Adam LaVorgna Movies
Actor Adam LaVorgna made his professional debut at age three, on the soap opera As the World Turns. In the early '90s, he played Nicholas Scamperelli on the CBS series Brooklyn Bridge and, for his work, won the Best Supporting Actor Youth Film Award in 1992. That year, he played Frank Sinatra at age ten in the miniseries Sinatra. His other television film credits include Casualties of Love: The "Long Island Lolita" Story and Bloodbrothers: The Joey DiPaola Story. LaVorgna made his feature debut in Monkey Trouble (1994). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Suspicion leads to murder when a group of small-town friends commit a horrific act of violence and the resulting tension threatens to reveal the crime to the entire community in first-time director Martin Schenk's dark drama. Bored by the uneventful life in their small town, a group of four friends begin experimenting with small explosives. When the most popular member of the group mysteriously disappears and suspicions fall upon a local boy with a questionable past, the remaining friends decide that he must be responsible and execute a bloody revenge. Shocked by the reappearance of their friend, the teens guiltily scramble to cover up their crime, but the deed has been done and as the truth slowly rises to the surface, the innocence of youth and trust of a community has been wiped away forever. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liesel Matthews, Blake Heron, (more)
Based on a novel by Peter Farrelly, published in 1988 before he became famous as a writer and director of such films as Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There's Something About Mary, Outside Providence is a coming-of-age story set in the 1970s. Timothy Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy), known as Dunph to his friends and Dildo to others, is a high school burn-out with a gift for getting into trouble; it doesn't help that his best friend is named Drugs Delaney (Jon Abrahams), and it somehow makes sense that Dunph's pet would be a three-legged dog with one eye. Dunph's father (Alec Baldwin) is convinced his son is on the fast track to Palookaville, so when Timothy gets in a wreck with a police car, his dad pulls a few strings and enrolls him in a private prep school. Dunph quickly learns the biggest difference between his old friends at home and his new classmates: rich kids have money, and money buys privilege. They can buy drugs from expensive dealers who won't fink on them, and pay for abortions when their girlfriends get unexpectedly pregnant, instead of having to get married. Dunph doesn't entirely fit into a school full of rich kids, but when he falls in love with Jane Weston (Amy Smart), he's determined to win her heart. Peter Farrelly adapted his novel with the help of his brother and screenwriting partner Bobby Farrelly and director Michael Corrente, whose previous credits include the film version of David Mamet's American Buffalo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shawn Hatosy, Jon Abrahams, (more)
Teen heartthrob and Home Improvement star Jonathon Taylor-Thomas stars in this Disney Christmas film that is a teenaged variation on the Planes Trains and Automobiles theme. Jake has missed Christmas in New York with his family these past few years, so as an incentive, his father promises him a 1957 red Porsche if he makes it home by Christmas Eve. No sweat, until an unexpected twist blows up in poor Jake's face. It seems that the "cheat sheet" he supplied the college football team was incorrect, and the whole team is out to get him. For revenge, they leave him in the middle of the California desert in a Santa Claus suit (his hat and white beard are glued to his face) with no wallet, no cash, and no identification. To make matters worse, Eddie, one of the football players and Jake's arch-nemesis, is now hitting on Jake's girlfriend Allie. What's poor old Jake to do? Well, if you guessed hitchhike, freeload, con, fly, crawl, race and bully an array of colorful characters, you guessed correctly. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jessica Biel, (more)
- 1998
A teacher who worked in a school where a mentally challenged student was gang-raped is shot. The killing is revealed to be part of a vendetta, possibly tied in with the sexual assault. When time comes for prosecution, the attorney for the three rapists tries to secure a lesser sentence by arguing his clients did not know their victim was handicapped. Jennifer Bill makes her final appearance as Cathy, the troubled daughter of detective Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
One of the most atypical weekly series to emerge from the Aaron Spelling TV factory, 7th Heaven, created by Spelling and Brenda Hampton, has eschewed the sex-and-sin shenanigans of such series as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place in favor of honest, three-dimensional family values, with generous doses of warmth, heart, humor, and pathos. There can be no doubt that this fundamentally wholesome program has struck a universal chord. The series has not only been lavishly praised by critics, honored by such organizations as the Parents Television Council, the Academy of Religious Broadcasting, and the Anti-Defamation League, and given innumerable industry awards, but it is also one of the most successful offerings of the WB network; indeed, it was the first WB series to run more than seven seasons, and during four of those seasons, it was the network's highest-rated show. Set in the suburban L.A. community of Glen Oak, the series revolves around the Camden family, headed by Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), pastor of the town's Community Church, and Eric's homemaker wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks). In the tradition of The Waltons, loyal 7th Heaven viewers have enjoyed the rare privilege of watching the Camden children grow up before their very eyes. When the series debuted on August 26, 1996, handsome and personable Matt Camden (Barry Watson) was 17 years old; basketball-playing Mary Camden (Jessica Biel) was 13 going on 14; intellectual, inquisitive Lucy Camden (Beverley Mitchell) was 12; happy-go-lucky Simon Camden (David Gallagher) was ten; and precocious Ruthie Camden (Mackenzie Rosman) was five. By the time the series entered its eighth season, the three oldest Camden kids were married and pursuing careers, while the two youngest were seasoned veterans of the school dating scene. (Two more Camden youngsters, twin boys Sam and David, were born halfway through the 1998-1999 season). All of the Camdens, parents included, have had more than their share of setbacks and tragedies (some of them absolutely devastating) as the series has rolled forward, but somehow all of the members of the clan, from patriarch Eric on down, have been able to recover, rally, and persevere with the help and support of their family and friends -- not to mention their inner faith. And unlike so many other TV series which traffic in personal interrelationships, the characters in 7th Heaven are very much a part of the "real" world. During its lengthy WB run, the series has exposed its principals to a wide variety of contemporary issues: teen suicide, racial prejudice, substance abuse, drunken driving, homelessness, negative peer pressure, teen pregnancy, Alzheimer's disease, the Holocaust, the war in Iraq, and the crisis in the Sudan. Eminently suitable for viewers of all ages, but never a mere sop to the "kiddie" trade nor a placebo for the clean-up-TV brigades, 7th Heaven has been and will likely always remain the jewel in the WB crown. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, (more)
A young girl secretly adopts a runaway monkey only to have to deal with the simian's mischief-making tendencies in this family comedy. Young Eva (Thora Birch)'s dreams of having a pet are frustrated by the objections of her mother (Mimi Rogers) and allergic stepfather (Christopher McDonald). When she finds a stray capuchin monkey, she cannot resist it, and she keeps the animal -- which she names Dodger -- hidden in her room. Eva doesn't know that Dodger has just escaped from an evil organ grinder named Azro (Harvey Keitel, playing a regrettable Gypsy stereotype), who had trained the monkey to become an accomplished pickpocket. Old habits prove hard to break, and Dodger begins stealing everything in sight, landing Eva in plenty of trouble. Her problems are only compounded by the actions of the unscrupulous Azro, who wants to find Dodger and use him as part of an important robbery. The standard misunderstandings and slapstick comedy ensue, with the spunky Eva struggling to protect her new pet and herself. While probably too predictable to appeal to many adults, Monkey Trouble's skillful animal antics and resourceful young heroine may prove entertaining to youngsters. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Finster, Thora Birch, (more)
After befriending a kind-hearted prostitute, a 12-year-old boy attempts to set her up with his widowed father in this family comedy. Young Frank Wheeler (Michael Patrick Carter) first meets working girl V (Melanie Griffith) when he and two friends pool their money to buy a glimpse of a naked woman. V does the job and agrees to drive Frank home; along the way, he becomes convinced that this nice call girl would be the perfect new wife for his dad (Ed Harris). V happens to be on the run from a group of evil gangsters, so when he invites her to stay at their house in the suburbs, she readily agrees. Masquerading as a math tutor, she strikes a chord with Mr. Wheeler, but this budding romance is soon threatened by the return of V's past. Despite the potentially off-color premise, Milk Money aims to be innocuous family fare, with juvenile jokes mixing with unthreatening romance. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, Ed Harris, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
Based on a true event, this is the account of the Buttafuoco couple, whose names were splattered all over the media in the early '90s after the alleged teen-aged playmate of Mr. B., Amy Fischer (who claimed it was Mr. B's will), shot Mrs. B in the head (though the latter miraculously lived). This particular perspective claims that Amy acted of her own free will and Mr. B never had an affair with her (only vaguely flirted) nor did he in any way encourage her to make an attack on his wife. CBS paid the Buttafuocos $300,000 for their story. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alyssa Milano, Jack Scalia, (more)
A hybrid cross-pollination of a Martin Scorsese and Frank Capra film, this feel-good comic fantasy is loosely based on the real-life story of a New York lottery winner. Anthony LaPaglia stars as Frank Pesce Jr., a New Yorker with a good-luck streak that is unmatched in his Little Italy neighborhood. When Frank throws a pair of dice in a game of chance, he doesn't just toss a winning hand, the dice land on top of each other. When he's stabbed in the chest by a girlfriend's brother, his doctors find a pre-cancerous tumor. Although he tries again and again to get rid of a vehicle he no longer wants, it is retrieved every single time by the authorities. So when New York announces its first statewide lottery in 1976, Frank buys one ticket and immediately becomes everybody's best friend. Unfortunately, Frank's good luck is matched by the equally bad luck of his hard-working father, Frank Sr. (Danny Aiello), who has run up a gambling debt to a local mobster. The wise guy is willing to forgive the note if Frank Jr. will just hand over his sure-to-be lucky ticket, leaving the city's luckiest Italian-American in a bit of a moral quandary. The real Frank Pesce Jr. executive produces and co-stars in 29th Street as his own police officer brother, Vito. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Anthony LaPaglia, (more)
Developed by Tina Sinatra and approved by Frank himself, Sinatra is a made-for-television mini-series following the life and times of Frank Sinatra, one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century. Opening with his childhood in Hoboken, New Jersey, the film follows Sinatra's (Philip Casnoff) rise to the top in the '40s, through the dark days of the early '50s and his triumphant re-emergence in the mid-'50s, to his status as pop culture icon in the '60s, '70s and '80s. In between, the film hits all of the main events, including his three marriages, his connections with the Mafia and his notorious friendship with the Rat Pack. Even with the presence of Tina Sinatra as executive producer, Sinatra doesn't gloss over the more unsavory portions of Frank's life, which makes it all the more impressive. With the exception of a couple of early songs, all the music in the movie is taken from the original Sinatra recordings. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
