Tom McGowan Movies

Director Robert Luketic adapts Ben Mezrich's best-seller Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions to tell the true-life tale of six genius students who used their brains to beat considerable odds. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) may be shy, but his wallflower reputation betrays his inner brilliance. As smart as Ben may be, however, if he can't pay his tuition he'll be kicked out of M.I.T. Fortunately, the answer to all of Ben's problems is right there in the cards. Recruited to join a team of extremely gifted students who have used their mastery of numbers to beat the odds at blackjack, Ben procures a fake identity in order to join the casino scammers and their brilliant leader -- eccentric math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) -- in some highly profitable weekend excursions to Las Vegas. Counting cards isn't illegal, and by using a complex series of signals, this team has cracked the code. Of course, it doesn't take long for Ben to become seduced by the glamorous Las Vegas lifestyle, and the attention afforded to him by his sexy teammate Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth) finds him pushing his luck to the absolute limits. Laurence Fishburne stars as Cole Williams, the Sin City security chief who catches on to the group and makes it his mission to expose their lucrative blackjack scam. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A trio of troubled suburbanites attempts to come to grips with the personal issues that surface following the tragic death of one of their own in this introspective adolescent drama from L.I.E. screenwriter/director (Michael Cuesta). In the months following the death of Jacob's (Conor Donovan) likeable, athletic twin brother, Rudy (also Donovan), Jacob and friends Malee (Zoe Weizenbaum) and Leonard (Jesse Camacho) struggle to make sense of the unfortunate youth's fiery demise at the hands of local bullies. As Jacob quickly loses himself to revenge fantasies and sets into motion a series of destructive plans designed to destroy the kids responsible for his brother's death, Malee focuses her attention on a dejected patient of her psychotherapist mother, and obese Leonard struggles about weight and health issues with his equally obese mother. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Felicity Huffman makes her first series appearance as Julia Wilcox, KACL's new financial analyst. The abrasive, condescending Julia rubs everyone the wrong way, but Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) -- who can be pretty abrasive and condescending himself -- believes she's merely insecure. He extends the hand of friendship, only to have the nasty Julia nearly bite it off. Thus spruned, Frasier expresses his outrage to everyone -- which merely confirms their belief that he had a crush on Julia. The situation culminates with threats of a harrassment suit and a remarkable revelation. ~ Rovi

When Niles (David Hyde Pierce) partners up with someone other than Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) for their club's squash tournament, Frasier teams with Chelsea Gray (Jeanne Tripplehorn), a sexy phys-ed teacher. At the end of the tournament, Martin is delighted that at last one of his sons has won a trophy -- but the other son, Niles, is not. As for Chelsea, Frasier wonders if his lifelong terror of P.E. instructors will ruin his chances at romance. This is the classic episode in which actor Bob Hoskins repeatedly materializes on the shoulders of guest star Jeanne Tripplehorn. ~ Rovi

Though she has decided to leave Seattle for a better job out of town, Roz (Peri Gilpin) begins having second thoughts about bidding farewell to Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) -- especially since he is drawing ever closer to the mercurial Julia Wilcox (Felicity Huffman). This state of affairs leads to two different showdowns, while a third is in the offing as Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne (Jane Leeves) square off against Daphne's meddlesome mother (Millicent Martin). This was the final episode of Frasier's tenth season. ~ Rovi

The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there's one flaw to this plan -- Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn't care for kids, and it's all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall's manager (John Ritter, in his last film appearance) is certain something's wrong with the Santa he's hired, so he asks the mall's chief of security (Bernie Mac) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas sprit along the way. Bad Santa was directed by Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed previous success with Crumb and Ghost World. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The scene is a parking garage, where a defiant Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) takes a stand -- and blocks traffic -- when he feels he's being unjustly charged for a full 20 minutes' parking when he only owes for a few minutes. Refusing to allow anyone to pay the fee for him, Frasier transforms an insignificant molehill into an impassable mountain, much to the dismay of his passenger Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Meanwhile, Roz (Peri Gilpin) makes an unexpected public confession when she subs for Frasier on his radio show. ~ Rovi

Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) has just about had enough of the practical jokes perpetrated by radio sports guy "Bulldog" Briscoe (Dan Butler). Clearly what is called for is a get-even scheme so elaborate and complicated that Frasier has to bring in "outside help." And on the subject of revenge, Daphne's mother, Gertrude (Millicent Martin), is determined to settle accounts with the youthful trick-or-treater who has "vandalized" Niles' door. ~ Rovi

KACL manager Kenny (Tom McGowan) figures that Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) could improve his following amongst younger listeners if he agrees to appear on the station's public-service program "Teen Scene." Confidentially, Frasier gears up for questioning from the show's panel of high-school journalists. Unfortunately, the show's host has nothing but contempt for Frasier, and as a result, our hero ends up a laughing stock to listeners of all ages. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Niles (David Hyde Pierce) succeeds Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) as president of their wine club when Frasier finds himself swamped with work as resident wine expert on Gil Chesterton's (Edward Hibbert) gourmet talk show. Unfortunately, in the course of one broadcast, Frasier breaks the club's bylaws by imparting "delicate" information -- whereupon Niles retaliates by ordering the other club members to boycott Gil's program. As the feud escalates, Martin (John Mahoney) is having problems of his own keeping up with his health-nut lady friend. Jane Leeves was on maternity leave during filming of this episode, and does not appear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Once again, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) must bargain with his crafty and cunning former student Kirby (Brian Klugman). This time, both Frasier and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) converge upon the boy, in hopes of glimpsing (and hopefully sampling) a rare bottle of wine owned by a rich relative of Kirby's current girlfriend. Meanwhile, grumpy Martin (John Mahoney) balks at wearing his new blood-pressure monitor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tony Goldwyn guest stars as Roger, current boyfriend of Roz (Peri Gilpin). Though delighted at the prospect of a relationship that might actually last more than a few weeks, Roz is also worried over the somewhat aromatic fact that Roger is a garbage man. Meanwhile, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) tries once again to shed his stuffed-shirt image by throwing a party, and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) discusses his childhood with Daphne (Peri Gilpin). Ashley Thomas makes her first series appearance as Roz's three-year-old daughter Alice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the tradition of the theatrical film Sliding Doors, this episode of Frasier offers two alternatives to a single twist of fate for both Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce). In Frasier's case, we are given the opportunity to see what will happen to him if he decides to go out on Valentine's Day -- and what will happen if he stays at home (and taking things a step farther, we see two different methods of courtship involving Frasier and a cute but klutzy artist [Charlotte Ross]). Meanwhile, a similar "either-or" situation is played out for Niles and Daphne (Jane Leeves), who may or may not go on a Hawaiian vacation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi