Rhoda Griffis Movies

A small town's secrets prove deeper and more mysterious than they initially seemed in A Good Baby. Toker (played by Henry Thomas) is a young man living in a small North Carolina community, where he prefers to keep to himself. One day, while taking a walk in the woods, Toker finds a baby, and ventures into town to find out to whom it belongs. However, no one seems to know who the child's parents are, and no one will claim it as their own. Toker soon draws the attention of an attractive woman named Roby (Cara Seymour), who is interested in him, but will have nothing to do with the baby. Toker, however, has grown to love the child and does not want to turn it away. The arrival of a mysterious salesman (David Strathairn) eventually leads to the discovery of the child's true parentage. The directorial debut for Katherine Dieckmann, A Good Baby was screened at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two people dealing with failing relationships unexpectedly cross paths in this romantic drama. Megan (Teri Hatcher) has left New York City and her career in real estate to come to the small southern town of Chester, NC, where she hopes to revive a slowly dying long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, Craig (Daniel Green). Meanwhile, Ray (Rob Treveiler) is a lawyer who, after several years in Los Angeles, has reluctantly come back home to Chester to care for his mother, who does not have long to live. Adding to Ray's woes is his less-than-cordial relationship with his brother James (David Andrews) and sister Betsy (Jacqueline Anderson). One night, Kenny (Gil Johnson), a local man with a long history of bad luck, stumbles out of a bar after a bender brought on by the news that the lottery ticket he purchased happened to be a big winner. Megan swerves to avoid hitting Kenny with her car, only to hit a truck that runs him over. As Kenny's wife and son try to claim the prize after he dies, the tragic accident brings together Megan and Ray, who discover they may have found what their lives have been missing after leaving the big city. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An FBI agent finds himself crossing the gender line again in the name of national security in this sequel to the comedy hit Big Momma's House. Tom Fuller (Mark Moses) is a computer whiz who is under investigation by the FBI, who suspect he may be the man behind a dangerous piece of underground software that would allow terrorists and criminals to access secured intelligence files online. The Bureau is looking for a way to get inside Fuller's home to find out what he's doing when a golden opportunity presents itself -- Fuller and his wife, Leah (Emily Procter), are in the market for a nanny to help look after their three children. The FBI sends in Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence), who will once again impersonate feisty septuagenarian Hattie Mae Pierce, better known as "Big Momma." Big Momma gets the job, but while trying to dig up the truth about Fuller's possible criminal connections, Malcolm also finds himself developing a close relationship with the suspect's wife and kids. Malcolm also finds himself offering unlikely romantic advice to his new partner, Kevin (Zachary Levi), and developing a new appreciation of the day-to-day travails of his wife, Sherrie (Nia Long). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Recovering from a disastrous romance, graduate student Jennifer Cole (Lisa Rinna) is attracted to the brilliant, charismatic and unpredictable aspiring author Adam (Rob Estes), whose manuscript she has been hired to type. Adam's proposed novel concerns a serial killer who has systematically targeted eight women for death--and as the work progresses, Jennifer cannot help but worry that Adam intends to convert fiction into fact! Unable to convince her parents, her professors or even the police that Adam may be a dangerous killer in the making, Jennifer takes matters in her own hands, offering to be Adam's "accomplice" in hopes of preventing a bloodbath. A definite change of pace for its stars (both of whom had also worked together on Melrose Place), the made-for-TV Close to Danger originally aired January 13, 1997 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A man and his young daughter face almost impossible odds as they struggle to help an injured horse return to the racetrack in this family-friendly drama. Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is a horse trainer whose career has gone into a bit of a slump, and after years as his own boss, he's signed on to work for Palmer (David Morse), a breeder whose wealth and success has given him a certain degree of arrogance. While Ben has learned to keep his mouth shut around his boss, he forgets himself when one of his favorite horses, Sonador, breaks its leg during an important race. Palmer insists that the horse should be put down on the spot, but Ben doesn't have the heart to kill the animal, especially since his young daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), is in the stands watching. Ben and Palmer have harsh words with one another, and Ben is fired, but is allowed to take Sonador with him when he leaves. Ben has a hard time convincing anyone that the injured horse has any potential, especially his father, Pop (Kris Kristofferson), a fellow trainer who rarely sees eye to eye with his son. But Cale loves the horse, and Ben believes that Sonador can make a comeback with the right care, and together with stable men Balon (Luis Guzman) and Manolin (Freddy Rodriguez), he sets out to put the filly on the road to recovery. As its subtitle suggests, Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story was based on the story of Mariah's Storm, a filly who broke a leg during a race in 1993, but a year later came back to win the Arlington Heights Oaks, and in 1995 won the Turfway Breeder's Cup. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Originally aired on HBO and directed by Apollo 13 star and space enthusiast Tom Hanks, among others, From the Earth to the Moon explores the ups and downs of space travel, beginning with President Kennedy's famous speech before Congress on May 25, 1961, and chronicling the journey to putting the first man on the moon. This highly acclaimed, Emmy-nominated, 12-episode series is available in a six-tape VHS set and a four-disc DVD set. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Clint Eastwood directed this adaptation of John Berendt's non-fiction best-seller about a Savannah, Georgia, murder case. When this film was released, Berendt's book had been on best-seller lists for four years. As the film begins, New York journalist John Kelso (John Cusack), alter ego of author Berendt, arrives in Savannah to do a brief Town and Country article on the annual Christmas party given by sophisticated, urbane antique dealer Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey), who restored many mansions in Savannah, including the famed Mercer House where he lives. After the party, Williams kills his rude, violent lover Billy Hanson (Jude Law), explaining it as a necessary act of self-defense. Kelso decides to stay in Savannah to cover the trial, encountering a variety of colorful locals, eccentric and otherwise, including black transvestite nightclub performer Lady Chablis (appearing as herself), financially challenged bon vivant Joe Odom (Paul Hipp), vocalist Mandy Nichols (Alison Eastwood), voodoo priestess Minerva (Irma P. Hall), and Williams's deceptively powerful defense attorney Sonny Seiler (Australian actor Jack Thompson with a very convincing Southern accent). Kelso develops a romantic interest in Mandy while tracking the events that led up to the killing. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

The tyranny, cruelty, and sheer hell of high-school peer pressure and teen bullying has seldom been so vividly realized as in this made-for-cable drama, which some critics have likened to the theatrical feature Mean Girls. Alexa Vega heads the cast as Vanessa, a popular straight-A student who enjoys the friendship of campus queen Stacey (Leah Pipes). But when a quarrel fomented by a couple of Stacey's envious hangers-on results in a rift between Stacey and Vanessa, the latter girl suddenly finds herself persona non grata. Treated as a leper by her schoolmates, Stacey is not only exiled from the "cool" lunch table and subjected to vicious insults and accusations in the hallway, but she is also victimized by a "Hate Stacey" website -- but when her mom, Barbara (Lisa Vidal), complains to the principal, she is bluntly told that the school has no authority over any non-school activities, no matter how odious they may be. Driven to desperation by this onslaught of hostility, Vanessa becomes dangerously self-destructive, and it takes the combined efforts of her mother and her fellow "outcast" Emily (Shari Dyon Perry) to restore our heroine's pride and self-esteem...and, ultimately, to get her real priorities back on track. Director Tom McLoughlin, hitherto a specialist in horror films, invests this adaptation of Rachel Simmons' novel with just the right amount of foreboding and subliminal evil. First telecast by the Lifetime channel on April 4, 2005, Odd Girl Out obviously struck a nerve with viewers, if the incredible outpouring of audience response in both print and on the Internet is any indication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shannyn Sossamon and Ed Burns star in director Eric Valette's remake of Takashi Miike's frightful tale about a cell-phone call from the future that foreshadows one's own death. Beth Raymond (Sossamon) is a college student whose friends have all been dying in droves, and the one connecting factor between all of the incidents is that just before their deaths, each of the victims received a message in which they heard themselves being murdered. Upon receiving her own frightening phone call, Beth has only three days to solve the mystery and cheat death. Burns co-stars as a detective who is deeply troubled by the recent spate of deaths. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The directing debut of actor Cameron Watson, Our Very Own chronicles the daily hopes and dreams of high schoolers and their parents in a small Tennessee town, circa 1978. Shelbyville is the real-life birthplace not only of Watson, who wrote the script from his own recollections, but also of actress Sondra Locke -- or as the townspeople know her, "our very own Sondra Locke." The events take place in the days leading up to the town's annual horse show, where it is rumored Locke will return as a special guest. Melora (Autumn Reeser) has dreams of following Locke's path to stardom from meager beginnings, and hopes to meet the actress to pick her brain/get discovered. Her best friend, Clancy (Jason Ritter), has enough real-world problems to worry about, between falling in love with Melora and watching his parents (Keith Carradine and Allison Janney) fight over their impending bankruptcy and his father's drinking problem. Their friends Ray (Derek Carter) and Bobbie (Hilarie Burton) just want to get a car to find something to do in Nashville, while musical theater aficionado Glen (Michael McKee) begins wondering if he is coming of age differently than his friends. As the town starts to buzz with the excitement of the festival, the characters must face the decisions that will affect their futures. Cheryl Hines and Beth Grant also appear in supporting performances. Janney was nominated for a 2005 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

In this raunchy comedy, Josh (Breckin Meyer), a student at a college in Ithaca, NY, videotapes his one-night stand with beautiful sorority girl Beth (Amy Smart). A few days later, Josh discovers that one of his friends accidentally mailed the homemade porn tape to his girlfriend, Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard), who is spending some time with her family in Austin, TX. Josh and his friends Barry (Tom Green), Kyle (D.J. Qualls), E.L. (Seann William Scott), and Rubin (Paulo Costanzo) borrow a car and hit the road in a desperate bid to intercept the tape before Tiffany loads it into her VCR; Beth, however, wants Josh for herself and has her own plans to track down Tiffany. Road Trip is the first fiction feature from director Todd Phillips, noted for such edgy documentaries as Hated: G.G. Allin & the Murder Junkies, Screwed, and Frat House. The cast also includes Fred Ward and Andy Dick. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This powerful fact-based made-for-TV drama follows a poor, illiterate woman as she bravely takes on the government child protective services in hopes that they will return her three children. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sociopathic Rae Phillips (Kate Vernon) lives only to avenge the past wrong in her life that made her the monster she is today. Stealing the identity of a woman named Kelly Richards, our "heroine" persuades Kelly's wealthy Southern in-laws that she is the genuine article, and is invited to move in with them permanently. What follows is a steady progression of lies, betrayals and suspicious "suicides", the like of which give a whole new meaning to the phrase "blood relative." Filmed on location in North Carolina, the surprisingly sanguine cable movie The Sister-in-Law made its first USA network appearance on July 12, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi