Tom Amandes Movies

A woman looking to fulfill her late husband's final wish sets out on a transformative cross-country road trip in director Christopher N. Rowley's warmhearted tale of friendship, self-discovery, and the memories that make life worth living even after the ones we love have gone. Arvilla (Jessica Lange)'s husband Joe has recently died during a trip to Borneo, and his ashes have just arrived at her home in Pocatello, ID. Though Joe had previously specified in his will that he would like his ashes scattered by his beloved wife, the well-intending Arvilla soon becomes locked in a heated battle of wills with Francine (Christine Baranski) -- Joe's well-to-do daughter from a previous marriage. Francine is determined to see her father laid to rest next to her mother in Santa Barbara, and she's threatened to sell the house that her father and Arvilla have lived in since marrying to ensure that she gets her way. Now Arvilla has lost Joe's will, leaving no way to confirm either what he wanted done with his remains or what Arvilla is to receive upon her husband's death. Defeated, Arvilla sets her sights on Santa Barbara to surrender the ashes to Francine and attempt to come to terms with the loss of her husband. When Arvilla's sassy best-friend Margene (Kathy Bates) and uptight pal Carol (Joan Allen) agree to join their recently-widowed friend on her journey and offer some much-needed moral support, the trio soon sets out in Arvilla's vintage '66 Pontiac Bonneville for a journey of a lifetime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A guy is forced to do a lot of stupid stuff to protect the girl of his dreams in this teen comedy. Zach Harper (Milo Ventimiglia) is a senior at a high school with a strange tradition in which upcoming graduates are challenged to perform a series of pranks known as "the Dirty Deeds" if they want to avoid a humiliating encounter with the football team. In Zach's case, Dan Lawton (Matthew Carey) is a jock who has always had it in for him and has made it clear that if Zach can't complete the "Dirty Deeds," he won't be the only one in trouble -- he'll also go after Meg (Lacey Chabert), the girl Zach's sweet on, as well as Meg's little brother. Dirty Deeds also stars Charles Durning, Tom Amandes, and Mark Derwin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As a world-class neurosurgeon, Dr. Andrew Brown is a hero. As a father, he's a zero. But that is changing. Tragedy makes him a single parent to his two children. And as the first act of his new life, Andy leaves Manhattan and moves his family to Everwood, the tiny Colorado town where big dreams can grow. The relationship between Andy and his talented but resentful 15-year-old son Ephram forms the heart of these 23 first-season episodes of Everwood, the acclaimed, richly layered series created by Greg Berlanti (Dawson's Creek). Treat Williams plays Andy, learning parenting on the fly as he raises Ephram (Gregory Smith) and 9-year-old Delia (Vivien Cardone). Unafraid to tackle big issues, spiked with sharp humor and filled with engaging characters, Everwood is a place and a series that rewards each visit you make.

After Danny (Rick Schroder) and Diane (Kim Delaney) decide to amicably break off their relationship, Diane joins Baldwin (Henry Simmons) and Greg (Gordon Clapp) in their investigation of a strangling. The victim is a 15-year-old girl who left behind a school essay which might contain a clue as to her killer. In another unrelated strangling case, the only witness is an apparently unhinged homeless man named Nicholas (Kevin Vincent O'Connor). And back on the domestic front, Andy (Dennis Franz) again goes out with Cynthia (Juliana Donald), the niece of his old friend Gibson (John F. O'Donohue). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two carefree Americans embark on an overseas vacation that soon becomes a nightmare in this powerful drama. Alice (Claire Danes) is a headstrong teenager who wants to do something different to celebrate her high school graduation, so she persuades her more reserved best friend Darlene (Kate Beckinsale) to join her on a trip to Bangkok. While enjoying sun and scenery, Alice and Darlene meet Nick Parks (Daniel Lapaine), a charming Australian who shows them the sights and sweet-talks Darlene into a romantic assignation, which is something of a surprise to her bolder friend Alice. Nick then suggests that they join him on a side trip to Hong Kong, but they soon discover that Nick's interest has been neither friendly nor romantic: he has hidden a large amount of heroin in their luggage and is using them as drug runners without their knowledge. When the heroin is found by customs officials, Alice and Darlene are quickly tried and sentenced to 33 years in a hideous prison known to inmates as Broke-Down Palace. Their plight comes to the attention of "Yankee Hank" (Bill Pullman), a renegade American attorney in Asia, but while Hank struggles with the court system to get Alice and Darlene released, they must deal with the living hell of life behind bars, and their own doubts about each other. Brokedown Palace was directed by Jonathan Kaplan, who previously dealt with judicial injustice in The Accused and teens in difficult circumstances in Over the Edge. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two girls play Cupid for their father with unusual results in this light comedy. Tess and Emily Tyler (Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen) are 12-year-old twin sisters whose father, Maxwell Tyler (Tom Amandes), is a wealthy and successful artist. Maxwell's wife (and Tess and Emily's mother) died some time back, and his daughters think their father is lonely and needs a new girlfriend; however, Maxwell hasn't had much luck getting back in the swing of dating. Figuring their father needs some help, Tess and Emily decide to place a personal ad for him -- on a billboard overlooking a busy Los Angeles thoroughfare. Before long, literally hundreds of women are responding to the ad, and Maxwell finds love again. However, Maxwell's agent (Carl Banks) thinks Maxwell's art has been suffering now that he's once again content, and he tries to break up the lovebirds for the sake of his client's career. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this inspiring drama based on a true story, Sunny Matthews (Kelsey Mulrooney) is a young girl whose life is shattered after she suffers severe leg injuries in an auto wreck which also claims the life of her father. Despondent over her tragedy, Sunny sinks into a deep depression, until she develops a friendship with a horse named Ginger, whose legs are damaged much like her own. Second Chances also features Stuart Whitman, Tom Amandes, and Isabel Glasser. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An ordinary woman discovers that her life was not always ordinary in this action thriller. Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a typical, well-mannered single mother working as a schoolteacher when she isn't looking after her children. Nothing on the surface would seem to be remarkable about Samantha's life, but every once in a while she has vague memories and unexplained impulses that don't add up with her current life experience; she has scars but no idea of how they got there, she suddenly displays a deadly talent for knife-throwing while chopping vegetables for dinner, and when she sees a deer, she suddenly attacks it with her bare hands. When an auto accident and a television news broadcast stirs some more uncomfortable memories, Samantha hires private investigator Mitch Hennessey (Samuel L. Jackson) to look into her past and see what he can find. Mitch learns that Samantha isn't really Samantha after all -- her name is Charley and she used to be a professional assassin with a secret government intelligence program. After a severe head injury, Charley developed a case of amnesia, and in time she developed her new personality as Samantha. However, her old boss has kept tabs on her, and now that it looks as if the old Charley is starting to come out again, he sends a pair of hit men after her to see to it that she doesn't remember anything else; soon Samantha and Mitch are on the run, trying to outdistance the killers as they get to the bottom of Charley's secret life. The Long Kiss Goodnight was directed by Renny Harlin, husband of leading lady Geena Davis; this was their second project together, following Cutthroat Island, released the previous year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The sensitive topic of the working mother is the subject of this made-for-television movie. Anne Archer stars as Abby, the working, single mother of a 6-year-old. Abby shares her son with her husband by alternating custodial weekends with him. At first, she enjoys the freedom it affords her to advance her career. When her re-married ex-husband Ted (John Heard) gets pangs for more custodial rights, he decides to take her to court for full-time parental custody, and he has a fighting chance because of Abby's demanding career. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Dolly Parton and James Woods as the screen's hottest new romantic team? That's only one of several casting surprises in this romantic comedy. Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) has had enough of life in her small Arkansas town, not to mention her small-minded Arkansas boyfriend Steve (Michael Madsen). So she decides to head for the big city of Chicago, where she applies for a job as a receptionist at a talk radio station. However, she arrives at the studios just as the staff are frantically searching for the psychiatrist hired to host a call-in show for people seeking advice with their personal problems. Shirlee is put on the air by mistake, and, while she lacks a degree in psychology, she has common sense to spare, and her no-nonsense advice makes the show a hit. Soon "Doctor Shirlee" is the talk of the town, but reporter Jack Russell (James Woods) senses that she might not be all she's supposed to be. Jack does some investigating and finds out the truth about Shirlee, but by this time the two have met and he's fallen in love with her. Will Jack obey his responsibilities as a journalist, or follow his heart? Straight Talk's supporting cast includes filmmaker John Sayles, monologist Spalding Gray, actor and producer Griffin Dunne, and future Lois Lane Teri Hatcher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide