Gina Hecht Movies
Academy Award nominee Will Smith reunites with the director and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for this emotional drama concerning an IRS agent whose quest for redemption is unexpectedly complicated after he inadvertently falls in love. Ben Thomas is an IRS agent with a fateful secret. Assuming the identity of his younger brother, Ben sets out in search of redemption. Instead, Ben discovers true love while forever changing the lives of seven complete strangers. Woody Harrelson, Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy, and Barry Pepper co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, (more)
Suddenly diagnosed with a potentially terminal illness, a woman facing the darkest days of her life discovers lightness and hope in the last place she ever expected. Samantha Mathis, Peter Dobson, and Mary Matilyn Mouser star in a romantic drama that highlights how sometimes that once in a lifetime love can happen twice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samantha Mathis, Peter Dobson, (more)
Wes Bentley and Winona Ryder star in director/screenwriter Geoff Haley's darkly comic romance centering on the relationship between a writer specializing in suicide notes and the unsuspecting sister of his most recent client. Evan Merck (Bentley) is a reclusive, Los Angeles-based writer whose unique way with words has earned him an unusual career as a professional suicide note scribe. One day, while attending the funeral of a dearly departed client, Evan forms a close connection with the deceased's sister Charlotte (Ryder). A free spirit who remains blissfully unaware of Evan's true connection to her late brother, Charlotte becomes fascinated by the introverted writer and the pair soon enter into a tenuous relationship. But Evan can't keep his secret from Charlotte forever, and as love continues to blossom between the unlikely pair, the writer quickly finds his snowballing deceptions growing into a rampaging avalanche that threatens to destroy not only his career, but his one true human connection as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Wes Bentley, (more)
- 2005
This witty (and taste-tempting) made-for-cable updating of "Romeo and Juliet"--minus the bloodshed!-- takes place in Verona, New Jersey, where two families, bitter rivals since their origins in Italy, are in charge of the town's two most popular pizza parlors. Upon returning to Verona from college, Gina Prestolani (Shiri Appleby) is informed by her domineering dad Lou (Michael Badalucco) that, not only is she obliged to enter the family business, but he has also picked out her future husband! But Gina's heart already belongs to Joe Montebello (Eyal Podell), a talented pizza chef--and of course, the son of Lou's bitter enemy Vinnie Montebello (Dan Hedaya). This star-crossed romance is further complicated when the animosity between the Prestolanis and the Montebellos is amplified by the efforts of both families to expand their businesses. A near-tragedy involving everyone concerned proves to have a most therapeutic effect in the final moments of Pizza My Heart, which first aired July 24, 2005 on the ABC Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Frequent Star Trek actor and director Jonathan Frakes gets behind the camera again for this teen-sci-fi/action-drama in the Back to the Future (1985) mold. Jesse Bradford stars as Zak Gibbs, a teenager who discovers the latest invention to spring from the mind of his scientist father (Robin Thomas) and a research team that includes his dad's eccentric colleague Dr. Earl Dopler (French Stewart). It seems that they have developed a wristwatch that manipulates "hypertime," speeding up the passage of regular time 25 times for the wearer and those near him, making it appear that the rest of the world has become essentially "frozen" in time. Zak is delighted with the ability that he initially treats as the ultimate gag and superpower, until the National Security Agency begins pursuing both him and the device, intending to confiscate it for nefarious political purposes. Clockwatchers (2002) co-stars Michael Biehn, Paula Garces, and Julia Sweeney. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Bradford
- 2001
At first, all evidence points to suicide when a construction worker plummets 12 stories to his death. Grissom (William L. Petersen), however, flies in the face of conventional wisdom when he surmises that the victim was murdered -- a verdict staunchly opposed by Sheriff Mobley (Glenn Morshower). Meanwhile, Nick (George Eads) and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) investigate the death of a teenaged epileptic who was undergoing an unorthodox form of therapy with a female psychologist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Carol (Julianna Margulies) tells Greene (Anthony Edwards) that she is pregnant, and offers some encouraging words to schizophrenic new mother Coco (Sheila Kelley). Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) finds her faith renewed as she cares for Rev. Matthew Lynn (Roscoe Lee Browne). Lucy (Kellie Martin) discovers that her young patient has been overmedicated. Carter (Noah Wyle) mentors a teenager named Antoine Bell (Corey Parker Robinson). And Romano (Paul McCrane) forces Benton (Eriq La Salle) into a crucial decision. There are a few light-hearted moments in this episode -- before everything is literally plunged into darkness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Weaver (Laura Innes) tries to determine if elderly terminal patient Kathy Brennan (Connie Sawyer) is really her long-lost biological mother. In other developments, Carol (Julianna Margulies) wonders if she should keep her baby. And in his efforts to apply for chief residency, Carter (Noah Wyle) takes over Greene's 24-hour shift while Greene is off trying to prevent the deportation of Nigerian janitor Mobalage (Djimon Hounsou). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Tom Selleck returns as Dr. Richard Burke, ex-beau of the much-younger Monica (Courteney Cox). Chancing to meet Richard at the video store, Monica is determined to keep all future encounters on a platonic basis. Meanwhile, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) girds up her courage to read The Shining (provided that Joey [Matt LeBlanc] can wade through Little Women). And Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) latest boyfriend favors shorts that are way, way too short. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
When a woman hopes that a night of passion will grow into something deeper, she finds that her new beau may have some secrets in this erotic thriller. Ever since her divorce, Michelle Sanderson (Ally Sheedy) has tried to focus on her career in advertising, but she's become terribly lonely, and when she meets handsome stranger Jack Gillman (A. Martinez), without thinking, she joins him at his apartment for a long night of lovemaking. The next morning, she discovers that Jack is gone, along with his furniture; when she comes back later in the day, a man named Michael Joslyn (Frederic Forrest) is living at Jack's place and claims to know nothing about him. Jack eventually calls Michelle, and she sees him again; he tells her that he runs a construction business and that his wife passed away not long ago. However, Michelle later encounters Michael and his wife (Diane Salinger), and she discovers that they were the parents of Jack's late wife -- and that they're convinced that Jack is responsible for her death. One Night Stand marked the directorial debut of actress Talia Shire, best known for her roles in the Rocky films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Sheedy, A. Martinez, (more)
- 1994
Forget the Hollywood-heavy sci-fi flash of Armageddon and Deep Impact as you experience the terror of a destructive asteroid impact firsthand in this startlingly realistic faux news broadcast from filmmaker Robert Iscove. The unthinkable has happened, and it's not long before television news cameras across the globe bring images of death and destruction to the evening news. With advanced news technology that allows for the kind of extensive coverage never before possible, viewers will be riveted as veteran journalist Sander Vanocur, author Arthur C. Clarke, and Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek step before the camera for a startling piece of speculative science fiction that may be a bit too realistic for more sensitive viewers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG
Set in 1969 Los Angeles, this movie aims at nostalgia but really is more a depiction of the tragedy of a dysfunctional family. Young Andrew, a 13-year-old male on the brink of manhood, is saddled with a Father who is a compulsive gambler and a Mother who is immersed in constant battle with him because of it. Often desperate for money, their dependence on Andrew's older sister for money is one more cause of tension and anxiety in an already unhappy household. As Andrew cares for himself and his younger sister, the symbol of his coming of age--his approaching bar-mitzvah--comes to symbolize more than just a rite of passage. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, (more)
- 1992
This movie is based on the true story of Nancy Ziegenmeyer, a rape victim who announced to the world that rape is not the fault of the victim, thereby taking back her right to a normal life and inspiring other victims to stand up to what was being done to them ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Accused of murdering a top scientist (Mark Margolis) and causing the descruction of the Botanica Four space station, Riker is tried for murder on the planet Tanuga Four, where the judges are predisposed to enter a "guilty" verdict. What follows is a Rashomon-style testimony, which at one point suggests that Riker was having an affair with the dead man's wife (Gina Hecht). Hoping to save his colleague, Captain Picard uses the Holodeck to recreate the events leading up to the crime. Ed Zuckerman wrote the script for "A Matter of Perspective," which originally aired February 17, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This made-for-TV film served as the pilot for the internationally popular adventure series Baywatch. David Hasselhoff stars as Lt. Mitch Buchanan, the man in charge of the LA County lifeguard squad at Malibu beach. Future series regulars spotlighted herein are Shawn Weatherly as Jill Riley, Parker Stevenson as Craig Pomeroy and Erika Eleniak as Shauni McLain. Not that it should matter to the film's "babewatchers," but there is a plot-a "Fatal Attraction"-style thriller involving a woman scorned. And, as bonus, there's a thriller explosion-at-sea vignette. Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier was first telecast April 23, 1989, some six months before the premiere of the series proper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
In this drama, an American actress must decide whether or not to return to the Hungarian lover who abandoned her 15 years ago. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Peter Donat, (more)
Post-collegiate angst, '80s style, is the subject of this coming-of-age ensemble piece, which traces the fortunes of a group of Georgetown grads as they enter the real world and grapple with work, infidelity, and adulthood. The most outwardly upscale member of the gang, Jules (Demi Moore), hides a plethora of emotional baggage behind a chic wardrobe, an expensive apartment, a fashionable drug habit, and lots of meaningless casual sex. Her friend Wendy (Mare Winningham) has the opposite problem; a trust-fund baby with body-image issues and little sexual experience, she's hung up on Billy (Rob Lowe), a no-good, sax-playing drunkard who can't face up to his responsibilities in the job market or at home with his wife and young child. Such open infidelity is anathema to Alex (Judd Nelson), who must maintain a sense of propriety even while engaging in compulsive womanizing; after all, the Democrat-turned-Republican's nascent political career requires the sort of picture-perfect relationship he shares with girlfriend Leslie (Ally Sheedy). That doesn't sit too well with tortured writer Kevin (Andrew McCarthy), who toils away at a newspaper job and pines away for the unattainable Leslie. Unrequited love also dogs Kirby (Emilio Estevez), a law-school student whose greatest wish is to romance classy doctor Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell), who is, alas, way out of his league. Co-written by director Joel Schumacher and his studio intern, Carl Kurlander, St. Elmo's Fire spawned the number one pop hit "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," which was credited to John Parr but co-written by music producer David Foster. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, (more)
Straight-laced Henry Winkler takes a night-shift job as a morgue attendant. Winkler falls under the spell of wheeler-dealer coworker Michael Keaton, whose catchphrase "Is this a great country or what?" is the clarion call for his many get-rich-quick schemes. His latest plan is to turn the morgue into a nocturnal brothel, for the benefit of anything-goes hooker Shelley Long-and incidentally, to line their own pockets. Director Ron Howard and his frequent scripters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel turn the potentially lurid story material of Night Shift into an endearing comedy, with winning performances from its three often miscast stars. Keep an eye out during one of the party sequences for Kevin Costner as a carousing college boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, (more)
