Matt Williams Movies
Writer/producer Matt Williams made a name for himself as the creator of hit TV sitcoms like Roseanne and Home Improvement. The Indiana native's skills would also be integral to other popular series like The Cosby Show, as well as films like What Women Want and Where the Heart Is. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- 2012
A broken man goes to unspeakable lengths to find his wife and daughter's killer after the case runs cold for police detectives in this thriller conceived as part of the 30 Day Feature Film Challenge. Upon discovering his loved ones brutally murdered, Robert Goodwin tries to seek justice through the familiar channels. When he begins to suspect that the police are withholding information, however, Robert enlists his step-brother Lawrence and his sister-in-law Natalie to help launch an unofficial investigation. Over the course of one harrowing, hair-raising night, this trio of amateur detectives discovers there's a very good reason the police refused to help them. Should they survive until morning, they stand a chance of seeing justice served; should they get in too far over their heads, they'll become just another statistic in a city where jungle law rules. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Director Richard Linklater teams with writer Skip Hollandsworth for this darkly comic docudrama detailing the unusual friendship between a likable Texas mortician and a wealthy but reviled widow, and the shocking crime that followed. Inspired by Hollandsworth's 1998 Texas Monthly article that first caught the attention of Linklater, Bernie takes place in Carthage, TX, where effeminate mortician Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) enjoys a reputation as a friendly and upstanding member of the community. Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), on the other hand, couldn't hold a lower position on the local social scale. Repressed and bitter, nasty Marjorie has isolated herself from her neighbors, and as a result has been essentially shunned in her small town. The moment Bernie shows Marjorie a shred of kindness, she clings to him tightly and refuses to let go. Meanwhile, as Marjorie becomes Bernie's sugar mama and the pair becomes inseparable, the local rumor mill begins to churn. Eventually, her intense jealousy becomes too much for Bernie to take. When the caustic widow's body is discovered stuffed in her own freezer, local District Attorney Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey) vows that justice will be served, but he finds it difficult to build a convincing case against Bernie as the locals rally to his defense. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
Desperate circumstances force a man to make a terrible choice in this period drama. It's 1957, and Walker Payne (Jason Patric) is a good but troubled man who struggles to keep his appetite for whiskey and women under control for the sake of his two daughters after breaking up with his wife (Drea de Matteo). Like most of the men in the small Illinois town he calls home, Payne provides for his daughters by working in a nearby coal mine, and when the mine suddenly closes, jobs become all but impossible to find. Payne's money problems come to a head when his ex-wife, who has decided to leave town and attend nursing school, demands 5,000 dollars or otherwise she will take custody of their children and he'll never see them again. Opportunity comes to Payne in the form of Syrus (Sam Shepard), a charming but unscrupulous man who offers Payne the chance to make some big money fast. Syrus runs an illegal dog-fighting circuit outside of town, and he's certain Payne's pooch Brute, a good-natured but massive animal, has the stuff to be a champion. Can Payne sacrifice his loyal canine friend to maintain the custody of his daughters? Walker Payne also stars Bruce Dern as Walker's friend Chester and KaDee Strickland as Audrey, a divorcée with an unpleasant past who falls for Payne. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jason Patric, Drea de Matteo, (more)
Pregnant 17-year-old Novalee Nation (Natalie Portman) runs away from her Tennessee home toward the bright lights of California, accompanied by her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno). But Willy gets cold feet and abandons her at a Walmart in Sequoyah, OK. Novalee's life savings amount to $5.55, so she moves into the Walmart, sleeping there at night and venturing out during the day. With the help of the eccentric Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), and Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd), a nurses' aide, Novalee tries to get her life in order for the sake of her expected child, Americus Nation. Based on a novel by Billie Letts, Where the Heart Is also features Keith David, Joan Cusack, Richard Nance, and Heather Kafka. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, (more)
A man finds himself getting an unexpected crash course in the psychology of contemporary women in this romantic comedy. Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) is a successful advertising executive living in Chicago who has long fancied himself a ladies' man, though he has precious little understanding of women beyond figuring out how to seduce them. One day, Nick receives a substantial electric shock in an accident in his bathroom; while he's not seriously injured, when he comes to, he discovers something remarkable has happened -- he can suddenly hear what women are thinking. At first, Nick finds himself learning all sorts of things he didn't want to know, but he also realizes how this can be used to his advantage -- especially after his old boss, Dan Wanamaker (Alan Alda) is replaced by a woman, Darcy Maguire (Helen Hunt). But Nick begins to feel differently about his unusual gift when he discovers Darcy is infatuated with him, and he finds himself falling for her. What Women Want also features Bette Midler as Nick's analyst, Delta Burke and Valerie Perrine as two of his co-workers, and Marisa Tomei as one of Nick's significant others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, (more)
Former Woody Allen collaborator Douglas McGrath co-wrote, co-directed, and stars in this historical screwball comedy that offers up its own creative suggestion as to what might have spurned 1961's Bay of Pigs invasion. McGrath plays Allen Quimp, a nebbish schoolteacher who -- in an attempt to appease his browbeating wife Daisy (Sigourney Weaver) -- boasts that he leads a double life as a CIA operative. Daisy immediately sets to work writing a tell-all biography, and as his rumor spreads, Quimp bumbles his way into working at an actual CIA post in Cuba. There, he's confronted by a Cold War vigilante (John Turturro) who enlists his help in taking down the country's communist strongman, Fidel Castro (Anthony LaPaglia). Company Man was co-written and co-directed by New York stage director Peter Askin; both Askin and McGrath sued the film's production company in 1999 when, they claimed, the privilege of editing the final cut was denied to them. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Douglas McGrath, Sigourney Weaver, (more)
- 1998
This TV sitcom, set in a bar in the blue-collar Irish-Catholic neighborhood of South Boston, is "inspired by the real life" of comic Sue Costello who hails from South Boston. It also stars Costello in the lead role of a loud-mouthed female barmaid, but just to make sure you're paying attention, this character is named Sue Murphy, not Sue Costello. Go figure. In the opening episode, Sue ends her relationship with her boyfriend P.J. (Matthew Michael Mahaney), and this decision draws a negative reaction from her family -- her carpenter father (Dan Lauria), her waitress mother (Jenny O'Hara), her younger brother Jimmy (Chuck Walczak), and her best friend Trish (Kerry O'Malley). In subsequent episodes, Sue makes moves to establish her independence but finds it's not that easy. As the show's ad phrased it, "Nothing stands between Sue and making her dreams come true...Except reality." Filmed in Burbank, this series premiered September 8, 1998 on Fox. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sue Costello, Dan Lauria, (more)
- 1997
- R
A woman is torn by both romantic and maternal love in this period romantic drama set in the 1830s. Elisabeth (Sophie Marceau), a Swiss governess, is the beautiful daughter of a once-prosperous landowner who has fallen deeply into debt. Charles Godwin (Stephen Dillane) is a prominent British aristocrat whose wife has suffered a crippling accident; doomed to spend the rest of her life in a semi-comatose state, she cannot bear Charles the child he so desperately needs. So Charles strikes an agreement with Elisabeth; she will conceive a child with him and hand it over after it is born in exchange for him paying off her father's debts. Elisabeth and Charles set aside three nights to make a baby, and while the matter is supposed to be purely functional and not romantic, Elisabeth finds it difficult to feel that way at the end of the third evening. She is heartbroken when she has to give up the child, and her obsession with the daughter she gave away is reflected in her journals and sketchbooks. Seven years later, Elisabeth discovers the whereabouts of Charles and their daughter, Louisa (Dominique Belcourt); when she learns they need a governess, she is hired for the position by Charles's sister-in-law Constance (Lia Williams), who is unaware that Elisabeth is Louisa's birth mother. When Charles discovers that Elisabeth is the new governess, he is furious, but he eventually takes pity on her and allows her to stay with the child for one month. However, before long, Elisabeth's attraction to Charles resurfaces, and their clandestine romance forces a number difficult questions. Firelight marked the directorial debut of noted screenwriter William Nicholson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sophie Marceau, Stephen Dillane, (more)
Inasmuch as Home Improvement had closed out its first season as the nation's fifth highest-rated TV program, neither its producers nor the ABC network saw the need to make anything but superficial changes for the series' second season on the air. ABC moved the program from its Tuesday night slot to an even better Wednesday-night berth, while one of the recurring characters, long-suffering "Tool Time" assistant Al Borland (Richard Karn), was promoted to "series regular" status. Otherwise, things remained pretty much the same as they'd been during season one. Protagonist Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) was still a fount of wisdom and expertise on his Detroit-based "do it yourself" cable TV series, "Tool Time" but a momument to ineptitude and insensitivity in his own home. Tim's wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson), now employed at a Detroit magazine, continued in her efforts to force culture and class upon her husband, all the while struggling to prevent him from "repairing" the household appliances. The Taylors' three sons -- eleven-year-old Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), ten-year-old Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and seven-year-old Mark (Taran Noah Smith) -- persisted in causing trouble for themselves and their parents, though it was clear that there was a lot of love and mutual respect in the family's household. Of the remaining characters, ubiquitous neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman) continued to dispense advice and philosophy to Tim and his brood -- and also continued to remain a somewhat shadowy figure, never showing his face to anyone. Buxom "tool girl" Lisa (Pamela Anderson) was still a fixture of Tim's TV series, seldom saying much but certainly making a big impression whenever she wriggled into camera range. And in a new development, Maureen Binford (Vicki Lewis), ditzy daughter of "Tool Time"'s primary sponsor, became the series' producer, saddling Tim with all manners of idiotic format changes to boost his ratings. Moving from fifth to third place in the real-life ratings, Home Improvement was the second most popular sitcom of 1992-1993, beaten out only by another ABC offering, Roseanne. And for the second year in a row, an Emmy award was bestowed upon the series' director of photography, Donald A. Morgan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, (more)
- 1992
An argument between Tim (Tim Allen) and Jill (Patricia Richardson) over the proper volume of their stereo comes to an explosive conclusion when too much dial turning blows out the speakers. Venturing out for a replacement, Tim returns with a whole new entertainment center -- then tries to make sense of a discordant book of instructions. And while we're on the subject of unusual sounds, professional saw player Janeen Rae Heller makes "tool music" on Tim's TV show. This was the final episode of Home Improvement's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
Tired of being an object of ridicule and abuse for Jill's feminist friend Karen (Betsy Randle), Tim (Tim Allen) finally stands up to her. Somehow this culminates in Tim coming home with a piece of table glued to his forehead. Elsewhere, Jill (Patricia Richardson) tries to teach her son Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan) to dance when he is invited to the anniversary party of his girlfriend Jennifer 's (Jessica Wesson) parents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1991
Although Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) may be master of his own domain on his do-it-yourself TV series "Tool Time," he isn't entirely in charge in his own home, as proven in this debut episode of Home Improvement. Explicitly ordered by his wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson), not to attempt to repair the family dishwasher, Tim does so anyway -- with the expected disastrous results. Nor does Tim improve matters any when he tries to console Jill after she loses out on a good job. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Based on a true story, Disney's family film Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken follows the adventures of a 1920s teenager named Sonora Webster (Gabrielle Anwar), who runs away from her foster home to join a carnival. At the carnival, she gets a job as a stunt rider who leaps with her horse into a tank of water 40 feet below. Along the way, she has plenty of adventures, eventually falling in love with the son of one of the show's cowboys. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gabrielle Anwar, Cliff Robertson, (more)
The first season of Home Improvement drew heavily upon the standup comedy routines of series co-creator Tim Allen, herein cast as Tim Taylor, star of the Detroit cable-TV series "Tool Time" -- sort of a low-rent version of Bob Vila's do-it-yourself opus This Old House (Vila in fact guest-starred on the episode titled "What About Bob"). Allen's humor relied upon barbed but affectionate digs at his wife and kids, and his ever-increasing ineptitude in dealing with the follies and foibles of everyday life. In Home Improvement, Tim Taylor was affirmatively master of his domain on "Tool Time" -- even though he relied a bit too extensively on his all-purpose solution to any mechanical problem, "More Power! More Power!" -- but at home he was all thumbs with the household appliances, and a stumbler-bumbler supreme when dealing with his wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson), and three sons, Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and Mark (Taran Noah Smith). As for Jill, she spent much of season one fighting a losing battle to imbue her oafish husband with sensitivity and culture (specifically, trying to get him to accompany her to the opera), but loved him all the same. Jill also yearned to find a job of her own, finally landing a position on a high-profile magazine.
The Taylor youngsters were typically mischievous and sometimes irksome but basically good kids, though youngest son Mark (age 6) tended to be victimized by the prankery of ten-year-old Brad and nine-year-old Randy. During the first season, Brad began squiring a classmate named Jennifer Sudarsky (Jessica Wesson), resulting in a variety of amusing and all-too-human "puppy love" situations. Also in the cast was Earl Hindman as the Taylors' philosophical, advice-dispensing neighbor Wilson, whose face was never clearly seen behind the backyard fence that separated the two neighbors' houses. Showing up on a recurring basis was Tim's long-suffering "Tool Time" assistant, Al Borland (Richard Karn), and the show's pulchritudinous "tool girl" Lisa (Pamela Anderson). Likewise making sporadic "Tool Time" appearances were Rock (Casey Sander), Peter (Mickey Jones), and Dwayne (Gary McGurk), the guys from K&B Construction. Initially telecast on ABC's Tuesday evening schedule, Home Improvement ended its first season as the nation's fifth highest-rated program. The series also earned an Emmy award for Achievement in Lighting Direction (the statuette went to director of photography Donald A. Morgan). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Taylor youngsters were typically mischievous and sometimes irksome but basically good kids, though youngest son Mark (age 6) tended to be victimized by the prankery of ten-year-old Brad and nine-year-old Randy. During the first season, Brad began squiring a classmate named Jennifer Sudarsky (Jessica Wesson), resulting in a variety of amusing and all-too-human "puppy love" situations. Also in the cast was Earl Hindman as the Taylors' philosophical, advice-dispensing neighbor Wilson, whose face was never clearly seen behind the backyard fence that separated the two neighbors' houses. Showing up on a recurring basis was Tim's long-suffering "Tool Time" assistant, Al Borland (Richard Karn), and the show's pulchritudinous "tool girl" Lisa (Pamela Anderson). Likewise making sporadic "Tool Time" appearances were Rock (Casey Sander), Peter (Mickey Jones), and Dwayne (Gary McGurk), the guys from K&B Construction. Initially telecast on ABC's Tuesday evening schedule, Home Improvement ended its first season as the nation's fifth highest-rated program. The series also earned an Emmy award for Achievement in Lighting Direction (the statuette went to director of photography Donald A. Morgan). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, (more)
- 1988
The ABC series Roseanne was the first sitcom since I Love Lucy to feature the family matriarch as the main character. Unlike the fashionably urban Ricardos, however, the Conners represented working-class America in lovingly honest way seldom seen on network television. Referring to herself as a "Domestic Goddess," Roseanne exuded a style of brassy humor, tough love, and blue-collar sensibilities that deviated from the hyperfeminine history of TV moms. For almost a decade, the show portrayed an average working family in the Midwest handling their everyday problems with wisecracks, witty jabs, and classic sitcom togetherness. The series peaked by 1993 with multiple wins at the Emmy awards and the Golden Globes. Roseanne is fondly remembered in TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" and remains in syndication. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- 1988
The Huxtables and their friends the Harmons turn an ordinary dinner party into a cutthroat game of "Petanque" (an upscale form of bocci-ball) , to prove which couple is the toughest. Though Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) and Nicole Harmon (Michelle Shay) try to remain aloof, their husbands Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Jim (Sullivan Walker) insist upon such manly-man pursuits as playing the game outside in freezing weather--without their coats. Meanwhile, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) risks life and limb to prove to the Harmons' daughter Lindy (Laurie Morrison) that he is a rock-climbing aficionado. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Three friends face the disappointments of adulthood in this drama. Growing up in Ashville, Utah, a small town where traditional ideals still cling stubbornly to the hearts and minds of youth, Davey Hancock (Jason Gedrick) is the star of the high school's championship basketball team. Pretty cheerleader Mary Daley (Tracy Pollan) is Davey's girlfriend, and bright Danny Rivers (Kiefer Sutherland) is his best friend. Two years after graduating from high school, reality has dimmed their dreams; while Davey won a college scholarship to play ball, he washed out of the team and ended up back in Ashville, where he's now a police officer. While Davey still sees Mary, she wants more out of life than Ashville or her relationship with him can give her. And when Danny, who has spent much of his time since high school drifting in search of an ambition, returns to town to visit Davey and Mary, he brings along a surprise -- Bev (Meg Ryan), a drug-addled floozy with an unstable personality (and a gun) whom he married in Las Vegas three days earlier. Promised Land was also released on home video under the title Young Hearts. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jason Gedrick, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
- 1987
Intent upon replacing the family station wagon, Cliff (Bill Cosby) goes to great lengths to hide his profession and his affluence so that the car dealership won't take advantage of him. Meanwhile, Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) comes to grief when trying to follow the advice of older sister Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) on finishing an "illustrated" school report. Featured in the cast are comedians Gilbert Gottfried and Sinbad, the latter soon to become a regular as Walter Oakes on the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1987
Eileen Heckart guests stars as the Huxtables' elderly and somewhat bull-headed neighbor Mrs. Hickson. While sharing tea with the lady, Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) discovers that Mrs. Hickson has been neglecting to take her diabetes medication--and in fact has gone to extreme lengths to hide her negligence from her son. Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Russell (Earle Hyman) drop in on the lady to give her a friendly warning, but she turns out to be too clever for them and continues to avoid taking her pills. Finally, the Huxtable put on a series of cautionary skits to teach Mrs. Hickson the folly of her ways...they hope! This episode was originally slated to air on October 15, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1987
Throwing a bridal shower for her friend Veronica (Lela Rochon), Denise (Lisa Bonet) is shocked to learn that Veronica deliberately got herself pregnant so her parents couldn't object to her marriage plans. Meanwhile, Clair (Phylicia Rashad) endeavors to keep Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) from intruding upon the shower, ordering them to fix a few closet shelves--even though Cliff's track record with "do it yourself" projects is none too good). And temporary babysitter Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) has trouble with Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) and Kenny (Deon Richmond) at the skating rink. Appearing uncredited as a shower guest is Charnelle Brown, who later played Kim Reese on the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1987
Cliff (Bill Cosby) is inordinately proud of the fact that he is the only of the family who hasn't been suckered by Theo's practical jokes. Thus, with the help of his mom and siblings, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) uses his "inside information" about the engagement of Sondra (Sabrina LeBeauf) and Elvin (Geoffrey Owens) to pull an elaborate prank, wherein Cliff will be manipulated into delivering Elvin's marriage proposal! Unfortunately for the conspirators, Cliff tumbles to the scheme, and cooks up a "counter-prank" of his own. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
Season Three of The Cosby Show begins as little Rudy Huxtable (Keshia Knight Pulliam) finds a garter snake in the family cellar, but has trouble getting anyone to believe her. Once the snake has made his (her? Its?) presence known to one and all, the Huxtables go into full panic mode and send for the exterminator (Leonard Jackson)--who ends up in more danger from the clutter in the cellar than from the slithery little serpent. At the same time, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) and his pal Cockroach (Carl Anthony Payne II) draw up plans to throw a party where only girls are invited. With this episode, Geoffrey Owens becomes a semi-regular in the role of Elvin, the boyfriend of the Huxtables' eldest daughter Sondra (Sabrina LeBeauf). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
Not only has Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) been sponging money off his hard-working older siblings, but he also has decided to forego college and enter the "real world" at the age of eighteen. To teach him the error of his ways, the Huxtables spend an entire day transforming their home into a microcosm of that selfsame "real world", with each family member assuming a variety of roles to show Theo that life in the "outside" won't be quite as simple and uncomplicated as he thinks it is. Even Theo's pal Cockroach (Carl Anthony Payne II) participates in this hilarious but ultimately sobering object lesson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
When their math teacher Mrs. Westlake (Sonia Braga) goes to the hospital to have her baby, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) and Cockroach (Carl Anthony Payne II) wonder if they will be spared an upcoming math test. The "answer" arrives in the form of a substitute teacher, leading to a surprisingly serious monologue from the usually insouciant Cockroach! Meanwhile, Denise (Lisa Bonet) comes to the rescue when Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) gets a zit, and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) tries to master a bike with the nervous assistance of Cliff (Bill Cosby). Fashion model and future Jamie Foxx Show regular Garcelle Beauvais appears unbilled as a nurse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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