Tom La Grua Movies
- 1999
Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), Costas (Sharon Lawrence), and Dornan (Richard Gant) close in on the murderer who framed Suarez -- and who is dying of leukemia. A case involving retired cops who appear to have gone bad results in friction between the squad, the Internal Affairs Bureau, and the FBI. Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) worries that he might get in trouble for accepting a gift of free Chinese food. And the still-grieving Diane (Kim Delaney) meets the wife of the man whose heart was donated to the late Bobby Simone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Things get off to a deceptively light-hearted start as popular professional wrestler Kornberg (Nils Allen Stewart) is brought into the ER with a twisted knee. But the story quickly turns deadly serious when, stuck in the middle of a street riot, Carter (Noah Wyle) is forced to man the wheel of the paramedic ambulance -- and in so doing sparks an even worse situation when he accidentally runs over a youngster. Meanwhile, Carol (Julianna Margulies), still mooning over the departed Ross, receives confirmation of her pregnancy. And Lucy (Kellie Martin) comes face to face with an intransigent Asian family who refuse to let their mother know that she is in dangerously declining health. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
- R
Life among insecure, middle-aged character actors, former New Yorkers in L.A., is the main plot focus of this Philip Frank Messina comedy about four friends who want the same role in the next Martin Scorsese gangster flick. Balding Johnny DiMartino (Robert Costanzo) is so excited by the news of a possible part as Al Capone in a Scorsese film that he informs ladies' man Dorian Masstandrea (Jon Tenney), who cheats on his wife Samantha (Elle Macpherson). Dorian immediately makes moves to get his own audition. Johnny goes to Armand (David Strathairn) for coaching in Sicilian characteristics, and he worries that his look-alike, Rudy Ptak (Jon Polito) will get the part. Steve Hersh (Adam Arkin) tries to get through to Scorsese, although his wife Joanne (Laura San Giacomo) is convinced he doesn't have a chance. Cameos by Bill Murray and Scorsese (portraying himself at the audition). Shown at the 1998 Santa Barbara Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Arkin, Robert Costanzo, (more)
- 1995
A young Puerto Rican graffiti artist signs his own death warrant when he tags a building in Little Italy. Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) and Donna (Gail O'Grady) come to a roadblock in their relationship when he meets her former boyfriend, who has shown up at the precinct to report a crime. And after being mugged, a traumatized Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence) reveals a disturbing secret to her fiancé Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
When Shawn's dad loses his job just before Christmas, Cory (Ben Savage) tries to help his pal save face by purchasing gifts for Shawn to distribute to his classmates. Much to Cory's astonishment, Shawn (Rider Strong) is anything but grateful for this act of kindnenss--in fact, he's downright resentful. Meanwhile, Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) shows his softer side when Morgan (Lily Nicksay) despairs over "killing" a department store Santa who suffered a heart attack while she was sitting on his lap! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The Bundy family enjoys an unexpected streak of fabulous luck. Well, not everyone enjoys the streak: Al Bundy (Al Bundy) is convinced that his unexpected good fortune is merely a manifestation of the family curse. . .which invariably ends with death. Highlights of this episode include a fleeting Twilight Zone reference, and the announcement by Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate) that her waitressing career has come to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Left at home while Carol (Tracey Gold) and Maggie (Joanna Kerns) head for a vacation resort, the Seaver men must handle things when Chrissy (Ashley Johnson) comes home from school with head lice. As for the Seaver women, they find themselves reluctant cats among some very eager pigeons as a "singles" convention converges at the resort. Christopher Burgard makes his first series appearance as Carol's boyfriend Dwight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Sammy Bodean is the newest, most promising recruit according to the advertisement of the California Angels--and has to prove it come game time. Following the team's sale to young business whiz Gil Lawrence (Terry Kinney), ex-player Virgil Sweet (Edward James Olmos) has to prove himself as the team's talent scout to keep his job. Via a car break-down near a small farm-town in Idaho, Virgil stumbles across young Sammy Bodean (Jeff Corbett) who performs mean pitching skills in a rural sandlot. After bringing Sammy to LA where he pitches out the team's best, owner Gil begins a massive media campaign in which he appears in a press conference and not only brags of the boy's talent but of his intention to feature him--without warm-up or orientation--in the big game the following week. Virgil, though promoted to assistant manager, is upset at Gil's exploitative measures to save the slagging Angels at the expense of Sammy. Game day arrives and the pressure is on to keep the other team swinging, which causes young Sammy to choke. Or not. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
- 1989
David Horowitz, the host of several "consumer-advocate" shows of the 1970s and 1980s, appears as himself in this episode. The story proper involves a crooked auto mechanic (Tom La Grua), who cheats Willie (Max Wright) out of a considerable sum of money. Inspired by the example of Mr. Horowitz, ALF, Jake (Josh Blake) and Lynn (Andrea Elson) set out to trap the mechanic with a hidden video camera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
Out of Time is a patchwork of notions lifted from such earlier sources as Time After Time, Back to the Future, The Terminator, and the 1961 Twilight Zone episode "Back There." Bruce Abbott plays a dedicated law enforcement officer from the year 2088 who is in pursuit of time-travelling lawbreaker Adam Ant. Hurtling back to 1988, Abbott meets his own great-grandfather (Bill Maher), a gormless rookie cop. Armed with the knowledge that great-grandpa will eventually become a world-renowned criminologist, Abbott teams up with his youthful forebear. The title Out of Time became prophetic when this TV pilot film failed to secure a weekly network slot for the 1988-89 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Abbott, Adam Ant, (more)
Thanks to a mix-up at birth, two sets of twins are separated and grow up in radically different social circles. The four baby girls grow up to be Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin-and Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. One of the Midlers is a ruthless New York CEO, while one of the Tomlins is her air-headed "save the whales" business partner. Thousands of miles away in a Southern industrial town, a blue-collar Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin work for a company that the white-collar Midler plans to devour in a hostile takeover. The "poor" Midler and Tomlin head to New York to argue against the takeover, inevitably getting mixed up with the "rich" Midler and Tomlin. Three of the four twins team up to save the small-town company, while CEO Midler remains as nastily greedy as ever. Clear enough? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, (more)
