Daniel A. Sherkow Movies
A movie star who is reeling from the pressures of celebrity tries to show the media just how it feels in this independent satiric comedy. Michael Madsen stars as Michael Madsen, a wildly popular motion picture actor who has started to emotionally buckle under the stress of his fame and success, often making a spectacle of himself in public. The tabloid press follows him relentlessly, waiting to capture one of his emotional outbursts on film and printing groundless stories accusing him of everything from secret gay romances to the murder of a young actress. Madsen finally decides he's had enough, and decides to give photographer, yellow journalist, and chief antagonist Billy Dant (Jason Alan Smith) a taste of his own medicine by hiring three documentary filmmakers (Davis Mikaels, Doug Tompos and, Kathy Searle) and having them follow Dant as closely as Dant has been following him. Madsen's plan might work a bit better, however, if he'd teamed up with a less inept team of documentarians. Being Michael Madsen also includes mock-interviews with colleagues David Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton, Daryl Hannah, and Virginia Madsen (the latter of whom is also Michael's sister). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1997
Having played a cop for several seasons on NYPD Blue, Kim Delaney shows up as a cop's wife in the made-for-TV All Lies End in Murder. Content to bask in the popularity of her highly respected detective husband Daniel (Jamey Sheridan), Meredith Scialo (Delaney) is totally unprepared to confront the possibility that Daniel is up to his neck in corruption. But the evidence is irrefutable, and Meredith is forced to do something about it--if she can convince Daniel's fellow cops to help her, AND if she can live long enough to do so! Originally seen over CBS on January 19, 1997, All Lies End in Murder has since been retitled Behind Every Good Man for cable-TV play. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, better known in the literary world as George Sand, not only took a man's name, but trotted around wearing pants and smoking cigars in public. No great shakes today, but in the 1800s she was perhaps the most famous (or infamous) woman in the world. One of the first original celebrities, aside from her garb and literary output, she was known to inspire many duels and broken hearts among other famous hedonist artists. One character describes her in Impromptu, as "that graveyard." The film engages in a sexual roundelay among Sand's (Judy Davis) many friends -- Eugene Delacroix (Ralph Brown), Alfred DeMusset (Mandy Patinkin), Franz Liszt (Julian Sands), and Frederick Chopin (Hugh Grant). The entire crew heads off to the summer estate of the Duke and Duchess d'Antan (Anton Rodgers and Emma Thompson), invited there by the culture-vulture hosts. Sand takes a bead on the sickly Chopin and spends her time throwing herself at him. Also on hand is Liszt's mistress Marie d'Agoult (Bernadette Peters) and Felicien Mallefille (Georges Corraface), Sand's recently jilted lover. Mallefille is jealous of any of the other guests who glance in Sand's direction and continually challenges them to duels. Marie, on the other hand, is enlisted by Sand to deliver a note to Chopin. But Marie, jealous of Sand, delivers the note substituting her name for Sand's. And as the weekend continues, the sexual merry-go-round continues at full tilt. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, (more)
- 1990
Donor is a variation on a familiar theme, played to the hilt by a topnotch cast. Doctor Melissa Gilbert-Brinkman is shocked when her close friend is strangled by an elderly patient. Before she has a chance to investigate, the killer himself dies in a mysterious accident. Probing further, Melissa deduces that the hospital administators are hiding something from her. She's right: there's a conspiracy in the making, and it's all traceable to a new organ-donor program. Pernell Roberts and Jack Scalia costar in Donor, which made its broadcast premiere December 9, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Jack Scalia, (more)
- 1989
- R
In Race for Glory, a young motorcyclist takes his wrench-toting friend and his home-made bike to the big-time European Grand Prix races. Surely the underdog of underdogs, this fellow's up against all odds as he takes on big-name race teams from all over the world in his effort to grab the cup of glory. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Alex McArthur, Peter Berg, (more)
British filmmaker Peter Yates directs Suspect, a suspenseful courtroom drama set in Washington, D.C. After a Supreme Court justice commits suicide and a Justice Department secretary is found dead, a deaf-mute homeless veteran, Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson), is the suspected killer. Lonely yet dedicated public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) is assigned to the case to represent Anderson. Suave lobbyist Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid) is on the jury, but he starts his own investigation by finding clues that prove Anderson's innocence. He shares his information with Kathleen, even though they could get arrested for talking about the case. Eventually, they develop a romance and reveal a conspiracy that leads to a twist ending. The mysterious conclusion involves a final courtroom scene presided over by Judge Matthew Helms (played by character actor John Mahoney, who would go on to co-star on the sitcom Frasier). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cher, Dennis Quaid, (more)
