Anna Deavere Smith Movies

Produced by Jamie Foxx for HBO, this drama stars Queen Latifah as Ana a woman struggling to maintain a happy life despite being HIV-positive. Though her home-life seems happy with a loving husband and young daughter, Ana remains haunted by a past that produced Kelly (Rachel Nicks), a resentful estranged older daughter who now lives with Ana's mother. Juxtaposed with Ana's healthy approach to life with HIV is Amare (Evan Ross), a friend of Kelly's who uses narcotics to deal with the disease. Life Support screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Though popular culture seems to value passionate sexual romance as the highest form of love there is, the fact remains that there are many other ways of expressing love that don't involve physical intimacy. In this documentary, actor/playwright/author Anna Deavere Smith explores real-life stories in which community, altruism, brotherly love, love of community, and even love of war have helped to shape lives and provide meaning to those who craved something deeper than pleasures of the flesh. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A big lie told in fun has deadly consequences in this horror story. A group of students at an exclusive private school decide to have some fun by creating an urban legend and seeing how far it will spread. When a woman is murdered not far from the school's campus, the students create an elaborate mythology about a serial killer known as "the Wolf," whose motives and methods would make him a likely culprit for the recent crime. However, when other people begin dying at the hands of "the Wolf," the students are forced to admit to their lie in hopes of stopping the killings. But will anyone believe them? And how does the real-life killer know so much about the backstory of "the Wolf"? Cry_Wolf stars Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jon Bon Jovi, and Gary Cole. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The title of the CBS doctor drama referred to the fictional Presidio Medical Group of San Francisco. Distinguishing this effort from all other forcep-and-scalpel weeklies was the fact that the staff of Presidio Med was virtually all-female, save for a brace of "token" handsome hunks. Still, in standard TV fashion, the doctors became emotionally (and sometimes intimately) involved in the welfare of their patients. The main characters included OB-GYN specialist Harriet Lanning (Blythe Danner), oncologist Rae Brennan (Dana Delany), cardiologist Letty Jordan (Anna Deavere Smith), plastic surgeon Jackie Collette (Sasha Alexander), pediatrician Jules Keating (Julianne Nicholson), and, from the male contingent, internist Matt Slingerland (Paul Blackthorne) and Greek-born surgeon Nicholas Kokoris (Oded Fehr). Created by former ER producers Lydia Woodward and John Wells, Presidio Med debuted Tuesday, September 24, 2002, before settling into its usual Wednesday-night time slot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Before Hawaii was a hot spot for honeymooners and surfers, prior to its petition by American sugar growers for annexation to the United States, the Kingdom of Hawaii was an independent monarchy. Queen Lili'uokalani was its last queen. Succeeding to the throne in 1891, Lili'uokalani's focus was to frame a new constitution that would restore power to native Hawaiians that had been diminished by the success of white American business owners. Shortly into her reign, the U.S. government effectively revoked Hawaii's favored position on the American sugar market and Lili'uokalani's kingdom faced economic collapse. Convinced the only way to survive was annexation to the United Sates, the sugar growers stirred a clash of interests among plantation owners, native Hawaiians, the U.S. government, and the Queen's cabinet. Eventually, Lili'uokalani would lose her throne at gun point and yield her power to the U.S. government. In 1898, Hawaii was recognized as part of the United States by President William McKinley. ~ Brooke Hodess, Rovi

This earnest, intelligent, and well-written romantic comedy is enjoyable and optimistic in classic Hollywood style, even if its idealism doesn't seem quite so credible against the cynical political backdrop of the Nineties. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), an unabashedly liberal Democrat, is just gearing up for re-election when he meets an attractive and sharp environmental lobbyist named Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). The two fall in love and the President must soon deal with the political repercussions (Sydney is trying to get legislation through Congress), as well as the cynical machinations of Republican opponent Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), who attempts to paint Sydney as a radical and use "family values" rhetoric to smear Shepherd. With the attacks affecting his standings in the all-important polls, and his love's legislation causing him headaches in the Capitol, Shepherd must decide whether he can risk continuing his relationship. A rich supporting cast, solid characterizations by Douglas and Bening, and an articulate approach make this an appealing, if not particularly weighty, study of the tensions between public and private life. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

The ghost of Frank Capra must have smiled when he saw Dave, an amusing and effective update of one of Capra's favorite themes -- the scrupulously honest little guy who becomes a force for good against a corrupt system. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) runs an employment agency and seems to genuinely enjoy finding work for people who need it. He also bears a striking resemblance to the president of the United States, Bill Mitchell (also played by Kline) and occasionally gets work as a Bill Mitchell impersonator. One day, Dave gets a call from the Secret Service -- for security purposes, they want to hire him to act as a decoy for an upcoming appearance by the president. All goes well, but later that evening President Mitchell suffers a massive stroke while in bed with his mistress. Wanting to keep the matter a secret, two of the president's top advisors appeal to Dave to stand in as Bill Mitchell until he regains his health. One of the men behind this scheme, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hopes to use Mitchell's absence to promote his own right-wing political agenda, but after a few weeks "in office," Dave decides it's time to promote some changes of his own that will help increase employment and keep homeless shelters open. Dave also finds himself growing fond of Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), the President's wife, while Ellen sees in Dave the idealism her husband left behind years ago. Dave features numerous cameo appearances by politicians, Washington insiders, and journalists; Oliver Stone also appears to explain a conspiracy theory regarding sudden changes in Bill Mitchell's behavior. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When a young, single, neurotic New Yorker finds the perfect woman, he tries desperately to get her to fall for him. Young director Jonathan Kaufer has been compared to Woody Allen with this, his first feature. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi