Beau Bridges Movies

Harvey Fierstein, Terrence McNally, and Paula Vogel each wrote episodes for this three-part made-for-cable drama which examines changing attitudes and issues facing the gay and lesbian community in the small town of Homer, Connecticut. Opening in the 1950s and leading up to the present day, Common Ground features Eric Stolz, Mimi Rogers, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Margot Kidder, Edward Asner, Beau Bridges, Jason Priestley, and Steven Weber, as well as co-writer Fierstein. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"I don't think you can ever be too old to be stoked," claimed an interviewee in David L. Brown's documentary about geriatric surfers. The film focuses on ten life-long surfing enthusiasts, including some legends in the surfing world: Woody Brown, inventor of the catamaran, former Disney animator and 50-year surfing devotee Eve Fletcher, and "hot dog" pioneer Rabbit Kekai. Though many have admitted that they sacrificed careers and occasionally marriages for their all-consuming passion, all interviewed seem disarmingly spry, as if surfing is indeed the secret weapon against the aging process. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Two small-time crooks find themselves in deeper water than they can handle in this offbeat comedy. Edgar (Bob Hoskins) and Morales (Antonio Banderas) are a pair of minor-league grifters posing as men of the cloth, who travel through the deep South selling cheap socks at inflated prices to raise money for the fictional children's charity St. Mortimer's Orphanage. While stopping at a diner, Edgar and Morales spot a fellow fugitive from justice, the White River Kid (Wes Bentley), who is wanted for murder. Taking pity on a fellow outlaw, Edgar and Morales decide to warn the Kid that there are cops nearby and that he might want to make himself scarce; however, they soon regret their brief moment of compassion when they discover the Kid has taken over their RV and is now holding them hostage along with a waitress from the restaurant. The White River Kid also features Ellen Barkin, Beau Bridges, Swoosie Kurtz, and Randy Travis. While the film was completed in 1999, it received only scattered theatrical distribution in Eastern Europe and South America, and made its American premiere as a cable television feature in 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Previously portrayed on stage and screen by the likes of Wallace Beery, Burt Lancaster and Jim Dale, colorful 19th century American showman Phineas T. Barnum lives again in the person of Beau Bridges) in this two-part, made-for-cable biopic. The film covers Barnum's career from his early exploitation of Joyce Heth (Lorena Gale), an elderly black woman who claimed to have been the nursemaid of George Washington, through the establishment of his famous "dime museum" of oddities (including the celebrated wall sign "This Way to the Egress") and concluding with such triumphs of showmanship as Barnum's promotion of "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind (Jayne Heitmeyer), midget performer Gen. Tom Thumb (Josh Ryan Evans) and Jumbo the Elephant--not to mention his formation, with James Anthony Bailey (R.H. Thomson), of "The Greatest Show on Earth": the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Inevitably, however, Barnum's unbridled lavishness takes a heavy toll, not only on his bank account but also his personal life. Filmed in an appropriately larger than life fashion, P.T. Barnum was broadcast over the A&E Network on September 12 and 13, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The comedy-drama TV series, adapted from Elmore Leonard's best-selling novel, is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who previously brought Leonard to film as the executive producer of Out of Sight (1998) and the director of Get Shorty (1995). Beau Bridges stars as Judge "Maximum" Bob Gibbs, czar of the courtroom in the tiny Florida town of Deep Water. His wife is former aquarium mermaid Leanne Lancaster (Kiersten Warren), currently working as a psychic possessed by 12-year-old Wanda Grace (RaeVen Larrymore-Kelly), a 19th-century Southern slave. Judge Gibbs develops a strong romantic interest in public defender Kathy Baker (Liz Vassey), and dispatches an alligator to frighten Leanne into a divorce. Honest Sheriff Gary Hammond (Sam Robards) reacts to the loss of his late wife by stepping out as a ballroom dancer, and a dance instructor plots the overthrow of the Castro government. Meanwhile, an unseen character steals and explodes autos to protest pollution. Gibbs also has to deal with the Crowe family (Brent Briscoe, Beth Grant, Paul Vogt, Peter Allen Vogt, William Sanderson) of Southern slackers and yahoos. Filmed in and around Miami, this eccentric series kicked off August 4, 1998 on ABC. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this dark comedy, Peter (Josh Charles) is a well-educated Jewish writer from Los Angeles who has fallen in love with Melanie (Alexandra Wentworth), who was born and raised in the Deep South -- where much of her family still lives. Melanie travels to Georgia for a few days to visit her father, Col. Branson (Lloyd Bridges), but Peter soon gets a call from Melanie, begging him to come down and "rescue" her from her family. It isn't until Peter arrives that he fully understands what Melanie is talking about. Most of her relatives can be politely described as "eccentric," while the Colonel is only a few steps away from psychotic, so Josh busily brainstorms a way for he and Melanie to go back to L.A. sooner rather than later. Meeting Daddy also features Beau Bridges, son of star Lloyd Bridges; appropriately enough, Beau plays Lloyd's son. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on a popular television courtroom drama series (1961-65), this Showtime made-for-cable movie returns esteemed actor E.G. Marshall to the role of brilliant lawyer Lawrence Preston. In this episode, Preston teams up with his son, professor of law Don Preston (Beau Bridges) and his niece M. J. (Martha Plimpton) to prove that Michael Lane (John Larroquette) did not murder his daughter's rapist. Unfortunately, Lane, who is glad that the brute is dead, refuses to do anything to help them defend him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Combining drama, comedy, and romance, Jerry Maguire was a critical and commercial success built on an original script by writer/director Cameron Crowe and an Oscar-nominated performance by Tom Cruise. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is an agent with a major sports management firm. He's enthusiastic, successful, a great negotiator and people like him. But it begins to dawn on Jerry that there's something wrong with what he's doing, and not long after a troubling encounter with the son of an injured athlete he represents, Jerry has a serious crisis of conscience. In the midst of a sleepless night, Jerry writes a memo calling on himself and his colleagues to think more about the long-term welfare of the clients they represent and less about immediate profits. While everyone around him applauds the sentiment, Jerry's superiors think his ideas are bad for business; Jerry is fired, and, rather than standing in solidarity with him, his "friends" in the firm scramble like sharks to claim Jerry's clients. At the end of his last day, the only people willing to join Jerry as he strikes out on his own are staff accountant Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), a single mother secretly in love with him, and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a football player whose pride and arrogance have gotten in the way of his reaching his potential. Jerry Maguire earned an Academy Award for Cuba Gooding Jr.'s performance as Tidwell and provided a breakthrough role for Renee Zellweger; it also made "Show me the money!" an unavoidable catchphrase for several months. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sarny (Allison Jones) is born into slavery and separated from her mother at an early age. She's raised by Dealey (Lorraine Toussaint), who promises early on that "nuthin' too bad" will happen to her young charge. Clel Waller (Beau Bridges), who owns the plantation, is a cruel man, who sees the slaves only in terms of their monetary value. Life on the plantation changes when Clel buys Nightjohn (Carl Lumbly), a hulk of a man, with scars across his back from the whip. Branded as a troublemaker, Nightjohn has trouble earning the trust of the other slaves. But one night when their work is done, he offers to make a trade with Sarny to get some tobacco. In exchange, he begins to teach her the alphabet. Sarny is fascinated and takes to learning with passion, but when the other slaves find out, they are afraid. Old Man (Bill Cobbs) shows Nightjohn how he's been punished for his own literacy; his thumb and forefinger have been chopped off. But Nightjohn explains that he gave up a chance to escape to the North so that he could teach. "Words are freedom, Old Man," he explains. "That's all slavery is: words." Sarny reads the love letters that she delivers from Clel's wife (Kathleen York) to an educated doctor who lives nearby, and she reads Clel's ledger, in which he lists the monetary value of all the slaves. She soon learns that knowledge, for all its dangers, brings a certain power. Nightjohn was directed by venerated independent filmmaker Charles Burnett (To Sleep With Anger) for the Disney Channel. It's based on the young adult novel by Gary Paulsen. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

To assuage the pain endured by his wife Pattie (Sharon Lawrence) after she bears a stillborn child, truck driver Charles Johnson (Beau Bridges) pools his savings and moves himself and Pattie into a new house in an attractive neighborhood. Before long, however, strange and inexplicable things begin occurring in the house--and then there's the matter of those eeries nocturnal noises. Pattie is convinced that the joint is haunted, but Charles concludes that she is merely suffering a nervous breakdown. Made for television, The Uninvited was purportedly inspired by actual events which occurred in Indiana. But once the plot's BIG SECRET is revealed (that ugly tree on the Johnsons' property didn't become gnarled all by herself) we are deeply into Poltergeist territory, replete with a "stacking" scene (with eggs rather than furniture) and an eccentric old psychic (Shirley Knight). Originally telecast by CBS on October 29, 1996, The Uninvited has since been seen on cable TV under the less ambiguous title Victim of the Haunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Walter Isaacson's book Kissinger: A Biography served as the basis for this made-for-television movie about the famed political leader. Beau Bridges stars as President Richard Nixon and Ron Silver portrays Henry Kissinger, Nixon's national security advisor. The adaptation shows how Kissinger worked to try and end the Vietnam crisis while Nixon maneuvered to keep his political image strong until election time. Bridges was nominated for an Emmy for his lead performance. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Real-life father and son Lloyd and Beau Bridges star in the tense modern melodrama Secret Sins of the Father. Nebraska farmer Louis Thielman (Lloyd) is charged with murder of his wife. Making the charge is Louis's son Tom (Beau), the town sheriff. Though the evidence points to Louis, there are those who believe that Tom is pursuing a vendetta rather than justice. For starters, Louis has been carrying on an affair with Lisa Carson, Tom's ex-lover. Despite the film's docudrama approach, this one isn't based on a true story. Beau Bridges doubled as director for this made-for-TV drama, which debuted January 9, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Texas housewife plots hire a hit man to kill the girl who beat out her daughter for a place on the cheerleading squad in this made-for-cable satire based on a true story. Holly Hunter stars as Wanda Holloway, a twice-married Baptist mother of two who becomes obsessed when her daughter, Shanna (Frankie Ingrassia), gets disqualified from the election for the eighth-grade cheerleading squad because of overly manipulative campaign tactics (i.e. handing out free rulers imprinted with her name). Looking down her nose at neighbor Verna Heath (Elizabeth Ruscio), whose daughter, Amber (Megan Berwick), made the squad, Wanda becomes convinced that there's a conspiracy afoot and decides to do something about it. Getting in touch with her ex-husband's brother, Terry Harper (Beau Bridges) -- a lowlife with a liquor and drug habit and a wife (Swoosie Kurtz) who sees imaginary creatures on the floor -- Wanda all but orders him to find her an assassin on the cheap. Terry chickens out, contacts the police, and helps get the goods on his former sister-in-law before she can do any actual damage. A media circus soon engulfs the participants' small Texas town as Wanda heads to court and tries to prove she was the victim of a setup. Set against the backdrop of the Gulf War and the fall of communism, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom was filmed for HBO by Bad News Bears and Smile director Michael Ritchie. In adapting the Wanda Holloway story for the small screen, the film followed Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story, a 1992 ABC TV movie starring Lesley Ann Warren. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide