Vince Corazza Movies
- 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, All Movie Guide
- 1999
A young girl stuck in a horrific cycle of familial violence finds the power to build her own future from the place she least suspected in an inspiring tale of friendship and devotion starring Ossie Davis and Della Reese, and directed by Bruce Pittman. For years Jo Ann Foley (Madeline Zima) has suffered under the cruel hand of her ruthless grandfather. A chance meeting with kindly neighbors Honey (Reese) and her husband Too Tall (Davis) finds things looking up, however, as the nurturing couple provides Jo Ann with the support needed to break free of her grandfather's tyrannical grip. As the future lies before her ready to be molded however she sees fit, Jo Ann must now find the courage to let go of the past and seek the redemption needed to start life anew. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Not to be confused with the cable-television movie Strange Justice, which aired the same evening on August 29, 1999, the NBC TV movie Cruel Justice stars A. Martinez as Jerry Metcalf, the intensely protective single father of 16-year-old Amy Metcalf (Nicki Lynn Aycox). Already distraught over the fact that Amy has been raped, Jerry goes completely over the edge when his daughter's attacker beats the rap in court. Taking the law into his own hands, Jerry dedicates his life to wreaking vengeance against the smirking perpetrator. The fact that Cruel Justice was run at the tail end of the 1998-1999 TV season, a time when few people were watching, is indicative of NBC's nervous feelings about the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Bartender Terry Cuff (Yasmine Bleeth) marries a good-looking but slightly disreputable military man named Bobby Woodkin (Richard Grieco). It isn't that Terry is madly in love with Bobby: It is just that she is desperate to have a house and children of her. Bobby, however, is in love with Terry--and quite madly. Having already installed the incredibly naïve and trusting Terry in a "dream home" that doesn't really belong to him, the increasingly unhinged Bobby sets about to secure an adopted baby for Terry. . .even if he has to commit murder! Made for cable, Ultimate Deception first aired January 19, 1999 on the USA network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Housewife Tess McCall (Patricia Kalember) knows that her sister's husband is a philanderer, but she can't prove it. With the help of her policeman husband Craig (Tom Irwin), Tess gleans a variety of surveillance and clue-gathering techniques, the better to trap her brother-in-law in the act. She does this so well that she decides to open up her own private detective agency, "I Spy", dedicated to helping other wives get the goods on their errant hubbies. Ultimately, Tess determines that her own husband is cheating on her--but is this information correct, or is she merely being carried away by the euphoria of detection? Reportedly inspired by a true story, When Husbands Cheat was made for the Lifetime cable channel, where it originally aired on February 2, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Middle-class mom Rose Earl (Kate Jackson) has always had an excellent relationship with her son Bobby (Drew Ebersole), but ever since he entered college (the first in his family to do so) they have been drifting apart. Blame for this rift could very likely be levied upon the "bad crowd" with whom Bobby is travelling. Rose's premonition that her son's new friends aren't the right kind of kids is aroused by several pungent clues, notably her son's sudden academic slump in his sophomore year, and his ever-growing fascination with firearms. Then one morning, the boy completely disappears--whereupon one of his "buddies" surfaces with the claim that Bobby is on the lam from the law. Rose doesn't buy this, and she intends to uncover the truth as to what happened to her son. Originally telecast January 28, 1997 on CBS, the made-for-TV What Happened to Bobby Earl? is based on a true story, the outcome of which is rather bluntly given away by the film's cable-TV rerun title Murder in a College Town. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
