Nancy Ellen Cassaro Movies

Screen newcomer Joseph Cross portrays Augusten Burroughs in director Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of author Burroughs' best-selling personal memoir of the same name. A child of the 1970s whose alcoholic father, Norman (Alec Baldwin), and delusional, unpublished poet mother, Deirdre (Annette Bening), serve as the dictionary definition of the word "dysfunctional," Augusten is sent by his mother to live with her eccentric psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox), when his disagreeable parents ultimately decide to terminate their turbulent marriage. Suddenly thrust into an environment that is as unfamiliar as it is unpredictable, young Augusten forms a curious relationship with the doctor's two whimsical daughters while learning to adapt and survive under even the most unusual of circumstances. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A couple from the less fashionable side of New York learns the hard way about the nuts and bolts of staging a wedding in this broad comedy based on the long-running off-Broadway play. Tony (Joey McIntyre) and Tina (Mila Kunis) are a couple from Queens who have decided to take the big step and get married. However, while they have no qualms about matrimony, they're not so sure about their wedding -- Tina's mother (Priscilla Lopez), a widow, and Tony's dad (John Fiore), who split up with Tony's mother some time ago, used to be an item, and they've never gotten over their bitter breakup. As the two families try to put together a social event worthy of their children, the parents are constantly at one another's throat, and as the bride and groom deal with a priest who prefers to do the wedding his own way, a wedding singer who feels requests are beneath his dignity, a wildly eccentric photographer, a pack of brutally hung-over groomsmen, and some unhappy bridesmaids, Tony and Tina begin to wonder if their relationship can survive the wedding -- or if the antagonism of their parents is a sign of things to come. Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This gang warfare drama is from director Scott Kalvert, whose previous film was the controversial and violent The Basketball Diaries (1995). In the sweltering summer of 1958, Leon (Stephen Dorff) and Bobby (Brad Renfro) are leaders of the Brooklyn street gang known as the Deuces. When their brother Alley Boy died from an overdose, the two toughs vowed to keep narcotics out of their turf, but now they're being muscled by a new and more powerful gang called the Vipers, fueled by drug money and led by mobster Fritzy Zennetti (Matt Dillon). As a vicious gang war heats up that will determine Brooklyn's future, a romance develops between Bobby and Annie (Fairuza Balk), the leader of a girl gang. Deuces Wild co-stars Frankie Muniz, Balthazar Getty, Max Perlich, Drea de Matteo, Deborah Harry, Vincent Pastore, Joshua Leonard, James Franco, and Johnny Knoxville. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Murphy's past comes back to bite her as the "FYI" crew prepares to cover the 1996 Presidential election. A support group consisting of all of Murphy's former secretaries--led by Secretary #2, aka Robert (Charley Lang, who was fired in the very first episode--breaks into the studio to hold their ex-boss hostage. Now Murphy must plead her case before 86 different people (some of them VERY different) who would just as soon see her sleeping with the fishes. (The official cast list for this episode identifies several of the former secretaries by their now-famous character flaws: the "mimicker", the "slow speaker", the "Hitler", the "wrestler," and on into the night!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Martin Scorsese explores the life of organized crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling Wiseguy, the true-life account of mobster and FBI informant Henry Hill. Set to a true-to-period rock soundtrack, the story details the rise and fall of Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian New York kid who grows up idolizing the "wise guys" in his impoverished Brooklyn neighborhood. He begins hanging around the mobsters, running errands and doing odd jobs until he gains the notice of local chieftain Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), who takes him in as a surrogate son. As he reaches his teens, Hill (Ray Liotta) is inducted into the world of petty crime, where he distinguishes himself as a "stand-up guy" by choosing jail time over ratting on his accomplices. From that moment on, he is a part of the family. Along with his psychotic partner Tommy (Joe Pesci), he rises through the ranks to become Paulie's lieutenant; however, he quickly learns that, like his mentor Jimmy (Robert DeNiro), his ethnicity prevents him from ever becoming a "made guy," an actual member of the crime family. Soon he finds himself the target of both the feds and the mobsters, who feel that he has become a threat to their security with his reckless dealings. Goodfellas was rewarded with six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture; Pesci would walk away with Best Supporting Actor for his work. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi