Karen Young Movies

A man seeking to escape the past realizes that he'll first have to confront the present after receiving a desperate call from a friend on his deathbed. Harry Sweeny (Jamey Sheridan) is an aged but handsome divorcée with a grown son and a small business. He lives a comfortable life in a small town, where his main source of entertainment is stopping by the local diner to flirt with pretty waitress Muriel (Karen Young). But Harry's life hasn't always been this easy, and after getting a call from Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi) he starts to remember why. Tom isn't long for this earth, and before he goes he seeks forgiveness from David Kagan, a fellow crewman that he and Harry knew from their Navy days. Unable to say no to an old friend, Harry sets out on a reluctant search for David, visiting old friends and drudging up painful memories in the process. Why does Tom feel like he needs David's forgiveness to pass on, and whose redemption is Harry searching for anyway? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Years after moving to American in order to pursue his fame and flee from the responsibilities of parenthood, an ambitious novelist discovers that no matter how far he runs, his past will always catch up. Moshe was a moderately successful Israeli novelist who believed he never received the fame that he was due. Fed up with work and feeling trapped after the birth of his son, Moshe abandoned his wife and child in order to seek his fortune in America. Tzach joined with an elite unit of the Israeli army and rose through the ranks by fearlessly facing any challenge that came his way - no matter how deadly. It always seemed as if he were challenging fate, or perhaps trying to live larger than life in order to fill some long empty void. One day, after his mother dies, Tzach discovers the address of his long lost father buried among his mother's paperwork. As the pent up anger of never knowing his father blasts like a cork off a champagne bottle, the enraged young man decides to make contact. The moment Moshe realizes that his son has finally tracked him down, the runaway father's delusion of denial comes crashing down all around him. Now, as father and son become locked on a confrontational collision course, Moshe is about to discover just how futile it is for a man to run from his true fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Norwegian director Bent Hamer follows up his quirky and critically acclaimed Kitchen Stories with a heartbreakingly humorous look at the life of depressive writer Hank Chinaski -- the fictional counterpart of real-life author Charles Bukowski. Adapted from Bukowski's 1975 novel of the same name, Hamer's film follows the perpetually unemployed, alcohol-swilling Chinaski (Matt Dillon) as he drifts through the city streets in search of a job that won't come between him and his first love, writing. Consistently rejected by the only publishing house he respects but driven to continue by the knowledge that he could do better than the authors they continually publish, Chinaski soon begins sleeping with fellow barfly Jan (Lili Taylor), a kindred spirit he meets while drowning his sorrows at a local watering hole. When Hank eventually gets abandoned by the only woman with whom he is able to relate, a brief fling with gold-digging floozy Laura (Marisa Tomei) finds him once again falling into a morose state of perpetual drunkenness and unemployment. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The devastating big business scandals of the early 21st century served as inspiration for this episode. An investment analyst is murdered, and his body left near a ferry terminal. The detectives are faced with a surplus of suspects, most of them disgruntled investors in a failing corporation. Ultimately, however, the trail of evidence leads to the conclusion that money may not have been the primary motive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Damian Harris directs this sleazy erotic thriller about lipstick lesbians, naked corpses, and S&M covens, starring Julian Sands. Catherine Palmer (Ellen Barkin) is a hard-driving homicide cop who drinks like a fish and curses like a sailor, investigating a series of murders which leave the (inevitably female) victims bound, naked, and eyelid-less. Tall drink of water Vickie Kittrie (Peta Wilson), who was last seen with the latest victim, eventually admits involvement with a tribalistic S&M society. Palmer dutifully accompanies Kittrie on one such outing, featuring pouting models in designer corsets and lots of heavy breathing. When the serious girl-on-girl action kicks off though, Palmer makes a beeline for the door, only to be seduced by Kittrie against her kitchen sink (a la Fatal Attraction). Meanwhile, lead suspect psychologist Dr. Boussard (Sands) continues to snivel and cross-dress as the bodies start piling up. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this film, an innocent-seeming reunion between two old friends opens old, painful wounds. Following the demise of her latest relationship, Juliet (Stephanie Morgenstern) compiles a list of things to accomplish. Contacting her estranged friend Julie (Dominique Leduc), whom she hasn't seen in 15 years, ranks first among those tasks. When Juliet suddenly shows up at the door of Julie's farmhouse, the latter doesn't seem that thrilled; for a while the conversation is stilted and fraught with unspoken feeling, but as the day progresses, the two loosen up. By nightfall Julie and Juliet are fast friends again. Too much wine spoils the evening when an emboldened Juliet suddenly leans forward and kisses Julie on the lips. At this point it's revealed that it was a similar incident that caused their estrangement. Time has not made it easier on either the love-lorn Juliet or the repulsed Julie, both of whom feel compelled to finally address their feelings directly. Their attempts to reconcile their divergent emotions with their bonds of friendship comprise the rest of the story. This low-budget, independent Canadian drama from first-time director Jeanne Crépeau first screened at the Montreal Festival of New Cinema & New Media. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It can hardly be described as a match made in heaven when manic-depressive teenager Zoe (Kellie Martin falls in love with violence-prone Jake (James Marsden) while both a being treated at a mental institution. When parents and doctors alike express harsh disapproval of the romance, Zoe and Jake decide to escape, taking three other serious disturbed patients along with them. Hitting the road towards the Mexican, the gang of misfits commit several minor crimes to stay alive--and then find themselves on the lam for a murder that they didn't commit. Filmed for the NBC TV network, On the Edge of Innocence originally aired April 20, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sylvestor Stallone comes to the rescue in this disaster/adventure picture. A truck containing dangerous chemicals explodes in the Holland Tunnel, trapping those New Yorkers not killed in the explosion. Authorities know there are survivors, but cannot figure out what to do to save them. Ruptured water mains and leaks in the tunnel itself, which is beneath the Hudson River, will cause it to fill with water in a few hours. Of all the colorful characters trapped there, only Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen), a mountain climber, has any ideas about what to do, but he quickly dies while attempting to save the others. However, Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a former city Emergency Medical Services director who was in the area of the explosion, and he knows the tunnel's construction quirks. He quickly convinces city officials to let him wend his way through the tunnel's maze of exhaust fans to help the exhausted survivors confront the obstacles that await them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based upon a play by screenwriter Brad Fraser, Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, Denys Arcand's dark-humored drama Love and Human Remains follows the lives of a group of young Canadians, with a particular focus on their romantic and sexual experiences. The central characters are two roommates, David and Candy. The cynical, witty David is a former television actor turned waiter, the lonely, dissatisfied Candy a book critic; the two were formerly lovers, before David proclaimed his homosexuality. Candy is also questioning her sexuality, having begun a lesbian affair after wondering if her failures with men indicates she might be happier with a woman; meanwhile, David is becoming acquainted with Kane, a handsome, young busboy of uncertain sexuality who idolizes the older David. The other members of the ensemble are also somehow connected to the roommates, through friendship or romance, including Benita, a young dominatrix and part-time psychic, and Bernie, a boastful but insecure young businessman. The couplings and shifting relationships of these characters are intercut with the rather more severe story of a serial murderer who has been terrorizing the city's women, allowing Arcand to place the film's melodramatic elements in an edgier context. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

The expensively assembled two-part TV movie Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel is the true story of a successful "bust" engineered by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Part One detailed an undercover attack on the Colombian drug lords' refineries (see separate entry for further details). In part two, DEA agent Mike Cerone (Dennis Farina) risks life and limb--and his job--to reel in the Medelin kingpins in Bogota. Though the villains exact a vengeance upon their tormentors (and several innocent bystanders), victory is ultimately in the hands of the good guys. Part Two of Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel first aired January 21, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Matthew Lawrence plays an 11-year-old boy whose life is torn asunder by the divorce of his parents. John Ritter plays Lawrence's doctor father, who finds himself with only one day to make amends to his estranged son. Complicating matters are the divergent emotions of Lawrence's mother's new husband, and his father's new wife. Though the title would suggest that Ritter is forced to mature, it is in fact Lawrence who comes of age before the final fadeout. The Summer My Father Grew Up was first telecast March 3, 1991, where it lost the ratings war hands-down to a rerun of RoboCop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Night Game is a sweetly irreverent, low-key comedy which is also an engaging crime thriller. Mike Seaver (Roy Scheider), an ex-ballplayer who's now a homicide detective with the Galveston police, has to solve some vicious grappling-hook murders, somehow linked to hometown-wins by the Houston Astros baseball team. Engaged to cute, young, blonde concession-owner Roxy (Karen Young), Steve must juggle his romance with Roxy while at the same time watching out for her. Roxy is just the type of woman who the murderer stalks, brutally murdering them and leaving their bodies by the boardwalk where Roxy manages her concession with her mother Alma (Carlin Glynn). While the premise of the plot is somewhat hard to believe, the entire cast turns in solid performances as colorful, offbeat characters. The script, by Spencer Eastman and Anthony Palmer is well-written and highly amusing with a level of gallows wit uncommon in a crime thriller. The climax, although obvious to all but the most unsophisticated movie-goer, doesn't spoil the fun of this unusual film which is stylishly staged and sufficiently gripping. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Nine-year-old Thelma (Cassie Barasch) is the sweet little girl next door who engages in blackmail, robbery, and murder in this amoral melodrama. Neighbor Robert (John Hurt) is a bank employee who leaves his wife for Delores (Karen Young) after he embezzles money from work. He tries to bribe Thelma with the gift of a camera, but she uses it to photograph evidence and pin the murder of a child on him. When little Elizabeth (Ellie Raab) is shot and killed by Thelma with a gun she steals from John, he is charged with her kidnapping and murder. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide