Judith Weiner Movies

Ally McBeal, despite low expectations from the network, proved to be a highly successful endeavor from writer/producer David E. Kelley. The notoriously tiny Calista Flockhart's neurotic portrayal of Ally fueled the show for five seasons, though it could not have lasted nearly as long without the insights of its eccentric supporting cast. Unique for its forays into the surreal, Ally McBeal as a show is as conflicted as its starring character. Half feministic endeavor, half a frustratingly traditional portrayal of lovelorn women, Ally McBeal danced precariously between law dramas of a more serious nature and Bridget Jones-esque "chick-shows." The series centered around the life of Ally McBeal, the quintessential "little girl lost," who, after graduating with a law degree from Harvard University, found herself in a law firm populated by an extraordinarily unconventional staff, including but not limited to Billy Thomas (Gil Bellows), her high school sweetheart. The show's premise allowed for quite a bit of creative freedom, and most episodes switched seamlessly from the thought-provoking (modern gender issues and sexual boundaries) to the absurd (remote control toilet flushers and pet frogs). Ally's quest for love and emotional fulfillment made for the heart of the series, along with the dark undertone of her often-questionable sanity. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Gross Anatomy is to medical school what Paper Chase was to law school, with perhaps a little less sobriety. Mathew Modine plays a blue-collar kid attending a posh school of medicine, where everyone--teacher and student alike--seems to be well above Modine's social strata. Perhaps as a reaction to the snobbery all around him, Modine behaves as irreverently as possible. Neither teacher Christine Lahti nor lab partner Daphne Zuniga finds Modine's what-the-hell act appealing, but both are fully aware that he is a talented young man with a brilliant future. The climax of the film lays it on pretty thick in defining Modine as an all-around good fellow despite his cheekiness (he even delivers a baby just before taking his finals!), but Gross Anatomy strives successfully to be a "feel good" movie--albeit brought ever so slightly down to earth by the death of one of the principal characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, this made-for-TV movie follows the scandal that arises when a prominent judge is discovered to be leading a secret life as the husband and father of two different families. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In a gender-reversed version of his previous hit Pretty in Pink, John Hughes retreads all-too- familiar ground in Some Kind of Wonderful, the story of a sensitive, young would-be artist, Keith (Eric Stoltz), who vies for the affection of his high school's popularity queen, Amanda (Lea Thompson), seemingly out of some deep-rooted insecurity regarding his social ineptitude. He enlists the help of his butch best friend and fellow misfit, Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson), unaware that she secretly pines for him. While she goads him to give up his pointless pursuit of Amanda, he encounters one other small obstacle -- Amanda's rich bully of a boyfriend, Hardy (Craig Sheffer), who threatens Keith with a face rearrangement. Undeterred, Keith decides he will, by any means necessary, escort his dream girl to the prom -- but not before he buys her expensive jewelry with the money from his college fund in order to impress her. (Hughes expects the audience to side with Keith when his father protests.) Some Kind of Wonderful is pure fantasy, but the plot is too tired and flawed for it to be completely satisfactory escapism. Still, the performances are all-around good and the ending is slightly more likeable than its predecessor's. Hughes decided to use the original Pretty in Pink ending, which had been dropped from the original after poor audience response at the advance screenings. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Raquel Welch's astonishing performance in the made-for-TV Right to Die compensates for any number of script deficiencies. Ms. Welch plays a successful psychologist with a happy home life who is suddenly stricken with the dreaded neurological affliction ALS (aka "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). At first, she is determined to fight for her life, but as her conditions deteriorates and she becomes more of a human vegetable, Ms. Welch begs her husband (Michael Gross) to help her die. The producers of Right to Die chose Raquel Welch not so much for her resemblance to the real-life person upon whom the story is based, but in the hopes that this "offbeat" piece of casting would attract a large TV audience. Ms. Welch accepted the role to counter industry accusations that she was impossible to work with. Thus the motivations behind Right to Die were more commercially oriented than the film's subject matter deserved, but this can be excused in the light of Welch's harrowingly accurate portrayal of a woman literally dying by inches before our eyes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Louis Stevenson's novel is satirized in this comedy about a scientist (Mark Blankfield) who is hopelessly addicted to his latest invention, a strange white powder. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide