Peter Hermann Movies
The resolutely tall and striking American actor Peter Hermann boasts a resumé that reads like a best-of American television series during the '90s and 2000s. After playing Dr. Michael Burke on the soap Guiding Light for two years (1997-1998), Hermann often appeared on various popular shows not as a mainstay, but as a guest star or a several-episode fixture. These included Law & Order, Spin City, Sex and the City, and 30 Rock. Hermann also played the recurring role of Trevor Langan on the hit drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On the set of that program, Hermann met actress Mariska Hargitay, whom he married in 2004; the two had their first child about two years later. Hermann took his first significant cinematic bow in 2006, when he portrayed Jeremy Glick in the broadly acclaimed, gut-wrenching 9/11 drama United 93. In 2008, he took on the regular role of Davis Draper, the ex-husband of one of the main characters on the prime-time drama Cashmere Mafia, but the series lasted only seven episodes. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Originally slated to premiere on November 27, 2007, then held back until December 4, the hour-long dramedy Cashmere Mafia finally made its ABC debut on January 6, 2008. The series focused on a quartet of highly successful female executives, friends since their days in business college, who continued to meet, compare notes, and advise and console one another in various expensive Manhattan restaurants and watering holes. Miranda Otto played the "anchor" of the group, Juliet Draper, the powerful COO of the Stanton Hall hotel chain, who wryly observed the passing scene, dispensed sage wisdom, and merrily dissed most of the males who crossed her path--with the occasional exception of her husband Davis (Peter Hermann). Lucy Liu costarred as Mia Mason, high-powered functionary at Barnstead Media, a publishing firm run by a Murdoch clone; Mia was so ambitious that she was even willing to sacrifice her love life for her career, maneuvering her own fiancee out of the job she finally grabbed for herself. Frances O'Connor played Zoe Burden, senior marketing VP for Lily Parish cosmetics, who after several dead-end heterosexual romances suddenly found herself attracted to another woman, Alicia Lawson (Lourdes Benedicto). And Bonnie Somerville appeared as Zoe Burden, managing director of mergers and acquisitions at the investment firm of Gorham Sutter, who encountered considerable difficulty juggling her career and her private life with her stay-at-home husband Eric (Julian Ovenden) and twin children Luke (Nicholas Reese Art) and Sasha (Peyton List). Also in the cast was Addison Timlin as Juliet and Davis' mildly rebellious 14-year-old daughter Emily. If Cashmere Mafia seemed to be an upscale variation of HBO's Sex and the City, it may have been because it was executive-produced by former Sex and the City producer Darren Star. The ABC series also bore a marked resemblance to Lipstick Jungle, a novel written by Starr's onetime Sex and the City partner Candace Bushnell; ironically, the TV-series version of Lipstick Jungle made its NBC bow some four weeks after Cashmere Mafia's inaugural episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, (more)
Carrie Preston, John G. Preston, Michael Emerson, and Lurie Poston star in director James Vasquez's coming of age comedy about a young boy obsessed with dresses, dolls, and cheerleading. Joshua Dowd (Poston) isn't like the other boys in class. All Joshua's single mother Andy (Carrie Preston) wants is for her son to be normal, but instead of joining the wrestling team like the rest of his classmates Joshua longs to try out for his school's all-girl cheerleading team. Upon receiving the news that her absent father has died, Andy is surprised to see her wayward brother Alex (John G. Preston) appear unannounced on her doorstep. Perhaps now that these estranged siblings have finally come back together, they can finally start to understand what it truly means to be a "family" - even if they don't fall under the traditional definition of the word. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carrie Preston, Lurie Poston, (more)
Bloody Sunday director Paul Greengrass marks the five-year anniversary on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States with this speculative meditation on the events that took place onboard the fourth hijacked plane, and the actions of the passengers who gave their lives to ensure the safety of others. Told in real time and acted out by a cast of unknowns who were provided with detailed studies of their real-life counterparts, United 93 attempts to reconstruct the airborne tragedy from the view of the ground and flight controllers, the passengers, and their nervous families awaiting word on the fate of their loved ones. As the terrified travelers and crew gradually become aware of the historical events taking place on the ground so far beneath them, the 90 minutes in which a random collection of strangers realized their fate and came together to confront an unthinkable threat are re-created. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Alan Basche, Richard Bekins, (more)
A man and a woman are faced with an unusual "fifth wheel" in their relationship -- his analyst -- in this offbeat independent comedy. Jake Singer (Chris Eigeman) is a schoolteacher working at a respected private school for boys. Jake recently parted ways with his longtime girlfriend and isn't especially happy about being single again. Jake begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Morales (Ian Holm), whose advise often seems to cause more harm than good. Jake meets Allegra (Famke Janssen), a woman whose adopted son attends his school; Allegra is still getting over the death of her husband, but Jake is strongly attracted to her and she seems to feel the same way. Morales is convinced Allegra is simply using Jake (there are questions about her ability to care for her son that may cause her to lose custody if she remains single), and he advises Jake that if he must go on dating her, he should seduce Allegra without becoming emotionally involved. This is more easily said than done, but as Jake and Allegra spend more time together, he begins seeing and hearing Morales at the most inopportune moments, with the doctor offering un-called-for tips on their relationship. The Treatment received the award for best "Made In New York" feature at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Eigeman, Famke Janssen, (more)
- 2005
A medical examination reveals that 9-year-old traffic accident victim Holly Purcell (Jennifer Purcell) has been molested. Feeling pressured to provide the SVU team with quick answers, Holly blurts out that her attacker was her soccer coach Mark Dobbins (Daniel Hugh Kelly)--and before long, several other young girls come forth to accuse Dobbins of similarly assaulting them. But as it turns out, the authorties may have the wrong man in custody. . .and the actual molester may still be at large, fully prepared to kill Holly to prevent her from revealing the truth. Meanwhile, Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni) is forced to deal with an intensely personal problem. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Cathy Moriarty guest stars as Denise Eldridge, who demands that the SVU file statutory rape charges against Justin Sharp (Jon Foster), the 21-year-old boyfriend of Denise's 15-year-old daughter Carrie (Danielle Pannabaker). It soon becomes obvious that Denise is a neurotic control freak who will do anything to keep her daughter under her thumb--even if it means falsifying evidence to frame Justin. At the precise moment when the both the SVU and the audience are sick and tired of Denise, the woman turns up murdered. Having sided with Carrie because of her miserable experiences with her own overbearing mother, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) must now face the probability that the girl (or her boyfriend) is a murderer. Glenne Headley appears in a pivotal role as a prominent children's-rights attorney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Comedian Martin Short plays it straight (more or less) in the role of prickly Canadian psychic Sebastian Ballentine (Martin Short). Called into the SVU offices to assist in the search for an abducted teenager, Ballentine quickly drives Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni) up the wall with his snotty, superior attitude--and his many irritating eccentricities. But Stabler may be able to turn the tables when his colleagues begin to suspect that Ballentine knows a lot more about the kidnapping than he's letting on. A bizarre plot twist caps this offbeat episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
When HIV-positive teenager Lisa Downey (Janae Kram) is found murdered, it is revealed that she was carrying her older cousin Allison's ID. Unbeknownst to her family, Lisa had been living a double life as a hooker and porn-film actress, making her connections via the internet. After several suspects are questioned and released, the SVU teams is convinced that they've found their murderer--only to be thrown for a loop when he turns up dead, along with another teenage hooker. This episode is capped with a bravura performance by future Heroes costar Hayden Panettiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
While writer/director Hal Salwen won over critics and festival audiences with his low-key directorial debut, Denise Calls Up, his second feature, His and Hers, never made it past the festival circuit. Salwen next produced Duane Incarnate, a quirky romantic comedy. Gwen (Caroleen Feeney, who appeared in Salwen's earlier films) narrates the strange tale of her and her three friends, the statuesque Fran (Kristen Johnston), the lovely Connie (Cynthia Watros), and the dumpy, unemployed Wanda (Crystal Bock). Three of the four pals seem to be feeling particularly good about their lives. They're all in fulfilling relationships, and Gwen's trainer boyfriend (Jim Gaffigan) has them on an exercise and diet program. One day, Wanda, who has no luck with men, tells them that she's met the perfect guy, and fallen completely in love with him. As she describes him, with his good looks, fancy job, and incredible passion for her, he sounds too good to be true, and Gwen begins to suspect that Wanda has invented him. Challenged to produce her new beau, Wanda introduces the tall, handsome Duane (Peter Hermann) to the gang. Her friends are incredulous and soon grow extremely jealous. Their own relationships begin to self-destruct, and some unusual weather patterns have Gwen believing that Wanda has somehow conjured Duane through the force of her imagination, and thereby ruptured the very fabric of the universe. The three distraught women team together, determined to break up the happy couple at all costs. Shot on-location in New York City, Duane Incarnate had its world premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caroleen Feeney, Kristen Johnston, (more)
- 2004
Missing for several days, 16-year-old Tani McCain (Amanda Seyfried is found bound and beaten in an abandoned building. When the girl claims that she was kidnapped and raped by three uniformed men, suspicious immediately falls on a group of college army cadets. But in the days that follow, Tami keeps changing her story, much to the confusion of the men and women of the SVU: Obviously, the girl was raped by someone, but who? With media rabble-rousers and an outraged public breathing down the SVU's neck, the detectives work overtime to track down the actual perpetrator--only to find that the solution to the case may be tragically close to Tandi's own home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole, husband and wife in real life, guest star as a couple of high-rolling and none-too-honest monetary advisers. When six people are killed in a helicopter bombing, the detectives follow a lead provided by the wife of one of the victims. The D.A.'s office subsequently goes after "New Age" financial pundits Elias and Valerie Grace (McKean and O'Toole). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
