Michele Duquet Movies
- 2005
Although the made-for-cable drama Widow on the Hill was based on a true story, the film bears a strong resemblance to the 1947 Joan Crawford theatrical feature Possessed. Natasha Henstridge stars as Linda Dupree, an ambitious hospice nurse who marries Hank Cavanaugh (James Brolin), the very wealthy widower of one of Linda's former patients. Hank enrages his grown daughters by quickly installing Linda in the family's luxurious Virginia mansion, and even more so when he gives his new wife the most precious possessions of his former spouse. Not long afterward, Hank himself falls seriously ill and dies, leaving Linda one of the richest women in Virginia -- and also arousing suspicions that she not only knocked off Hank, but his first wife as well! More questions than answers are offered in this heavy-breathing melodrama, which made its Lifetime network debut on January 24, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Henstridge, James Brolin, (more)
- 2002
The first season of the provocative Canadian anthology Bliss offers eight different tales of erotica, written and directed by women, for women. The opening episode, "Valentine's Day in Jail," stars Tory Higginson as a compassionate teacher who arranges a special visit with her prize pupil -- a prisoner serving time for drug smuggling. In "Six Days," a farm woman who has never spent a day without her husband develops an intimate relationship with a hired hand (Collum Keith Rennie) while the "mister" is recovering from an accident. "Guys and Dolls" finds a successful and famous lawyer (Jenny Levine) having a fling with a stranger (Peter Wingfield) who is unaware of her true identity -- and would not be overly pleased if he found out. Tara Spencer-Naim appears in "The Value of X" as a high school senior who fantasizes about the school's most popular boy -- that is, she fantasizes what it would be like if he were a girl! In "Voice," Mikela J. Mikael is cast as a woman whose dreams are invaded by the wife (played by Veronica Hurnik) of her lover. "Leaper" concerns two lost souls (Michelle Lipper, Paula Ducharme) drawn together in an unexpectedly sinister fashion by the "suicide" of a third woman (portrayed by Mille Tresierra. Victoria Sanchez plays a mild, reserved young miss whose animalistic urges are unleashed by a martial-arts class in "The Footpath of Pink Roses." And in the season finale, "In Praise of Drunkenness and Fornication," a dinner party attended by six middle-aged couples devolves into an exercise in overindulgence (in more ways than one). ~ All Movie Guide
Based on a true crime story, the two-part TV movie And Never Let Her Go recounts the disappearance of Anne Marie Fahey in June of 1996, and the subsequent arrest and conviction of her accused murderer. Hired as a secretary by powerful Delaware attorney and gubernatorial aide, Thomas Capano (Mark Harmon), Anne Marie enters into a torrid and ofttimes abusive affair with her kinky boss. When Anne Marie's relatives report that she is missing, the governor of Delaware solicits the aid of the U.S. Department of Justice to solve the case. Although detective Frank Gugliatta (Paul Michael Glaser) and assistant U.S. attorney Colm Connolly (Steve Eckholdt) suspect that Capano has done away with Anne Marie, they are stymied by a lack of tangible proof...notably, the girl's body. It is not until Anne Marie's diary turns up in a most unexpected manner that Gugliatta and Connolly are able to fully act upon their suspicions -- and even then, the ultimate solution rests with the cooperation (or lack of same) of Capano's brother, Gerry (David Hewlett). Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis appears as Thomas Capano's formidable mother. Filmed in Toronto and told largely in flashback, And Never Let Her Go was originally telecast by CBS on April 1 and 4, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon, Rachel Ward, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
After 20 years of marriage, Steve Giardino (Alan Alda) and his wife Jackie (Ann-Margret) agree to a divorce in this situation comedy. The focus is on both of them as they suffer through matchmaking, blind dates, and their new life as eligible singles. Donna (Mary Kay Place) is Jackie's friend, while Mel Arons (Hal Linden) is the confidante of the vain but likeable Steve. Steven worries that he will never find anyone decent to date until he meets the pretty Dr. Kay Hutton (Veronica Hamel). Jackie is enamored with a sculptor (John Shea) before his glaring faults become too much for her. While Jackie's new relationship is on the outs, Steve prepares for a new life with Kay. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Ann-Margret, (more)
Three Men and a Baby is an Americanized remake of the 1985 French comedy hit Three Men and a Cradle. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg play three upwardly mobile New York bachelors who share an apartment. Their even-keel lifestyle is thrown out of whack when a young woman leaves a baby on their doorstep, suspecting that film director Danson is the father. The balance of the film is devoted to milking as much humor as possible out of the situation of three urbane young men trying to play nursemaid with nary a clue of what they're doing (at one point, a desperate Selleck offers Guttenberg a thousand dollars if Guttenberg will change a diaper). A subplot involving drug dealers is thrown in to sustain audience interest after our trio of heroes become accustomed to a baby around the apartment. "Urban legend" aficionados please note: That cardboard cutout of Ted Danson briefly glimpsed in one scene of Three Men and a Baby is not the ghost of a little boy who died in the bachelors' apartment before filming started. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, (more)
- 1987
- PG
- Add Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol to QueueAdd Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol to top of Queue
In the third sequel to the hit comedy Police Academy, Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) decides that the police force is overworked and understaffed, and he comes up with the idea of recruiting civilian volunteers to work side-by-side with his officers. Of course, with the hapless Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) in charge of training the new Neighborhood Watch groups, one might reasonably expect things will not go smoothly; meanwhile, the duplicitous Capt. Harris (G.W. Bailey) sets his sights on Lassard's job, and he schemes to get his aging boss out of the way. Series regulars Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, Bob Goldthwait, and Tim Kazurinsky are on board, as is Sharon Stone, who moved on to bigger and better things a few years later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, (more)
