Joanna Kerns Movies
Though blonde actress Joanna Kerns may be best known for her breakthrough role as Maggie Seaver on the popular 1980s television sitcom Growing Pains, the seasoned actress-turned-director has subsequently made quite a name for herself behind the camera by taking the reigns of such popular small-screen series as Ally McBeal, Felicity, Judging Amy, and Boston Public. Born Joanna Cruisse de Varona in San Francisco in 1953, the talented teen pursued many avenues before eventually discovering her love of acting. Though she would compete unsuccessfully for a spot on the 1968 Olympics Gymnastics team (her sister Donna would later take home the gold medal for swimming), she remained steadfast in her athleticism and subsequently dropped out of high school to tour with the Gene Kelly stage musical Clown Around. It wasn't long before she gained affection for the spotlight, and following a move to New York, the aspiring young actress could be spotted in a Broadway production of Ulysses in Nighttown. A move back to the West Coast resulted in numerous film and television roles, and as her television career continued to take off, the up-and-coming actress married producer Richard Kerns. On the heels of minor roles in such films as Ape (1976) and Coma (1978), roles in Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, and Hill Street Blues made Kerns a familiar face to television viewers, and by the time she accepted the role of loving mother Maggie Seaver, Kerns had also turned heads in Hunter and V. Balancing out her seven-year run on Growing Pains with numerous made-for-television feature roles, Kerns ultimately realized that her small-screen fame would inevitably be short-lived, and that realization eventually led her to step behind the camera as a frequent director for the series. Of course, her prediction did come true, and after Growing Pains went off the air in 1992, Kerns juggled acting and directing in television throughout the 1990s in addition to remarrying Mark Appleton following the breakup of her previous marriage. After helming many of the decade's most popular shows, Kerns brought in the new millennium with a role as Winona Ryder's distant mother in Girl, Interrupted before experiencing something of a family reunion with 2000's The Growing Pains Movie. Kerns' frequent recognition of her Spanish roots has also made her something of a role model to Chicano and Latino youth. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 1985
A Bunny's Tale is a TV-movie adaptation of Gloria Steinem's experiences as a Playboy bunny. Engaged by a magazine to write an investigative article on publisher Hugh Hefner's nightclub chain, Ms. Steinem (Kirstie Alley) poses as a young girl named "Marie" and enters the Bunny training program at the New York Playboy club. Outfitted with phony ears, fuzzy tail and revealing costume, Gloria learns the proper method of serving drinks (the "bunny dip") and how to fend off customers who ignore Hefner's "look but don't touch" policy. She also concludes that being a sex object, even a chaste one, is depressingly demeaning -- an "awakening" which, according to this film, leads to Steinem's feminist activism of the 1960s and 1970s. By the time it made its February 25, 1985 debut, it was beating a dead rabbit: the glory days of the Playboy Philosophy had long passed, and most of the once-thriving "bunny clubs" had gone out of business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
A Wedding on Walton's Mountain has no John-Boy (Richard Thomas) or Olivia (Michael Learned),but does feature five regulars from the long-running TV series: Ralph Waite as John Walton, Ellen Corby as Grandma, Mary Elizabeth McDonough as Erin, Jon Walmsley as Jason and Judy Norton-Taylor as Mary Ellen. The year is 1947, and the wedding is Erin's, about to tie the knot with lumberman Paul Northridge (Morgan Stevens). Erin's ex-boyfriend (Louis Welch) threatens to gum up the works, but with the help and support of her family the girl is successfully wed. The first of several Waltons TV movies following the demise of the series in 1981, The Wedding on Walton's Mountain turned out to be an unexpected ratings magnet. It assured the Faithful that there would be many minings of the Waltons vaults for future made-for-TV specials--the most recent of these appearing in early 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this youthful drama, Tom, a 14- year-old who's parents have just divorced, is abruptly uprooted from his wealthy Chicago home and sent to the strange land of LA to live in the far-out beach bungalow of his aunt, an aging hippie still stuck in a by-gone era. He is unhappy with the new arrangement and finds his new bohemian lifestyle strange and the activities of his new peers, stupid. His life begins to change a bit when he befriends a young surfer named Fin. At first he thinks of the fun-loving Fin as a real dolt, but later he admits he was wrong. Like the Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn characters on which they are loosely based, the two new friends soon find themselves having a series of adventures, some of them dangerous; by the summer's end, Tom finds himself wiser, accustomed to California, and a lot more grown up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landes, Brian Austin Green, (more)
This laughable Korean rip-off of King Kong was released the same year as Dino De Laurentis's trumpeted remake to sponge up some free hype from that film's massive publicity machine (in some areas it was retitled The New King Kong). Despite the fact that the poorly-handled big-studio film was considered by many to be a pointless exercise, this movie makes De Laurentis' fiasco seem positively inspired by comparison (although the producers of this film might merit some slack -- they didn't have $20 million to blow). The vaguely familiar story involves a captured 36-foot ape who escapes his offshore prison to rampage through the streets of Seoul, where he falls in love with an American actress (Joanna Kerns) who is shooting a movie there. Jam-packed with laughs, both intentional (the big brute gives Korean defense forces the finger) and unintentional (look for the "Tonka" logo on the trucks he hurls through the air), this might have found a home among fans of truly awful cinema thanks to an effective use of 3-D, but TV and video versions are missing this clunker's sole bonus. Released under several alternate titles, the most appropriate being Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Arrants, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1999
Habitually abused by her arrogant surgeon husband Thomas (Stephen Lang), successful realtor Elizabeth Cooper (Joanna Kerns) has decided to get a divorce. Shortly after this decision, Elizabeth is in conference with a new client, John Davis (Tim Matheson)--who stops her short by announcing that he is a "hit man", hired by Thomas to murder Elizabeth. But after meeting his potential victim, John has had a change of heart, and is now determined to rescue her from her husband. Togther, John and Elizabeth formulate a plan: She will disappear, he will arrange the evidence to make it seem as if he's killed her, and then he'll trap Thomas into a confession. Although she hates the idea of being so long separated from her beloved children, Elizabeth agrees to the scheme. That things don't go off precisely as intended should at this point be a foregone conclusion. Made for television (and based on a true story to boot!), At the Mercy of a Stranger first aired November 3, 1999, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Originally telecast in two parts, Blind Faith was adapted from a fact-based book by investigative author Joe McGinniss. The scene is Toms River, New Jersey; the year is 1984. Insurance salesman Rob Marshall (Robert Urich) informs the authorities that his wife Maria (Joanna Kerns) has been murdered by a band of marauding thieves. Marshall claims that he and his wife were ambushed at a remote picnic area, and for a while everyone believes the man. But further investigation leads to the conclusion that Maria was the victim of a murder conspiracy, fomented by Marshall himself in order collect his wife's insurance. The climactic trial forces Marshall's three teenaged sons to bear witness against their own father. With grim irony, Blind Faith was first broadcast just before Valentine's Day, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The quiet family life of an Oregon couple and their infant is shattered when two criminals whacked-out on drugs burst into their home and hold them hostage. The film is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Bostwick, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1977
The Angels return to their police department roots in order to find out who has been tipping off prostitutes and pimps during a city-wide police crackdown. Sabrina (Kate Jackson) is assigned to the vice squad, Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) poses as a police-academy cadet, and Jill (Farrah Fawcett-Majors) goes undercover as the owner of the Paradise massage parlor, where two murders have recently occurred. Unfortunately, the crooked vice cop who is undermining the department gloms onto the Angels' true identities with the unwitting assistance of Sabrina's ex-husband, Bill (Michael Bell). This final episode of Charlie's Angels' first season also represented the last "regular" appearance of Farrah Fawcett-Majors, though the actress would return in future seasons as a guest star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1991
In this crime drama, a sequel to "Deadly Intentions," the protagonist, Dr. Charles Raynor, who was convicted of attempted murder, has been paroled. He goes home to his second wife. He is determined to get revenge upon those who had him convicted for trying to kill his first wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Made for television, Broken Badge originally aired as The Rape of Richard Beck. Richard Crenna plays Beck, a hard-bitten cop who has little patience for female rape victims. Then he himself is sexually assaulted by two assailants. Crenna's excellent performance notwithstanding, the teleplay by James G. Hirsch is a bit simplistic, drawn up along the lines of the old bromide "a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged" Meredith Baxter Birney is seen all too briefly as a rape counsellor. The Rape of Richard Beck premiered on May 27, 1985, as an "ABC Theatre" presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Annie Potts stars in the true story of Colorado housewife Julie Posey, whose sense of outrage goes into overdrive when her teenaged daughter is solicited online by a sexual predator. When her efforts to track down the pervert are thwarted, she briefly gives up -- only to be spurred forward with the encouragement of her husband when another little girl is killed by another Internet pedophile. Posing as a 14-year-old girl, Julie, working in concert with dedicated police detective Mike Harris (Michael O'Keefe), brings her daughter's would-be rapist out of the shadows, then embarks upon a worldwide crusade to stop other such pedophiles in their high-tech tracks. Directed by actress Joanna Kerns, the made-for-cable Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story made its Lifetime network debut on July 21, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Potts, Michael O'Keefe, (more)
- 1992
When his daughter Renee Witherspoon is stricken with leukemia, father Bruce Davison hopes to find a bone-marrow transplant within his own family. The most likely candidate is Renee's half-brother Joe Mazzello. But Joe's natural mother (and Renee's stepmother) Joanna Kerns, fearful that her son might endanger his own life, refuses permission for the operation. This being a TV movie rather than a weekly series, there are no easy answers to the dilemma, either morally or legally. Desperate Choices: To Save My Child was first telecast October 5, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Bruce Davison, (more)
- 1977
Not a sequel to the earlier episode "Firehouse Quartet" (which concerned a makeshift singing group), this episode finds the Squad 51 basketball team going all the way to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, a steady stream of emergency calls makes it difficult for the team members to prep for the big game. Futuring Growing Pains star Joanna Kerns, still billed under her original name Joanna Verona, appears as an injured gymnast. Also making guest appearances are Harold "Happy" Hairston of the LA Lakers, and the Starting Five of the real-life LA County Fire Department "Gold Medal Olympics" basketball team. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tired of the loneliness pervading her daily life, 75-year-old Emma blows out her birthday candles and makes a single wish: that she be allowed a month in which to care for and make peace with her estranged daughter. The next morning, she awakens 35 years younger but still wise. Masquerading as a nanny, she convinces her daughter, who does not know her, to hire her. Once in the household, Emma realizes that there is trouble afoot, and that her daughter's marriage is in trouble. As only a mother can do, Emma begins to quietly help her daughter reassemble her life. This made-for-television drama originally aired on the CBS network. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Della Reese, (more)
- 1993
Originally broadcast as a prime-time telemovie in 1993, Going Underground re-explores a thematic landscape charted on the big screen by Sleeping with the Enemy (1991). Joanna Kerns (Cross My Heart, Growing Pains) is Maryanne Walker-Tate, suburban housewife to Daniel (Tim Matheson) and mother of two, Josie and Jason. But all is not domestic bliss. In public, Daniel charms to the point of perfection; behind closed-doors, he's a psychotic brute and a sadist who enjoys turning his family's life into a waking death dream. Now, Daniel drums up phony allegations of abandonment that force the seemingly content Maryanne down a one-way path; she snatches the children up and they flee from Daniel, assuming new lives and new identities in another town. But soon, Daniel discovers his family's whereabouts, and heads straight for them, hell-bent on an ugly onslaught of retribution. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Jane Powell makes her first series appearance as Jason's lively widowed mom Irma. Returning from a vacation cruise, Irma surprises one and all by bringing along her new boyfriend Wally (Robert Rockwell), whom she plans to marry. Despite Irma's assurances that this situation is no different than the one encountered by "Ethel Merman and Gene Rayburn" on The Love Boat, Jason (Alan Thicke) is outraged that his mom would even think of remarrying only a year after his father's death. Meanwhile, Mike (Kirk Cameron) has a fascinating experience as a first-time tutor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
The second of two made-for-television "reunion" movies starring the cast of the popular TV series Growing Pains (1985-1992), this one begins as newly retired psychologist Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) and his wife Maggie (Joanne Kerns, who also directed the film) prepare to sell the family house and spend their declining years elsewhere. Jason wants to "hit the road" in an RV, but Maggie has her heart set on purchasing a villa in Tuscany. Meanwhile, the Seaver's children all react different to the news that their house is for sale. Wheeler-dealer Ben (Jeremy Seaver) is delighted, since he is the real estate agent who brokered the deal; older brother Michael (Kirk Cameron) and his wife Kate (Chelsea Noble) are less than delighted, since they'd hoped to leave their children with Jason and Maggie while Michael took on a new job in Japan; oldest sister Carol (Tracey Gold) is appalled, inasmuch as she needs to have her parents around to help her juggle motherhood and a career; and youngest sister Chrissy (Ashley Johnson), an aspiring rock singer, had intended to "crash" in her parents' home while looking for show-biz gigs. Thus is set up a situation straight out of the "original" Growing Pains, with Jason and Maggie each endeavoring to win the other over to their indivudal retirement plans, Mike and Carol going to extreme lengths to sabotage Ben's sale, and Chrissy setting herself up for another disillusionment. Also known as Growing Pains II: Home Equity, this film first aired October 16, 2004, on the ABC Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As season one of Growing Pains gets under way, Long Island housewife Maggie Seaver (Joanna Kerns) lands a job as a reporter for a local newspaper. Since it has always been the Seavers' philosophy that at least one parent should always be home to look after youngsters Mike (Kirk Cameron), Carol (Tracey Gold), and Ben (Jeremy Miller), Maggie's husband Dr. Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) obligingly moves his psychiatric practice out of his New York offices and into his own home. The family's first crisis takes place smack-dab in the middle of the opening episode, when Mike is arrested for underage driving. In later trials and tribulations, Jason exhibits jealousy when Maggie is required to work after hours with her male colleagues; Mike and Ben get in trouble for betting on horse races; and Carol despairs when her parents are deemed "unacceptable" to chaperone her school dance. Mike's buddy Boner (Andrew Koenig) makes his first appearance this season in the episode "Dirt Bike," while another best friend, Eddie, is introduced in "The Reputation." And in the later episode "Be a Man," Gordon Jump and Betty McGuire are seen for the first time in the roles of Maggie's parents Ed and Kate Malone. Among the well-known actors making season one guest appearances are Dana Plato as Mike's girlfriend Lisa in "Mike's Madonna Story"; Ami Dolenz as another of Mike's dates, this one named Linda, in "Slice of Life"; Dennis Haysbert, playing a cop in "Weekend Fantasy," Dan Lauria as the ruthless new coach of Ben's ice hockey team in "First Blood"; and the delightful Annette Funicello as a middle-aged suburban mom in "The Seavers vs. the Cleavers." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1986
Season two of Growing Pains serves up 22 new episodes featuring the Seaver clan of Long Island: stay-at-home psychiatrist Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke), suburban-newspaper reporter Maggie Seaver (Joanna Kerns), and their children Mike (Kirk Cameron), Carol (Tracey Gold), and Ben (Jeremy Miller). In the season opener "Jason and the Cruisers," Maggie reorganizes Jason's college rock band to help him get over his middle-age angst. The next episode, "Fast Times at Dewey High," introduces Bill Kirchenbauer as Coach Lubbock, a recurring character who would ultimately graduate to stardom in his own spin-off sitcom Just the Ten of Us. In the same episode, freshman Carol begins her on-and-off relationship with fellow student Bobby (Kevin Gerard Wixted). Not surprisingly, the season has its share of crises, some amusing, others less so. Sensitive Carol raises over two grand on her own so that she can have cosmetic surgery; Mike continues prowling around for eligible girls, with a success rate of about 50-50; and elementary schooler Ben must deal with such standard exigencies as tough teachers and brutish bullies. Arguably the biggest crisis to arise from the season occurs when a nonplussed Carol discovers that both of her parents had previously been married to other people. This year's guest-star roster includes Hallie Todd as a homeless girl befriended by Ben; Renée Estevez as an assistant teacher who expects certain -- er -- favors from Mike in exchange for giving him a passing grade; Kristy Swanson as one of the guests at a party attended by Mike, who learns to his chagrin that he is expected to snort cocaine to pass the "cool" test; former Gilligan's Island damsel Dawn Wells as a bidder in a carnival auction scene; and Candace Cameron, sister of series star Kirk Cameron, as a young student whose school video report yields surprising results. In the season finale, Maggie is offered a major job at a prestigious magazine by a man whom nervous Jason knows to be a flagrant womanizer -- but is unable to warn his wife because of doctor-patient confidentiality! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1987
Laid-back psychiatrist Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) is still conducting his business from his Long Island home as Growing Pains launches its second season, but Jason's wife Maggie undergoes a radical change of scenery when she leaves her job at the "Long Island Herald" behind to accept a post as TV reporter for local outlet Channel 19 -- appearing under her maiden name, Maggie Malone. The season opens with what must have once been a carved-in-stone requirement on TV sitcoms: a family vacation to Hawaii (taped on location on the island of Maui), which of course is plagued with all sorts of farcical misfortunes. In another standard-issue TV comedy device, the later two-part episode "The Obscure Objects of Our Desire" uses a spring-housecleaning session as an excuse for an economical "clip show," featuring highlights from seasons one and two. And still another two-parter "How the West Was Won," serves as a springboard for Growing Pains recurring character Coach Lubbock's (Bill Kirchenbauer) new spin-off sitcom Just the Ten of Us, introducing several of that series' future regulars. On the "Look who that is!" guest-star scene this season, Heather Graham shows up as Cindy, one of Mike Seaver's (Kirk Cameron) fellow students; Brad Pitt plays transfer student Jeffrey, for whom Mike's sister Carol (Tracey Gold) briefly ditches her erstwhile boyfriend Bobby (Kevin Gerard Wixted). And Gilligan's Island alumnus Alan Hale Jr. is seen as a mysterious cabdriver in a fantasy episode wherein youngest Seaver kid Ben (Jeremy Miller) imagines that he has been replaced in his own home by another Ben Seaver. Season three concludes with Mike graduating from high school -- and a disgruntled Carol losing a long-standing bet that he'd never make it! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1988
The number of children in the Seaver family increases from three to four in season four of Growing Pains, as mom Maggie (Joanna Kerns) takes a brief leave from her TV reporting job to deliver a baby daughter named Chrissy (played by twin infants Kirsten and Kelsey Dohring). While Maggie's hubby Jason (Alan Thicke) and older children Mike (Kirk Cameron) and Carol (Tracey Gold) are delighted with this new arrival, youngest son Ben (Jeremy Miller) is put out that Chrissy had the bad timing to arrive on his own birthday. Elsewhere this season, Mike begins attending junior college, in the process moving out of the Seaver house -- and into the apartment just above the family's garage. He has good reason to stick around -- his parents have hired pretty 19-year-old Julie Costello (Julie McCullough) as Chrissy's nanny. Another character introduced this season is Jason's widowed mother, Irma (Jane Powell), who has become engaged to a guy named Wally (Robert Rockwell) -- a fact that Jason takes some time getting used to, especially since his father has been dead for only a year. Later on, the vivacious Irma has a memorable run-in with Maggie's more conservative parents Ed (Gordon Jump) and Kate (Betty McGuire). Guest stars during season four include Kirk Cameron's real-life sister Candace Cameron, somewhat ironically cast as Ben's party date; Jenny Lewis, as another of Ben's female acquaintance; Matthew Perry as a good-looking high-schooler whom Carol briefly falls for -- and who is ultimately involved in a tragic drunk driving accident; and Brad Pitt, who'd guested as another student a few seasons earlier, this time playing Ben's rock star idol Jonathan Keith in the appropriately titled episode "Feet of Clay." Closing the season is the two-parter "The Looove Boat," wherein the family attends Irma and Wally's marriage on an ocean cruise, an event that ends with a considerable amount of chaos -- and on a more upbeat note, with Mike proposing to Julie Costello. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1989
As season five of Growing Pains gets under way, neither psychiatrist Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) nor his TV-journalist wife Maggie (Joanna Kerns) are pleased that their son Mike (Kirk Cameron) has become engaged to Julie (Julie McCullough), the young woman whom the Seavers had hired as nanny for their infant daughter, Chrissy. As it turns out, the elder Seavers had nothing to worry about -- after considerable rumination, Mike and Julie decide to break off the engagement. Later on, Mike will begin attending acting classes, where he will meet and fall for fellow student Kate Malone (Chelsea Noble). In other developments this season, a crisis developments when Maggie gets promoted to head of the Channel 19 news team, meaning that Jason won't be able to accept a job at a prestigious Manhattan clinic; Mike manages to land a small part on a popular TV show, but his euphoria is short-lived when his appearance is cut to virtually nothing; and after failing to qualify for a summer semester at Columbia University, Mike's sister Carol (Tracey Gold) takes a job with a publishing company -- which, ironically, may force her to bypass her second opportunity to attend Columbia. In the season finale, Jason seriously contemplates a radical change in his lifestyle when he inherits a mountain cabin in Colorado. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1990
Season six of Growing Pains begins with 21-year-old Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) moving to New York to pursue an acting career, an action staunchly opposed by his parents, psychiatrist Jason (Alan Thicke) and TV journalist Maggie (Joanna Kerns). More family fireworks ensue when Mike's sister Carol (Tracey Gold), upset that her parents' problems with her brother have caused them to neglect her needs, defiantly moves out of the house as well -- only to briefly end up sharing an apartment with Mike! In a later three-part episode, Mike takes a temp job at a travel agency, where he arranges for his parents to vacation in Paris, where Maggie comes down with appendicitis. Meanwhile, youngest Seaver son Ben (Jeremy Miller) shows every sign of emulating his older brother Mike in his pursuit of pretty girls. Ben will ultimately be center of attention in a fantasy episode in which he imagines that his family is starring in a "typical" sitcom, Meet the Seavers. And in a less lighthearted development, Maggie's father Ed (Gordon Jump) passes away. Through that peculiar brand of chronological magic that occurs only in TV sitcoms, the Seavers' baby daughter, Chrissy, born a scant two seasons earlier, is now six years old, with Ashley Johnson taking over the role from twin infants (Kirsten and Kelsey Dohring). The "new" Chrissy makes her mark in the episode wherein she creates an imaginary friend who most decidedly does not meet with her mom's approval. Guest stars appearing this season include Jamie Luner as a horror-story heroine in the episode "Happy Halloween," Heather Langenkamp as Mike's vacation sweetheart in "Let's Go Europe," and singer Jerry Vale as himself in "Divorce Story." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
