Elizabeth Brown Movies
Based on the "Oprah Book Club" selection by Anna Quindlen, Black and Blue stars Mary Stuart Masterson as New York City housewife Fran Benedetto. Outwardly living an ideal existence, Fran harbors a painful secret: She is regularly abused, both verbally and physically, by her husband Bobby (Anthony LaPaglia). But why does not Fran go to the police? The answer is tragically simple: Bobby is a cop himself. Ultimately, Fran goes into hiding in Florida -- whereupon Bobby grimly applies the skills gleaned from years of detective work to track his hapless spouse down. Benefiting from believable characterizations and logical plot twists, the made-for-TV Black and Blue originally aired November 14, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Stuart Masterson, Anthony LaPaglia, (more)
- 1998
- PG13
Sarah Kernochan wrote and directed this nostalgic coming-of-age comedy-drama with some autobiographical touches. In 1963, budgetary problems at the East Coast boarding school Miss Godard's School for Girls, prompt a merger with a boy's academy. The girls are stunned at the prospect of going co-ed and devise a campaign to sabotage the plan. Screenwriter Kernochan, scripter of Sommersby and 9 1/2 Weeks, won an Oscar when she co-directed the 1972 documentary Marjoe, but this film marks her feature directorial debut creating comedy-drama. The upstate New York seen here is actually Toronto. The title created some confusion, since Kernochan's film received reviews the same month the 1998 New York Film Festival unspooled a new 35mm print of Sergei Eisenstein's silent classic Strike (1924). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Gaby Hoffmann, (more)
- 1998
Housewife Tess McCall (Patricia Kalember) knows that her sister's husband is a philanderer, but she can't prove it. With the help of her policeman husband Craig (Tom Irwin), Tess gleans a variety of surveillance and clue-gathering techniques, the better to trap her brother-in-law in the act. She does this so well that she decides to open up her own private detective agency, "I Spy", dedicated to helping other wives get the goods on their errant hubbies. Ultimately, Tess determines that her own husband is cheating on her--but is this information correct, or is she merely being carried away by the euphoria of detection? Reportedly inspired by a true story, When Husbands Cheat was made for the Lifetime cable channel, where it originally aired on February 2, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
A drug addict seduces his lover into sharing his chemical joys and together they begin a wrenching downward spiral into destruction in this unflinching, well-wrought drama. Before getting hooked on speed, the woman had a successful career. But, despite the efforts of those who would help her, the couple cannot seem to kick their habit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
