Shoshannah Stern Movies

A young man struggles to overcome a physical handicap in this drama based on a true story. Matt Hamill (Theodore Conley) was born to a single mother (Susan Gibney), who was told her young son was bright, talented, and entirely deaf. Without a father to rely on, young Matt turns to his grandfather Stanley (Raymond J. Barry) as his male role model; Stanley encourages the boy not to allow his deafness to hold him back, and urges him to take up wrestling. Matt shows tremendous promise as a wrestler, but while the sport helps him build confidence and muscle, he isn't sure how to deal with others, particularly girls. After graduating from high school, Matt (now played by Russell Harvard) attends Purdue on a wrestling scholarship, but he's forced to leave school due to poor grades. However, he has an opportunity to redeem himself when his wrestling skills earn him an invite to the Rochester Institute of Technology, a school with a special program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. For the first time, Matt has peers who are also deaf, and he befriends his roommate Jay (Michael Anthony Spady) and falls for pretty coed Kristi (Shoshannah Stern). But it's a challenge for the lifelong loner to open up to other people and admit his weaknesses, and he also has to learn a new way of communicating by using American Sign Language after spending his life as a lip-reader. The Hammer (aka Hamill) was based on the life of Matt Hamill, a three-time NCAA wrestling champion who has gone on to become a successful mixed-martial-arts competitor. Due to its subject matter and large hearing-impaired audience, the film was exhibited as Open Caption (with onscreen readable text) in theaters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A twentysomething misfit dedicates his life to giving the drummer some, even when the drums are only imaginary, in this comedy written and directed by comic Ari Gold. Power (Gold) grew up in a small mining town in New Mexico, where his father (Michael McKean) always imagined his son would one day join him in digging copper from the earth. But Power has a dream of playing the drums, and since he doesn't have a drum kit, he's become a master of "air drums," flailing his arms in the manner of Neil Peart or Keith Moon against a huge but nonexistent set of traps. Power's desire to become the world's greatest air drummer doesn't earn him much respect at home, so he travels to Mexico, where he learns of an air-drumming competition in Newark, NJ. Power hits the road for the garden state and meets Carlos (Steven Williams), a master air drummer who becomes his guide in the art of not really playing. Power also gets some much-needed encouragement from Annie (Shoshannah Stern), a sweet born-again girl living upstairs from him. But when Power learns that his father back home is leading a strike to save jobs for the employees at the local copper mine, winning the title becomes a matter of defending the honor of his family and his hometown, and he dedicates himself to defeating arrogant country music star Dallas Houston (Adrien Grenier), who is favored to win. Adventures of Power also stars Jane Lynch, Travis Johns, and Jimmy Jean-Louis. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Alejandro (Vincent Laresca) seems to have gone quickly from threatening Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) to courting her, much to her dismay. Nancy puts Andy (Justin Kirk) in charge of opening day at the front bakery, or as he puts it, her "fakery." She heads over to Valley State to meet with Sanjay (Maulik Pancholy), who, apparently now a user as well as a dealer, professes his love for her. This is interrupted by Cash (Todd Stashwick), a hulking campus security guard. Sanjay runs off, leaving Nancy to take the heat. Cash agrees to let her go without involving the police. She just has to promise never to set foot on his campus again. Oh, and leave all her pot with him. When a distraught Nancy later tells her story to Heylia (Tonye Patano) and company, Conrad (Romany Malco) surmises that Cash is probably a dealer himself, and clarifies the situation for Nancy. "You didn't get busted," he tells her, "you just got jacked." Later, Nancy corrals the contrite Sanjay into working at the bakery, but when Alejandro shows up with a new business proposal, Sanjay runs away again. Meanwhile, Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) is going through her own power struggle with the Agrestic PTA, and Shane (Alexander Gould) and Silas (Hunter Parrish) have a falling out over a purloined lighter. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Definitely a series for the post-9/11 generation, ABC's Threat Matrix detailed the exploits of an elite task-force unit of the Homeland Security division. Headed by John Kilmer (Jamie Denton), the unit, comprised of the cream of the FBI, CIA, and NSA, was dedicated to stopping terrorism before it started, using the multitude of threats and warnings received on a 24/7 basis by the White House as their guide. Kilmer's multicultural, multiethnic team included his ex-wife Frankie Ellroy Killmer (Kelly Rutherford), as well as Tim Serrano (Kurt Caceres), Lia Larkins (Melora Walters), Jelani (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), Mo (Anthony Azizi), and Holly (Shoshannah Stern). Created by Daniel Voll, Threat Matrix debuted September 18, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi