Clare Stone Movies
- 2005
On an impulse, Carrie Llewellyn (Jodie Bissett) and Jim Barber (Rob Estes) are married in Las Vegas. The couple heads home dreading the prospect of breaking the news of their instant union to their children--of which they have eight between them. It helps not at all that many of the kids already don't like each other, nor that Carrie's offspring can't warm up to Jim, and vice versa. An eventful family excursion to the local bowling alley finally brings everyone together--and when it seems that Carrie and Jim may drift apart, it's the children who cook up strategies to bring them back together. In one respect, this made-for-cable movie goes way, way past The Brady Bunch when a brief romance develops between the two oldest kids. Produced for the ABC Family Channel, I Do, They Don't was originally telecast on March 20, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
The new girl in town is 16-year-old Jacey Jeffries (Danielle Panabaker), who lives with her divorced mother, Terry (Mercedes Ruehl), and her two siblings. A popular and highly intelligent student, not to mention a talented athlete, Jacey nonetheless seems to be harboring a private, profound sadness -- or at least that's the perception of her high-school guidance counselor, Donna Cooper (Jane Krakowski). Ultimately Donna figures out the truth behind Jacey's melancholia: her baby "brother" Charlie is actually her own son, born out of wedlock and raised by Jacey's overbearing mother in a misguided effort to shield her daughter from disgrace. Upon discovering Jacey's secret, Donna takes a special interest in the girl's welfare -- an interest undoubtedly fueled by the fact that Donna herself is unable to have children. The scenes taking place in the sex-education class have an air of reality often lacking in made-for-TV films, due to the fact that the young actors playing the students were encouraged to improvise their dialogue. Produced for the Lifetime cable network, Mom at Sixteen first aired on March 21, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mercedes Ruehl, Jane Krakowski, (more)
- 2003
Full-figured Broadway actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won an Emmy award for her performance in the musical version of Hairspray, is felicitously (if somewhat incongruously) teamed with slender soap opera heartthrob Mark Consuelos in this uplifting made-for-cable comedy. Although she's not what one could call beautiful or svelte, Becca Wasserman (Winokur) possesses a beauty that emanates from within: she also happens to be great singer, with a great career as a teacher and a super-great fiancé named Adam (Consuelos). All Becca lacks is the money to afford her dream honeymoon to Hawaii. Partly to get even for being snubbed by the gorgeous Libby (Reagan Pasternak), and partly just to prove that she can do it, Becca enters the The Miss Squirrel Hill beauty pageant, the first prize of which is two free tickets to the Aloha State. But though everyone is pulling for Becca, the plain cold fact of the matter is that no "super-sized" woman has ever won the pageant--and even Becca's mom Amanda (Fran Drescher), hitherto her daughter's biggest booster, is certain that Becca is going to make a fool of herself. Beautiful Girl originally aired October 19, 2003 on the ABC Family channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
- Add Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion to QueueAdd Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion to top of Queue
Told from the perspective of a family who witnessed the historic tragedy firsthand, director Bruce Pittman's painstakingly detailed docudrama follows the events that unfolded in 1917 when a French freighter loaded with explosives collided with a Belgian reef ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The world was consumed by war, and as the French freighter Mont Blanc raced across the Canadian countryside with a substantial shipment of TNT no one could have foreseen the disaster that was about to unfold. When the Mont Blanc collided with the Belgian reef ship, the explosion that erupted claimed nearly 2000 lives, and could be felt over a hundred miles away. The devastation itself spread for miles in every direction, destroying homes, claiming lives, and prompting a courageous rescue mission that would highlight the remarkable heroism of everyday Canadians. Shauna MacDonald, Graham Greene, and Pete Postlewaite star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
