Maurice McRae
The true story of the football team that proved sometimes second chances can make a difference comes to the screen in director Phil Joanou's tale of self-respect and social responsibility on the gridiron. Sean Porter (The Rock) is a detention camp probation officer who oversees the inmates at Camp Kilpatrick in Los Angeles and isn't willing to simply write off the violent offenders who have been placed in his care. Though their prospects for the future are decidedly bleak, Porter is convinced that if he can just get through to his adolescent inmates they may finally be able to turn their lives around and make amends for the mistakes of their past. When Porter's proposal of forming a high-school-level football team at Camp Kilpatrick meets with skepticism and resistance in the highest ranks, the determined coach puts his career on the line to prove that even convicted criminals can acquire the tools needed to build a brighter future when given the proper motivation and the means of doing so. Inspired by filmmaker Jac Flanders' 1993 documentary of the same name, Gridiron Gang features a screenplay penned by In the Line of Fire scribe Jeff Maguire, and features a supporting cast that includes Leon Rippy, Kevin Dunn, and Detroit-born rapper-turned-actor Xzibit. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- The Rock, Jade Yorker, (more)
- 2002
Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) arrests her scummy brother-in-law, Frank (Nicholas Lea), on a charge of spousal abuse. The abduction of a five-year-old girl leads to a suspicious ice-cream vendor -- and an unexpected defense of the often homophobic Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) by gay cop John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup). And the murder of an NBA draftee's pregnant girlfriend leads to a solution straight out of Becket ("Will no one rid me of this man?"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
- 1993
Detective Sharon LaSalle (Wendy Makkena), who'd attended Police Academy with Kelly (David Caruso), joins the unit. Before long, LaSalle's ex-cop husband is killed, and Kelly and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) are assigned to investigate. Elsewhere, detective Medavoy (Gordon Clapp), having left his wife, discovers that his feelings toward Donna (Gail O'Grady) are mutual. And a drunken woman turns out to be more than "just talk" when complaining about her husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
