DCSIMG
 
 

Patricia Carroll Brown Movies

2004  
 
Having lived a respectable and rather dull existence for most of his time on earth, database designer Frank Griffin (Joe Mantegna) is rudely awakened from his ennui when his wife Ellen (Jean Smart) announces that she is having an affair and wants a divorce. Although the couple agrees to stay together for the present out of respect for their daughter Zoe (Jordy Benattar), it is clearly going to be an unhappy Christmas for Frank. In his efforts to get his mind off his problems, Frank signs up to be a volunteer Santa Claus, subjecting himself to a curious training regimen conducted by a relentlessly optimistic fellow named Ozzy (Charles Durning). Although his first Santa experiences are grueling, Frank finds a kindred spirit in photographer Donna (Kari Matchett), who has similarly split from her husband and is raising her son Gabe (Andrew Chalmers) by herself. In his efforts to help Donna and to patch up his own domestic troubles, Frank begins to wonder if he should consider a future not with Ellen but with Donna. . .and that's only the beginning of the story. A few mildly risqué scenes notwithstanding, A Very Married Christmas proved to be suitable family fare when it was first broadcast by CBS on December 5, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

 
1995  
 
Tracey Gold and Judith Light star as mother and daughter respectively, in this tense made-for-television thriller. Light stars as Janice Mitchell, mother and philandering wife, who comes to rue the day she ever got involved with her revenge-bent, ex-lover. Jack Wagner stars as the obsessed lover who embroils Mitchell's daughter Sharon into his plot. This film debuted on CBS on April 5. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

 Read More

 
1995  
 
Fraser (Paul Gross) dons female drag to go undercover as a teacher at an all-girl's school. Somehow this is tied in with the mysterious appearances of several Capone-era artifacts all over Chicago, and the disappearance of a young schoolgirl named Celine (Heather McComb). Along the way, Ray (David Marciano) is reunited with his junior-high sweetheart (Michele Scarabelli)--now a nun--and Celine's shy roommate Melissa (Marisol Nichols) comes out of her shell. And don't miss "Ms. Fraser"'s disco dance with a fellow teacher. First broadcast on American television, this episode made its US debut on March 29, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Paul GrossDavid Marciano, (more)
 
1990  
 
Meredith Baxter-Birney stars against type as a mother whose child dies, prompting her to kidnap another baby to replace him. Years pass, and when the maturing child begins having nightmarish flashbacks, he begins to question his true identity. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Meredith BaxterDavid Ogden Stiers, (more)
 
1989  
PG13  
Add The Dream Team to Queue Add The Dream Team to top of Queue  
The eponymous team consists of four residents of a New Jersey psychiatric hospital: ex-postal worker Henry Sikorsky (Christopher Lloyd), who fancies himself a doctor; one-time ad agency exec Jack McDermott (Peter Boyle), suffering from a Messiah/martyr complex; writer Billy Caulfield (Michael Keaton), who cannot abide the "idiots" in the world (namely, everyone but himself); and TV-obsessed Albert Ianuzzi (Stephen Furst). Permitted a field trip to a baseball game, the four unfortunates wander off when psychiatrist Dr. Weitzman (Dennis Boutsikaris) is waylaid by two corrupt police officers after he witnesses them killing a third cop. The innocent inmates are accused of attacking Dr. Weitzman, but it is they who team up to bring the actual culprits to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Michael KeatonChristopher Lloyd, (more)
 
1985  
PG  
Based on the autobiographical novel by Nicholas Gage, Eleni traces Gage's search for the truth behind the execution of his Greek mother Eleni. John Malkovich plays Gage (herein referred to only as Nick), a New York Times journalist assigned to cover a border war in Albania. Intimately familiar with his beat--it's where he grew up--Nick periodically flashes back to his childhood, and his memories of his late mother Eleni (Kate Nelligan). Not at all concerned with politics, Eleni goes to extreme lengths to shelter her children from the ravages of civil unrest. For attempting to smuggle her kids out of the country, Eleni is arrested and executed. Back in the present, Nick manages to locate local politico Katis (Oliver Cotton), the man who signed Eleni's death warrant. He wangles his way into Katis' confidence, then prepares to kill the man--but he's in for a surprise, and something of an epiphany. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Kate NelliganJohn Malkovich, (more)