Donna Mitchell Movies

A man with a "doormat" personality tries standing up for himself for a change in this comedy. Mild mannered tax accountant Elliot Sherman (Michael Showalter) is what he calls a "Baxter": the kind of calm, unexciting fellow who "wears sock garters" and "enjoys raking leaves." Loved by bosses and parents, Elliot is a perfectly nice guy. And that's his problem -- he's safe and pleasant, but not very interesting, so as a consequence he hasn't had much luck with long-term relationships, and more than one woman has abandoned him for someone more exciting. Elliot believes his luck has finally changed for the better when he becomes engaged to Caroline Swann (Elizabeth Banks), a smart and attractive editor at a successful magazine. However, a few weeks before the wedding, who should come back into Caroline's life but Bradley Lake (Justin Theroux), her high school sweetheart and, according to many, the great love of her life. Bradley quickly makes it clear that he wants to win Caroline back, and generally in such circumstances Elliot would politely step aside, but just this once Elliot decides to fight for the woman he loves. Elliot gains an unexpected champion in Cecil Mills (Michelle Williams), a frumpy but adorable temp employee at his office who encourages Elliot to develop a take-charge attitude, though the results aren't quite what he expects. The Baxter was written and directed by Michael Showalter, who also plays Elliot; Showalter was a member of the sketch comedy troupe the State, and also works with the comedy performance trio Stella, whose other members, Michael Ian Black and David Wain, also appear in the movie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A young man with a troubled past expresses himself through street art in this independent drama. Anthony (Mark Webber) is a 19-year-old kid living in New York City who was introduced to "bombing" -- graffiti art sprayed on public walls when the cops aren't looking -- by his older brother. When his brother died, Anthony took up bombing himself, and with the help of his pals Justin (Gano Grills) and Kevin (Jade Yorker) he does murals under the street name "Blest," while struggling to avoid the NYPD's anti-graffiti Vandal Squad. Anthony's mother (Donna Mitchell) is after him to quit bombing and attend art school, while his girlfriend (Jaclyn DeSantis) wants to get out of New York, and would like him to join her. However, it takes a run-in with Bobby Cox (Al Sapienza), a Vandal Squad cop with a hair-trigger temper, to push Anthony into making a decision about his life. Bomb the System was the first feature film from writer and director Adam Bhala Lough, who was only 23 years old when the picture was made. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The detectives and the lawyers tackle the mystery of a female patient found beaten to death in a hospital lounge. Ingredients vital to the solution are a glib "gentleman" specializing in wooing wealthy women and the effects of Alzheimer's disease on the sufferer's family. The supporting cast of this episode features such reliable veteran players as Glynnis O'Connor and Kathryn Hays. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The debut feature from director Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Party Girl pretty much cemented Parker Posey's status as the indie-film "it girl" of the 1990s. Posey stars as Mary, a fun-loving and irresponsible twentysomething New Yorker who prefers throwing bashes at her loft to pay the rent over getting a real job. But when one of her shindigs gets broken up by the cops, Mary lands in the slammer and is forced to enlist the help of her librarian godmother, Judy (Sasha von Scherler, the director's mother). In order to prove that she's not the layabout she seems to be, Mary begins working at the library with Judy. Party Girl was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and was later turned into a short-lived Fox sitcom. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

This nostalgic drama is based upon the childhood memories of screenwriter Joseph Stefano. Set in South Philadelphia in 1933 it centers on both a wise grandfather, and his single-minded grandson. The film opens in a garden on a beautiful day. In the garden is the Italian grandpa telling anyone who will listen that this is his final day of life. No one really believes that, especially not 12-year-old Gennaro who is more interested in finding a quarter so he can go to the grand opening of the brand new La Paloma theater. The grandfather promises the boy that he will receive the money after he dies. The child doesn't believe this and so begins his own search for two bits. Along the way he has many adventures. Towards the end, the grandfather asks the boy to deliver a message to a woman he wronged many years before. He wants her forgiveness before he dies. In the end, Gennaro learns a valuable lesson about life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Portrait, based upon the off-Broadway play by Tina Howe, is a made-for-cable film in which Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall play Gardner and Fanny Church, aging parents of artist Mags (Cecelia Peck). As the film opens, Mags unexpectedly drops in on her parents, hoping that she can complete a portrait she has been working on for her one-woman show. As Gardner and Fanny are the subjects of the portrait, their cooperation is essential, but they pointedly refuse to help their daughter out. Even more surprisingly, it turns out that Mags has arrived as they are in the midst of moving out -- not only out of the family home in which Mags grew up, but out of the entire collegiate community where Gardner has for years been a respected figure. Her parents largely push aside Mags' attempts to find out why they are taking this drastic action, but it soon becomes clear that it involves Gardner, who seems to be entering the first stages of senility. Along the way, Mags discovers a great deal about her parents -- and herself. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

This third sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller was originally made for cable television and looks into murderous Norman Bates' traumatic past in hopes of explaining his need to kill. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Thelo (Ned Beatty) is a middle-aged librarian who is fired from his job for drinking too much. He sets out for the woods in hopes that getting back to nature will inspire him to write poetry. There he meets Melanie (Mira Sara), who is the embodiment of everything he finds beautiful in women, and he watches as she is mistreated in the next cabin. Melanie and Thelo meet by the river and make love, but their splendor is interrupted by Melanie's abusive mate. After the thug is shot and falls into the river, the two begin to receive blackmail threats from someone who supposedly witnessed a murder. A routine, unimaginative, and predictable so-called thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two part story, Hunter (Fred Dryer) is convinced that the murder of a movie star will be solved the moment he catches up with a Bulgarian hit-man in Mexico. Though Hunter's trip South of the Border clears up the mystery as to why the CIA is so interested in the case, the real killer remains at large--and worse still, the number of likely suspects has now increased considerably! This episode was adapted from a novel by former police detective Dallas L. Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A bratty but brilliant preteen girl discovers that she's the clone of a long-dead scientist in this story of self-discovery and adventure, which appeared on HBO in the early '80s. Anna Hart (Martha Byrne) gets top grades at her elite private school, but she lies, steals, and bad-mouths her parents, much to the consternation of her father, Graham (Jack Ryland). Anna's mother, Sarah (Dina Merrill), is more indulgent of her daughter, for she knows that the girl is one of a series of clones created to uncover the scientific secrets of Anna Zimmerman, who was close to conquering world hunger when she died in an accident years ago. Although Anna is unaware of her origins, she is plagued by dreams of the years the original Anna spent in a concentration camp, and she suffers from severe headaches whenever she sees flashing lights. Memories of a haunting melody called "Reverie" also plague the girl's imagination. Although Anna's brother, Rowann (Mark Patton), seems smitten by the family's new neighbor, Michaela Dupont (Donna Mitchell), the woman creeps Anna out with her quiet intensity. Nevertheless, Graham forces his daughter to accept piano lessons from Michaela in hopes of unlocking Anna's artistic side and her less offensive personality traits. Soon, though, Anna accidentally sees one of her sister clones on a TV newscast, leading to revelations that threaten to destroy her family and possibly the youngster's very life. Anna to the Infinite Power is based on the novel by Mildred Aimes. Patton's brief movie career would also encompass the lead role in Nightmare on Elm Street 2, while Byrne, who previously appeared on Broadway in Annie, would go on to star for many years as Lily on the perennial CBS soap As the World Turns. Loretta Devine, who would go on to star in the TV series Boston Public, made her film debut here playing Anna's schoolteacher. The song "Anna's Reverie" was written by composer Paul Baillargeon, who also portrays Rowann's music instructor. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

A TV pilot film, Doctor's Story explores the rights--or rather, the lack of them--of geriatric patients. Howard E. Rollins Jr. plays a young doctor who resents the throwaway attitude conveyed towards the elderly. Among Rollins' patients are a near-senile old man (Art Carney), a woman (Vivece Lindfors) with a mysterious abdominal ailment, and a suicidal widow (Uta Hagen). Stymied by hospital bureaucracy and indifference, Rollins fights to give his older charges the same care and attention afforded younger patients--and in so doing, his own marriage on the critical list. Whether or not this premise could have sustained a weekly series is problematic (the pilot didn't sell), but as a self-contained drama, Doctor's Story was certainly worth two hours of anyone's attention, young or old. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Poet Sylvia Plath wrote an immensely popular roman à clef, The Bell Jar, which chronicles a woman's descent from functioning as a highly educated, motivated, and capable young woman to being completely incapacitated at the hands of mental illness. Sadly, Plath committed suicide at age 30, and did not have a chance to enjoy the success of her novel, which wasn't officially published in the United States until the early '70s. In this tragic tale, Esther Greenwood (Marilyn Hassett) is the central figure, a college student on a publishing internship with a woman's magazine in Manhattan. As she begins to experience psychological difficulties, her troubles are compounded by the incredible insensitivity of the people around her. On one occasion, her boyfriend condescendingly berates her for taking an overdose of pills. Critics complained that this movie, which did not do well at the box office, failed to capture the evocative emotional tone of the novel. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi