Gary Wheeler Movies
Iconoclastic satirist John Waters bites the hand that (periodically) feeds him in this humorous look at the underside of the film industry. Self-styled guerrilla filmmaker Cecil (Stephen Dorff) leads a Baltimore movie-making collective/street gang called the Sprocket Holes, which includes Cecil's girlfriend and frequent leading lady, a low-rent porn actress named Cherish Oh Lordy (Alicia Witt). Desperate for attention, they kidnap famous Hollywood actress Honey Whitlock (Melanie Griffith) during a Baltimore publicity stop and force her at gunpoint to star in their latest production, Raving Beauty. Before long, Honey comes down with a severe case of Stockholm syndrome and joins the Sprocket Holes in their bid to destroy the mainstream film industry. Waters regulars Ricki Lake, Patty Hearst, and Mink Stole highlight the supporting cast, and techno star Moby contributes to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff, (more)
- 1995
In the second episode of a three-part story arc, the detectives continue tracking down the pedophile who may or may not have seriously wounded Bolander (Ned Beatty), Howard (Melissa Leo), and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) in a bloody ambush. Meanwhile, Felton begins to recover from his wounds, but his colleagues may not be so lucky. And it looks as though Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) will be forced to take the rap for the clerical error that led to the shooting -- and that Russert (Isabella Hoffman) will be the one who hangs Giardello out to dry. Real-life Baltimore homicide cop (Gary D'Addario), the series' technical advisor and the prototype for the Giardello character, appears as Col. Granger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1998
Coroner Griscom (Austin Pendleton) alerts the homicide unit to the fact that several recent deaths have been caused by a poison named phospozine. FBI agent Mike "McGee" Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito) is put in charge of investigating this possible act of terrorism, whereupon tension develops between McGee and his father, Al (Yaphet Kotto), while Gharty (Peter Gerety) quietly and methodically traces the source of the poison. Meanwhile, Ballard (Callie Thorne) is none too pleased that the entire unit knows that she has dated Falsone (Jon Seda). And why is Munch (Richard Belzer) seeing a doctor? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
An ambitious father thinks nothing of using his own son to achieve his political goals in this adolescent comedy. The lonely boy has spent the last seven years tucked away and ignored by his parents, Senator Tom Morgan and his social-climbing wife Nancy, in a distant boarding school. As the story begins, he receives the depressing news that once again they will be too busy to have him home for the holidays. But then, out of the blue, they change their minds and invite him home to stay there for good. The boy is elated, but soon after his arrival, he learns the bitter truth: his father only brought him back because it is an election year and his campaign manager thought he might do better if the public saw him as more of a family man. The boy then decides that it is high time some changes were made around the house and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
