Tyra Ferrell Movies

Produced by MTV Films, The Perfect Score is a teen crime comedy about a group of high school students who decide to steal the answers to the SAT exam. Kyle (Chris Evans) wants to be an architect, but his scores are too low to get into the school of his choice. Matty (Bryan Greenberg) is heartbroken when he is rejected from the school to which his girlfriend goes. Good girl Anna (Erika Christensen) is pressured by her parents to excel in academics and remain innocent. Desmond (Darius Miles) is a basketball player who believes the SAT exam is racist. Rounding out the group is gutsy Francesca (Scarlett Johansson) and lonely Roy (Leonardo Nam). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Carol (Julianna Margulies) begins to question her relationship with Dr. Taglieri (Rick Rossovich) after an unexpected kiss from Ross (George Clooney). Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) "celebrates" her birthday by tangling with her out-of-control sister, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite). And both Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Longworthy (Tyra Ferrell) are up for a prestigious fellowship, with Benton seemingly having the inside track. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cvetic (John Terry) is growing more and more contemptuous of his patients, leading to some bizarre behavior on his part. Carol (Julianna Margulies) is caught on the horns of a dilemma when she is bound by ethics not to reveal details of an accident imparted in confidence by a patient. Ross (George Clooney) grows restless in his relationship with Linda (Andrea Parker). And Carter (Noah Wyle) learns a few more valuable life lessons as he treats transvestite patient Henry (Vondie Curtis-Hall). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first "official" episode of ER, Ross (George Clooney) tries to save the eight-year-old victim of a drunk driver, and finds time to visit Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), still recovering from her botched suicide attempt (for which Ross holds himself partially responsible). Elsewhere, Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) has trouble securing psychiatric help for a mentally ill patient, and novice Carter (Noah Wyle) tackles the members of a wedding party who have been brought into the ER suffering from food poisoning. As for Greene (Anthony Edwards), his attentions are divided between his patients and his wife, Jenn (Christine Harnos), who is anxiously awaiting word as to whether or not she passed her bar exam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alan Rudolph wrote and directed this typically off-beat drama. A brief romantic liaison between a wealthy European and an American ballet dancer results in a pair of identical twins, who are separated and raised by others shortly after birth. Henry (Matthew Modine) was adopted by Pete (M. Emmet Walsh), an auto mechanic, and Henry grows up to follow in his Pete's footsteps. Emotionally fragile, Henry is in a relationship with Beverly (Lara Flynn Boyle), a rich but painfully shy woman who is terrified by sex. Henry, however, finds his own sexual appetite increasing, and he becomes involved with Rosie (Marisa Tomei), a prostitute living in his neighborhood. Meanwhile, Henry's brother, Freddy (also played by Matthew Modine), lives in the same city, though they've never met. Freddy is a gangster and hired killer working for crime kingpin Mr. Paris (Fred Ward). While Freddy is cool and confident on the surface, deep down he hates his job and tells his wife, Sharon (Lori Singer), that he wishes he had enough money to quit and move away. As fate would have it, Freddy and Henry's mother, who sank into a severe depression after losing her children and her lover, has died, leaving a substantial fortune to her two sons, who must now meet in order to collect their inheritance. Equinox premiered at the 1992 Seattle Film Festival, though it would not open theatrically until a year later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

R&B star Janet Jackson made an impressive film debut in Poetic Justice as Justice, a hairdresser at a small salon in South Central Los Angeles. Justice uses her poetry to deal with her grief after her boyfriend is killed in a shooting incident at a drive-in. Hired to work at a hair stylists' event in Oakland, Justice is stranded when her car breaks down, until she remembers that her friend Ieasha (Regina King) was going to hop a ride down to Oakland with her boyfriend Chicago (Joe Torry), a postal worker who is heading there with a truck full of mail. Justice tags along to discover that Chicago's driving partner is Lucky (Tupac Shakur), the postman who delivers mail to her shop and keeps asking her out. Ieasha and Chicago have to deal with their own rocky relationship while Justice has to decide if she's ready for a new love -- and if Lucky is the man she's waiting for. Along with strong work from Jackson, Poetic Justice features a surprising turn from Shakur, whose nuanced performance as Lucky is in strong contrast to his "Thug Life" public persona. Justice's poems were written by Maya Angelou, who also appears in a small role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) wrote and directed the basketball-oriented seriocomedy White Men Can't Jump. Woody Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a white con artist who hustles basketball games with black players, lulling his victims into the misguided notion that white men can't match up with black hoopsters. One of his victims, African-American Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), becomes Hoyle's "agent," arranging his various inner city scams. Deane doesn't feel as though he's selling out his own people; he goes along with Hoyle to provide a better life for his wife, Rhonda (Tyra Ferrell), and son. The film breezes through several zany sequences, including one liberal-baiting satirical moment set at a black/white "solidarity" basketball game arranged by an ambitious politician. Crooked gamblers intrude upon the last scenes of the film, but Hoyle is rescued by his girlfriend, Gloria (Rosie Perez), a Jeopardy freak who realizes a lifelong dream by winning big on the Alex Trebek-hosted game show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director John Singleton's debut chronicles the trials and tribulations of three young African-American males growing up in South Central Los Angeles. When young Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a bright underachiever, begins to show signs of trouble, his struggling professional mother (Angela Basset) sends him to live with his father (Lawrence Fishburne), a hard-nosed, no-nonsense disciplinarian. There he befriends Ricky (Morris Chestnut), a burgeoning football star, and Doughboy (Ice Cube, in a standout performance), a would-be gang banger. Over the years, each chooses his own path: Tre seems bound for college; Ricky is a blue-chip running back with his pick of schools; Doughboy is a dope dealer and bona fide gangster who drifts in and out of the county juvenile facility. All is well until, without warning, a rival gang chases down Tre and Ricky with tragic results. Doughboy immediately prepares for revenge, forcing Tre to decide whether to jeopardize his future and, perhaps, his life for the price of revenge and self-respect. Sometimes riveting, Boyz'N the Hood is not without its problems. The film tries to cram every single issue facing the black community into an hour and a half of screen time, making the film seem at times forced. The symbolism seems forced as well, and the film is often unbearably heavy-handed. Also, the characterization often relies on cardboard cut-outs; every white character in the film is a one-dimensional bigot, and the black police officer with whom Tre and his father deal is even worse than his Caucasian counterparts. Still, the unevenness of the film is redeemed by some moments of true brilliance. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

During her first day of preschool, Michelle (played by the Olsen twins) inadvertently loses the classroom's pet bird. Now the poor girl is too ashamed to ever face her classmates again--and in this respect, she finds a kindred spirit in her Uncle Jesse. Elsewhere, Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) gets into a rather sticky situation while trying to sneak a peak at her older sister's diary. Miko Hughes makes his first series appearance as 3-year-old classroom bully Aaron Bailey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Novelist/journalist Pete Hammill was responsible for the screenplay of the two-part TV movie The Neon Empire. Ray Sharkey stars as a Bugsy Siegel-like New York gangster. It is Sharkey's dream to turn the sleepy Nevada town of Las Vegas into the gambling capital of the world. Part One, running 105 minutes details Sharkey's "blueprinting" of his vision. In the concluding 85-minute chapter, having transformed sedentary little Las Vegas, Nevada, into a gambling mecca, Sharkey finds that his ambitions have made him a pariah to his New York mob colleagues. Linda Fiorentino, Gary Busey, Dylan McDermott and Martin Landau costar in this "a clef" drama. Neon Empire premiered over the Showtime Cable Network; later on, both portions of the film were melded into one three-hour "special." Neon Empire was first telecast on the Showtime Cable network on December 3 and 4, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fraternity and sorority members clash with the other students at a historically black university in this politically charged musical, which marked the sophomore feature from director Spike Lee. Dap (Laurence Fishburne) is a politically conscious brother who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations and eschews the social climbing of the Greek system. But Half-Pint (Lee), his craven young cousin, is willing to endure any humiliation to join the manly Gamma fraternity. As Half-Pint tries unsuccessfully to impress the Gammas with his inept womanizing, Dap engages in philosophical debates with Rachel (Kyme), his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the light-skinned, straight-haired sisters of the Gamma Ray sorority battle it out in a beauty parlor with their darker-skinned, Afro-headed fellow co-eds. Eventually, Half-Pint gets the chance to join the frat, but only after a degrading episode with Jane (Tisha Campbell), the soon-to-be ex-girlfriend of his house president, causes Dap to lose all respect for him. Based in part on the director's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College, School Daze was also written and produced by Lee. Despite production numbers that included "Straight and Nappy", a dis-fest between the "wannabes" and "jigaboos" on campus, the biggest hit on the film's soundtrack was the go-go anthem "Da Butt", E.U.'s ode to shaking one's backside. Supporting players Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy also co-starred on the TV comedy A Different World, another look at life on a primarily African-American campus. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

High-priced hooker Barbra Streisand has been arrested for the murder of one of her clients. The attorney engaged by Streisand's parents hope to cop an insanity plea so that she can avoid a trial and manslaughter conviction. But she refuses this, citing a proviso in New York law that may result in her spending the rest of her life in an institution. Against all odds, struggling lawyer Richard Dreyfuss tries to prove that Streisand is not crazy and capable of standing trial. Dreyfuss certainly has his work cut out for him: from what we've seen in the film thus far, the violently impulsive Streisand is not only "nuts," but certifiably so. Though she has plenty of opportunity in Nuts to give out with her usual bravura Streisandisms, Streisand (who also produced the film and wrote the songs) is surprisingly restrained through most of the proceedings. And then there's that extended-monologue climax. Nuts was adapted by Tom Topor, Darryl Ponicsan and Alvin Sargent from Topor's stage play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After witnessing a murder committed by a hireling of drug kingpin Bogota (Marco Rodriguez), mercenary street hustler Sporty James (Garret Morris) hopes to turn the situation to his advantage. Intending to blackmail Bogota and retire in luxury on his ill-gotten gains, Sporty sends his girlfriend Marguerite (Tyra Ferrell) to deliver the extortion note to the drug lord. When Marguerite turns up dead, a guilt-stricken Sporty teams with "friendly enemies" Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) to get the goods on Bogota. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide