Karyn Dwyer Movies

Playwright Neil Simon got his first big break in the early '50s as a staff writer on Sid Caesar's fabled television series Your Show of Shows, and this comedy (adapted by Simon from his play) takes a fictionalized look at the backstage chaos that went into producing one of the landmarks of television's golden age. Max Prince (Nathan Lane) is the star of The Max Prince Show, a popular comedy-variety series with ratings that have begun to slip; Prince's show is still a major hit on the East Coast, but network executive Cal Weebs (Colin Fox) insists that it's too sophisticated for the Midwest, and urges Prince to dumb down his act. Prince has also become the whipping boy of newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (Frank Proctor), and between the tensions of producing a hour of top-quality comedy each week and being pestered about his ratings, Prince is beginning to unravel. His relationship with his wife Faye (Sherry Miller) and their children is falling apart, and stress is eating him alive. Prince's brother Harry (Richard Portnow) is Max's assistant, and his last line of defense against both the network and his writing staff, which spend its days coming up with business for the show while hurling humorous invective at each other and anyone else within earshot. (The actors playing Max's writers include Mark Linn-Baker, Victor Garber, Dan Castellaneta, Saul Rubinek, Peri Gilpin, and Zach Grenier.) Laughter on the 23rd Floor received its world premiere at the 2001 Palm Springs Film Festival and was scheduled for showings several months later on the Showtime premium cable network (who co-produced the feature). The film was directed by Richard Benjamin, who previously teamed with Mark Linn-Baker for another comedy inspired by the career of Sid Caesar, My Favorite Year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Better Than Chocolate is a lesbian love story. Walking home from an evening at the lesbian club 'Cat's Ass,' Maggie is confronted by a gang of skinheads. Suddenly a minibus comes to a screeching halt and out jumps Kim. The skins move on, and Maggie thanks Kim, who watches her go. This is their first meeting. Maggie has recently dropped out of law school and now works in a women's shop. To avoid a confrontation with her mother, she makes up a success story and tells her that she's living in a beautiful apartment. As her mother is having her difficulties with her second husband, she decides to take her young son and come to live with Maggie for a while. Meanwhile, Maggie is housesitting the apartment of a female performer on tour. As fate might have it, she runs across Kim again and they find themselves at the new apartment making love in the shower -- at which moment Maggie's mother and little brother step in. The film was screened as part of the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

This fact-based TV movie melodrama stars Joe Penny as John Dubroski, a veteran cop with a history of erratic behavior and casual philandering. Dubroski's passive wife, Cindy (Teri Garr), is aware of her husband's peccadilloes, but she has always forgiven him and steadfastly remained at his side. Enter Julia Neuland (Brittany Murphy), a 16-year-old waitress and self-styled "cop groupie" who despite her innate naïveté quickly ensnares Dubroski and maneuvers him into bed. When Julia finds out that she's pregnant, she is certain that John will leave his family for her sake. But he flatly denies the affair and insists the child is not his, leading the girl to file a paternity suit. Ultimately, Julia turns up murdered, and of course John is the number-one suspect. The question: will Cindy offer loyal support as before or is this one indignity too many? Originally titled Double Jeopardy when it first aired over CBS on January 30, 1996, the film has since been retitled Victim of the Night for cable-TV play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fraser (Paul Gross) dons female drag to go undercover as a teacher at an all-girl's school. Somehow this is tied in with the mysterious appearances of several Capone-era artifacts all over Chicago, and the disappearance of a young schoolgirl named Celine (Heather McComb). Along the way, Ray (David Marciano) is reunited with his junior-high sweetheart (Michele Scarabelli)--now a nun--and Celine's shy roommate Melissa (Marisol Nichols) comes out of her shell. And don't miss "Ms. Fraser"'s disco dance with a fellow teacher. First broadcast on American television, this episode made its US debut on March 29, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide