Mary Catherine Garrison Movies
- 2005
According to the NBC publicity department, the creators of the weekly, hour-long series Inconceivable, Oliver Goldstick and Marco Pennette, had drawn inspiration from their own lives, in which surrogate parents and in vitro fertilization had been utilized to expand their families. The weekly, 60-minute series was set at Family Options Fertility Clinic, headed by Dr. Rachel Lu (Ming-Na). Although she had had her own baby through the in vitro process, she was a "strictly business" type, never allowing her emotions to dictate her work. In sharp contrast, Lu's partner, Dr. Malcolm Bower (Jonathan Cake), was driven by his gut instincts -- not only on the job, but also in his life choices, especially when it came to romantic relationships. Also on hand was rebellious, headstrong fertility doctor Nora Campbell, played by former Law & Order co-star Angie Harmon (an eleventh-hour addition to the series, replacing actress Alfre Woodard, who'd signed as a regular on Desperate Housewives). The other staffers at Family Options included Scott (David Noroña), Patrice (Joelle Carter), Marissa (Mary Catherine Garrison), and Angel (Reynaldo Rosales). The plots dealt not only with the efforts to provide infertile couples with viable conception options, but also with the unintended ramifications of such procedures; in the opening episode, for example, a white couple is outraged when they find out that their baby will be black. In an intriguing example of "life imitates art," Angie Harmon had just given birth before filming started, while her co-star Ming-Na became pregnant not long after production got under way. Inconceivable was first brought into the world on September 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ming-Na Wen, Jonathan Cake, (more)
Teen pop star Mandy Moore stars in the romantic comedy How to Deal. Directed by British filmmaker Clare Kilner, the script is based on two of author Sarah Dessen's popular teen novels: Someone Like You and That Summer. Halley (Moore) is a teenager trying to make sense of the faltering romantic relationships within her immediate social sphere. Her mother, Lydia (Allison Janney), can't seem get a date, while her father (Peter Gallagher) is getting remarried to a woman that nobody seems to like. Halley's wedding-obsessed sister, Ashley (Mary Catherine Garrison), is engaged to Lewis (MacKenzie Astin), a guy that is completely wrong for her. Meanwhile, bad boy Macon Forrester (Trent Ford) won't leave Halley alone. Just when she decides to become cynical about love because of all the romantic disappointments around her, a troubled situation involving her best friend Scarlett (Alexandra Holden) changes her outlook. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mandy Moore, Allison Janney, (more)
Frequent television director Brad Silberling directs the romantic drama Moonlight Mile. Set in a Massachusetts town in the early '70s, Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) is distraught after the death of his fiancée. He moves in with her parents, Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and JoJo (Susan Sarandon), while trying to sort out all of the legal troubles and painful details of the wedding cancellations. While trying to locate the wedding invitations in the mail, Joe meets Bertie (Ellen Pompeo), whose boyfriend has been MIA in Vietnam. Despite his growing relationship with his late fiancée's parents, Joe begins to foster a romance with Bertie. Also starring Dabney Coleman and Holly Hunter. Moonlight Mile is based on Brad Silberling's real-life situation following the murder of his TV-star girlfriend Rebecca Schaeffer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
- 2001
The strangled body of a woman is found in the Bronx. The victim had an abundant supply of Ecstasy in her handbag, a clue which leads the detectives to a drug dealer named Paz (Peter Greene). As the investigation proceeds, a past murder case is reopened -- whereupon the D.A.'s office comes to the disturbing conclusion that an innocent man may have been convicted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
