Andrew James Trauth Movies

This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of several starring Kellie Martin as Samantha "Sam" Kinsey, the owner of a British-style American bookshop which traffics in mystery novels. This time out, Sam scores a coup when she manages to get reclusive mystery writer Donald Fiske (William Katt) to make a rare personal appearance at her "Mystery Woman" bookshop. Also on hand is the writer's bitchy wife Jody (Sheree J. Wilson) and his troubled son Cameron (AJ Trauth), not to mention a somewhat disreputable videogame developer named Randy (Jamie Elman), who has persuaded Sam to carry his latest creation, an addictive game called "Whodunnit?", in her store. When Fiske is murdered, Randy is the primary suspect, the result of an ownership squabble over "Whodunnit" which not only involved the dead man, but also some very shady characters from Russia. Though Randy seems to be guilty as hell, Sam nonetheless works overtime to prove his innocence, a task complicated when Sam is assaulted and Jody is kidnapped. Mystery Woman: Game Time premiered August 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Three loosely interrelated stories of dysfunctional relationships are played for edgy laughs in this dark comedy drama from writer and director Don Roos. An unexpected assignation between stepsiblings Mamie and Charley results in Mamie becoming pregnant, with the child being put up for adoption shortly after birth. Twenty years later, Mamie (Lisa Kudrow) is approached by Nicky (Jesse Bradford), an aspiring filmmaker with an abrasive personality who claims to know where her long-lost son is living. However, there's a catch -- Nicky wants to shoot the reunion for the student film he's working on, and won't tell her about her child unless she agrees, though her lover, Javier (Bobby Cannavale), attempts to work out a compromise. Meanwhile, Charley (Steve Coogan), now out of the closet, has a longstanding relationship with Gil (David Sutcliffe), and the couple are involved in a legal battle over whether or not Gil's donated sperm produced a baby who has been adopted by a lesbian couple they know (Laura Dern and Sarah Clarke). And finally, Jude (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a bohemian malcontent who becomes involved with Otis (Jason Ritter), a sexually ambiguous rock musician. Otis has a difficult relationship with his father, Frank (Tom Arnold), but when Jude meets Frank, she likes him fine -- in fact, she soon falls in love with him and leaves Otis for his dad. Happy Endings had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the popular (and recently canceled) Disney Channel sitcom Even Stevens, this made-for-TV movie was filmed in 2002 under the title The Stevens Get Even. On this occasion, the Sacramento-based Stevens family is reeling from a succession of setbacks, not least of which is the breakup of the romance between teenaged daughter Ren Stevens (Christy Romano) and her boyfriend -- a disaster largely brought about when Ren's pesky kid brother, Louis (Shia LaBeouf), sabotages Ren's junior-high graduation. At their most vulnerable, the kids' parents Eileen (Donna Pescow) and Steve (Tom Virtue) are highly receptive to fast-talking vacation agent Miles McDermott (Tim Meadows), who sells the family an inexpensive trip to an island paradise. En route, the Stevens' plane crashes on a seemingly uncharted isle, forcing the family, and the other passengers, to fend for themselves. What nobody but the duplicitous McDermott knows is that the crash was carefully rigged, so that the Stevens would be unwitting contestants on a Survivor-like TV reality series. In addition to the aforementioned Romano, LaBeouf, Pescow, and Tom Virtue, other carryovers from the original sitcom include Nick Spano as Donnie Stevens and Steven Anthony Lawrence as the family's wacky next-door neighbor, Beans. Filmed on location in Hawaii, The Even Stevens Movie made its Disney Channel debut on June 13, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi