Nan Martin Movies

Angling for a promotion, Drew (Drew Carey) updates Winfred-Louder's training videos, with the input of his friends and coworkers. Meanwhile, Kate (Christa Miller) is determined to prove that she's as creative a practical joker as her male pals. To this end, Kate "alters" one of Drew's training videos with bad jokes and embarrassing noises, to be screened at his birthday party. Yep, you guessed it: the joked-up video ends up being shown to Winfred-Louder's board of directors! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tired of being pushed around by everyone, Drew vows to become more self-assertive--perhaps even more ruthless. He gets his first opportunity when he accidentally eavesdrops on the sexual hanky-panky between store owner Mrs. Louder (Nan Martin (whose first name has suddenly and inexplicably changed from "Dottie" to "Fran") and fellow employee Larry (Ian Gomez). Also, the "New Drew" inaugurates a romance with sexy real-estate agent Nicki Fifer (Kate Walsh in her first series appearance). Meanwhile, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) continues to exert a sinister influence over the traumatized Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson), who thinks that the tornado from last week's episode is still raging. This is the episode featuring the fantasy musical montage "Cleveland Rocks", performed by The Presidents of the United States of America. Cast as Larry's outraged wife Grace is Nia Vardalos, real-life spouse of actor Ian Gomez and future creator-star of the hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long before she became a two-time Oscar winner, Hilary Swank paid her dues in such hard-hitting TV movies as Terror in the Family. The actress is cast as Deena Martin, a profoundly troubled 15-year-old with a history of wild and abusive behavior. An argument over a boy Deena has been seeing without permission erupts into all-out violence as the girl assaults her parents and threatens them with a knife. Removed to the custody of her Aunt Judith (Kathleen Wilhoite), Deena struggles to get her life under control, but the film's script makes it abundantly clear that the problem isn't hers alone. Both her mother, Cynthia (Joanna Kerns), and her brother, Adam (Adam Hendershott), are alcoholics, and her distant, self-absorbed father, Todd (Dan Lauria), would have been just as happy if neither of his children had never been born. Filmed in Utah, Terror in the Family made its Fox network debut on April 16, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A terrible secret is uncovered in a child's past in this made-for-cable drama. Based on a true story, Ashley Peldon stars as 7-year-old Catherine, the newly adopted child of the Tylers. When Catherine turns increasingly violent towards her new parents and her natural brother, the Tylers try everything in their power to uncover the mysterious root of her anger. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

In this enjoyable, lighthearted "he's fallen for her" situational, a music professor finds a science department faculty member too deeply engrossed in her inter-species communication studies (she talks to chimps) to even notice him. Since he can't get her mind off her studies, he decides to work part-time for her in the university laboratory. In this way he becomes aware of her dilemma: she's found that her research funds are set to be axed. He's there to help her figure out a way to prove their worth, and maybe spike her interest in him at the same time. There's plenty of clean fun and a satisfying outcome to be had here. ~ All Movie Guide

Majel Barrett, one of the cast members of the original Star Trek, guest stars as Deanna Troi's mother Lwaxana in this Next Generation episode. Unexpectedly showing up at the Enterprise, Lwaxana announces an impending wedding, not hers, but Deanna's. Understandably upset at the notion of a prearranged marriage to the son of an old family friend (Rob Knepper), Deanna is in no mood to contend with a band of renegade plague-bearing aliens who intend to take refuge on an inhabited planet. Originally telecast December 5, 1987, "Haven" was cowritten by Tracy Torme and Lan O'Kun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

A college professor (Dan Aykroyd is forced to go undercover as a Chicago pimp disguised by a bushy wig -- the height of hairlarity in this anemic comedy. When Smooth Walker (Howard Hesseman) is hunted by his gangster rival, Mom (Kate Murtagh), he foists his bevy of hookers on the professor -- and then ends up dead. Among the four hookers who are suddenly in his undercover life are Fran Drescher in an early role as an archetypal Jewish princess, and Donna Dixon as another of the high-class call-girls (Dixon and Aykroyd were later married). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a snoopy and ambitious television news reporter causes an average citizen to become suspected of being a serial killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Pumped up with energy to spare in its first half, this is an otherwise routine drama about a love triangle set in the turbulent late '60s on the Harvard campus. Harvard takes a remote backseat though, as Leo (Brad Davis) chases after Jessica (Karen Allen) while buddy Nick (Jameson Parker) also nurses a crush on her. Leo is in journalism, or wants to be, Jessica paints but she is leaning toward law school, and Nick is a solid, steady pre-med student. Their relationship takes a serious turn when Leo's number comes up on the Vietnam draft. Nick makes his feelings known to Jessica and whether it seems like a good idea or not, she suggests that the three of them move in together. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This tear-jerking sequel chronicles the further struggles and triumphs of former Olympic-hopeful downhill skier Jill Kinmont who was paralyzed in 1956 after a mishap during a race. This story picks up after she recovers from the death of the daredevil pilot who helped her come to grips with her quadriplegia. Though it has been difficult, Kinmont works hard to live a productive life. Things get even better when she begins a gentle romance with a loving truck driver. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Yvette Mimieux delivers a sensitive, nuanced performance in a role that could have easily spread into a cheap exploitation turn in Jackson County Jail. Mimieux plays advertising executive Dinah Hunter, who leaves Los Angeles and a promising career after she discovers her lover has been cheating on her. Determined to start fresh in New York City, she gets into her car and heads east. Picking up some young hitchhikers along the way, she ends up stranded in an out-of-the-way western town after being beaten up and having her car stolen. Thrown into the local jailhouse on trumped up charges, she finds herself at the mercy of a psychopathic guard who further beats her and then rapes her. Dinah kills the jailkeeper and goes on the lam with fellow jailhouse inmate and down-home radical Coley Blake (Tommy Lee Jones). The sheriff's department engages the couple in a wild car chase through a parade commemorating the United States' Bicentennial, as Dinah and Coley try to break free to the open road. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) are obliged to track down a perpetrator who under normal circumstances might have been the heroine of the story. Refusing to believe that her baby was stillborn, young mother Barbara Talmadge (Kity Winn) goes on a desperate search for her child, who has been spirited away by a crooked adoption agency. By the time the hapless Barbara catches up with the unwitting couple who have adopted her baby, she has already committed murder--and is willing to kill again if necessary! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide