Craig T. Nelson

Four lifelong friends Diane, Vivian, Sharon, and Carol are in a romantic rut in their relationships until they pick up Fifty Shades of Grey for their book club. Hilarity ensues as they discover a new way to rekindle old flames, through the book.

When millionaire hedge fund manager James (Will Ferrell) is nailed for fraud and bound for a stretch in San Quentin, the judge gives him 30 days to get his affairs in order. Desperate, he turns to Darnell (Kevin Hart) to prep him for a life behind bars. But despite James` one-percenter assumptions, Darnell is a hard-working small business owner who has never received a parking ticket, let alone been to prison. Together, the two men do whatever it takes for James to `get hard` and, in the process, discover how wrong they were about a lot of things including each other.

Two rival Olympic ice skaters, who have been permanently banned from the men's singles competition due to a feud, exploit a loophole that will allow them to qualify as a pairs team. When rivalry between the world's best men's figure skaters - sex addicted, improvisational Chazz Michael Michaels and germophobic, precise Jimmy MacElroy - breaks into a fight on the awards platform, they're banned from the event for life. Three years later, desire for a gold medal and a careful reading of the rules lead them to compete as skating's first male-male pair. Can they overcome mutual dislike, limited time to prepare, their coach's secret past, and the dirty tricks of their main opponents, the Van Waldenberg siblings? The key to victory or defeat may lie in the attraction of the virginal Jimmy toward Katie, the Van Waldenbergs' little sister. —<jhailey@hotmail.com> Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy are two professional ice skaters, who after getting into a fight, are both banned from mens figures skating. Fortunately, it is soon discovered by an obsessed fan that they are banned from mens singles competition and not doubles competition. Now Chazz and Jimmy must team up as the first double mens team and take on the team of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg, who are eager to do anything to get the victory. —Film_Fan Americans Jimmy MacElroy and Chazz Michael Michaels are not only the two most decorated male singles figure skaters, but rivals who hate each other. Jimmy is arguably the most successful of billionaire Darren MacElroy's children, Darren having created a high performance athletic family by adopting orphans who showed talent a decade ago to become today's athletic superstars. Jimmy has had every opportunity to hone his natural athletic, artistic and creative skating skills, his father who accepts nothing but his children being the best. Conversely, Chazz is from the streets of Detroit, self taught and uses his animal magnetism and overt sexuality (he also being a part-time porn star being a sex addict) to wow the crowds. As such, Jimmy has won the hearts of the public, while Chazz has won the groins of the public. An incident at the World Wintersport Games, the most prestigious event held every four years, of unbecoming conduct leads to both Jimmy and Chazz being stripped of their joint gold medals and being banned from competitive skating for life. Three and a half years later, both Jimmy and Chazz's lives are in the gutter, Darren who immediately disowned Jimmy after the ban. However, Jimmy's most rabid fan and longtime stalker named Hector discovers a loophole one month before the nationals: that Jimmy is still eligible to compete in the pairs division. Jimmy's ex-coach comes up with the further legal idea that Jimmy and Chazz should team up together, which they do in their stronger want for the Worldsport Games gold medal than their mutual hatred for each other. Beyond needing to getting over their mutual hatred and meshing their two vastly different styles, they have to overcome the actual competition, most specifically US darlings, the brother and sister team of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg. What the public is unaware of is that the Van Waldenberg's routinely win by cheating, including they having guilted their innocent younger sister Katie Van Waldenberg into secretly filming their competitors' rehearsals. Further complications ensue when Jimmy and Katie start to fall for each other. Over and above these issues, the Coach believes that Jimmy and Chazz need a signature move to win, something special that only two men can do together. However, what he has developed as that move is also so dangerous to be potentially deadly. —Huggo Banned for life from men's solo competitions after a shameful fight at the World Figure Skating Championship, the polar opposites--the rink's bad boy, Chazz Michael Michaels, and the graceful former child prodigy, Jimmy MacElroy--come up with a clever idea. Now, as figure skating's only male pair, Chazz and Jimmy must bury the hatchet to achieve perfection, even though the undisputed king and queen of the ice--the scheming brother-sister duo of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg--will stop at nothing to ensure a second victory in a row. Will the embittered partners become the next ice-skating sensation? —Nick Riganas

Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves), a defense attorney in Gainesville, Florida, has never lost a case. He defends a schoolteacher, Mr. Gettys (Chris Bauer), against a charge of child molestation. During the trial, Kevin realizes that his client is guilty, and a reporter tells him that a guilty verdict is all but inevitable. Kevin had seen Mr Gettys making the same gesture under the desk as the girl was describing on the stand and had his other hand inside his pants while hearing the testimony as he relived the experience. Kevin has a decision to make on whether to continue defending Gettys. He asks the court for a short recess as he makes up his mind. In the end, Kevin decides to protect his perfect record. However, through a harsh cross-examination Kevin destroys the credibility of the victim (Heather Matarazzo) and secures another not guilty verdict. Kevin claims that the victim hosted a party at her home when her parents were away and played a game called special places with her friends. This game is sexual in nature, and this is when the victim first told her friends about Mr Gettys and then threatened her friends to also lie, else she would tell everyone about the party and the game. The victim admits that she didn't want to be the only one. As he celebrates, Kevin is approached by a representative of the New York law firm Milton, Chadwick & Waters, who offers him a large sum of money to help the firm with a jury selection. After Kevin's jury delivers a not guilty verdict, John Milton (Al Pacino) offers him a large salary and a swanky apartment if he joins the firm. Despite warnings from his Evangelical Christian mother, Alice (Judith Ivey), about sinful big city life, Kevin accepts the job and moves with his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) to Manhattan. Kevin's Christian fundamentalist mother Alice, whose only sex was to conceive Kevin, urges the couple to return to Florida after meeting Milton. Kevin refuses. Kevin first defends a Voodoo sorcerer (Delroy Lindo) who ritually sacrificed an animal. He compares the incident to Kashrut law and claims that his client is protected under freedom of religion, winning the case. Kevin spends an increasing amount of time at work, leaving Mary Ann (Charlize Theron), his wife, feeling isolated. Kevin next defends Alexander Cullen (Craig T. Nelson), a billionaire accused of murdering his wife and child. This case demands more of Kevin's time, further separating him from Mary Ann. He begins having fantasies about co-worker Christabella Andreoli (Connie Nielsen), while Mary Ann shows signs of mental illness when she claims seeing demons everywhere and has a nightmare about a baby playing with her removed ovaries. After a doctor declares Mary Ann to be infertile, she begs Kevin that they return to Gainesville, but he refuses. Milton suggests that Kevin step down from the trial to care for Mary Ann, but Kevin thinks that he will resent her for costing the case for the firm. Eddie Barzoon (Jeffrey Jones), the firm's managing attorney, is convinced that Kevin is competing for his job after finding his name in the company papers as a partner. Although Kevin denies any knowledge, Barzoon threatens to inform the United States Attorney's office about the firm's illegal activities. Kevin tells Milton about Barzoon's threats, but Milton is unconcerned, sarcastically dismissing Barzoon as "God's special little creature". At that moment, Barzoon is beaten to death by vagrants, who take on demonic appearances. Mary Ann witnesses this, further eroding her sanity. While preparing Cullen's mistress Melissa (Laura Harrington) to testify about Cullen's alibi, Kevin realizes she is lying and tells Milton he believes Cullen is guilty. Milton offers to back Kevin regardless. Kevin decides to proceed with her testimony and wins an acquittal. After the trial Kevin finds Mary Ann in a nearby church, naked and covered with cuts. She tells her husband that Milton sexually assaulted and mutilated her, but Kevin saw Milton in court with him at the time of the alleged attack. He believes that Mary Ann injured herself and has her committed. United States Department of Justice agent Mitch Weaver, who is investigating the clandestine activities of Milton's firm, warns Kevin that Milton is corrupt, and also reveals that Gettys, acquitted in Florida, has been arrested for killing a little girl. Moments later, Weaver is struck by a car and killed. At the same time, while attending Eddie's funeral service, Milton sticks his finger into holy water and makes it boil. Kevin, his mother Alice, and his case manager, Pam Garrety (Debra Monk), Kevin's case manager at the firm, visit Mary Ann. Alone with Mary Ann, Pam appears as a demon through a mirror. Mary Ann attacks Pam with the mirror and locks herself in the room. As Kevin tries to break down the door, Mary Ann takes a piece of broken glass from the mirror and cuts her throat with it, killing herself. Before he can mourn, Alice reveals that Milton is Kevin's father. Kevin leaves the hospital to confront Milton, who gleefully admits to sexually assaulting Mary Ann. Kevin fires a pistol into Milton's chest, but the bullets have no effect. Kevin realizes that Milton is not only his father, but also Satan himself. Kevin blames Milton for everything that happened, but Milton explains that he merely "set the stage", and that Kevin could have left at any time. Kevin realizes that he always wanted to win, no matter the cost, and left Mary Ann behind. Milton explains that he wants Kevin and Christabella, who is Kevin's half-sister, to conceive a child: the Antichrist. He offers Kevin anything that he wants. However, rejecting his Satanic heritage, Kevin cites free will and shoots himself in the head, ruining Milton's plan. Milton's demonic rage burns Christabella alive, revealing his demonic form before turning into a winged angel that resembles Kevin. Kevin wakes up during the recess of the Gettys trial. After embracing Mary Ann, Kevin announces that he can no longer represent his client, despite the threat of being disbarred. A reporter follows Kevin and Mary Ann, pleading for an interview and promising to make Kevin a star. After some prodding from Mary Ann, Kevin reluctantly agrees. After Kevin and Mary Ann leave, the reporter shape-shifts into a grinning Milton. Breaking the fourth wall, he says, "Vanity - definitely my favorite sin."

Two old men - a white former radical, and a black retired janitor - strike up an unusual and funny friendship on a park bench in New York, where they deal with family, drug dealers, and the pitfalls of age. Old Nat Moyer is a talker, a philosopher, and a troublemaker with a fanciful imagination. His companion is Midge Carter, who is half-blind, but still the super of an apartment house. When he is threatened with retirement, Nat battles on his behalf. Nat also takes on his daughter, a drug dealer, and a mugger in this appealing version of a really 'odd couple'. —Derek Picken <dpicken@email.msn.com>

A soon to be divorced Beverly Hills socialite is determined to prove to her husband and herself that she can finish what she starts out to do, by becoming a den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills Girl Scouts. As Phyllis, a Beverly Hills housewife, is in the middle of a divorce, she tries to find focus in her life by taking over her daughter Hannah's Wilderness Girl troop. Among the girls are Tiffany, (whose father has to bribe to attend meetings), Emily (the daughter of an out of work actor, whose financial difficulties hinders her wanting to participate in certain activities), the neurotic Tessa (whose parents divorce has forced her into therapy twice a week), the hostile Chica (whose parents are too busy with their own lives to even remember her birthday) and Claire (the child star who see the wilderness girls as her chance to lead a "normal" life). Phyllis then takes the girls camping at a Beverly Hills hotel and earns patches relating to material things. The district leader, Velda, feels the troop should be disbanded. However, the head of the Wilderness Girls organization believes that as long as Phyllis has taken an active interest in the girls, that is the only thing that's important. Then Velda begins to sabotage the girls endlessly. —Theresa Phyllis Nefler, a soon to be divorced Beverly Hills society wife, is determined to prove to her husband, Freddy, and herself that she can finish what she starts out to do. She soon realizes that being a Wilderness Girls den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills-bred girls is not as easy as simply buying cookies. —Michael Escober <m2e2@poboxes.com>

Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power-hungry auto magnate who is systematically eliminating his competition. Law-school educated Detroit Police Detective Sergeant Jericho Jackson, known locally as "Action Jackson," was a celebrated lieutenant on the force, but he was demoted nearly two years ago for almost tearing the arm off of sexually violent sociopath Sean Dellaplane, whose father is Peter Anthony Dellaplane, a major car manufacturer. The fallout over the case collapsed Jackson's marriage, and put him at odds with the public. Jackson still has conflicts with his commanding officer, Captain Earl Armbruster. And Dellaplane himself has taken an intense dislike to Jackson, with whom he's been feuding. Jackson begins investigating Dellapane's professional exploits, uncovering the string of murdered trade union members connected to Dellaplane's company. Jackson discovers that Dellaplane is secretly maneuvering his way into a "behind the throne" seat of power, and has been using a group of assassins called the Invisible Men to kill uncooperative union officials. Dellaplane's intent is to gain a political power base, and pick the next president of the United States...one who will be friendly to his interests. Dellaplane fatally shoots his wife Patrice when she discovers his plot, and he plants her body in Jackson's apartment, framing Jackson. Dellaplane is not the kind of guy who would miss Patrice, because he has a mistress named Sydney Ash. Sydney is a local lounge singer and heroin addict. Dellaplane keeps Sydney hooked with a free supply of heroin, delivered in a little velvet-lined box. On the run from the police, Jackson is helped by friends from his old neighborhood -- Sable, a local hotel owner and retired professional boxer, and Dee, a lively local hairdresser and gossip informant who gives Jackson a way to discreetly get to Dellaplane. Jackson and Sydney arrange a meeting with Dellaplane's figurehead replacement for the auto union, unaware that The Invisible Men have been tracking them. What Jackson soon realizes is that Dellaplane intends to enact his plan, and make sure Jackson takes the fall for that too. Jackson and Sydney, along with her bodyguard, Big Edd, find themselves having to fight for their lives against Dellaplane and the Invisible Men. —Todd Baldridge

One year after the events of Poltergeist, Cuesta Verde, the Freelings' neighborhood from the first film, is being evacuated and turned into an archeological paranormal dig, centered around the spot where the Freelings' home stood before it imploded. The excavation leads to the discovery of an underground cave by a ground crew. Its existence is revealed to psychic Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein), who tells a friend of hers, Taylor (Will Sampson), an American Indian shaman. After investigating the cave for himself, Taylor realizes that Kane, a demon disguised as a preacher, has located Carol Anne and goes to defend her. The Freeling family, Steven (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), has relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and now live in a house with Diane's mother, Jessica "Grandma Jess" Wilson (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Having lost his real estate license, Steve is reduced to selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door while filing repeated insurance claims to cover the missing home. Grandma Jess is highly clairvoyant, and says that Diane and Carol Anne are clairvoyant as well. Grandma Jess later dies from natural causes, but not before telling Diane one last time that she'll always "be there" if she needs her. Taylor shows up as Kane begins his first assault on the home. Unable to get in through the television as the family has removed all television sets from the home, Kane's minions are forced to find another way in, this time through Carol Anne's toy phone. The attack fails, and the family gets out of the house fast. Taylor introduces himself and convinces them that running would be a waste of time since Kane would only find them again, and they return to the house, which Taylor has made safe for the time being. Kane himself shows up at the home one day in human form, and demands to be let in, but Steven stands up to him and refuses. Taylor congratulates him for resisting Kane, and then takes Steve out to the desert and gives him the Power of Smoke, an Indian spirit that can repel Kane. Tangina shows up at the house and helps Diane to understand the history of Kane and how he became the Beast that is now stalking the family: he was once a man, the Reverend Henry Kane, who led his followers into the cave because he believed the end of the world was coming, then refused to let them leave after the date he predicted came and went. Because he was so evil, Kane became a monster after death. Taylor warns the family that Kane is extremely clever, and will try to tear them apart. One night, Steven lets his guard down and gets drunk, swallowing a Mezcal worm that is possessed by Kane, who temporarily possesses him. He attacks and tries to rape Diane, who cries out that she loves him. Steven then vomits up the worm possessed by Kane, which grows into a huge, tentacled monstrosity. In this form Kane attacks Steven from the ceiling, but Steven uses the smoke spirit to send him away. The Beast then decides on another assault, and this time, the family decides to confront the Beast on his own turf, the Other Side. The Freelings return to Cuesta Verde and enter the cavern below their former home, where Kane pulls Diane and Carol Anne over into the Other Side. Steven and Robbie jump in after them through a fire started by Taylor. On the Other Side, Diane, Steven, Robbie, and Carol Anne unite, but Kane grabs Carol Anne. Taylor gets a charmed Indian lance into Steven's hands, and Steven stabs Kane with it, defeating the monster and causing him to fall into the afterlife. Carol Anne nearly crosses over into the afterlife as well, but Grandma Jess' spirit appears and returns her to the family. The Freelings then return safely to this side, and thank Taylor and Tangina.

In the suburban housing development of Cuesta Verde, California, the homes are modern and comfortable. Steve Freeling (Craig T. Nelson) is a successful real estate agent who works for a firm headed up by Teague (James Karen), a developer. Steve lives in one of the Cuesta Verde homes with his wife, Diane (JoBeth Williams), and their three children: teenage Dana (Dominique Dunne) and preteen youngsters Robbie (Oliver Robbins) and Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke). Strange events begin to occur when Carol Anne begins sleepwalking and carries on a seemingly one-sided conversation with a TV set that's turned on but has no signal. Soon thereafter her pet bird dies, and the family conducts a small burial service. Later that night, Carol Anne awakens again and talks to the television, while a spectral manifestation erupts from the television screen and enters the walls, causing an violent tremor that only the Freelings feel. As the family wakes up, Carol Anne mysteriously announces, "They're here." The next morning, drinking glasses inexplicably break at breakfast, and utensils bend by themselves. When Diane asks Carol Anne who she meant when she said "they're here," she answers, "The TV people." At first the ghosts play harmless tricks and amuse the mother, including moving and stacking the kitchen table chairs. Diane and Carol Anne discover an area in the kitchen where an unseen force will pull anything, including people, across the floor. When he arrives home from work, Diane convinces Steve the phenomenon is real by demonstrating it. He then announces that "Nobody's going' in the kitchen until I know what's happening." During a terrible thunderstorm, a gnarled tree outside the kids' bedroom window suddenly comes to life and grabs Robbie (Oliver Robins), Carol Anne's brother, through a window. However, this is merely a distraction used by the ghosts to get Carol Anne's parents to leave her alone. Using a force like a wind tunnel, they take Carol Anne through her bedroom closet into their dimension. Steve rescues Robbie, and the family believes that a tornado caused the trouble, until they realize that they can't find Carol Anne. They search the entire house including the pit for the new swimming pool until Robbie hears Carol Anne calling for her mother eerily through the TV. A traumatized Steve meets with a small group of parapsychologists from UC Irvine, stating that "We just want you to find our little girl." Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), Ryan (Richard Lawson), and Marty (Martin Casella) are awestruck by the manifestations they witness. With the parapsychologists present, Steve shows them things they've never before seen. He opens the door to the children's room to reveal toys and other objects flying around by themselves and disembodied laughing voices reverberating throughout the room. Previously, Ryan described a Matchbox car taking seven hours to move seven feet, calling it "fantastic. Of course, this would never register on the naked eye." After they see the Freelings' house, they are all humbled. Over coffee (and a coffee urn that moves by itself), the parapsychologists explain to the Freelings the difference between a poltergeist and a haunting. They determine that indeed, it is a poltergeist they are experiencing. The group witnesses several paranormal episodes where they hear Carol Anne talking to Diane through the TV, see spirits, and hear the pounding footsteps of some terrible force, which subsequently injures Marty. Marty also suffers a terrifying hallucination where he seems to tear off his own face. The parapsychologists leave, with the exception of Ryan, admitting they need more help. Shaken and overwhelmed, Dana leaves to stay with friends. The Freelings also send Robbie to his grandmother's house for his safety. Later that day, Steve has a conversation with his boss, Teague, about a new housing project going up. They talk about how Steve's company has built over cemeteries in the past, even where the Freelings live now. Whenever the company needed land to build or expand housing communities, they'd move the cemeteries, coffins, headstones and all. Teague shows Steve a new housing development the company is building not far from where the Freelings live. As the two walk by a hillside cemetery, Teague tells Steve that he can have a new house right in that spot, with a large bay window overlooking the valley. Steve remarks that the house can't simply be built over a cemetery. Teague tells Steve that the company has moved whole cemeteries before: the coffins were dug up and moved, along with their headstones, to new locations nearby. Teague then reveals that much of Cuesta Verde was built on the location of one of these relocated cemeteries. Steve seems quite astonished at the news, stating that "that's sacrilegious." When the parapsychologists return, they bring a spiritual medium, Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein), a tiny woman who uses her psychic sensitivity to ascertain facts about the disturbances. Tangina tells them that Carol Anne is "alive and in this house." According to Tangina, the spirits haunting the home have left this life but have not gone into the spectral "Light." They are stuck in between dimensions, watching their loved ones grow up, but feeling alone, causing them to feel lonely and even angry. Carol Anne was born in the house and has strongest connection to it. At only 5 years old, she gives off her own life force that is as bright as the Light. It distracts and confuses the spirits, who think Carol Anne is their salvation. Hence, they have taken her. However, Tangina also warns everyone that a malevolent spirit also exists in the next dimension. It likes that the spirits are confused and lost, and uses Carol Anne as a distraction so they cannot move on into the Light. Tangina says "it lies to her and tells her things only a child can understand. To her, it simply is another child. To us, it is the Beast." They realize the entrance to the other dimension is through the children's bedroom closet. Tangina tests the dimensional portal with a few tennis balls that drop through the living room ceiling below the kids' closet. By tying a rope around a live person who can enter, and presumably exit the other side, with enough time to grab Carol Anne, they could bring her back. Tangina intends to be the one to go into the light, but Diane insists, saying that Carol Anne will only come to her mother. With the rope around her waist, Diane goes into the portal and Tangina coaxes the agonized spirits away from Carol Anne to the real Light. While Tangina is in her trance-like state telling the lost spirits to cross over into the Light, Steve panics and pulls on the rope, meeting the Beast face-to-face. Diane falls through the living room ceiling clutching Carol Anne and bearing new streaks of grey hair, presumably from fright; both Diane and Carol Anne are also covered in ectoplasm. After Steve revives both of them in the downstairs bathtub, Tangina pronounces that "this house is clean." Unfortunately, though the spirits have seemingly moved on, the Beast hasn't, and wants revenge. On their final night in the house, Steve leaves Diane alone with the children so he can go and talk to Teague, who presumably is trying to get Steve to reconsider leaving. While Robbie and Carol Anne are getting ready for bed, Robbie's clown doll comes to life and pulls him under the bed. Diane, relaxing in the master bedroom, hears her son's screaming voice and tries to investigate, but is pulled against the wall and ceiling by an unseen force. Robbie manages to rip the clown doll to pieces but a strange, mouth-like portal appears in Carol Anne's closet and attempts to suck the children in. Diane tries to get to her son and daughter but runs into the Beast itself, in the form of a snarling, skeletal demon. It blocks Carol Anne's and Robbie's door and lunges at her, causing her to fall down the stairs. Diane runs to the backyard to seek help from her next-door neighbors, but slips into the freshly-dug swimming pool. A rainstorm has filled it with rain and mud, and as Diane tries to escape, coffins begin erupting from the earth, releasing skeletal corpses into the pool. Her neighbors hear the commotion and arrive to help Diane out of the pool, but they refuse to enter the house with its windows now blazing with ghostly energy. Diane runs back into the house alone to get Robbie and Carol Anne. She finds Carol Anne and Robbie barely able to fight the energy that tries to suck them into the portal; they dangle from their bed frames, hanging on only by their hands, while their feet sway toward the closet door. Diane manages to pull them to safety and they run from the house. Coffins and bodies begin exploding out of the ground throughout the house. Steve pulls up in his car with Teague as a passenger, and they both see the dead bodies erupting from the ground. Steve recalls the earlier conversation he had with Teague, where Teague revealed that Cuesta Verde was built over the site of a relocated cemetery. It is now obvious that Teague never really relocated the cemetery, he simply built the housing development over top of the graves after moving only the headstones. Realizing this truth, Steve rebukes him in anger. Dana arrives in her boyfriend's car and is hysterical over what is happening to the house. The Freelings get into Steve's station wagon and they drive off. The Beast grows so angry that the house implodes through the portal into the other dimension as stunned neighbors (including Teague) look on. The weary family checks into a hotel for the night. Not wishing to tempt fate, Steve pushes the television set outside their room.

Writer Skip Donahue (Gene Wilder) and actor Harry Monroe (Richard Pryor) are fired from their jobs in New York, and leave for Hollywood to find a new way to make a living. Along the way, they take odd jobs to make ends meet. In one such job, Skip and Harry dress up as two woodpeckers, performing a song and dance routine as part of a promotion for a bank. Harry and Skip remove their costumes to take a break, and two men who have been watching steal the costumes and perform the routine as though they were Harry and Skip. The men then use the costumes to rob the bank, and in the confusion Harry and Skip are immediately arrested, whisked through a absurd speedy trial and handed 125-year jail sentences. Their court-appointed lawyer, Len Garber (Joel Brooks), advises them to wait until he can appeal their case. Life in a maximum-security prison proves difficult for both Skip and Harry. After a failed attempt at faking insanity, they make friends with Jesus Ramirez (Miguel Ángel Suárez), a real bank robber, and Rory Schultebrand (Georg Stanford Brown), a gay man who killed his stepfather. Rory takes an immediate fancy to Harry, much to Harry's chagrin. Having been there a while, Jesus and Rory inform Skip and Harry of the numerous goings-on in the prison, as well as the other members and who to watch out for, such as Jack Graham (Jonathan Banks), who runs the cell block, and is in charge of the contraband that comes in; and ax murderer Blade (Charles Weldon), who runs the "third-world" side of the cell block. The most feared inmate, however, is Grossberger (Erland Van Lidth), a convicted mass murderer of incredible size and strength who refuses to speak and is feared by the inmates and guards alike. Seeing something "kind" in Grossberger, the naive Skip attempts to talk with him, unsuccessfully. After being in prison for three months, Skip and Harry are brought to see Warden Walter Beatty (Barry Corbin) and Deputy Warden Wilson (Craig T. Nelson), the head guard. They wish to run a "test" with Harry and Skip on a mechanical bull in the warden's office. To everyone's surprise, Skip rides the bull at full power, so Beatty selects him to compete in the prison's annual rodeo competition. Out in the yard, Jesus and Rory inform Harry and Skip of the truth behind the rodeo: it's really a crooked operation run by Beatty and Warden Henry Sampson (Nicolas Coster), who heads the neighboring prison. The money from the rodeo, which is supposed to go to the prisoners, really ends up in the wardens' pockets. Knowing that Skip will be selected as the prison's new "champion", Jesus and Rory hatch a plan for escape. In order for it to work, Skip must refuse to participate in the rodeo: the longer he holds out, the better chance he has at "striking a deal" with the warden. After Skip refuses to participate, the angry warden orders Deputy Wilson to "straighten him out", which Wilson is only too happy to do. Prison life soon becomes more difficult than ever for Harry and Skip as Wilson and the guards attempt to break them down. First they are put on hard labor detail and deprived of both water and sleep. When this fails, the guards lock Skip up, overnight, hanging by his wrists and ankles. Skip awakens the next morning to discover that his bad back is cured. Wilson then puts Skip in solitary confinement; Skip asks for an extra day. Being returned to his cell, Skip discovers that he and Harry have a new cell mate: Grossberger, whom they quickly befriend. Harry and Skip are visited by Garber, along with his cousin Meredith (JoBeth Williams), who is fighting to prove their innocence. Skip takes an immediate liking to Meredith, who informs him she never gets personally involved with clients. Meanwhile, Warden Beatty is furious at Wilson for not breaking Harry and Skip yet, and decides to handle things himself. Soon afterward, Harry is sent to the prison's hospital ward for appendicitis. A prisoner in the neighboring bed (Franklyn Ajaye) tells Harry of the horrors of the ward: he himself was admitted for a hernia operation, and the doctor castrated him in the process. As soon as Harry sees the doctor (Alvin Ing), he runs screaming from the ward. Skip meets with Warden Beatty to make a deal. In exchange for Skip's participation in the rodeo, Skip requests his own crew (Harry, Jesus, Rory, and Grossberger), along with a much bigger jail cell, all according to the plan. Warden Beatty agrees, telling Deputy Wilson to have an inmate guard watch them at all times. Willson assigns Graham and Blade to the task, who anxiously voice their resentment: Graham, who resents being "pushed aside" for Skip, and Blade, who regard the group as "brown-noses". Wilson tells Graham of his own agenda: Skip will not leave the rodeo alive. Training Skip and Harry for the rodeo, Graham ensures that their lives - especially Harry's - are made difficult. While practicing for the rodeo, Skip, Harry, Jesus, Rory and Grossberger acquire the numerous tools they require for their escape, using the prison's metal shop to transform them into seemingly everyday items. In their new large jail cell, the quintet have numerous comforts: books, a television, a radio, and a guitar, among other things. While relaxing in their cell, Grossberger breaks his silence when he sings "Birmingham Jail" during an awkward moment. Meanwhile, Meredith has gotten a job as a waitress in a country western strip club, so she may search for possible suspects. When she meets the real crooks - recognized by a tattoo on one of their hands that a witness (Tracy Lee Rowe) saw on one of them - Meredith calls Len Garber, and the police. The rodeo begins, and Skip, Harry, Jesus, Rory and Grossberger all perform their tasks flawlessly, arousing no suspicions, in spite of Wilson and Graham's attempt to kill Skip: Graham spikes a horse Skip is riding, but Skip manages to stay on the horse and dismount, unhurt. Graham then puts a lock on the gate, trapping Skip inside with an out-of control bull, but Grossberger breaks the lock off, allowing Skip out through the chute with the bull. During every major event when everyone is distracted, one of them slips out through a secret opening, taking them through air vents to either a restroom, where Jesus' wife Teresa (Karmin Murcelo) waits to provide them disguises, or through a vent to a hollow pushcart, manned by Jesus' brother Ramon (Henry Kingi). Once through, they put on their disguises and re-enter the grounds as customers. Skip is set to compete against reigning champion Caesar Geronimo (Joe Massengale) to swipe the prize: a bag of money (in reality the wardens' side bet) from the horns of a large, Brahman bull. Skip asks Caesar if he's tired of being his warden's stooge, suggesting that they give the money to the prisoners, even offering to help Caesar win if he chooses to do so. Both contestants play hard, but Caesar is the winner, grabbing the bag. Inspired by Skip's words, Caesar throws the bag over the fence to the inmates, much to the shock and outrage of wardens Beatty and Sampson. Skip prepares his own escape through the secret opening, but Graham shows up, suspicious. Grossberger knocks Graham out and Skip makes his escape into the waiting pushcart. He's herded off into the waiting camper, and the group drives off. Arriving at a secret meeting spot, Jesus and Rory quickly make introductions, then bid Harry and Skip farewell as they all pile into a waiting car, heading off to Mexico. Harry and Skip hop in the other waiting car, only to be stopped by another car containing Len Garber and Meredith. She tells Harry and Skip that, thanks to her work, the police have captured the real crooks, who have confessed to the bank robbery that wrongly convicted them. Harry and Skip, ecstatic, decide to resume their original plans of heading to Hollywood. Skip asks Meredith to go with him, and Meredith, on a whim, says "yes".