Peter Riegert Movies

A widower (Matt Damon) purchases a zoo in order to bring his family back together in this Twentieth Century Fox adaptation of Benjamin Mee's autobiographical memoir. Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) writes and directs based on a script by Aline Brosh McKenna. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Based on the memoir Last Thoughts Before Vanishing From the Face of the Earth by ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno, Oka! recounts his time spent in the Central African Republic with a tribe known as the Bayaka of Yandombe. Director Lavinia Currier and actors Kris Marshall and Isaach de Bankolé retrace Sarno's efforts to capture the music of the indigenous pygmies, while the tribe tries to balance its traditions with the progress spreading through the Congo. ~ Rachel Sprovtsoff, Rovi

Adapted from the novel by Anne Tyler, the made-for-TV "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation Back When We Were Grownups stars Blythe Danner as 53-year-old Baltimore widow Rebecca Davitch. Having long since given up her dreams of college to get married and raise a family, and also having abandoned all of her other goals and ambitions in order to manage her family's catering business, Rebecca is attending an engagement party for her stepdaughter when it suddenly strikes her that she has, in the words of the film's press release, "been living the wrong life!" Thus begins Rebecca's quest to reclaim her lost youth -- with her childhood sweetheart Will Allenby (Peter Fonda) figuring prominently in Rebecca's "second wind." Boasting a star-studded supporting cast (Faye Dunaway, Jack Palance, Nina Foch, Peter Reigert, Ione Skye), Back When We Were Grownups was first broadcast November 21, 2004, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Detectives Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) investigate when the five-year-old son of prominent psychiatrist Brett Morton (Kyle MacLachlan) vanishes from a toy store. Though the most obvious suspect would seem to be the convicted child molester seen hanging around the store just before the boy's disappearance, the trail of clues ultimately leads to the victim's 13-year-old neighbor Jake O'Hara (Jordan Garrett). Despite his youth, Jake proves to be a cunning sociopath, adept at manipulating the detectives and leading them down several wrong paths. Ultimately, however, Jake meets his doom at the hands of someone even more clever--and far more manipulative--than he is. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There are people who like to watch a ball game every once in a while, and then there are baseball fans, individuals of rare dedication whose passion for their favorite team defies conventional logic, and this comedy-drama follows a group of fans whose devotion to their hometown heroes is rarely tainted by the fact they almost never win. It's a typical summer afternoon, and a group of fans are watching the Chicago Bruins play a typically lamentable game from the cheapest seats in the stadium. Decker (Peter Reigert) is the owner of a hardware store who is playing hooky to watch the game. Marvin (Brad Garrett) and Zig (Wayne Knight) are compulsive gamblers who will bet on anything -- even the hapless Bruins. Richie (Hal Sparks) is a loyal Bruins booster who probably knows more about the team than the players do. Melody (Sarain Boylan) is a sexy fan who likes going to the game, getting some sun, and showing off her figure. And Greg (Matt Craven) likes to follow the game, even if he can't see the players -- he's blind. Bleacher Bums was based on a long-running stage play created by Chicago's Organic Theater Company; Joe Mantegna and Dennis Franz were among the actors who wrote and performed the play in its original incarnation, and Stuart Gordon, who went on as a filmmaker, also contributed to the script, as well as directing the premier production. This film adaptation of Bleacher Bums was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it premiered in the spring of 2002. Incidentally, in the stage version of Bleacher Bums, the baseball team in question was the Chicago Cubs, but the team and Major League Baseball refused to give the producers of the film permission to mention the Cubs in this adaptation. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actor and dancer Gregory Hines served as both executive producer and star for this biographical drama that chronicles the life of legendary entertainer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. In 1916, Robinson was a successful vaudeville performer and considered the finest tap dancer of his generation when he met Fannie (Kimberly Elise), a college student nearly two decades his junior. Even though Robinson was already married, he quickly fell in love with Fannie, and in time she was swept off her feet by the charismatic dancer and became his second wife. Fannie was one of the first people to encourage Robinson to stop performing in blackface (common for African-American vaudeville performers of the time), and in the 1930s, she and manager Marty Forkins (Peter Riegert) persuaded Bill to move to Hollywood and find work in the movies. While roles for black actors in Hollywood were severely limited at the time, Robinson managed to become a recognized film star, headlining the musical Stormy Weather and appearing in a number of pictures with child star Shirley Temple. But while Robinson's film work helped make him the best-known black performer in America, his frequent roles as domestic servants did little to earn him respect among his own people, and he was often seen as an "Uncle Tom" for his aggressively cheerful on-stage demeanor. And while Robinson was confronted with the less fortunate consequences of fame, he and Fannie had to deal with his growing addiction to gambling, which threatened to leave the highest-paid black man in America flat broke. Bojangles also features Savion Glover and Maria Ricossa; the film was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it first aired on February 4, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Described by director Steven Soderbergh as "Nashville meets The French Connection," this multi-character drama explores the effects of international drug trafficking on all fronts: from their source, to the U.S. border, to the federal government, to the private lives of users. Based upon a miniseries originally aired on Britain's Channel 4, Traffic divides its time among three main storylines and almost a dozen locales. The first and primary plot thread, set in Ohio and Washington, D.C., concerns freshly-appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), whose enthusiasm for his new prestige position is quickly offset when he realizes his 16-year-old daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse -- a secret that his wife, Barbara (Amy Irving), has kept from him. South of the border, Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) attempts to wage his own war on drugs, heading off a cocaine shipment in the middle of the desert with his less-than-virtuous partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas). Surrounded by corruption, Javier approaches the drug war with an attitude of patience and compromise, which opens him up to investigation from General Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian), the country's dubious drug-enforcement liaison to the U.S. Meanwhile, San Diego drug kingpin Carlos Alaya (Steven Bauer) is caught in a sting operation spearheaded by DEA agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman), leaving behind his very pregnant and very oblivious wife, Helena (Catharine Zeta-Jones). At the behest of Carlos' lawyer and shady confidante, Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid), Helena decides to carry on the family business -- with tragic consequences. Adapted by Rules of Engagement scribe Stephen Gaghan, Traffic marked Soderbergh's second major release in 2000 after the critical and box-office success of Erin Brockovich, as well as his second feature as cinematographer (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews). A favorite with various guild and critics' awards, Traffic won four Academy Awards in 2001, including statues for Best Supporting Actor (Del Toro) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Gaghan), and surprise wins for Steven Mirrone's editing and Soderbergh's direction. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Demi Moore stars in this unusual psychological drama about two women caught between reality and imagination. Marie (Moore) is an American widow trying to raise two children under difficult circumstances in a small town in France. Marty (also played by Moore) is a successful businesswoman in New York City who wants to leave her busy life and lead a quieter existence in Europe. But Marty is just a product of Marie's imagination -- or at least that's what Marie thinks. Marty, on the other hand, is convinced that Marie is just someone she dreamed up. Who is right? Or are both of them wrong? And where does it leave the men in their lives (Stellan Skarsgard and William Fichtner)? Passion of Mind was the first English-language film from French director Alain Berliner, best known for the arthouse success Ma Vie en Rose. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the first half of Seinfeld's controversial series finale, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) receives word that NBC is very interested in his concept of a sitcom "about nothing."Almost immediately, Jerry and George (Jason Alexander) draw up plans to move to California -- but not before taking fiendish delight in refusing to take Newman (Wayne Knight) along. Things come to a head in a private jet, as Jerry, George, Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are forced down in Latham, MA...and then.... ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The flamboyant novelist who brought the world such deathless literary masterpieces as Valley of the Dolls and Once is Not Enough is the subject of this made-for-cable biopic. Michele Lee stars as Jacqueline Susann, a second-string actress and well-known party girl who turned to journalism after her marriage to producer Irving Mansfield (Peter Reigert). Though constantly surrounded by Show Business Glitterati, Susann would not achieve celebrity status herself until age 47, when she published the lurid best-seller Valley of the Dolls. Though outwardly giving the impression that she was tough as nails and utterly invulnerable, Susann in truth had her share of anguish and tragedy, coping with the challenge of raising an autistic son, struggling against substance abuse, and ultimately waging a long, losing battle against breast cancer. According to studio publicity, star Michele Lee (who also served as executive producer) wore some of Susann's own jewelry and wardrobe in the course of making the film. Largely based on the biography by Barbara Seaman, Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story made its USA network debut on December 9, 1998, several months before Bette Midler's theatrically released spin on the Susann legend, Isn't She Great. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For most of its existence, a tightly-knit Massachusetts community has earned its living and gained its identity from the fish industry. Indeed, the North Shore frozen fish company is the town's primary source of income. Sal Matilla (Tony Danza) is the plant foreman. With the help of his lifelong girlfriend Florence (Mercedes Ruehl) and best buddy Porker (Peter Riegert), he does his best to keep the company profitable. Though Sal can be pretty overbearing at times, he considers his workers family. Everything changes, however, when North Shore Fish sells the factory facility to a health club and suddenly most of the town finds itself facing massive unemployment. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A lawyer is murdered, and high on the list of suspects is the dead man's abrasive girlfriend. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) track down the suspect, only to discover that "she" is really a "he." As if that wasn't baffling enough, another suspect suddenly resurfaces, one who might be protectively shielding the genuine culprit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi