Jenny O'Hara Movies

The story begins as an astronomer notices that a blazing comet is headed straight for Phoenix Arizona. Unfortunately, no one believes him. They will eventually, but only after most of Phoenix has been reduced to cinders. Emmies went to the special effects (among the best ever seen on TV in those days before computer-generated special fx) and sound recording. The all-star cast includes Richard Crenna, Elizabeth Ashley, David Dukes, Joanna Miles, Lloyd Bochner, Merlin Olsen and Andrew Duggan, all of them superbly cast and none merely doing the usual celebrity walk-through. Originally telecast in a three-hour slot, Fire in the Sky debuted November 26, 1978. This film should not be confused with the 1993 alien-abduction film of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Angie is the study of a believable Italian-American woman who takes an honest look at herself and sees she's on a predictable path that will soon include an altar and a baby carriage. "There's gotta' be more!" she feels, and she's one gal with courage enough to find the answer. Geena Davis stars in this worthwhile effort. ~ All Movie Guide

Since being evicted from Juniper Creek, and then from the motel where they were staying, Joey (Shawn Doyle), Wanda (Melora Walters), Lois (Grace Zabriskie), and Frank (Bruce Dern) and his other three wives have all been staying at the Henrickson's. Bill refuses to let Frank stay in the house, which Wanda says is a good idea because "Bill hates him, he makes Joey crazy, and he doesn't pee in the toilet." What she means is, Frank, having lived with many women for many years, has decided that there's always a woman in the bathroom, and so he prefers to use the sink, wherever he's staying. Bill develops serious problems with his vision, and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) quietly brings him to the ER, where he learns that his overuse of Viagra is having serious side effects. Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) frets about her credit-card debt, and asks Adaleen (Mary Kay Place) to somehow make sure that Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) doesn't tell Bill about her situation. Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has ended her "affair" with Bill, but she's not too happy about it. She feels even worse when Joey confides to her that he's not sure if he believes in polygamy anymore. "The only way I know what to believe is to listen to my heart," he tells her, "and it says that Wanda's it for me." Lois explains her short hair to Sarah (Amanda Seyfried), telling her that she cut her hair, like the women used to in biblical times, after her daughter, Margaret, drowned in Lake Mead. With everyone gathered in the house for Easter dinner, the scene is set for a dramatic confrontation. More drama occurs when Bill and Joey travel to Juniper Creek, with Bill determined to get Roman off the store's books, and get his family back into their homes. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The 8-hour TV miniseries Blind Ambition was originally telecast May 20 through 23, 1979. This 105-minute feature-film version, prepared in 1982, seems a bit rushed at times, but overall does a credible and coherent job of storytelling. Based on John Dean's book Blind Ambition, with elements of Maureen Dean's Mo woven in by screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg, this is the saga of the Watergate affair, as experienced by Dean (Martin Sheen) and hia wife Maureen (Theresa Russell). As the Nixon administration goes down in flames, the Deans' marriage is sorely tested-as is Dean's success-at-any-price credo. Rip Torn plays Nixon like something out of a Greek Tragedy; some viewers accepted his interpretation, others found it jarringly inaccurate. Others in the cast of "usual suspects" include Michael Callan as Charles Colson, Lonny Chapman as L. Patrick Gray, William Daniels as G. Gordon Liddy, Fred Grandy as Donald Segretti, Christopher Guest as Jeb Magruder, Lawrence Pressman as H. R. Haldeman, William Windom as Richard Kleindienst, James Greene as E. Howard Hunt, Logan Ramsey as J. Edgar Hoover, and Al Checco as judge John Sirica. Also known as The John Dean Story, Blind Ambition earned two Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama, two dogged FBI agents are on the case to investigate one of the U.S.'s most infamous bank robberies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This debut episode of Charlie's Angels takes place at a racetrack catering to female speed demons, where driver Suzy Lennon has died in a crash. Suspected of negligence, Suzy's mechanic Jerry (John Dennis Johnston) turns to the Angels -- Jill (Farrah Fawcett-Majors), Sabrina (Kate Jackson) and Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) -- to prove his innocence and finger a murderer. Although Sabrina goes undercover as a racer, it is Jill who ends up being taken for a ride when her cover is blown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While on helicopter-flight rotation, Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) try to help a family of four, seriously injured in a van-and-truck accident. But upon arriving at County with the victims, the two doctors are stymied by the incompetence and obstreperous behavior of "floater" nurse Rhonda Sterling (Jill O'Hara). Elsewhere, Keaton (Glenne Headly) confronts Benton (Eriq La Salle) over his rampant egomania. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig, Clifton Collins, and J.K. Simmons star in writer/director Mike Judge's comedy about a flower-extract plant owner contending with an ever-growing avalanche of personal and professional disasters. An employee at the factory has just suffered an unfortunate accident on the assembly line, but little does the put-upon owner realize that things are about to get much worse. As the injured employee threatens to sue and it begins to look like his company will be bought out, the frazzled owner attempts to catch the culprit responsible for stealing wallets from the coat room and begins to suspect that his wife is sleeping with the gigolo he hired to seduce her. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Good Against Evil might not have existed had not The Exorcist shown the way three years earlier. Dack Rambo and Elyssa Davalos star as sweethearts Andy Stuart and Jessica Gordon. The course of true love is messed up when Satan claims Jessica as his own personal property. Desperately, Andy turns to a pair of priests, Fathers Kemschler (Dan O'Herlihy) and Wheatley (John Harkins), for spiritual guidance, not to mention a bit of brute force in purging poor Jessica of her demons. Jimmy Sangster's screenplay doesn't miss a trick, nor does the spooky direction by Paul Wendkos. When first telecast on May 22, 1977, Good Against Evil ran 72 minutes; syndicated prints have been expanded to 97 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Byrum wrote and directed this loosely based biographical tale of Beat author Jack Kerouac and Neal and Carolyn Cassady. John Heard stars as Jack Kerouac, and the film chronicles the Beat lifestyle that shaped the literary and social forces brewing and overflowing in Kerouac's imagination, resulting in the publication of Kerouac's seminal novel On the Road. Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek play the Cassadys, enmeshed in a love-hate relationship that forms the backbone of the film. Kerouac drifts in and out of their lives as the Cassadys take up residence in San Francisco. Ray Sharkey is also on hand as the manic Ira, a thinly veiled character based on Alan Ginsberg. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This three-part drama, produced for HBO, examines the changing tides of the lives of lesbians in America, both politically and personally, as we eavesdrop on three stories taking place in the same house over a span of five decades. In 1961, the house is home to Edith (Vanessa Redgrave) and Abby (Marian Seldes), an elderly lesbian couple whose lifestyle is not accepted or acknowledged by their families. When Abby suffers a serious stroke and is on the verge of death, her family rallies to her side, but not understanding the nature of her relationship with Edith, she is not included as her loved ones say their final good-byes. After Abby's death, her nephew (Paul Giamatti) and his wife (Elizabeth Perkins) arrive from out of state with plans to sell the house, without consulting Edith. In 1972, the house is now home to four college students, Michelle (Amy Carlson), Linda (Michelle Williams), Karen (Nia Long), and Jeanne (Natasha Lyonne), all of whom are actively involved in the women's movement and also happen to be lesbians. The four find themselves at odds with the campus women's group when they try to promote an all-women's dance, while the other members of the group feel that feminism, not lesbianism, should be the focus of the group. Similarly, Linda faces hostility from her friends when she becomes involved with Amy (Chloe Sevigny), a very butch townie; Linda's friends see Amy's masculine attire and attitude as a form of self-loathing against being a woman, and while Linda cares deeply for Amy, she's not always comfortable with her and isn't sure that she wants to be public with their relationship. In 2000, Fran (Sharon Stone) and Kal (Ellen DeGeneres), a happy and firmly committed couple, are sharing the house, and after much discussion, they decide that they want to take their relationship to the next level and have a baby. However, deciding that they want a child and dealing with the practicalities of getting pregnant are two different things; Fran and Kal first debate about going to a sperm bank as opposed to asking one of their male friends to help out, and later, either going to a doctor to perform the procedure or trying it at home. DeGeneres' significant other, Anne Heche, wrote and directed the final segment; the 1972 story was directed by Martha Coolidge, and the 1961 episode was directed by Jane Anderson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young female doctor is found murdered. While seeking out evidence, the detectives come across the woman's diary. The book paints a sordid picture indeed, suggesting that the woman's death may have been the outgrowth of a romantic triangle involving her fiancé, Danny Garrett (Frederick Weller), and Garrett's domineering psychiatrist, Diane Meade (Lindsay Crouse). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comic "Boy meets Girl" story, the Girl, in this case named Lisa (Megyn Price) has a habit of not sticking with anyone for very long. However, when she meets the Boy, here called Mike (Ken Marino), to her surprise (as well as his) Boy and Girl hit it off. Lisa has a friend (Jenica Bergere) who encourages her to stick with Mike, while Mike has a friend (Ryan Bollman) who is tired of his best buddy not being able to hang out with him because he'd rather be with a beautiful woman. However, the real fly in the ointment is that Mike also has a girlfriend (Elizabeth Lackey) who happens to be away when Boy and Girl meet. Will Mike chose to stick with his new flame, go back to his older infatuation, or forget both of them and go grab a brew with his pals? Love Happens was screened as part of the 1999 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide