Olympia Dukakis Movies
Olympia Dukakis is one of those character actresses who infallibly lends a touch of class to whatever picture she's in. Despite her extraordinary dignity and class, she is able to make even the most outrageous character believable. Though she is well regarded in film, Dukakis has spent the bulk of her distinguished career on-stage as an actress and a director. She is also a highly respected drama teacher.The daughter of Greek immigrants, Dukakis once worked as a physical therapist. Her interest in acting came after appearing in summer stock and then taking adult-ed classes in drama at Boston University, where she graduated with a master's in Fine Arts. After graduation, she began her theatrical career and then co-founded Boston's renowned Charles Playhouse. Dukakis made her film debut in director Robert Rossen's last film Lillith (1964). She continued to make sporadic and undistinguished appearances in movies though much of the '80s, but did not gain notice until 1987 when she won an Academy Award for playing Cher's Italian mother in Moonstruck. Since then, Dukakis has specialized in playing older women from different ethnic backgrounds or mothers. Subsequent film appearances include Steel Magnolias (1989), where she played the elegant widow Clairee Belcher, Mighty Aphrodite (1995), and Picture Perfect (1997).
In addition to her film and stage work -- she has appeared in over 100 plays -- Dukakis has also occasionally appeared on television in movies and mini-series. One of her most famous roles was that of the mysterious and kooky Annie Madrigal in the PBS adaptation of Armistad Maupin's Tales of the City (1993). Though the miniseries' gay themes led to considerable controversy, a sequel starring Dukakis was released in 1998. In addition to her Oscar win, she has earned Obie Awards, a New York and Los Angeles Critics Award, and a Golden Globe. As a drama teacher, Dukakis has worked at New York University and Yale. Her cousin, Michael Dukakis, was a presidential candidate for the Democratic party in 1988. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1998
In this dark comedy, three sisters try to make the most of their lives in a supremely dysfunctional family. Maryann (Catherine Corpeny), Elizabeth (Deborah Hedwall), and Gail (Wendy Hoopes) were raised by their eccentric mother Nora (Olympia Dukakis), mostly without the help of their father Tom (Roy Scheider), a policeman who left the house 15 years earlier and never came back. Now Maryann is a nervous wreck who cries most of the time, Elizabeth is a lawyer who works as a public defender and doesn't enjoy it very much, and Gail prefers to stay home with her dumb lug of a boyfriend, Junior (James Villemarie). However, they're all busy dealing with Nora, who has decided to build a cavern in the basement (with the help of a jackhammer that threatens to destroy the house), and Tom, who has made an unexpected return after developing a survivalist bent. The sisters eventually have to enlist the help of their Uncle Jack (Edward Herrmann), a priest with rather lax moral fiber, to get things back to "normal." This was the debut feature for writer/director Max Mayer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, Roy Scheider, (more)
Satirist Jim Arahams returned with this comedy spoofing the Godfather trilogy, and other films and TV, including Jurassic Park, Lord of the Dance, and Barney. The opening emulates a Saul Bass sequence with Anthony Cortino (Jay Mohr) in a flight amid flames much like Robert De Niro in the Casino credits. After flashbacks go back in time to Sicily, Coppola/Scorsese references abound. Young Vincenzo (Jason Fuchs) travels to America to later become the clumsy chief of organized crime (with the late Lloyd Bridges as the aging Vincenzo) with his sons -- short-fused Joey (Billy Burke) and educated Anthony. Tony's WASP fiancee is Diane (Christina Applegate), recalling Diane Keaton in the Coppola films. During the wedding, assassins try to do away with Don Vincenzo, who's hospitalized, so Tony sets out to gain revenge for the murder attempt. In Vegas, Tony gets involved with showgirl Pepper (Pamela Gidley). When betrayals begin, can violence be far behind? This was Lloyd Bridges' final movie, and the film is dedicated to him. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Mohr, Billy Burke, (more)
- 1998
Armistead Maupin calls the three-story wooden house at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco "my homestead, my Tara." He began his portrait of Barbary Lane life during the '70s in a daily newspaper serial, expanding the material into a series of six novels. PBS aired the original TV miniseries in 1994, but threats and pressures prompted PBS to drop their plans for a follow-up, leaving an unresolved cliffhanger for four years. Several members of the original PBS cast were reunited for this six-part Showtime sequel (adapted from Maupin's second novel in the series), set in San Francisco of 1977. It picks up the threads of the story six weeks after the point where the PBS miniseries ended. When Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), hoping for romance, and her cynical gay friend Michael (Paul Hopkins) take a Mexican cruise, Mary Ann meets amnesia victim Burke Andrew (Colin Ferguson) and Michael runs into his former lover, Dr. Jon Fielding (William Campbell). Michael's roommate Mona Ramsey (Nina Siemaszko), in a purple haze of pot and angel dust, answers phones at a Reno brothel owned by Mother Mucca (Jackie Burroughs). Mona learns about her lineage and also about Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), the former Mr. Madrigal. Rich widow Frannie (Diana LeBlanc) finds a cure for her depression at the rural resort Pinus, where society ladies celebrate their 60th birthdays with youthful houseboys. Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson) is married to Frannie's pregnant daughter DeDe (Barbara Garrick), but Beauchamp isn't the father. Locations include San Francisco, Montreal (substituting for some areas of San Francisco), and Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Premiered June 7, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
- 1998
In this bittersweet comedy-drama, Olympia Dukakis plays Dotty, a woman with extreme agoraphobia. Dotty's condition has prevented her from leaving her house for the past 20 years, but just before her husband Hiram (Andy Griffith) died, he made Dotty promise that she would scatter his ashes near Cathedral Rocks, a mountain range in New Mexico where Dotty and Hiram used to vacation before her agoraphobia set in. One night, Hiram appears to Dotty in a vision and reminds her that she hasn't made good on her deathbed promise to him, telling her that he won't know true peace until his ashes have been scattered according to his wishes. Realizing she has to make good on her promise, Dotty steels herself for a long voyage as she leaves her home for the first time in two decades. Produced for television, Scattering Dad was first aired on the CBS television network on May 27, 2001.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, Andy Griffith, (more)
- 1998
- Add A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio In America to QueueAdd A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio In America to top of Queue
This film goes beyond informing viewers about the physical consequences of polio. Noted actress Olympia Dukakis narrates in between interviews with polio survivors, their relatives, and physicians all across America. There's also a segment showing a massive inoculation of children in India. Much of the featured footage comes from the March of Dimes' archives. This film makes it clear that by refusing to review what happened with polio in the past, the chances increase that we may be unprepared for any future problems. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
Excessive military spending provides the impetus behind this sharp, satirical account of an honest Air Force colonel who is so shocked at government spending in its development of a troop transport vehicle that he decides to launch a personal investigation as to why it has taken the military 17 years and $14 billion to create it. When a certain Pentagon General finds out about the Colonel's inquiry, he does everything he can to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelsey Grammer, Cary Elwes, (more)
- 1997
Helen (Olympia Dukakis) is an elderly widow who lives a quiet but happy life with her friends and her housekeeper Katie (Della Reese). A dark cloud appears when Helen discovers she has cancer. While receiving treatment, Helen meets Jane (Kelly Rowan), an attractive nurse who happens to be single. Before long, Helen is convinced that Jane is the perfect girl for her son Tom (John Stamos), a lawyer who handles a number of divorce cases and as a result is wary of marriage. Neither Jane nor Tom are entirely convinced they'd be an ideal couple, but Helen will not be denied. After a few dates, it looks like Tom and Jane might end up together after all, until Helen's declining health sends Tom on a mild bender that finds him in bed with another woman when Jane stops by to visit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, John Stamos, (more)
Friends star Jennifer Aniston made her debut as the leading lady of a feature film in this romantic comedy. Kate (Aniston) is an art director with an advertising agency whose personal and professional life is stuck in neutral; while her work is good, her boss Mr. Mercer (Kevin Dunn) won't give her a promotion, and while Kate is attracted to co-worker Sam (Kevin Bacon), he's not interested in her. Kate learns that Mercer is loath to promote single people, because without permanent attachments they're free to leave whenever they wish. Kate's friend Darcy (Illeana Douglas) comes up with a possible solution: use a photo of Kate with handsome stranger Nick (Jay Mohr) to convince Mercer that she's engaged to be married. The ruse works -- Kate gets her promotion, and Sam, who's attracted to women who are already spoken for, starts showing her some attention. But soon Mercer wants to meet Kate's husband-to-be; Kate tracks down Nick and persuades him to pose as her intended for an evening, but Nick decides at the end of the night that he's in love with her. Picture Perfect was written and directed by Glenn Gordon Caron, who created the TV series Moonlighting. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, (more)
- 1996
- PG
Residents in a retirement home band together to thwart the thievery of the home's crooked director. Woody, Joseph, Olive (Cloris Leachman) and Peter were a bridge foursome. The film opens at Peter's funeral where Joseph (Jan Rubes) is attempting to recruit Rose (Olympia Dukakis) to fill Peter's spot at the bridge table. Acting on a prior understanding with Peter, Woody (Jean Lapointe) goes to the home's director, Carl (Matt Craven), and tries to get the money Peter allocated to cover the costs of his funeral. Carl claims Peter left the money to the home, and nothing is available for the funeral. Woody knows perfectly well that Peter would do no such thing, and his suspicions are aroused. The four bridge players begin to notice other, equally shady, things going on, and so put together a sting operation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, Cloris Leachman, (more)
- 1996
A group of messianic pilgrims abandon their native Sweden and emigrate to Palestine. This fact-based episodic Swedish drama looks at the events leading up to the trek and the immigrants' experiences after they arrive in the holy land. The story begins in Sweden and is introduced by the death of Big Ingmar, the leader of a small farming community. Shortly thereafter, his eldest daughter Karin sends Ingmar's namesake son to be raised by another family so she can control the family farm. Years pass and Ingmar grows up to fall in love with his beauteous "step-sister" Gertrud. But the romance never fully blooms, for Ingmar must leave to earn the money he needs to buy his father's farm back from Karin. About this time, the local village is plagued by a series of ominous disasters that begin with Karin's sudden paralysis. In the midst of the ensuing superstition and chaos, a charismatic, hellfire-and-brimstone preacher shows up, and some family members begin converting to his cause. Karin becomes a true follower when the preacher prays and she is "miraculously" healed. Ingmar eventually returns to find a very different village. With not enough money to buy the farm, he marries a wealthy young woman. Broken-hearted Gertrud immediately joins the preacher's cult and decides to follow him to Palestine to await Christ's Second Coming. Three months after she leaves, a recently divorced Ingmar arrives in Palestine to try to win her back. That is but one story line among many that transpire as the pilgrims struggle with survival in their strange new homeland. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Bonnevie, Ulf Friberg, (more)
- 1996
A romantic comedy with a few surreal/absurdist twists, the story centers on recent medical school drop-out David who is first seen aimlessly traipsing about Manhattan musing about the rest of his life when he runs into a strange woman who introduces herself as Nancy and asks if he would interested in spending the next couple of years helping her to produce and direct a small film. Another strange woman then appears and makes an equally odd request as does another and another. David chooses to work with Nancy and so goes to her place to begin writing the script. Suddenly, her strange Uncle Andre shows up in a panic. It seems he somehow acquired an enormous herd of cattle and must quickly get rid of them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In a appalling lapse of professionalism, child psychologist Adam Litowski (Dwight Schultz) allows a traumatic incident from his own past to influence his treatment of Melissa Houghton (Mike Boorem), a young girl who insists that she can hear angels singing. Adam has never been able to come to terms with the accidental death of his own daughter, and it is this that has soured his attitude on any expression of Faith. Though Monica (Roma Downey) is instrumental in helping Adam see the light, the real heroine of this episode is an enigmatic stranger named Clara, played by Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A teacher belatedly discovers just how important his job really is in this emotional drama. Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) is a man with a deep love of music and a desire to write at least one piece of lasting significance. However, playing piano in cocktail lounges while he works on his own compositions doesn't pay the bills, so in 1965 he reluctantly accepts a job as a high school music teacher. Over the next 30 years, Holland is able to teach a great deal about both music and life to thousands of kids who pass through the various classes he leads and school bands he directs; however, he finds it easier to reach his students than his son Cole (played, as he grows older, by Nicholas John Renner, Joseph Anderson, and Anthony Natale), who is deaf, which drives a wedge between Glenn and his wife Iris (Glenne Headly). Richard Dreyfuss earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor for Mr. Holland's Opus; the cast also includes Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, and Jay Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, (more)
Based on Paul Rudnick's hit Off-Broadway play, this romantic comedy centers on the chaotic love life of Jeffrey (Steven Weber), a gay man who swears off sex only to fall in love with his ideal man (Michael T. Weiss). Jeffrey's vow of chastity is inspired by a fear of AIDS, a prospect which has started to terrify him so much that he decides he'd be better off never making love again. He is happy and relieved for a time, until he meets Steve, a handsome, charming dreamboat who also happens to be HIV-positive. Jeffrey wants nothing more than to be with Steve, but his anxiety over the disease and fear of commitment stand in the way. Much of the humor falls to Jeffrey's friends, including the sharp-tongued Sterling (Patrick Stewart), an outwardly catty but surprisingly good-hearted interior decorator, and his young boyfriend Darius (Bryan Batt), a performer in the Broadway musical Cats. Nathan Lane also contributes a memorable cameo as a questionable priest. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Weber, Michael T. Weiss, (more)
A dissatisfied Manhattan sportswriter finds more than he expected when he searches for the biological mother of his adopted child in Woody Allen's comedy. Writer-director Allen also plays Lenny, a slightly more relaxed incarnation of his usual neurotic screen persona. Lenny is trapped in a bad marriage to high-strung art dealer Amanda (Helena Bonham Carter), but he finds solace in his relationship with his adopted young son. Indeed, he grows so fond of the boy that he decides to track down the boy's real mother, expecting to discover a brilliant professional. Instead, he finds Linda (Mira Sorvino), a ditzy prostitute and porno star who mingles casual vulgarity with disarming innocence. Despite his initial disillusionment, Lenny soon develops a fondness for Linda and decides to play matchmaker, setting her up with a handsome young boxer (Michael Rapaport) who is equally good-hearted and scatterbrained. While the contrast between the free-spirited Linda and the uptight Lenny provides the bulk of the laughs, hints of Allen's more literary humor are also present, particularly in the scenes involving a roaming Greek chorus commenting upon Lenny's fate. Sorvino received a supporting Oscar for her title role in a well-received movie that is nevertheless not at the level of Allen's best-known classics. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Helena Bonham Carter, (more)
- 1994
- R
In this police drama, a police detective must wear the badge previously owned by a deceased colleague. Following a terrifying shoot-out, the shaken gumshoe begins investigating the circumstances surrounding the slain officer's demise. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Wimmer, M. Emmet Walsh, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
- Add The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult to QueueAdd The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult to top of Queue
The further misadventures of bumbling Los Angeles police Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) are chronicled in this third installment in the popular Naked Gun comedy series. This by-the-numbers entry begins with Drebin as a happily retired house-husband called back into action when an evil terrorist organization threatens Los Angeles. As in the other Naked Gun films, this plot is merely an excuse for an unhinged, rapid-fire succession of gags, ranging from satirical lampoons of cop movies to broad slapstick, all played with a perfectly straight face. Nielsen provides his familiar combination of complete witlessness and oblivious dignity as Drebin, and the film attempts to match the earlier Naked Gun films -- and the Police Squad! television series that inspired them -- in the number of jokes. However, the film proved less successful than its predecessors, as some viewers found that the freewheeling comic style of the earlier films had solidified into its own formula, now mildly entertaining but disappointingly predictable. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, (more)
In the style of the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, I Love Trouble depicts the developing romance of two rival reporters who reluctantly fall for each other while competing for a major scoop. Old hand Peter Brackett (Nick Nolte) and aspiring newcomer Sabrina Peterson (Julia Roberts) first meet when they are both assigned to cover a mysterious train crash. The pair immediately develops a connection despite their professional rivalry, and they decide to work together. Sensing something fishy about the crash, they look deeper and are soon fighting to expose a wide-ranging conspiracy, while also struggling to outmaneuver and out-charm each other along the way. Co-creators Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers, who previously found success harking back to 1940s comedy in Father of the Bride, borrow heavily from His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby, and other screwball classics. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1994
Throughout the 20th century, women have met the challenges and struggles of balancing work and family. Narrated by Jane Fonda, A Century of Women: Work & Family weaves fictional and factual stories to illustrate the history of women in the workforce, as well as their roles as wives and mothers. Performances and testimonies from a stellar group of women including Meryl Streep, Gloria Steinem, Twyla Tharp, and Maya Angelou facilitate the film's innovative method of storytelling. Archival film, photographs, and interviews retrace historical events -- from the founding of the PTA to early unions -- that changed our social landscape. Diaries, letters, and personal memories honor women of the past and make it clear that the balancing of labor and family was a matter of life and death. ~ Brooke Hodess, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This documentary takes a look at the continuing work of feminists to establish reproductive rights for women. The issue of the right to control one's own body is presented as one that is crucial to the welfare of women. The fight for birth control began in America at the time of the great wave of immigration during the Industrial Revolution. Women and men were working in dangerous and substandard conditions to raise their children. Many wanted fewer, not more, children. Deaths of mothers during childbirth and infant mortality were shockingly high. The battle for women and children's health continues to the present. The film looks at the decision of Roe vs. Wade and the efforts to overturn it. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
This final installment in the Look Who's Talking trilogy is a combination of Make Room For Daddy and The Lady and the Tramp. In the six years since the original Look Who's Talking, Mikey and Julie are now old enough to speak for themselves, so the producers came up with a new gimmick -- talking dogs. The Ubriacco family adopts two surly dogs, Rocks (the voice of Danny DeVito), a street-smart mongrel, and Daphne (voice of Diane Keaton), a snobbish pure bred poodle. The story kicks in with Christmas rapidly approaching and Molly (Kirstie Alley) out of a job. Because of this, her husband James (John Travolta) must work doubly hard to impress his new boss, Samantha (Lysette Anthony). But Samantha, it seems, has hired James for more than what appears in his job description. Samantha contrives a plan to get James to her cabin in the North Woods on Christmas Eve, where she plans to seduce him. James' family races to rescue him from the snowbound cabin, but when their taxi skids off the snow-covered road, it is left to the primal instincts of Rocks and Daphne to save the day. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, (more)
Author Armistead Maupin's serialized tale of sexual infidelity and identity in 1970s San Francisco becomes a sprawling comic melodrama in this much-acclaimed miniseries. Produced by PBS and Britain's Channel 4, Tales of the City covers in its five hours the interlocking stories of more than a dozen main characters, many of whom reside at 28 Barbary Lane, a quaint multi-apartment house overseen by the open-minded but enigmatic Mrs. Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis). Among her stable of residents are the acerbic, unlucky-in-love Mona Ramsey (Chloe Webb) and her occasional roommate Michael Tolliver (Marcus D'Amico), who's her constant companion -- that is, when he's not shacked up with one of an endless series of short-term boyfriends. Mrs. Madrigal's newest charge is the apple-cheeked Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), a naïve young woman from the Midwest who's come to San Francisco to visit her friend Connie (Parker Posey), but ends up staying, in search of both a career and a husband. It isn't long before she finds the former; unfortunately, along with it comes the unwanted advances of her boss Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson), a philandering executive unhappily married to his boss Edgar's daughter, DeDe (Barbara Garrick). Meanwhile, the regal Edgar (Donald Moffat) happens to be conducting an affair of his own with none other than Mrs. Madrigal. Also starring Bill Campbell and Paul Gross, Tales of the City was first aired on Channel 4 in the spring of 1993 and made its PBS premiere in the winter of 1994, when it garnered some of the network's highest ratings ever, amidst vocal protest of the show's risqué content. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
Based on the play by Ivan Menchell, this drama concerns three friends, Doris (Olympia Dukakis), Lucille (Diane Ladd), and Esther (Ellen Burstyn). All three live in the same Jewish community in Pittsburgh, are in their mid-to-late 50s, and have become widows within the past few months. Once a week, they gather to visit their husbands' graves and meet at a deli afterward to talk about their lives. Doris remains fiercely devoted to her late husband and takes her responsibilities as a widow seriously. Lucille is eager to get her feet back in the waters of dating, partly as revenge against her late husband, who often cheated on her, and partly because she's very lonely by herself. Esther is also not used to being alone after 39 years of marriage, but she doesn't feel ready to start dating again, at least not until she meets Ben (Danny Aiello), a former cop turned cab driver who gradually but firmly eases his way into her life. Doris is appalled when she discovers that Esther is dating again and loudly protests that she's being disrespectful to her late husband, while Lucille is more than a bit jealous that Esther snagged a good man before she could. Jerry Orbach and Lee Richardson appear in a brief prologue sequence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
