Amy Wright Movies

The true story of one woman's effort to keep her family afloat under difficult circumstances comes to the screen in this bittersweet comedy drama. Evelyn Ryan (Julianne Moore) was a woman of intelligence, talent, and pluck living in the small town of Defiance, OH, in the 1950s. Evelyn was married to Kelly Ryan (Woody Harrelson), a man who gave her ten children but not much else; Kelly had a severe drinking problem, struggled to hold on to a job, and tended to spend his money as soon as he earned it. It was seemingly up to Evelyn to support the family, but with ten kids to look after, taking a job outside the home hardly seemed practical. But the resourceful Evelyn discovered a way to bring some extra money into the household -- at a time when a number of companies held contests to find new advertising jingles for their products, Evelyn had a genius for coming up with slogans and winning contests, and for the better part of a decade Evelyn kept food on the table and a roof over her head by dreaming up jingles, tag lines, and ad headlines and winning contests with her handiwork, often selling the merchandise she won to pay the bills. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio was based on the best-selling memoir by Terry Ryan, who was the sixth of Evelyn Ryan's ten kids. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

From a script by first-time screenwriter Dan Harnden comes Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind Control, a quirky independent comedy directed by Barry Alexander Brown. The film stars Bronson Pinchot and Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Devon and Samuel, two lounge lizards trying to get their big breaks in Hollywood, while simultaneously rolling with the punches dealt to them by life. When Samuel discovers that he's suddenly developed psychic powers, hijinks ensue and the two pals surprisingly learn a thing or two about love. Also starring Amy Carlson and Christopher Murney, Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind Control premiered at the 2002 Seattle International Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, the made-for-TV Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy & Isabelle was based on the bestselling 1999 novel by Elizabeth Strout. The scene is the mining town of Shirley Falls, ME; the year is 1971. Seeking escape from the iron rule of her domineering, social-climbing single mother, Isabelle (Elisabeth Shue), shy teenager Amy (Hanna R. Hall) falls under the seductive spell of her new math teacher, Mr. Robertson (Martin Donovan). Meanwhile, Isabelle, who may not be as straight-laced as she appears, develops a yearning for her married boss, Avery Clark (James Rebhorn), who barely acknowledges the woman's existence. The tensions between Amy and Isabelle, already heightened by their separate romantic travails, is exacerbated when the two women find themselves working together in the same accounting office. While the rest of the town buzzes with vicious gossip concerning the two heroines, the story takes on a disturbing new tangent when the body of a young girl is found stuffed into the trunk of an abandoned car. Also known as Amy & Isabelle, this film was first aired by ABC on March 4, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel of hypocrisy among America's pilgrims was brought to the screen by director Roland Joffe in this 1995 feature. Demi Moore stars as Hester Prynne, a new arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1666. Prynne, who interacts freely with slaves and Quakers and wears revealing garb, is something of a free thinker and off-putting to the uptight locals. She awaits the arrival of her husband, Roger (Robert Duvall), but he is reported killed. One person who does not find Prynne unsettling is the new preacher, Arthur Dimmesdale (Gary Oldman). A torrid encounter between them produces a child, Pearl, and Hester is condemned by the colony, forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" (for "adultery"). Roger reappears; he had been living with a native tribe -- an experience that has driven him mad. He masquerades as "Roger Chillingsworth," trying to discover the identity of Pearl's father. When Hester is about to be executed, Dimmesdale confesses, but a timely Indian raid intervenes, saving him and Hester. The Scarlet Letter was widely derided by critics for sexualizing and changing Hawthorne's novel to an absurd degree. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Jay Craven and Don Bredes adapted Howard Frank Mosher's novel about a 1920s Vermont logger who is being pressured to sell his land to a power company so the region can enjoy its first hydroelectric dam. ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi

William Petersen's High Horse Films produced this romantic comedy that endeavors to recall the glory days of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Petersen stars as Joey Coalter, a roving adventurer who has been married to his wife Chris (Sissy Spacek) for almost thirteen years but has rarely been home. During that time Chris has become fed up with Joey's cavalier ways. But it comes as a complete shock to Joey when, while talking to a group of cowpokes about Tahitian women somewhere on the prairie, he receives a wedding invitation sent by his daughter Beth (Olivia Burnette) that announces the wedding of Chris to dull business man Walter Humphrey (Brian Kerwin). Beth hopes the surprise wedding invitation will prod Joey to try to get back together with Chris. Chris hopes so too, as Joey drops what he is doing and takes off to stop Chris's pending nuptials. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Bud Yorkin's comedy stars Jeff Daniels as a former big-leaguer who yearns for romance, but finds himself overwhelmed with the problems of the women in his life. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Goldie Hawn delivers a surprisingly understated performance (allowing the audience to shift their laughter from the usually comic Hawn to the unbelievable storyline) in the unsuccessful thriller Deceived. Hawn plays Adrienne Saunders, a successful art restorer who is married to Jack (John Heard), a devoted husband who is also an expert in the antiques business. Married for six years and parents of a charming 5-year-old daughter Mary (Ashley Peldon), the Saunders appear to have everything going for them. But after a series of odd occurrences that even an idiot would notice, Adrienne finally comes the conclusion that her husband is not the man she thought he was when she married him. After Jack tells Mary that he was in Boston but Adrienne's friend tells her she saw him in New York, the mysterious clues begin piling up and are too numerous to ignore: there's a call from a department store concerning some sexy lingerie that Jack purchased; a friend is found murdered after checking on the authenticity of an Egyptian necklace; and there are indications that Jack was involved with a scheme to steal artifacts from a museum. Adrienne is finally convinced that something is fishy about her husband when he mysteriously dies is an auto wreck, and she discovers that Jack has been using the name of a man who had died 16 years earlier. Adrienne proceeds to polish her magnifying glass and conducts some detective work on her own to find out who her husband really was. This is when the danger really begins. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The second In the Line of Duty fact-based TV movie of the 1990-1991 season, In the Line of Duty: Manhunt in the Dakotas stars Michael Gross as an urban FBI agent. His quarry is Gordon Kahl (Rod Steiger), leader of a right-wing extremist movement whose battle against authority has led to murder. Charged with killing two federal marshals, Kahl holes up in the Dakota hills, with his fanatical followers running interference as the feds close in. Though the film takes no sides, it details the sort of financial and social pressures that might bring forth a charismatic madman like Gordon Kahl. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this suspenseful drama, a Chicago policewoman remains haunted by the memory of the man who raped her two decades before and decides to return to her hometown to find him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Lawrence Kasdan and Frank Galati adapted their screenplay for The Accidental Tourist from Anne Tyler's novel. William Hurt plays Macon Leary, a well-known "travel advisor" headquartered in Baltimore. The tragic death of Leary's son causes him to withdraw from the world, which in turn prompts his wife (Kathleen Turner) to walk out on him. Recuperating from a broken leg, Leary moves in with his sister (Amy Wright) and brothers (Ed Begley Jr., David Ogden Stiers)-staid middle-aged intellectuals all. Discipline problems with his dead son's dog lead Leary to hire flaky professional dogwalker/trainer Muriel Pritchett (Geena Davis, who won an Oscar for her performance). The only non-uptight person within shouting distance, Muriel begins to melt Leary's self-protective shell. Once his wife realizes that she has some competition, she makes moves to get him back. But he has by now become accustomed to Muriel's unfettered lifestyle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young boy retreats into a world of silence in this made-for-television drama. Kiefer Sutherland stars as Kevin Richter, an adolescent boy who has suffered from years of physical abuse. In an attempt to deal emotionally with the effects of the abuse, Kevin refuses to speak and instead lives in a world of silence. When child psychologist Jennifer Hubbell (Marsha Mason) becomes aware of his situation, she refuses to write him off as a hopeless case and works tirelessly to help him emerge from his protective shell. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi