John Billingsley Movies

Lawrence Kasdan's black comedy about a wife's ultimate revenge against her womanizing husband is based on a true story about the wife of a pizzeria owner who decided to kill her cheating husband. When her attempt to murder him failed, the husband refused to press charges against her because he felt she had done the right thing. Kevin Kline is the pizzeria owner Joey Boca in I Love You to Death. Joey is a smooth Italian lothario, modeled after Marcello Mastroianni, who cheerfully dons his plumbers overalls to repair his female tenants' plumbing in the rental apartments the family owns. Joey feels he is justified in bedding down countless numbers of women because of all the hours he puts in day after day at the pizzeria. Plus, as he tells one of his women friends, "I'm a man. I got a lotta hormones in my body." His wife Rosalie (Tracey Ullman) sweetly ignores her husband's philandering -- that is until she visits the public library and sees Joey fondling one of tenants in the book stacks. At first Rosalie considers suicide, but finally, egged on by her mother Nadja (Joan Plowright), she determines that Joey must be the one to face the music. But the people Rosalie hires to do Joey in are of the cut-rate variety and are unsuccessful. They then try to knock Joey off by feeding him barbiturate-laced spaghetti, but also to no avail. Rosalie then enlists pizzeria employee Deco Nod (River Phoenix), who has a crush on Rosalie, to do the job. But even then, they have no luck. As a last resort, they try to hire professionals. What they get instead are two drugged-out junkies -- Harlan (William Hurt) and Marlin (Keanu Reeves) -- who arrive at the home and blast at a slumbering figure in the bedroom. Then, while they report on their progress downstairs, Joey ambles into the living room, very much alive. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Bobby (Jimmy Smits) and Jill's (Andrea Thompson) investigation of a Korean grocer's murder is complicated when the victim's son offers a reward for the killer. In another case, Andy (Dennis Franz) and Diane (Kim Delaney) are both affected in different ways while probing the possibility that a nine-year-old girl was raped by a mentally challenged youth. And in off-duty developments, Andy is reluctant to undergo necessary eye surgery, while Diane wonders if her last rendezvous with Bobby has resulted in a pregnancy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris created this X-Files-esque supernatural thriller series about a group of psychics who help the haunted and the doomed. Each of the group has their own metaphysical strengths: Warren (Kevin J. O'Connor) is a high-strung psychic, Mark (Gabriel Macht) is a med student with an innate empathy for suffering, Satori (Melissa) uses trendy occult imagery to connect to the supernatural, and Albert (John Aylward) is both grumpy and blind with a heightened sixth sense. The pilot opens with university student Marian (Julianne Nicholson) freaking out over visions of her dorm room's dead former resident. She is invited to sit with the "others" along with Elmer Greentree (Bill Cobbs), a sage-like medium who has the ability to see the afterlife. Soon Marian joins the group and starts ghost-busting. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

The first season of Star Trek: Enterprise may have begun in the year 2001, but it's 2151 A.D. so far as the stars (and the fans) are concerned. Now that the Vulcans have (none too enthusiastically) been persuaded to provide humans with star charts that will permit them to travel through deep space, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew are ready to climb aboard the Enterprise NX-01, Earth's first Warp Five starship. Loyally serving under Archer's command are attractive Vulcan science officer T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) (who has been sent along because the Vulcans aren't entirely convinced that the humans are advanced enough to handle the job alone); Archer's old pal Cmdr. Charles "Trip" Tucker III (Connor Trinneer), the ship's chief engineer; stuffy British munitions expert Lt. Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating); interstellar-travel veteran Ensign Travis Mayweather (Anthony "A.T." Montgomery), the Enterprise's helmsman; resident "brain" Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), the ship's communications officer; and Denobulan doctor Phlox (John Billingsley), who has a working knowledge of virtually every species and civilization in the galaxy. And we mustn't forget the ship's mascot, Archer's pet beagle, Porthos.

No sooner has the Enterprise undertaken its first mission than the crew discovers that they have become enmeshed in the long-running Temporal Cold War, and that they had better keep several steps ahead of a mysterious futuristic, genetically manipulative race called the Suliban. Along the way, the Enterprise personnel have their first major encounters with the redoubtable Klingons and the mercurial Ferengi (though the latter race is never identified by name), the sensitive Hoshi has her first panic attack, the entire crew becomes hostile and paranoid thanks to a hallucinogenic pollen, a rapidly growing alien baby threatens to engulf the Enterprise, the mystery of the "lost colony" Terra Nova is solved in rather disturbing fashion, Trip uncovers a startling secret about T'Pol, and a Suliban subversive manages to insinuate himself onto the ship. Also, fans of the old sci-fi series Quantum Leap should enjoy the episode "Detained," which reunites actors Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. The season ends with the first of Star Trek: Enterprise's cliffhangers, as Archer and former crew member Daniels (Matt Winston) are compelled to travel through time to thwart a deadly Suliban sabotage scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A couple's worst nightmare becomes a reality as they find themselves behind bars with their children are taken away from them in this made-for-TV drama, inspired by a true story. Brenda and Scott Kniffen (Viginia Madsen and Jeffrey Nordling) are asked by friends to testify as character witnesses at a child custody hearing. After The Kniffens take the stand, a relation of their friends, who was upset by the testimony, tells authorities that Brenda and Scott are guilty of beating their young sons, molesting them sexually, and taking pornographic photographs of them. While there is no truth to the accusations, a prosecutor determined to prove he's tough on child abuse takes on the case, and his staff badgers Brandon Kniffen (Cory Dorkin) and his brother Brian (Ryan Wilson) into giving damaging statements and testifying against their parents in court. Brenda and Scott spend the next twelve years behind bars, fighting their case as best they can as they try to prove their innocence and become reunited with their children. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Season two of Star Trek: Enterprise finds the titular Warp Five starship from Earth, and its multicultural and intergalactic crew, still intact despite numerous clashes with genetically manipulative Sulibans in the deep space Temporal Cold. But new and even more daunting challenges await the ship's commander, Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), and crewpersons T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Trip (Connor Trinneer), Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), Travis (Anthony "A.T." Montgomery), Hoshi (Linda Park), and Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) as they boldly go where no man has gone before in season two. This year's biggest crisis is manifested in a deadly attack on Archer's home planet, Earth, by a hostile reptilian race called the Xindi. When it becomes clear that humanity would not be able to survive another Xindi attack, the Enterprise crew must take decisive action -- thereby establishing the cliffhanger that will end Star Trek: Enterprise's second season. Before this happens, however, the crew learns a great deal more about one another than they could have previously imagined. For starters, Archer and Trip are calmly informed by T'Pol that the Vulcans made their first contact with humans as far back as 1957. And in subsequent episodes, Archer must choose between rescuing Reed and placing the rest of the crew in jeopardy in a Romulan mine field; Dr. Phlox deduces that Archer's ever-increasing stress level may have something to do with the man's libido; Travis is perplexed by changes in his old homestead after the death of his father; and Hoshi gets the feeling that her metabolism is out of whack after undergoing her first transporter experience. Also, the crew is given further reason to wonder exactly what to make of the contentious Klingons, whose code of honor is like nothing they've ever seen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Abrasive cab driver Ryan Lipe (John Billingsley), who helped the 15th in a previous investigation, is the prime suspect in the deaths of three of his former fares. Offering to help an old friend, Rodriguez (Esai Morales) ends up being accused of taking bribes by the IAB -- and the whole affair smells suspiciously like a set-up. When John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) tells Officer Laughlin (Anthony Mangano) to stop hitting on Rita Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors), Laughlin challenges John to a charity boxing match. Elsewhere, another pugilist denies killing an ex-ballet dancer, and gay cop John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup) reveals his past problems with his ailing father to a sympathetic Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A high schooler with a huge collection of video games is murdered and a three-year-old girl is shot and killed in her crib. Investigating the high-school case, the detectives are stymied by contradictory evidence, and by the presence of a weird suspect named Swirly (Josh Zuckerman), who lives with his even weirder mother. And while tackling the case of the dead three-year-old, Connie (Charlotte Ross) and Rita (Jacqueline Obradors) trace the gunfire to an engagement party on a lower floor. In off-the-job developments, John Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) tries to reach out to his taciturn dad (Joe Spano); Andy (Dennis Franz) and Connie may get together; and gay cop John (Bill Brochtrup) prepares to visit Africa with his new significant other. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Carl Franklin and actor Denzel Washington team up again (following 1995's Devil in a Blue Dress) for the crime thriller Out of Time. Washington stars as Matt Lee Whitlock, the well-respected chief of police in a quiet Florida community. While in the process of getting a divorce from fellow detective Alexandra (Eva Mendez), Matt engages in an affair with his high school sweetheart Anne (Sanaa Lathan). Unfortunately, Anne is married to the extremely jealous Chris (Dean Cain), a former pro football player who works as a security guard. After a major murder occurs in the community, Matt finds himself the main suspect. With the help of his medical examiner pal Chae (John Billingsley), Matt must solve the case before he is found guilty himself. Out of Time premiered at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Industry rumors were flying in 2004 that the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise would be its last. Whether true or not, the cast and production crew proceeded with such enthusiasm and confidence that one would think the series had been renewed for the next ten years! The time frame is still the mid-22nd century, and the central setting remains the Enterprise NX-01, Earth's very first Warp Five starship. As ever, the ship's skipper is the bold and adventuresome Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), while numbering among the crew are sexy Vulcan science officer T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), resourceful chief engineer Trip (Connor Trinneer), haughty British munitions expert Malcolm (Dominic Keating), helmsman and space-travel vet Travis (Anthony "A.T." Montgomery), brainy communications officer Hoshi (Linda Park), and ebullient Denobulan doctor Phlox (John Billingsley). Season four begins with a two-part time-travel episode, as Archer and the crew are catapulted back to World War II, the outcome of which may be negatively altered by the ongoing Temporal Cold War (as established in season one). Things take a upbeat turn when, after a double victory in space, the crew returns to a hero's welcome on Earth -- but is all this hero worship a good thing, or has rampaging xenophobia reared its ugly head? And in later development, a criminal left over from the dreaded Eugenics Wars is back in business, and the results may spell the end of humankind.

Devotees of the original Star Trek and its spin-offs will, as in previous seasons, enjoy the subtle references to things to come in future decades. Especially worth noting is a midseason three-part story arc which has a direct relation to the classic Star Trek episode "Amok Time." In addition, several significant guest stars show up in the roles that have made them famous (or rather, will make them famous if one accepts the premise that Enterprise is merely a prologue). Ultimately, the season concludes as the Vulcan T'Pol receives some important news that will have a major, and very positive, effect on her future (can there possibly be a spin-off series for T'Pol in the offing?) -- but first, the Enterprise crew, and indeed all of Starfleet Command, is challenged by a dangerous, alien-hating isolationist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cute but geeky high-school student Samantha Martin (Hilary Duff) is knocked off her feet by her father's untimely death, which leaves his diner and Samantha's well-being in the care of Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge), Sam's thoroughly wicked stepmother. Not one to take on such menial tasks as dishwashing and mopping floors, Fiona exploits Sam's dependence as a method of hoisting any dirty work off her own shoulders. School is hardly a break for Samantha, particularly when Shelby (Julie Gonzalo) is around; spoiled, wealthy, and popular, Shelby treats Samantha nearly as badly as Fiona does. Samantha's life is irrevocably changed, however, by two events: a makeover of epic proportions and a sudden electronic correspondence with a mysterious young man. Due to a misplaced cell phone and a series of fateful coincidences, Samantha and her Prince Charming develop a romance through text messages and e-mails, and ultimately promise to meet face-to-face at the biggest school dance of the year. Of course, getting there doesn't go smoothly, and Samantha may miss her chance to meet her dream date -- none other than Austin (Chad Michael Murray), the most popular boy in school. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A young schoolteacher with a serious fear of hospitals must face her worst fears when her boyfriend is injured in a car accident and spirited away to a nightmarish medical center where demons don medical scrubs and nefarious nurses bathe in the blood of their suffering patients. Amy's (Christine Taylor) boyfriend has just been involved in a major car accident, but when Amy receives word that her boyfriend has been taken to a hospital that no longer exists, she determines to face her fears and bring her boyfriend back home no matter what horrors await her. Accompanied by a concerned stranger (Jerry O' Connell) who remains steadfast in his determination to solve the mystery of St. Rosemary's, Amy is forced to enter a hallucinatory world of soul-shredding terror where nothing is as it seems and unspeakable horrors lie down every dark and lonely hallway. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide