Ron Perkins Movies

Seizure victim Henry Errington (Howard Hesseman) is in dire need of an immediate heart transplant. Unfortunately, the only potential donor has died from a strange illness, rendering the heart useless. In desperation, House (Hugh Laurie) decides to use the damaged heart anyway, and proceeds to "cure" the dead donor--while her grieving husband looks on! And in a separate development, Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) comes knocking at House's door after the breakup of his latest marriage, resulting in the Odd Couple to end all Odd Couples. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

House (Hugh Laurie) finds a kindred spirit in the form of Adam (Braeden Lemasters), a 10-year-old autistic boy suffering from chest pains. Due to his brain disorder, Adam has absolutely no social or anger-management skills whatsoever--clearly a boy after House's own heart. This situation proves most disturbing for Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), who arrives at the conclusion that House must be suffering from latent autism himself. . .especially when House pitches a fit because the blood-stained carpeting in his office (a souvenir of his shooting) has been replaced with a clean new rug. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Ali (Leighton Meester) persists in her romantic pursuit of House, making no secret of her lustful yearnings for our hapless hero. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Teenagers stand up for their rights and take on the woman who wants to scuttle their freedoms in this comedy drama inspired by a true story. Principal Weller (Julie Bowen) is the ambitious but hard-headed leader of Booker High School. Weller plans to run for superintendent of her school district, and believes if she wants to win she needs to project the image of a no-nonsense leader, and with that in mind she begins cracking down on what she sees as discipline problems at Booker High. However, in many cases what she sees as kids out of control are seen by others as kids expressing themselves, including a girl who wants to distribute condoms to recognize National Safe Sex Day, and two boys who are caught kissing in the hallway between classes. Mr. Drucker (Malik Yoba) is a teacher at Booker who tries to champion the students' rights of free expression, but his conflicts with Principal Weller end up costing him his job when he's fired for questioning her authority. Holden Donovan (Gregory Smith) is a student at Booker who is alarmed that the students have lost one of their few allies, and decides to do something about it -- along with his classmates, he sets out to establish and defend the right of free expression for high-school students, and launches a campaign against Weller's bid to become superintendent. Kids in America also stars Stephanie Sherrin, Nicole Richie, Adam Arkin, George Wendt, and Elizabeth Perkins. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After incorporating elements of comic book style and design into many of his films, director Sam Raimi helms this straight-ahead, big-budget comic book adaptation, which also marks acclaimed young actor Tobey Maguire's first dip into live-action blockbuster filmmaking. Spider-Man follows the template of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko source material, with hero Peter Parker an orphaned, intellectual teen loner living in Queens with his aunt (Rosemary Harris) and uncle (Cliff Robertson), and dreaming of the girl next door, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). On a field trip to a Columbia University lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider and overnight he gains superhuman strength, agility, and perception. At first, Peter uses his powers for material gain, winning a wrestling match with a purportedly lucrative prize. But when Peter apathetically fails to stop a burglar from robbing the wrestling arena, a tragedy follows that compels him to devote his powers to fighting crime -- as the superhero Spider-Man. When he's not busy fighting crime in a spider suit, Peter moves into an apartment with his best friend, Harry (James Franco), and begins work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, his do-gooder alter ego finds a nemesis in the form of the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), a super-powered, megalomaniacal villain who happens to be the alter ego of Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing mogul Norman Osborn. Spider-Man was written by the prolific blockbuster scribe David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Fresh from Iowa, Holly (Melissa Joan Hart) and Calvin (Ryan Browning) arrive in New York, there to pursue careers as actors. Alas, money is mighty tight for the new arrivals, and decent housing is well night impossible to find. Eventually, Holly is forced to move in with her eccentric, cat-crazy Aunt Agatha (Lynne Marie Stewart), who lives in a rent-controlled apartment in the middle of an upscale neighborhood. When Aunt Agatha dies of natural causes, a desperate Holly hits upon a brilliant idea: she and Calvin will pretend that Auntie is still alive, the better to remain in the apartment for a minimal price. The couple enlist the apartment building's feckless elevator operator Dennis (Andrew Kavovit) as their co-conspirator, then spend much of the rest of the movie trying to keep their landlord's suspicious son Vincent (Joseph D. Reitman) from stumbling upon the truth. Filmed in 2002, Rent Control did not make its ABC Family Channel debut until September 9, 2005, by which time the made-for-cable film had been extensively re-edited to accelerate its pace. The film has since been released abroad under its working title Aunt Agatha's Apartment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James L. Brooks' showbiz comedy I'll Do Anything is "The Musical That Almost Was" (after test screenings Brooks removed all the musical numbers in the film, turning the film into a songless romantic comedy). Matt Hobbs (Nick Nolte) is a hardly working actor who finds himself raising his 6-year-old daughter Jeannie (Whittni Wright) after her mother Beth (Tracey Ullman) is sent away to prison. Since Matt now has to support a daughter, he has to develop more regular work habits. As a result, he takes a job as a chauffeur for a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister named Burke Adler (Albert Brooks). As Adler develops a relationship with divorced test-marketing researcher Nan Mulhanney (Julie Kavner), Matt becomes romantically attached to beautiful development executive Cathy Breslow (Joely Richardson). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

When a TV producer strikes up a romance with an old flame, a star in his new TV series, their relationship is threatened by mysteries she won't explain to him. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Child Lost Forever was advertised as a "docudrama." A unwed teenage mother is forced to give up her baby for adoption. 16 years later, the girl (played as an adult by Beverly D'Angelo), now married and the mother of two, decides to look for the son she lost. She finds that the boy died at age three under mysterious circumstances. The more she investigates, the more she realizes that she's stumbled upon a long-hushed-up case of child abuse. Child Lost Forever debuted November 16, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this film, the small town of Clyde, Ohio is buzzing with excitement when it is said that the famous Roxy Carmichael is leaving her luxurious Hollywood life to return to her old hometown. Her return causes upheaval in the lives of family-man Denton Webb (Jeff Daniels), her old boyfriend, and an angst-ridden teen, Dinky Bossetti (Winona Ryder), who is convinced that Roxy Carmichael is her natural mother. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) seethes with jealousy as Will (Will Smith) becomes the star of the prep-school basketball team. Worse, the team's obsequious coach (Dave Florek) treats Will like a pampered prima donna, allowing him to cut practice and slough off. The situation climaxes at a crucial basketball game, where Carlton is determined to show up Will--who for his part is enjoying the fact that he's finally been accepted by his wealthy peers, and isn't about to relinquish this honor. NBA legend Isiah Thomas appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shelly Long stars in this comedy as a spoiled Beverly Hills wife who decides--wanting to prove her husband's accusation of her selfishness wrong--to become the leader of her daughter's wilderness group. Though taking them on outings at the mall rather than in the woods, she later must prove her worth as a legitimate troop leader. After some zany incidents, all parties learn lessons of teamwork and selflessness. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

When Roseanne has to work overtime for two weeks, the Conner household is totally lost without her. Overwhelmed with her family's problems, she goes out to a diner. This episode was written by Roseanne's first husband, Bill Pentland. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide