Kaiulani Lee Movies

Not long after a wealthy gay man adopts an infant son, the man's partner is killed and the baby is kidnapped. At first, ransom is thought to be the motive, but then the homophobic biological father of the child becomes a prime suspect. The upshot of all this is the decision by the DA's office to prosecute the case as a hate crime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, American Experience: A Midwife's Tale is an investigative unfolding of the life of an 18th century midwife, Martha Ballard, living on the Maine frontier. For 27 years, Ballard kept a diary in which she recorded the weather, daily household tasks, her midwifery duties, her medical practice, and countless incidents, which, through Ulrich's exploration, reveals the turmoil of post-Revolutionary America through a woman's eye. Social change, religious conflict, economic instability, as well as the grim realities of disease, domestic violence, and debtor's prison are all culled from the cryptic entries of Ballard's diary. ~ Brooke Hodess, All Movie Guide

Actor John Turturro spent a dozen years getting his script for Mac before the cameras; he'd originally planned to merely act in the film, but the stringent budget required that he direct as well. Turturro plays Mac, one of three grown brothers in an Italian/American family living in 1950s New York. His other siblings are would-be "macho man" Vico (Michael Badalucco) and idealistic Bruno (Carl Capatoro). All three are unhappily employed at a construction firm run--badly--by Olek Krupa. Convinced he knows more about the business in his little finger than Krupa does in his whole carcass, Mac sets up his own construction company, wooing away most of Krupa's employees. On the verge of great success, Mac finds that his brothers are unwilling to commit themselves to his new business, a fact that causes an irreparable schism in their relationship. Co-starring in Mac as John Turturro's wife is the real-life Mrs. Turturro, Katherine Borowitz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, young Phoebe (Alexandra Johnes) is sent to live with her wealthy grandmother (Glynis Johns) after both of her parents are tragically killed. As Phoebe attempts to accustom herself to her new life with her stern grandmother, she becomes very attached to her governess, Zelly (Isabella Rossellini). However, when her jealous grandmother discovers that her granddaughter has grown closer to the hired help than with her own flesh and blood, she fires all of the employees, much to Phoebe's dismay. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Stacking stars Megan Follows as a Montana teenager struggling to keep her family's farm together. The time is the 1950s, when rural 14-year-olds were supposed to be seen and not heard. But Follows intends to be seen and heard, and in so doing finds several strong adult allies. The film has been unfavorably compared to the strikingly similar theatrical feature Desert Bloom; while it's true that this takes forever to get started, it is saved by the powerful performances of Follows, Frederic Forrest, Christine Lahti, Peter Coyote and James Gammon. Completed in 1987, Stacking (the title refers to the bundling of crops) received its widest exposure when it aired February 15, 1989, over PBS' American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Frank Perry brings Susan Issacs' comedic whodunit novel to the screen with Susan Sarandon as a Long Island housewife who tries to escape her deadening suburban life by trying to solve the murder of a philandering local dentist. The dentist, Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna), is the kind of swinging ladies' man who wears gold chains and jazzy clothing. He also arranges to meet his lonely housewife patients in hotel rooms for afternoon quickies. When he is found murdered in his office, the suspects are as numerous as the names in the Nyack telephone directory, especially since Fleckstein had the habit of taking incriminating Polaroid snapshots during his one-on-one sessions. Judith Singer (Sarandon) is an ex-Newsday reporter and bored wife of Bob Singer (Edward Herrmann), a stuffy business executive, and she was one of the last people to see Fleckstein alive. Considered a suspect by police detective David Suarez (Raul Julia), she determines to solve the case herself, interviewing suspects and searching for evidence. If she solves the crime, Judith hopes to write an article about it and get her old job back at the newspaper. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The 1982 film version of the John Irving novel The World According to Garp attempts to captures the quirky spirit while condensing the Irving original. Robin Williams plays the title character, the son of unmarried, unorthodox feminist Jenny Fields (Glenn Close, in her film debut). Every effort made by Jenny to broaden Garp's outlook on life -- she even arranges for him to spend the night with a hooker (Swoosie Kurtz) -- crams more fears and phobias into his psyche. Aspiring to become a novelist, Garp succeeds in this goal at the same time that his mother publishes her first feminist manifesto. Though successful and happily married to college sweetheart Helen Holm (Mary Beth Hurt), Garp remains envious of his fearless mother, who has taken in the radical "Ellen Jamesians," a group named after a young woman who had her tongue cut out by a rapist. Mutilation, in fact, becomes something of a leitmotif in Garp's life, climaxing (in every sense of the word) in an auto accident brought about by Helen's tryst with Michael Milton (Mark Soper). There is, of course, much more to the story than this: standing out amongst the dozens of offbeat supporting characters is John Lithgow as Roberta Muldoon, a transexual ex-football jock. John Irving appears as a referee during a college wrestling match, while director George Roy Hill plays the pilot whose low-flying plane crashes into Garp's new home. The World According to Garp didn't attract as large an audience as other, more conventional Robin Williams vehicles, though Close and Lithgow would both be nominated for Best Supporting Actor statues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Jan Hartman (Hewitt's Just Different) from a novel by Sandra Scoppetone, this powerful ABC Afterschool Special stars Maia Danzinger as Geri Peters, a lonely 15-year-old girl. Hoping to impress a handsome new student named Dave, Geri eagerly takes up the boy's "hobby" -- which happens to be heavy drinking. Before long, everyone realizes that Geri has a serious problem -- everyone but Geri, who is not only in deep denial but has become a compulsive liar, even to herself. She is finally put on the road to recovery by one who has "been there, done that." The Late Great Me! Story of a Teenage Alcoholic was the winner of two Emmy Awards. ~ All Movie Guide

With the text taken entirely from the journals of real life leaders in the women's suffrage movement, Out of Our Fathers' House offers a compelling look at the fight for gender equality. Among the women featured include Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the original founder of the movement; famous labor organizer "Mother" Mary Jones; and Dr. Anna Shaw, a frontier minister famous for carrying a loaded pistol at all times. The play features Carol Kane and two-time Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), the Waltons have no sooner adjusted to the news that Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) has become engaged to wealthy medical intern David Spencer (Robert Merritt Woods) than the entire community must adjust to arrival of new doctor Curt Willard (Tom Bower, in his first series appearance). Living up to his first name, Dr. Willard tends to be brusque and no-nonsense with his patients, and they definitely disapprove of his bedside manner. The only person who seem to be happy that Curt has arrived is Mary Ellen...who, despite the fact that her marriage is only a few days away, is quite attracted to the young physician! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide