Mary Pat Gleason Movies

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV Child Lost Forever was advertised as a "docudrama." A unwed teenage mother is forced to give up her baby for adoption. 16 years later, the girl (played as an adult by Beverly D'Angelo), now married and the mother of two, decides to look for the son she lost. She finds that the boy died at age three under mysterious circumstances. The more she investigates, the more she realizes that she's stumbled upon a long-hushed-up case of child abuse. Child Lost Forever debuted November 16, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Yuletide Season is anything but merry for Emily (Carla Gugino), who is forced to take charge of her nephew J.T. (Evan Sabara) and niece Alanna (Mae Whitman) when their drug-addicted mother (Laura Dern) O.D.'s and the kids are dispossessed. When it looks as though the kids will be sucked into the merciless maelstrom of the foster-care system, Emily packs them up and heads out of her home state, ending up in a little town that happens to be named Bethlehem Even though the authorities have been temporarily left behind, Emily will need a miracle to keep her family together. Enter a versatile guardian angel (Patty Duke), who assumes a variety of earthly guises to save the day for Emily, J.T. and Alanna--and also orchestrates a romance between Emily and a sympathetic local cop (David Conrad). Based on a novel by Marilyn Pappano, A Season for Miracles first aired as a CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation on December 12, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America. The plot concerns Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a successful bisexual mystery writer who may also be a ruthless murderer. Everyone close to Catherine dies, and troubled policeman Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) must find out why. In the process, Nick becomes sexually involved with both Catherine and police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), while the bodies begin piling up and Catherine turns the cat-and-mouse game around on Nick. Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas -- who was paid $3 million for the script -- keep the tension ratcheted up throughout, even during the frequent sex scenes, which carry a violent edge reminiscent of the Italian thrillers of Dario Argento. The film's most notorious scene, a police interrogation in which Catherine makes drooling idiots out of her captors by revealing that she is not wearing underwear, became a cultural touchstone and was widely imitated and parodied. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point that she claimed Verhoeven had aimed lights on strategic locations without her knowledge. George Dzundza and Dorothy Malone co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Parisian wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim's Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn't seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring -- their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and stars in this philosophical comedy about a man having a hard time making a case for himself in the afterlife. When advertising executive Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) finds himself in a fatal car crash minutes after taking delivery on a new BMW, he's whisked away to Judgment City, where the recently dead are put on a sort of trial to decide their fate. If in your time on Earth you were able to face your fears and learn from your mistakes, you get to move on to a life in a better world. However, if you didn't, you have to go back to Earth and try again. As he spends the next several days watching various episodes from his life, Daniel gets the impression he doesn't stand much of a chance of moving on -- and his representative, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), seems to have little confidence in his case. In the meantime, he frequents Judgment City's many restaurants (where the food is delicious and you can eat all you want without gaining an ounce), pays a visit to the Past Life Pavilion, and meets Julia (Meryl Streep), who seems so kind, sweet, and noble that her advancement is practically assured. Daniel and Julia fall in love, but what's going to happen if they don't end up in the same place? Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep make a witty and engaging romantic team in Defending Your Life, and Shirley MacLaine appears in a highly appropriate cameo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paramedics Shep (Ron Eldard) and Raul (Carlos Gomez) are trapped in an apartment fire while trying to rescue three children. Back at the ER, Shep's lover, Carol (Julianna Margulies), anxiously awaits word on his fate as dozens of burn victims pour in. Elsewhere, Ross (George Clooney) accepts his long-estranged father Ray's (James Farentino) invitation to a Chicago Bulls game, even though he intuitively suspects that Ray will stand him up again, just as he has so many times before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were the nicknames given the atomic bombs that were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II. This elaborately assembled film is the story of the events leading up to the dawn of the atomic age. Paul Newman plays General Leslie Groves, a hard-nosed career soldier who in 1942 finds himself the reluctant "nursemaid" to a group of idealistic scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the military head of the top-secret Manhattan Project, Groves intends to have the operation run by the book--and failing that, to have things his way at all costs. The film's storyline narrows down to a battle of egos between Groves and atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz), in his own way as contentious and childishly single-purposed as the general. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Under normal circumstances, Danny (Bob Saget) would greet the news of his mother's impending visit by scurrying around to clean up the house before her arrival. Alas, Joey (David Coulier) has neglected to inform Danny that mom Claire (Alice Hirson) is on her way. Confronted with a mess of mammoth proportions, Claire not only begins cleaning herself, but also calls in Joey's mom Mindy (Beverly Sanders in her only series appearance) and Danny's mom Irene (Rhoda Gemignani, in the role later played by Yvonne Wilder) as her backup crew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced by Jerry B. Jenkins of Left Behind and Navigators fame, Hometown Legend tells the story of a small Alabama town where football and faith come together. The downtrodden town has seen better days, and the community's high school is scheduled to close at the end of the year. In honor of the school's final year, the legendary coach of the once intimidating football program returns to give the kids another shot at glory. The no-nonsense coach (Terry O'Quinn) not only brings pride back to the team, but gives the town as a whole a glimmer of hope. The same tactics used in football--sacrificing individual goals and rather working for the sake of the team--becomes a metaphor for what the town needs to get back on its feet. Hometown Legend features Lacey Chabert and Nick Cornish. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte give brilliant performances as parents trying to save the life of their son in George Miller's harrowing and heartbreaking Lorenzo's Oil. Based on a true story, the film begins as bright young Lorenzo (Zack O'Malley Greenburg) is leading a pleasant life on the Comoro Islands. But things start to go wrong with him -- he collapses, he raves, and he loses his hearing -- so his concerned parents, Augusto (Nick Nolte) and Michaela Odone (Susan Sarandon), take him to a doctor. The diagnosis is a death warrant; they are told that Lorenzo has been diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), an rare and incurable nerve disease that is always fatal. When Augusto and Michaela are told to be patient as they watch their son sink further into the debilitating illness, they take matters into their own hands and start their own investigation of the disease. Using rapeseed oil, they find their own treatment for ALD. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative feature at the 2004 Slamdance, director Nancy Hower's off-the-wall mockumentary Memron serves up a thinly-veiled parody of the Enron corporate scandals and bankruptcy of 2001. Hower's film concerns the (apocryphal) corporation of the title, whose crooked suits "fixed" its ledgers and stole millions from lower-level employees and shareholders, including a copious number of little old ladies. Now, the deposed Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Clay (Michael McShane) dominates the golf course at the local prison yard and a team of terminated middle managers scramble to rebuild the company from the ground floor up. Tim Bagley, Claire Forlani, Mary Pat Gleason, Jeffrey Hayenga, John Lehr, Christopher Liam Moore and Evie Peck co-star. Hower and Robert Hickey are credited as co-scenarists, though the film relies heavily on improvisational dialogue. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Wings Hauser appears as Wallace Evans, a policeman turned professor who use to teach the Manhattan College criminology course now helmed by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). In the spirit of friendly rivalry, Evans challenges Jessica to find the person responsible for a series of recent campus muggings before he himself fingers the culprit. The stakes in this "race" are raised considerably when murder enters the picture. This time out, the suspect list ranges from a suspicious-looking busboy to Professor Evans himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide