Jane Kaczmarek Movies
Down to earth midwesterner Jane Kaczmarek established herself as a multi-talented supporting actress in movies and TV before Malcolm in the Middle turned her into a bona fide TV star in 2000. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Kaczmarek considered a teaching career, but majored in theater at the University of Wisconsin instead. After earning her M.F.A. at the Yale Drama School, Kaczmarek headed to New York to hit the stage. Moving from theater into TV and film in the early '80s, Kaczmarek revealed her aptitude for both comedy, in such TV movies as Door to Door (1984), and drama, with recurring guest parts on St. Elsewhere in 1983 and Hill Street Blues in 1984, as well as a small role in the ground-breaking TV film There's Something About Amelia (1984). As a testament to her acting chops, Kaczmarek earned her first starring film role as Robert De Niro's wronged wife in the De Niro/Meryl Streep romance Falling in Love (1984). Kaczmarek was back to comedy with the ill-received fantasy The Heavenly Kid (1985) and the Judge Reinhold age-switch romp Vice Versa (1988). After she married fellow actor Bradley Whitford in 1992, Kaczmarek starred in the TV movie Without Warning (1994) and nabbed multi-episode guest-starring parts in several TV series, including Party of Five and Cybill in 1996. Following a small role as Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon's mother in the reflexive fantasy Pleasantville (1998), Kaczmarek was ready to settle down to raise her family. When the producers of Malcolm in the Middle came calling, however, Kaczmarek signed on, figuring it wouldn't last. Instead, Malcolm's absurd, unsentimental take on sitcom family life became a spring 2000 hit, earning Kaczmarek Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors' Guild nominations for her performance as the no-nonsense mother of a genius and his incorrigible brothers. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide- 1989
Veteran comic actor George Segal plays a wealthy industrialist whose real passion in life is paint-gun war games. In fact, he's so addicted to these quasi-military games that he insists on being addressed as "Colonel." The way to promotion in his company is through these games, rather than through doing a good job. Hard working Ann (Jennifer Edwards) is tired of seeing less competent males promoted because of their war game skills. She joins forces with the Colonel's wife Florence (Sally Kellerman), with whom he's in the midst of a divorce, and the other company wives to form their own war games team. They hire a mercenary (Lou Ferrigno) to train them, leading to a climactic showdown with the men. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Sally Kellerman, (more)
"They didn't kill me; I was dead already," is the statement uttered by Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid), an English professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been poisoned by a slow-acting toxin and who has twenty-four hours to track down his killers before he ceases to exist. Remade from the 1949 Rudolph Mate thriller by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, the co-directors jazz up the old luridness with slap-up doggishness that boosts the intensity-level higher than it deserves to go. Cornell is a burned-out novelist trying to hold on to tenure at the university while seeing his marriage collapse around him. As if that weren't enough, he is receiving amorous come-ons from smart, young student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan) and being badgered by another student, Nick Lang (Robert Knepper), to read his brilliant first novel. Not long after Dex demurs to Nick to read his novel, Nick is killed in a fall. Only then does Dex find out that Nick has been having an affair with his wife. Things keep going from bad to worse when, after an all-night drinking binge, Dex discovers that he has been slipped a poison that will kill him within 24 hours. Teaming up with the adoring Sydney, Dex tries to track down the person who poisoned him while dodging the cops, since he happens to be a prime murder suspect. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, (more)
- 1984
A light, light, light comedy with no depth below the surface, this TV-oriented story is about a smooth-talking salesman who ostensibly peddles vacuum cleaners but is really a con man out to get money. The con artist/salesman Larry (Ron Leibman) meets Leon (Arliss Howard), an honest salesman who is making no money at all, and teaches him how to swindle his way to riches. The two team up, taking in everyone from car dealers to a poor widow, whose niece Katherine (Jane Kaczmarek) has sparked the interest of Leon. But since Larry himself is being blackmailed by a detective for the vacuum-cleaner company, his ultimate concern is getting rid of this drain on his hardly-earned money. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Leibman, Arliss Howard, (more)
Falling in Love can be described as an urban American Brief Encounter. Reteamed for the first time since The Deer Hunter, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep star as a married couple. Thing of it is, they're not married to each other. While Christmas shopping for their respective families, architect Frank Raftis (DeNiro) and graphic artist Molly Gilmore (Streep) "meet cute," their holiday packages becoming mixed up. What starts as a pleasant chance acquaintance blossoms into romance. Inevitably, however, both parties realize that what they're doing is wrong--a shade too late to save their marriages, as it turns out. The film ends with a bittersweet "one year later" coda. The natural charisma of its stars lends distinction to the otherwise so-so Falling in Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, (more)
- 1984
On a bitterly cold January day in 1982, Air Florida flight #90 crashed into the Potomac River while approaching Washington DC. Though many passengers were killed, many more were rescued. Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac is the story of the survivors, the rescuers, and the anxious friends and relatives of both the living and the dead. The crash itself is never shown, while the icy Potomac is represented by a heated Hollywood pool and chunks of Styrofoam (the actors do their best, however, to appear to be chilled to the bone). Thankfully, the cast is comprised of character actors rather than stars or "celebrities," adding an air of authenticity to the proceedings. Made for TV, Flight No. 90: Disaster on the Potomac was first telecast April 1, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The made-for-TV For Lovers Only was the pilot film for a potential series titled Honeymoon Hotel. Set in the Poconos, the story takes place in a fancy honeymoon resort managed by Vernon Bliss (Andy Griffith). Belying his name and professional, Bliss is far from Blissful, especially when bickering with his daughter (Deborah Raffin) and her husband, a would-be playwright (Gary Sandy). Guest stars on this first and last installment of Honeymoon Hotel include Katherine Helmond, Gordon Jump, Sally Kellerman and Jane Kaczmarzak. Look closely and you'll spot Tracy Pollan in a bit. Financed by Caesars Palace Productions, For Lovers Only was first telecast October 15, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Marsha Mason makes her first series appearance as brassy barmaid Sherry Dempsey. Upon meeting Sherry, widower Martin Crane (John Mahoney) instantly falls in love with her. Well and good -- except that the outspoken, banjo-playing Sherry does not pass muster with Martin's prissy, classical music-loving offspring, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Future Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek also appears in this episode. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1996
Pulled over for speeding, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is instantly smitten by sexy female traffic cop Maureen Cutler (played by future Malcolm in the Middle co-star Jane Kaczmarek). Following up the episode, Frasier asks Maureen to come to his apartment. She does -- whereupon she develops a strong attraction to Frasier's ex-policeman dad, Martin (John Mahoney). Filmed as the fourth episode of Frasier's third season, "Police Story" was held back until April of 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Organized by New York's Museum of Television and Radio, this impressively assembled tribute to the funny women boasts a stellar all-female cast, drawn from half a century's worth of video entertainment. Hosted by Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), the special uses rare film clips and interviews to pay homage to such iconic figures as Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Bea Arthur, and especially the woman who started it all, Lucille Ball. A number of veteran comediennes are in attendance, along with the newer crop of "girls." Amidst the hilarity, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Seinfeld) offers a poignant paean to the late Gilda Radner. Great Women of Television and Comedy was originally broadcast by NBC -- which may explain the preponderance of guest stars from that network's then-current sitcom manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Sitcom veteran Ted Danson starred in this 30-minute ABC series, characterized by more than one critic as an edgier, up-to-date Bob Newhart Show. This time, Danson was seen as outwardly cool, calm, and collected psychotherapist Dr. Bill Hoffman, who conducted a weekly therapy session with a group of truly messed-up people. So beneficial was Dr. Bill's advice to his charges that it was just as well they had no inkling about his own chaotic private life, in which he continued to moon over his ex-wife (a recurring character played by Jane Kaczmarek) and brood over the fact that his restless daughter, Sasha (Lindsay Sloane), was carrying on with a much-older man. Dr. Bill's patients included Darlene (Darlene Hunt), whose nymphomania was but one of many hang-ups; Michael (Jere Burns), who had serious issues with anger; Dave (Charlie Finn), an office worker and would-be suicide who was inept at both pursuits; and Inger (Suzy Nakamura), who was bereft of all forms of basic social graces. Help Me Help You first hung up its shingle on September 26, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Charlie Finn, (more)
This glitzy miniseries based on the Judith Krantz novel is a wicked soap opera about sex, power, and betrayal. Valerie Bertinelli stars as Maxi, whose mother (Francesca Annis) marries her father's hated brother Cutter (Perry King) after his death. Cutter had sworn to destroy everything his late brother valued and proceeds to run his publishing empire into the ground. Maxi, who has already been through three husbands by age 29, turns over a new leaf by gathering her family and making a commitment to save the business, which she does by becoming the editor of a successful fashion magazine. Maxi lives in the Trump Tower, whose famed real-life owner appears as himself. It has some unintentionally campy moments, but King is quite good as the villainous Cutter, and fans of this sort of high-gloss '80s melodrama will want to put it on their lists. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Bertinelli, Francesca Annis, (more)
- 1994
A threatening phone call leads to censure proceedings against Joel Thayer (David Groh), a prominent New York judge. When the case arrives at the office of D.A. Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), his subordinate Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) surprises him by resigning. It seems that Kincaid once clerked for Judge Thayer -- and there is talk that a romance developed, one that may have been decidedly (and injuriously) one-sided. Future Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek appears as Janet Rudman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Gary Ross, Oscar nominated for his Dave and Big screenplays, made his directorial debut with this comedy. The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). She wants to watch MTV just when a Pleasantville marathon is about to begin. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange TV repairman (Don Knotts) supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David and Jennifer inside Pleasantville, where their new sitcom parents are businessman George Parker (William H. Macy) and wife Betty (Joan Allen). As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words, bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good Life." David revels in Pleasantville's Prozac-styled peacefulness. He fits right in, but Jennifer's 1990s attitude upsets the blandness balance, painting parts of Pleasantville in "living color." Repressed desires surface, cracks appear in the '50s lifestyles, and the Pleasantville populace finds their lives changing in strange, wonderful ways. It's liberating -- but there's also a darker side. This film breaks an all-time record with more than 1700 special effects shots. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, (more)
- 1984
First offered as an ABC Theatre presentation on January 9, 1984, Something About Amelia stars Ted Danson in an "against type" role to end them all. Danson is the well-to-do, loving husband of Glenn Close, and the doting father of teenager Roxanne Zal. Zal's mother can't understand why the girl has been depressed and withdrawn of late. It takes a session with her school guidance counselor to get Zalto admit the source of her depression: Her father has had sexual relations with her. Zal's mother goes through the expected anger and denial upon hearing this news....but the girl is, alas, telling the truth. Wisely, scriptwriter William Hanley does not present Ted Danson's character as a monster, despite the monstrosity of his behavior. The point of the drama is that incest is not exclusively the dominion of lower-class, poorly educated, abusive parents--and that it is tragically possible for even the most "mature" of grownups to confuse love with sex. Dismissed by an otherwise perceptive TV movie critic as merely "typical," Something About Amelia chalked up one of the highest-ever ratings for a TV movie, and won a well-deserved Emmy for young Roxanne Zal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Glenn Close, (more)
- 1989
Spooner stars Robert Urich as a forger, recently escaped from prison. Urich cooks up a phony resume and assumes the identity of a high-school teacher. He becomes the wrestling coach for a group of misfit kids with the lowest of low self esteem. In urging the kids not to give up, Urich's eyes are opened to the possibility of his turning his own life around. Jane Kaczmarek and Brent Fraser costar in Spooner, which premiered over the Disney Channel cable service on December 2, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this holiday drama, a widowed architect tries to mix business with pleasure when he takes his daughter on a business trip to a strange town in Colorado. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Denver, Jane Kaczmarek, (more)
Ever since the "Topper" movies made ghosts likeable and helpful, films like The Heavenly Kid have taken up the theme with varying degrees of success. In this version of life after death, Bobby (Lewis Smith) is a teen who dies in a drag race as he goes over a cliff. He then enters a curious "mass transit" system that will not take him "uptown" until he returns back to earth and gains a little more virtue. And so Bobby is assigned the thankless task of converting Lenny (Jason Gedrick) into a self-confident individual who can date women without fear (not exactly on a par with bringing peace to the world, but this is a teen movie). There are some twists and turns along the way, though nothing shakes up the status quo or ventures beyond the already imagined. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Smith, Jason Gedrick, (more)
- 1986
The Second Amendment of the Constitution forms the basis of this drama that follows the crusade of a lawyer to allow citizens to carry handguns. He launched his fight after his wife and daughter were killed during a robbery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The made-for-TV Three Kings stars Jack Warden, Lou Diamond Phillips and Stan Shaw as three patients in a Los Angeles-area mental institution. Dressed as the Three Wise Men for a Christmas pageant, the trio is suddenly struck with the delusion that they are really their Biblical counterparts. As TV cameras grind away, the three ersatz Kings ride out of the Pageant--on camels--and into the mean streets of LA. As the story draws to its conclusion, the three escapees find themselves providing Christmas cheer for a group of homeless people on the outskirts of the city. Aaron Spelling's original story veers dangerously close to being devoured by its own cuteness at times, but Stirling Silliphant's script for Three Kings keeps the whimsy in check and the sillier events reasonably credible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
