Vernee Watson-Johnson Movies

Based on John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas, Christmas With the Kranks revolves around Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Luther Krank's (Tim Allen) decision to put their normally fanatical enthusiasm for the holidays aside for a tropical cruise. With their daughter in Peru with the Peace Corps, the Kranks believe it just isn't worth it; thus, no presents, Christmas trees, or decorations of any kind will adorn their house to the great consternation of their neighbor Vic (Dan Aykroyd). Just as it looks like Christmas will be successfully skipped, Blair (Julie Gonzalo) throws a major kink into her plans when she suddenly has a change of heart and announces she'll be coming home for Christmas after all. The film ran into troubles early on in production when Ben Affleck's similar sounding bomb Surviving Christmas won the race to the theaters, forcing the filmmakers to depart from the book title in favor of the catchy Kranks one. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Two college students who have been brought into the ER test positive for meningitis, whereupon Carter (Noah Wyle) and Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) scramble to prevent an epidemic. Other cases this week include a self-circumcision and a bizarre method of injecting heroin. Elsewhere, Abby (Maura Tierney) briefly bonds with an injured fireman. Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) continues to be investigated by Infection Control, and also argues with Greene's (Anthony Edwards) daughter Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) over the proper care of her own baby daughter, Ella. And Benton (Eriq La Salle) warns Roger (Vondie Curtis-Hall) to stay away from Reese (Matthew Watkins). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After fate conspires to make a man into an outlaw, he struggles to protect his child, the only thing he has left in life, in this drama. Pablo Hernandez (Jesus Nebot) was a professor of literature in Honduras when a hurricane descended on his city and wiped away nearly everything he had. While his young daughter, Cristina (Chelsea Rendon), managed to survive the disaster, his wife, his home, and his school were all destroyed. With nowhere to go, Pablo smuggles himself and Cristina into the United States, where he is able to find work as an undocumented laborer. But Pablo's bad luck comes back with a vengeance when, after borrowing his boss' truck, he accidentally runs into a child playing in the street; Pablo flees the scene of the crime, and after collecting his daughter, tries to stay one step ahead of police detective Bryan (Vernee Watson-Johnson), who has been assigned to bring the driver to justice. Needing to flee the country, Pablo finds a benefactor in Soid (Lindsay Price), a renegade documentary filmmaker who offers to give him and his daughter a lift to Mexico. However, Soid's help comes with a price -- she wants to make a film about Pablo's flight from the law, and she's eager to milk the incident for as much publicity as possible. Leading man Jesus Nebot also wrote and directed the film in collaboration with Julia Montejo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

While still recuperating from his shooting, Will (Will Smith) impulsively proposes to Lisa (Nia Long). So rattled is Lisa that she automatically refuses--then spends the rest of the episode wondering if she's done the right thing. Meanwhile, Will may never totally recover from his wound thanks to the bumbling "helpfulness" of an unusually accident-prone Hilary (Karyn Parsons). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On the eve of his wedding to Lisa (Nia Long), Will (Will Smith) begins to wonder if he's ready for marriage. Oh, he still loves Lisa--but it has just dawned on him that he hardly knows the girl. Elswehere, Will's mom Vy (Vernee Watson-Johnson) and Lisa's dad Fred (John Amos) discover that they enjoy yelling at each other; and it's splitsville for Jazz (Jeff Townes) and his wife Jewel when he discovers her secret. This last episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's fifth season also marks the final series appearance of Nia Long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single one-hour episode), Thanksgiving dinner at the Banks mansion is minus two participants. Having visited a fancy massage parlor for a rubdown, Will (Will Smith) and Philip (James Avery) were innocently swept up in a sting operation and are now languishing in jail. Meanwhile, Vivian (Daphne Maxwell Reid) tries to deal with the parade of unexpected guests after Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) befriend several denizens of a homeless shelter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Angie is the study of a believable Italian-American woman who takes an honest look at herself and sees she's on a predictable path that will soon include an altar and a baby carriage. "There's gotta' be more!" she feels, and she's one gal with courage enough to find the answer. Geena Davis stars in this worthwhile effort. ~ All Movie Guide

Will (Will Smith) may not graduate from prep school because he's failing music--not for lack of talent, but for skipping too many classes. Sternly, Will's music teacher (Rosalind Cash) gives him one last chance for a passing grade...which explains why Will shows up at the ceremony in a daisy costume, accompanied by a chorus of eight-year-olds. All this, plus the valedictory speech to end all valedictory speeches, courtesy of Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro). Series regular Janet Hubert-Whitten (Vivian) does not appear in this, the final episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now that his mom Vy (Vernee Watson-Johnson) has broken up with her boyfriend, Will (Will Smith) accepts her invitiation to come back to Philadelphia for a family reunion. But he is less obliging--in fact he's downright appalled--when Vy begs him to remain in Philly after he graduates from prep school, rather than return to Bel-Air and begin college. Another of the series' trademarked surrealistic nightmares caps this episode. Robert Torti takes over from Diedrich Bader in the role of Will's caucasian Uncle Frank. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Will's widowed mother Vy (Vernee Watson-Johnson) has a new boyfriend named Robert (Bill Overton), who despite his inherent likability simply cannot get Will (Will Smith) to warm up to him. It turns out that Will doesn't want to share Vy with a stranger--and may be willing to go to any lengths to sabotage her romance. In the course of events, Will experiences a curious bonding moment with Robert's young daughter Claudia (played by former Cosby Show regular Raven-Symone, whose longtime TV costar Malcolm-Jamal Warner directed this episode). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Will (Will Smith) is asked to be best man at the wedding of his Aunt Janice (Charlayne Woodard)--only to be forbidden from attending the ceremony by his domineering mother Vy (Vernee Watson-Johnson). The reason is both simple and sad: Vy has just learned to her horror that Janice's fiance is a white man (played by future Drew Carey Show regular Diedrich Bader). Vy's anger overflows during the wedding itself, which has a profound effect on the rest of the family. (Ironically, in real life several of the cast members of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were the children of biracial parents, or were themselves in biracial relationships.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Mark L. Lester modeled this police action drama on the Hong Kong style, guaranteeing plenty of over-the-top action sequences. Dolph Lundgren stars as police detective Chris Kenner, an American raised in Japan. He is given a new partner, Johnny Murata (Brandon Lee, making his Hollywood debut), a Japanese raised in America. The two are made for each other -- Chris doesn't appreciate American culture, while Johnny doesn't much like Japanese culture. One thing they both enjoy are the martial arts, of which they are experts. The two are assigned to L.A.'s Little Tokyo, trying to nab the notorious Yoshida (Carey-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a drug manufacturer using a local brewery as his distribution center. Yoshida, a member of the Yakuza, has brought the residents of Little Tokyo to their knees. But Chris has personal reasons for wanting to get Yoshida -- as a child he witnessed Yoshida murdering his parents. When Yoshida rapes and kidnaps Minako (Tia Carrere), a beautiful lounge singer, it's the last straw and Chris and Johnny set out for Yoshida's heavily guarded home for a big showdown. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

While visiting the beauty parlor, Peg (Katey Sagal) strikes up a conversation with Ginger (Elizabeth Keifer), a well-heeled woman who is obvious being kept in a manner to which Peg is unaccustomed. As Ginger describes the man in her life, Peg blanches: the description fits her own husband Al (Ed O'Neill) to a T. Elsewhere, a cosmetic catastrophe causes Marcy (Amanda Bearse) to emerge from the parlor with a Peg Bundy hairstyle! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide