Vicky Herman Movies
John Ritter, JoBeth Williams, Christopher Lloyd, and Yasmine Bleeth star in this comedy-drama about a couple having serious problems with their marriage. Help, however, arrives in the least expected way when a small plane crashes into their roof and they are suddenly introduced to a pair of wealthy eccentrics who give them a lesson in how to enjoy life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yasmine Bleeth, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
- 1998
For this TV movie, writer-director Jane Anderson adapted her own play contrasting biological and adoptive mothers. Impoverished and pregnant Wanda LeFauve (Laura Dern) lives in a trailer outside Shreveport with her four children and her unemployed husband Al LeFauve (Richard Lineback). When Wanda spots the classified ad of a couple who want to adopt a newborn baby, she responds with a phone call that puts her in touch with a wealthy Los Angeles Jewish couple -- Rachel (Stockard Channing) and Richard Luckman (Peter Riegert). The Luckmans arrive in Louisiana to meet the donors, and both couples deal with the legalistics, while also overcoming their fears and transcending the inevitable cultural and class barriers. Filmed in Vancouver, the film preemed August 23, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Laura Dern, Stockard Channing, (more)
- 1996
Produced for the USA cable network, Holiday Affair is a remake of the classic 1949 theatrical film of the same name, which in turn was inspired by John D. Weaver's short story "Christmas Gift." Cynthia Gibb and David James Elliott step into the roles of widowed mother Jodie Ennis and department store salesman Steve Mason, the characters originally played by Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum. "Meeting cute" while Jodie's son Timmy (Curtis Blanck) enthuses over a model train set, Jodie and the raffish but likeable Steve immediately hit it off, but she is already engaged to conservative lawyer Paul Davis (Tom Irwin, taking over from the original's Wendell Corey). The days between Christmas and New Year's Eve, Jodie finds herself in the unenviable position of choosing between two men whom she adores equally--a job not made easier by the well-meaning interference of son Timmy. The remake faithfully recreates most of the familiar setpieces from the 1949 version, including the Christmas-dinner sequence with Timmy's grandparents and a climactic confrontation in a courtroom over a case of mistaken identity. The presence of Al Waxman in the cast is a sure tipoff that, despite its New York City setting, the film was actually made in Canada. Holiday Affair first aired December 15, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1996
Per the title of this made-for-TV drama, all Rachel Stockman (played by future "Desperate Housewife" Marcia Cross) has ever wanted is to bear children. Unfortunately, Rachel suffers from a bipolar disorder, requiring her to take lithium, which thus far has prevented her from becoming pregnant. In desperation, Rachel discontinues her medication, and before long she is "with child." She is also undergoing severe and horrifying mood swings, leading to confinement in a hospital--and ultimately a competency hearing that will determine whether or not she can be legally obliged to take lithium...and to terminate her pregnancy. All She Ever Wanted originally aired April 14, 1996, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marcia Cross, James Marshall, (more)
- 1994
This unique, erotic film is a compilation of four separate vignettes done by four different artists. The first episode, "Let's Talk about Love," focuses on a phone-sex worker, Rosie, who finds herself attracted to a regular caller. The story focuses upon their conversations and upon the revenge she exacts from him after she learns the truth. In the second, "Taboo Parlor," two lesbians plan to go out and make it with a man. They go to Taboo Parlor, a local club which is managed by Hilde and Franz. In the third episode, "Final Call," a teacher who gets attacked on a train begins a relationship with her rescuer. The fourth episode, " Wonton Soup," examines an Australian-born Chinese man and his ex-girlfriend from Hong Kong, who reunite after years apart. In an effort to reconnect, the man prepares an evening of gourmet food and Chinese sexual techniques for the ex-girlfriend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bryan Cranston
A young Lakota Sioux, adopted by a wealthy Jewish couple in Beverly Hills, gets in touch with his cultural roots and solves a mystery in this thriller. Because of his upbringing, Jesse Rainfeather Goldman knows almost nothing of Native American traditions. He is doing his internship when he suddenly receives an amulet from the Lakota reservation in Sioux City. It is from his real mother. Jesse's curiosity is piqued and he immediately travels to his birthplace to learn why she sent it. Unfortunately, by the time he arrives, his mother's body is discovered in the smoldering wreckage of her home. She was shot before she was burned. Jesse's investigation into her death is not welcomed by the local captain of police and his assistant. He is almost beaten to death, but is saved by his grandfather, a shaman, and a Lakota woman. The newly healed Jesse begins to explore his tribe's customs. He then contacts his mother's spirit and she leads him to the film's conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Ralph Waite, (more)
- 1994
- R
A relatively low budget follow-up to the successful original Hidden continues the story with the daughter of the cop who had faced the alien menace 15 years earlier, teaming up with a benign visitor from space to oppose his more hostile compatriots. ~ Mark Hockley, Rovi
The leading lady of the Christmas tale knows just what she wants for Christmas and she lets Macy's Santa know, too. She wants nothing more than the reuniting of her recently divorced parents. Bordering on being a Miracle on 34th Street re-make, this film follows much the same theme, but the kids here get more involved as they thwart any likelihood of romantic success between their mom and her new boyfriend and try ever-so-hard to make Mommy and Daddy love each other again. A reunion does result, but it's a lackluster one and so's this film, which was generally seen as a little too contrived and way too bland. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Harley Jane Kozak, Jamey Sheridan, (more)
