Lainie Kazan

Judd Apatow teams up with his former roommate Adam Sandler to write a star comedy vehicle for the actor in You Don't Mess With the Zohan, the tale of an Israeli commando who fakes his own death so he can follow his dream -- to be a hairstylist in New York City. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry's Dennis Dugan directs for Happy Madison Productions and Columbia Pictures. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Echoes, this made-for-cable drama is set in Napa Valley wine country, sometime in the 1980s. Patricia Heaton (who also produced the film) stars as Sara, the daughter of strong-willed vineyard owner Alicia Anselmi (Lainie Kazan). Hoping to arrange a merger between Alicia and rival vintner Nick Di Cenzo (Tony Lo Bianco), Sara must first overcome the bitter 40-year-feud between ex-sweethearts Alicia and Nick, which began when each seemingly jilted the other during WW2. The delivery of a long-lost engagement ring proves beyond doubt that Nick had intended to marry Alicia, but evidently this does little to alleviate their mutual animosity. And when it appears that Sara intends to dump her fiancé Brian (David Hunt) in favor of Nick's nephew Tony (Vincent Spano), Alicia and Nick are all the more convinced that any merger between the Anselmi and DiCenzo families--even a merger that never comes to fruition--will result only in heartache for all concerned. The Engagement Ring originally aired over the TNT cable network on November 28, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young girl entrusted with the task of delivering a special package to her grandmother finds herself faced with a most unpleasant stalker in this retelling of the classic fairy tale starring Daniel Roebuck, Debi Mazar, Sam Stone, and Joey Fatone and served up with a curious contemporary twist. Red is an adolescent girl whose ailing grandmother lives in the deepest reaches of the magic forest. Asked by her mother to deliver a package to the elder family member, Red eagerly agrees without realizing that her assignment isn't as much about getting the package to grandma as it is about carrying on the legacy that has been passed down through generations. In order to achieve the status of the legendary maiden in red, this frightened young girl will have to overcome her ultimate fear by outwitting the malevolent wolf that will do everything in his power to get the tender young morsel on his dinner plate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This crime comedy from director Craig Singer is the filmmaker's third independent feature and his second outing with screenwriter Robert Dean Klein and star Gary Stretch, who had contributed to 2001's Dead Dogs Lie, Singer's sophomore effort. Stretch plays Ronnie, a hitman who, three years prior, vouched for his pal and fellow contract killer, August, played by Michael Rapaport (Zebrahead, Mighty Aphrodite). Unfortunately for Ronnie, over the years, August has gotten himself into some trouble and made a few enemies. Now, over the course of one day, Ronnie has to somehow clean up all of August's messes or both men will be facing the consequences of their unhappy bosses. In addition to Frank Whaley and Seymour Cassel, the supporting cast boasts a bevy of 1980s artifacts including Ralph Macchio, Robin Givens, Deborah Harry, and Ally Sheedy. A Cold Day in August screened at Robert De Niro's 2003 Tribeca Film Festival under the title A Good Night to Die. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

It was all but inevitable that the most successful independently produced film of all time, 2002's My Big Fat Greek Wedding, would spawn a weekly, half-hour TV sitcom. What was not inevitable, and indeed a bit surprising, was that the CBS series My Big Fat Greek Life would feature virtually the entire cast of the original film -- with one noteworthy exception. Nia Vardalos, who created the movie and served as a co-executive producer for the TV version, reprised her screen role as Nia (originally Toula) Portokalos Miller, the new Greek-American bride of non-Greek teacher Ian Miller. The two lovebirds did their best to assert their independence, despite the well-meaning omnipresence and interference of Nia's colorful -- and bombastic -- Greek family. In addition to Vardalos, the series featured a number of carryovers from the film, among them Michael Constantine as Nia's domineering restauranteur father, Gus; Lainie Kazan as her eternally freeting mother, Maria; Louis Mandylor as her macho-man brother, Nick; Andrea Martin as advice-dispensing Aunt Voula; and Gia Carides as garrulous cousin Nikki. Conspicuous by his absence on the series was John Corbett, the original Ian Miller; his role was taken over by Steven Eckholdt. My Big Fat Greek Life first aired on February 24, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One woman's rocky road to the altar gets played for laughs in this comedy, adapted from the one-woman off-Broadway show written by and starring Nia Vardalos. Toula (Vardalos) is a Greek-American woman who is in her early thirties and single, with no immediate prospects of changing that status any time soon. This bothers Toula a bit, but not half as much as it distresses her mother (Lainie Kazan) and father (Michael Constantine), who want to send her to Greece in hopes of finding a husband in the old country. Toula isn't interested in leaving the country to find a man, but since she works in the family business -- a Greek restaurant in Chicago called Dancing Zorba's -- she has to hear about it whether she likes it or not. One day, after seeing a handsome stranger in the restaurant and not having the courage to talk to him, Toula decides she needs a bit of self-improvement. Despite her dad's misgivings, Toula signs up for a night-school class studying computers, trades in her glasses for contact lenses, gets a different job at a travel agency, and spruces herself up with a new look and a new attitude. To her very pleasant surprise, she once again encounters the handsome stranger, who soon asks her out on a date. Schoolteacher Ian Miller (John Corbett) is seemingly perfect -- he's tall, handsome, smart, good-natured, and soon in love with Toula -- except for two little things: he's not Greek, and he's a vegetarian, both of which horrify Toula's family. When Ian pops the question (and Toula says yes), the bride-to-be has to negotiate a reasonably peaceful meeting between Ian's upper-class parents and her own working-class extended family. There's also the matter of the wedding, which Toula's mother is planning around the notion that quantity IS quality. My Big Fat Greek Wedding also features Ian Gomez (Vardalos' real-life husband), Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin, and Joey Fatone (from the pop group *NSYNC). Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson helped produce the film through the auspices of their production company, Playtone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Come celebrate the joy and togetherness of the Hanukkah season with Adam Sandler -- yeah, that Adam Sandler -- in this raucous animated comedy written and produced in collaboration with the noted funnyman. Davey Stone (voice of Adam Sandler) is a twentysomething man with a short temper and a reputation for causing trouble who lives in the small New England town of Dukesberry. Davey has a particularly bad attitude about the holiday season, and on the first night of Hanukkah, he goes on a tear that lands him in front of a judge (voice of Norm Crosby). The judge, who has dealt with Davey before, is prepared to send him to prison, but Whitey (also voiced by Sandler), an eccentric but kindly old man, persuades the judge to give him a chance to turn Davey into a more responsible citizen. Davey doesn't think much of Whitey's charitable nature, but when his trailer home burns down, he's forced to move in with Whitey and his perpetually nervous sister, Eleanore (also voiced by Sandler...spotting a trend here?). Between Whitey and Eleanore's nonstop kvetching and the reappearance of his old girlfriend Jennifer (voice of Jackie Titone), Davey is being driven to distraction by the Hanukkah season, but in time Whitey learns the truth about why Davey has such a problem with the Festival of Lights. Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights also includes eight new songs co-written by Sandler; he duets with bluegrass star Alison Krauss on "Long Ago." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this dark comedy, a group of retirees wants to save their homes -- but they're not typical senior citizens trying to make the most of their Social Security checks. Four aging former mobsters -- Joey "Bats" Pistella (Burt Reynolds), Bobby Bartellemeo (Richard Dreyfuss), Mike the Brick (Dan Hedaya), and Tony "The Mouth" Donato (Seymour Cassel) -- live in the same rundown Miami apartment complex, the Raj Mahal. New owners hope to clear out the current tenants and replace them with a younger, more lucrative clientele. But the veteran gangsters don't want to move, so to scrape up the extra rent money, they take a job executing the father of a Miami mob boss. They happen to know he's already dead, so all they have to do is make it look like they did the hit. Their problems start when loudmouthed ladies' man Tony tells too much to Ferris (Jennifer Tilly), a stripper, and soon she's talked him into murdering her mother (Lainie Kazan) in exchange for her silence. The Crew also features Carrie-Anne Moss as a detective and Jeremy Piven as a mob kingpin out to avenge his father's death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, teamwork takes on a new meaning when four friends fall in love with the same woman. Four guys with an interest in competitive rowing -- ad executive Scott (Jason Lewis), architect Michael (Chris Rydell), stockbroker Bob (Sean Astin), and college professor Walter (Robert Mailhouse) -- decide their crew needs some help. They learn that the daughter of an Olympic rowing champion lives in town, and she's no slouch at the sport herself. The four approach Kimberly (Gabrielle Anwar) and discover that she happens to be a very beautiful woman; for the sake of the team, all four make a solemn vow not to make any romantic overtures to Kimberly while they're in training, but predictably the flesh is weaker than the spirit and all four end up dating her at one time or another. The real dilemma comes when Kimberly becomes pregnant, and she isn't sure which one of the four men is the father. Rather than fight, all four take turns guiding Kimberly through pregnancy and childbirth as she continues to guide the rowing team. The supporting cast includes appearances by Patty Duke as a doctor and Molly Ringwald as Walter's significant other. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bernard Salzmann made his directorial debut with this comedy-drama set in West Hollywood where a wake is held for community center founder Christopher Cavatelli, who leaves behind his lover Doug (Stephen Spinella), his ex-wife Melissa (Lea Thompson), friend Gaetano (Danny Nucci), and his macho heterosexual twin brother Frank Cavatelli (Vincent Spano). After Frank arrives from New York, this offbeat group sets out to distribute Chris' ashes and fulfill his last wish -- a five-day, 450-mile charity trip up the California coast on an AIDS bike-a-thon. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival and the 1998 San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Kirk Wong directed this comedy actioner about mild-mannered, beleaguered hitman Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg), who very much wants to be liked. However, the naive Mel is being taken advantage of by both his girlfriends and associates (who cheat him out of his bonuses). Mel and his "Odd Squad" -- Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine), Vince (Antonio Sabato Jr.), and Gump (Robin Dunne) -- work for Paris (Avery Brooks), head of an international crime cartel and a contractor for hit jobs. Mel's mistress Chantel (Lela Rochon), who views him as a meal ticket, lives rent-free in his house, misspends his money, and is continually thinking of ways to get more from him. Her latest scheme is concocting tales about overdue mortgage and car payments, but she really wants the money to run away with her lover Sergio. Mel and his team head into a big shootout to waste some rival mobsters. One person kills the electricity; the others don night-vision goggles. Melvin handles most of the action, including shooting while bungee-bouncing near a staircase, finally making a spectacular bungee-exit from the top floors of the building just as it explodes in flames. A quick and easy weekend job backfires when their kidnap victim, a rich industrialist's teenage daughter Keiko Nishi (China Chow), turns out to be the godchild of their boss, crime czar Paris. When Cisco, mastermind of the plan, is summoned by Paris, he manages to shift blame to Mel. Meanwhile, Chantel absconds with Mel's earnings just as the disapproving parents (Elliott Gould, Lainie Kazan) of Mel's fiancee Pam (Christina Applegate) are due for a visit. Since Pam gave her parents $50,000 from Mel's bank account, they're on their way to thank him and hopefully benefit from another financial windfall. As his professional and domestic woes collide, Mel finds himself dodging bullets while trying to impress his potential in-laws. Throw in an overzealous video-store clerk demanding the return of an overdue tape (King Kong Returns), and it's not long before Mel's life starts to unravel. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a woman discovers that it's impossible to get ahead in business without a man to guide her -- so she invents one. Laurel (Whoopi Goldberg) is an expert financial analyst with a top Wall Street brokerage; however, she keeps getting passed over for raises and promotions, and she's convinced that no one at her firm takes her seriously because she's a black woman. Frustrated, Laurel and her loyal assistant Sally (Dianne Wiest) open a new firm, but Laurel discovers that her fears were based firmly in reality: male clients don't want to take financial advice from women, especially women of color. So Laurel invents a white man, Robert S. Cutty, to be the firm's top adviser. Speaking on Cutty's behalf, Laurel passes along the fictional man's advice, which her new clients find to be quite sound, and when they stop by to see him, he always manages to be out of the office (and why wouldn't a man so successful be busy?). The ruse seems to work, and soon Laurel's business is going great guns, but an increasingly large number of her clients want to see Cutty face to face, which won't be easy to pull off. However, with the help of a drag queen, Laurel tries to remake herself into Cutty for a night in order to keep her firm afloat. The Associate was based on a novel by author Jenaro Prieto. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide