Wren T. Brown Movies
With a father who was a prominent jazz trumpeter, a grandmother who danced at The Cotton Club, and a grandfather who was a member of the Nat King Cole Trio, it may seem a given that actor Wren T. Brown would pursue a career in show business. Despite the fact that Brown has been acting almost as long as he can recall, he nearly put his career in the spotlight aside for a shot at becoming a professional tennis player. Though Brown landed his first commercial appearance at age 11, the following six years would be spent running the courts before returning to commercials in McDonald's first "Chicken McNuggets" campaign at age 17. Following a television debut in Knight Rider and a feature debut in Robert Townsend's 1987 comedy Hollywood Shuffle, strong supporting performances in The Hidden (1987) and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988) eventually led to a leading role in the 1992 feature The Importance of Being Earnest (1992). His appearance in such popular sitcoms and dramas as Seinfeld, Frasier, The West Wing, and Ally McBeal gaining Brown ever-widening exposure, a Dramalogue Award for his role in a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It and a NAACP Image Nomination for his work in 2001's Jeffrey's Plan proved that he had what it took to make it on-stage as well. Moving into the new millennium with roles in Dancing in September (2000) and Biker Boyz (2003), Brown returned to the small screen with a supporting role in the 2003 sitcom Whoopie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 1990
Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) is visited by his highly opinionated friend Milt (Wren T. Brown), who immediately launches into a devastating criticism of Dwayne's college and his choice of friends--especially Ron (Darryl M. Bell). Elsewhere, Col. Taylor attends a serviceman's reunion, hoping to be reunited with former girlfriend Carol Garrison (Denise Nicholas), with whom he served in Vietnam. But alas, there are some things best left to memory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
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The true story of American turncoat John Walker, Jr. is related blow-by-blow in this made-for-TV movie. Powers Boothe stars as Walker, a Navy petty officer who spends half of his career selling secrets to the Soviets. At first the soul of discretion, the hard-drinking, philandering Walker eventually becomes careless enough in his activities to arouse the suspicions of his in-the-dark wife Barbara (Lesley Ann Warren). With the skill and aplomb of the true sociopath, Walker also manages to convince his own son (Andrew Lowry) to join the "family business." The spy ring is ultimately smashed through the joint efforts of the FBI and Walker's embittered ex-wife. Based on the books Family of Spies by Pete Earley and I Pledge Allegiance by Howard Blum, Family of Spies: The Walker Spy Ring was originally telecast in two parts on February 4 and 6, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
We sometimes forget that South Korea, Australia and several other nations participated in the Vietnam War on the U.S. side. In this dark-toned war action film, Straker (Richard Norton) is an Aussie commando whose mission is to rescue his commander (Paul Holmes) and other POWs from captivity. After many escapades, he finally meets up with him, and discovers that the man is suffering from leprosy. Then he has to fight his way back out of the jungle. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Norton, Michael Meyer, (more)
- 1989
Just before attending the funeral of an old friend, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) makes the acquaintance of young Rick Banner (Marc Singer), former college roommate of the dead woman's long-lost son Peter. When Rick hears a song written by Peter, the ball starts rolling for a onslaught of intrigue, ill will and murder predicated on the fact that the missing Peter will fall heir to millions should he ever make a return appearance. Jessica's fellow sleuth on this occasion is rumpled, clownish Chief Underwood (Lane Smith), who may remind some viewers of Peter Falk's Lieutenant Columbo (of course, both Columbo and Murder, She Wrote were created by the same writing team!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
After several weeks of reruns, Next Generation offered a first-run episode on July 1, 1989. In Manhunt, the Enterprise is assigned to transport a group of delegates to an important Federation conference. One of the delegates is Troi's mother Lwaxana, played by former Star Trek regular Majel Barrett. Ostensibly on a diplomatic mission, Lwaxana is actually in search of a new husband, and she decides that Captain Picard fits the bill. "Manhunt" was written by Terry Devereaux. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When suburban police officer Alex Kearney (Anthony Edwards) angers a wealthy, influential citizen by stopping him for a traffic violation, he finds himself transferred to the city's worst precinct. Struggling to adapt to his new inner-city surroundings, Kearney must deal with his gruff new partner, Dennis Curren (Forest Whitaker), as the two attempt to break up a crime ring. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Edwards, Forest Whitaker, (more)
Keenen Ivory Wayans wrote, directed, and starred in this hilarious parody of blaxploitation films in the comedy I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Jack Spade (Wayans) returns home from a hitch in the army to find his brother Junebug has died from an overdose of gold chains, leaving his widow Cheryl (Dawnn Lewis) and mother Ma Bell (Ja'net DuBois) alone to fend for themselves. Ma throws two inept thugs (Damon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison) sent by the evil white guy Mr. Big (John Vernon) down a flight of stairs. Junebug owes $5,000 to Mr. Big for his gold-chain addiction and tries to force Cheryl into prostitution to pay off the debt. Jack recruits his old friend to go after Mr. Big to seek revenge. John Slade (Bernie Casey), Hammer (Isaac Hayes), Slammer (Jim Brown) Kung Fu Joe (Steve James) and the former Pimp Of The Year Flyguy (Antonio Fargas) join up with Jack to avenge his brother' death. Chris Rock makes a brief appearance as the annoying customer who risks his life by irking rib joint owner Hammer. Funny and fast paced, the writing, acting, sight gags and cameos by Robert Townsend, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, Eve Plumb (Jan from The Brady Bunch), Kim Wayans, and Gary Owens makes this a must-see for any comedy fan. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bernie Casey, (more)
- 1988
- R
In this war drama, set in the Vietnamese jungles, a group of vets embark upon a dangerous mission to find American soldiers missing in action. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this unusual teen comedy, the most popular girl in school embarks upon the worst date of her life after she loses a bet and is forced to attend the prom with the school's biggest nerd. The trouble begins when her doofous date gets lost en route and they end up stranded on the worst side of town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Lori Loughlin, (more)
- 1988
In June of 1985, TWA Athens-to-Rome flight 847 was seized by two fanatical, grenade-wielding Hezbollah Moslems. The hijacking was dragged out for 17 days, during which time several of the terrified passengers were beaten and one was killed. Written by Norman Morrill, the made-for-TV The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson stars Lindsay Wagner as courageous American purser Uli Derickson, whose knowledge of German enables her to communicate with the chief hijacker, a Shiite Lebanese who calls himself Castro (Eli Danker). When the ordeal was over, Derickson was credited with saving many lives and preventing the crisis from becoming far worse than it already was. It is a tribute to Lindsay Wagner's acting talent that, although most of the film's dialogue is spoken in German, the audience never has any difficulty following the story. The Taking of Flight 847 first aired May 2, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Eli Danker, (more)
- 1987
In this conclusion of a two-part story, David (Bruce Willis) attempts to escape from a chain gang in order to be reunited with his pregnant sweetheart Maddie (Cybill Shepherd, who is represented only by her voice in this episode). It looks like David's only hope for freedom is to follow the "musical" advice of his fellow inmates. Meanwhile, with one of the Moonlighting stars out of circulation, the nervous ABC executives begin auditioning potential "David Addison" replacements! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A cop discovers that there's something unusual about his new partner in this unusual sci-fi thriller. A seemingly well-mannered stock broker one day snaps, robbing a bank, stealing a Ferrari, and driving straight into a police barricade without any thought for his own safety, and he's mowed down by a hail of bullets. The detective assigned to the case, Tom Beck (Michael Nouri), thinks that he notices a strange look in the eye of the thief, but when FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle MacLachlan) informs Tom that he's also been assigned to the case, he thinks that he sees the same curious look in Lloyd's eyes as well. Lloyd also has an odd way of carrying himself, as if he's not entirely in control of his own body, and in time, Tom discovers what the two men have in common -- both are actually aliens from another planet. They are creatures from another world capable of entering a human (or animal) body at will and using it as a vessel as long as they need. When the stockbroker died, the rogue alien simply crept into another body to begin his crime spree all over again. Lloyd has been sent to Earth to bring the thief's reign of terror to a halt and has taken over the body of an FBI agent with that in mind. A major cult favorite, The Hidden also features Clu Gulager, Ed O'Ross, and Claudia Christian. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Nouri, Kyle MacLachlan, (more)
This satirical look at the ambivalent relationship between Hollywood power brokers and African-American performers marked the writing, producing, and directing debut of Robert Townsend. The filmmaker also stars as Bobby Taylor, a struggling actor looking for his big break despite his family's and co-workers' reservations about his chosen career path. While working a day job flipping burgers, Bobby heads out to insulting cattle calls where white casting agents pass judgement on whether he seems "black enough." Meanwhile, he imagines himself playing Sam Spade, Rambo, and other movie heroes rather than the stereotypical roles actually available to him. When Bobby actually does win one such pimp-daddy part, however, he is forced to choose between accepting work that opens doors, but ultimately demeans him and returning to obscurity with his principles intact. Hollywood Shuffle's enormous supporting cast includes a wealth of black actors, from then-unknowns such as Damon Wayans to veterans such as 227 star Helen Martin. Self-financed and filmed on scraps of hand-me-down celluloid, the film helped establish actor Townsend as a director of note and also kick-started the career of co-screenwriter and co-star Keenen Ivory Wayans, who would cast Townsend in his own directorial debut the following year. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Townsend, Anne-Marie Johnson, (more)
