Brad Beyer Movies

Just as Jon Voight's on-target portrayal of controversial sportscaster Howard Cosell) in the 2002 biopic Ali was making the theatrical rounds, actor John Turturro offered his own spin on "Humble Howard" in the made-for-cable movie Monday Night Mayhem. Based on the book by Bill Carter and Marc Gunther, the film chronicles the creation of ABC Television's Monday Night Football telecast in 1970, then continues with the weekly telecast's rapid ascent to the top of the ratings. Reasoning that such a momentous undertaking needed a spectacular "star" lineup in the announcing booth, ABC's aggressive sports director Roone Arledge (John Heard) teams the highly opinionated, irritatingly erudite Cosell with not one but two charismatic ex-athletes, "Dandy Don" Meredith (Brad Beyer) and Frank Gifford (Kevin Anderson). The film makes much of Cosell's open disdain towards his "intellectually inferior" co-anchors and of Meredith and Gifford's reaction to their booth-mate's jibes, and also recreates many of Monday Night Football's highlights, notably Cosell's announcement in the middle of an important game that John Lennon has just been murdered. Monday Night Mayhem originally aired on January 14, 2002, not on ABC (surprise, surprise!) but as part of the TNT cable network's prime time lineup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Five friends who nursed their dreams all through college are having a hard time making them come true in the real world in this independent comedy drama. Darrin Michaels (Brad Beyer) is a struggling playwright whose father is more than happy to keep him afloat financially, but he's trying to find a way to succeed on his own terms while battling writer's block. Darrin also carries a torch for Rebecca Moscowitz (Morena Baccarin), a beautiful actress who is willing to read for anything, but keeps coming up against dunderheaded casting agents and sexist directors. Mickey Cancoon (Michael Parducci) is a would-be filmmaker looking for a break while avoiding the real world in graduate school; he used to date Rebecca, but even though they've split up, their break-up sex was so good they're still sleeping together, much to Darrin's chagrin. Rebecca has also occasionally fallen under the spell of Jay Green (Forbes March), a talented guitarist with a fear of success who prefers to sponge meals and nights on the coach from his friends rather than make something of himself. And Ethan Willard (Jordan Gelber) is another grad student who teaches an English course; self-conscious about his weight and his inexperience with women, Ethan wants a girlfriend but can barely bring himself to answer questions in class from his female students. Way Off Broadway was the first feature film from writer and director Daniel Kay; while the film began making the rounds of film festivals in 2001, it didn't win a theatrical release until 2004, after Morena Baccarin earned a following for her role on the television series Firefly. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A shy musical comedy composer searches in vain for someplace to bed down with a sexy go-go dancer in this sweet-natured romantic comedy set in Manhattan. College student Gabriel (Christian Campbell) wants to compose musical comedies; Katherine (Tori Spelling), his muse and confidante, wants to star in his productions. In the meantime, she's rehearsing an all-female version of Salomé set in a women's prison while he drowns his sorrows about a negative review at a tony strip club. On the way home from the bar, Gabriel notices Mark (Jean Paul Pitoc), one of the dancers from the club, catnapping in the subway. One mumble-mouthed come-on later, the men attempt to consummate their attraction to one another at Gabriel's tiny apartment, only to find themselves frustrated by pets, roommates, and a visit from Katherine. The couple's attempt to find a suitable boudoir leads them from one location to another; along the way, they discover that their attraction might extend beyond a single afternoon's ardor. Trick marked the feature debut of director Jim Fall, a New York University alumnus who had previously lensed such gay-themed shorts as Shanghai, He Touched Me, and Love Is Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Fall and first-time screenwriter Jason Schafer spent more than three years reworking his original script while raising half a million dollars to finance the film, which appeared at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals in 1999. Much of the publicity over the film centered on the heterosexuality of its two male romantic leads; despite such mild controversy, Trick became a modest art-house hit. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Tom Keenan made his directorial debut with this low-budget comedic look at college seniors who suddenly find their lives in turmoil and confusion as they graduate and accelerate into a head-on collision with the real world. Cameron (David Wheir) plans to ditch girlfriend Val (Alanna Ubach of Clockwatchers and Denise Calls Up), ignore a lurking job recruiter (Paul Wagner), and set out instead on a motorcycle tour through Mexico, continuing on into Central and South America. Val, however, has a different schedule -- one that involves him signing on with an investment firm on Wall Street. Director Keenan, who also scripted, can be seen in the small role of Cameron's mechanic. This film was promoted as an "anti-romantic comedy" when it opened, minus a distributor, at the Waltham, Massachusetts, Landmark Theaters multiplex in May 1998. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide