Dena Dietrich Movies

Ambitious young advertising man Phillip Fielder (Chad Lowe) has no time for relationships, and seems to have affection only for his creature comforts -- a source of great dismay for his erstwhile girlfriend, Holly Ford (Marin Hinkle). When his orphaned nephew, an autistic eight-year-old named Zachary (K'Sun Ray), comes to live in Phillip's lavish apartment, Phillip wants no part of surrogate fatherhood and tries to pass the youngster along to his cousin Rose (Miriam Flynn), who happens to live near a group home for special children. But Zach nixes this idea and insists upon living with Phillip, thus throwing together two extremely self-absorbed, obsessive-compulsive characters under one roof. This being a Hallmark Channel presentation, Fielder's Choice will undoubtedly work its way toward a happy and heartwarming finale, though it definitely takes some doing! The film made its TV bow on June 18, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Now that Phil has passed away, the ownership of the Bullpen, the "FYI" gang's favorite waterhole, passes to Phil's widow Phyllis (Dena Dietrich). When she puts the bar up for sale, the "FYI"-ers decide to take over the place, hoping to preserve its nostalgic ambience while making a few--er--improvements. But they haven't reckoned with another player--namely, Phil's somewhat addlepated son Phil Jr. (Pat Finn). Radio host Larry King and former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro) appear as themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of Murphy Brown's two-part second season finale, Corky (Faith Ford) develops a bad case of pre-nuptual jitters on the eve of her marriage to Will Forrest (Scott Bryce). Yes, this will mean that she will soon be known as Corky Sherwood-Forrest--and this as much as anything is making her reconsider going through with the wedding. It is up to Murphy (Candice Bergen) to make sure that the ceremony proceeds as planned. . .though in all fairness, Murphy is given a bit of help by the soul-singing Temptations. Frances Bergen, real-life mother of Candice Bergen, appears as Will's mom, while Entertainment Tonight's Leeza Gibbons and John Tesh and telejournalist Kathleen Sullivan show up as "themselves." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mel Brooks produced, directed, wrote, and starred in this episodic comedy in the spirit of Monty Python and the 1957 studio travesty The Story of Mankind. The film is divided into five sequences that play like blue-toned Eddie Cantor vaudeville sketches -- "The Dawn of Man," "The Stone Age," The Spanish Inquisition," "The Bible," and "The Future." Also included is a Brooksian depiction of The Last Supper and a long-winded sequence about the French Revolution. The film starts with a 2001: A Space Odyssey parody, narrated by Orson Welles, in which a collection of ape-men learn to stand erect (in more ways than one). The Stone Age reveals the origins of both the first homo sapien and homosexual marriages. Brooks then appears in an Old Testament sequence as Moses, descending from Mount Sinai with three heavy stone tablets bearing the 15 Commandments; after he drops one of these tablets, the laws of God become 10 Commandments. The Roman period picks up with Brooks as Comicus, attempting to get a gig as a "stand-up philosopher" at Caesar's Palace. The Spanish Inquisition is a musical production number with monks torturing Jews to lively Broadway musical strains. The final French revolution section is a broad parody of The Man in the Iron Mask story. The film closes with coming attractions of "History of the World, Part II" that features a rousing Star Wars parody (anticipating Space Balls) called "Jews in Space" that includes a jaunty theme song. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In this low-budget adventure a teen-aged dweeb becomes a success when he starts up a subversive rolling radio station and plays music banned by the FCC. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this romantic comedy, a news anchorwoman's prenuptial jitters increase dramatically when another man, a songwriter, falls deeply in love with her and decides that he would do anything to be her husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, a Vietnam vet, living in the psycho ward of a V.A. hospital, has difficulty coping with the crazy world he returned home to. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director James Ivory has disowned this Hollywood drama, inspired by the Fatty Arbuckle/Virginia Rappe case and based on a satirical poem by Joseph Moncure March, which was heavily cut by American International Pictures from two hours to 90 minutes. The story concerns Jolly Grimm (James Coco), whose career as a famous silent film comic is coming to an end with the advent of talking pictures. He plans a last hurrah by making one more silent film and invites a collection of Hollywood big shots to his mansion in hopes of convincing one of them to distribute the picture. His mistress, Queenie (Raquel Welch), encourages him, but it quickly becomes apparent the film is a bomb. As Jolly Grimm keeps drinking, his mood becomes less jolly and more grim, particularly when movie star Dale (Perry King) starts getting quite familiar with Queenie. Meanwhile, young starlet Nadine (Annette Ferra), after finding her sister in bed with a guest, seeks out Jolly for solace. When Jolly tries to comfort her by kissing her full on the mouth, a drunken party guest, thinking Jolly is trying to seduce the girl, begins to beat Jolly senseless. Dale halts the fracas, but when Jolly doesn't thank Dale properly for saving him from a shellacking, Dale retreats with Queenie to the boudoir. Jolly, already keyed up to a dangerous level, awaits their emergence from the bedroom with a gun in his hand. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi