Bobby Roth Movies

A young man is thrown into the center of the political and social tumult of the late '60s in this drama. It's 1968, and Ben Sweet (Nick Roth) is 18 years old and has just received his 1A draft classification. Ben does not want to go to Vietnam, and his father Sy (Henry Winkler) is understanding, though he believes Ben does have a responsibility to his country. As a compromise, Ben enrolls at the University of California in Berkeley, where he majors in economics but also hopes to indulge his interest in writing. Ben hasn't been in Berkeley long before his horizons are broadened by his childhood friend Mishkin (Sebastian Tillinger), who introduces him to marijuana and LSD, and Sadie (Laura Jordan), a classmate who takes him to bed for the first time. As Ben begins reconsidering the middle-class values he was raised with, he starts indulging his passion for playing guitar and joins a rock band with keyboard player Buddy (Wade Allain-Marcus) and drummer Blue (Tom Morello). Ben's political viewpoints also begin evolving when he meets campus radical Henry Wolf (Jake Newton), who believes a Marxist revolution is necessary in the United States -- and who steals Sadie away from him. On the rebound, Ben falls for Alice (Sarah Carter), the pretty blonde daughter of the college dean, but she bristles at his embrace of the counterculture as Ben becomes more deeply involved in music and politics. Ben's desire to write blossoms when he takes a class with Professor Hawkins (Bonnie Bedelia), a bohemian writing instructor who encourages him to explore his poetic side, but Ben's family are not entirely happy with the changes in his lifestyle. Nick Roth wrote and sang his own songs for Berkeley; he's also the son of director Bobby Roth. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When Jill (Janeane Garofalo), the sister of reformed womanizer and former high-profile fashion photographer Jack (Nestor Carbonell), leaves her 17-year-old son with his uncle in an unstable bid to find herself, her brother and sister face an increasingly uncertain future in this dark drama from director Bobby Roth. Bored of working an endless string of weddings and bar mitzvahs and longing to return to the success he experienced before his luck took a nosedive, Jack attempts to connect with both his teenage son and nephew while pulling his life into focus. To make matters even more complicated, Jill's jobless ex-husband, Eli (John Ritter), has also decided to move in with Jack. Will the hapless photographer be able to keep his sanity as his dysfunctional family forces itself into virtually every aspect of his increasingly chaotic life? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Literally "torn from today's headlines," this made-for-cable drama recounts the sordid story of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster (here played by Jason Gedrick), who, over a period of several years, used the "date-rape" drug GHB to render several impressionable young woman unconscious, at which point he raped them while a video camera recorded his assaults. Galvanized by Luster's first victim, herein identified only as Connie Doe (Marla Sokoloff), two other girls who had been drugged and ravished by the wealthy predator joined Connie in bringing about legal action against him. Although the girls were forced to relive their horrendous experiences during testimony, their combined efforts so moved the jury that Luster was convicted on 86 criminal charges and sentenced to 124 years in prison. At the time this film went into production, the real-life Luster was fugitive from justice; escaping from house arrest and skipping off to parts unknown, he was tried and convicted in absentia. In June of 2003, one week before filming on A Date With Darkness wrapped, Luster was recaptured in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, by bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman (played in the film by an uncredited stunt man). This necessitated a hasty rewrite of the film's final scenes and an equally hasty refilming (as evidenced by the patently false beard on the face of actor Jason Gedrick). In its final form, A Date With Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster debuted August 11, 2003, on the Lifetime Network; the telecast was followed by an impassioned warning against the dangers of GHB, delivered by the film's co-star, Marla Sokoloff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jacqueline Bisset stars as Maggie, a Keats-quoting professor of English literature, on the verge of celebrating her 25th anniversary. But Maggie's euphoria evaporates when she discovers that her husband Tom has been flagrantly cheating on her for these many years. Dispirited, she returns to her hometown of Harvest Moon, retreating to the tranquil lake where she had fallen in love with the late Patrick Fleming three decades earlier. By and by, the fiftysomething Maggie is attracted to Patrick's handsome son Tom (Eric Mabius), who is literally half her age. The question: Is Maggie truly enamored of Tom, or is she merely romancing the ghost of Tom's father? Valerie Harper provides some much-needed relief from the overall bathos in the traditional "wisecracking best friend" role. Based on a novel by K.C. McKinnon, the made-for-TV Dancing at the Harvest Moon first aired October 20, 2002, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Why is it that, in holiday-themed TV movies, someone always comes to a small town to close down some business or other during Christmas week? In the case of A Holiday Romance, it is straitlaced school administrator Cal Peterson (Gerald McRaney), who arrives in town in the middle of the holiday season for the purpose of shutting down a local school that has been deemed extraneous. Inevitably, of course, Peterson will change his mind once he finds true love, as personified by winsome music teacher Lily Waite, played by Naomi Judd. About the only surprise in the film is the fact that neither Judd nor anyone else sings a country song at any point in the story. CBS brought forth A Holiday Romance on December 8, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bette Gordon, who made her directorial debut in 1983 with Variety, returned 15 years later with this adaptation of Scott Bradfield's novel The History of Luminous Motion about an alcoholic mother. "Only two things mattered to me -- being with my mom and being in motion," says ten-year-old Phillip (Eric Lloyd), who teaches himself physics and biology as he's driven about by his mother Margaret (Deborah Kara Unger). After a car crash, they settle down with Hackensack hardware store owner Pedro (Terry Kinney). Phillip receives letters and phone calls from his dad (Jamey Sheridan). Eventually, mother and son leave Pedro to live on Staten Island -- where the boy meets some strange teens (James Berland, Paz De La Huerta), Pedro appears as a ghostly figure, and Phillip's father turns up. Shown at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Kim Delaney stars as an old apartment building's new tenant in this creepy made-for-TV horror movie from director Bobby Roth. Delaney's character almost died as a small girl, and doesn't know that the only reason she survived is that her mother (Grace Zabriskie) made a deal with Satan that Delaney would bear his child when she grew up. Conveniently, Satan lives right next door now, disguised as a handsome professor (Thomas Gibson from Dharma and Greg). Interestingly, this story is about a pregnant woman, Satanists, and an ominous apartment building, just like Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. Polanski's wife was murdered by members of the Manson Family, who were later convicted in the so-called "Trial of the Century." Why is this significant? Because this very similar film was written and co-produced by Pablo Fenjves, best known for hearing the Akita dog barking in the O.J. Simpson case, the other "Trial of the Century." ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Los Angeles district attorney Jess Kostner (Lori Laughlin) inaugurates her own personal descent into hell when she agrees to prosecute an accused rapist named Sean Ferguson (Tracey Walter). Having just recovered from a nervous breakdown brought about by the mysterious death of her mother, Jess is in no mood to discover that Sean's defense attorney is her own ex-husband Don Shaw (Bruce Greenwood). Things get really dicey when Ferguson's victim Connie (Lauren Tom) refuses to appear in court. Jess manages to persuade Connie to testify, only to be plunged into the abyss of guilt and self-loathing when Connie is "mysteriously" killed just before her testimony. The only positive aspect of this sordid affair is Jess' growing relationship with amiable courtroom spectator Adam Stiles (Joe Flanigan). Ultimately, the trial--and acquittal--of Sean Ferguson is revealed to be an elaborate charade, designed as a prelude to a uniquely perverse form of vigilante justice! Boasting so many plot twists that one virtually needs a scorecard to keep abreast of new developments, Tell Me No Secrets debuted January 20, 1997 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The FBI investigates a fallen IRS agent who has apparently been using taxpayer's most personal information to formulate and execute kidnapping and extortion schemes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, an assassin's threats cause a single mother, her son, and the G-man assigned to protect them to embark upon a desperate cross-country flight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A vigilante (Anthony LaPaglia) who is systematically killing the crime lords in control of the Chicago mob crosses paths with a veteran detective (Louis Gossett Jr.) in this made-for-cable thriller. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable adaptation of Roderick Thorp's crime thriller, Peter Weller stars as a Hollywood cop whose murder investigation runs into a wall of police corruption. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A cocky, irresponsible professional golfer discovers that he will have to clean up his act if he wants to compete in the PGA tour. Based on a novel by Dan Jenkins, this drama originally aired on cable television. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide