Allen Fitzpatrick Movies
- 2003
This episode was advertised as the 300th installment of Law & Order, although technically it was number 301. (NBC did not count the series' 1990 pilot, which had originally been produced for CBS.) Again drawing its inspiration from recent headlines, the episode opens with an apparent fire in a high-rise apartment, culminating horribly when the baby son of popular comedian Monty Bender (Adam Ferrara) falls from the apartment window to his death. What appears to be a tragic accident leads to the reopening of an old pedophilia charge against Bender, and a startling revelation involving the parents of a young boy who'd been paid off to drop their case against the beleaguered comic. Real-life comedian Larry Miller, who'd played a murderer on two earlier episodes, is here cast as himself. This was the final episode of Law & Order's 13th season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A woman searching for the perfect man instead discovers the perfect woman in this romantic comedy. Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a woman with a solid career as a copy editor, but her love life isn't much to write home about; she's been through a long series of disastrous first dates that refuse to evolve into second dates, and the well-intended advice of her best friend Joan (Jackie Hoffman) and former boyfriend Josh (Scott Cohen) isn't helping a bit. One day, Jessica is scanning personal ads in the newspaper with her friends, and she sees one with a quote from her favorite poet. Jessica reads on to discover that she has a lot in common with the person who placed the ad -- too much so, since it turns out the notice is from a woman, Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), who manages an art gallery. Jessica figures it would at least be nice to hang out with someone who shares her interests, and she gives Helen a call. Jessica and Helen quickly strike up a close friendship that evolves into something more intimate, though neither of them has ever been involved with another woman ... and Helen is a bit more avid about her new romantic horizons than Jessica. As their relationship progresses, Jessica finds herself struggling with her feelings about her new sexual outlook, and she isn't sure how to break the news about her relationship to her mother (Tovah Feldshuh) as she tries to decide if she should bring Helen along to her brother's wedding. Kissing Jessica Stein was based on the off-Broadway play Lipschtick, which was written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, who starred in the original stage production as well as this film adaptation; the film won both the Critics' Special Jury Award and the Audience Award at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, (more)
- 1998
Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) investigate when a teenager is wounded. The trail of clues leads to the mysterious death of a young woman. Ultimately, a vicious drug operation enters the picture, at which time the detectives fade into the background and the D.A.'s office, represented by A.D.A.'s McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Carmichael (Angie Harmon), take over. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) find themselves traveling in illustrious company when they investigate the mysterious death of a valuable show horse. The animal was killed during an apparently unforeseen delay in Manhattan, leading Briscoe to quip that "New York is really a tough town for tourists." But it is no laughing matter when the ensuing investigation unearths a sting operation, an insurance fraud, and the disappearance of a wealthy horse owner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A frustrated writer helps save a woman being railroaded by the law -- or is she? -- in this comic mystery with romantic overtones. Phil Blackwood (Tom Selleck) is a best-selling mystery novelist who has run into a bad case of writer's block. Hoping to find inspiration for his next book, Phil goes to the city courthouse and witnesses the arraignment of Nina Ionescu (Paulina Porizkova), a beautiful Romanian immigrant who is accused of killing a man with a pair of scissors. For Phil, it's love at first sight, and after sneaking into jail disguised as a priest, he makes her an offer. Phil offers to let her stay at his house, and he provides her with an alibi -- she can claim that she couldn't have committed the crime, because she was with him at the time of the attack. Nina agrees, but after Phil encounters a handful of dangerous foreign agents, Nina's acrobatic parents, and a highly suspicious district attorney, he begins to wonder if Nina might have committed the murder after all. Her Alibi also features William Daniels as Sam, and James Farentino as Frank Polito; the song "Falling In Love" was written and recorded for the film by Randy Newman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Paulina Porizkova, (more)
- 1988
Together with Happy as the Grass was Green, Silence at Bethany is one of the few feature films to deal with life among the Mennonites. Mark Moses plays Ira Martin, who grew up in a Mennonite community in the 1930s but left to live with out-of-town relatives when his parents were accidentally killed. Returning to his home town in the 1940s, Ira soon demonstrates that he has remained faithful to the religion of his birth, which impresses the local deacon. After marrying the deacon's niece (Susan Wilder), Ira becomes a preacher in his own right. Conflicts arise between Ira and the deacon when the younger man attempts to apply his citified "newfangled" notions to his ministry. Scrupulously avoiding stereotypes and patronization, Silence at Bethany is a well-balanced study of a rarefied (and rapidly disappearing) American lifestyle. Produced by PBS' American Playhouse series, the film was released theatrically before its public-TV debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Moses, Susan Wilder, (more)
