Dianne Wiest

Alice Hughes, an author, travels to England on a cruise with two friends and her nephew to receive a literary award. The journey forces her to face some hard truths from her past.

When Maria, the witch ancestor of our protagonists, realizes that her lover is never going to come for her, she casts a spell on herself to never fall in love again. Unfortunately, the spell goes awry and becomes a family curse: any man that falls for an Owens woman will die. And that's exactly what happens to Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) Owens' father, causing their mother to die of a broken heart. The young girls then live with their two aunts (Stockard Channing, Diane Wiest), who teach them the ways of being a witch and how to deal with the ridicule that comes with the family profession. But one night when they witness their aunts casting a love spell for a neighbor, Sally decides she will never fall in love and dreams up a man that will never exist... Until one day she goes to town with her aunts and she meets the man she falls for. The next thing you know, Sally is happily married to Michael (Mark Feuerstein) with two daughters of her very own. Her sister, in the mean time, has been living in Florida where life is constant parties. But when the 'death watch beetle' sounds, Sally know it is only a matter of time before she loses Michael like her mother lost her father...and like all the Owens women have lost the men they love. It is only when the curse plays out that she learns her aunts cast the spell on her to fall for him in the first place. She allows her daughters to live with the aunts who raised her, telling them that her daughters are to never do magic. With Michael's tragic death, the sisters reunite and it's Gillian who presses Sally to forgive herself and move on. But tragedy strikes twice when the sisters again reunite, this time when Gilly calls because her boyfriend, Jimmy (Goran Visnjic), begins beating her. It is his accidental death that makes them toy with nature; hoping to bring him back so they won't be arrested. They succeed, but are forced to actually kill him this time when he tries to strangle Gilly. Jimmy, however, is haunting them. And the aunts leave when the girls won't confess what happened. Which only becomes a bigger problem when an officer comes looking for Jimmy with a letter Sally had written to Gilly. Why? Because a woman has turned up dead and naked. But this one is special. He happens to be the man that Sally conjured up all those years ago and the girls realize it. Gary, however, isn't there simply because of his case. He fell in love with Sally's letter and now has to reconcile his duty to the badge, and arresting Jimmy's murderer, and duty to the woman he loves, the woman he wished for. Jimmy's ghost isn't gone. He's possessing Gilly and the only way to save her is to form a coven and banish him...which Sally does by using all the townspeople who have called her names for years. But only the love of the sisters can send him away...well that and a little magic. When Jimmy's death is declared accidental, Gary returns to Sally for that chance at happiness. And the girls embrace their magic roots. So maybe normal is relative...and a witch can have her happy ending.

Struggling to forge a financial career in white male dominated wall street society, taken for granted Laurel Ayers a black woman decided to change the playing field. Quickly realizing that only white males would ever achieve greatness she invents an elusive,Howard Hugh's like character Robert Cutty. Pretending to be Mr. Robert Cutty, Laural Ayers establishes a wealthy investment firm until events force Mr. Cutty to psychically materialize; as of this point he is never seen. Enlisting the help of her drag queen friend and her associate, Sally Dugan she is able to create a physical prosthetic entity. A chain of events mostly due to Laural Ayers adversaries force her to abandon her fictional character and deal her out once again. Down and out didn't necessary leave her out of the game. Laural Ayers is smart and proves she can have the upper hand. Striking back, she reveals who Robert Cutty really is to a group of her colleagues, proving it isn't who you are on the outside but who you are in the inside Check out my review at: www.dereksheldon.blogpsot.com

The film opens with a performance at the Birdcage, a nightclub situated in South Beach, Miami. The club is owned by Armand Goldman, a gay Jew in a relationship with the club's star Albert, who performs as a drag queen. Armand's son Val returns from college with an announcement: he is getting married to a schoolmate, Barbara Keeley, whose father Kevin Keeley is a conservative politician from Ohio who founded the Coalition for Moral Order, and who is seeking reelection. The problem is that Barbara hid the truth from her parents - she informed them that Val's father is a cultural attaché for Greece and that Val's mother is a housewife, and that their last name was Coleman. The Keeleys, meanwhile, are in the midst of their own crisis: Keeley's co-founder for the Coalition, Senator Jackson, died of a heart attack while in bed with an underage black prostitute. This event makes headlines, and gets the Keeleys swamped with hordes of reporters and threatens to ruin their political position. Kevins wife Louise proposes that they go to see Val's parents, who they believe are a traditional wholesome family, as a double measure to both avoid the reporters and to restore their impeccable public image. They set off, but are being tracked by a couple of reporters, who are themselves tracked by competing reporters... Val begs his father to go along with the charade, and after some deliberation he concedes. They both set to work remodeling their apartment into a more austere and simple home, and dress up the flamboyant gay manservant Agador as a butler/cook. Less simple is asking Albert for support; an effeminate, temperamental and sensitive partner, he is offended at Armand and Val asking him to be absent due to his obvious gayness, and when he tries to act like a heterosexual he fails miserably. With no other choices, Armand and Val decide to call upon Val's birthmother Katherine, a former showgirl who left Val with Armand and ran off to become a businesswoman. Asking Katherine is the last straw for Albert and he decides to go to a cemetery; Armand calms him down and reaffirms their devotion by giving him partnership of the Birdcage. The Keeleys arrive, and the night starts off fairly well, with only a few hiccups. Unfortunately, Katherine, who was supposed to join the party, gets stuck in traffic. Unexpectedly Albert dresses up as a woman and takes her place, to the horror of Armand and Val; bizarrely his masquerade works successfully and Kevin is even smitten with Mrs Coleman and her liberalness, much to Louise's indignation. However, both Kevin and Louise start to suspect that the Colemans are hiding something, especially when they are served an awful mishmash soup made of all sorts of ingredients (including hardboiled eggs), and notice that the plates hold pictures of men in disturbing poses... Katherine finally arrives, and everything falls apart: Kevin and Louise find out that Val's parents are gay Jewish nightclub owners, and they decide to leave immediately. But they discover a mass of news crews outside who tracked them down, and duck back in. Although the Keeleys have warmed up to their in-laws, they are now trapped inside and for them to appear in the presence of such people would finish their political careers. Albert hits on a brilliant scheme: he dresses the Keeleys up in drag and gives an impromptu performance, and as the show goes on Katherine successfully gets the Keeleys out of the Birdcage without any interception from reporters. The film ends with Val and Barbara getting married, in an interfaith ceremony presided by both a rabbi and priest, attended by Kevin and Louise, Katherine and Armand and Albert.

A counterfeiter with a habit of "eliminating" the competition moves in next door to the Robbersons. Two cops move in with the Robbersons for a stakeout. When police discover that a mob hitman has moved in next door to the Robbersons, they want to find out what he is up to. So they set up a stakeout in the Robbersons' home. Hard-nosed, tough-as-nails Jake Stone is assigned to the stakeout. But now it's a question of whether Jake can last long enough to capture the bad guys. The Robbersons want to help so they are driving him crazy.

A single mother raises a child prodigy on her own, struggling to give him every opportunity he needs to express his gift. Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child. —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au> Uneducated working class Dede Tate is the loving single mom to now seven year old Fred Tate, the two who live in a small inner city apartment. Dede has known since Fred was an infant that he is gifted, even more so than the most exceptional of children. His gifts, which are in the sciences and creative arts, are largely intuitive. Because so, he is a sensitive human, who internalizes many of his feelings, and who has ulcers in part because he worries about the world's problems. But more than anything, Fred wants to have friends, which he doesn't have at his inner city public school because he is considered different. Dede understands this, and although she does indulge some of his intellectual pursuits, she wants him to be like a "normal" kid. Their lives change when Fred comes to the attention of Jane Grierson of the Grierson Institute, a school for exceptional children. Jane was considered an exceptional child herself. Jane wants Fred to enroll in the Institute and after she gets to know him better wants to take him under her personal wing. But taking Fred to the other extreme may not be what Fred needs to flourish either. In addition, people who do truly become Fred's first ever close friends as he sees them may not truly understand what literal Fred needs in his friend virginity. A battle of sorts ensues between the two women as they do what they believe is best for Fred, who brings out maternal instincts for the first time ever in Jane. —Huggo The story of the intellectually-gifted eight-year-old Fred Tate, his mother Dede and the director of a program for gifted children, Dr Jane Grierson. It explores the tension between Fred's emotional and intellectual needs and between his mother and Dr Grierson. —Mike McBain <mike@calcite.apana.org.au>

Four Buckman siblings attempt to raise their children - each in their own different style - and deal with the joys and sorrows that the process brings.

At a summer house in Vermont, neighbor Howard falls in love with Lane, who's in a relationship with Peter, who's falling for Stephanie, who's married with children. Everyone is gathering at Lane's place for the weekend, and everyone's in love. Unfortunately, each beloved loves somebody else, and no one seems to realize it. —Cleo <frede005@maroon.tc.umn.edu> For the past couple of years, Lane has been living at the acreage located in rural Vermont given to her by her larger than life boozing ex-actress mother, Diane, the property which Diane and Lane's now deceased father Richard bought before Lane was born. Lane moved there in an attempt to get well following her latest suicide attempt, her depression which in large part is the result of not being able to get over shooting Diane's abusive lover, the man Diane left Richard for, dead when Lane was fourteen. Lane spends much time with two of her neighbors: Howard, a French teacher, who is in love with her, and Peter, an ex-Madison Avenuer and aspiring writer, with who in turn Lane is in love. It's nearing the end of the summer, and Lane's best friend, married Stephanie from Philadelphia, has been staying there for much of the summer both to support Lane and to get away from her unsatisfying marriage for a while. During Stephanie's time there, Peter in turn has fallen in love with her, of which Lane is unaware and which Stephanie plans not to act upon in light of Lane's feelings for Peter. As Lane feels she is ready to move on with her life, she plans on selling the acreage to pay off her medical debts, using the remaining moneys to move back to New York City to start a photography business. Lane's plans could be thrown for a loop with the arrival back for a few days of Diane and Lloyd, Diane's supportive physicist husband. Diane's plan for Peter to write her memoirs and a pronouncement by Diane end up dredging up that painful part of Lane's past that she thought she had placed behind her. —Huggo Lane is selling the family home in Vermont and moving to New York. At the moment she has her mother (and famed entertainer) Diane and step-father Lloyd living with her, as well as her sister Stephanie. Lane has been through a lot but now things seem to be getting back on track. She is in a relationship with Peter, an author. However, Peter is in love with Stephanie, who's married. Meanwhile, Howard, a neighbour, is smitten with Lane. How will things work out? —grantss

Following the divorce of their parents, Micheal (Jason Patric) and Sam Emerson (Corey Haim), along with their mother Lucy (Dianne Wiest), move to Santa Carla, California to live with their mother's father, a peculiar old man (Barnard Hughes). Known as the murder capital of the world, Santa Carla boasts a local boardwalk where a number of young people hang out. Most notable is a group of young men and their leader named David (Kiefer Sutherland). When the Emersons go out to the boardwalk for the first time, Lucy finds a video store run by a genial man named Max (Edward Herrmann (as Ed Herrmann)). They have a pleasant conversation, and Lucy is soon hired by him. Sam finds a comic shop near the boardwalk, overseen by the Frog Brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander). The two give Sam a comic about vampires, which Sam reluctantly takes. Meanwhile, Michael becomes enthralled by the mysterious and beautiful Star (Jami Gertz), who happens to be the girlfriend of David. David and his gang take Michael to their hideout, which is the remnants of an old hotel that collapsed during an earthquake. While there, Michael inadvertently drinks David's blood, thinking it is wine. Michael starts to develop some side effects - including sensitivity to sounds, a lack of reflection, and even flying. At one point, Michael almost attacks Sam but is stopped by the family dog named Nanook. When Sam notices Michael's faded reflection in a mirror and him being able to fly, he realizes his brother's a vampire, and in a panic calls their Mom, who is having dinner with Max. Michael manages to calm Sam down, to the point that when their Mom arrives, Sam claims a comic book freaked him out. Needless to say, Lucy is upset at having her evening ruined. After these events, Michael returns to David's hideout, where he confronts Star. She admits that the bottle he drank from did contain David's blood, and his suspicions are true. The next day, Sam accompanies his Mom to Max's place to drop off some wine. However, they are both terrified when Max's dog Thorn attempts to attack Lucy! Feeling the attack seemed similar to something in the comic he was given, Sam tells the Frog Brothers. In regards to Michael, the brothers claim Sam has to stake Michael to kill him, but Sam refuses, confident that his brother is only a half-vampire, and that he can be saved if the head vampire is killed. After the way Thorn acted and not having seen Max in the daylight, Sam is convinced that Max is the head vampire. Lucy invites Max over to dinner a few days later. Michael leaves when Max arrives, but not before per Max's request, he invites him in. Sam has brought the Frog Brothers over for the dinner, and they attempt to expose him. However none of their plans work, and they conclude that Max is not the head vampire. Finally, Michael decides to take Star, along with a little half-vampire boy named Laddie Thompson (Chance Michael Corbitt), from David's clutches and brings Sam and the Frog Brothers with him to kill David and his gang while Michael grabs Star and Laddie. The inexperienced Frog Brothers manage to kill one vampire before waking the bunch and fleeing into the daylight. David smiles as the group escapes saying "Tonight." Sam, Michael, and the Frog Brothers prepare for the night ahead. They prepare a bathtub full of garlic. They fill squirt guns with holy water. They prepare wooden stakes. Night falls and David and the remainder of his crowd come to Sam and Michael's house to seek vengeance. Sam and Michael take out one of the vampires by electricity and the Frog Brothers are saved by Sam & Michael's dog when the dog knocks a vampire into the bathtub with garlic. Finally, David and Michael face off. Michael kills David by pushing him onto some antlers. The only problem is that Michael doesn't go back to being human, meaning David is not the head vampire. Just then Lucy comes home with Max from a date. Unseen by Max, Michael and Star hide in the shadows as Max approaches the deceased David. Max appears to be upset by the death. It's then that it is revealed that Max is the head vampire and that David and his gang were Max's "children" of sorts. Max wanted David to make Michael and Sam part of the "family" so that Lucy would agree to be with Max knowing what he is. Max wanted Lucy because his boys were in need of a mother. Even though his boys are dead he still wants Lucy. Max takes hold of Sam, telling Lucy that Sam will die if she doesn't come to him. Just then Lucy's father busts into the house in his car equipped with wooden stakes. Max is killed and the day is saved. As Lucy makes sure her boys are okay, the grandfather goes to the kitchen, pops open a root beer, and says "There's one thing about living in Santa Carla...I never could stomach - all the damn vampires."

In the beginning of the opening credits, dancing feet are shown. Ren McCormick is a Chicago native who moves to Beaumont Utah with his mom so he can live with the runs aunt and uncle when he's at church, he meets the Reverend Moore and his wife Vi and their pretty daughter Ariel who goes against her father's strictly religious and his recklessness. Ren becomes friends with another teen boy named Willard and he learns that the school as well as the town has band dancing and rock music because they believe it is sinful and against the Christian Bible. Ren falls for a pretty girl named Ariel, which angers her boyfriend, Chuck. He challenges, Ren to a game of chicken involving tractors and Ren wins the challenge, but this is only because of his shoelace getting caught on the foot pedal. Reverend Moore does not allow Ariel to see Ren anymore, but Ren drives Willard and Ariel and her friend Rusty to a alcoholic bar pass a state line to go dancing. Willard, who doesn't know how to dance, gets jealous and gets into a fight with another man dancing with Rusty. Later on the drive home, Ariel describes how five years earlier, her older brother was killed in a car accident after a night of drinking and dancing. Their father persuaded the town council to have strict anti-liquor laws and anti-drug laws and anti-dancing laws. Ren decides to challenge these laws so the high school can hold a senior prom. Willard gets embarrassed that he can't dance, until Ren teaches him. Chuck then confront Ariel about her feelings to Ren and gets into a physical fight with her before breaking up, Ren helps Aerial hide the physical assault before going home. Later, somebody throws a brick with the words "Burn in Hell" through a window at Ren's house, but his uncle criticize Ren's outspoken behavior, Ethel tells Ren that his actions had cost her the job she had and he should stand up for the way he believes is right. Ariel gives Ren a Christian Bible with segments outlined in it that talk about the positives of dancing. Ren goes to the town council to positively advocate the anti-dancing law. He reads several Bible verses. Stating how the scripture does indeed allow dancing and celebration, although Reverend Moore is moved, the council still votes against Ren. Vi who supports this, tells Reverend Moore that he cannot be everybody's father and then he's not really one, including for Ariel. Reverend Moore does not change his mind on the dancing law, even after Ariel confronts her father in the Christian Church and tells him that she is not a virgin anymore. The next day, he finds members of the congregation burning library books that are considered to be Satanic in the danger of town's youth. He finds that the situation has become uncomfortable, and so he stops the book burning and sends everybody home. The next Sunday, Reverend Moore asks for his congregation to pray for the high school putting on the prom and then it will be held in a grain mail next day. I'm prom night more and we listen to outside the mail and chucking his friends arrive but attack Willard run arrives in time to fight and knocks out Chuck. Ren, Ariel, Willard and Rusty all join at the prom and dance all night long.

On Christmas Eve, commercial artist Molly Gilmore and architectural engineer Frank Raftis are last-minute Christmas shopping in Manhattan. Frank meets his colleague Ed for drinks; Ed tells Frank he is getting divorced. Molly sees her friend Isabelle, who is married, but plans to spend Christmas with another man; Molly also visits her sick father. Later that day, at the counter in a hectic bookstore, Frank and Molly get their packages mixed up, and on Christmas Day, Molly's husband, Brian, and Frank's wife, Ann, each opens the book that was meant for the other. Three months later, Frank and Molly, who commute into Manhattan from adjacent stops on the Metro-North Hudson Line, run into each other on the morning train. They struggle to place each other, but eventually Frank remembers, and reminds her of the confusion over the books. Later that day, Frank's boss asks him to take a post in Houston. Molly visits her father in hospital. Molly tells Isabelle about Frank; Frank tells Ed about Molly. That evening, Frank waits for Molly at Grand Central Terminal. They talk, and agree to meet on the morning train later that week. Against their better judgement, Frank and Molly grow closer. They see more and more of each other until, one afternoon, Frank takes Molly to Ed's apartment. They begin to make love, but Molly cannot go through with it. They agree that they must stop seeing each other. When Molly returns home that day, Brian gives her the news that her father has died. At the funeral, she has a panic attack. Convalescing, she tells Isabelle that it isn't grief for her father that she is suffering, but the loss of Frank. Meanwhile, Frank agrees to take the job in Houston. He tells Ann about Molly, throwing the future of their marriage into question. On the night he is due to leave, Frank calls Molly at home. Frank asks to see her before he goes, but as Brian stands listening, she ends the call. Unable to resist, she tells Brian she must see Frank one more time, and rushes to her car. Driving fast in the pouring rain, she nearly collides with a train at a crossing, and misses her chance. Meanwhile Frank tries to call her again but her husband answers the phone and says she doesn't want to talk to Frank. Some time later, once more in the run up to Christmas, Frank meets Ed and tells him that he and Ann are now separated. Molly meets Isabelle, and it is clear from their conversation that her marriage to Brian has failed too. Frank makes a stop at the bookstore where he and Molly first met. Molly is there at the same time. They talk but, uncertain how things now stand between them, go their separate ways. Walking away from the store, Frank stops, turns, and runs after her. A short time later on a crowded train out of Grand Central, he finds her again. They embrace.

A true story about Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Gordon's Valium addiction and her desperate attempts to kick the habit.