Kerry Leigh Michaels Movies

Amy Sedaris returns as Gail Fleming, the ditzy actress sister of Monk's nurse-assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram). In the middle of a stage performance, Gail's leading man Hal Duncan (Marc Vann) is stabbed to death by what was supposed to be a retractable prop knife. Sharona must now not only cope with the possibility that her sister is a murderer, but also with the unexpected visit of her overbearing mother Cheryl (Betty Buckley). In his efforts to clear Gail's name, Monk signs up for a troublesome "speed dating" service--and also confronts his mortal fear of crowds when pressed into service as an actor! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An audacious film about faith, The Rapture is a contemporary fantasy that keeps its feet unnervingly planted in reality even as reality starts to collapse. Mimi Rogers, in a strikingly accomplished performance, stars as Sharon, a telephone operator who spends her off-hours engaging in casual group sex to blot out her boredom. By chance, she becomes aware of a small Christian sect whose members believe that they have found a child with the gift of prophecy who has seen the upcoming end times. Slowly but steadily, Sharon finds herself drawn to this group, and one night she abruptly turns a corner, renounces her old life, and embraces fundamentalism with passion. She marries one of her former lovers, Randy (David Duchovny), who takes up Sharon's evangelical fervor to atone for his past as a hired killer, and they have a daughter. All seems peaceful until Randy is unexpectedly murdered, and Sharon takes her child to the desert to await the rapture that will bring the chosen to heaven. The film neither supports nor scoffs at Sharon's views, and the superb performances add immeasurably to a film that presents the unbelievable (and unthinkable) at face value, making it seem oddly plausible in the process. Michael Tolkin has also written and/or directed such films as The Player (1992), directed by Robert Altman, and The New Age (1994), both of which also skewer contemporary American society as shallow, materialistic, and desperate for something authentic to believe in. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) takes a sentimental journey to the New Hampshire campus of her old alma mater. Alas, her favorite English professor Leon Walker (E.G. Marshall) is in no mood for a reunion: Discovered at the scene of a young girl's murder, Professor Walker has already confesses to the crime, claiming that he killed in self-defense. Jessica does not believe this confession any more than she believes the subsequent confession made by a young student with whom the dead woman had been involved. Among the guest stars this week is Dinah Shore, appearing as Jessica's onetime sorority sister Emily Dyers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Pat Sajak and Vanna White appear as themselves in this episode, in which Murdock (Dwight Schultz) goes on Wheel of Fortune and wins $28,000 and a Hawaiian vacation. Unfortunately, he won't have a lot of time to enjoy his winnings--not after being abducted by a group of mean claiming to be CIA operatives, who want to recruit Murdock for a top-secret mission. When the rest of the A-Team finds out that Murdock is being hornswoggled by a gang of crooks out to steal a Soviet gunner, it's off to Las Vegas for a bang-pow finale at the Silver Horse Casino. (Trivia note: One of the other Wheel of Fortune contestants is played by Bill Nuss, who wrote this episode!). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi