Arye Gross Movies

Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange headline this fact-based drama centered on the two eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis who served as the subject of David and Albert Maysles' similarly-titled 1975 documentary. Directed, produced, and co-written (along with Patricia Rozema) by Michael Sucsy, Grey Gardens tells the story of Big Edie (Lange) and Little Edie (Barrymore), the aunt and cousin of Kennedy-Onassis respectively. The reclusive socialites made headlines across the country when the health department threatened to raid their sprawling, flea-and-raccoon-infested twenty-eight room East Hampton, NY mansion in the early-1970s, prompting Kennedy-Onassis herself to intervene in an attempt to save the family name. Jane Tripplehorn stars as former first lady Kennedy-Onassis in a film also featuring Daniel Baldwin, Ken Howard, Malcolm Gets, and Ayre Gross. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) again shows her (usually well-concealed!) tender side as she counsels a young breast-cancer victim (Justina Machado) suffering from depression. Later on, Bailey receives some strong moral support as she stands before an M&M board, defending herself from charges that she was responsible for the death of Denny Duquette. Elsewhere, It is revealed that the talented Dr. Sloan (Eric Dane) has not only been dallying with Addison (Kate Walsh), but also with Callie (Sara Ramirez); Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) decides to call it quits with Finn, and later teams with Addison to separate a divorced couple (Arye Gross, Faith Prince) who have become embarrassingly "stuck on each other"; and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) is still recovering from the news that Denny has left her $8.7 million. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a condition of her parole from juvenile hall, embittered teenager Kris Furillo goes to work at Raintree Horse Farm, located in Fremont, CA, as the ABC Family Channel series Wildfire inaugurates its first season. Upon her arrival, Kris saves the life of Wildfire, an unbroken horse who'd been slated to be destroyed because it was deemed "useless" and "un-trainable." Having herself been consigned to the ash heap of society as an incorrigible loser, Kris forms a strong bond with Wildfire, who will respond only to her commands. As the friendship between girl and horse intensifies, the owner of Raintree, divorcée Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor), begins to see potential in Wildfire as a racing horse, and before long she is pinning her hopes on the notion that Wildfire -- and by extension, Kris -- will enable Jean to restore her family's fortune. Meanwhile, the Ritter family's traditional rivals, the Davis clan, demonstrate that they are willing to do practically anything to prevent Wildfire from stealing thunder from their own stable of horses. In particular, snooty teenager Danielle Davis (Nicole Tubiola) is determined to force Kris off the Raintree property, if for no other reason than Kris has stolen the heart of Danielle's erstwhile boyfriend, Jean's son Matt Ritter (Micah Alberti). Curiously, Danielle's down-to-Earth brother Junior Davis (Ryan Sypek) ends up as one of Kris' best friends and strongest supporters! During the 12 episodes of season one, Kris has a disturbing run-in with her mother Barb (Stacy Haiduk), who is accused of stealing valuables from the Ritter home; Matt develops a gambling problem which siphons much-needed money from his mom's bank account (already depleted by the exigencies of feed bills, IRS payments, and the like); Jean Ritter's troublesome ex-husband Pete (Joe Lando) pops up at the least opportune moment; Kris risks being returned to "juvie" when she starts taking prescription painkillers; and there is intrigue aplenty involving a famous female jockey named Tina Sharp (Amy Jo Johnson). As the season ends, we see a more vulnerable side of the unlovable Danielle Davis as she desperately seeks out the mother who had deserted her many years before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Given that the opening sequence of each Six Feet Under episode begins with the death of a future Fisher & Sons client, it's rarely a good sign to see a major character appear right after the credits. But exactly two seasons after the series pilot that chronicled his father's death, Nate (Peter Krause) bites the big one -- or does he? After poking around with his ghostly father (Richard Jenkins) in a number of alternate realities in which Nate dies, becomes an invalid, or was never even born, Nate finally settles into a timeline in which he survives his brain surgery, marries Lisa (Lili Taylor) and eases into domesticity. As for the other Fisher siblings, David (Michael C. Hall) ekes out emotional progress with Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) in couples therapy, while Claire (Lauren Ambrose) blows off art-school classes to hang out with a hot, tattooed musician (J.P. Pitoc) whom she meets in a crematory. Meanwhile, family matriarch Ruth (Frances Conroy) enjoys time with her granddaughter but butts heads with her new daughter-in-law over child-rearing methods. On the business side of things, Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) revels in his new role as full partner in the renamed Fisher & Diaz funeral home, while Lisa tries to attend to every whim of her shrill, high-strung movie-producer boss (Catherine O'Hara). As for Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), she's nowhere to be found -- except in the anesthetized dream in which Nate married her instead of Lisa. Originally broadcast March 2, 2003, on HBO, "Perfect Circles" marked season three, episode one of the made-for-cable drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Much to the dismay of 15-year-old Lucy Baker (Amanda Fuller), her father John (Eve Gordon) has no room for God in his heart: To him, the earth and the universe are merely the byproducts of "luck." Without violating classroom protocol, Lucy's English teacher Monica (Roma Downey encourages the girl to explore the question of Divine Intervention--and as result, Lucy decides to write an essay proving that God exists. But even the eternally upbeat Lucy cannot reconcile her faith with the tragic news that her mother Erica (Eve Gordon) is dying of ovarian cancer. (The outcome of the story is inherent in the episode's title, but this does not become clear until the final moments). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Cromwell starred on this weekly, hour-long drama series as veteran politician Elliott Baines. After three successful terms as senator, Baines is cast adrift when a fourth-term bid comes a cropper. Knowing no other life but politics, the widowed Baines returns home to Seattle, there to contend with the exigencies of being a private citizen -- and to reestablish family ties with his three grown, estranged daughters. Yes, the whole thing sounded a lot like King Lear, which of course was the producers' intention. Also in the cast were Embeth Davidtz as Baines' lawyer daughter, Ellen; Jane Adams as Baines' unhappily married "middle child" Reeva; and Jacinda Barrett as youngest daughter Dori, the obligatory iconoclastic "bohemian." Originally titled The Second Act, Citizen Baines was to have made its CBS debut on September 22, 2001, but was moved to September 29 due to TV coverage of the World Trade Center bombing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A new bio-computer, loaded with vital DNA information, is used in a crisis simulation to test the defense capabilities of a military installation. Unfortunately, the computer develops its own intelligence and goes out of control, threatening to trigger an ecological disaster of apocalyptic proportions. An all-star voice cast distinguishes this episode, which made its first cable TV appearance on December 23, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama with comedic touches, Martin Landau is an executive with a movie studio who finds himself trapped in an elevator with an aspiring screenwriter, who seizes upon the opportunity to pitch as many ideas to him as possible. Supporting cast includes Martin Sheen, Paul Bartel, Arye Gross, Richard Lewis, and Bokeem Woodbine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Confessions: Two Faces of Evil is a "ripped from today's headlines" TV movie. Jason Bateman and James Wilder play a couple of mixed-up youths, both of whom confess to killing a cop. Investigator James Earl Jones is assigned to separate fact from fancy. Commendably, the film avoids concentrating on the scuzzier elements of the story; the emphasis is on the police, as they endeavor to see that justice is served. Confessions: Two Faces of Evil originally aired on January 17, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a man gets an insider's perspective on his drawbacks as a boyfriend. Jesse (Tim Daly) has never had much luck sustaining a romance. When one of his former girlfriends dies, he asks his current flame (Olivia D'Abo) to marry him. After she turns him down, he decides to visit his former girlfriends to find out what he's doing wrong. Jesse's roster of former girlfriends includes Jami Gertz, Melora Hardin, Elizabeth Pena, and Mimi Rogers. Seven Girlfriends marked the feature debut of director Paul Lazarus, who has a background in such TV series as Friends, Melrose Place, and Beverly Hills 90210. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once summarized the moral of his novel Mother Night like so: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." In Keith Gordon's film adaptation of Vonnegut's book, Nick Nolte stars as Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American playwright living in Germany shortly before the U.S. entered World War II. Campbell is essentially apolitical; if he sometimes hobnobs with Nazi leaders, it's only because they're VIPs in his time, place, and social circle, and he cares for little besides his writing and his beloved wife Helga (Sheryl Lee). One day, Campbell is approached by Frank Wirtenan (John Goodman), an American intelligence agent who offers Campbell an unusual assignment -- a position as a radio commentator beaming Nazi propaganda broadcasts to U.S. troops across Europe, which in fact feature coded information that will aid the American war effort. Campbell agrees, but succeeds all too well -- he makes such a convincing Nazi sympathizer that at the end of the war, he finds it impossible to convince people he wasn't really a Nazi, and even those inclined to believe him feel he aided Germany as much as the Allies. After 15 years as a recluse in New York City, a racist tabloid prints a story about Campbell, and in 1961 he discovers himself behind bars, awaiting trial as a war criminal. Besides Nick Nolte, who gives an outstanding performance, the supporting cast also includes Alan Arkin, Frankie Faison, and Kirsten Dunst; Kurt Vonnegut Jr. also makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hexed is a lame, low-budget comedy spoof of Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction -- both of which are funnier than Hexed. The film concerns Matthew Welsh (Ayres Gross), a scheming hotel clerk at the Holiday Park Hotel whose life changes for better and worse when famed super-model Hexina (Claudia Christian) checks into the hotel. Matthew manages to lure Hexina back to his apartment for what he thinks will be an uninhibited night of sex -- but Hexina has other things on her mind. It turns out that she is being blackmailed over a series of murders committed in her youth when she was fat and dumpy. Hexina, whose psychological profile hasn't changed since she began to grace fashion-magazine covers, is still a raving paranoid schizophrenic who thinks that Matthew is her blackmailer. So, she acquiesces to bed down Matthew in anticipation of murdering him in the afterglow. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Bette Midler stars as a Martha Raye-type entertainer during the World War II era in this big-budget nostalgia piece. Midler plays big-band singer Dixie Leonard, who is chosen to perform at an overseas USO Christmas show by her uncle Art Silver (George Segal), a comedy writer for famed comedian Eddie Sparks (James Caan). Dixie is shuttled to London, where she is thrown on-stage with Eddie, who takes an immediate dislike to her. But her performance is a sensation, and the audience can't stop howling at Dixie's smart one-liner comebacks to Eddie. Dixie is catapulted to stardom, and the repartee between Eddie and Dixie becomes the stuff of legend. The two spar together through World War II, the McCarthy era, and Vietnam. But Dixie stops speaking to Eddie when he fires a writer for being a communist sympathizer and, later, she doesn't speak to him again after he arranges for a reunion between her and her son on the battlefields of Vietnam. Finally, Dixie, now an old woman, is cajoled to appear on a television awards show to reunite with a now decrepit Eddie, age 91. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide