Kelly Harms Movies
Canadian cult director Bruce McDonald spins this slick noir-thriller about an innocent outsider caught up in the gritty underworld of Toronto. After narrowly escaping her East End Montréal apartment getting torched by a sadistic motorcycle gang, Claire (Juliette Lewis) flees for Toronto where she believes her long lost lover Billy can help her out. Unfortunately, she knows no one else in the city, since Billy is no where to be found, and she does not speak a word of English. She soon encounters sleazy gangster Eddie (Mickey Rourke) and his tough-as-nails moll, Lily (Gina Gershon), who try to draw her into their sleazy business manners. When one of the deals turns ugly, Claire is forced to flee for her life into the heart of the city. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juliette Lewis, Gina Gershon, (more)
- 2001
Toronto-based indie filmmaker Helen Lee spins this frothy romantic comedy about an ersatz glamour girl who unexpectedly gets what she wants. Concealing her working-class upbringing, young, ambitious Alessa Woo (Sook-Yin Lee) poses as a high-rolling Asian heiress, even though she lives in a decidedly low-end apartment and cannot even make the rent. Fortunately, the landlady's son, Steph, is sweet on her along with a bevy of other potential suitors, including Nathan (Don McKellar), a particularly dogged would-be boyfriend who has camped out on her doorstep. She rejects one and all because they do not meet up with her rather strict fiduciary standards. One day, talented native-Canadian artist Ben Crowchild (Adam Beach) moves into the adjacent apartment. Inevitably, the romantic sparks fly just as Alessa catches the eye of a fantastically wealthy bachelor. Will Alessa choose love over money? This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sook-Yin Lee, Adam Beach, (more)
- 2001
Based on fact, the made-for-TV drama Jewel begins in 1945, a time when children afflicted with Down Syndrome were casually and cruelly dismissed as "Mongoloid Idiots." Already a mother with four healthy, normal children, 40-year-old Mississippi woman Jewel Hilburn (Farrah Fawcett) gives birth to daughter Brenda Kay, a Down's baby who will forever be challenged both mentally and physically. Urged by the local authorities to surrender Brenda Kay to an institution, Jewel defies the "experts" and packs herself and her family off to Los Angeles, where she hopes that her daughter will have a better chance at a normal life. But in her zeal to shower affection and attention on her "different little girl", Jewel sorely strains her relationships with her husband Leston (Patrick Bergin) and her other four kids. Cicely Tyson makes what the CBS publicity flacks labeled a "special appearance" in the role of a loving caregiver named Cathedral. Based on the novel by Bret Lott, Jewel originally aired February 7, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1999
The life and career of Ricky Nelson--from awkward kiddie TV star to teenaged singing idol to "young hasbeen"--is adequately encapsulated in this made-for-cable movie, one of several celebrity biopics produced for VH-1. Told in flashback as Ricky Nelson (Gregory Calpakis) recounts his experiences to a worshiping fan in the last hours before the 1985 air crash that would take his life, the story begins around 1952, as the adolescent Ricky is recruited by his bandleader-producer father Ozzie Nelson (Jamey Sheridan) to play "himself" on the movie and TV version of the popular radio series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Anxious to crawl out from under the shadow of his dictatorial father Ozzie, his vocalist mom Harriet (Sara Botsford) and his marginally more talented older brother David (Anthony Lemke), the 16-year-old Ricky begs for a chance to sing on the family's series. The wildly enthusiastic audience response to Ricky's warblings prompt Ozzie to aggressive promote Ricky's musical career, but ultimately Ricky breaks loose from the family's influence to strike out on his own. Alas, after several years at the top, Ricky's career and fan following plummets, before he has reached his 30th birthday he is grasping at straws by performing at county fairs and trade shows. Making matters worse is his unhappy marriage to Kris Harmon (depicted as something of a conniving opportunist by Anne Openshaw) and his ever-increasing dependence upon drugs. Astonishingly, the film never allows us to hear Ricky perform "Garden Party", the song that enabled him to make a spectacular comeback. Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol first aired on August 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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