Don Enright Movies

In this sequel to the 2003 made-for-cable Sex & the Single Mom, divorced lawyer Jess Gradwell (Gail O'Grady) is confronted with the consequences of her brief fling with heart surgeon Alex Lofton (Grant Show) three years earlier when she finds that she is the mother of a toddler named Jake (Charlie Sperandeo). It isn't long before Alex himself comes back into Jess' life, initially unaware that he's a father but willing to pick up where he left off when he finds out. Trouble is, Jess is currently engaged to another lawyer (the obligatory "Ralph Bellamy" character in these romantic comedies). Meanwhile, Jess' 18-year-old daughter Sara (Chelsea Hobbs), who'd managed to escaped unsullied from her romance with a neighbor kid in the earlier film, has developed a yen for a scruffy photographer. Best line: "Virginity is not all it's cracked up to be." More Sex & the Single Mom first aired February 7, 2005 on Lifetime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tess Gallagher (Kathleen Quinlan) is naturally upset when the husband of her daughter Jenny (Lori Heuring abandons his family--to run off with another man. Before long, however, Tess has gotten over the initial shock, and is industriously mounting a campaign to find a new husband for Tess, and a new father for Tess' wisecracking son Jesse (Lori Heuring). Not altogether with her daughter's blessing, Tess places Jenny's picture and bio on the "Perfect Match" dating website, resulting in proposals (and propositions) from lonely guys all over the world. The most attractive and personable of these internet Romeos is British college professor Peter Campbell (Henry Ian Cusick), who is himself coming off a failed romance--and who, incidentally is years older than Jenny. Howver, the question posed by this made-for-cable movie is not "Can a May-December affair be truly successful?", but rather "For pity's sake, Jenny, when will you wake up notice how your best friend Miles Healey (Michael Trucco) is silently pining away for you????" Perfect Romance debuted over the Lifetime network on June 7, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first original sitcom from cable's Animal Planet network, Beware of Dog was told from the p.o.v. of a "typical" mutt named Jack. His voice provided by Park Bench, Jack was no "superdog" like Lassie or Rin Tin Tin; even so, he always managed to come to the rescue of his human family by teaching them how to reach out to one another whenever an emotional crisis reared its ugly head. The furry hero wasted no time in his mission to patch up human emotions; in the very first episode, he pretended to be hit by a car so that he'd be adopted by cute little Jessica (Alex Appel), the daughter of Mary and Bill Poole (Carolyn Dunn, Richard Waugh) -- thereby enabling him to iron out an argument between the grownups and to save Jessica's brother Matt (Gage Knox) from a gang of neighborhood toughs. Beware of Dog debuted August 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on an actual incident at the University of Virginia Medical Center, this made-for-TV drama stars Melissa Gilbert and Rosanna Arquette as Sarah and Linda, two expectant mothers who give birth on the same day in the same hospital. It is not until 18 months after the two women had contentedly gone home with the babies that a DNA test proves the infants were switched at birth thanks to a hospital snafu. Although Sarah and Linda both elect to keep the babies that they've grown to love, they reach an unusual compromise that has profound (and not entirely positive) effects on their respective families and friends -- leading, inevitably, to a heated courtroom battle. Originally telecast by CBS under the title Two Babies: Switched at Birth on November 24, 1999, the film has since been released to video as Mistaken Identity. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rural Wyoming is the setting for this made-for-cable romantic drama with ribald comic overtones. It has been two years since the husband of young Dr. Garnet Hadley (Penelope Ann Miller) was killed by a wild bull, but Garnet is still in love with her deceased soulmate and has no intention of remarrying. This doesn't stop Garnet's overbearing father-in-law Mike (Barry Corbin) from trying to match her up with every eligible bachelor in the county--most of whom are textbook examples of the word "loser." Finally, Mike resorts to extortion, using financial pressure to force Garnet to attend an upcoming country centennial fair with a male escort. Aided and abetted by her best friend Jill (Barbara Gates), Garnet tries to pull the wool over Mike's eyes by hiring Jill's brother, aspiring composer Bryan (Brett Cullen), to pose as her lover--even going so far as to stage a bedroom scene to convince Mike to mind his own business (nothing really happens, of course, but it sure looks convincing!) The fun really begins when Jenny (Allison Hossack), the long-distance girlfriend of Brett, shows up at the fair, just as Brett has begun to fall in love with his cardboard sweetie. Originally pitched as a theatrical feature (undoubtedly with bigger "names" in the cast), The Hired Heart made its Lifetime network bow on October 13, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Throughout her life, small-town schoolteacher Elaine Hodges (Mare Winningham) has been fiercely devoted to her infirm, alcoholic father Addison (Lloyd Bridges). Even her affection for a local cop (Ron Lea)--who happens to already have a wife--will not permit Elaine to even consider leaving her dad. But circumstances are altered in a radical and ultimately lethal fashion when an ex-convict named Charlie (Chris Cooper) arrives in town, carrying with him a dark and well-guarded secret concerning the past of the Hodges family. Made for the CBS TV network, The Deliverance of Elaine debuted April 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Christina (Susan Dey) is a cocaine addict in a tumultuous relationship with an equally drug-addicted boyfriend. When she becomes pregnant, the baby is born not only prematurely but with the chemical dependency of its mother. Now Christina is in a fight to make her life clean and stable so that social services will allow her to have custody of her daughter. But first, she'll have to convince not only her jaded case worker, but herself, that she can. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Nell Carter stars a a popular singer and Dinah Manoff costars as her maid du jour in the made-for-TV Maid For Each Other. A spoiled-rotten widow whose wealthy husband left her penniless, Dinah hasn't quite latched onto the concept of being at someone else's beck and call. As for Nell, she doesn't suffers fools very easily. This situation is fitfully amusing in itself, but the fun really begins when Nell and Dinah uncover an insidious plot involving corporate espionage and murder. Maid for Each Other debuted January 13, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When his brother is murdered, a policeman is caught between his devotion to the law and his family's desire for revenge in this action drama. Patrick Swayze plays Truman Gates, who left his backwoods Appalachian home for life as a Chicago police officer. When his brother is killed by a gangster, Truman is determined to seek legal retribution. His older brother Briar (Liam Neeson) has different ideas, however, and travels to the city to seek old-fashioned vigilante justice. Truman must now choose between his family's belief in mountain justice and the duties of his job. Though the film is not particularly action-packed, director John Irvin does provide the expected gunplay and macho confrontations. However, despite a surprisingly distinguished cast (also including Helen Hunt and Michael J. Pollard), little distinguishes the film from numerous other revenge stories with a similar outline. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Loni Anderson, James Naughton, and John Heard star in this tense tale of a woman whose life is changed forever after discovering that her husband is a dangerous drug kingpin. Deceived by her husband Rick (Naughton) into believing he is an average businessman, devoted housewife Lauren LaSalle (Anderson) is horrified to learn that he is in fact a high-profile drug dealer with a violent reputation. Upon learning this well-guarded secret, Lauren steals $2 million in cash from her husband, rounds up their daughter, and goes into hiding. But Rick isn't willing to let go of his daughter without a fight, and quickly begins using every resource at his disposal to bring his little girl back home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Three of the hallmarks of education in America -- nudity, teenage sex, and big, destructive gags -- are on plentiful display in this teen comedy. Christine (Phoebe Cates), a student at an exclusive all-girls private school, is in love with Jim (Matthew Modine), who attends an academy for boys nearby. Christine's archrival Jordan (Betsy Russell) also has her eye on Jim, and she is willing to do whatever she can to steal him away. Jim's über-slob buddy Bubba (Michael Zorek) is going with Betsy (Kathleen Wilhoite), Christine's cynical friend, though he would probably be unfaithful if any other woman were willing to get near him. Bubba and his pals sneak into the girls' school dressed in drag in hopes of reaching the Promised Land (better known as the women's shower room), while Christine and Jim run away together for the weekend, though their escapade isn't as romantic as they had hoped. Among the adults observing the chaos are Ray Walston, Fran Ryan, Martin Mull, and Sylvia Kristel; one of the sexy students on display is future scream queen Brinke Stevens. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

William Fruet directed this odd Canadian horror film based on a novel by Michael Maryk and Brent Monahan. Wealthy Jason Kincaid (Oliver Reed) has a telepathic link to a mysterious snake god called N'Gana Sunbu. A strange cult sets the snake free after it grows to monstrous size, whereupon it terrorizes a college town. Kincaid joins its list of victims before a parapsychologist (Peter Fonda) puts the creature out of its misery with a machine-gun. Al Waxman, Kerrie Keane, and Marilyn Lightstone co-star in this occasionally entertaining shocker featuring gruesome special effects by Dick Smith. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi