Michelle Goodger Movies
- 1995
Another of the many TV-movies produced for NBC's off-and-on "Moment of Truth" series, The Other Mother was based on the autobiographical novel by Carol Schaefer, herein played by Frances Fisher. The astonishing resilient Carol manages to endure a messy divorce, handling the raise of two children all by herself, and survive a nasty bout with cancer. Having weathered all these crises, Carol feels it is time to tackle an unresolved issue from her past. Thus, she embarks upon a journey (both spiritual and physical) to locate the child that she gave up for adoption 18 years ago--and faces obstacles that may, in her own words, "threaten everything I valued in life." Although the core of the drama is the rights of birth parents vs. the rights of privacy of adoptive parents, the film manages to engender sympathy and understanding for both sides of the argument. The Other Mother: A Moment of Truth Movie was first shown on April 17, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Fisher, Deborah May, (more)
Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about a family of women in Civil War-era New England is again brought to the screen in this adaptation. The focus is on the March sisters, four young girls raised by their mother (Susan Sarandon) after their father leaves for battle as part of the Union Army. At the center is Jo March (Winona Ryder), an idiosyncratic would-be writer said to be based on Alcott herself, but the film also focuses on the stories of her sisters -- the more conventional Meg (Trini Alvarado), the innocent Beth (Claire Danes), and the precocious Amy (Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis, who represent Amy at different ages.) The film spans years, following the girls' struggles with life's challenges and illustrating how their family connection remains strong in the face of tragedies large and small. Australian director Gillian Armstrong emphasizes the story's feminist elements, particularly in Jo's journey to independence. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
- 1994
In this made-for-television drama, a family battles to extricate their mother from the religious cult she joined after visiting an unscrupulous therapist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Van Ark, Daniel Hugh Kelly, (more)
Chuck Norris stars in this derivative action film (directed by his brother, Aaron Norris) which bears more than a passing similarity to Steven Seagal's Marked for Death. Norris plays Cliff Garret, a Seattle cop who is mortally wounded in a drug bust. Garret's condition is grave but he manages to pull through. However, the Seattle police have plans for him and put out the word that Garret has died. When Garret regains his strength, he is given a new identity as hit man Danny Grogan and is assigned to go undercover and infiltrate the crime family of Marco Luganni (Al Waxman). "Grogan" must bring both Luganni and rival gang-lord Andre Lacombe (Marcel Sabourin) into police custody. But his past comes back to haunt him in the person of Ronny Delany (Michael Parks), a goon from Grogan's Garret days, who threatens to blow his cover. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Michael Parks, (more)
In this romantic comedy, two people brought together by marriage are brought even closer by their mates. Maria Hardy (Isabella Rossellini) and Larry Konzinski (Ted Danson) first meet at a wedding, where Maria's mother and Larry's uncle are tying the knot. However, the new cousins also have something else in common: Maria's husband Tom (William L. Petersen) is having an affair with Larry's wife, Tish (Sean Young). Maria and Larry get to talking at the wedding reception after their spouses go missing for a while, and they develop a rapport. A friendship grows between them, and they start seeing each other on a regular basis. When Maria confronts Tom about his infidelity, he responds by asking her if she's sleeping with Larry. As Maria and Larry become aware of what's happening between their not-so-better halves, they decide to get revenge by pretending to have an affair as well. However, the longer they pretend to be in love, the more they realize that they aren't pretending after all. Cousins was based on the popular French film Cousin Cousine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
- 1989
- R
In this chilling drama, the outbreak of a strange and virulent disease causes a tyrannical government leader to separate its victims from the rest of society by interring them in concentration camps where they will eventually be executed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garwin Sanford, Jerry Wasserman, (more)
As the last two years come into focus for an amnesia victim, she finds her life endangered because of the truths. ~ All Movie Guide
John Candy's popularity from his appearances on the Canadian television series Second City TV did not translate into film success until he made the John Hughes comedy Uncle Buck. Who's Harry Crumb? was released just before the more well-known film, and some SCTV regulars make cameo appearances. In this farcical comedy, Candy plays bumbling Harry Crumb, scion of a family of great detectives, who works as a trainee in the agency his legendary grandparents founded. His slimey boss Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones) assigns the inept young detective to find the kidnapped daughter of a multi-millionaire. The plot twist is that Draisen doesn't want the kidnappers found, for reasons of his own. While Crumb blithely bumbles along through various mishaps, Draisen tries to put the moves on the millionaire's wife (Annie Potts). Fans of Candy will probably enjoy this film, which he dominates with his comedic talents and (literally) large presence. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, (more)
Based on a real-life 1983 incident, The Accused tells the story of Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster), a working-class party girl who likes to live it up with her friends and flirt hard with the guys. After a fight with her boyfriend, she heads to a local bar to cool down -- and after a few drinks, plus some dancing and flirting, she finds herself thrown on top of a pinball machine and gang-raped by a bunch of locals, while others watch and cheer the proceedings. District attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) takes Sarah's case but quickly negotiates a plea bargain in which the attackers' charges are reduced to reckless endangerment. Her reason: defense attorneys could use Sarah's not-so-pretty past to paint her as "asking for it," getting their clients off completely. But a stunned Sarah accuses Murphy of selling her out, and when the lawyer sees how the incident continues to destroy Sarah's life, she decides she must seek true justice. This time, she goes after the crowd of onlookers for "criminal solicitation" -- those who were egging the rapists on. Foster won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, (more)
Sidney Poitier makes his long-overdue return to films in the 1988 thriller Shoot to Kill. Poitier plays an FBI agent, on the trail of an elusive killer. Reluctantly teamed with tracker Tom Berenger, the citified Poitier braves the wilds of the Pacific Northwest in search of his quarry. For Berenger, the pursuit is personal; the killer, whose identity is not immediately revealed, has joined a hunting party being guided through the country by the tracker's girlfriend Kirstie Alley. Though only bearing the slightest resemblance to Real Life (you'll love the scene between lifelong city-dweller Poitier and a huge grizzly bear), Shoot to Kill delivers the goods in the suspense department. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, (more)
- 1987
James Brolin harbors several Deep Dark Secrets in this made-for-TV melodrama. Brolin plays a rural hotelier, married to Melody Anderson. When her husband is ostensibly killed in an auto accident, Melody learns a few horrible truths that she'd rather not know. Brolin, who isn't dead after all, would also rather that Melody remain in the dark-permanently. Filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Deep Dark Secrets originally aired October 26, 1987. It has since been rereleased as Intimate Betrayal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Melody Anderson, (more)
- 1987
Mark Harmon plays an itinerant Depression-era carpenter in the made-for-TV After the Promise. When his wife dies, Harmon is declared an unsuitable parent purely on the basis of his financial situation, and his four children are made wards of the Court. Fighting against the seemingly invulnerable legal system of the era, Harmon struggles to regain custody of his children-a struggle that drags on for eight years. Robert W. Lenski's teleplay was inspired by a true story. Because of the time-span of the plotline, Harmon's four children are portrayed by 13 different juvenile actors. After the Promise debuted October 11, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon
