Genevieve Cortese Movies

As a condition of her parole from juvenile hall, embittered teenager Kris Furillo goes to work at Raintree Horse Farm, located in Fremont, CA, as the ABC Family Channel series Wildfire inaugurates its first season. Upon her arrival, Kris saves the life of Wildfire, an unbroken horse who'd been slated to be destroyed because it was deemed "useless" and "un-trainable." Having herself been consigned to the ash heap of society as an incorrigible loser, Kris forms a strong bond with Wildfire, who will respond only to her commands. As the friendship between girl and horse intensifies, the owner of Raintree, divorcée Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor), begins to see potential in Wildfire as a racing horse, and before long she is pinning her hopes on the notion that Wildfire -- and by extension, Kris -- will enable Jean to restore her family's fortune. Meanwhile, the Ritter family's traditional rivals, the Davis clan, demonstrate that they are willing to do practically anything to prevent Wildfire from stealing thunder from their own stable of horses. In particular, snooty teenager Danielle Davis (Nicole Tubiola) is determined to force Kris off the Raintree property, if for no other reason than Kris has stolen the heart of Danielle's erstwhile boyfriend, Jean's son Matt Ritter (Micah Alberti). Curiously, Danielle's down-to-Earth brother Junior Davis (Ryan Sypek) ends up as one of Kris' best friends and strongest supporters! During the 12 episodes of season one, Kris has a disturbing run-in with her mother Barb (Stacy Haiduk), who is accused of stealing valuables from the Ritter home; Matt develops a gambling problem which siphons much-needed money from his mom's bank account (already depleted by the exigencies of feed bills, IRS payments, and the like); Jean Ritter's troublesome ex-husband Pete (Joe Lando) pops up at the least opportune moment; Kris risks being returned to "juvie" when she starts taking prescription painkillers; and there is intrigue aplenty involving a famous female jockey named Tina Sharp (Amy Jo Johnson). As the season ends, we see a more vulnerable side of the unlovable Danielle Davis as she desperately seeks out the mother who had deserted her many years before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Teenagers stand up for their rights and take on the woman who wants to scuttle their freedoms in this comedy drama inspired by a true story. Principal Weller (Julie Bowen) is the ambitious but hard-headed leader of Booker High School. Weller plans to run for superintendent of her school district, and believes if she wants to win she needs to project the image of a no-nonsense leader, and with that in mind she begins cracking down on what she sees as discipline problems at Booker High. However, in many cases what she sees as kids out of control are seen by others as kids expressing themselves, including a girl who wants to distribute condoms to recognize National Safe Sex Day, and two boys who are caught kissing in the hallway between classes. Mr. Drucker (Malik Yoba) is a teacher at Booker who tries to champion the students' rights of free expression, but his conflicts with Principal Weller end up costing him his job when he's fired for questioning her authority. Holden Donovan (Gregory Smith) is a student at Booker who is alarmed that the students have lost one of their few allies, and decides to do something about it -- along with his classmates, he sets out to establish and defend the right of free expression for high-school students, and launches a campaign against Weller's bid to become superintendent. Kids in America also stars Stephanie Sherrin, Nicole Richie, Adam Arkin, George Wendt, and Elizabeth Perkins. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide