Matt Dorff Movies

The true story behind one of the most popular television shows of the 1970s is dramatized in this made-for-TV comedy drama. In 1975, television producer Aaron Spelling (Dan Castellaneta) was looking for a new hit, and he thought he might have one in a script about three beautiful female police officers who become private detectives working for a mysterious man named Charlie. While the show began life as The Alley Cats, in time Spelling and his crew changed it to Charlie's Angels, and once they cast Farrah Fawcett-Majors (Tricia Helfer), Kate Jackson (Lauren Stamile), and Jaclyn Smith (Christina Chambers), they soon had a show that would give birth to a new genre -- "jiggle television" -- and become a worldwide phenomenon. Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels also features Ben Browder as Lee Majors, Dan Lauria as ABC head Fred Silverman, and Chelsea Watson as Cheryl Ladd. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The second of two made-for-TV biopics on the same topic (the first was Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family), Inside the Osmonds was co-produced by Jimmy Osmond and Dick Clark, and as such can be regarded as reasonably accurate, if a tad on the hokey side. Matt Dorff's teleplay recounts the rise in popularity of the singing Osmond clan, from their humble beginnings in Utah onward. The act is strictly stag -- that is, it consisted largely of the Osmond Brothers -- until siblings Donny and Marie break out and matriculate to superstardom. Perhaps inevitably, the Osmond juggernaut begins to collapse under its own weight, due to dissension, jealousy, and the questionable financial escapade of the singers' father, George (played by Bruce McGill). The story ends in a tune-filled concert re-creation, featuring the real-life Osmonds (or as many as could be assembled herein). Standouts in the cast are Thomas Dekker and Patrick Levis as the younger and older Donny Osmond, Janaya Stephens as Marie, and Veronica Cartwright as the siblings' mother, Olive; there are also adequate Hollywood casting-service approximations of musician/politician Mike Curb and the Osmonds' longtime TV director Jack Regas. The abruptness of the continuity suggests that the film was originally much longer than its present two hours. Largely filmed in Toronto, Inside the Osmonds made its ABC network debut on February 5, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even as security is beefed up in Australia in anticipation of the 2000 Olympics, someone manages to slip a deadly nerve gas device -- and a detonator -- on a 747 jet bound from Sydney to L.A. The authorities are uncertain as to whether the person responsible for this outrage is a terrorist or merely a lunatic; whatever the case, they scour the world in search of the perpetrator. Meanwhile, the 747 may well be unable to find a suitable landing place before the detonator goes off, forcing pilot John Prescott (Jack Wagner) and copilot Kim McGee (Christine Elise) to make some extremely tricky life-and-death decisions. As for the 300 passengers -- well, each one has his or her own story to tell, and the viewer hears practically all of them before the almost unbearably suspenseful denouement. The made-for-cable Nowhere to Land debuted March 12, 2000, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Judd Nelson stars as Alan Freed, the controversial Cleveland DJ who helped make rock 'n' roll music a crucial component of American culture by tapping into the hearts and wallets of the youth market. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It is not merely jealousy that prompts psychology major Darcy Canfield (Rena Sofer) to mistrust her widowed father Derek's new bride Joan (Linda Evans) and Joan's daughter Melinda (Bridgette Wilson). In fact, the audience is way ahead of Darcy: Joan is revealed early on to be a serial killer of wealthy husbands, who with the help of the equally sociopathic Melinda has bumped off a number of former mates for their money--and, of course, Dr. Derek Canfield (Alan Rachins) is loaded! This time, however, Joan falls in love with Derek and drops her plans to bump him off. Not so Melinda, who now takes it upon herself to eliminate not only her stepdad but also her own mother. In the end, it falls to Darcy to use her college-honed psych kills in a desperate effort to expose Melinda before she can kill again! Capped by one of those endings which suggests that "it ain't over till it's over", the made-for-cable The Stepsister was first broadcast May 7, 1997 by the USA network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, an author who was paralyzed after she was attacked by a serial killer who had been inspired to violence by her first book decides to publish a sequel. It proves to be a bad idea, for no sooner is it published than she finds herself victimized again, first through ominous e-mail messages from the Internet and then through physical violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide