Richard T. Jones Movies

Robin Wirkus (Debrah Farentino) is upset by the terms of her late husband's will, which will provide for Kelly (David Caruso) so long as he keeps an eye on Robin. Elsewhere, the discovery of the "wrong" corpse leads to a murder conspiracy involving a hotelier and a concierge. And Sipowicz's (Dennis Franz) teenaged son, Andy Jr. (Michael DeLuise), faces a drug charge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Penny Marshall's feel-good comedy, invoking parts of Dead Poet's Society, Sister Act, and Private Benjamin, features Danny DeVito as Bill Rago, a divorced advertising man who is fired from his job. During an appointment at the unemployment office, a counselor finds him a job as a civilian instructor at the local Army base. At the base, he is assigned a group of eight army hardcases. Rago is supposed to increase this group's "basic comprehension." Sweating it out and unable to interest his students in anything, he finally latches onto Shakespeare. He turns the lecture into a master class on Hamlet with the students converting the Shakespeare tragedy into a rap musical. Looking askance at all this is drill sergeant Cass (Gregory Hines), who feels that the whole class is a waste of time. Finally winning the respect of his students, Rago now has to win the hearts and minds of the contemptuous Cass and his staff. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The film's opening sequence takes the audience inside a mall, where a series of minor slights among strangers leads to an inexorable tension. Eventually, the focus settles on the main characters of The Trigger Effect, Matthew (Kyle MacLachlan) and his wife Annie (Elisabeth Shue). When a massive power failure hits their calm suburban California town, things begin to break down. Unable to fill a prescription for their sick baby because the phones and computers are out, Matthew tries to reason with the pharmacist, who responds testily. Desperation drives him to sneak behind the counter when the pharmacist isn't looking and steal the antibiotic the baby needs. Annie is strangely titillated when she hears about it. Later that day, their friend Joe (Dermot Mulroney) shows up at their house. Joe is a much more rugged individual than Matthew. While his presence during the crisis is welcome, Matthew resents Joe, while Annie feels drawn to him. Joe convinces Matthew to buy a gun, over Annie's objections. Joe's presence heightens the problems of their already struggling marriage. After a night of drinking and triangular tension, a burglar breaks into their home, leading to a fatal shooting. The next morning, the fearful couple, short on cash and gasoline, decide to travel to their in-laws until the power comes back on, and Joe agrees to go along. But the trip turns harrowing when they meet a desperate fellow traveler (Michael Rooker) on the road. Screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man) made his feature directorial debut with The Trigger Effect. The premise for the film was inspired by the BBC documentary series Connections. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Produced for cable's BET network, Incognito can be described as an African-American variation of the sort of TV-movie fare that had previously been the exclusive province of such Caucasian actresses as Victoria Principal and Cheryl Ladd. Wealthy, gorgeous female executive Erin Courtland (Allison Dean) is raped by a lowlife named Derek Scanlon (Phil Morris), who manages to elude arrest and begins stalking the harried heroine. When it becomes obvious that Erin's sniveling fiancé Quinn (Roger Guenveur Smith) will be of no help to her whatsoever, Erin's dad Marcus (Ron Glass) engages the services of bulked-up bodyguard Jake Hunter (Richard T. Jones). To be sure, a romance ensues, with all the attendant clichés of this sort of formula film fare, albeit with fascinating side glances at such Afrocentric topics as sickle-cell anemia and social unrest. Adapted from a novel by Francis Ray, Incognito made its TV debut on September 17, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man who's uncertain about the biggest step forward of his life steps back to take a look at his younger days in this comedy/drama. Roland (Taye Diggs) is a few hours away from getting married, and he is starting to have second thoughts; as much as he loves his fiancée, he can't stop thinking about Tanya (Tamala Jones), his first serious girlfriend in high school. Roland is hanging out with his two best friends, whom he also first met in school, Mike (Omar Epps), a solid regular guy, and Slim (Richard T. Jones), a flashy personality who plays pro basketball in Europe. They talk about the old days and flash back on growing up in Inglewood, California (nicknamed "The Wood") in the 1980's, when Run DMC and Eric B & Rakim were the happening sounds, and guys used to argue over who was hotter, Vanity or Apollonia. At the last minute, Roland takes off, wanting to pay Tanya a visit, and Mike and Slim are determined to track him down and make sure that he gets to the altar on time. The Wood was the debut feature film for writer/director Rick Famuyiwa, whose first short subject, Blacktop Lingo, won an enthusiastic response at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Christopher Scott Cherot (Hav Plenty) based his second feature, G, on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby. Tre (Andre Royo), a writer for a music magazine, goes out to the Hamptons to interview a wealthy and mysterious rap mogul, Summer G (Richard T. Jones), who's recently bought a home there. Tre first stops in on his cousin, Sky (Chenoa Maxwell, who also starred in Hav Plenty) and her control freak millionaire husband, Chip (Blair Underwood). Tre soon learns that Chip is brazenly cheating on Sky, and he even witnesses Chip smack his girlfriend around. Tre doesn't have much luck getting close to Summer G, until the music impresario finds out that Tre is related to Sky, whom he dated in college. Summer G asks Tre to arrange a meeting with Sky, and Tre, apparently upset with the way Chip has been treating Sky, helps Summer G connect with his old flame. Summer G tells Sky that he still loves her, and she begins an affair with him. The snobby old money Chip, already predisposed to dislike Summer G because of his hip-hop lifestyle, suspects that there's something going on, and plots to have Summer G chased from their exclusive Hamptons neighborhood. G was produced by Andrew Lauren, fashion designer Ralph Lauren's son, who also appears in the film as Adam Gordon, Summer G's manager. G was shown at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Frequent television director Brad Silberling directs the romantic drama Moonlight Mile. Set in a Massachusetts town in the early '70s, Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) is distraught after the death of his fiancée. He moves in with her parents, Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and JoJo (Susan Sarandon), while trying to sort out all of the legal troubles and painful details of the wedding cancellations. While trying to locate the wedding invitations in the mail, Joe meets Bertie (Ellen Pompeo), whose boyfriend has been MIA in Vietnam. Despite his growing relationship with his late fiancée's parents, Joe begins to foster a romance with Bertie. Also starring Dabney Coleman and Holly Hunter. Moonlight Mile is based on Brad Silberling's real-life situation following the murder of his TV-star girlfriend Rebecca Schaeffer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The made-for-cable biopic Full Court Miracle is the true story of Lamont Carr, here played by Richard T. Jones. A college basketball star, Lamont seems to be a shoo-in for the Philadelpha 76ers until he is permanently sidelined by a knee injury. Seeking out employment in his chosen profession, Lamont is invited to be head coach of the Philadelphia Hebrew Academy Lions, a Yeshiva team captained by Alex Schlotsky (Alex D. Linz). Despite the obvious cultural schism between the African-American Carr and his Jewish players, Jason is determined to pull the Lions out of the cellar and lead them to victory at the Liberty Basketball Tournament -- and as part of his strategy, he invokes the heroic example of Judah and the Maccabees. First telecast on the Disney Channel, Full Court Miracle was originally shown on November 21, 2003 -- coincidentally during Hanukkah week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide