Cliff Stephens Movies

The mystery of one man's guilt or innocence literally becomes a matter of life and death in this drama. David Gale (Kevin Spacey) was the head of the philosophy department at Austin University and the author of several well-regarded books; he was also an active and visible member of Deathwatch, an anti-capital punishment activist group. One of Gale's best friends was Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), a fellow Deathwatch activist with whom he became especially close, particularly since Gale's wife, Sharon (Elizabeth Gast), who had taken a lover in Spain, was usually absent. One night, Gale was seduced by an attractive student from his class, Berlin (Rhona Mitra), who had too much to drink; later, the remorseful student accused Gale of rape. While Gale was eventually cleared of the charges, the negative publicity cost him his career as an educator, and with no job and no wife, Gale turned to drink. When Harraway was found raped and murdered a few years later, Gale was charged with the crime, and convicted despite the best efforts of his well-meaning but ineffectual lawyer Braxton Belyeu (Leon Rippy). Now Gale awaits execution, and less than a week before his date with the fatal injection, Gale agrees to tell his story to Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet), a nervy journalist from a major newsmagazine, who arrives with her assistant, Zack Stemmons (Gabriel Mann). As Bloom discusses the facts of the Harraway murder with Gale, it occurs to her that the details simply don't add up, and soon a mysterious stranger slips evidence to her that suggests Gale has been framed -- leaving Bloom and Stemmons only a few days to solve the mystery and save Gale from the executioner. The Life of David Gale was co-produced by actor Nicolas Cage, who originally commissioned the script and intended to star in the film before prior commitments led him to hand the project over to director Alan Parker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This fact-based TV movie takes place in Richmond, Virginia, the home of single mother Jody Shaffell (Valerie Bertinelli). Appalled by the fact that Jody has come out of the closet and is living in an openly gay relationship with her female lover, Jody's mother Nancy (Vanessa Redgrave) sues to gain custody of her grandson Zachary (Adam Rehman). A homophobic judge arranges for Zachary to be taken out of Jody's home, whereupon Nancy sets about to thoroughly wipe her grandson's memory clean of his previous "immoral" lifestyle--even unto demanding that the boy refer to her as Momma. The film's script is careful to weigh both sides of the argument equally, demonstrating that for most of her life, Jody was hardly a paragon of responsible motherhood, having supped full of booze and promiscuity before realizing she was gay and promptly cleaning herself up; nor is Nancy depicted as a cold-hearted villain, merely a concerned grandmother who wants what she thinks is best for Zachary. Indeed, if there are truly any "heavies" in the piece, they are the best friend and brother of the beleagured Jody, who callously testify against her in court. Originally seen over the ABC network, Two Mothers for Zachary debuted September 22, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

UHF is the film debut of comedy-rock satirist Weird Al Yankovic, who also co-wrote the screenplay. George Newman (Yankovic) and his friend, Bob (David Bowe from The Cable Guy), are fired from their jobs at Burger World. So George decides to take over channel 62, a failing local TV station that his Uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) won in a poker game. George turns it around into an overnight success after letting the janitor, Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards from Seinfeld), host a kid's show. George then fills the broadcast day with bizarre programming, bringing the ratings up and saving the station. Soon, rival station CEO R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) of channel 8 threatens to sabotage the successful station and George must come up with a way to save it. Only loosely constructed around this story line, UHF is mostly a series of TV, movie, and music parodies strung together and played for cheap laughs. UHF also stars Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Fran Drescher. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Sure to generate conversation, this provocative drama tells the story of how a middle-class family is torn apart when their clean-cut high-achieving son, who has the potential of making it on the Olympic gymnast team, suddenly joins a religious cult. The parents become deeply worried and try to get him back. The twist is that, unlike other movie religious cults, the leader of this one is not terribly evil even though he does strongly indoctrinate his followers. The members of his group are good people who do good deeds for others. Unfortunately, the parents don't see it this way and so hire a free-lance deprogrammer to "rescue" their son and force him through a deprogramming process that traumatizes him more than the cult did. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide