Sheila McCarthy

A decidedly non-stereotypical gay male couple finds their efforts to keep their personal and professional lives completely separate challenged by the arrival of the gay nephew whose presence threatens to reveal their closely guarded secret in director Laurie Lynd's drama. Eric (Tom Cavanagh) is a former professional hockey player who now works as a broadcaster at a major sports network. Of course, Eric's colleagues have no clue about the outwardly masculine sportscaster's true sexuality, and the same can be said about his longtime partner, Sam (Ben Shenkman), a lawyer. Now, despite successfully keeping their sexuality a secret for some time, happy couple Eric and Sam find their livelihood threatened with the arrival of Sam's nephew Scot (Noah Bernett) -- whose mother has just died and whose responsibility-shirking father is currently out of town. Scot is an expert in the subjects of knitting and show tunes, but when it comes to the topic of sports he just can't be bothered. Eric knows well the terror of having to hide your sexuality away from the masses, though, and now in order to save Scot from the torment of his new classmates -- and perhaps prevent his own secret from being revealed, the knowing uncle does his best to channel the boy's skating talent into a career in hockey. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Kari Skogland takes the reins for a Buffalo Gals Pictures production starring Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn as author Margaret Laurence's much-lauded heroine Hagar Shipley. Hagar may by 90, but she not ready to lie down and die just yet. Her decisions stem straight from her heart, and that often alienates her family and friends. When Hagar's son, Marvin (Dylan Baker), takes his mother to look at a nursing home, she takes it as her cue to leave her family behind and set out on one great last journey. Her mission is to locate the seaside home she remembers from her youth, but Hagar's memory is quickly fading, making it difficult for her to distinguish the past from the present. As a young girl, Hagar was set to inherit her father's mercantile empire until she was disowned for marrying a bold young man named Bram Shipley (Cole Hauser). Later, when Hagar's romantic illusions fade and she begins to view her husband with contempt, her decision to deny her children the kind of parental approval that she so badly longed for from her own father provokes a deep hereditary flaw. As she makes her way toward the seashore, Hagar realizes her time is running far too short to make up for a lifetime of unacknowledged mistakes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The phrase "it's a dog's life" takes on a whole new meaning in this family-friendly comedy. When eccentric billionaire Constance Pennington passes on, she leaves her entire fortune to her closest companion, Bailey. However, there's something that sets Bailey apart from most of the nuevo riche -- Bailey is a golden retriever dog. Bailey's best human friend is Ted (Dean Cain), a handsome but nerdy animal behaviorist who has learned to communicate with Bailey in "dogish." Ted looks after the wealthy pooch with Bailey's blessings, but Bailey's new fame and wealth don't sit well with everyone -- Caspar Pennington (Tim Curry), Constance's nephew, is infuriated that a dog has inherited his aunt's fortune. With the help of his shrewish wife, Dolores (Jennifer Tilly), Caspar sets up the Animal Rights and Research Foundation (ARRF), and installs Ted on the boards alongside Marge (Laurie Holden), a cute single mother and animal rights activist. But Caspar and Dolores hardly have benevolent aims in mind -- ARRF is supposed to keep Ted and Marge busy while the Penningtons kidnap Bailey and find a way to prove to the world that Ted has been abusing the dog. Jon Lovitz provides the speaking voice of Bailey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A woman scorned unleashes her fury in this droll comedy based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is a famous and well-respected actress, but though her life in the limelight seems glamorous, things are not going well for her off-stage. Julia's husband is unfaithful to her (and not especially discreet about it), her son is angry with her, and she's afraid she's losing her looks and allure as she advances further into middle age. In the midst of this, Julia meets a handsome and dashing young American named {%Tom.. Tom makes no secret of his attraction to Julia, and the feeling is mutual, leading the two into a torrid affair. But, while Julia at first dives into this adulterous romance with little care for how it could affect her reputation, she becomes livid with rage when she learns that Tom is also involved with a younger actress, and is only using Julia to advance himself. Julia then plots an elaborate revenge against Tom in a scheme that will help her win back the pride and confidence life has recently stripped from her. Being Julia also stars Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon, Bruce Greenwood, and Shaun Evans. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Initially titled The Colony, this made-for-TV thriller offers the nightmarish scenario of thousands upon thousands of verminous rats swarming over a posh Manhattan department store. Inevitably, the dirty rodents threaten the entire city, and it is up to such hardy souls as hero Jack (Vincent Spano) and heroine Susan (Madchen Amick) to prevent this catastrophe. As The Rats, the film was originally slated for broadcast on September 17, 2001. For reasons that should be obvious, the Fox Network felt it would be more diplomatic to shelve the film for a while--for 367 days, to be exact, so it would not appear to be a tasteless exploitation of the first "9.11" anniversary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An American journalist takes on the dangerous responsibility of rescuing nearly a thousand refugees from a Nazi concentration camp in this two-part made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In the early days of America's involvement in World War II, Ruth Gruber (Natasha Richardson) is a reporter who has been giving particular attention to a recent story: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in violation of United States policies of the day, has announced he will grant asylum in America to 982 European refugees from Nazi labor camps. But someone needs to escort the prisoners to the U.S.; Gruber, of European ancestry and Jewish faith, volunteers for the assignment over the objections of her parents (Anne Bancroft and Martin Landau). Gruber travels to Italy on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (Hal Holbrook), where she helps the refugees board the U.S.S. Henry Gibbins. But Gruber discovers that the American sailors manning the ship regard their passengers as little better than their Nazi jailers, and the State Department declares, upon their arrival in the United States, that all the refugees are to be housed in a camp in Oswego, NY -- even those who have families willing to sponsor them in America. Gruber realizes her work with the refugees is far from done, and she bravely battles against both bureaucracy and prejudice to win both dignity and fair treatment for the new settlers. Haven was originally broadcast on the CBS television network on February 11 and 14, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Superachiever Claire Raphael (Lorraine Bracco) expertly divides what little time she has between her job, her family, and her invalid mother. As a result, Claire's stay-at-home husband Dennis (Martin Donovan) suffers from a profound inferiority complex. As a means of reclaiming his "manhood," Dennis sues for divorce -- and for the custody of the couple's children. By rights, Claire could challenge her husband; instead, she cuts her losses, starting life (and love) anew in a reconditioned lighthouse. Adapted from Barbara Delinsky's novel A Woman's Place, the made-for-cable Custody of the Heart was first telecast by the Lifetime network on August 28, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The top-rank performances of Lauren Bacall, Richard Chamberlain and Lindsay Frost elevate the two-part TV biopic Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke from the usual malaise of lurid, voyeuristic trash. As she lies near death in her luxurious mansion, 80-year-old tobacco heiress Doris Duke (Bacall) hardly seems to take notice of the sinister behavior of her boozing, control-freak butler Bernard Lafferty (Chamberlain). Ultimately, of course, Doris will die (in 1993), and the mysterious circumstances will cast suspicion on the redoubtable Mr. Lafferty (who himself died three years later). Before this happens, however, Doris flashes back to the sordid events of her life, whereupon the title role is taken over by a series of younger actresses, with Frost playing Doris from ages 20 through 50. We see how Doris' future is shaped by her loving, overindulgent father (Joe Don Baker) and her aloof, icy mother (Kathleen Quinlan). Though warned early on that Doris would always have to be wary of fortune hunters, she progresses through a string of highly publicized and largely unhappy romances, and also endures two disastrous marriages. All the familiar players in this real-life drama are in attendance, including writer Louis Bromfield (Brian Dennehy), international playboy Pofirio Rubirosa (Michael Nouri), and Doris' adopted daughter Chanzy (Mare Winningham) who is destined to break Doris' heart time and time again until the grieving millionairess finally worked up the courage to renounce the girl. Also touched upon are Doris' lifelong obsessions, which ranged from mysticism to belly-dancing. Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke was originally telecast by CBS on February 21 and 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Armistead Maupin calls the three-story wooden house at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco "my homestead, my Tara." He began his portrait of Barbary Lane life during the '70s in a daily newspaper serial, expanding the material into a series of six novels. PBS aired the original TV miniseries in 1994, but threats and pressures prompted PBS to drop their plans for a follow-up, leaving an unresolved cliffhanger for four years. Several members of the original PBS cast were reunited for this six-part Showtime sequel (adapted from Maupin's second novel in the series), set in San Francisco of 1977. It picks up the threads of the story six weeks after the point where the PBS miniseries ended. When Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), hoping for romance, and her cynical gay friend Michael (Paul Hopkins) take a Mexican cruise, Mary Ann meets amnesia victim Burke Andrew (Colin Ferguson) and Michael runs into his former lover, Dr. Jon Fielding (William Campbell). Michael's roommate Mona Ramsey (Nina Siemaszko), in a purple haze of pot and angel dust, answers phones at a Reno brothel owned by Mother Mucca (Jackie Burroughs). Mona learns about her lineage and also about Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), the former Mr. Madrigal. Rich widow Frannie (Diana LeBlanc) finds a cure for her depression at the rural resort Pinus, where society ladies celebrate their 60th birthdays with youthful houseboys. Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson) is married to Frannie's pregnant daughter DeDe (Barbara Garrick), but Beauchamp isn't the father. Locations include San Francisco, Montreal (substituting for some areas of San Francisco), and Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Premiered June 7, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Grover Reindorf (Kyle Howard) is a kid with a problem, which is how to keep his parents from divorcing. He hits on a solution that makes sense to him. Why not lock them up in the basement, and keep them there until they reconcile? He and his younger sister Stacey (Amy Sakasitz) agree to do just that, and they successfully lure their parents into the basement and lock them in. When their junior-high-school friends find out what they've done, they decide that their own misbehaving parents need exactly the same treatment. One after another, all are tricked into entering into the Reindorf's basement. Meanwhile, upstairs, the youngsters have a very mild good time, as they can't even bring themselves to swallow the champagne they try. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

It is the 1960s, but Hal Kingswood (R.H. Thomson), the old-fashioned headmaster of a small school in British Colombia not far from Vancouver hasn't quite gotten hip to it yet. He won't even let his late-teen daughter Cleo (Tara Frederick) go to a concert alone with her boyfriend Dwayne (Gabe Khouth). Zoe (Aloka McLean) is Hal's youngest daughter, full of romantic ideas and idealistic notions, and she narrates most of this domestic drama. At school, a beloved teacher suddenly dies, and she is replaced by Anne-Marie Andrews (Michele-Barbara Pelletier), a stylish and charismatic younger woman from Quebec who immediately inspires Zoe to feats of imitation. However, Zoe is horrified to discover that she is not the only one who finds Anne-Marie inspiring: her father Hal is having an affair with her. This all comes to light when the family is together celebrating Christmas, and for a time it looks like everyone will split up. It doesn't help the family much when Cleo has announces that she is pregnant and isn't interested in participating in the outmoded institution of marriage. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide