Christine Lahti Movies

Rita Rudner was both co-writer and co-star of this multi-plotted romantic comedy, set in a bed and breakfast in the middle of Southern California's wine country. In the course of the film's 90 minutes, a number of curiously matched couples will find true romance -- and sometimes even true happiness. Standout performances amongst the star-studded cast include Rita Rudner's turn as a pregnant food critic, Jack Lemmon as a desperate concert promoter, and Dudley Moore as a lonely vintner. Made for cable television, A Weekend in the Country debuted June 12, 1996, on the USA network; a mildly R-rated version was later prepared for home video release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As the brainchild of writer-director-producer Donald Wrye, the 14 1/2 hour ABC movie event Amerika marked one of the most expensive and controversial miniseries in the history of prime time television when it bowed over the course of seven nights in February of 1987. Regarded as something of a conservative counterpoint to Nicholas Meyer's The Day After (which screened on ABC, four years prior and allegedly demonstrated leftwing bias - prompting very outspoken criticisms from Republican pundit Ben Stein), this $40 million production imagines a dystopian future set in the late 1990s. When the drama opens in May of 1997, the Russians have effectively won the Cold War by wresting control over the United States, with the backing of a U.N. Peacekeeping Force. Although the initial takeover was not annihilative or even apparently violent, the consequences are overwhelming; a puppet leader holds court in the Oval Office, the American economy has fallen to pieces with Midwesterners lining up for vegetables, and gulag prisons are scattered across the land; meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of refugees have hit the countryside and wander aimlessly. The majority of the action unfurls in a rural Nebraska community, where onetime antiwar protester and presidential candidate Devin Milford (Kris Kristofferson) has just been released from a gulag, and now discovers his family farm being whittled away by the Russians. Meanwhile, his childhood friend Peter Bradford has somehow landed a position in the government hierarchy and finds himself being drawn in more deeply. Across the land, Russian stormtroopers engage in acts of violent intimidation, such as burning farmhouses and brainwashing abductees, while the Russian occupiers systematically maneuver on the political front to bring the once-powerful republic tumbling down. The supporting cast includes Christine Lahti, Wendy Hughes, Sam Neill, Armin Mueller-Stahl and many others; the title, of course, was intended to reflect "America" as modified to a slightly more Russian spelling. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Dr. Scorpion (Roscoe Lee Browne) is a megalomaniac genius, who plans to rule the world with or without the world's cooperation. His chief nemesis is marine biologist Jonathan Shackleford (Nick Mancuso), an ex-spy better known as "Shack". Shack was also the title of the TV series for which the filmed-in-Hawaii Dr. Scorpion was the pilot. Producer Stephen Cannell lost interest in the project almost from the beginning, thanks to the network-imposed casting of the Nick Mancuso in the leading role (Mancuso agreed that he was wrong for the part, but a buck's a buck). Still, the notion of a Hawaii-based spy appealed to Cannell, so much so that he later revitalized the notion as the moderately successful TV series Stingray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Goldie Hawn garnered favorable reviews with her TV-movie directorial debut, a family drama set against the backdrop of racism in the American South of the early '60s. While in 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis generates fears among adults, 12-year-old Lilly Kate Burns (Jena Malone) dreams of a career as a dancer. The problem is how to escape her dreary small-town existence, where she's surrounded by her mother (Mary Ellen Trainor), a stroke victim; her bigoted Uncle Ray (J.T. Walsh), a theater owner; her dejected Aunt Emma (Christine Lahti); and her alcoholic dance teacher Muriel (Catherine O'Hara). In addition to young Billy (Lee Norris), Lilly is also friends with black minister Jediah Walker (Jeffrey D. Sams). Uncle Ray has provided only a single exit in his theater, and when a young black boy dies in a theater fire, the tragedy sparks and inflames local racial conflicts. Uncle Ray is charged with wrongful death, and Lilly contemplates the nature of truth and justice. Filmed on location in Anderson, Texas. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Based on a best-seller by Elizabeth Berg, this made-for-TV movie stars Christine Lahti as Samantha Morrow, a middle-class mom deserted by her shallow husband, David (Chris Potter). In order to keep a roof over her head -- not to mention the head of her son, Travis (Mark Rendall) -- Samantha decides to take in boarders. Among these is a runaway teenager named Lavender Blue (Grace Lynn Kung) and a chubby working stiff named King (Daniel Baldwin). Without giving the game away, it can be noted that one of these boarders will enable Samantha to realize her full value as a woman and human being by film's end. Also on hand are Samantha's down-to-earth mom (Eva Marie Saint) and cable-TV home-design expert Colin Cowie (as himself). Open House made its initial CBS appearance on February 16, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shy, self-effacing newlywed Ruth (Nicholle Tom) manages to coerce her husband Artie (Stephen E. Miller) to move into the home of Ruth's domineering mother Maylene (Christine Lahti). Throughout Ruth's life, the bitter, vindictive Maylene has fed into her daughter's insecurities, making the girl feel homely and worthless. Perverse though it may seem, this was the only way that Maylene was ever able to express her love -- and the only way that she has been able to bind her daughter to her so that she herself will never feel lonely and abandoned. As the story progresses, Ruth grows progressively stronger and self-assertive, not only able but willing to heal the wounds of her troubled childhood. Conversely, her supposedly stalwart husband exposes his own weaknesses and failings. Based on the Oprah Book Club selection by Jane Hamilton, the made-for-TV The Book of Ruth debuted May 2, 2004, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Children's book author Meredith Cole (Christine Lahti) works out of her home. In fact, she does everything out of her home: she suffers from acute and debilitating agoraphobia. Recently separated from her husband, Meredith advertises for a boarder; soon afterward, Jane Caswell (Jennifer Rubin) arrives at her doorstep. Later on, Pete (Dylan McDermott), claiming to be Jane's brother, joins the household. When it becomes painfully clear that Pete and Jane are psychotic murderers, Meredith is too terrified to make a bid for escape, or even attempt to summon help. She finally comes out of her shell when the demented couple threaten the life of her young son (Thomas Ian Nicholas). Made for cable, The Fear Inside first aired August 9, 1992 over the Showtime Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-television movie The Henderson Monster is about a genetic scientist who experiments with the creation of new life in a small university town. After he is discovered by the community, the town is gripped by an ethical debate. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the stage comedy by Wendy Wasserstein, the made-for-cable An American Daughter was clearly inspired by the "Nannygate" imbroglio surrounding President Bill Clinton's political appointees Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood. Christine Lahti stars as Lyssa Dent Hughes, the daughter of a prominent U.S. Senator and a descendent of no less than Ulysses S. Grant. Just when it seems as if Hughes' appointment to the office of U.S. Surgeon General is a done deal, her husband Walter (Tom Skerritt) accidentally reveals a skeleton in Lyssa's closet: It seems that, years earlier, she'd had the temerity to ignore a summons for jury duty. This, coupled with several newly exposed inconsistencies concerning Lyssa's "official" biography, seriously jeopardize her political future, leaving her at the mercy of the horrible juggernaut of peer persecution and public opinion. Highlights of this timely tome include a brief spoof of the daytime TV interview series The View. Produced just in time to cash in on the upcoming presidential elections (not to mention the myriad of scandals attending the Clinton administration), An American Daughter (aka Trial by Media) made its Lifetime Network bow on June 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Norman Jewison's blackly satirical look at the American justice system has gained in stature as one of the more incisive social commentaries of its time. Al Pacino plays Arthur Kirkland, an incorruptible attorney who attempts to initiate reforms in the Maryland justice system. Kirkland is haunted by the fates of two past clients, one of whom committed suicide in jail; the other is still alive but is locked up on a trumped-up traffic violation. The ability of power and money to distort the pursuit of justice becomes all too clear as Kirkland finds out how deeply the rot has spread. He finally retaliates by representing a repulsive judge (John Forsythe) accused of rape. Pacino's and Forsythe's performances are intense and powerful. Many critics found the film biting and almost painful in its razor-sharp indictment of the justice system, while others declared the script too outrageous. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide