Kathleen Turner

When East Village theater Renaissance man Charles Busch's sexually salacious Vampire Lesbians of Sodom first premiered on the New York stage in 1984, few would have suspected that the cross-dressing slice of kitsch theater would eventually be honored as one of the longest-running shows in off-Broadway history. A runaway hit with the underground art community that quickly found its way to the mainstream, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom defied convention to become one of the hottest tickets in town, and eventually served to launch the career of a man known best for being a woman. Devastated by the death of his mother at a young age, Charles Busch escaped into the world of classic film before being spirited away from the suburbs by his caring aunt and encouraged to explore his creativity in Manhattan. Though originally rejected by a variety of directors who dismissed him as either "too odd," or "too gay," Busch eventually decided to take control of his destiny by writing his own plays and became one of the most celebrated figures in New York theater. From Busch's early success with the Theater-in-Limbo to his later success in film with Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the remarkable story of the self-made theater phenomenon is explored in this documentary from filmmakers John Catania and Charles D. Ignacio. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

With only a week to go before his marriage to Monica (Courteney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry) insists that his intended meet his never-seen, but much-discussed, father. And as all fans of Friends should know by now, Chandler's dad makes his living as a cross-dressing cabaret performer in Las Vegas. Without giving the rest of the plot away, be it noted that Kathleen Turner has an important role, and that Alexis Arquette, a real life in-law of series star Courteney Cox, is also in the episode. ~ All Movie Guide

Dr. Elena Kinder (Kathleen Turner) is the highly visible chief executive of BABYCO, the world's largest manufacturer of baby products. The company funds orphanages across the world and just opened an indoor theme park for children adjacent to its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles. Unbeknownst to the public, Kinder, with the help of Dr. Heep (Christopher Lloyd), has been conducting a vast research program devoted to decrypting in secret labs deep beneath BABYCO's corporate campus the language that babies speak. It's said that Tibetans believe all babies are born with complete knowledge of the universe and the ability to speak to each other in an ancient language. However, once infants turn two years old, they lose this knowledge as they bond more closely with adults. To study this theory, Dr. Kinder has culled the smartest babies from her orphanages to be raised in a special development program in her private lab. As a test of developmental progress, she has separated a pair of twins, Sly and Witt. While Sly is raised within the lab, Witt has been adopted by Kinder's niece, Robin Bobbins (Kim Cattrall) and her husband Dan (Peter MacNicol), who run an old-fashioned day care and child research center. Sly manages to escape the center and finds his way to a shopping mall during Christmas. While eluding Kinder's henchmen, Sly stumbles across Witt; Witt is promptly mistaken for Sly and taken away, while Sly goes to the day care center with his new mother. The two boys, who develop an empathic link, must find each other and free the children from the research center before Dr. Kinder can smuggle them out of the country. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

One of the great 20th Century American literary icons, Dashiell Hammett invented the hard-boiled detective novel and, in the process, elevated the mystery novel to high art. This PBS documentary charts Hammett from his inauspicious beginning as a high school drop-out private detective to his career pinnacle, hobnobbing with movie stars and the cultural elite, to his demise resulting from alcohol in 1961. The film also delves into Hammett's works using ample clips from his most renowned work, The Maltese Falcon. Kathleen Turner narrates. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A child discovers a whole new world when he runs away from home in the family drama Prince Of Central Park. JJ (played by Frankie Nasso) is a boy living in New York with his foster mother (Cathy Moriarty). To say they don't get along is an understatement; one day JJ decides he's so tired of her abuse and tirades that he leaves his home for good, determined to make a home for himself in Central Park. JJ soon meets another resident of the park, an eccentric who calls himself the Guardian (Harvey Keitel); while the Guardian seems frightening at first, he soon proves to be a true friend to JJ. JJ also makes friends with Rebecca and Noah (Kathleen Turner and Danny Aiello), a couple who never entirely recovered from the death of their son several years ago. Rebecca and Noah take JJ under their wings, and JJ helps them come to terms with their loss. Prince Of Central Park was the first family film from the production company of Seagal/Nasso, co-founded by stone-faced action star Steven Seagal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A dark comedy punctuated by moments of drama, The Virgin Suicides explores the emotional underpinnings of a family starting to come apart at the seams in 1970's Midwestern America. The Lisbons seem like an ordinary enough family; Father (James Woods) teaches math at a high school in Michigan, Mother (Kathleen Turner) has a strong religious faith, and they have five teenage daughters, ranging from 13-year-old Cecilia (Hannah Hall) to 17-year-old Therese (Leslie Hayman). However, the Lisbon family's sense of normalcy is shattered when Cecilia falls into a deep depression and attempts suicide. The family is shaken and Mother and Father seek the advice of psychiatrist Dr. Hornicker (Danny DeVito), who suggests the girls should be allowed to socialize more with boys. However, boys soon become a serious problem for Cecilia's sister Lux (Kirsten Dunst). Lux has attracted the eye of a high-school Romeo named Trip (Josh Hartnett), who assures Father of his good intentions. But Cecilia finally makes good on her decision to kill herself, throwing the Lisbons into a panic; and after attending a school dance, Trip seduces and then abandons Lux. The Lisbons pull their daughters out of school, as an emotionally frayed Mother keeps close watch over them. Meanwhile, Lux continues to attract the attentions of the local boys, and she responds with a series of clandestine sexual episodes with random partners as often as she can sneak out of the house. The debut feature from Sofia Coppola (whose father, Francis Ford Coppola, co-produced this film), The Virgin Suicides also features supporting performances from Scott Glenn and Giovanni Ribisi. The film was shown as part of the Directors Fortnight series as the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Made by and for the TNT cable network, this sharp, satirical courtroom drama skewers the increasingly symbiotic relationship between the judicial system and popular media. The story centers on the trial of a famous model (Gina Gershon) who has been accused of murder. The media touts it "the trial of the century," a notion notorious celebrity lawyer Norman Keane (James Garner) does nothing to dispel. He also doesn't seem to be concerned about the myriad of rumors flying through the airwaves. Reporter Brenda Whitlas (Kathleen Turner) is not as easily fooled as the public and tries to ferret out the truth. Meanwhile a rookie lawyer involved in the case tries desperately to stay afloat amidst the confusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This comic children's fantasy from director Michael Ritchie stars Mara Wilson as eight-year-old New Yorker Anabel, who wishes that her father Oliver (Robert Pastorelli), a hansom cab driver in Central Park, would see his dream come true. In a thinly veiled jab at the overblown stage productions of Andrew Lloyd Weber, Oliver aspires to be cast in the lead role in a new big-budget musical based on A Tale of Two Cities. Anabel's wish is received by Murray (Martin Short), the very first male fairy godmother, a bumbler who predictably botches the spell fulfilling Anabel's wish, turning Oliver into a statue instead. In order to reverse the mistake, Murray needs help from his union, the North American Fairy Godmothers Association (NAFGA), which is holding a convention in Manhattan. Enter Claudia (Kathleen Turner), a scheming former fairy godmother turned witch, who steals the attendees' magic wands, intending to use their magic in a bid for power. A Simple Wish (1997) was one of four films representing the initial slate of The Bubble Factory, a movie production house assembled by the theater world's Sheinberg family. Their other films were The Pest (1997), McHale's Navy (1997), and For Richer or Poorer (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

This romantic comedy from writer and director Tom DiCillo follows some New York City pals seeking authenticity with the real blonde, a symbol of amorous perfection. Joe (Matthew Modine) is an out-of-work actor struggling for even bit parts in Madonna music videos by groveling in front of a high-powered agent (Kathleen Turner), while his makeup artist girlfriend Mary (Catherine Keener) pays the bills. After six years of cohabitation, Joe's lack of success is wearing on their relationship. In the meantime, Joe's friend and fellow actor Bob (Maxwell Caulfield) has finally hit the jackpot with a role on a soap opera opposite the beautiful Kelly (Daryl Hannah), who just might be the real blonde of his dreams. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide