Judith Ivey Movies
Texas native Judith Ivey studied acting at Illinois State University, and began her acting career in the same state shortly afterward; by 1974, Ivey had debuted in a Chicago production of The Sea, and would continue to build her resumé until her move to New York City in the late '70s. A series of on- and off-Broadway performances met her there, as did two Tony awards (the first for her largely nude performance in Steaming [1983], and the second for her role as an abused go-go dancer in Hurlyburly [1985]). Known for her Southern charm and distinctive, rather nasal, voice, Ivey could be seen in film roles throughout the 1980s, appearing alongside Steve Martin in The Lonely Guy, Paul Newman in the family drama Harry and Son, Gene Wilder in The Woman in Red, and in the role of the outspoken best friend of Susan Sarandon in Compromising Positions (1985). The actress also found a great deal of success on the small screen -- Ivey starred in television productions of The Long, Hot Summer (1985), Dixie: Changing Habits (1985), We Are the Children (1987), and Decoration Day (1990) before landing several prominent sitcom roles. In 1991, Ivey returned to her Texas roots for NBC's Down Home, though she found more success playing wealthy widow B.J. Poteet on the final season of the long-running sitcom Designing Women (also NBC). Though Ivey continued to make regular appearances on television (including a performance on the Emmy-winning series Frasier), she found moderate success in several films. In 1997, Ivey played the well-to-do mother of Celine (Cameron Diaz) in Danny Boyle's A Life Less Ordinary; the same year, she would play supporting roles in Washington Square and The Devil's Advocate with Al Pacino. After appearing in several inconsequential films throughout the late '90s, Ivey was featured in Rose Red, Stephen King's popular television miniseries. In 2003, she had a prominent role in the independant film What Alice Found, which won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. She could next be seen alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elizabeth McGovern, and Peter Sarsgaard in 2004's In God's Hands. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
In this crime comedy, Dixie's life changes completely after the prostitution ring she runs is raided. She too is arrested and ends up sentenced to spend time in a convent. Though she is there to learn, she ends up teaching the Mother Superior and the others a thing or two about running a successful business. By the story's end, Dixie has learned to respect herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In a comedy as flat as the cardboard cut-outs of movie stars that appear in one scene, Steve Martin plays Larry Hubbard, a wild and lonely guy who has been dumped by his girlfriend. Since misery loves company, he takes up with Warren, a fellow Lonely Guy (Charles Grodin), and eventually both Warren and Larry find some surprising companions, especially after Larry writes a best-selling Lonely Guy Guide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1984
- PG
Harry (Paul Newman), a middle-aged hardhat, has trouble communicating with his teenaged son Howard (Robby Benson). While Harry wants Howard to find a bread-and-butter job, the sensitive boy would rather pursue a writing career. Howard tries his best to please his dad, but ultimately realizes that he must march to his own beat if he's to find lasting happiness. The best scenes in this by-the-numbers domestic drama are those between Howard and his pregnant girlfriend (Ellen Barkin). Adapted from The Lost King, a novel by Don Capite, Harry and Son represents one of the rare occasions that star Paul Newman directed himself (at least officially!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Robby Benson, (more)
Gene Wilder's remake of this 1976 French comedy is a Hollywood version of what happens when Theodore (Wilder), an ordinary ad agency executive, is captivated by a gorgeous woman (Kelly Le Brock). The woman just happens to be standing on a grate when her skirt blows up over her waist (a scene first made famous by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch), and one glimpse is enough to change Theodore's whole life. Although he is married, he is willing to risk his happy relationship with his wife for a romp in the hay with the beautiful stranger. Unfortunately, even when he tracks down the object of his lust he is woefully inept at sneaking out on his wife to consummate his desire. Three of his male office mates help him as much as they can, but Ms. Milner (Gilda Radner) is really incensed when she finds out that the object of Theodore's attention is not herself. Stevie Wonder's score included his hit song "I Just Called to Say I Love You", which received an Oscar nomination. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1985
Originally made for TV consumption, the story focuses on a madam sent to a New Orleans convent for rehabilitation. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The made-for-TV The Long Hot Summer was based on the 1958 theatrical film of the same name-which, in turn, was based on two William Faulkner short stories. Don Johnson plays Ben Quick, a Southern drifter who is under suspicion as a "barn burner." Ben secures a job at the Mississippi mansion of town-boss Will Varner (Jason Robards). Varner's daughter Noel (Judith Ivey) and daughter-in-law Eula (Cybill Shepherd) vie for the handsome Ben's attention, while the patriarch's weakling son Jody (William Russ) seethes. When a few local barns are burned, Ben is the primary suspect-and no one is more suspicious than Noel. A murder trial and lynch mob both figure into the second half of the two-part The Long Hot Summer; the film originally aired October 6 and 7, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
- 1985
- R
Director Frank Perry brings Susan Issacs' comedic whodunit novel to the screen with Susan Sarandon as a Long Island housewife who tries to escape her deadening suburban life by trying to solve the murder of a philandering local dentist. The dentist, Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna), is the kind of swinging ladies' man who wears gold chains and jazzy clothing. He also arranges to meet his lonely housewife patients in hotel rooms for afternoon quickies. When he is found murdered in his office, the suspects are as numerous as the names in the Nyack telephone directory, especially since Fleckstein had the habit of taking incriminating Polaroid snapshots during his one-on-one sessions. Judith Singer (Sarandon) is an ex-Newsday reporter and bored wife of Bob Singer (Edward Herrmann), a stuffy business executive, and she was one of the last people to see Fleckstein alive. Considered a suspect by police detective David Suarez (Raul Julia), she determines to solve the case herself, interviewing suspects and searching for evidence. If she solves the crime, Judith hopes to write an article about it and get her old job back at the newspaper. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, (more)
Brighton Beach Memoirs is the first of playwright Neil Simon's unofficial "autobiographical trilogy" (it was followed by Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound). Jonathan Silverman repeats his stage role as Simon's teenaged alter-ego Eugene, who lives in 1937 Brooklyn with his parents (Blythe Danner and Bob Dishy), older brother Stanley (Brian Drillinger), aunt (Judith Ivey) and female cousins (Stacey Glick and Lisa Waltz). Much is made of Eugene's burgeoning sexual self-awareness and his father's efforts to support his huge extended family on his meager salary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Bob Dishy, (more)
- 1987
The made-for-TV We are the Children stars Ally Sheedy as an idealistic doctor, working in Ethiopia. When famine hits the land, Sheedy struggles valiantly to protect the hundreds of men, women and children in the village where she works. While so doing, she falls in love with adventurous photojournalist Ted Danson. This story element smacks of contrivance and exploitation when compared to the rest of the film, which features terrific performances by Judith Ivey as a nun and Khadija Ali Ahmed as an anguished Ethiopian mother. Filmed on location in Northern Kenya, We are the Children was first telecast March 16, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this thriller, sisters Charlotte (Judith Ivey) and Lucy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) Bonnard reside in the Louisiana home left to them by their parents. As Charlotte cares for her troubled younger sister, the two make a living by renting out rooms in the huge, gloomy mansion. However, when Matt Rutledge (Eric Stoltz) comes to stay, he stumbles across a number of the Bonnards' dark secrets that were best left hidden. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
Writer Susan Isaacs and director Frank Perry of Compromising Positions re-team for this unsuccessful resurrection fantasy comedy. Shelley Long plays Lucy Chadman, the accident-prone wife of plastic surgeon Jason Chadman (Corbin Bernsen). When she chokes to death after eating a South Korean chicken ball, a funeral is held and she is mourned, but then everyone goes on with their lives and forgets about her. Everyone, that is, except her sister Zelda (Judith Ivey). Zelda runs an occult bookstore and as she peruses one of her books of incantations, she discovers a magical chant that can raise the dead. Obeying the rules of the incantation -- it has to be performed a year after the person dies and the resurrected person must find love within 30 days or the person will die again -- she brings back Lucy to life. Lucy immediately proceeds to her husband's home and finds that he is married to her best friend Kim (Sela Ward). She now has to deal with the changed circumstances of her husband, along with a burgeoning love affair with Kevin Scanlon (Gabriel Byrne), the emergency-room doctor who had tried to save her life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, (more)
- 1988
- R
Two brothers (Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson) have inherited a large farm (once voted "Farm of the Year") from their father, but cannot keep it afloat. When the farm goes bankrupt, the pair decide to torch the place and take off across the Midwest, fleeing the law to become folk heroes for many rural farmers in the area. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson, (more)
Norman Jewison directed this subdued character study of the effect of the Vietnam War on a small-town Kentucky family -- based on the novel by Bobbi Ann Mason. The film centers upon 17-year-old Samantha (Emily Lloyd) who lives in Hopewell, Kentucky with her Uncle Emmett (Bruce Willis), a quiet, laid-back veteran of Vietnam suffering from post-traumatic stress. Samantha's father was killed in Vietnam when he was 19-years-old (almost her age now), and her mother Irene (Joan Allen) has remarried. Samantha finds some old photographs of her father, and she becomes obsessed with finding out more about him. Irene, who has moved to Lexington with her second husband, wants Samantha to move in with them and go to college. But Samantha would rather stay with Uncle Emmett and try to find out more about her father. Her mother is no help, as she tells Samantha, "Honey, I married him four weeks before he left for the war. He was 19. I hardly even remember him." Finally Samantha, Emmett and her grandmother (Peggy Rea) go to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Finding her father's name in the memorial releases cathartic emotions in Samantha and her family. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Emily Lloyd, (more)
Originally airing on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, this made-for-television adaptation of a novel by John William Corrington tells the story of a retired judge who decides to find out why his old pal is refusing to accept the Medal of Honor he should have been awarded years before. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Private investigator Tom O'Toole (Nick Nolte) is reluctant to take on a case offered to him by cryptically offbeat Angela Crispini (Debra Winger), but he lets himself be seduced by her. Angela believes that Felix Daniels (Frank Military) was wrongly convicted of murdering his uncle. As O'Toole learns more about the crime, he becomes convinced that Felix was framed by corrupt local officials, including States Attorney, and old rival, Charlie Haggerty (Frank Converse). O'Toole also falls in love with Angela, who increasingly appears to be a psychologically disturbed woman who may have been involved with several of the principals. When Angela admits that she doesn't always know when she is telling the truth, she speaks to O'Toole's predicament and the film's theme: the dangers of relying on an unreliable narrator. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Winger, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1991
- R
Bud Yorkin's comedy stars Jeff Daniels as a former big-leaguer who yearns for romance, but finds himself overwhelmed with the problems of the women in his life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Judith Ivey, (more)
- 1992
A wicked witch ruins a teen's plan to become king of the Spring Fling in this family-oriented fable from the "Wonderworks" series. The trouble begins when the witch turns Arlo, the most popular boy in school, and his buddy Gus into slimy green frogs. The two amphibians head for the local pond and are dismayed to discover that it is polluted. To stop its destruction, the two enlist the aide of Hannah, the school nerd. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Grimes, Shelley Duvall, (more)
- 1992
When a San Diego socialite is convicted of murdering her ex-husband and his new bride, truth is stranger than fiction as she hires a public relations firm in an effort to keep the media in her corner. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meredith Baxter, Judith Ivey, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
Avarice is the motivation behind the zany deeds in this comedy. It all begins when a dying prisoner whispers the location of his loot to the facility's psychiatrist who heads to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to find it. Unbeknownst to him, he is followed by two fugitive convicts who overheard the confession. More trouble erupts when the shrink accidently goes to the wrong house to dig up the treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Catherine O'Hara, (more)
- 1993
The biggest feud since the Hatfields and the McCoys breaks out in Seattle when a local newspaper critic prints an unfavorable review of Frasier Crane's (Kelsey Grammer) radio show. At first, the war is waged in words and insults, traded with reckless abandon by both parties, but when things reach the crisis stage, there seems to be only one possible resolution -- a "mano y mano" physical showdown. Dean Erickson returns as the musically inclined waiter who intruded upon Frasier's solitude in the series' second episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Set in the South during the 1950s, this touching youth-oriented drama recounts the tragic events that lead a rich, white widow to befriend a young black child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Plowright, Carl Lumbly, (more)
- 1995
Based on the book of the same name by Gwenda Blair, this made-for-cable drama chronicles the life and premature death of NBC anchorwoman Jessica Savitch. Sela Ward was nominated for an Emmy award for her portrayal of Savitch, the ambitious 1980s TV phenomenon, who rose to fame quickly despite her erratic and often out-of-control personal life. It took an on-air incident to bring down the facade hiding her drug and alcohol abuse -- -- and a mysterious car accident to end her life at age 36. Director Peter Werner and the film's producers were also nominated for Emmy awards that year, and Ward received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Female Actor. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- PG
Scripter Robert W. Lenski adapted G.D. Gearino's novel What the Deaf-Mute Heard for this Hallmark Hall of Fame comedy. It was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, by director John Kent Harrison. During the '40s, single mother Helen (Bernadette Peters) boards a bus for Barrington, Georgia, with her 10-year-old son Sammy (Frankie Muniz). She tells him not to say a word. The two are separated when she exits the bus and is carried away, leaving the sleeping Sammy to travel to Barrington by himself. Because Sammy won't speak, bus-station manager Norm assumes he's mute and deaf. Norm gives Sammy a cot in the back of the station, and he's fed by widower Norm's friend Lucille (Judith Ivey), owner of the adjacent cafe.
Years pass, but the grown Sammy (Matthew Modine), working as a handyman, still remains silent. Well-to-do widow Tynan (Claire Bloom) orders him about when she has him clean porch furniture. Her snobbish son Tolliver (Jake Weber), who steals church money, treats Sammy with contempt. Tolliver's sister Tallasse (Anne Bobby) likes Sammy, and she confides in Sammy, thinking he can't hear what she's saying. Her father and Sammy's mother, they learn, both loved the Weill-Gershwin song, My Ship. Throughout Barrington, the locals have learned to trust Sammy, but eventually, joyful junkman Thacker (James Earl Jones) stumbles onto Sammy's secret. Bernadette Peters is heard singing My Ship during the closing credits. What the Deaf Man Heard first aired November 23, 1997 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Years pass, but the grown Sammy (Matthew Modine), working as a handyman, still remains silent. Well-to-do widow Tynan (Claire Bloom) orders him about when she has him clean porch furniture. Her snobbish son Tolliver (Jake Weber), who steals church money, treats Sammy with contempt. Tolliver's sister Tallasse (Anne Bobby) likes Sammy, and she confides in Sammy, thinking he can't hear what she's saying. Her father and Sammy's mother, they learn, both loved the Weill-Gershwin song, My Ship. Throughout Barrington, the locals have learned to trust Sammy, but eventually, joyful junkman Thacker (James Earl Jones) stumbles onto Sammy's secret. Bernadette Peters is heard singing My Ship during the closing credits. What the Deaf Man Heard first aired November 23, 1997 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Claire Bloom, (more)
Supernatural forces hover over the courtroom in this devilish drama adapted from the novel by Andrew Neiderman. Attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) doesn't heed the Bible-based warnings of his mother (Judith Ivey), who views New York City as "the dwelling place of demons." Instead, he leaves Gainesville, Florida, with his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) to put his legalistic skills to the test at a leading Manhattan law firm run by John Milton (Al Pacino). It all goes smoothly -- with Milton urging them to stay, putting Kevin on a $400-per-hour salary, and moving the couple into a luxurious apartment in his own building on Fifth Avenue -- where Mary Ann falls under the influence of neighbor Jackie (Tamara Tunie). After Kevin defends a weird animal sacrificer (Delroy Lindo, uncredited), he moves up to an important case with an apparent murderer, real-estate tycoon Alexander Cullen (Craig T. Nelson). Ignored by Kevin, the troubled Mary Ann has some disturbing experiences, verging on the occult, while Kevin, at work, becomes attracted to redhead Christabella (Connie Neilsen). Dazzled by his entrance into paradise, Kevin doesn't grasp who handed him this Big-Apple success. Could it be...Satan? The film features demonic creatures by Rick Baker. Cameos (Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Don King, others) add to the ambiance of ambition and power in the canyons of Manhattan. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, (more)
