Robin Thomas Movies

Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. When the Declaration of Independence is stolen while on display at a Los Angeles bank, NSA higher-up Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) calls in Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--in hopes of figuring out who did it. It's a standard "locked room" mystery which Kathy manages to figure out in no time flat, but the murder of the chief suspect and the kidnapping of the suspect's wife makes things a bit more complicated. As she endeavors to crack the case, Kathy must also deal with her neurotic husband Jack (William R. Moses) as he adjusts to working in the same office with a former girlfriend, and she must contend with the jealousy of her NRA cohort, case officer Helen Morrison (Tamlyn Tomita). Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't made its first TV appearance on February 24, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Suffering from double vision and horrible nightmares, 16-year-old Dan (Scott Mechlowitz) traces the source of his problem to injuries sustained during a Lacrosse match. As usual, Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) has other ideas, first diagnosing Dan with MS, and then declaring that the boy is being sexually abused. By the time House has figured out the real reason (maybe!) and has scheduled Dan for brain surgery, the boy disappears from the clinic--and the chase is on. Elsewhere, House is annoyed by a ditzy mom (Kylee Cochran) who refuses to let her baby be vaccinated, and by a patient (Alex Skuby) with an ugly abscess in his knee who is threatening to sue everyone within earshot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For some folks, the 1960s never really ended, and one woman still cheerfully stuck in the Summer of Love discovers her one-time best friend has left that decade as far behind as humanly possible in this comedy. In the late '60s and early '70s, Suzette (Goldie Hawn) and Vinnie (Susan Sarandon) were two of Southern California's most celebrated groupies. Affectionately nicknamed "The Banger Sisters" by Frank Zappa, best friends Suzette and Vinnie partied hearty with practically every rock star of the era who mattered, and kept a collection of Polaroid snapshots documenting their randy exploits. In 2001, Suzette is still her free-spirited self, and after losing her job as a barmaid at an L.A. rock club, she decides to look up Vinnie, whom she hasn't seen for 20 years. Suzette hits the road for Phoenix, AZ, to pay Vinnie a surprise visit, and en route picks up Harry (Geoffrey Rush), a novelist with writer's block who can't drive and hasn't had sex for a decade. Upon her arrival, Suzette discovers Vinnie isn't quite the same person who used to chase any man with long hair and an electric guitar. Now going by her given name of Lavinia, she's a straight laced social worker with a lawyer for a husband, Raymond (Robin Thomas), and two teenage daughters, Hannah (Erika Christensen) and Ginger (Eva Amurri), none of whom know a thing about her wild and crazy past, and have a pretty hard time imagining Lavinia even attending a rock concert. Eva Amurri comes by her role as Susan Sarandon's daughter naturally enough -- Amurri is Sarandon's daughter in real life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmed on location in Oregon, the made-for-cable Halloweentown stars Debbie Reynolds as Aggie Cromwell, the peppery grandma to typical American kids Marnie (Joey Zimmerman), Dylan (Joey Zimmerman) and Sophie (Emily Roeske). During her annual visit to the youngsters' mother Gwen (Judith Hoag), Aggie reveals that she is a benevolent witch, and that Gwen and the kids all have latent magical powers. Whisking the three little ones off to Halloweentown, Aggie subsequently does battle with evil forces conjured up by Gwen's old flame Kalabar (Robin Thomas), a warlock with delusions of grandeur and a nasty habit of transforming children into zombies. Telecast by the Disney Channel on October 22, 1998, Halloweentown was followed three years later by a sequel, also starring Debbie Reynolds, Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After filmmakers with varying degrees of talent managed to squeeze an unbelievable eight sequels out of the already-weak premise of the original Amityville Horror, the makers of this installment manage to go off on an even weirder tangent, with evil forces from the Long Island haunted house traipsing to yet another part of the world -- this time in a creepy little miniature replica. The dollhouse is well-constructed, and probably began life as a special-effects miniature from one of the previous films. Not one of the worst sequels, but unnecessary nonetheless; one can only hope that Amityville Dollhouse might finally encourage the film community to throw the last shovelful of dirt on this decaying concept and move on... a notion certainly shared by most moviegoers. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Peter Hunt (Scott Bakula) drops by unexpectedly while Murphy is laboring throughout the night to finish her latest story. After a brief but chaste encounter with her former lover, an exhausted Murphy falls fast asleep--and dreams that she is standing trial for her "relationship sins" (specifically, her unwillingness to make a commitment). Even more nightmarish is the presence of several of Murphy's ex-flames, including Peter, Mitchell Baldwin (Julius Carry), Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas) and even her onetime husband Jake Lowenstein (Robin Thomas), as witnesses for the prosecution! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While snobbish Dr. Harrison Archibald IV (Robin Thomas), his social-climbing wife Barbara (Gail Edwards) and his wealthy mother Amelia (Rue McClanahan) prepare a huge reception to celebrate a new hospital wing named for the Archibalds, a kid named Manny (Jonathan Hernandez) shows up, claiming to be the orphan child that Harrison and Barbara have been sponsoring. It turns out, however, that Manny (Jonathan Hernandez) is actually a homeless kid named Luis, who is faking his credentials in hopes of setting himself up in luxury. It falls to Monica (Roma Downey) to advise Luis that the truth shall set him free--advice that is surprisingly taken to heart by none other than Amelia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A wealthy young boy is kidnapped by thieves who rob his home, but the crooks are in for a surprise when the kid becomes a pest . ~ John Bush, Rovi

This drama is based upon the true story of Anissa Ayala, a leukemia patient. To save her, her parents make a new baby so they use it as a bone marrow donor. This creates considerable controversy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is invited to speak at an exclusive club where only men are permitted as members. Despite her gender, Jessica is asks by the club's governing committee to help them solve a mystery involving the murder of a "rogue" member. This proves difficult when it becomes apparent that the killer may himself be on the committee. This episode is chock full of sly science-fiction and fantasy references--no surprise, inasmuch as it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, a guiding force behind the popular series Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A husband-wife team of criminals specializes in luring gullible tourists to their hotel room, then robbing them. When one such tourist turns up murdered, it looks as if the couple is guilty, but police detective Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) suspects that there is a pair of copycat crooks on the loose. This theory is, however, hotly refuted by Hunter's current partner Al Novak (Robin Thomas)--who happens to be the ex-husband of officer Chris Novak (Lauren Lane). All too aware of the past relationship between Rick and Chris, Al allows his anger to cloud his judgement, with potentially disastrous results for everyone concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Four of Murphy Brown picks up where Season Three left off, as investigative journalist Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) comes to grips with the likelihood that she is pregnant. The staff of "FYI" reacts with a mixture of horror and dismay when Murphy breaks the news--but that's nothing compared to the reactions of the two main men in our heroine's life: Her ex-husband Jake (Robin Thomas) and her former lover Jerry (Jay Thomas). This first half of a two-part story originally aired as a part of a single 60-minute episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi