Doug Sutherland Movies
A slacker tries to do the right thing for his family with unexpectedly chaotic results in this independent comedy. Salman (Scott Prendergast) is an out-of-work twentysomething who has few skills and fewer prospects. However, things are significantly worse for his older brother -- his National Guard unit has been called back to Iraq, and his wife, Leslie (Lisa Kudrow), needs to go back to work in order to support their children. However, Leslie doesn't have anyone to look after her two sons, so when Salman learns of her sad situation, he volunteers to move in and help mind the kids. Salman quickly discovers the boys are nearly psychotic and will stop at nothing to get him out of the house, including putting sharp objects in his breakfast. With the household still short on money, Leslie helps Salman get a job, and soon he's become the corporate mascot for a failing Internet company, who pounds the pavement wearing a strange blue costume hoping to drum up interest in renting space in the corporate offices. The first feature film as writer and director for actor Scott Prendergast, Kabluey also stars Christine Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Teri Garr, and Chris Parnell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Kudrow, Scott Prendergast, (more)
A teenage boy tries to hold his family together while the girl of his dreams drives him to distraction in this coming-of-age comedy drama. It's 1978, and Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith) and his family are in a state of flux. Henry's mother has died, and now his father, Shep (David Morse), is trying to find himself by quitting his job, buying a motorcycle, and growing out his hair. Henry's brother, Blair (David Moscow), is similarly trying to expand his boundaries by dating a free-spirited girl and experimenting with drugs. Henry, meanwhile, is just trying to get through high school, but a certain girl is making that difficult for him. Grace Chance (Jordana Brewster) is a pretty girl in Henry's class who enjoys wrapping boys around her little finger; it doesn't take long for her to notice he's smitten with her, and she begins flirting with him and getting him to do whatever she wants, even though she already has a boyfriend whom she has no intention of leaving. Meanwhile, Merna (Ashley Johnson), a cute girl who lives nearby, has a crush on Henry and is clearly a better match for him, but she can't get him to notice her, even after she starts dating an older boy to make him jealous. Nearing Grace received its world premiere at the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Smith, Jordana Brewster, (more)
- 1981
- PG
Donald Sutherland plays a brilliant surgeon who becomes a media celebrity after performing an artificial-heart transplant. Jeff Goldblum, inventor of the ersatz heart, likewise basks in the glow of sudden fame. The only person to have reservations about the procedure is heart recipient Mare Winningham, who becomes depressed over the knowledge that she's not altogether human. Several ethical questions are raised and left unresolved; the film assumes that the audience is intelligent and perceptive enough to draw its own conclusions. Released in Canada in 1981, Threshold was not offered an American distribution until after the Barney Clark heart transplant of 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, John Marley, (more)
