Michael Lerner Movies

This is an offbeat romantic comedy that's the directorial debut of TV producer Joshua Brand, co-creator of St. Elsewhere (1982-88) and Northern Exposure (1990-95). John Leguizamo stars as Sergio, a Toronto pastry shop worker who faints whenever he sees Hattie (Sadie Frost), a neighborhood girl with whom he is smitten. Hattie, however, wants to see the world and avoids all commitments. Sergio's employer, the kindly Linzer (Armin Mueller-Stahl), wants his shop burned down so that he can use the insurance money to give his wife (Joan Plowright) the lifestyle she deserves, so he offers Sergio $20,000 to torch the store. Sergio refuses but then one night the bakery is burnt to the ground. The real culprit is Garet (William Baldwin), a wealthy pyromaniac with a limp who's madly in love with Stephanie (Erika Eleniak). The slightly unhinged Garet uses the fire as his public declaration of affection. Although innocent, Sergio also claims culpability so that he can use Linzer's payoff to whisk Hattie away. To protect Sergio, however, Linzer confesses to the crime, and to prevent her husband from being jailed, Mrs. Linzer also claims responsibility. With four people confessing, local constable Sgt. Zikowski (Mike Starr) is at a loss. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Revenge after an investigation gone-wrong turns into a family affair in this made-for-television movie. When an FBI operation goes sour and lives are lost, a mobster (Michael Lerner) decides to avenge the death of his son by kidnapping the son of the agent (Russell Crowe) he believes to be responsible. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Plagued by debts, New Yorkers Brad (Tim Allen) and Caroline (Kirstie Alley) Sexton continue to live the high life while maintaining the deception of wealth. But then real estate developer Brad learns his accountant has balanced the books in his own favor, appropriated $5 million, and flown to South America -- after first devising a set-up in which only Brad and Caroline would be blamed by the IRS. With IRS agent Derek Lester (Larry Miller) on their tail, the Sextons escape from New York. They arrive at the Amish community of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, where they pose as the Missouri relatives of farmer Samuel Yoder (Jay O. Sanders). It's the perfect hiding place, but it requires Brad and Caroline to suppress their previous sophisticated lifestyle, as they attempt to adopt Amish attitudes and customs. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A case of mistaken identity forces a pair of lounge singers to pose as safecrackers in this farce. Sam (Sam Rockwell) and Eddie (Steve Zahn) are hapless musicians; Frank (Mark Ruffalo) and Mitchell (Josh Pais) are expert safecrackers. But when local Jewish gangster Big Fat Bernie Gayle (Michael Lerner) dispatches his henchman, Veal Chop (Paul Giamatti), to trick the safecrackers into service, the hapless Veal Chop can't tell the difference. In the end, Sam and Eddie are forced to go along with Veal Chop's mistake and perform three separate robberies for the imposing Big Fat Bernie. During their very first mission -- to rob the safe of local fence Good Stuff Leo (Harvey Fierstein) -- they're apprehended by Hannah (Christina Kirk), Leo's affable, deadpan daughter. Hannah lets the guys go, but sparks fly between her and Sam. It just so happens, however, that real safecracker Frank is her ex-boyfriend, and that she's sworn off dating criminals for life. The coincidences, double crosses, and unlikely romance culminate in the bar mitzvah of Bernie's son, Little Big Fat Bernie (Michael Schmidt), whose present is the Stanley Cup -- the actual hockey trophy -- which was stolen from Good Stuff Leo by the reluctant Sam and Eddie. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, Safe Men marked the writing and directing debut of future Meet the Parents and Zoolander scribe John Hamburg. The film also gave a pre-stardom Mark Ruffalo one of his first featured roles. Sam Rockwell and Josh Pais previously appeared together in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Dedicated to Tomoyuki Tanaka (1910-1997), who produced the 1954 original and sequels, the Devlin/Emmerich interpretation displays a redesign of Godzilla, now a large lizard mutated after fallout from French nuclear tests. A blinding flash of white light fills the Eastern sky. Thousands of miles away, the Pacific Ocean churns, engulfing a freighter. On another part of the globe, giant footsteps plow a path through miles of Panamanian forests, Tahitian villages, and Jamaican beaches. In the Ukraine, biologist Dr. Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick), with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is examining the impact of radiation on Chernobyl earthworms. Colonel Hicks (Kevin Dunn) and a military team escort Niko to check out giant claw marks on the beached freighter; they're joined by paleontologists Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) and Mendel Craven (Malcolm Danare). Blood and giant-size footprints indicate "some sort of enormous reptile." French secret agent Philippe Roache talks to the freighter's only survivor, who keeps repeating, "Gojira...Gojira." Tatopoulos et al arrive in Manhattan's Fulton Fish Market where Godzilla surfaces, moving on to the NYC financial district where Mayor Ebert (Michael Lerner) is speaking. Ambitious Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo), who works for TV news anchor Charles Caiman (Harry Shearer), is Niko's former girlfriend, and she uses this to her professional advantage. As the wave of destruction continues, Niko and Roache track the creature through the evacuated city and discover Godzilla's eggs about to hatch in Madison Square Garden. They are followed by Audrey and TV cameraman Victor "Animal" Palotti (Hank Azaria), and soon the hatching Godzilla offspring prowl the Garden corridors, leading to a final showdown. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

My Favorite Martian stars Jeff Daniels as Tim O'Hara, once a newspaper man and now a struggling television producer in Santa Barbara. Tim has a crush on vapid news reporter Brace Channing (Elizabeth Hurley) while overlooking his feelings for Lizzie (Daryl Hannah), a technician working at the station. Driving home one night, Tim wanders upon the crash landing of a spaceship from Mars. The Martian inside (Christopher Lloyd) has come to Earth searching for a fellow Martian who had been lost here 35 years ago. After the crash, he hides on the beach and shrinks his spaceship to the size of a toy to avoid detection; Tim finds the ship anyway, and takes it home. With little choice, the Martian, aided by his sentient and very neurotic spacesuit, follows Tim home and reveals himself. Tim sees the alien as his ticket to the big time, but the Martian, now masquerading as Tim's Uncle Martin (thanks to some Martian gum that transforms his appearance to that of a human) thwarts Tim at every turn. Just as he gets the video he needs for his story, O'Hara develops a friendship with his planetary neighbor and new "Uncle." The two suddenly find they are racing against the the clock -- a government team, led by a wacky scientist (Wallace Shawn), hunts Martin down, and the spaceship (a rental) is on a timed sequence to self-destruct if it cannot be repaired in time. Along the way, Tim loses his infatuation with Brace and finds his true feelings for the loyal Lizzie. Martin might also find his lost friend on Earth, just as he has found new ones. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

From the makers of The Alien Saga comes The Omen Legacy, an AMC documentary covering all four films in the thrilling series on the coming of the antichrist. The special follows the filmmakers as they break box-office figures with the first film, only to see each one after become more commercially and creatively stunted (the nail in the coffin being the fourth made-for-television Omen IV: The Awakening). Featuring interviews with director Richard Donner, producer Harvey Bernhard, and writer David Seltzer, among others, Legacy offers theological dissections of the series biblical groundwork, along with rare behind-the-scenes stories of the infamous Omen "curse." Included are most of the graphic, visceral kills from each film, making it also a breezy best of for fans of the more grisly scenes. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Based on the actual events of one of the most horrific cases of child abuse ever to be documented, this haunting drama tells the tale of a young girl so severely affected by her traumatic experiences that she was unable to integrate into society after being rescued from her tormenting parents. When thirteen-year-old Katie Standon (Tarra Steele) was discovered in the early days of November 1970, the nation was shocked to learn that she had been isolated by her parents for fourteen years; spending her days in a closet wearing diapers and unable to utter a word. Assigned to social worker Sandra (Melissa Errico), Katie attempts to reintegrate herself into society, though her progress is tragically hindered by abusive Dr. Judy Bingham (Sean Young). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An aspiring filmmaker learns that success in Hollywood doesn't come as easy as she suspected as she attempts to discover the formula to success in this satirical comedy from director William Tannen. When the guidance of her helpful has-been uncle (Michael Lerner) fails to pave the way, Sarah Wilder (Alannah Ubach) must seek the advice of such Hollywood heavies as Mike Meyers, Ben Stiller, and Fred Willard -- only to discover that the old adage is true and Nobody Knows Anything about how to succeed in the cutthroat world of Los Angeles. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An old-fashioned Jewish father vows to bring his stubborn family together after being slipped a dose of ecstasy during the annual Passover celebration in director Salvador Litvak's psychedelic Seder comedy. Family patriarch Ira Stuckman (Michael Lerner) has taken a few tips from his hard-nosed father, Arthur (Jack Klugman), when it comes to matters of the family. A strict disciplinarian with little tolerance for tomfoolery, stubborn Ira is insistent that the whole family come together for the Seder feast despite their lingering disagreements. When Ira's son, Zeke (Ben Feldman), drops a hit of ecstasy into his father's meal in hopes of opening the old man's eyes up to a "new perspective," the once curmudgeonly father turns suddenly touchy-feely before insisting upon on ushering in a new era of forgiveness among the notoriously disagreeable clan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker Terry Zwigoff and comic artist and screenwriter Daniel Clowes, who collaborated for the acclaimed 2001 comedy-drama Ghost World, team up once again for this offbeat satire. Jerome (Max Minghella) is an aspiring artist who arrives at a prestigious East Coast art institute to study. While Jerome enjoys daydreams of becoming the best-respected painter on Earth and winning the hearts of his female classmates, he soon learns the sad truth -- his "cool artist" act is old hat in the big city, and as he's surrounded by every art school cliché on Earth, practically nothing about him stands out. Determined to be recognized whatever the consequences, Jerome maps out a bizarre plan to become famous that has some unexpected consequences. Loosely adapted from a story in Clowes' comic book Eightball, Art School Confidential also stars John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Anjelica Huston, and Sophia Myles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi