Stephanie Mills Movies

Dionne Warwick, Tina Turner, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and others take the stage to perform some of their best known hits in this collection of rare concert clips featuring some of pop-music's biggest divas. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Created by author/entertainer Kay Thompson in 1955, precocious six-year-old Eloise, who lived in the Plaza Hotel with her long-suffering nanny, her dog Weenie, and her turtle Skipperdee, was the heroine of several delightful children's books written by Thompson and whimsically illustrated by Hilary Knight. The charm of the "Eloise" books has proven elusive whenever the property is adapted for another media, as witness a disastrous musical version which aired live on Playhouse 90 in 1956. On this occasion, Eloise came off as a spoiled obstreperous brat, which was as much the fault of the child actress cast in the role (Evelyn Rudie) as the adapters. Disney decided to give little Eloise another chance 47 years later with the location-filmed Eloise at the Plaza, a two-hour movie presentation of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney anthology. This time around, Sofia Vassilieva played the title role, with Julie Andrews as Eloise's nanny (something of a full-circle for Andrews, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a rather different nanny in the 1964 Disney theatrical feature Mary Poppins). The plot finds Eloise insisting upon attending a debutante ball at the Plaza and further conniving to have a runaway foreign prince (Denis Akiyama) -- who isn't much older than she is -- as her escort. Our heroine also mends fences between a reluctant teenage deb and the girl's pushy mother. Jeffrey Tambor is typecast as the Plaza's supercilious concierge Mr. Salomone, whose dithering efforts to keep Eloise from nosing into other people's business avail him not one bit. Hilary Knight appears in a cameo role as himself. Eloise at the Plaza first aired April 27, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An animated comedy, created by Gene Simmons of KISS fame, about a rebellious rock star's son who dreams of having a normal life. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide

The blurry line between a rumor and the truth is stretched to the breaking point in this drama. Three arrogant and self-centered college students, Jones (Lena Headey), Derek (James Marsden), and Travis (Norman Reedus), are brought together for a class project, in which they decide to start a rumor and keep track of how it spreads. Looking for possible gossip material, they see Naomi (Kate Hudson), a girl known for her high-minded views on saving sex for marriage, drunkenly making out with Bo (Joshua Jackson) at a party. The three students begin passing around the rumor that Naomi became a victim of date rape later that evening, embroidering the truth with allegations that Bo forcibly seduced Naomi after she was too inebriated to put up a fight. Before long, the rumor makes its way back to Naomi herself, who suffered a black-out on the night in question after too much alcohol. Naomi panics, and convinced that the rumor is true, contacts the police, who assign Detective Kelly (Sharon Lawrence) to investigate the charges of rape filed against Bo. Featuring a cast of young actors best known for their work on television, Gossip was an appropriate first feature film for director Davis Guggenheim, who previously distinguished himself on such TV series as ER, NYPD Blue, and Party of Five. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV feature is based on the true story of Dean Kraft, who worked within the traditional medical community as a hands-on healer. Discovering his unique gift at an early age, Kraft (played as an adult by Anthony Michael Hall) is reluctant to utilize his healing talents, agreeing to do so only under emergency conditions. Even when he comes to terms with his abilities, Kraft must face the often hostile skepticism of "mainstream" doctors and caregivers. The story reaches a melodramatic apex when Kraft attempts to bring a doubting doctor's daughter out of a coma. Scott Davis Jones' teleplay is careful to neither fully confirm nor flatly deny Kraft's healing prowess, permitting viewers to draw their own conclusions. A Touch of Hope made its NBC network debut on October 10, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Henry Herbert directed this British drama, the first feature filmed in its entirety in Northern Ireland since the cease-fire. Colin Bateman scripted by adapting his novel, Cycle of Violence. Reporter Kevin Miller (Gerard Rooney) attends his father's wake, goes back to the office drunk, and is reassigned to cover events in the small border town of Crossmaheart where he meets Marie (Maria Lennon), girlfriend of a previous journalist who mysteriously vanished. When the body turns up, Marie departs, leaving Kevin to get to the bottom of the mystery. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this coming-of-age drama set in England in 1972, Jacqueline Jones (Joanna Ward) is a 13-year-old girl who likes to run track and is teetering, both physically and emotionally, on the verge of adulthood. Jacqueline has a strained relationship with her single mother Vivienne (Amanda Mealing), who doesn't like to discuss Jacqueline's father (or even show her the picture she has of him), and is trying to deal with her new boyfriend Vic (Richard Bremmer). Jacqueline is very curious about sex and eager to lose her virginity, a subject her best friend Maxine (Jodie Smith) seems to know a great deal about. Maxine tries to fix her friend up with the right boy, but Jacqueline soon discovers that her naive enthusiasm about drugs and sex carries greater consequences than she had counted on. The Girl with Brains in Her Feet features a score of period-appropriate hits from such U.K. favorites as Slade and T. Rex. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Chevy Chase added a classic comic hero to the film landscape with Fletch, one of his few truly popular star vehicles in a famously misguided post-Saturday Night Live career. Chase plays Irwin M. Fletcher, known to everyone as Fletch, a Los Angeles Lakers-loving investigative reporter with a gleeful disdain for deadlines and a knack for pushing the buttons of his frustrated editor (Richard Libertini). He's also known for donning numerous disguises and assuming zany false identities to help gain information. While pursuing an ongoing story about a powerful drug dealer who operates from Venice Beach, he comes across an intriguing offshoot in which he becomes intimately involved. Aviation executive Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) has an unusual proposition for Fletch: If Fletch agrees to an elaborate plan to kill him, for reasons Stanwyk refuses to divulge beyond explaining that he has bone cancer, Fletch will walk away with a healthy sum of money and a plane ticket to Brazil. Curious yet suspicious by profession, Fletch begins investigating Stanwyk's true motives, which leads him through numerous misadventures. Among them are a visit to a stuffy country club; a high-speed car chase with an unwitting passenger; repeat encounters with Stanwyk's wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), although she may not be his only one; and a trip to Provo -- that's Utah, not Spain. Inspired by a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald, Fletch went from thriller to comedy as it was adapted into a vehicle for Chase. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide