Barbara Lieberman Movies

A teen movie star attempts to overcome her addition to alcohol and salvage what's left of her career after passing out on the red carpet at her big Hollywood premiere and being sent to recover with her upbeat aunt in Indiana. Morgan Carter (Jo Jo) is only seventeen years old, but she's already on top of the world. But so much fame so early in life can yield unpredictable consequences, and when Morgan is sent to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, it's clear that she isn't ready to deal with the pressures of stardom. Whisked away to rehab as the paparazzi clamors for a picture and the press predicts her downfall, Morgan is sent by her mother and concerned manager to Indiana, far away from the temptations of Hollywood. Once there, the troubled starlet reluctantly starts to reconnect with her quirky Aunt Trudy (Valerie Bertinelli), who offers just the kind of unconditional support that the young girl needs to get her life - and career - back on track. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV paranormal thriller The Dead Will Tell was based on a "true" story suggested by famed psychic James Van Praagh, who also shows up in a cameo role. When Emily Parker (Anne Heche) is given a very old engagement ring by her fiancé, Billy (Jonathan LaPaglia), she is suddenly haunted by visions of the woman to whom the ring previously belonged. It soon becomes painfully clear that the spectral woman was murdered, and that she is "reaching out" to Emily in hopes of trapping her killer. Adding extra layers of intrigue to the proceedings is the peculiar behavior of Billy's overprotective mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Other key players in the mystery are portrayed by Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Christopher Guest, and, as the widower of the dead woman, Chris Sarandon. Filmed in New Orleans, The Dead Will Tell made its CBS network premiere on October 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett brings "The Great One" to life in this made-for-TV biography of video icon Jackie Gleason. The product of a fractious Brooklyn childhood, capped by the abrupt desertion of his ne'er-do-well father, Gleason launches his show business career with the motto "Never depend on anyone." Yet because of his multitude of insecurities, he demands total loyalty and 100-percent devotion from everyone around him. Trouble is, he has no loyalty or devotion to give in return: Dedicated to his career, his drinking, and his womanizing (not always in that order), Jackie neglects his wife Gen (Gretchen Egolf) and his children, tyrannizes his associates in general and his faithful agent George "Bullets" Durgom (Saul Rubinek) in particular, and shamelessly steals other people's ideas and comedy material, claiming it exclusively as his own. For all his bluster and bullying, Gleason remains likable and arguably even lovable -- just like his most famous TV character, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (indeed, the script suggests that Gleason was Kramden and Kramden was Gleason -- and that Jackie was envious of Ralph's ability to "make things up" to his long-suffering wife Alice at the end of each Honeymooners sketch). The film is at its best in its re-creations of Gleason's stage and TV triumphs, though one could nitpick about the hazy and often downright inaccurate chronology of events. As the title character, Brad Garrett offers an uncannily on-target portrayal, despite the fact that the 6'8" actor was nearly a foot taller than the real Gleason (this discrepancy was amply compensated for by the clever camera angles of cinematographer Neil Roach, not to mention the elevator shoes worn by practically every other member of the cast). Of the supporting players, Gretchen Egolf and Terry Farrell are superb as Jackie's first and second wives respectively, while Michael Chieffo's portrayal of Art Carney is eerily perfect. Co-written by Michael Preminger and Rick Podell, the same team responsible for Jackie Gleason's final theatrical feature Nothing in Common, Gleason made its CBS network debut on October 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true crime story, the two-part TV movie And Never Let Her Go recounts the disappearance of Anne Marie Fahey in June of 1996, and the subsequent arrest and conviction of her accused murderer. Hired as a secretary by powerful Delaware attorney and gubernatorial aide, Thomas Capano (Mark Harmon), Anne Marie enters into a torrid and ofttimes abusive affair with her kinky boss. When Anne Marie's relatives report that she is missing, the governor of Delaware solicits the aid of the U.S. Department of Justice to solve the case. Although detective Frank Gugliatta (Paul Michael Glaser) and assistant U.S. attorney Colm Connolly (Steve Eckholdt) suspect that Capano has done away with Anne Marie, they are stymied by a lack of tangible proof...notably, the girl's body. It is not until Anne Marie's diary turns up in a most unexpected manner that Gugliatta and Connolly are able to fully act upon their suspicions -- and even then, the ultimate solution rests with the cooperation (or lack of same) of Capano's brother, Gerry (David Hewlett). Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis appears as Thomas Capano's formidable mother. Filmed in Toronto and told largely in flashback, And Never Let Her Go was originally telecast by CBS on April 1 and 4, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide