Barry Kemp Movies

This made-for-cable prequel to the popular 1997 comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion was written by the same person who penned the original film, and stars Katherine Heigl and Alex Breckenridge respectively as Romy White and Michele Weinberger, the roles originated by Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino. Set in the decade before High School Reunion, Romy and Michele: In the Beginning finds our fresh-out-of-high-school heroines scrimping and saving to escape their hometown of Tucson, Arizona and land with both feet in Hollywood. It takes several years, but Romy and Michele finally arrive in La-La-Land, where in emulation of their favorite movie Pretty Woman they naively try to secure work as hookers! Fortunately they are rescued before "the worst" can happen by their new friend Donna (Alexandra Billings), who despite "her" name and appearance is actually a man in the process of becoming a woman. About to go on vacation, Donna allows the girls to live in his posh apartment, where they begin formulating their next scheme to get ahead in Tinseltown: namely, to gain access to the Ozone, the coolest nightclub in town. Along the way, the ladies meets their stud-muffin next door neighbor Taylor Bradley (Scott Vickaryous)--who, because of their association with Donna, assumes that Romy and Michele are female impersonators--and must contend with the velvety viciousness of nasty socialite Linda Fashiobella (Kelly Brook). Oh, and Paula Abdul shows up too. Romy and Michele: In the Beginning was first telecast by the ABC Family channel on May 30, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) -- who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two dimwitted pals attempt to fib their way through their high school reunion with disastrous results in this bubbly comedy from David Mirkin, frequent director of the cult TV sitcom Get a Life!. Los Angeles dim-bulbs Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michelle (Lisa Kudrow) have been best friends since childhood. Their shared passions include shopping, club-hopping, and creating their own candy-colored fashions. When their tenth high school reunion looms, the friends realize that their lives are not impressive enough to cow the popular crowd that tormented them in their teen years. So Romy borrows a Jaguar, and the duo concocts a story about how they became top corporate executives by creating Post-It Notes. Once they are at the reunion, however, Romy and Michelle's scheme unravels. Saturnine classmate Heather (Janeane Garofalo), who really did make a fortune as an inventor, exposes their fraud, and the girls find themselves mocked again, by everyone except Sandy Frink (Alan Cumming), a nerd millionaire with a lingering crush on Michelle. Kudrow reprised the role of Michelle from her late 1980s stage performance in the play Ladies' Room by Robin Schiff, who expanded both the play and the part of Michelle for the feature film version. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In part one of Taxi's two-part, second-season finale, Fantasy Island co-star Herve Villechaize (playing himself) leaves a package of publicity photos in Tony's cab. This inspires Tony (Tony Danza) and the other drivers to discuss their own personal fantasies -- and as usual, these are not only surprising, but hilarious. Highlights include Latka (Andy Kaufman) taking over the dispatcher's job from Louie (Danny DeVito), and Tony discussing politics with CBS newsman Eric Sevareid (also playing himself). ~ Rovi

Carol Kane makes her first series appearance as Simka Dahblitz, a woman from the same unpronounceable foreign country as Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman). The growing affection between Latka and Simka reaches an impasses when he discovers that she is a member of a socially inferior class: that is, she is one of the Mountain Persons. Will true love prevail over class consciousness, or will the shamefaced Latka lose Simka to another man? Listen to the "foreign language" bandied about by Andy Kaufman and Carol Kane; it is a tongue of their own invention, extensively improvised during rehearsals for this episode. ~ Rovi

In the last episode of Taxi's first season, Michael Herschewe appears as Elaine's son Jason, a role later played on a semi-regular basis by David Mendenhall. Obliged to leave town for a while, Elaine (Marilu Henner) leaves Jason in the care of Alex (Judd Hirsch) -- and when he proves unavailable, the rest of the cabbies volunteer their services. So taken are the guys by Jason that they can't spend enough time with him. As a result, the boy is unable to study for an upcoming spelling bee, leading to a hectic cramming session and a surprising finale. Marilu Henner's real-life niece Suzanne Carney appears as one of the spelling-bee contestants...a girl named Marilu. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, mechanic Latka (Andy Kaufman) works day and night to repair cab 804, the oldest taxi in the garage and the "mascot" of the Sunshine Cab Company. Each of the cabbies remembers his or her own special experiences while driving the legendary vehicle. Two special guest stars figure prominently in the proceedings: Tom Selleck is cast as a wealthy passenger who very nearly changed the course of Elaine's (Marilu Henner) life, while Mandy Patinkin plays the husband of a pregnant woman who goes into labor while Alex (Judd Hirsch) is behind the wheel of cab 804. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Christmas is hardly a time of peace on earth and good will to men for Louie (Danny DeVito), especially when his prodigal brother Nick (Richard Forojny) shows up for the holidays. A reckless Las Vegas gambler, Nick insists he has changed his ways and will devote more time to his neglected mother. But the call of the cards and chips proves too strong -- and ultimately the future of Nicky, Danny and everyone in the garage hinges on a single hand of poker. Originally, Nicky was to have been played by series regular Andy Kaufman in his obnoxious "Tony Clifton" alter ego, but according to legend, "Tony" was so disruptive during rehearsal that he had to be literally dragged off the set. (We'll take their word for it when the other cast members insist they weren't in on Kaufman's joke.) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi