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Doubt starring Katherine Heigl, Dulé Hill, Laverne Cox & Steven Pasquale

Posted on September 25, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

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Doubt TV series 2017 starring Katherine Heigl

Doubt is a 13-episode legal drama series that was canceled after its first season. It is a shame because despite its shortcomings, it was a fun show with great actors, engaging storylines, and interesting (bordering on hilarious) characters.

I think Doubt lost mostly because it is main/ongoing court case has been done so many times before. Tell me if this jogs your memory:

A beautiful lawyer takes on the case of a handsome murder suspect. He claims he is innocent. She believes him because he is such a nice, charismatic and thoughtful guy. They fall in love, but, oh my god, the conflicts…

The first one I can think of is Jagged Edge starring Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges. While Jeff Bridges was no means a very nice guy even in the beginning, he was certainly gorgeous and charismatic. Those of you who don’t remember Jeff being gorgeous, do watch the film.

Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close in Jagged Edge
Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close in Jagged Edge.

But Jagged Edge was in 85, and even when I saw it in the 90s (hey, I was barely 1 in 85!), it didn’t feel that fresh.

Since then, I have seen” the gorgeous and talented lawyer falls in love with gorgeous and innocent-looking murder suspect client storyline” so many times that I can’t believe this was seen as an acceptable, driving storyline.

Note: The following paragraph includes major spoilers for the legal drama series The Good Wife starring Julianna Margulies.

So why did I keep watching Doubt? For one thing, I was happy Steven Pasquale was allowed to woo the leading lady and stay in the show. He was going to date Alicia Florick in The Good Wife, but writers changed their mind. (I remember a kiss, and maybe a one-time thing? My memory is fuzzy.) But I’m sure Steven didn’t take it personally as writers didn’t choose Will Gardner for Alicia. Then the cute ADA Finn (Matthew Goode) disappeared. Then she hooked up with the hot private investigator Jason (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) but she chose herself in the end? I have too many issues with The Good Wife storylines. I just never got over Will’s death. Oh well… I’m tremendously enjoying its spin-off The Good Fight, though. No Floricks.

OK, back to Steven Pasquale. Then I thought he was going to complicate the already complex and troubled marriage of Chuck and Wendy Rhoades in Billions,

But that ship also sailed as his character disappeared after two episodes.

So yes, even the storyline itself was annoying, it was a lot of fun to watch him. He was made for his part. And hey, I like Katherine Heigl. I guess she will probably always have my admiration and love for her part as Izzie Stevens from Grey’s Anatomy and her relationship with guest character Denny (also played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.) And Elliot Gould is a joy to watch.

OK, so yes, this is a canceled series. But if you like legal dramas, quirky characters, social justice, diverse characters and a great office environment, I recommend the show anyway.

And let’s get to the plot and the characters:

Doubt Plot Summary and Characters

Sadie Ellis (Katherine Heigl) is a brilliant lawyer. She was practically brought up by her boss Isaiah Ross (Elliot Gould) since her mother (Judith Light) went to jail when she was very young. Ross is her mother’s lawyer, and he is in love with the mother, and this has lead to his divorce. They keep working on an appeal, but her mother’s performance and her seeming lack of remorse fail them at parole hearings. She only works, and her best friend is another successful lawyer at the firm, Albert. (Dulé Hill)

Katheibe Heigl and Steven Pasquale.
Katheibe Heigl and Steven Pasquale. I’d fall for him too, to be honest.

At the moment, their most important case is the murder trial of Billy Brennan. Poster child for white privilege, Billy is a handsome, heterosexual, and rich doctor with even richer parents. 26 years ago, when Billy was a teenager, his girlfriend at the time was murdered brutally. He wasn’t charged then due to lack of evidence, but the new DA makes it her mission to put him behind bars. Billy swears he is innocent, and he and Sadie can’t help but fall for each other pretty fast.

Apart from Billy, they have different cases per episode as well, and they are interesting. There is plenty of time spent in court, which is something we do need from legal dramas.

*

Fun notes on The Guest Stars

  • Elliot Gould, who plays Sadies’s boss and father figure, played Ross and Monica’s father on Friends. His wife on Friends was played by Christina Pickles, also guest stars as Billy’s dead ex’s mother.
  • One of the judges is played by Michael Badalucco, a regular of the hit legal drama The Practice, starring Dylan McDermott and created by David E Kelley.

*

Doubt: Yay or Nay?

So it wasn’t a hit, but I had fun – until the very last episode. The last episode caused a major facepalm moment.

SPOILERS: (For Doubt and Jagged Edge)

Guess what? Billy is guilty. And Sadie finds out and tells Albert. Oh…..

Was that supposed to be a cliffhanger?

Come on!

  • They could have Billy innocent.
  • They could have Billy lose and go to trial.
  • They could have Billy win, turn out to be guilty and Sadie not finding out.

But no. They had to go all Jagged Edge on us, minus a deadly fight between Billy and Sadie, though arguably, that was what they had in store for us if the show had been renewed.

Both as a writer and reader, I urge writers to stay away from this storyline of gorgeous lawyer falls in love with gorgeous murder suspect client, they fall in love, trial is won, client turns out to be guilty – the lawyer finds out.

Please change it around.

*

Still, check out Doubt and see if you like it. You can always turn it off if you don’t. And if you are a Steven Pasquale fan like me, check out his also canceled series Do No Harm. It’s 13-episode thrilling ride where a doctor with a dissociative identity disorder tries to keep his psycho identity from ruining his good life.

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: doubt, doubt cast, doubt katherie heigl, doubt tv series, dulé hill, elliot gould, Glenn Close, jagged edge, jeff bridges, Katherine Heigl, laverne cox, legal drama, steven pasquale, the good wife

27 Dresses starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman & Edward Burns

Posted on October 8, 2012 Written by ripitup

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27 dresses starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman & Edward Burns
Image via http://blog.psprint.com

Jane Nichols (Katherine Heigl) is the best bridesmaid a bride can ever hope for: She is supportive, meticulous, is there every step of the way, and she doesn’t even complain about the ridiculousness of the bridesmaid dress. She is also hard-working at work, making her boss George’s (Edward Burns) life a lot easier. But George is completely oblivious to the fact that Jane is in love with him.

When New York Journal’s commitments writer Kevin Doyle meets Jane at a wedding and realizes that she switches back and forth between that wedding and another one, he is amused and intrigued. And when he gets his hands on Jane’s planner, he realizes that her wedding-centered life might just be the perfect ticket out of section he hates to write. Now he just has to charm his way into Jane’s life, which turns upside down when her selfish yet hot sister Tess (Malin Akerman) comes to town and starts a whirlwind romance with George. Now Jane finds herself help plan her sister’s wedding, with Kevin following her around to write the piece.

Of course things will get more complicated when Kevin starts having feelings for Jane, and will try to prevent his editor (Melora Hardin) from running something that will end his chances with Jane, who might start being attracted to him too…

*

27 Dresses ended up being one of my favorite romantic comedies- It’s in my top 10, and for good reason. It is very funny, without going into slapstick mode. It has great funny situations and witty one-liners, mostly provided by Jane, Kevin and Jane’s best friend Casey (Judy Greer). It also has the optimal balance of comedy and romance- and while comedy dominates most of the time, there is always the romantic build-up, until we finally get what we expected all along.

Oh, and if you feel like you might have seen James Marden in a love triangle before, you are right. You can read Actors and Their Niches 2: James Marsden – Lover in a Love Triangle to find out where else he had a male rival or obstacle.

Trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV1-pePln_I[/pro-player]


Favorite Lines (There might be some minor spoilers)

Jane: God, Casey, can’t you keep it in your pants for one wedding?
Casey: Are you kidding? The only reason to wear this monstrous dress is that so some drunken groomsman can rip it to shreds with his teeth.

*

Jane: How refreshing! A man who doesn’t believe in marriage.
Kevin: I’m just trying to point out the hypocrisy of the spectacle.
Jane: Oh! That’s so noble of you. Do you also go around telling small children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist? ‘Cause someone needs to blow that shit wide open.
Kevin: A-ha! So you admit that believe in marriage is kind of like believing in Santa Claus!

*

Casey: (in the bar, on George) He asks if you want a drink. You smile and say, ‘Vodka soda.’ If you already have a drink, you down it. Then there’s some flirting, some interoffice sex, an accidental pregnancy, a shot gun wedding, and a life of bliss. How many times do we have to go over this?

*

Casey: (on Kevin) Who was that and where can I get one?

*

Jane: (on finding out that the cynical Kevin is actually her favorite columnist Michael Doyle) I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich.

*

Kevin: (on her mermaidy, green dress) What color is that – vomit?

*

Kevin: (on her ridiculous yellow, flowery bridesmaid dress) What the hell is that?
Jane: Theme wedding.
Kevin: What was the theme? Humiliation.

*

Jane: Oh, I’m a really… very good caulker.
Kevin: (into his recorder) Likes caulk.

*

Jane’s Aunt: Must be so hard to watch your younger sister get married before you.
Jane: Yes. Then I remember that I still get to have hot hate sex with random strangers and I feel SO much better!

*

Favorite Scenes

In addition to ones that feature my favorite lines:

-Kevin and Jane gift registering for Tess

-Jane putting on all the dresses for Kevin and their banter.

-The fight between Jane and Kevin in the car, followed by the chat in the bar, and their Benny and the Jets duet, in addition to the hook up afterwards. Rock’n’Roll, sexy and romantic, just the way I like it.

– Jane’s getting back at Tess

– Kevin’s speech after Jane got back at Tess

-and obviously the last two scenes

*

Also on James Marsden

Straw Dogs starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard & James Woods

The Box starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Frank Langella

James Marsden Trivia

Actors and Their Niches 2: James Marsden – Lover in a Love Triangle

Stardust, The Air I Breathe, Playing by Heart, The Good Shepherd, Hairspray & He’s Just Not That Into You: 6 Good Movies with Brilliant Casts (Hairspray features James Marsden

Enchanted starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey & James Marsden

Movie Reviews of 4 Nicholas Sparks Adaptations: A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle and The Notebook (The Notebook co-stars James Marsden)

Gossip starring James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson & Joshua Jackson

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

Also on Katherine Heigl

Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel & Josh Lucas

Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck

The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler

The Accidental Husband and Denny Duquette: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

3 TV Series About Aliens: Roswell, 3rd Rock From The Sun and V (2009)

Tall Actresses: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Katherine Heigl, Sigourney Weaver and Uma
Thurman

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 27 dresses, 27 dresses dvd, 27 dresses katherine heigl, 27 dresses movie, 27 dresses movie review, 27 dresses quotes, Edward Burns, James Marsden, james marsden movies, judy greer, Katherine Heigl, katherine heigl 27 dresses, katherine heigl films, katherine heigl movies, Malin Akerman, melora hardin

Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel & Josh Lucas

Posted on January 28, 2011 Written by ripitup

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Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel
Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel.

Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a gorgeous, fun-loving guy who works as a technical director at a broadcast network. And he just loves women way too much to commit to any one of them.

Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) owns and runs her own pastry shop where she cooks everything herself. She is much more emotional and romantic compared to Messer. And the only thing these two have in common are mutual best friends Alison and Peter (Christina Hendricks and Hayes MacArthur), who are in a serious relationship and they think it was a good idea for Eric and Holly to meet and hook up.

Unfortunately, Eric and Holly detest each other and can’t even complete one date. Both would be glad to never see the other one again but Alison and Peter get married and start a family- the big house and a kid named Sophie included. Of course being their best friends, Eric and Holly spend a lot more time together than they would like- being Sophie’s godparents and all.

But when both Alison and Peter die in a car crash, not liking each other becomes the least of their problems. Messer and Holly find out that they were picked as Sophie’s guardians. While neither is sure they can handle it, it looks like they’re Sophie’s best option. So this is where the story really begins- when they move in to their friends’ house and try to adjust their lives – work and private- around Sophie. Of course they need to convince themselves and the social worker (Sarah Burns) that they can handle it.. Throw in Messer being a chick magnet and the handsome doctor Sam (Josh Lucas) interested in Holly and their lives as they know it had never been so complicated…

**

I wasn’t looking forward to see Life As We Know It at first. I thought it was going to be annoying mushy and predictable. And while it was predictable, it was never annoying. It was a bittersweet, emotional film that focused more on how the unlikely “parents” tried, and then learned to be parents than the relationship between the two leads. Sure, there will be romance at some point. But come on- you know that you don’t cast Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl as the two leads and not make their characters hook up.

But the best part of the film is that it tells a familiar tale in such a fun and sincere way that it makes it really easy to identify with Holly and Messer as they try their best to take care of Sophie, find a way to get along and cope with their friends’ deaths.

And if you have a problem with Heigl’s comedic abilities, worry not. While there are funny moments, this is not exactly a comedic role.

Lovely film. It won’t change your life. It won’t impress you much. But it really might put a smile on your face.

Directed by Greg Berlanti. Written by Ian Deitchman & Kristin Rusk Robinson. Currently rated at 6 on IMDB.

Fun notes:

– Sophie is played by real life triplet sisters Alexis, Brynn & Brooke Clagett.
– Sarah Burns once again co-stars in a neurotic role. You might remember her as Rashida Jones’ best friend who totally freaked Jason Segel out in the comedy I Love You, Man.

Favorite Scene:

Right before and during the baby’s first steps. Messer and Holly’s reactions are hilarious and so is the baby.

 

Other Posts feat. Josh Duhamel

When in Rome starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel

Celebrities That Look Alike feat. Josh Duhamel, Timothy Olyphant, Ethan Hawke, Antonio Banderas &more

22 Tall Actors from Hollywood feat. Josh Duhamel, Paul Walker, Keanu Reeves, Gerard Butler& More

Other Posts feat. Katherine Heigl

Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck

The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler

The Accidental Husband and Denny Duquette: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

3 TV Series About Aliens: Roswell, 3rd Rock From The Sun and V (2009)

Tall Actresses: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Katherine Heigl, Sigourney Weaver and Uma Thurman

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Alexis Clagett, Brooke Clagett, Brynn Clagett, Christina Hendricks, comedy, drama, Greg Berlanti, Hayes MacArthur, Josh Duhamel, josh lucas, Katherine Heigl, life as we know it, life as we know it movie, romance, Sarah Burns, When in Rome, when in rome movie

Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck

Posted on October 9, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara
Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara. Directed by The Ugly Truth director Robert Luketic. 2010.

Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) arrives in Nice, France to have a vacation with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara).

Spy Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) is in Nice, staying at the same hotel and handling his deadly missions.

When the two meet, sparks fly and Spencer decides that he no longer wants to be spy. He wants a steady, normal life with Jen. So he quits. Of course Jen has no idea about Spencer’s background, she just thinks he is some sort of consultant. So Spencer quits and starts a whole new domestic life with Jen, and becomes accepted by her family.

Three years later, they are married and having the perfectly ordinary suburban life. Jen is working with internet security and Spencer is running his own firm. However, this comfortable existence is threatened when Spencer’s old boss tells him that he either finishes one last assignment or the “assignment” will finish him. Spencer is unwilling; however he is left with no choice when he realizes that his safe environment is not safe at all. He will have to confess his past, protect his wife and try save his marriage at the same time.

**

Killers is a romantic action/comedy. It is beautiful to look at and entertaining to watch, as long as you don’t try to get into the criticism mode too much. Even the smartest action movies are full of unintentional plot holes and being a romantic comedy first and an action comedy second, Killers does have quite a few. Another problem the movie has, it does fail to integrate all these three genres seamlessly. While Tom Cruise’s Knight and Day manages to be funny, romantic, exciting and sexy pretty much all the time, Killers starts as a fun romance, get a bit of a comedy, does romance again and by the time the action starts, the movie has already reached the middle. While it is not boring, knowing it is supposed to have action makes you a little impatient for the fast parts to start. And by the time the action is over, you think the movie should be in the middle, and not towards the end. So it does feel like two different movies at times.

So just treat Killers as the fluff, romantic comedy with action bits that it is, rather than an action comedy with romantic bits and you might have a good time. Katherine Heigl is OK, although I do think she is better at drama than comedy. Ashton Kutcher is s at home in a comedy as usual and Tom Selleck is priceless as always.

Fun note for Friends fans: Did the bit about the moustache remind you about Chandler and Richard? If it didn’t or if you haven’t seen that episode of Friends, it is in season 2, Episode 20. Watch that episode and have a hilarious déjà vu. Also the name of Jen’s ex is Richard, which is the name of the character Tom Selleck played in Friends.

Directed by Robert Luketic, the director of The Ugly Truth and 21.

Favorite Lines:

Jen: Are you going to kill me too?

Spencer: If I was going to kill you, I’d shoot you back in the house. That sounded weird.

**

Jen (on how many men Spencer killed): How many people, Spencer?

Spencer: Four.teen. (pointing to the one he just killed): 15.

Jen: Is 15 your real number? Or is it like when you ask a girl how many guys she slept with and  you have to double it times 10 (Spencer gives her a look). I didn’t do that.

Other Posts on Ashton Kutcher

Spread starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche

16 Fun Facts Actor Ashton Kutcher – Kelso from That 70s Show

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

Valentine’s Day starring Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba and More

The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart

22 Tall Actors From Hollywood

Other Posts on Katherine Heigl

The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler

The Accidental Husband and Denny Duquette: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

3 TV Series About Aliens: Roswell, 3rd Rock From The Sun and V (2009)

Tom Selleck

In and Out starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack and Tom Selleck

Hollywood stars in Friends feat. Tom Selleck

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 21 movie, action, Ashton Kutcher, ashton kutcher movies, catherine o’hara, comedy, Katherine Heigl, katherine heigl movies, killers, killers movie, movies, Robert Luketic, romance, The Ugly Truth, Tom Selleck

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