progresses, Hill, who moves in with Marcus, secretly revels in the prospect of single life. At the same time, Marcus lusts for hunky music producer Darby (Rockmond Dunbar) who moves in next door, though he has a live-in girlfriend (Vanessa Williams). The enormity of Chris' ego breaks up his lip-synched drag revue of Sister Sledge hits. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and features a soundtrack by Babyface and Janet Jackson. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This screwball urban comedy is about two dippy roommates, struggling musicians Lolly (Melanie Mayron) and Hattie (Helen Slater), who are asked by an equally spacey, drug-dealing friend-of-a-friend Diane (Loretta Devine) to baby-sit a bag containing nearly a million dollars while she scoots out of town in order to avoid trouble. Once the money is in their possession, however, temptation proves too much for Lolly and Hattie, who use the ill-gotten cash to pay the rent, buy new instruments, and embark on a shopping spree for earrings, clothes, and shoes. While the girls dig themselves deeper into trouble with every dollar spent, they also encounter a variety of eccentric characters, including a fellow musician (Danitra Vance), their ailing landlady (Eileen Brennan), Lolly's boyfriend (Christopher Guest), and a parking lot attendant (Stephen McHattie). The latter, however, is actually a cop who's keeping surveillance on them from across the street. Mayron co-wrote the script for Sticky Fingers (1988) with actress and first-time director Catlin Adams. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV The Murder of Mary Phagan is an account of the real-life events fictionalized in the 1937 theatrical feature They Won't Forget. In 1913, Atlanta-area teenager Mary Phagan (Wendy J. Cooke) is found murdered. Although the evidence points to another suspect (who years later confessed to the crime), the authorities choose to bring charges against Leo Frank (Peter Gallagher), a Jewish "outsider" who owns the pencil factory where Mary worked. Prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (Richard Jordan) capitalizes on the anti-Semitism rampant in the South, hoping to ride the Frank case into a higher political office. He is aided in his scheme by equally unprincipled journalist Wes Brent (Kevin Spacey). Only Georgia-governor John Slaton (Jack Lemmon) perceives the bigotry and opportunism at the base of Dorsey's case. Within the limits of his power, and at the risk of destroying his own political career, Slaton tries to see that justice is served. Alas, the decision has already been made to railroad Leo Frank to the electric chair -- or into the hands of a lynch mob. Originally presented in two parts, The Murder of Mary Phagan was first broadcast January 24 and 26, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An angel wonders if love can be Heaven on Earth in this family-themed romantic fantasy. Rev. Henry Biggs (Courtney B. Vance) is the pastor of a struggling Baptist church in a poor section of New York City. Biggs is devoted to serving his flock and his community, but things are not easy; membership is down, money is tight, the furnace is broken, and real estate mogul Joe Hamilton (Gregory Hines) wants to buy the property and put up condominiums. The strain is taking its toll on Biggs' marriage to his childhood sweetheart Julia (Whitney Houston), and in a moment of desperation, he prays to the Lord for help. The prayer is answered in the form of Dudley (Denzel Washington), an angel sent to earth to assist Biggs. The preacher doesn't believe that Dudley is a divine being, but he'll take any help he can get, while Julia, who thinks that Dudley is just another community volunteer, welcomes him into their home. However, Dudley is sidetracked in his earthly mission when he finds himself falling in love with Julia. Leading lady Whitney Houston takes the opportunity to sing several gospel numbers along the way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Upon gathering together under one roof for the first time in seven years, an estranged family celebrating Christmas rediscovers long-forgotten bonds in this holiday family reuniondrama starring Delroy Lindo, Regina King, and Mekhi Phifer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide