Caroline Aaron Movies
One of Hollywood's most steadily employed character actresses, Caroline Aaron has appeared in an impressive array of films for some of the industry's most esteemed directors. A native of Richmond, VA, where she was born August 7, 1952, Aaron made her film debut as a waitress in John Sayles' Baby, It's You (1982). Her subsequent film credits include Sayles' Brother From Another Planet (1984), Mike Nichols' Heartburn (1986), Working Girl (1988), and Primary Colors (1998); Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Alice (1990), Husbands and Wives (1992), and Deconstructing Harry (1997); Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and Wayne Wang's Anywhere but Here (1999). In 2000, she popped up in Nichols' alien comedy What Planet Are You From? and Don Roos' romantic drama Bounce, co-starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow.Aaron has also acted extensively on television and the stage. Within the former medium, she has guest starred on such popular series as Mad About You and Law & Order, while she has appeared on-stage in such acclaimed works as the Broadway production of The Iceman Cometh and the national tour of Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
An award winning film school graduate is forced to confront her sexual hang-ups when she makes the move to Los Angeles and reluctantly becomes an editor at a profitable pornography studio. Jody Balaban (Leelee Sobieski) is a twenty-five year old filmmaker who's about to get a rude awakening. Despite Jody's collegiate success, she's still unemployed a year after graduating, and she's about to be faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her life. Jody isn't a fan of pornography, but it seems that an editing position at Grind Productions is her best shot at earning a steady paycheck. With great reluctance, the idealistic Jody goes to work cutting skin flicks by day, and scheming to make realize her own personal vision as a filmmaker by night. Before long, Jody Grind Productions director Jeff Drake (Matthew Davis) have become fast friends. Much like Jody, Jeff was once a "serious" filmmaker with ambition to spare. Jeff sees a little of himself in Jody, though these days his youthful idealism has long since given way to jaded cynicism. Meanwhile, as Jody begins feeling aroused by the very films she once judged so harshly, she realizes that the only way to truly live free is to finally face her own sexual hang-ups. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leelee Sobieski, Matthew Davis, (more)
A charming elderly Jewish writer who lives in a state of "permanent confusion" finds his vivid imagination becoming the bane of his existence in director Jan Schütte's adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer's richly textured short stories. Max Kohn (Otto Tausig) is an Australian émigré whose mind is constantly spinning. He's an accomplished author of short stories who lives in New York City and is so steeped in tradition that he still uses a typewriter. Despite the fact that confirmed bachelor Max has a virtual harem of female admirers, he spends the majority of his free time with worrisome kindred soul Reisele (Rhea Perlman). It's during a trip to speak in nearby Hanover that Max begins editing his latest story -- a mischievous tale of a Miami retiree who embarks on a series of misadventures. Of course, it doesn't take Max long to lose himself in his own creation, and before he knows it, he's mixed up in two feverish romances and an unsolved murder. Upon snapping back to reality, Max begins to feel as if his own written word has begun to manifest itself. A meeting with world-weary former student Rosalie (Barbara Hershey), with whom he shares a mutual attraction, follows, and later while heading to Springfield for yet another speaking engagement Max discovers that he has misplaced his prepared speech. In the aftermath of that and various other mix-ups, Max decides to start writing a new story based on his recent adventures and featuring a protagonist named Harry -- a thinly veiled stand-in for the author himself. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Tausig, Tovah Feldshuh, (more)
- 2004
After 25 years of marriage, our heroine Rose (Christine Lathi), the book editor for the "LA Chronicle", is in for a shock. Her husband Nathan (Brian Kerwin), who is also her boss at the "Chronicle", has fallen in love with his much-younger assistant Mindy (Abby Brammell). Humiliating as it is when Nathan files for divorce, it is absolutely unbearable for Rose when she is fired and Mindy is given her job! As she struggles overcome these personal devastations, Rose is reacquainted with Hal (Bryan Brown), a freewheeling novelist with whom she had been in love before she met Nathan--and whom she had rejected because of his "unreliability." All of the main characters are played by different actors in the film's many flashback sequences. Adapted from the book by Elizabeth Buchan, the made-for-TV Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman was first broadcast by CBS on September 26, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Originally titled On the Edge, this Lifetime cable network feature film is the story of Zoey Carter (Julia Whelan), the superachieving "perfect" daughter of professional couple Marcia and Larry Carter (Mia Farrow and Cliff De Young). Traumatized by her parents' divorce, Zoey begins experimenting with drugs, only to grow more and more dependent upon narcotics -- and the thrill of shoplifting -- thanks to the influence of unsavory high school senior Ron Morris (Michael Coristine). After weeks and weeks of obfuscation, lies, and denial, Zoey and her parents are forced to face the seriousness of the girl's problem. But for all the help and support extended by sympathetic social worker Mike Harper (Andrew McCarthy), the solution to the dilemma lies with the choices made by Zoey's mom and dad -- if they are indeed equal to the challenge. The Secret Life of Zoey first aired on August 19, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mia Farrow, Cliff De Young, (more)
A woman who gives advice on relationships for a living is trying to make sense of her own problems with the opposite sex in this independent romantic comedy. Amy (Julie Davis) is a single woman in her mid-twenties who has recently published a self-help book called Why Love Doesn't Work, in which she discusses why a woman doesn't need a husband or a boyfriend to feel fulfilled. But Amy isn't so sure she believes her own advice, and after four years without a steady relationship, she wants a man in her life. Feeling conflicted, Amy isn't sure where to turn or with whom she can discuss her relationship issues; she ends up sharing her problems with a priest (Jeff Cesario) who mans the confessional at a nearby Catholic church, even though Amy is Jewish. As Amy's book hits the stores, Janet (Caroline Aaron), a friend who works as a publicist for her publisher, snags Amy an appearance on a radio show hosted by Matthew Starr (Nick Chinlund), a popular but foul-mouthed "shock jock." Matthew is exactly the sort of man Amy warns her readers to stay away from, so she isn't sure why she finds herself attracted to him -- or why he seems to be interested in her. Amy's Orgasm was written and directed by Julie Davis, who also stars as Amy; the film was enthusiastically received in its screening at the 2001 Santa Barbara Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Davis, Nick Chinlund, (more)
This 2001 TV docudrama relates the story of tennis' 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" between Wimbledon champions Billie Jean King (Holly Hunter) and Bobby Riggs (Ron Silver), an event considered by many to be an early victory for feminism. Riggs, 20 years past his prime, lives to wager on anything and everything. Seeing the rise of feminism, he decides he can make some money by challenging top female players, 30 years his junior, into exhibition matches. His first choice for an opponent is Billie Jean King, but she turns him down because she is too busy organizing the members of the female tennis tour into a de facto union, and winning tennis tournaments. After Bobby defeats the number one female tennis player in the world, Margaret Court, King realizes she needs to beat him. Following months of hype in which Bobby's bluster is matched at every point by Billie's confidence, the two face off in the Astrodome before a huge live and television audience. When Billie Beat Bobby was written and directed by Jane Anderson who had previously written The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom, which also featured Holly Hunter in the title role. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Holly Hunter, Ron Silver, (more)
Adapted from the stage comedy by Wendy Wasserstein, the made-for-cable An American Daughter was clearly inspired by the "Nannygate" imbroglio surrounding President Bill Clinton's political appointees Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood. Christine Lahti stars as Lyssa Dent Hughes, the daughter of a prominent U.S. Senator and a descendent of no less than Ulysses S. Grant. Just when it seems as if Hughes' appointment to the office of U.S. Surgeon General is a done deal, her husband Walter (Tom Skerritt) accidentally reveals a skeleton in Lyssa's closet: It seems that, years earlier, she'd had the temerity to ignore a summons for jury duty. This, coupled with several newly exposed inconsistencies concerning Lyssa's "official" biography, seriously jeopardize her political future, leaving her at the mercy of the horrible juggernaut of peer persecution and public opinion. Highlights of this timely tome include a brief spoof of the daytime TV interview series The View. Produced just in time to cash in on the upcoming presidential elections (not to mention the myriad of scandals attending the Clinton administration), An American Daughter (aka Trial by Media) made its Lifetime Network bow on June 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Lahti, Tom Skerritt, (more)
Tom Selleck stretches his dramatic range by playing a liberal Democrat in this comedy-drama satirizing the underside of party politics. Governor James Pryce (Tom Selleck) is a well-respected politician with a strong reformist streak who is a shoo-in for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, thanks to a well-run primary campaign organized by his manager Lauren Hartman (Laura Linney), and the savvy speechmaking and moral support of his wife Jenny (Nancy Travis). Now Pryce has to pick a vice-presidential candidate, which proves to be not all that simple. Senator Parker Gable (Robert Culp) helped give Pryce his start in politics, and his wife Meg (Faye Dunaway), a Queen Bee on the Washington social scene, has asked Pryce to consider Gable as VP. Pryce believes Gable would be the right man for the job, but he's well known to chase anything in a skirt, and Pryce thinks his nomination would be a scandal waiting to happen. Besides Gable, the two most likely choices for Pryce's running mate are Senator Mitchell Morris (Bruce McGill), whose strong links to a number of corporate benefactors make Pryce nervous, and Senator Terrence Randall (Bob Grunton), whose outspoken support of campaign finance reform does not sit well with Shawna Morgan (Teri Hatcher), the fundraising expert who has been filling Pryce's war chest. Running Mates was produced for the TNT cable network, where it first aired on August 13, 2000; Gerald Rafshoon, the film's executive producer, has an inside perspective on Washington wheelings and dealings, having served as White House director of communications under President Jimmy Carter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Laura Linney, (more)
- 1999
Amidst his investigation of a murder involving a apartment-building gigolo (Raul Gomez), Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder) takes time off to help his old army buddy Joey Dwyer (D.B. Sweeney). When Joey's ramblings turn suicidal, Sorenson seeks out assistance from Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Unfortunately, Joey has already decided to "leave town" -- and thus precipitates a hostage crisis that may result in several more deaths than his own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Jonathan Frakes is both star and producer of this made-for-TV fantasy, which originally aired as part of UPN's "Nightworld" movies series. Teenager Rachel Linden (Hayler DuMond) drowns as the end result of a nasty scheme hatched by Vanessa Cunningham (Shannon Elizabeth), Rachel's rival for the affection of Matt Jannett (Gabriel Mann). As her spirit leaves her body, Rachel is met by Will (Jonathan Frakes), a guardian angel assigned to gently escort the girl to the Next World. But vengeful Rachel refuses to leave until she can make Vanessa pay for her sins. With only token reluctance, Will arranges for Rachel to temporarily inhabit the body of her best friend Leslie Chambers (Linda Cardellini)--who, suffering from arythmia, may not be able to survive the habitation. It's a teen-oriented combo of Ghost and All of Me, with a major surprise at the climax. Dying to Live was first broadcast on April 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom (Hank Azaria) has found success and popularity in his occupation, but emotionally and spiritually he is bankrupt. While watching television one night, he comes across an episode of the news showNightline and learns that his former university professor Morrie Schwartz (Jack Lemmon) is battling A.L.S. -- better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. At first, Mitch is reluctant to pay his former mentor a visit, since, at his graduation ceremony, Mitch promised to remain in contact with Morrie but failed to make good on that promise. Mitch eventually overcomes his uneasiness and, to his surprise, finds a very warm welcome from Morrie. The two begin to discuss the issues of happiness, life, and death, and they soon begin to meet on a weekly basis as Mitch reassumes the role of Morrie's student. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Hank Azaria, (more)
Eleanor Gaver wrote and directed this slapstick comedy-fantasy about graffiti-artist Jeff (Noah Taylor), who loves artist Mona (Fairuza Balk). After Mona produces a painting in which a church sculpture crushes a girl, she sees a church accident identical to her painting, although a stranger (Patrick Dempsey) intervenes. Mona takes a fickle fancy to this man and ends her relationship with Jeff, who enlists the help of Mona's boss (Tea Leoni) to mail himself to Mona in a box. When Mona tries to open the box, she impales Jeff with a pair of scissors, and the film then focuses on efforts to get rid of the body. Shown at the 1998 Hamptons Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, (more)
- 1998
Although his marriage to Maris is all but kaput, Niles (David Hyde Pierce) is still too chicken to declare his love for Daphne (Jane Leeves). Just when he has worked up enough courage to ask Daphne for a date, Niles gets cold feet, begging off by claiming to be having dinner at his home with another woman. Alas, this deception threatens to explode in Niles' face when Daphne shows up at his apartment offering to prepare dinner for his imaginary date. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Caroline Aaron returns in the role of Mary Pat Lee, popular (and controversial) Nantucket TV talk host. Joe (Tim Daly) and Helen (Crystal Bernard) are thrilled to be invited on Mary Pat's program to talk about "happy couples." Only when the cameras start turning do Joe and Helen realize that Mary Pat plans to ambush them by revealing embarrassing secrets about their sex lives -- secrets unwittingly provided by Roy (David Schramm). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
This made-for-television Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation is based on the play of the same name by Tom Griffin. Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Michael Jeter, and Courtney P. Vance star as four men with various mental challenges who try to carve out lives for themselves as they share a home under the guidance of a social worker (Tony Goldwyn). Mare Winningham was nominated for an Emmy Award for her co-starring role. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Former series regular Farrah Forke makes a guest appearance in her familiar role as Alex Lambert, ex-girlfriend of Brian Hackett (Steve Daly). Excited over the prospect of being invited on the local talk show hosted by Mary Pat Lee (Caroline Aaron), Brian is subsequently shocked to learn that he has been ambushed, and that Alex is going to appear on the same show. Even worse, Alex intends to "tell all" on the air, which she does in vivid detail. Astonishingly, the bitterness between Brian and Alex turns out to be a powerful aphrodisiac for both parties! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Sylvia Buchman (Cynthia Harris), the notoriously hard to please mother of Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser), suddenly decides that she wants no part of a non-refundable Caribbean vacation. As a result, Paul and wife Jamie (Helen Hunt) pose as Paul's parents, a scheme that quickly gets out of control. Vitial ingredients to the proceedings include the hammock toss, "Splink! Splink!" and the ability to lie multilingually. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
As detective Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) recovers from his gunshot wounds, Logan (Chris Noth) adjusts himself to his new partner, Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach, in his first Law & Order appearance, save for an earlier guest-star appearance in a different role). Logan and Briscoe's current investigation results in the arrest of a suspect who claims self defense. In mounting his case against the accused, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) is distressed to learn that he will be coming face to face with an old enemy from his law-school days. Elaine Stritch won an Emmy award for her performance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The ongoing debate over parental rights in medical procedures comes to the forefront when a five-year-old girl dies from a relatively minor throat infection. The child's parents, Ted and Nancy Driscoll (Byron Jennings, Kaiulani Lee) are arrested, whereupon they argue that their religious beliefs compelled them to deny medical treatment for their daughter. Incidentally, the unfortunate youngster is played by an uncredited Michelle Trachtenberg, who later co-starred on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the early 1960s, two very different New Jersey high schoolers share their first love in this bittersweet romantic drama, an early feature by writer/director John Sayles. Jill Rosen (Rosanna Arquette) is a sweet, overachieving Jewish girl heading for college to become an actor; "Sheik" Capodilupo (Vincent Spano) is a mysterious, confident Italian guy who pushes his way into Jill's already busy life. Sheik successfully woos Jill, and the story follows their ups and downs as teenage romantics. While that introduction is lighter fare than most Sayles material, the film trails off into some unexpected plot developments, providing an original take on the "different sides of the track" genre. Sayles directs the high school scenes with a combination of reminiscence and reality, balancing the excitement of cars and the prom with the heartache, anxiety, and classwork that goes along with it. The movie is injected with a mostly 1960s soundtrack, yet the videocassette lists that "some music has been changed" for home video -- the note apparently refers to four Bruce Springsteen cuts. Matthew Modine and Tracy Pollan appear in small parts, and Robert Downey Jr. also has a tiny role. This was the fiercely independent Sayles' first film to be made with a major studio (Paramount), and he claims it will be his last, as he lost final editing control. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, (more)
An FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer attempts to capture the madman with a little assistance from his would-be victims in director Jennifer Chambers Lynch's supernatural police thriller. FBI agents Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman) are on the trail of some killers when they arrive in a small desert town to investigate a vicious mass shooting on the highway. The witnesses are an overzealous cop, an unreliable junkie, and an eight-year-old girl. For some reason agents Anderson and Hallaway can't comprehend, the pieces of the puzzle just don't seem to fit together. Later, when the minute details concealed by each witness finally start coming into focus, the two agents discover that sometimes the truth comes at a very substantial cost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Pullman, Julia Ormond, (more)
Two down-on-their-luck meat salesmen struggling to make a buck find that sometimes you have to grill your clients to secure the sale in this rib-tickling comedy that teams King of Queens star Kevin James with Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano. Maurice (Romano) and Dave (James) have been issued an ultimatum by their frustrated boss: move some meat or hit the street. Now forced to make the sale of a lifetime or face a grim fate working behind the counter of the local butcher, the two hapless meat-slingers set their sights on a foolproof prospect that promises to provide just the funds needed to keep them afloat. Unfortunately for Maurice and Dave, their perfect plan leads them into the company of some very bad men, and now with their jobs on the line and their lives hanging in the balance, these two scheming salesmen must finalize the big deal and get the money back to the boss before they end up in the freezer with the rest of the dead meat. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Marking the directorial debut of Sergio Arau, son of Like Water for Chocolate director Alfonso Arau, A Day Without a Mexican ponders the potentially catastrophic results that would occur if California-based Mexicans, who make up over a third of the state's population, were to suddenly disappear. The mockumentary postulates that the lack of Latino gardeners, nannies, cooks, policeman, maids, teachers, farm workers, construction crews, entertainers, athletes, and the world's largest growing consumer market would create a social, political, and economic disaster, leaving the concept of the "California Dream" in shambles. A Day Without a Mexican proved controversial even before its release: promotional billboards reading "On May 14th, there will be no Mexicans in California" caused a stir with immigrant rights groups, who believed the sign was a statement against the Latino community. The film stars Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, Maureen Flannigan, and Muse Watson. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, (more)
