Wendel Meldrum Movies
When a vacation video reveals that her husband is having a secret affair, the family camcorder becomes a weapon of truth for a married suburban housewife. Betty (Wendel Meldrum) was pouring over her family vacation video when she realized that a telephone conversation captured on the tape revealed her husband's infidelity. Later, as Betty makes the transformation from typical housewife to single mother, the camera becomes her constant companion. Videotaping everything from gynecological exams to blind dates, Betty begins to realize the importance of editing her work as her archives become increasingly unruly. But while Betty's new obsession may seem strange to her family and friends, it doesn't take long to realize that there's no denying the truth when it's captured on camera. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendel Meldrum, Luke Humphrey, (more)
- 2001
The firebombing of a shop owned by Arabs has the odious aroma of a post-9/11 hate crime. Investigating the kidnapping of a baby from a hospital, the detectives follow the trail of clues to the infant's father. Andy (Dennis Franz) offers to partner up with Eddie Gibson (John O'Donohue) and resumes his relationship with Gibson's niece Cynthia (Juliana Donald). Valerie (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) and Baldwin (Henry Simmons) try to bring "spontaneity" to their romance. And Connie (Charlotte Ross), anxious to contact the daughter whom she put up for adoption years earlier, covertly places the girl under surveillance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
- 1999
Canadian director Stephen Reynolds spins this coming-of-age drama about being afraid and Catholic in Newfoundland. Nine-year-old Draper Doyle (Jordan Harvey) suffers from nightmares of a giant hockey puck plunging from the sky after his hockey-obsessed father commits suicide. Even worse, he suffers from a deep anxiety about the opposite sex in the form of the "Momataur," a half elk, half-naked mom roaming the nether corners of his subconscious. Though the boy's hippie uncle (Pete Postlethwaite) and his TV-loving sister also live with him, Draper's waking world is dominated by his extremely Catholic aunt. The Divine Ryans was screened at the 1999 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jordan Harvey, Robert Joy, (more)
- 1999
Suggested by a real-life homicide case which occurred in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1986, the made-for-TV Murder at 75 Birch gets underway when the wife of dentist Rick Todson (Gregory Harrison) is killed. According to Rick, his late spouse Pat (Wendel Meldrum) had been murdered by a burglar, a story the police find hard to swallow. One person who is willing to stand by Rick is his sister-in-law Gwen (Melissa Gilbert)--and when Gwen's own husband Dave (Vyto Ruginis) dies in a car accident, she turns to Rick for comfort and solace. Ultimately Gwen falls in love with Rick, but their relationship begins to unravel after a series of strange incidents which suggest that the authorities' suspicions concerning Rick's involvement in his wife's death were not entirely groundless. Reaching a tense climax as Gwen and the police work together to crack the case, Murder at 75 Birch first aired February 9, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Harrison, Wendel Meldrum, (more)
- 1998
In the concluding half of Seinfeld's controversial series finale, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) find themselves stranded in Latham, MA -- and even worse, they are facing arrest for violating the town's new Good Samaritan law (it seems there was this mugging...). Hoping to beat the rap -- and make it to California in time for Jerry to sell his proposed sitcom "about nothing" -- the gang engages the services of flamboyant lawyer Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris). Alas, the prosecution has managed to round up a daunting array of witnesses to bolster their case against the foursome, including Sidra (Teri Hatcher) of "they're real and they're spectacular" fame, the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas), Marla the Virgin (Jane Leeves), and the Bubble Boy (Jon Hayman) -- while the sour-faced judge (Stanley Anderson) with the familiar-sounding name fumes, and a vengeful Newman (Wayne Knight) chuckles from the sidelines. As for the now-legendary final scene...haven't we had this conversation before? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- R
In this slapstick outing a small heart attack leads a doctor to prescribe rest and relaxation to the afflicted salesman. Unfortunately, the vendor's peaceful plans are destroyed when his well-meaning but inept friend comes to call. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Winkler, Olivia D'Abo, (more)
- 1994
This Canadian made-for-television movie spawned the popular series about a crime-fighting Royal Canadian Mountie. Paul Gross stars as Constable Benton Fraser, an RCMP who sets out to track down his father's killer. His chase takes him all the way to Chicago where he hooks up with Ray Vecchio, (David Marciano) a macho, local Chicago detective. Together they hit the streets as a crime-fighting and justice-seeking duo. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Accompanied by his trusty pet wolf Diefenbaker, RCMP constable Benton Fraser doggedly pursues the murderer of his Mountie father (whose death has been officially deemed an "accident") from the snowy environs of the Yukon to the urban sprawl of Chicago. Once in the Windy City, Fraser meets wisecracking local police detective Ray Vecchio, whose career has likewise been motivated by the death of his father. Forming a tentative friendship, Fraser and Ray become an unofficial team, determined to track down miscreants by combining their separate but equally effective police methods. Along the way, our heroes discover that Fraser's father was killed while investigating a large-scale coverup involving a hydroelectric dam project. This two-hour pilot episode of the weekly seriocomic cop series Due South has since been divided into two hour-long episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
Diane Ladd stars in this psychological drama about Susan, a woman who was adopted as a child and has long wanted to meet her biological mother in hopes of resolving certain emotional issues After a long search, she finally meets Edie ($Diane Ladd, who is warmly welcomed into Susan's life, alongside her husband and children. However, once Susan has reunited with Edie, she notices Edie can be more than a bit possessive, and it soon becomes clear anyone who comes between Edie and her daughter winds up dead. Now Susan and her husband need to find out the truth about Edie before they become the next victims. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Ladd
- 1992
In this outing a city boy learns the meaning of manhood after he struggles to protect the ancient and beautiful Limberlost forest from those who would destroy it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Christian Campbell, (more)
- 1991
Rip Torn does a magnificent job as American poet Walt Whitman in the fanciful period piece Beautiful Dreamers. The scene is a hellish 19th century Canadian institution for the mentally retarded. Compassionate doctor Maurice Bucke (Colm Feore) defies his superiors by treating his patients as human beings rather than animals. He even begins conducting classes for his charges, teaching them basic cognitive and manual dexterity skills. When Whitman champions Bucke's cause, the doctor is ostracized by those who fear the poet's reputation as a "wild-eyed" radicial. Based on a true story, Beautiful Dreamers is more interesting for its intentions than its execution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Feore, Rip Torn, (more)
- 1990
In this comedy, the ancient curse of a priceless ruby, known as the Byzantine Fire, comes into play when it is accidentally stolen by a group of thieves, headed by Gus Cardinale (Christopher Lambert). The crooks soon discover that their heist might have been more trouble than it was worth when they are pursued by the police, the CIA, the Turkish government, and the local underworld. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
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James Belushi stars in this cop actioner about a loner narcotics officer who has to break in a new partner. The twist here is that the new partner is barely housebroken, but he's still sharp and keeps his nose close to the ground. Dooley (Belushi), who works on the San Diego narc squad, is an eccentric guy who has pizzas delivered to his car and likes a good steak. He is working on a stakeout of a local drug dealer when he barely escapes with his life as a helicopter blows up his car. When he asks the department for a new car, they give him a new partner instead --a police dog called Jerry Lee (Jerry Lee the Dog). Jerry's good at sniffing out the criminals but Dooley doesn't really hit it off with his new partner until the pooch saves his life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Mel Harris, (more)
- 1984
- PG
This rather dull thriller has the look of contemporary film noir but none of its depth. As the story begins, desperate-for-cash saxophonist Harry Baranski (Patrick Duffy) decides to rob a house. There he meet its owner, Diane (Catherine Hyland) and begins a rather unusual ménage-à-trois. The story is contrived, and the mediocre direction by Frederick Keller and lackluster performances by the entire cast, makes Vamping a not-very-thrilling thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Duffy, Catherine Hyland, (more)
