Richard M. Heller Movies
Rescue Me co-creator Peter Tolan makes his feature directorial debut with this comedy starring Matthew Broderick as a moderately successful television writer whose addiction to alcohol, gambling, and drugs make dealing with the latest family crisis especially difficult. Taylor Peters (Broderick) is the writer and producer of a low-rated television sitcom that gets repeatedly bashed by critics and fares only slightly better with the viewing public. His career thrown off the tracks years ago due to his penchant for compulsive gambling, heavy drinking, and frequent recreational drug use, Taylor struggles to keep his additions under control. Sure, he still plays the horses every now and then, but the less that his wife Lorraine (Maura Tierney) knows about that, the better. When Lorraine's sister discovers that her 20-year old daughter Amanda (Brittany Snow) has been working as a Las Vegas prostitute, she calls the family together for an emergency meeting. Later, during the ride home, Lorraine discovers Taylor's racing stubs stashed in the glove compartment and announces that she is filing for divorce. Desperate not to lose his wife, Taylor hatches an ingenious plan to win back her affections and prove he's a changed man: he'll travel to Las Vegas, locate Amanda, and take her to rehab in Malibu. It's a noble plan indeed, but can a man given to such vices truly exercise the Herculean restrain needed to avoid the blackjack tables and accomplish his noble mission while traveling through the sordid streets of a city built on the very foundation of temptation? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Brittany Snow, (more)
- 1997
The sixth TV-movie spinoff of the popular family series The Waltons, A Walton Easter manages to reunite all of the surviving cast members--and in so doing, unintentionally reveals why several of those performers hadn't been doing much acting recently. Throwing the orginal series' chronology to the four winds, executvie producer Earl Hamner Jr. would have us believe that the 40th wedding anniversary of John and Olivia Walton (Ralph Waite, Michael Learned) is taking place in the year 1969, which doesn't quite explain how the couple managed to have all those teenaged offspring back in the late 1930s. Once we're past this inconsistency, the story boils down to the Easter reunion of the family at Walton Mountain in West Virginia--and more specifically, the return to the fold of John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas), now a successful TV news anchorman in New York. John-Boy has not only brought along his pregnant wife Janet (Kate McNeil), but also Aurora Jameson (Sydney Walsh), a Time magazine photojournalist who is covering the reunion. Gradually, the various intrigues of the other Waltons are shunted to the background as the film's Big Question raises its head: Will John-Boy return to New York with his city-bred wife Janet, or will he sentimentally choose to remain at Walton Mountain...with someone else by his side? A Walton Easter debuted March 30, 1997 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Ralph Waite, (more)
- 1997
- PG13
A criminal genius who has carefully planned the ultimate score runs across an unexpected obstacle -- a 16-year-old computer hacker -- in this youth-oriented action-adventure story. Ozzie Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser) is a teenager with a knack for causing trouble; he's been expelled from the Shady Glen School, an exclusive private academy, for pulling one too many pranks on the faculty. Besides, he prefers to stay home with his computer, where for fun and profit he hacks into the systems of computer game designers, downloads new games before they can go on the market, and burns bootleg CD-ROMs that he can sell to his friends. One day, Ozzie's younger sister Melissa (Katie Stuart) talks him into giving her a lift to Shady Glen, where she still attends; looking for a little revenge, he sneaks into the school and intends to have a little fun with their computer system. As it turns out, Ozzie runs afoul of the school's new security chief, former British Secret Service agent Rafe Bentley (Patrick Stewart), who was hired by Principal Maloney (Brenda Fricker) after Ozzie's most recent bit of computer terrorism. But Bentley is not the friend of the law that he seems to be; several of the wealthiest families in America send their children to Shady Glen, and Bentley has a scheme to kidnap ten of the school's richest children and hold them for a ransom of $650 million. Ozzie is caught in the middle of Bentley's kidnapping plot and must now use his computer skills in order to save the children and put Bentley behind bars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, (more)
A goofy slacker wreaks havoc after worming his way onto the jury of a high-profile court case in this broad comedy. The extremely unmotivated Tommy Collins (Pauly Shore) has found himself homeless after being kicked out by his mother, and he needs a place to stay. After hearing how the juries of important cases are sequestered in fancy hotels and provided with free meals, he decides that's the life for him and successfully volunteers for jury duty. Enjoying what he considers the high life and wishing to romance an attractive female juror (Tia Carrere), Tommy infuriates his fellow jurors by attempting to drag out the trial. Director John Fortenberry offers much obvious slapstick, along with a few attempts at topical jibes against media sensationalism, but even fans of Shore's lowbrow humor may be disappointed by the film's quality. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauly Shore, Tia Carrere, (more)
