Linda Wallem Movies
- 2009
This dark comedy series starring Emmy Award winning actress Edie Falco takes place in the surreal world of a New York City hospital, where Falco plays Jackie, a nurse battling the insanity of everyday life in the American health care system. Jackie is a genius at what she does, but she's also a deeply troubled woman, with looming shadows of prescription drug addiction and her lapsed Catholic faith always appearing in the background. Produced by the Showtime network, Nurse Jackie never shrinks from tackling controversial content or hot button issues. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
It should not require a Ph.D. to figure out that the Fox Network sitcom That '80s Show was cooked up by the same people responsible for Fox's popular "retro" laugh-spinner That '70s Show. Set in San Diego during the "Decade of Excess," the series followed the exploits of a group of twentysomethings, each of whom represented an easily recognizable stereotype of the era. Corey (Glenn Howerton), an aspiring musician, lived with his entrepreneurial dad R.T. (Geoffrey Pierson), the inventor of such mail-order wonders as the "Gut Whacker," and his sensible kid sister Katie (Tinsley Grimes). Corey worked at Permanent Records, an operation owned by Margaret (Margaret Smith), an earthy leftover from the hippie era; another of Margaret's employees was Tuesday (Chyler Leigh), the series' resident "punker," colorful hair and all. In his off-hours, Corey hung out at Club Berlin with his mercenary ex-girlfriend Sophia (Brittany Daniel) and his Reagan-worshipping best bud Roger (Eddie Shin). That '80s Show was first broadcast on January 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Jackie (Mila Kunis) thinks she's pregnant; Eric (Topher Grace), who had nothing to do with it, is the first to find out, and Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), who probably had everything to do with it, goes into a panic. Madge (Tanya Roberts) immediately respond to the news by putting Donna (Laura Prepon) on the pill -- but Donna's dad, Bob (Don Stark), isn't informed of this until the most inopportune (and most embarrassing) moment. But fear not: everything ends happily...at least almost everything. One Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In announcer Gary Owens has a hilarious cameo role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
After several months' worth of reruns, That '70s Show suddenly returned with five new episodes in the summer of 1999 to close out the series' first season. In this outing, the guys climb up on the town's water tower to paint a huge marijuana leaf. Dissatisfied with the results, Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) scrambles up the tower again, only to plunge painfully to earth. Rather than take Kelso to a hospital, Eric (Topher Grace) reasons that his mom, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), a nurse, is in closer proximity. Rushing headlong into his house, Eric finds his mom and dad in the throes of passion. Shocked by the spectacle, Eric lapses into some very strange behavior. Listen for a familiar voice during one of Eric's tortured fantasies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV sitcom takes the viewer back to the world of leisure suits, smiley-face buttons, and Farrah Fawcett-Majors posters. In 1976 in Point Place, WI, 17-year-old Eric Forman (Topher Grace) tries to wiggle free of his neurotic parents, Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), in order to connect with his funkedelic friends -- his cute neighbor Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), his best buddy Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), Kelso's girlfriend, Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), paranoid Steve Hyde (Danny Masterson), and foreign-exchange student Fez (Wilmer Valderrama). Filmed in L.A., the series premiered August 23, 1998, on FOX. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Marion Ross makes her first series appearance as Bernice Forman, Red's mother and Eric's grandma. Dropping into the Forman household unexpectedly, the irksome Grandma Bernice succeeds in driving everyone crazy -- and making it doubly difficult for her daughter-in-law, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), to give up smoking. The upshot of all this is that Eric (Topher Grace) actually looks forward to cramming for a term paper, and Eric's pal Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) unexpectedly takes a shine to "dear" old grandma. Originally slated to air on October 4, 1998, this episode was moved to November 29 due to Fox's coverage of the baseball playoffs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The first season of That '70s Show largely took place in 1976, though references to Saturday Night Fever and Star Wars in the course of the season's 25 episodes indicated that there had been some incursion into 1977 territory (the series also quietly moved from a Sunday- to a Monday-night slot in mid-season). The action occurred in Point Place, WI, not far from Green Bay. The plots revolved around the exploits of a group of high-school juniors, led by the impulsive Eric Forman (Topher Grace). Usually found hanging out in the Forman basement, Eric's cohorts included his next-door-neighbor, childhood friend, and latterly sweetheart, foxy redhead Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon); his best buds Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), the archetypal "dumb hunk," and Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), conspiracy theorist supreme; Kelso's spoiled-brat girlfriend, Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis); and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), a naïve and extremely pliable foreign-exchange student. There was also a full complement of grown-ups, foremost among them Eric's dad, Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith), who had a very low opinion of his son's friends and lifestyle, and Eric's mom, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who wasn't quite as ditzy as she seemed (no one could be!). Both of the Formans worked: Red had a factory job which was downsized early in the season, while Kitty was a nurse. Next door to the Formans were Donna's parents, Bob and Midge Pinciotti (Don Stark, Tanya Roberts). Bob owned an appliance store where the semi-laid-off Red was occasionally employed as a clerk, while Midge was a stay-at-home wife and mother who was bored out of her gourd. Seen on a recurring basis was another "older" character, Eric's sister, Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly), a freshman at the University of Wisconsin. As the season progressed, Bob and Midge Pinciotti drifted toward separation and divorce; Hyde's single mom (played in one episode by Katey Sagal) deserted him, prompting the boy to move in with Eric; and Laurie flunked out of school, came home, and tentatively began a sexual relationship with doltish Kelso. Although That '70s Show did not crack the Top 20 ratings-wise during its maiden season, the series was one of the most popular offerings of the Fox network. It also earned an Outstanding Costume Design Emmy award for the entry titled "That Disco Episode." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, (more)
The 1939 Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer romance Love Affair, remade with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in 1957 as An Affair to Remember, became a vehicle for real-life couple Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in this 1994 rendition. The well-worn story remains the same, as a man and a woman, both engaged to other people, fall madly in love while traveling, indulge in a brief but intense affair, then agree to part and sort out their feelings. They are to meet again at the top of the Empire State Building if their feelings persist, but a series of unfortunate circumstances threatens to keep the lovers apart. Despite polished visuals and a time-tested narrative, this variation suffers in comparison to its two predecessors, not to mention the previous year's Sleepless in Seattle, which had drawn on An Affair to Remember for several of its most memorable sequences. It does features Katherine Hepburn's first film appearance in 13 years. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, (more)
Sleepless in Seattle, the sophomore directorial effort from Nora Ephron, is a light romantic comedy inspired by the 1957 film An Affair to Remember. Tom Hanks stars as widower and single father Sam. When Sam's son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), calls into a talk radio program looking for a new mother, Sam ends up getting on the phone and laments about his lost love. Thousands of miles away, Annie (Meg Ryan) hears the program and immediately falls in love with Sam, despite the fact that she has never met him and that she is engaged to humdrum Walter (Bill Pullman). Believing they are meant to be together, Annie sets out for Seattle to meet Sam, who, meanwhile, contends with an onslaught of letters from available women equally touched by his phone call. Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson, and Rob Reiner also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Woody Allen's character study of a well-kept, upscale Manhattan woman (Mia Farrow) takes the title character on a journey through a Wonderland of her own making, in which she learns some truths about herself, her relationships, and the universe in general. Alice leads a comfortable life, except for some nagging aches and pains, but when she visits the mysterious Dr. Yang (Keye Luke), he discovers that what really ails Alice is her own lack of true human experience. Alice has been married for sixteen years to Doug (William Hurt), an emotionally detached stockbroker, and she lives a perfectly maintained life in a perfectly maintained apartment, with a pair of children and the requisite support staff. All that changes when a chance meeting with a neighbor (Joe Mantegna) leads Alice to consider an affair. Dr. Yang, seizing the opportunity, gives Alice herbal potions that make her both invisible and seductive, allowing her to free herself from her inhibitions. Plunging into her new fantasy world, Alice ultimately comes to terms with her family, her husband, and her life. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mia Farrow, Joe Mantegna, (more)
