Chauncey Leopardi Movies

Reluctantly assisted by Luke (Scott Patterson), Taylor (Michael Winters) sets about to transform Old Man Twickham's house into a museum -- but only for a two-month period. Elsewhere, Miss Patty (Liz Torres) serves up some potent punch, whereupon Rory (Alexis Bledel), Paris (Liza Weil) and Lane (Keiko Agena) boozily discuss their "boy problems." And Lorelai (Lauren Graham) worries that the magazine article about the Dragonfly will include her harsh remarks about her mother. Singer Carole King appears as music-shop owner Sophie Bloom. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

On the eve of his "rebound" wedding to Lindsay (Arielle Kebbel), Dean (Jared Padalecki) meets with former girlfriend Rory (Alexis Bledel) and invites her to the ceremony. As for Rory's mom Lorelei (Lauren Graham), she butts heads with local authorities while trying to secure a construction permit for the Dragonfly. Also, Luke (Scott Patterson) gets some information that may adversely affect his relationship with the Gilmores; and troublesome Kirk (Sean Gunn) determines that he is somehow related to the late Ted Knight! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The dust still hasn't settled the morning after the "battle royal" between Dean (Jared Padalecki) and Jess (Milo Ventimiglia). Luke's (Scott Patterson) anguish over Jess is compounded when he is confronted by a man (Rob Estes) who identifies himself as Jess's father. Meanwhile, Rory (Alexis Bledel) is shocked to learn that Dean has decided to get married on the rebound; and Lane (Keiko Agena) wonders if she'll ever be permitted to attend the prom after drinking herself blotto at Kyle's kegger. As the episode fades, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) are confronted with a "bad news-good news" situation involving an establishment called the Dragonfly Inn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A horror semi-parody targeted at the young adult market that ravenously gobbles up horror books like R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series, this made-for-TV vampire tale stars Chauncey Leopardi as Zach, a teenage rebel with a flair for telling ghost stories, who stumbles on an underground cabal of vampires when he takes a fateful ride on a New York subway. The vampire's leader, Valentine (Ron Silver), proposes a deal to young Zach, offering him safe passage to the world above, thus enabling the trapped vampire -- who can only mingle with humanity through the willing assistance of an innocent youth -- to reach the surface as well. Our young hero balks at this idea and escapes to the surface with a wild story for his skeptical pals, who shun him until one of their number is kidnapped by the undead subway dwellers in exchange for Zach's cooperation. Though atmospherically photographed, this low-budget production is a bit too corny to provide either laughs or chills, and it suffers further from lethargic pacing. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Set in a small town, this youthful outing tells the story how a local paper boy and a band of misfits successfully prevented a band of bullies from taking over their neighborhood. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sinbad offers some unusual advice on how to make friends in this wacky comedy. Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) is a guy who dreams of starting his own business. However, getting it off the ground is another matter altogether, and soon Kevin discovers that the two loan sharks who fronted him money want to be paid, and paid promptly, otherwise Kevin will be spending some time in the hospital. On the run through an airport, Kevin is trying to find a way out when he overhears Gary Young (Phil Hartman) wondering where his friend is. It seems that Gary has arranged a reunion with an old friend from childhood, but since he hasn't seen him in 25 years, he has no idea what he looks like today, beyond the fact that he's black. Kevin fits the bill that far and claims to be Gary's long lost buddy, which Gary buys hook, line, and sinker. Gary seems to enjoy bonding with his old friend, and Kevin likes staying at Gary's fine home (and raiding his large icebox), but Kevin discovers that impersonating a stranger is a lot more complicated than he expected after he's forced to perform oral surgery and give a speech at a grade school "Career Day" presentation. However, this is all small potatoes on the "oh, no" scale when the loan sharks track Kevin back to Gary's home in the suburbs. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this Disney comedy that bears a suspicious resemblance to The Mighty Ducks, the down-trodden cynical young misfits of a run-down Texas town, devastated by the closing of its one major industry, find renewed hope and spirit at the hands of a plucky British foreign-exchange teacher who introduces them to soccer. When British elementary school teacher Anna Montgomery arrives in the dusty town and first meets the depressed and frequently angry youths, she immediately knows she must do something to somehow make them feel better about themselves and so decides to enroll them into a soccer league. Naturally the kids are at first awful and are soundly pummeled during their first game. Fortunately, former high school football champ, Deputy Sheriff Tom Palmer decides to give the pretty and single Anna a helping hand, and between the two of them manage to whip the kids into shape so they can beat the arrogant state champion team, helmed by Palmer's old rival Jay Huffer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Sandlot is sparsely narrated by the main character (now an adult) who occasionally drops in on the action to comment on events or help move the story along. Tom Guiry plays Scotty Smalls, the shy new kid on the block who wants to join the rowdy pickup baseball team that plays every day in the neighborhood sandlot. But he doesn't know how to catch a baseball, and his stepfather (Dennis Leary) is too busy to teach him. He tries out for the sandlot gang anyway, and though he isn't very good, it turns out he's lucky: there happen to be only eight of them, and nine makes a team. The summer passes blissfully as Scotty learns to play ball under the wing of Benny Rodriguez (Mike Vitar), the oldest and best player, as well as Ham, Squints, Repeat, and the rest of the kid-eccentrics. The skies darken, however, when Benny literally knocks the stuffing out of the team's only baseball, a sign of impending doom, or worse, bad luck. Wanting to set things right, Scotty returns home and "borrows" his stepfather's ball, which he promptly uses to hit his first home run, knocking the ball clear out of the sandlot into mean old Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones)'s junkyard, home to Mertle's legendary guard dog The Beast. Scotty admits that he took the ball without asking, and he naively explains that his stepfather will want it back since it had a woman's name written on it: some lady named Babe Ruth. Horror-stricken, the sandlot gang mobilizes to fetch the autographed ball from the clutches of The Beast, building a series of mechanical ball-retrieval machines which get progressively more complicated and preposterous as The Beast's size grows in their imaginations. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi

Steve Martin stars in this remake of the 1950 Vincente Minnelli classic as shoe executive George Banks, whose happily married existence hits a bump when he greets his daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams), home from a semester studying in Europe. She tells her father that she is engaged to be married. When the shocked George asks to whom, she says his name is Bryan (George Newbern) and that he is an "independent communications consultant." George is even more shocked when he finds out what the wedding will cost (when George goes through the card file for invited wedding guests and is told someone is deceased, George chirps, "He died? That's great!"). As George is ignored during the mad preparations for the wedding, he wistfully looks back to all the good times he has had with Annie and sadly looks forward to the time when he loses his little girl. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi