Michael Nouri Movies

From the producers of The Rookie and Remember the Titans comes an inspirational sports drama detailing the true story of a down-on-his-luck football fan whose dreams of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of the gridiron became a once-in-a-lifetime reality when he took part in an open tryout organized by Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) was a 30-year-old substitute teacher and part-time bartender who had never even played college football. When Coach Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) made the unprecedented announcement that he would be holding open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles, Papale would go against incredible odds to live the dream and experience every fan's biggest fantasy. With a position on the Eagles secured and a new life path forged out of little more than determination and persistence, Papale takes to the field to experience the life-altering rush of running yards as a stadium full of cheering fans burst from their seats to support the hometown hero who proved it's never too late to take control of your own destiny. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A handful of men and women "of a certain age" pick up the pieces of their lives and look for new love after the loss of their mates in this comedy drama from writer-director Susan Seidelman. Jack (Len Cariou) married his high school sweetheart when they were still in their teens, and when she dies in her early sixties, he is emotionally devastated. Jack's friends and family insist he needs to start living again, and he begins attending a support group for bereaved senior citizens. Jack strikes up a friendship with fellow widower Harry (Joseph Bologna), who offers advice on making time with the ladies, something he's developed a strong interest in since his wife's passing. At their meetings, Jack makes the acquaintance of Sandy (Sally Kellerman), an attractive and intelligent woman who - via a number of obvious sexual advances - makes no secret of her attraction to Jack, though he isn't sure he's ready for a new relationship. Jack and Harry also cross paths with Sandy's friends Marilyn (Brenda Vaccaro), who recently lost her husband to an absent-minded driver with a cellular phone, and Lois (Dyan Cannon), who still flaunts her considerable sex appeal and is dating a younger man, Donald (Michael Nouri). Also screened as The Boynton Beach Bereavement Club, The Boynton Beach Club also stars Renee Taylor, Bologna's wife and frequent acting partner. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A thief gains an unlikely fan in a security specialist in this independent comedy. Emily (Meredith Bishop) is a young woman who isn't sure what she wants to do with her life; while she has fuzzy goals of becoming an artist, she's most concerned with convincing her mother (Leigh Taylor-Young) and her analyst (Michael Nouri) that everything is just fine. But Emily has discovered a way to take her mind off of her anxieties -- shoplifting. She steals for enjoyment rather than necessity, and her graceful work at a department store has earned her the admiration of Nick (Jsu Garcia), head of the store's security team. Nick is sick of his job and wants to start his own business; however, a seemingly foolproof get-rich-quick scheme has backfired, leaving him deep in debt to a Russian gangster (Henry Czerny). Rather than have Emily arrested, Nick persuades her to go out with him, and as a tentative relationship grows between the two, they decide to team up for a raid on the store after Nick is fired from his job. Klepto was the first feature film from director and screenwriter Thomas Trail. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The true story of one of the most gifted card players in history provides the basis for this hard-hitting drama. Stu Ungar (Michael Imperioli) was barely in his teens when he first discovered his talent for playing cards, especially poker and gin rummy. His father, a nightclub owner and small-time bookmaker connected with the mob, was impressed with his son's abilities but worried where Stu's reckless instincts towards gambling could take him. As it happens, Stu's father was right to worry; the boy managed to lose all his bar mitzvah money during an afternoon at the racetrack (for all his skills at the card table, Stu had no talent for picking the ponies), and by the time he was 20, Stu was deep in debt to mob loan sharks. Vincent (Michael Nouri), a mob boss who knew Stu's father, gives him a chance to pay off his debts by entering a gin rummy tournament in Las Vegas; Stu wins big and soon finds the Las Vegas lifestyle is to his liking. Stu becomes something of a celebrity when he wins the World Series of Poker tournament in 1980 and 1981, but his appetite for racetrack betting, drugs and prostitutes took its toll, and the great card shark hit bottom before returning from nowhere to win the WSOP a third time in 1996; however, Stu's comeback would turn out to be tragically short lived. High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story also features appearances by Pat Morita, Renee Faia, Joe La Due, and Vincent Van Patten. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Nicole Holofcener, writer/director of the critically acclaimed Walking and Talking, shifts her focus from New York to Los Angeles for her second feature, Lovely & Amazing. Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn of Secrets and Lies) is a middle-aged woman who's about to undergo liposuction. She has three daughters. Michelle (Catherine Keener) is a cynical, self-involved, would-be artist in an unhappy marriage. Elizabeth is a struggling actress who constantly takes in stray dogs. Her insecurities about her attractiveness come to the fore when she blows a screen test with a big movie star, Kevin (Dermot Mulroney). The youngest of the Marks sisters, Annie (Raven Goodwin), is an overweight eight-year-old African-American girl whose birth mother was an addict. Jane has adopted Annie, and is determined to provide her with a better life. Jane has a crush on her suave surgeon (Michael Nouri of Flashdance), but her family is thrown into chaos when complications arise during her outpatient procedure, and she's forced to stay in the hospital. Michelle, pressured by her husband (Clark Gregg) to take some financial responsibility for raising their young daughter, eventually gets a part-time job working in a one-hour photo booth, where she meets Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), a misfit teen who awkwardly flirts with her. Elizabeth's boyfriend, Paul (James LeGros), who seems to disapprove of the entertainment industry, leaves her. Annie eats compulsively and misbehaves. When the family is faced with a series of crises, relationship patterns that had solidified over the years subtly begin to change. A festival favorite, Lovely & Amazing has been shown at the 2001 Telluride Film Festival, the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, and the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Kenny Rogers guest stars as itinerant musician Denny (Kenny Rogers), former boyfriend of a married woman named Ellen Sawyer (Kathy Baker). Feeling neglected by her workaholic husband Greg (Michael Nouri)--who in time-honored sitcom tradition has forgotten their 20th wedding anniversary--Ellen wishes she had married Denny instead. Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye are assigned to bring the Sawyers back together again. . .and by an amusing twist of fate, they are "helped " in this pursuit by none other than Denny himself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Married for twenty years, Maggie (Roma Downey) and George (Tim Matheson) have drifted apart and are on the verge of divorce. To prevent this, the couple's kids (and their respective parents) bankroll a second honeymoon vacation on a lush tropical island. But though Maggie and George struggle mightily to rekindle their romance, things don't look good when Maggie is swept off her feet by a local Romeo and George is entranced by a leggy blonde. Evidently at this point the marriage can be saved only by an improbable twist of fate, so guess what happens? Made for TV and originally telecast by CBS, Second Honeymoon was first aired on March 11, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This filmed stage production of Victor/Victoria came to be through the collaboration of director Blake Edwards and his wife, singer and actress Julie Andrews. Andrews reprises her role as a female pretending to be a male who is impersonating a female, while Edwards once again directs. As with the 1982 film and 1996 Broadway productions of Victor/Victoria, Andrews' character rises through the entertainment circuit by means of her unique gimmick, leaving a Chicago gangster and the rest of her audience thoroughly confused about her true sexuality and its implications. Filmed shortly before her vocal chords were unfortunately injured, this production of Victor/Victoria marks the last musical performance by Andrews prior to the damage incurred to her singing voice after undergoing subsequent surgery. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

A young mother is the victim of a drive-by shooting. The ensuing investigation is complicated by a discrepancy in establishing time of death. By the time this matter has been sorted out, the DA's office is presented with two prime perpetrators: the person who fired the gun, and the doctor who declared the victim brain dead -- then harvested her organs for transplant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Someone is trying to get to West Coast gangster Frank DaVinci in this exploitational actioner. They are doing a good job too. So far, masked murderers have killed his bride and most of his henchmen. One of those gang members killed was the lover of the voluptuous Colette who decides to hide out until things settle down. Three months pass and finally Colette is able to get in touch with Frank in Las Vegas. She tells him that she is a CIA agent and that she and he are being stalked by a renegade agent, her former boss, Jameson. He wants her because he believes that she holds a CD-ROM that contains very incriminating information about his drug-smuggling activities in Vietnam. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A divorced Los Angeles detective is tracking down a psycho serial killer who strangles prostitutes. He becomes a suspect himself when the rich lawyer who represented all the murdered hookers is killed -- and the lawyer just happens to be his ex-wife's husband. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

Prolific B-movie auteur Fred Olen Ray's sequel to Inner Sanctum is little more than softcore porn masquerading as an arty erotic thriller. Full of hallucination scenes, erotic nightmares, and other gimmicky devices (sometimes nested three deep), the film tells the story of nurse Jennifer Reed (Tracy Brooks Swope), who -- when she was still played by Tanya Roberts in the first movie -- killed her murderous husband after he attempted to do the same to her. Jennifer's brother-in-law Bill (Michael Nouri from Flashdance) and his wife (Sandahl Bergman) come to stay with her. When a series of hook-murders begins, the traumatized woman and her guests must determine who is drugging her and setting up the killings. None of it really matters, however, as the mystery is secondary to all of the sex and violence. There are numerous softcore couplings, as well as some pretty silly hallucinations (sex with a decaying corpse, Jennifer's graveyard dance with an undead Kato Kaelin), and even a catfight to keep the punters happy. Ray casts the film with the usual semi-names (Robert Quarry, Margaux Hemingway, David Warner, Joe Estevez) but can't muster enough MTV-style gloss on his budget to make it really work as an erotic thriller, nor enough true silliness to make it work as camp. It just sits there, as disposable as a paper plate and about as stimulating. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi