Zelda Harris Movies
- 2002
When teenaged auxiliary officer Heather Peterson is murdered, she leaves behind a diary which details explicitly the sexual habits of the uniformed officers of the 15th precinct. These revelations result in a lot of suspicion and recriminations volleying back and forth between the uniforms and the detectives. Meanwhile, McDowell (Charlotte Ross) and Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors) deal with an uncooperative stabbing victim; Jones (Henry Simmons) and Haywood (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) team up to trap a con artist specializing in phone-scamming senior citizens; and Andy's son Theo (Austin Majors) balks at sharing a room with baby Michelle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
Denzel Washington and writer-director Spike Lee team for the third time with this contemporary basketball drama focusing on a promising athlete, the son of a convict-father. Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) has been in prison for six years when tough prison-warden Wyatt (Ned Beatty) tells him that he's getting a temporary parole with the promise of a commuted sentence. However, there's a trade-off -- Jake must talk his son, Jesus Shuttlesworth (NBA star Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks), the top-ranked high-school basketball player in the country, into signing with the governor's alma mater, Big State. A flashback makes it clear that Jesus' mother (Lonette McKee was accidentally killed by Jake during a violent family fight. After Jake went to prison, the resentful Jesus was left alone to raise his sister Mary (Zelda Harris). Now several colleges are offering Jesus scholarships, and montages satirize the manner in which young athletes are wooed by educators and coaches across the country. However, Jake will soon be back behind bars if he can't get Jesus to sign with Big State within the week. Meanwhile, the greed of other family members begins to surface. John Turturro is seen in a cameo as Coach Billy Sunday, and several real-life coaches can also be spotted in this movie. Music by Aaron Copland (1900-1990) with songs by Public Enemy. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, (more)
- 1997
Eleven-year-old Clover is angry, confused, frightened, and sad. She didn't ask her father to fall in love with that Yankee white woman, and she certainly didn't expect her father to die in a car crash on his wedding day. Now she feels all alone, caught between her family, who strongly disapprove of her father's bride, and the well-meaning but culturally clueless stepmother who tries to win Clover's love and deal with her own grief. In an unexpected turn of events, it is the late father/husband himself who provides the catalyst for healing. An unusually well-wrought made-for-cable drama, Clover explores a family's grief and attempts to come together in a realistic, moving manner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth McGovern, Ernie Hudson, (more)
Based on the characters from the series of best-selling books by Ann M. Martin, The Baby Sitters Club concerns a group of seven girls, each edging into their teenage years, who are close friends and have formed a co-operative baby-sitting service. Their business has become so successful that the girls decide to expand their horizons and start a summer day camp for kids; however, they soon discover that not all the adults in the neighborhood think this is a good idea, and they learn a lesson about cooperation and responsibility. Meanwhile, Kristy (Schuyler Fisk), the leader of the group, lives with her mother (Brooke Adams) and stepfather (Bruce Davison); when her father (Peter Horton), an undependable wanderer, shows up, he asks Kristy not to tell her mother that he's in town, and Kristy is torn about what to say. Stacy (Bre Blair) has another sort of dilemma to deal with; she's tall and pretty and has met a boy who likes her. However, he thinks she's older than she actually is, leading her into a dating dilemma that she may not be ready for. The Baby Sitters Club was the first theatrical feature for actress-turned-director Melanie Mayron; Schuyler Fisk is the daughter of actress Sissy Spacek and director/designer Jack Fisk. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Schuyler Fisk, Rachael Leigh Cook, (more)
- 1995
- PG
Alfre Woodard and Charles S. Dutton star as sister and brother in this made-for-television Hallmark Hall of Fame production about an African-American family's struggle to retain their heritage. The drama tells the story of an impoverished black family whose history is told in the carvings on the family piano. Boy Willie (Dutton) wants to sell the piano and use the money to buy farmland, but sister Berniece (Woodard) won't part with it. The film chronicles their struggle to come to terms with their family's past, and its future. The critically acclaimed film was based on August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play and was nominated for numerous Emmy awards. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfre Woodard, Charles S. Dutton, (more)
- 1994
Ten-year-old Wendy Sylvester (Stephi Lineburg) disappears from a foster home. The subsequent investigation reveals that Wendy had been subjected to neglect and abuse by her foster mother. The girl turns up in a specially designed "hiding place" within the home of her compassionate former teacher Arnette Fenady (Lisa Eichhorn), who insists that she is acting in the child's best interest -- but who is obviously an extremely disturbed woman despite her noble intentions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Spike Lee and his siblings Cinque Lee and Joie Lee co-wrote this nostalgic but unglamorized look at a family growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s, inspired by their own childhood. Woody Carmichael (Delroy Lindo) is a jazz musician whose career is in a slump; he once made a good living as a session musician, but he has moved away from it to devote himself to more serious music, a choice that has not worked out well from a financial standpoint. His wife Carolyn (Alfre Woodard) works as a school teacher to keep food on the table. The Carmichaels have five children, a bright and introspective daughter named Troy (Zelda Harris) and four sons with a habit of causing trouble, and they all share an apartment in a brownstone in Brooklyn. Crooklyn follows the Carmichaels as the kids learn the funny and painful lessons of growing up, Mom and Dad balance their love for each other against the financial and personal difficulties of the creative life, and they all try to get along with the often eccentric neighbors on their block. Crooklyn's soundtrack is enlivened by classic 70s R&B hits, including selections by Sly and the Family Stone, The Jackson Five, Curtis Mayfield, The Staple Singers, and The Chambers Brothers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, (more)
