Joanna Gleason Movies

A socially isolated woman still haunted by the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter 15 years ago obsesses over the prospect that a troubled young woman whom she has recently befriended may in fact be her long-lost daughter in The Lake House director/screenwriter David Auburn's affecting psychological drama. Sigourney Weaver stars as the long-grieving mother, and The Devil Wears Prada's Kate Bosworth stars as the mixed-up teen who becomes the object of the dejected woman's hopeful fixation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Joey's attractive but irksome new roommate, Janine (Elle MacPherson), wants Joey (Matt LeBlanc) to get in touch with his "feminine side," resulting in a surprising reaction from Chandler (Matthew Perry). Ross (David Schwimmer) returns to the dating scene by performing a bleaching job -- on his teeth. And when Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) has a fling with one of Rachel's co-workers, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) begins spreading rumors that have a disastrous effect on herself. Designer Ralph Lauren makes a cameo appearance. ~ All Movie Guide

Joanna Gleason guest stars as Athena Gillington, a prominent Washington hostess with whom Murphy (Candice Bergen) has been feuding for years. When Athena invites Murphy to a party, Murphy thinks that the gesture has been made out of pity. In fact, the invite was made for purely mercenary reasons, to help promote Athena's new book "I Just Turned 50." Characteristically, Murphy swears vengeance upon Athena--and vengeance may well be in her grasp when she learns a startling secret about her hostess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having missed a bone tumor on a child's x-ray, Ross (George Clooney) is none too anxious to tell the patient's grandfather (Bill Cobbs) about the mistake -- especially since four months have elapsed and the tumor has gotten worse. Meanwhile, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite) sweeps back into Lewis' (Sherry Stringfield) life, insisting upon full custody of little Suzy. Carter (Noah Wyle) worries himself into a stomach ache over his much-anticipated residency at County General. And Greene (Anthony Edwards), newly shed of his marital status, radically changes his image. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The compilation film If These Walls Could Talk consists of three short films that each deal with the controversial issue of abortion. Although each of the stories is set in a different decade, the unifying element (aside from the subject matter) is that all three transpire in the same house. The first story stars Demi Moore as the widow of a soldier killer in combat. She becomes pregnant and does not feel it would be morally appropriate to have the baby. Because it is the '50s, she must attempt to secure an illegal abortion. The second story, set in the '70s, stars Sissy Spacek as a mother of a struggling family. Having successfully raised four children on a meager income, Spacek's character must now decide if she should seek an abortion after finding out she is expecting a fifth. The final story takes place in the '90s. Anne Heche portrays a grad student who crosses protestors' picket lines in order to consult a doctor (Cher) about having an abortion. The first two parts, "1952" and "1974," were directed by Nancy Savoca, and the last part, "1996," was helmed by Cher, in her directorial debut. If These Walls Could Talk aired originally on HBO. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The Boys is an "a clef" celebration of the famed script writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of Columbo, Murder She Wrote and so many other stellar TV projects. William Link himself wrote this story about two lifelong collaborator/friends named Walter (James Woods) and Artie (John Lithgow). Though Artie is a chain-smoker, it is Walter who contacts terminal lung cancer--the actual fate of the late Richard Levinson. Some observers have suggested that Link penned this tale more out of guilt than friendship; whatever the case, he wisely avoids overloading the material with sentiment, allowing the "boys" to kid around and squabble as much as they ever had. As a bonus, there's a Columbo-style mystery angle in the proceedings to keep the hard-core Levinson/Link fans happy. The Boys was produced for television and originally shown in April of 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Perhaps it's a blessing that old Ward Cleaver didn't live to see how his son Beaver (Jerry Mathers) turned out. Now in his mid-30s, the Beav is divorced, out of work, and living in his mother's house with his two children. Beaver's brother Wally, also married, is doing rather better, but his friendship with neighborhood sharpster Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) threatens his financial wellbeing. Only the boys' Mom June (Barbara Billingsley) has matured in the twenty years since Leave It to Beaver left the air. Still the Beaver was the pilot for one of those ubiquitous "reunion" series of the 1980s; this one sold, and ran for several seasons on the TBS Superstation as The New Leave It to Beaver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Real estate agent Maceda (Chris Sarandon) once testified against drug trafficker Orosco (Miguel Najera). Now Orosco is out of prison, and Maceda has a problem. He flees, hiding out at a near-vacant California Central Valley inn where innkeeper Kat (Mariel Hemingway) is happy to have him sign the register. His presence, however, arouses the suspicions of lone cop Gilchrist (Dennis Hopper). Meanwhile, Fed agent Gere (Peter Coyote) hopes to track Maceda before Orosco's thugs pick up the scent. Shown at the 1997 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Veteran producer/director Diane English (The Lathe of Heaven, Murphy Brown) helms this contemporized remake of George Cukor's beloved proto-feminist comedy drama The Women (1939), an adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce's play. The English version follows the gossip, bitchy wisecracking, and overall disillusionment that erupt among a group of socialite friends when their dearest and most envied learns of her husband's marital infidelity at the hands of a backstabbing shopgirl. The all-female cast is fronted by Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Candice Bergen, with supporting roles inhabited by Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, and Carrie Fisher. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, two women head for Reno to get simultaneous quicky divorces and end up becoming friends. Edie was married years ago, but her husband abandoned her two weeks after the wedding. Pen spent nine years married to an ice-cold businessman who neglected her. Edie and Pen meet while leaving the courtroom. They immediately head for a bar where they encounter Harry, who is despondent that his wife took his beloved dog when she left him. As the three grow increasingly inebriated, they begin having long conversations about their pasts, presents and futures. Now that ditzy Edie is divorced, she plans to marry her new love in Acapulco. Meanwhile, womanizing Harry attempts to bed the vulnerable Pen. Dramatic tension rises when Pen discovers that Edie's fiancé is her ex-husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide