Karly Rothenberg Movies
- 2006
Bill (Bill Paxton) is in high spirits. Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) has been coerced into signing an agreement to allow his family back into their homes at the Juniper Creek compound, and the bank has agreed to give him a loan to open a third branch of Home Plus. He plans a big barbecue to celebrate, ordering lobsters flown in from Maine, and invites Don (Joel McKinnon Miller) and his family to join them to celebrate Don's taking a fourth wife, Betty (Melinda Allen). Because Bill's in a good mood, Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) decides to tell him about her 58,000-dollar credit-card debt. He's shocked and dismayed, and outraged when she tells him that Roman made a payment for her. Nicki starts to believe he might actually throw her out on the street, apparently a fairly common practice back in Juniper Creek. Bill finds out that Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) knew about Nicki's debts, and questions her loyalty to him. "I'm also married to two other people," she explains. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) learns that Betty was voted into Don's family unanimously, piquing her curiosity about her own vote. Ben (Douglas Smith) spills the beans that it took several votes before Margene was accepted. Already confused about her place in the family, Margene goes out to dinner with Pam (Audrey Wasilewski) and Carl (Carlos Jacott), who surprise her by fixing her up with Chad (Michael McMillian), a nice young man from their church. This episode was co-written by Jill and Karen Sprecher (13 Conversations About One Thing). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe: Vanishing Act is the first of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as Simi Valley housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. Having previously worked as a spy, Kathy is pulled out of an 18-year retirement by NSA operative Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) in hopes that she will be able to locate a missing file containing all of America's defense secrets, which was stolen from a plane in flight--along with the computer whiz who created the file. Adhering to her policy of "eliminating the impossible", Kathy--cover name "Jane Doe"--tries to figure out a logical method by which the file was heisted, a task made difficult by the vague recollections (and shady pasts) of the witnesses to the crime. As she gets deeper into the case, Kathy herself is placed in harm's way, to say nothing of her unwitting family. Jane Doe: Vanishing Act originally aired January 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
A sex offender moves into the neighborhood, and Larry (Larry David) notes that because the offender is bald, "It's very bad for the bald community." Later, he meets the aforementioned sex offender, Rick (Rob Corddry of The Daily Show), and he turns out to be a pretty good guy. He's a huge Seinfeld fan, he helps Larry with his groceries, and he gives him some valuable golf tips. So Larry hesitantly invites him to the Seder that Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) is preparing. When Cheryl predictably freaks out about the invite, Larry reassures her, "He's cool," and asks pointedly, "What would Jesus do?" Also at the event are Jeff (Jeff Garlin), Susie (Susie Essman), and Susie's brother-in-law, Len (Stephen Tobolowsky), a staunch Republican. Mark (Rob Huebel) and Marla (Lauren Katz) are also guests in the David household, and Larry invites the cranky couple from across the street, Mac (Pat Harrington Jr. and Ethel (Jennie Ventriss), because he suspects that Mark has been stealing his newspapers, and Larry wants Ethel to ID Mark. The event goes sour when there's a controversy involving the afikomen. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
As the "black sheep" of her wealthy family, struggling artist and single mother Britt Calhoun (Dana Delany) is reluctant to return home for the Christmas holidays. Finally persuaded to do so, Britt finds that her imperious mother Maggie (Doris Roberts) is still more concerned about "what people will think" than what people may be like inside. Even so, Britt is determined to mend fences with Maggie, if for no other reason than to convince the father of her child that she can lead a stable home life. But a dark cloud hangs over the Yuletide proceedings: Maggie is in the first stages of Alzheimer's, and it may never be possible to stage a reconciliation. Produced for the Hallmark channel, A Time to Remember debuted November 23, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Roberts, Dana Delany, (more)
- 1986
Jonathan Kellerman's Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning novel When the Bough Breaks was evocatively adapted for the TV screen in 1986. Ted Danson plays a clinical psychologist, brought in to tend to an emotionally withdrawn little girl (Rachel Ticotin). There's a possibility that the child may have witnessed an unsolved double murder. As Danson and the girl draw closer, he becomes enmeshed in a homicidal conspiracy sparked by a clique of wealthy, well-connected men. Ted Danson also coproduced When the Bough Breaks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Richard Masur, (more)
