Laurie Kennedy Movies
Money and emotions lead to a difficult reunion between a father and daughter in this drama. Reese Holden (Zooey Deschanel) is a struggling stage actress in New York City whose life has become an uphill struggle -- her career isn't giving her satisfaction, her relationship with would-be rock star Ray (Dallas Roberts) is stuck in neutral, an affair with her friend Rob (Robert Beitzel) brings no excitement, and her colleague Deirdre (Deirdre O'Connell) simply doesn't understand her problems. Reese is also short on money, which is why she's willing to listen to a proposal from a publisher who wants to release a series of love letters that her mother, a well-known author who died years ago, wrote to her father, Don (Ed Harris), another respected novelist who has fallen out of the limelight but is said to be working on a final major work. Having accepted an advance for the collection, Reese pays a visit to Don in Michigan to get his OK for the project and collect the letters, but discovers two strangers have moved in with Don -- Shelly (Amelia Warner), who studied under Don and has installed herself as his business manager, and Corbit (Will Ferrell), a neighborhood sad sack who helps with the housekeeping and runs errands for the reclusive writer. As Reese vies with Shelly for her father's attention, she struggles to come to terms with issues from her childhood and the dissatisfaction with her life. Winter Passing was written and directed by noted playwright Adam Rapp; it was his first feature film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Zooey Deschanel, (more)
- 1998
Angie Harmon joins the cast as A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael in the opening episode of Law & Order's ninth season. The focus is on the "ethics" of foreign adoptions, and the catalyst is the suspicious death of a baby girl. The detectives are puzzled by the secretive attitude of the infant's parents, who won't allow the authorities into their apartment. Once this matter is settled, the D.A.'s office sets its sights on Russian doctor Andre Kostov (Victor Steinbach), who for a price has been farming out unhealthy children for adoption in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Two prominent members of the same exclusive country club have apparently committed suicide. Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Munch (Richard Belzer) investigate one of the deaths, while Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Andre Braugher) investigate the other -- whereupon both teams unearth evidence of a blackmail-murder plot. Meanwhile, Lewis (Clark Johnson) is off suspension and back on duty; another member of the Mahoney crime operation turns up dead; and even though the civil suit against the police is dismissed, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) can't leave well enough alone, launching into a public tirade that may very well seal the doom of one of the key players in the suit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1998
The department swings into action when an old man is apparently killed by his grandson's three pit bulls -- who are now on the loose. Kellerman (Reed Diamond) smells something fishy when the judge presiding over Georgia Rae Mahoney's wrongful-death suit insists that the case go before a jury. And with all of this occurring, the detectives still find time to go to the Watefront Bar to swap "stupid criminal" stories. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
No sooner has serial rapist Lewis Darnell (Burt Young) been released on parole than a young woman is assaulted and murdered. Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) is determined to connect Darnell with this most recent outrage and to put him behind bars permanently. Unfortunately, McCoy's zeal leads to accusations of undue "strongarm" methods on the part of detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
A Black Muslim civilian patrol group, hired to maintain law and order in a Baltimore federal housing project, resents the presence of homicide detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) when a drug dealer is killed in the project. The two cops also face resistance from one of their own higher-ups, the PC-conscious Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef). Other cases handled by Homicide this evening include the deaths of both killer and victim at a murder scene, as well as Russert's (Isabella Hoffman) investigation of a uniformed officer whose slow reactions may have resulted in an unnecessary death. Future series regular Peter Gerety makes his first appearance as Officer Stuart Gharty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1994
The serial killer responsible for the recent spate of "white glove" murders sues Pembleton (Andre Braugher) for violating her civil rights -- but that's only the beginning of his troubles. Elsewhere, Munch (Richard Belzer) is forced to attend an alcohol awareness seminar; Felton's (Daniel Baldwin) wife and children move out; activist Sam Thorne (Joe Morton) proposes a "gun for toys" exchange to stem the rising tide of violence in Baltimore; and Lewis' (Clark Johnson) budding romance with an eccentric artist is complicated by the presence of Bayliss (Kyle Secor). This is the episode in which the audience learns the sorry fate of former homicide detective Steve Crosetti. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1991
Jason Robards, who portrayed Abraham Lincoln in a 1964 Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois, reprised the role 27 years later in the made-for-TV The Perfect Tribute. The film intertwines two separate plot threads. In one, Lincoln, plagued by the war and the conduct of his generals, prepares to deliver a speech at Gettysburg. In the secondary story, 13-year-old Lukas Haas leaves his Atlanta home to find his brother Campbell Scott, who has been mortally wounded at Gettysburg. Filmed in Georgia, The Perfect Tribute was based on a 1905 story by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews (that's all one person). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The ongoing war of words between abortion advocates and right-to-life activists literally explodes into violence when an abortion clinic is bombed, killing a woman inside the building. Putting his own pro-life sentiments aside, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) wastes no time mounting a case against the most likely suspect. Even so, Stone's pro-choice boss, D.A. Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), cannot help but wonder if his subordinate's personal feelings can be kept out of the courtroom -- especially with public opinion mounting against Stone's remaining on the case. Featured in the supporting cast is Camryn Mannheim, who would herself portray an attorney on the long-running series The Practice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Thanks to a computer foul-up, the doctors and firemen at Rampart are buried in extra paperwork. To make matters worse, the paramedic unit is saddled with a new medical-supplies nurse (Laurie Kennedy), a rule-bound martinet who insists that the staffers dot every "I" and cross every "T" before she'll requistion any equipment. This week's case load includes a drowning child in a storm drain, a warehouse fire, and a museum janitor who is poisoned by 5000-year-old Mesopotamian wine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
Season Six of Emergency! begins as paramedics John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) and Roy Desoto (Kevin Tighe) considering themselves lucky to have pulled duty at a football game at LA Coliseum. Alas, their enjoyment of the gridiron activity is constantly interrupted by emergency first-aid calls involving a choking spectator, an injured sidelines photographer, and a TV announcer (played by comedian Jack Carter) who suffers a heart attack. And outside the stadium, the emergency team deals with a man who has fallen into a tree (yes, into a tree). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This dark comedy finds Charlie (Charles Pfulger) traveling to stay at the house of his fiancee's parents two days before his wedding to Josephine (Jill Clayburgh). With his two friends, he discusses Vietnam, the sexual revolution, black power, and compares bachelor life to that of a married man. Charlie tries to talk Josephine's former suitor into resuming his quest, is propositioned by the church organist, and misses his own bachelor party before finally making to the wedding at the insistence of his friends. Robert De Niro plays the role of Charlie's friend Cecil in this unusual comedy with lots of improvisational dialogue. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, Charles Pfluger, (more)
