Mary Alice Movies
Born in Mississippi, Mary Alice is a prolific actress on stage and television who is underutilized in feature films. She got her start with the Negro Ensemble Company and worked off-Broadway for several years. Her theater credits include The Vagina Monologues, A Raisin in the Sun, and Richard III. She received a Tony for her work in Fences and she appeared on Broadway in 1995 in Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years.Alice may be more widely known for her guest appearances on television during the '70s and '80s on shows like Sanford and Son, Good Times, The Cosby Show, and A Different World. She was also featured on the star-studded TV movie The Women of Brewster Place, directed by Donna Deitch, and the HBO miniseries Laurel Avenue, directed by Carl Franklin. She eventually won an Emmy for her work on I'll Fly Away. On the big screen, her breakthrough role came in 1990 with Charles Burnett's psychological drama To Sleep With Anger. She played Gideon's wife, Suzie, who is initially suspicious of the sinister Harry, played by Danny Glover. In the late '90s, Alice found some roles in independent films like Maya Angelou's Down in the Delta and Chi Moui Lo's Catfish in Black Bean Sauce. Well into her sixties, she started to play many estranged mothers. She was Alfre Woodard's mother in The Wishing Tree, Harold Perrineau Jr.'s mother on the HBO series Oz, and Angela Bassett's mother in John Sayles' ensemble film Sunshine State. In 2003, Mary Alice joined up with the Wachowski brothers to take over for the late Gloria Foster (her Having Our Say co-star) as The Oracle in The Matrix Revolutions. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Season two of A Different World finds the overall quality of the series improving immensely, which many insiders attributed to the fact that the multi-talented Debbie Allen had taken over as producer-director. Originally intended as a vehicle for former Cosby Show co-star Lisa Bonet in her familiar role as college student Denise Huxtable, the series would be forced to undergo a major format change when Bonet dropped out of the series due to her real-life pregnancy. Also gone from the cast is Marisa Tomei, who had played Denise's naïve white college roommate Maggie Lawton. With Bonet and Tomei gone, the emphasis shifts to Denise's former dorm-mates at Hillman College's Gilbert Hall: streetwise 27-year-old divorcée Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis) and spoiled, haughty Whitley (Jasmine Guy). Likewise carried over from the first season are Gilbert Hall's worldly dorm director Lettie (Mary Alice), self-styled campus Romeo Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), Dwayne's irresponsible roomie Ron (Darryl M. Bell), and local community-center leader Walter Oakes (Sinbad). New to the series are Whitley's new roommate, the iron-willed, slightly promiscuous pre-med student Kim Reese (Charnele Brown); fashion-challenged but cute and artistically gifted student Freddie Brooks (Cree Summer); and tough-as-nails calculus professor Col. Clayton "Dr. War" Taylor (played by Glynn Turnan, the husband of Aretha Franklin, who this year takes over from Phoebe Snow as the singer of the series' catchy theme tune). Major season two plot developments include the growing attraction between Whitley and Dwayne, although both continue dating others; the budding romance between Walter and Jaleesa; and the many benighted business schemes cooked up by Ron and Dwayne. Also, the characters begin spending more and more of their spare time at a local eatery called The Pit, presided over by philosophical chef Vernon Gaynes (Lou Myers). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jasmine Guy, Sinbad, (more)
Clint Eastwood, hot off of his Academy Award win for Unforgiven, directed this small character study, appearing in the guise of a cops-and-robbers action picture. The film takes place during the fall of 1963. Eight-year old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), the son of a devout Jehovah's Witness mother, is staying home while all the other children are out trick-or-treating. But then prison escapee Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner) appears in his kitchen. Needing a hostage to aid him in his escape from jail, he grabs Phillip. Phillip curiously looks up to Butch and willingly accompanies him. Butch gets rid of his fellow escapee after he tries to molest the child, and Butch and Phillip take to the Texas highway, on the run from the cops. The cop in pursuit in this instance is Police Chief Red Garnett (Clint Eastwood), riding in his sleek Populux Airglide trailer -- his "mobile command headquarters." On the road with Garnett is Sally Gerber (Laura Dern), a pushy pre-feminist criminologist, along with a creepy federal agent who is an expert sharpshooter. Butch is not particularly anxious to make it to the Texas borderline, and neither is Garnett in any particular hurry to catch Butch. As Butch and Phillip form a father-son attachment, the paths of Butch and Garnett gradually come together, in time for a final confrontation, after which Garnett confesses, "I don't know nothing. I don't know a damn thing." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, (more)
Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks, Awakenings stars Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care. Julie Kavner and John Heard also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, (more)
Jon Chardiet plays a Puerto Rican youth who targets subway walls for his graffiti renderings. For a while, it looks as though Chardiet's problems will carry the plotline, but before long the film's true raison d'etre comes to the surface. Rap-music deejay Guy Davis, in tandem with such like-minded individuals as music student Rae Dawn Chong, endeavor to stage a huge breakdancing presentation, featuring several musical artistes of the period. Harry Belafonte served as coproducer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, (more)
Two lonely people learn to say it with flowers in this romantic drama. Lisa (Mary Stuart Masterson) is a business executive who has gotten used to being alone but doesn't like it very much; she was abandoned by her birth parents, and then spent most of her childhood being raised by Stanley (S.A. Griffin), an abusive foster father, after her adopted mother died. One day, Lisa gets word that Stanley has died; alone in her apartment, she breaks down and cries uncontrollably. Later the same day, Lisa gets an unexpected delivery of a dozen roses from a secret admirer. Puzzled, Lisa presses the delivery man for information on who might have sent her the flowers, and he confesses -- he sent them himself. Lewis (Christian Slater) runs a flower shop and often takes long walks through the neighborhood, trying to lose his memories of his deceased wife and child. He saw Lisa crying in her window and hoped the roses would cheer her up. Before long, Lisa and Lewis begin dating, but both have some emotional issues to resolve before their story can have a happy ending. This film offers your only opportunity of the moviegoing week to hear someone say, "Oh, there's nothing worse than a finicky agapanthis." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
In Catfish In Black Bean Sauce, Paul Winfield and Mary Alice play an African-American couple who in the 1970's adopted two Vietnamese children, a brother and sister. 20 years on, the two kids have grown to adulthood; Dwayne (Chi Muoi Lo) has absorbed a great deal of black culture from his adopted parents and is engaged to an attractive African-American woman (Sanaa Lathan). His sister (Lauren Tom), however, feels more comfortable with Asian cultural paths and has married an older Asian man (Tzi Ma). The siblings have recently come in contact with their birth mother (Kieu Chinh), and are awaiting her first visit to the United States, which causes no small amount of personal, cultural and familial clashes. Catfish In Black Bean Sauce is the feature debut from writer/director Chi Muoi Lo, who also plays Dwane; it was a prize winner at the 1999 WorldFest/Houston Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Winfield, Mary Alice, (more)
- 1985
The full title of this made-for-TV film is Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom. But don't be put off by this 21-gun cognomen -- the film is a simple, austere tale of a pioneer African-American educator. Melba Moore plays Charlotte Forten, a northern black woman who heads to Port Royal, SC, in the midst of the Civil War. Charlotte intends to educate the newly freed slaves in this Union-held community. Her mission is complicated by a self-serving abolitionist (Bruce McGill) and the fact that the slaves mistrust her because of her lighter complexion and "fancy airs." Charlotte Forten's Mission was originally telecast February 25, 1985, on PBS' American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melba Moore
Poet Maya Angelou made her feature directorial debut with this African-American family drama, shown theatrically but originally produced for the Showtime cable network. Unemployed single mother Loretta (Alfre Woodward) lives with her mother, Rosa Lynn (Mary Alice), in a Chicago apartment. Drugs and alcohol lead Loretta to neglect her autistic daughter, Tracy (Kulani Hassen). Her teen son Thomas (Mpho Koaho) brings in money by photographing tourists. Rosa Lynn pawns a family heirloom in order to send Loretta and the kids off to their Mississippi Delta hometown where Loretta's Uncle Earl (Al Freeman Jr.) runs his diner. Earl lives in a dry county, so Loretta is reluctant. However, she has no choice after Rosa Lynn threatens to contact child-welfare authorities if she doesn't go. Earl takes in the trio even though he already has enough problems with Annie (Esther Rolle), an Alzheimer's victim under the supervision of caregiver Zenia (Loretta Devine). Toronto locations substitute for Mississippi. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr., (more)
- 1975
Florida (Esther Rolle) throws a surprise baby shower for her friend Loretta (Mary Alice). The festivities come to an abrupt and unpleasant halt when Loretta announces that she intends to put the baby up for adoption. Will Florida and the kids be able to dissuade the expectant mother from her unhappy resolve? Estelle Evans, the real-life sister of series star Esther Rolle, appears as Alice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- NR
An African-American busdriver befriends a white girl in this sensitive drama set in 1970 during the height of the Vietnam-War protests. Horace Jones, the bus driver, is frustrated that he couldn't keep his son Willie from enlisting in the military. What makes it worse, is that Willie was an excellent student in college, and only went because he felt it was his duty; now he is missing in action. While driving his coach to a war protest in Washington, Horace encounters 17-year-old Kate Polanski, who has led such a sheltered life that she has never met a black person before. She is not going to protest; she has more personal reasons for going, involving her family. During the overnight drive to the capitol, the two begin talking, and Horace becomes a father figure to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie R. Faison, Margaret Welsh, (more)
- 1976
Originally telecast September 14, 1976, as a CBS "General Electric Theater" special, Just an Old Sweet Song was the first of three pilots for Down Home, a proposed TV series created by filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles. Robert Hooks and Cicely Tyson star as Nate and Priscilla Simmons, the patriarch and matriarch of a middle-class Detroit family. Upon learning that their grandmother (Beah Richards) is not long for this world, Nate and Priscilla pack up their kids and head down South. Eventually, the family rediscovers its African-American roots and elects to stay in their new rural surroundings. Robert Hooks' real-life sons (Kevin and Eric Hooks) appear as his screen sons, Junior and Highpockets. Just an Old Sweet Song was followed by two 60-minute sequels in 1978: Kinfolks (in which Madge Sinclair replaced Cicely Tyson as Priscilla Simmons) and Down Home. Alas, none of the three films yielded a weekly series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- R
Director Carl Franklin's follow-up to his indie hit One False Move was this made-for-cable miniseries about an extended African-American family and the weekend that changes their lives irrevocably. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Alice, Jay Brooks, (more)
- 1993
When an African-American honors student is found murdered, detectives Logan (Chris Noth) and Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) dig up evidence that the dead girl was stealing from her family to support a drug habit. The number-one suspect is the girl's sleazy crack-dealing boyfriend, but for reasons that defy explanation, he will not plea-bargain with the D.A.'s office. Meanwhile, the search goes on for the missing murder weapon -- or has it been deliberately hidden by a hitherto unsuspected party? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
The civil rights movement in the South saw the election of the first black county sheriff as portrayed in this drama. ~ All Movie Guide
James Lapine, whose Broadway credits as a writer/director includes work with Stephen Sondheim, made his Hollywood debut with this comedy. Michael J. Fox plays Michael Chapman, who once upon a time was a wise-cracking child star on a situation comedy called "Life With Mikey." Now in his thirties and on the skids, Michael makes personal appearances at grand openings of hamburger stands, and runs an unsuccessful talent agency (specializing in kids) with his brother Ed (Nathan Lane). The agency's only successful client is Barry Corman (David Krumholtz), a fourteen-year-old with an attitude who is known as "the cereal king" for his appearances on television commercials. Ed is trying to talk Michael into closing the agency and Barry is threatening to go elsewhere when a sprightly 10-year-old reprobate named Angie (Christina Vidal) tries to pick his pocket. When Angie delivers a heart-rendering tale of questionable honesty about being an orphan from Queens, Michael realizes that Angie would be perfect for a Sunburst Cookie commercial. She clicks in the commercial, and both her career and the agency's soar. In the meantime, Angie movies in with Michael, and as they bond, Michael realizes how to act like an adult and Angie realizes how to act like a child. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Christina Vidal, (more)
- 1975
Forced to play host to his unemployed white brother-in-law Rodney Victor (Allan Drake), Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is fed up with Rodney's obnoxious practical jokes. Finally deciding that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, Fred suggests that he and Rodney work up a nightclub routine. The ultimate strategy is to get Rodney to work and out of the house, but things don't quite turn out that way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
- 1975
Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is delighted that his sister Frances (Mary Alice) has finally gotten married. His delight quickly evaporates when he meets his new brother-in-law Rodney Victor (Allan Drake, in his first series appearance). It seems that dear old Rodney is an inveterate gambler and a practical joker -- and worst of all, he's white. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, (more)
A trio of musically talented Harlem sisters rise to become major stars of the '50s. Unfortunately, their sudden popularity causes much turmoil in their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Michael Thomas, Irene Cara, (more)
Writer and director John Sayles returns with another multi-layered look at an American community, subtly exploring how race, class, economics, and both national and regional history come together to shape people's lives. Plantation Island is a community on the coast of Florida; the island was once a notorious hotbed of segregationists, with most of the African-American population centered in the neighborhood of Lincoln Beach, while Delrona Beach is primarily home to white residents. Marly Temple (Edie Falco) is the sixth generation of her family to live in Delrona Beach, where she helps run a motel and cafe owned by her elderly and ill-tempered father (Ralph Waite) and drama instructor mother (Jane Alexander). Marly's former husband, Steve (Richard Edson), is a scruffy ne'er do well who's a sucker for get-rich-quick scams, while her current boyfriend, Scotty (Marc Blucas), is struggling to make something of himself as a golf pro. Meanwhile, Desiree Perry (Angela Bassett) is an actress who is returning to Lincoln Beach for the first time since she was a teenager, hoping to introduce her new husband, Reggie (James McDaniel), to her mother, Eunice Stokes (Mary Alice). Desiree was the center of a minor local scandal when she became pregnant as a teenager and moved away. Eunice has never quite forgiven her, while Flash (Tom Wright), Desiree's high school boyfriend and the man responsible, hasn't seen her since. Eunice is looking after Terrell (Alex Lewis), a troubled youth recently found guilty of arson, and Desiree and Reggie soon find themselves bonding with the misguided youth. In time, Delrona Beach and Lincoln Beach are brought together by a common concern; Greg (Perry Lang) and Lester (Miguel Ferrer) are representatives from a nearby resort community looking to expand, with Plantation Island looking like their most likely target. As homeowners debate whether to sell or stay put, local government officials and the town's business community argue the merits and faults of the resort's expansion into Plantation Island. Meanwhile, Marly becomes romantically involved with Jack (Timothy Hutton), a landscape architect affiliated with the developers who seems to believe his work is doing more harm than good. Sunshine State also features Mary Steenburgen, Alan King, and Bill Cobbs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edie Falco, Angela Bassett, (more)
Arthur Hiller directed this satiric look at contemporary urban high schools, examining disillusioned teachers who try to regain their idealism. Nick Nolte stars as Alex, a teacher at John Fitzgerald Kennedy High School, who was once an idealistic teacher but whose main concern now is sobering up before the next class session. The high school is headed by ineffective principal Mr. Horn (William Schallert) and an imperious vice-principal named Roger (Judd Hirsch). When a recent graduate of the high school sues the school because it graduated him illiterate, Alex finds himself in conflict with the hard-nosed school superintendent Dr. Burke (Lee Grant). The high school heats up even more when Alex falls in love with Lisa (JoBeth Williams), the attractive lawyer who was once one of Alex's honor students. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, (more)
Brian De Palma's Hollywood sanitization of Tom Wolfe's scabrous satire stars Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, the "master of the universe," a shallow Wall Street investor who makes millions while enjoying the good life and the sexual favors of Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith), a Southern belle golddigger. Sherman and Maria are driving back to Maria's apartment from the airport when Maria takes a wrong turn on the expressway and the two find themselves in the South Bronx. She sees a black youth approaching Sherman's car and Maria, frightened, guns the engine, running over the teenager and killing him. The two drive away and decide not to report the accident to the police. Meanwhile, indigent alcoholic journalist Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis), anxious for a story to make good with his editor, comes upon the hit-and-run tale through local black community activist, Reverend Bacon (John Hancock). Bacon plans to use the hit-and-run case as a rallying point for the black community, while Fallow recognizes the press coverage inherent in prosecuting the callow Sherman. As Sherman is brought to his knees, the New York community fragments into different factions who use the case to suit their own cynical political purposes. Finally, Sherman is left without any allies to support him except for the sympathetic Judge White (Morgan Freeman) and the remorseful Fallow. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, (more)
- 1981
This ABC Afterschool Special tackles the issue of racial harmony, which was still a "hot potato" on children's teleivision even as late as 1981. Chris Barnes is cast as David Bellinger, a white teenager who, like most of his schoolmates, is none too thrilled when a black student, Joel Garth (James Bond III), is admitted to his class. It takes some doing, but David finally extends a hand of friendship to Joel -- and as things turn out, it is the turning point of his life. Katharine Houghton, best known for her performance in the 1967 theatrical feature Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (which starred her aunt, Katharine Hepburn), is here cast as the boys' teacher. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Barnes, James Bond III, (more)
A surprisingly long and worthwhile film, The Education of Sonny Carson is based on a true story. Rony Clanton stars as Carson, a product of the Brooklyn ghetto. After several years of gang and drug activities, Sonny is sobered by his horrendous experiences in prison. He puts his priorities in order and finds a "born again" purpose in life under his new name, Iwina Lmiri Abubadika. The film ends in the 1970s, long before Abubadika's controversial involvement in New York politics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Charming comedy about a 16-year-old boy coming of age on Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 1976. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larenz Tate, Joe Morton, (more)
