Djanet Sears
An aspiring medical student whose drug-addicted sister has recently died and who may be forced to relocate from her posh private school to the crime-infested neighborhood in which she was raised enters a step-dancing competition in hope of securing the funds needed to continue her education. Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private-school education, ambitious teen Raya returns to her family home in the city and is reluctantly forced to reevaluate her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is 50,000 dollars, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's predominately male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical-school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutina Wesley, Tracey 'Tre' Armstrong, (more)
Our America is the story of LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman two inner-city Chicago teenagers who eloquently distilled their lives on the Mean Streets into an award-winning Public Radio documentary (and later, a book) titled Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago. When a local NPR broadcaster conducts a search for "two young, intelligent African Americans to be on the radio", Jones (played by Roderick Pannell) and Newman (Brandon Hammond) smooth-talk their way into the offices of radio producer David Isay (Josh Charles), and as a result both young men are hired as reporters. For the next week, LeAlan and Lloyd amble through the Projects, tape recorders in hand, the better to assemble a "sound portrait" of their 'hood. But with the resultant success and fame, Jones and Newman must suffer the admonitions and threats of their neighbors, who feel that the two have sold out to "Whitey" and are exploiting their own people. Things come to a startling climax when, in the course of their investigative reporting, LeAlan and Lloyd put their lives on the line to tell the whole story of a 4-year-old boy who was tossed from a 14th story window to his death by a rampaging gang. Our America made its Showtime cable network debut on July 28, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Charles, Vanessa A. Williams, (more)
- 2000
The fine line between reporters objectively covering a political campaign and attempting to sway its outcome is explored in this made-for-cable drama based on the novel by noted television journalist Jim Lehrer. Newspaper columnist Mike Howley (James Garner) is asked to moderate a nationally televised debate between two presidential candidates. In collusion with fellow newspeople and debate panelists Barbara Manning (Audra McDonald), Henry Ramirez (Marco Sanchez), and Joan Naylor (Donna Murphy), Howley formulates a plan to boost the campaign of the Democratic candidate, whom they favor. They ask the Republican nominee a number of pointed questions about unsubstantiated charges that he has a propensity for violence, eventually prompting the candidate to leave the stage in a huff after throwing a microphone. Several weeks later, the Democrat carries the election. While the debate served the goals of the reporters, and boosted their public image, some observers have serious questions about what went on, and investigative reporter Tom Chapman (Peter Gallagher) is determined to bring the public the truth. A number of noted journalists and political figures served as consultants for The Last Debate and appear in cameo roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Peter Gallagher, (more)
- 1999
At the urging of her sister Joanne (Isabella Hoffman), battered wife Lisa Miles (Tracy Nelson) leaves her abusive husband Bill (Neil Mafin), taking her three children along with her. Refusing to let Lisa go, Bill continues to torment her, ultimately shooting her to death. As she lies dying in the hospital, Lisa begs Joanne to look after her children, and to seek out justice against Bill. In promising to do so, Lisa ultimately places not only her own life in jeopardy, but those of her own children as well. The Promise was made for the NBC TV network, where it was originally broadcast on August 15, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracy Nelson, Neil Mafin, (more)
- 1997
Amy Pietz stars in this made-for-TV thriller as Carrie, a professional writer who volunteers her services at a crisis-hotline center dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence. Late one evening, Carrie receives an anguished phone call from an anonymous woman who threatens to kill her abusive ex-husband. As Carrie and the rest of the staff conduct a desperate search for the would-be murderer, they must also tackle the case of a teenager who'd been viciously beaten by her boyfriend after declining help from the center. Also known as A Call for Help, Every 9 Seconds was first telecast October 12, 1997 by NBC ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gail O'Grady, Amy Pietz, (more)
Clay Crosby never had the chance to know his late father very well and it created a void in his life. At 15, he finds a pair of shoes, tries them on, and suddenly finds himself whisked back to the days when his father was a teen. When he takes the shoes off, he returns to his own time. Each time he travels backward, Clay draws more insight into his father's personality and life, things that help the boy deal more effectively with his own life and family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ri'chard, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 1996
Hoping to put her life back together after an abusive first marriage, mild-mannered Laura Jameson (Mel Harris) weds again, thereby incurring the wrath and resentment of her rebellious teenage daughter Kelly (Nicholle Tom). Still holding Laura responsible for the suicide of her father, Kelly goes completely off the deep end, beginning with an overnight stay in juvenile custody and culminating in an eight months of legal hell in a dizzying progression of courtrooms. Clearly over her head when trying to cope with Kelly (all she can say upon her daughter's release is "Was it awful in jail, honey?"), Laura will ultimately be forced to draw upon reserves of inner strength that she never knew or believed she had. Made for the NBC TV network, What Kind of Mother Are You? was first telecast on November 18, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
A homeless derelict named Garret (Jonathan Banks) may hold the key to locating a kidnapped woman. Unfortunately, Garret is nowhere to be found--and there's every possibility that he abducted the woman himself. As Fraser (Paul Gross) conducts a city-wide search for Garret with the bumbling assistance of FBI agents Ford (Alex Carter) and Deeter (Mark Melymick), Ray (David Marciano) wrestles with another dilemma--mainly, finding out if his sister Francesca (Ramona Milano) and Fraser have gone "all the way." First broadcast on Canadian television, this final episode of Due South's inaugural season made its US debut on June 16, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1995
Johanna (Josette Simon) is a Jamaican woman who emigrates to Canada to escape the crushing poverty of her homeland. She lands a job as a nanny for a yuppie couple and develops a loving relationship with their children. Johanna misses her son David (Richard Mills) and makes plans to fly him up for the Christmas holiday. Her friends try and talk her into letting the boy stay illegally and enlist the help of Gordon (Errol Slue) to falsify the necessary documents. David and Johanna are housed by Adam (Lyman Ward), the school principal who once tried to seduce Johanna after she attended a night class he was teaching. Later, mother and son face deportation, and Adam loses his job for intentionally ignoring David's bogus immigration documents. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josette Simon, Lyman Ward, (more)
- 1994
Newly moved to Chicago to take on his duties as Deputy Liason Officer at the Canadian Consulate, RCMP constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) leaps right into his erstwhile partnership with Chi-town police detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) when the two of them appoint themselves protectors of 12-year-old purse snatcher Willie Lambert (Chris Babers). Having witnessed an armed robbery, Willie now knows too much to stay alive--or at least that's his story. By the time Fraser and Vecchio have confirmed to their satisfaction that the habitual-liar Willie is telling the truth this time out, the crooks are in hot pursuit, leading to a climactic chase through the streets of Chicago in a horse-drawn carriage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
Arthur Hiller directed this comedy/drama concerning three couples, thrown together by fate, who become friendly and help each other through their marriage difficulties. Claire (Cybill Shepherd) and Leo (Ron Silver) are a wealthy couple having trouble with a daughter from a previous marriage. John (Beau Bridges) and Iris (Stockard Channing) are a couple from the '60s who have weathered a relationship involving sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Chuck (Robert Sean Leonard), a securities analyst, and Nina (Mary Stuart Masterson), a child psychologist, are newlyweds needing guidance through the pitfalls of married life. The couples meet on a committee formed at a PTA meeting. They find they like each other and invite each other to dinner parties. As they meet and talk with one another, they reveal their problems and help each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Stockard Channing, (more)
- 1989
This made-for-TV film represented the first speaking role for hearing-impaired actress Marlee Matlin. A happy wife and mother, Matlin is grief-stricken when her husband is killed in a car accident. Still not fully recovered after several weeks, Matlin must rely on her mother Lee Remick to care for her young daughter. Matlin puts her life back together by joining a theatre troupe comprised of deaf actors, one of whose members is played by Phyllis Frelich, who originated the role in the Broadway version of Children of a Lesser God that Marlee Matlin played in the film version (and won an Academy Award in the process). The film's climax is dictated by Lee Remick's efforts to gain full legal custody of Matlin's daughter. Bridge to Silence was first telecast April 9, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Though this police and courtroom drama did not do well at the box-office, some reviewers thought that the lead performances by Burt Reynolds and Theresa Russell were first-rate. Joe Paris (Reynolds) is a policeman suspended from active duty. He awakens from an alcoholic binge to discover that he is being charged for a murder he has no memory of. Jenny Hudson (Russell) is his court-appointed defense lawyer, a young feminist eager to prove herself in the courtroom. After some initial difficulties, the two cooperate to unravel the tangled circumstances behind the murder. Michael Crichton directed but did not collaborate on the story or screenplay. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell, (more)
British filmmaker Peter Yates directs Suspect, a suspenseful courtroom drama set in Washington, D.C. After a Supreme Court justice commits suicide and a Justice Department secretary is found dead, a deaf-mute homeless veteran, Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson), is the suspected killer. Lonely yet dedicated public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) is assigned to the case to represent Anderson. Suave lobbyist Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid) is on the jury, but he starts his own investigation by finding clues that prove Anderson's innocence. He shares his information with Kathleen, even though they could get arrested for talking about the case. Eventually, they develop a romance and reveal a conspiracy that leads to a twist ending. The mysterious conclusion involves a final courtroom scene presided over by Judge Matthew Helms (played by character actor John Mahoney, who would go on to co-star on the sitcom Frasier). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cher, Dennis Quaid, (more)
