Tangie Ambrose Movies
Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend they are his parents and that he is a cherished member of the family. This entails participating in Latham family traditions, such as Christmas tree selection and crowded holiday shopping excursions. Though the Valcos reluctantly go along with Drew's requests, Alicia, their eldest daughter, arrives at home and refuses to comply with her "brother's" wishes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, (more)
- 2004
Mara (Michele Hicks) is pregnant, and Shane (Walton Goggins) announces to his co-workers that he's getting married, while Vic (Michael Chiklis) bites his tongue. Tavon (Brian J. White) wants to transfer out of the Strike Team, but at Vic's behest, he agrees to try to make peace with Shane. Danny (Catherine Dent) gets a domestic disturbance call that brings her to Julien's (Michael Jace) house. Dutch (Jay Karnes) tries a new interrogation tactic on an attempted murder suspect. When it backfires, he's forced to call upon the harried Claudette (CCH Pounder) for help. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) forces Danny and Julien to partner up again. Claudette assigns both the Strike Team and the Decoy Squad to a high-profile robbery/carjacking case in which a prominent homeless advocate was killed. Vic and Waylon (Gareth Williams), the leader of the Decoy Squad, decide to compete to solve the case, and make a friendly wager. Whichever team nabs the culprits first wins, and the losing team has to streak through The Barn. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Hastily assembled as a mid-season replacement for the failed series Haunted, the UPN sitcom Abby starred Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Abby Newman, the attractive young producer of the TV weekly "Northwest Sports Report." Splitting up with her self-absorbed boyfriend Will Jefferies (Kadeem Hardison), Abby is reluctant to give up the posh rent-controlled San Francisco apartment that she and Will had been sharing. Since Will feels the same way, the couple decides to remain platonic roommates (it's Will & Grace with two straight people). Other regulars included Sean O'Bryan as Abby's boss Roger Tomkins, Tangie Ambrose as her sister Joanne Walker, and Randy J. Goodwin as her would-be beau Max Ellis. Abby premiered January 6, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Kadeem Hardison, (more)
Soul diva Jackie Washington is determined to hit the comeback trail but seems to be having trouble finding the on-ramp in the mock-documentary comedy Jackie's Back. Jackie (played by Jenifer Lewis) was a Rhythm and Blues singer who had a few late '60's and early 70's hits, including "Yield" and the memorable "Look At Me (My Love For You Has Only Made Me Love Me More)," but she's spent much of the 80's and 90's playing the "Where Are They Now?" circuit. However, Jackie has organized what she hopes will be a gala comeback concert, and filmmaker Edward Whatsett St. John (Tim Curry) is on hand to film the event, and discusses the high and (frequent) low points of Jackie's career with such friends and well-wishers as Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Penny Marshall, Jackie Collins and Dolomite himself, Rudy Ray Moore. Meanwhile, Jackie's big gig is not going quite the way she planned. Directed by Robert Townsend, Jackie's Back was produced for the Lifetime Cable Network and originally aired June 14, 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenifer Lewis, Tim Curry, (more)
After the success of shock-jock Howard Stern's Private Parts, shock-TV host Jerry Springer made his own foray into celluloid. Fictionalizing only the name of his television show (what is normally called the The Jerry Springer Show, is now called "The Jerry Show"), Springer plays himself as a man who fronts a chair-throwing, dog-and-pony trash TV strip which gets high ratings in the backwoods, armpit communities of America. The story revolves around two sets of guests coming to Los Angeles to be on the show. First, the Zorzak family has slutty 19-year-old Angel (Jaime Pressly), sleeping with her stepdad (Michael Dudikoff). When her mom (Molly Hagan) finds out, she seeks revenge by sleeping with Angel's fiancé, Willie (Ashley Holbrook). The second group consists of Starletta (Wendy Raquel Robinson), who caught her man, Demond (Michael Jai White), sleeping with her best friend, Vonda (Tangie Ambrose). This makes all of them perfect for stardom on The Jerry Show. As all these guests arrive for their big day on national television, more chaos ensues with Springer getting propositioned by Angel and her mother. Even crew members show their stripes by getting involved in the sexual escapades with the guests. The whole scenario is finally brought to a knockdown, gender-bending finale live on national television -- right where it belongs. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Springer, Jaime Pressly, (more)
- 1996
- R
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Writer-director Martin Lawrence billed this comic drama as his own version of the film Fatal Attraction (1987). Lawrence stars as Darnell, a hopeless male chauvinist. Darnell is a crude-but-smooth talker and lady's man who doesn't take no for an answer. He works for a nightclub called Chocolate City and aspires to be its owner. He trades VIP privileges at the club for favors from women. Though he is an expert at conning women, he sometimes worries about what his childhood sweetheart Mia (Regina King), who is engaged to marry him, thinks of his adventures. When the classy, elegant Brandi (Lynn Whitfield) steps out of a limousine to enter the club, Darnell feels that he's met his ultimate prize. She rejects his come-ons, which only fuels his appetite. He pursues her, showing up with flowers at her real estate office. He finally wins over Brandi, but she becomes obsessed with him, even taking all four wheels off his sports car to ground him from his rounds. Cutting off his engagement to Mia is not enough to satisfy Brandi, who finally administers Darnell's punishment for his misogyny. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Lynn Whitfield, (more)
- 1995
When the "FYI" studio is decimated by a truck (you had to be there!), the news team heads en masse to Murphy's alma mater, where our heroine is to receive a doctorate for helping to create the school's Women's Studies Program. Murphy (Candice Bergen) of course anticipates being received like a conquering warrior by the female students. Unfortunately, times have changed, and now Murphy's "protégées" regard her particular brand of feminism as being hopelessly out of date! Featured among the students is future That 70s Show regular Lisa Robin Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
