Gregory Goodell Movies
- 2009
Remember the old saying "That's so crazy it might just work"? Two guys bet their futures on a notion that cliché seems to have been created to describe in this comedy-drama from director Jeffrey Balsmeyer. Matt (Dallas Roberts) and Sam (Jeremy Renner) are a pair of dreamers living in Tucson, Arizona who have a strong imaginative streak and a notion that they're going to strike it rich some day by inventing a gadget that will take the world by storm. Unfortunately, they lack both luck and business savvy; when Matt and Sam come up with a salable idea for a dog watch, it gets swiped from under them by Newkin (Richard Kind), a salesman who is seriously short on scruples, and it's only the latest in a long series of schemes that have gone wrong for them. Matt's wife Gina (Ayelet Zurer) has decided she's had enough, and he and Sam are looking bankruptcy in the eye when Matt hatches one last brainstorm he's convinced has promise. But who's really going to buy a talking beer opener? Also starring Eddie Jemison and Marguerite Moreau, Lightbulb was written and produced by Mike Cram, who based the story on his own experiences as one of the inventors of the talking bottle opener. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The made-for-TV Behind the Mask is the true story of Dr. Bob Shushan, a workaholic who disdains any sort of private life--and neglects his family in the process--the better to help his patients at the British Columbian Centre for the Mentally and Physically Disabled. When Shushan suffers a heart attack, his life is saved by the Centre's mentally handicapped janitor, James Jones (Matthew Fox)--and in the ensuing weeks, doctor and patient become closer than any father and son could ever be. Partly out of gratitude, Shushan makes it his mission to locate James' long-estranged biological father. And as a result of his relationship with James Jones, Shushan finally realizes how he has long short-changed his own family, especially his son Brian (Bradley Whitford), whom Shushan has unfairly written off as a failure. The real James Jones makes an appearance at the end of Behind the Mask, which first aired February 28, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Bradley Whitford, (more)
- 1999
Not to be confused with the cable-television movie Strange Justice, which aired the same evening on August 29, 1999, the NBC TV movie Cruel Justice stars A. Martinez as Jerry Metcalf, the intensely protective single father of 16-year-old Amy Metcalf (Nicki Lynn Aycox). Already distraught over the fact that Amy has been raped, Jerry goes completely over the edge when his daughter's attacker beats the rap in court. Taking the law into his own hands, Jerry dedicates his life to wreaking vengeance against the smirking perpetrator. The fact that Cruel Justice was run at the tail end of the 1998-1999 TV season, a time when few people were watching, is indicative of NBC's nervous feelings about the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
With her parents on the verge of divorce, young Robin Garr (Evan Rachel Wood)does not any more stress in her life. Unfortunately, while attending summer camp, Robin's best friend, a strangely melancholy girl named Amelia (Katie Booze-Mooney) accidentally drowns, a tragedy for which Robin holds herself responsible. It is while in this emotionally fragile state that Robin befriends a seemingly benign middle-aged lady named Dorothy (Diana Scarwid), who ends up being hired as a nanny by Robin's mother Leah (Meredith Baxter). Soon thereafter, Leah begins to wonder if inviting Dorothy into her household was a good idea: The woman proves to have an obsession about neatness, and her outward gentility masks the soul of a control freak. Slowly but surely, what begins as merely an uncomfortable situation evoles into stark, raw terror--and to make matters worse, there seems to be a sinister connection between Dorothy and the late, lamented Amelia! Made for the CBS TV network, Down Will Come Baby first aired on May 4, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meredith Baxter, Diana Scarwid, (more)
Traumatized by the death of her sister, who smashed through a loose railing and plummetted down a steep cliff, Carla Engel (Megan Ward) has developed a debilitating fear of heights. On the advice of a therapist, Carla joins a support group consisting of others suffering from acrophobia. Then, one by one, the members of the group are killed--each of them falling to his or her death. A bizarre coincidence? Or is someone deliberately, and literally, trying to literally push Carla completely over the edge? With the name Wes Craven in the film's title, that question virtually answers itself. Don't Look Down first aired October 29, 1998, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Long before she became a two-time Oscar winner, Hilary Swank paid her dues in such hard-hitting TV movies as Terror in the Family. The actress is cast as Deena Martin, a profoundly troubled 15-year-old with a history of wild and abusive behavior. An argument over a boy Deena has been seeing without permission erupts into all-out violence as the girl assaults her parents and threatens them with a knife. Removed to the custody of her Aunt Judith (Kathleen Wilhoite), Deena struggles to get her life under control, but the film's script makes it abundantly clear that the problem isn't hers alone. Both her mother, Cynthia (Joanna Kerns), and her brother, Adam (Adam Hendershott), are alcoholics, and her distant, self-absorbed father, Todd (Dan Lauria), would have been just as happy if neither of his children had never been born. Filmed in Utah, Terror in the Family made its Fox network debut on April 16, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Dan Lauria, (more)
No sooner has unsuccessful artist Darcy Palmer (Tracey Gold) met music student Brianne Dwyer (Mireille Enos) at an airport than she murders Brianne, stuffs her body in her trunk, and assumes her identity! Entering a prestigious New Hampshire University on the late Brianne's scholarship, Darcy is subsequently introduced to widowed art collector Russell Polk (Perry King), the father of her roommate, Jeanelle (Shawnee Smith). Within what seems like ten minutes, Darcy and Russell have fallen in love, and her future in the rarefied world of art seems assured. Then, without warning, Darcy's web of deceit begins to unravel thanks to a pair of "ghosts" from her past. Clearly, there is no other alternative for Darcy than to start killing people again -- just as she has done so many times in the past in her many previous stolen identities. Its incredible lapses of logic taken care of by its breathless pace (not to mention an ending straight out of The Silence of the Lambs!), the made-for-TV Face of Evil made its CBS network bow on April 9, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Gold, Perry King, (more)
- 1994
A family is torn apart when two adult sisters decide to take their father to court for sexually abusing them as children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlo Thomas, Mel Harris, (more)
Aftermath: A Test of Love begins where most TV movies end. Based on fact (as recorded in Gary Kinder's book Victim), the story revolves around the family of Richard Chamberlain, an aloof obstetrician. The family falls victim to a violent, random crime, depicted in gruesome detail. Chamberlain's wife is murdered, and one of his sons is seriously wounded. Surviving this ordeal, Chamberlain must now try to hold his remaining loved ones together emotionally and attempt to reassemble his own battered psyche. The true events which inspired Aftermath: A Test of Love occurred in the 1970s in Ogden, Utah, where this TV movie was partially filmed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
No Way Out is told in flashback as Naval officer Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) is grilled by his superiors regarding a recent "unpleasantness." While at a Washington party, Tom meets Susan Atwel (Sean Young), and they're soon sharing a steamy love scene in the back of a limo (marvelously parodied in 1993's Hot Shots! Part Deux). Several months pass before Tom meets Susan again; he discovers she's the mistress of the US Secretary of Defense David Brice (Gene Hackman). When Susan is murdered by Brice, his loyal aide (Will Patton) dutifully destroys the evidence and invents the fallacious theory that a KGB mole was responsible. Tom is assigned to locate that mole -- a perilous situation, since Tom knows that no such mole exists, but must go along with the charade since he was the last person who was seen with Susan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1987
A father's descent into alcoholism is chronicled in this powerful made-for-TV drama. Much of the story centers on the devastating effects that his drinking has on his family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Melinda Dillon, (more)
- 1979
- R
Country singer Rachel Foster (Linda Haynes) stumbles across the scene of a mass murder in this routine horror feature. She is arrested and charged with the murders and placed in prison. Psychiatric sessions are run by the sadistic and misogynist Dr. Kline (Geoffrey Lewis). His idea of mental health is to erase the patient's personalities and completely replace them with new ones through brainwashing. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, (more)
- 1973
This documentary focuses on the work of Glenn Doman and Carl Delacato of the Institutes For the Achievement of Human Potential in treating brain-damaged children throughout the world. It was filmed in over two-dozen countries over a five-year period. Nominated for an Academy Award in 1973, this highly-praised documentary explores their work encouraging the creation of enriching and stimulating environments for brain-injured children. It was Doman and Delacato's contention that such enrichment greatly enhanced such children's development, allowing many of them to contribute to society rather than be a burden on it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
