Kate Charleson Movies
When actress Kate Charleson made her onscreen debut in 1983's Terms of Endearment, her youthful appearance and knack for subtle characterization made her a perfect fit to play Jeff Daniels' grad student protégée/mistress Janice. Few would have guessed that Charleson was 30 years old when she took on the role, but that fresh face would show up again in the coming years, appearing in 1984's Dreamscape and 1988's My First Love. Tragically, Charleson committed suicide in 1996. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
An ageing widow's relationship with an ex-flame is re-ignited when she runs into her former boyfriend at a class reunion in this warmhearted tale of middle-aged romance starring Bea Arthur, Richard Kiley, and Joan Van Ark. Despite their rekindled feelings, the pair soon finds their powerful connection threatened when the woman discovers that her new beau is involved in a May-December romance with a much younger woman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In this drama, an angry, bereaved husband decides to get his own kind of justice after the man who killed his wife and son is freed on a legal technicality. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Actress Theresa Saldana plays herself in this gut-wrenching fact-based TV movie. The film begins with Ms. Saldana being savagely attacked by a stalking fan in her own home in 1982. Sustaining multiple stab wounds, Saldana lies near death for quite some time, but eventually pulls together physically and emotionally. But that's only the first half of the story. In the second, Saldana, determined to assuage the pain of others who've suffered from violent attacks, establishes Victims for Victims. The most sobering realization vis-a-vis Victims for Victims is the fact that Theresa Saldana's assailant may very well be paroled someday--a contingency that the actress, and her organization, has been forced to counteract ever since that fateful evening in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Great special effects do not always make for a great film, but Dreamscape comes awfully close. Dr. Paul Novotny (Max Von Sydow) and Dr. Jane Devries (Kate Capshaw) run a clinic for the study of dreams. Hoping to alleviate the pain of those plagued with recurring nightmares, Novotny hires a team of psychics to "inhabit" the subconsciouses of the patients. Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid), a small-time hustler who uses his ESP gifts for financial gains, is hired to work at the clinic. He helps to disperse the fears of a young nightmare-plagued boy, then reverts to type by "raping" the thoughts of the lovely Dr. Devries. Things come to a head when one of the patients, the American president (Eddie Albert), decides to purge himself of his apocalyptic dreams by making a lasting peace with the Soviets. Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer), the political reactionary who finances the clinic, decides to assassinate the president by acting upon Dr. Novotny's pet theory: if a person dies in his or her dream, he/she will die in real life. The finale pits Gardner against psychic assassin Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, (more)
Terms of Endearment covers three decades in the lives of widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Fiercely protected by Aurora throughout childhood, Emma runs into resistance from her mother when she marries wishy-washy college teacher Flap (Jeff Daniels). Aurora is even more put out at the prospect of being a grandmother, though she grows a lot fonder of her three grandkids than she does of her son-in-law. Flap proves that Aurora's instincts were on target when he enters into an affair with a student (Kate Charleson). Meanwhile, Emma finds romantic consolation with an unhappily married banker (played by John Lithgow, who registers well in a rare "nice guy" performance). As for Aurora, she is ardently pursued by her next-door neighbor, boisterous astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson). After 75 minutes or so of pursuing an episodic, semi-comic plotline, the film abruptly shifts moods when Emma discovers that she has terminal cancer. Terms of Endearment won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay for TV veteran James L. Brooks making his first feature film, Best Actress for MacLaine, and Best Supporting Actor for Nicholson. It was followed by a sequel, The Evening Star (1996), which again featured MacLaine as Aurora. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
