Lou Myers Movies

Adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel, It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of burnt-out teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who checks himself into a mental health clinic citing exhaustion, and finds himself placed in the adult ward due to the fact that the youth ward has been shut down. Taken under the wing of fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the stressed-out 16-year-old attempts to endure his mandatory five days' stay without completely losing his mind. His predicament is made somewhat more tolerable by the presence of Noelle (Emma Roberts), another teenage patient who's struggling to sort out her thoughts. Academy Award nominee Viola Davis, Lauren Graham, and Jim Gaffigan co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A young boy grows up among a makeshift family of oddballs and dreamers in this adaptation of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's acclaimed one-man show. Ruben Junior (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young boy who was born in the late '40s into a family that started crumbling not long after he was born. Ruben Junior's parents were from Lackawanna, a city in Upstate New York, and were living in a rooming house run by Nanny Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson), whose place was a hub for the local African-American community. When Ruben Junior's parents split up, he and his mother return to Lackawanna and Nanny's rooming house; with mother overworked physically and in sad shape emotionally, Nanny takes Ruben Junior under her wing, and offers him the sort of nurturing she gives all her boarders. Nanny's house is full of people struggling for a fresh start in life, ranging from former convicts to recovering drug addicts, and she opens both her doors and her heart to them as they strive to make themselves better people. Ruben Junior finds a loving home amidst the colorful eccentrics in Nanny's circle of friends, but as America changes over the course of the 1950s and '60s, so does the neighborhood where Nanny and her tenants live -- and not for the better. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, Lackawanna Blues features a stellar supporting cast, including Delroy Lindo, Louis Gossett Jr., Rosie Perez, Jimmy Smits, Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, and Ernie Hudson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unable to get away from his workload, Benton (Eriq La Salle) may lose Reese (Matthew Watkins) in a court custody battle with Roger (Vondie Curtis-Hall). Carter (Noah Wyle) makes a play for Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), who is not resistant to his charms. While treating a married couple who may literally be allergic to sex, Weaver (Laura Innes) begins a relationship with feisty female firefighter Sandy Lopez (Lisa Vidal). Kovac (Goran Visnjic) learns more about Nicole's (Julie Delpy) "pregnancy." And while preparing to leave County General, Cleo Finch (Michael Michele) is reluctant to say goodbye to anyone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Matthew Miele directs this tale about a mysterious homeless guy. Jake (Ernie Hudson) lives relatively contently in his homeless routine -- he wakes in the morning, plays the bongos for change, and collects dog feces. Everything seems hunky-dory, as it were, until he encounters Cameron, who is attempting suicide. Jake takes the guy under his wing and shows him the ropes of life on streets. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) is a talented golf pro, who owns his own driving range. That sounds impressive, but the reality is quite different. While it's true that Roy is indeed a talented golfer and does own a driving range, it is in a tiny, unheard of Texas backwater. With almost no customers, he is likely to go broke. His golfing talents remain untapped and his life is rapidly going nowhere. To pass the time, he drinks a lot of beer with his buddies, or swings at a bucket of balls. Sometimes, he even plays real golf, and his friend and assistant Romeo (Cheech Marin) caddies for him. That's all there is for Roy, until he is wakened from his deathlike reverie by a visit from a newcomer in town, psychologist Molly Griswold (Renee Russo). Teaching her how to swing a club reminds him of feelings he had nearly forgotten. Discovering that she is the girlfriend of his old golfing rival, David Simms (Don Johnson), goads him yet further, and he returns to the PGA golf tour to compete in the U.S. Open. Maybe he'll get Molly for himself, maybe not, but in the meantime he has some things to prove to himself. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

What does a biographer do when the truth about his subject is far less pleasant than the legend? That is the moral dilemma at the heart of Cobb, which explores the lives of both baseball's premier hitter, Ty Cobb (Tommy Lee Jones), and the sportswriter assigned to set his story down, Al Stump (Robert Wuhl). Stump arrives at the Tahoe home of the dying Cobb to write the official life story of the first man inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. He finds a drunken, misanthropic, bitter racist who abuses his biographer as well as everyone else. Stump must either candycoat his subject's life or present an accurate picture of a disgusting man who happened to become an American sports hero. The movie's biting focus on Cobb, ferociously performed by Jones, is not matched by its weaker representation of Stump, an imbalance which ultimately weakens the film's overall effect. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

When Freddie (Cree Summer) falls for good-looking football player Garth Parks (played by martials-arts expert Taimak), Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) begins to worry, having heard Garth brag about his previous sexual conquests. But when Dwayne tries to warn Freddie, she assumes that he is jealous and ignores him. This proves to have near-tragic consequences when Garth drives Freddie to a secluded "lover's lane"--and prepares to live up (or down) to his reputation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Though he puts on an elaborate display of indifference, Walter (Sinbad) seethes with jealousy when Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis) accepts a dinner invitation from her ex-husband Lamar (Thomas Mikal Ford)--especially when Lamar turns out to be a lot better-looking than Walter was led to believe. During dinner, Jaleesa is nearly persuaded by her "ex" to get back together again. Just when she is about to make her decision, an unexpected revelation abruptly alters the situation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After accidentally causing extensive--and expensive--damage to Mr. Gaines' car, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) is too frightened to ask her father for the money to repair the vehicle. Thus, she ends up working for Gaines (Lou Myers) at the Pit, proving to be very bad at basic kitchen skills but very good with moneymaking ideas for the establishment--and making "star employee" Kim (Charnele Brown) jealous in the process. Meanwhile, Ron (Darryl M. Bell) suffers the consequences of getting a free haircut from a fellow student. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rushing to finish a creative writing assignment, Freddie (Cree Summer) comes down with a bad case of writer's block. To alleviate the tension, Kim (Charnele Brown) talks Freddie into attending a party where liquor is being served--and the results are devastating. Elsewhere, Mr. Gaines (Lou Myers) shares his culinary expertise with Walter (Sinbad), who hopes to impress Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis) with a home-cooked meal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) plays the new "Dapper D" rap album on the campus radio station, unaware that the lyrics are (too say the least) offensive. When Dean Hughes pulls the plug on Dwayne's broadcast, he and several other students hold a sit-in for "freedom of speech"--with surprising results. Listen carefully for the voice of series regular Dawnn Lewis singing "You Will Never Walk Alone" in the climactic Martin Luther King birthday tribute. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season two of A Different World finds the overall quality of the series improving immensely, which many insiders attributed to the fact that the multi-talented Debbie Allen had taken over as producer-director. Originally intended as a vehicle for former Cosby Show co-star Lisa Bonet in her familiar role as college student Denise Huxtable, the series would be forced to undergo a major format change when Bonet dropped out of the series due to her real-life pregnancy. Also gone from the cast is Marisa Tomei, who had played Denise's naïve white college roommate Maggie Lawton. With Bonet and Tomei gone, the emphasis shifts to Denise's former dorm-mates at Hillman College's Gilbert Hall: streetwise 27-year-old divorcée Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis) and spoiled, haughty Whitley (Jasmine Guy). Likewise carried over from the first season are Gilbert Hall's worldly dorm director Lettie (Mary Alice), self-styled campus Romeo Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), Dwayne's irresponsible roomie Ron (Darryl M. Bell), and local community-center leader Walter Oakes (Sinbad). New to the series are Whitley's new roommate, the iron-willed, slightly promiscuous pre-med student Kim Reese (Charnele Brown); fashion-challenged but cute and artistically gifted student Freddie Brooks (Cree Summer); and tough-as-nails calculus professor Col. Clayton "Dr. War" Taylor (played by Glynn Turnan, the husband of Aretha Franklin, who this year takes over from Phoebe Snow as the singer of the series' catchy theme tune). Major season two plot developments include the growing attraction between Whitley and Dwayne, although both continue dating others; the budding romance between Walter and Jaleesa; and the many benighted business schemes cooked up by Ron and Dwayne. Also, the characters begin spending more and more of their spare time at a local eatery called The Pit, presided over by philosophical chef Vernon Gaynes (Lou Myers). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rita Moreno, who'd previously appeared with Bill Cosby on the children's show The Electric Company, is herein cast as hospital cleaning woman Mrs. Granger. Cliff (Cosby) tries to help out when Mrs.Granger is laid off from her job, only to be surprised by her sunny perspective of the situation. And back at home, Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) get into big trouble--not to mention a world of hurt--when they try to play "circus". The supporting cast includes Lou Myers, who later played Vernon Gaines on the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi