Brenda Strong Movies

After innumerable turndowns, Diane (Shelley Long) finally accepts Sam's marriage proposal, only to be told that the offer has expired. Unwilling to take no for an answer (though she's proven more than willing to dish it out), Diane vows to break up Sam's romantic weekend with another woman at the Sea Shadows Inn. Unbeknownst to Diane, her rival has not shown, forcing Sam (Ted Danson) to go through an elaborate charade. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A space bum helps rescue a princess from an evil overlord with the help of a benevolent elder in this Star Wars send-up written and directed by Mel Brooks. Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his half-man, half-dog co-pilot, Barf the Mawg (John Candy), are content to scour the galaxy living the easy life. But they reluctantly come to the rescue when Druish Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) is threatened by the evil Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who wants to steal all of the air from her planet, Druidia. Trapped on a harsh desert world with Vespa and her robot chaperone, Dot Matrix (voice of Joan Rivers), Lone Starr and Barf are helpless to prevent Helmet from kidnapping the girl. But assistance arrives in the form of Yogurt (Brooks), a wizard who turns Lone Starr on to a mysterious power known as The Schwartz. Catching up with Helmet just as he's transforming his spaceship into a giant vacuum cleaner in orbit around Druidia, the reluctant heroes stage a dramatic showdown. Although it borrows most of its plot from the Star Wars series, Spaceballs also pokes fun at Star Trek, Snow White, and Planet of the Apes -- as well as the entire videocassette and movie marketing industries. The large supporting cast includes Dick Van Patten, Jim J. Bullock, and the voice of Dom DeLuise. John Hurt makes a cameo in a parody of the exploding chest scene he played in Alien. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Eldin (Robert Pastorelli), the house painter who seems to have made Murphy's apartment his permanent port of call, is "discovered" by the elite of the Washington art world. Before long, he is being wined-and-cheesed by the upper circles of the cognoscenti, and has been granted his first showing at a prestigious art gallery. And is Murphy (Candice Bergen) thrilled and delighted by all this? Of course...not. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In My Life, Michael Keaton stars as Bob Jones, who has just been informed that his wife Gail (Nicole Kidman) is pregnant with their first child. However, he has also been told he has kidney cancer that has spread to his lungs; the longest Bob is expected to live is four months, which will deny him the joy of witnessing the birth of his child. Raging within, he visits a Chinese healer, Mr. Ho (Haing S. Ngor), who encourages him to let go of all the anger and fear he has kept trapped inside himself. Bob proceeds to videotape himself, on the advice of Mr. Ho, where Bob will talk to his unborn child and discuss what he has learned in life. In the process of the videotape sessions, Bob discovers that his anger resides in his past with his family, and Bob reveals secrets that he has kept hidden from himself and his wife through the years. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Greene (Anthony Edwards) tries to find a heart transplant for a seriously ill business contractor (Alan Rosenberg) who has already resigned himself to his impending death. Ross (George Clooney) comes to the aid of an asthmatic teenager whose parents can't afford the necessary medication. Greene's wife, Jenn (Christine Harnos), moves out of their home. And Carter (Noah Wyle) worries that his fling with Liz (Liz Vassey) may have exposed him to a sexually transmitted disease. This episode was originally slated to air on October 6, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ordered to abstain from sex during the six weeks that his girlfriend is recovering from mono, George (Jason Alexander) finds that he has developed hyper-intelligence. Conversely, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) grows progressively stupider while helping out her boyfriend, an aspiring doctor. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) has to develop a two-hour act for an appearance at a junior high school. And Kramer (Michael Richards) transforms his apartment into a non-PC smoking lounge -- and ultimately seeks out the counsel of Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris) when the tobacco has an adverse effect on his looks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Smitten by a beautiful real estate agent named Tara (Brenda Strong), whom he met while working out at the gym, house-hunting Frank (Joe Regalbuto) purchases a mansion worth 5 million dollars--approximately 4.999 million more than he has in the bank. But it hardly matters, since Frank is now convinced that he will be able to make time with Tara. . .even though he is too shy to ask her for a date! Needless to say, Tara is not, definitely NOT "the one" that Frank has been looking for ever since Murphy Brown got under way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls, Total Recall) reunited many from his 1987 Robocop team for this $100-million science fiction adventure, adapted from Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (October-November, 1959). After graduation, Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) volunteers for the Mobile Infantry to do his Federal service -- but also to win over his girlfriend, Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), who has signed with the Fleet Academy to become a starship pilot. Johnny joins other boot-camp recruits -- Dizzy Flores (Dina Meyer), who has had a crush on Johnny since school, and Ace Levy (Jake Busey). Ace and Johnny become pals, and Johnny's abilities earn him the squad leader position. A training accident occurs on Johnny's watch, and he is about to resign when Earth is attacked by alien insects intent on eradicating all human life. Johnny's home, Buenos Aires, is no longer on the map. Horrified, he chooses to stay on and fight to destroy the insect threat. The Mobile Infantry travels to the planet Klendathu to battle the warrior bugs, a ruthless enemy with only one goal -- survival of their species no matter what. In the initial encounter, some 100,000 lives are lost. At a distant fort, Johnny's unit discovers that the bugs drain brains to acquire knowledge. Soon they are overwhelmed by an advancing arthropod army of immense proportions, attacking both in space and on the planet surface. The notion of human extinction becomes a possibility. For this $100-million production, some 300 artists and technicians combined models and miniatures with CGI effects to fashion a variety of creatures -- from breeder bugs to armored tanker bugs. The film employed hundreds of extras and has over 500 visual effects shots. Filming began 4/29/96 in California (LA and Long Beach, where Cal State's pyramid gym was used for the Jumpball game), New York, South Dakota, Wyoming (Casper, Hell's Half Acre), and Utah (an abandoned Wendover airstrip where the Enola Gay WWII bomber crew trained). At an abandoned airfield in Fountain Valley, California, an elaborate set was constructed to resemble a military boot camp of the future -- complete with an array of pup tents, gull-winged spaceships, hurdle obstacle course, and training facility buildings. Cinematography by Jost Vacano (Showgirls). Licensed products include Lewis Galoob Inc. toys. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Looking forward to a gambling trip in Atlantic City upon the completion of their work day, Casey (Peter Krause) and Dan's (Josh Charles) plans are squashed when they are forced to substitute for the co-anchors of the early morning wrap-up show who are snowed in at the Pittsburgh airport. With a bit of time to kill before the 2 a.m. show, they decide to start an impromptu poker game to pass the time. Dana (Felicity Huffman) and Isaac (Robert Guillaume) join the game after briefly discussing Isaac's notion that he may be shrinking due to age and osteoporosis. Natalie (Sabrina Lloyd) challenges Jeremy (Joshua Malina) into the game as part of their ongoing feud regarding Jeremy's recent choice of playing tennis with an old friend -- who happens to be a famous and beautiful actress -- rather than spending time with her. Unfortunately for Natalie, she proves to be horrible at poker -- which makes her even more angry with Jeremy, whom she also accuses of being a Mr. Know-It-All. While in the midst of the game, Dana has a brief discussion with the 2 a.m. show's producer Sally (Brenda Strong) and learns that Casey had approved the show's rundown without scrutinizing every last detail -- which miffs Dana and aggravates the jealousy and rivalry she has with Sally. Confronting Casey on the issue, Dana proceeds to inform him of the several problems in store for him with the 2 a.m. show because of his negligence, while Jeremy starts getting angry over Natalie's obsessive need for vindication and revenge that has elevated the argument to another level -- much to the ire of the rest of the staff who are forced to listen to the bickering. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

A man needing some easy money finds danger instead in this sexy thriller. Mike Aguayo (Lorenzo Lamas) is a former police detective who has moved to Puerto Rico, where he runs a night club. But business is bad, and Mike is hounded by creditors; in desperate need of some quick money, he accepts an unusual offer from a gangster who wants Mike to seduce his wife. The mobster's logic is that if he can prove Mike and his wife have had sex, he can divorce her as an adulteress. However, when Mike meets the woman in question, he discovers that she has a plan of her own for her husband, and Mike finds himself in deep and dangerous waters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer), a photographer, is married to Pat (Treat Williams), a restaurateur, and they would seem to have a perfect life in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1988, they have three small children that Beth takes along to her high school reunion in Chicago. While checking in at a crowded hotel lobby, her middle child, three-year-old Ben, disappears. Despite a frantic search and much media coverage, the boy is not found, and Beth soon falls apart. Nine years later, the family has only barely recovered when they move to Chicago so Pat can open a restaurant with his father. A few months later, a neighborhood boy named Sam Karras (Ryan Merriman) knocks on the door, asking to mow the lawn. Beth notices the boy's appearance exactly matches a time-elapsed photo of Ben constructed by the police; she takes pictures of the boy and contacts both her husband and police detective Candy Bliss (Whoopi Goldberg). School fingerprints of Ben and Sam match, and the boy is taken to foster care while Candy and Beth confront the father, George (John Kapelos). It seems Ben was abducted by an unbalanced woman who was Beth's high school classmate; the boy was eventually adopted by George when he married "Sam's" new mother, and she later committed suicide, leaving no one to blame. Having grown up happily with George, Sam has no memories of his real parents. Now Beth and Pat must find a way to bond with Sam, and heal older brother Vincent (Jonathan Jackson), who was supposed to be watching Ben at the time he disappeared, and has been suffering from guilt ever since. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

After word spreads of Dana's (Felicity Huffman) engagement to Gordon (Ted McGinley), Dan (Josh Charles) insists Casey (Peter Krause) must tell Dana about his knowledge regarding Gordon's one-night stand with Dana's rival, Sally (Brenda Strong). Not only does Casey refuse to do so, but he also insists the whole affair is none of his business -- and that, contrary to Dan's assertion that he has no plan, Casey has the Napoleonic "show up and see what happens" plan in effect. Dan disagrees with the plan and the attitude and at the first available moment, he tells Natalie (Sabrina Lloyd) who in turn immediately tells Dana. Dana calmly refuses to believe the story, but cannot help but ask Gordon while the two are at lunch. Gordon angrily admits to it and also informs Dana about Casey's own sexual experiences with Sally -- which results in Dana cornering Sally and blaming her for this entire mess. Sally points out that her personal life is her own business and is in no way an attack on Dana, which Dana realizes to be true as she breaks down sobbing. Dana goes on to confront Casey about her findings while Dan begins to wonder if he did the right thing revealing the truth. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi