Michael Riley Movies

Professional journalist Lisa (Tracy Nelson) is certain that she has landed the perfect spouse when she weds the brilliant and charismatic widowed author Ty Kellington (Michael Riley). Only gradually does Kellington reveal himself to be possessive and tyrannical -- and only after Lisa's onetime co-worker Matt Thompson (Thomas Calabro) offers her a prestigious radio job does Kellington's dangerous side make itself known to both Lisa and her terrified sister, Beverly (Andrea Roth). Our heroine's access to her friends and family members is completely cut off after she injures her ankle in an accident, rendering her virtually captive to her increasingly unhinged husband. First broadcast in Canada in 2003, the made-for-TV movie The Perfect Husband debuted in the U.S. via cable's Lifetime channel on February 12, 2004 -- only to be hastily retitled Her Perfect Spouse to avoid confusion with another cable effort, The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story, telecast the very same week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled America's Son, this cable-TV biopic of John F. Kennedy Jr. begins at the end, with the plane crash of July 19, 1999, that took the lives of Kennedy, his wife Caroline, and his sister-in-law. From this tragic vantage point, the film segues into flashbacks detailing the very public life of J.F.K. Sr.'s only son, of whom it was once said, "The world knew his name before he did." Based on The Day John Died, a book by George Andersen, the film intimates that "John-John" would have been happy charting his own course in life, but was instead channelled into following in the Kennedy tradition by his iron-willed mother Jacqueline (played by Jacqueline Bisset, who'd previously essayed an à clef version of Jackie O. in the theatrical feature The Greek Tycoon). Thus, John enters law school, where he is twice humiliated by failing to pass the bar exam. Finally, as editor of the high-profile George magazine, John can stand on his own merits and not as an adjunct of the Kennedy mystique. Naturally, the film devotes time aplenty to J.F.K. Jr.'s well-publicized romances, notably his lengthy association with actress Daryl Hannah (here played by Tara Chocol) and his ultimate marriage to Caroline Bessette (Portia de Rossi). Somewhat undercutting the credibility of the restaged scenes is the producers' utilization of interviews with the actual friends and associates of John Jr. -- not to mention film clips of the "real" Kennedy, employed as bridges between scenes. America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story debuted January 12, 2003, on TBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When the disappearance of a storekeeper shakes a small seaside town, a woman who has been trapped there by her abusive boyfriend and dead-end job gets her chance at an escape. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, this made-for-cable drama focuses on the plight of 14-year-old Michael Crowe (Mark Rendall). When his younger sister is found murdered in her bed, Michael is accused of the crime and hauled into the local police station. After a grueling interrogation, the cops manage to coerce a confession out of the beleaguered boy. Michael's mother, Cheryl (Ally Sheedy), together with a small band of sympathizers, desperately takes on "the System" to fight for the boy's fundamental legal rights. The Interrogation of Michael Crowe debuted December 4, 2002, as one of several reality-based movies produced for the Court TV cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Francis Damberger directed this Canadian period drama adapted from Betty Lambert's play, Jennie's Story. In a remote Alberta community during the Depression, farmer's wife Jennie McGrane (Christianne Hirt) believes the reason she can't have a child is because she's being punished by God. In truth, she had an affair with a priest (Michael Riley), so the church and her family conspired to give her an operation rendering her infertile. Shown at the 1998 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Featuring a real granny knot of a complex plot, this violently hip, hyper-stylish crime thriller follows the exploits of Louis and Dody, two petty unemployed gangsters who get into deep trouble after they steal a job from a crime lord's cousin, whom they have already killed and stashed in the trunk of their car. They start out in Montreal but end up in Toronto to do the assignment. Louis pretends to be the dead man, while another cohort hires the two to kill a one-armed, nutzoid crime lord. En route to their hit, Louis and Dody pick up an old friend to assist them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A man who has embraced treachery as a way to get ahead finds that it can also be his downfall in this suspense drama. Roy Timmons (Michael Riley) is an executive at a large toy company who is bright, talented, and hard-working. But he lacks the killer instinct to get ahead in business, and he is often bested by the company's aggressive VP Marshall Stern (Henry Silva) and Stern's right hand (and lover) Ruth DiMarco (Alex Morrison). Tired of being walked on and fearful of losing his job, Roy makes the acquaintance of Jamie Hicks (Billy Dee Williams), a bartender who is a student of Machiavelli's "The Prince" and has some ideas on how to get ahead in the business world. With the help of his accountant friend Ted (Duane Taniguchi), Roy is able to juggle a few figures that make it look as if the company is in crisis thanks to Stern's malfeasance, and forces through some paperwork that will result in a transfer for Ruth. Roy's schemes help him climb the corporate ladder with impressive speed, but his new power comes with a price -- he has to fire his pal Ted, Ruth is eager to get the goods on him and bring him down, Roy's wife thinks that he's neglecting her, and he develops a taste for drugs, fueling a newfound paranoia that eventually erupts in violence. The Prince was the first feature for director Pinchas Perry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Fraser (Paul Gross) witnesses an apparent suicide attempt by a delusional man who is searching for someone who has been dead for five years. Further investigating the situation, Fraser comes to the conclusion that a local private mental institution is a hotbed of crime. Going undercover as a patient (he has no trouble being committed after mentioning the fact that he owns a deaf wolf named Diefenbaker), Fraser tries to find out the secret behind the institution's ominous "Blue Room"--and stumbles upon a sinister wholesale-murder scheme. Due South creator Paul Haggis shows up unbilled as one of Fraser's fellow inmates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Coproduced by two cable-TV servies-The Family Channel and the Black Entertainment Network--Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad uses historical fact as background for a fictional adventure tale. Courtney Vance and Janet Bailey star as slaves on a brutal antebellum North Carolina plantation. Together with two other slaves, Vance and Bailey make a daring escape, travelling northward by means of the eponymous railroad. Though the film isn't as suspenseful as it should be, it provides a valuable educational service in detailing the history of the Underground Railroad, the people responsible for its maintenance, and its modus operandi. Race to Freedom was first telecast on the Family Channel February 19, 1994, in tandem with an encore presentation of Roots (1977). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this gentle comedy, Alex (Michael Riley) seems to be blundering through his life like a misguided housefly. After an absence, he returns to Montreal to discover that his best friend Arto is leaving for a long stay in Cairo. He briefly consoles and then becomes the bedmate of Arto's former girlfriend, and then becomes friendly in an intimate way with a neighbor-woman, a single mom with two kids. None of his prospects, romantic or otherwise, inspire him much. It's just as well that the other inhabitants of his apartment building are so friendly and supportive, from the rather odd landlord to the elderly gay couple. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide