Samantha "Sam" Baker (Ms. Manheim), bartender at a popular New York comedy club, cannot find the courage to perform her own smart, edgy comedy material. Having spent her life as a "big" girl in a beauty-obsessed world, she is convinced that only petite, curvy girls get successful careers in show business. Therefore, her strategy is to give her best one-liners to Jennie (Ms. Lee), one of the club's wannabe standup comedians. Jennie is decidedly talent-free, but she expertly compensates with bathing-suit-model assets. When Michael True (Mr. Cohen), the talent scout for the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, makes his annual visit to find prospects for this major career-making showcase, he is captivated with Jennie -- both on and off-stage.

Jennie begs Sam to help her keep Michael interested and amused. She agrees, but soon finds herself falling in love. Michael is too, but, is it with Sam's razor-sharp wit or Jennie's knockout looks? Is love, like beauty, only skin deep?

Sam is not lacking for friendly support. Comic legend Henry Rooney (Mr. Coleman), who suffers from his own performance phobia, makes valiant efforts to get her to take the stage. And very pregnant best friend Casey (Ms. Matlin) encourages Sam to see herself as truly beautiful. As the final selections for the festival are made, Sam discovers the true importance of love, friendship and an audience's ovation.

In a cameo performance, Phyllis Diller portrays herself as host of the comedy festival.

Kiss My Act! is directed by Duane Clark (The Practice, "Family Tree," "The Protector") from a script by Kevin Hench. Laurence Mark ("Center Stage," "As Good As It Gets," "Jerry Maguire") and Ilene Amy Berg ("Sophie and the Moonhanger," "Cracker," "Baby M") are executive producers of the film. Ms. Manheim serves as a co-executive producer, the first time she has served in that role on a project. Greg Copeland is the co-producer. "Kiss My Act!" is a production of Laurence Mark Productions and Berger Queen Productions distributed by Columbia TriStar Television Distribution.

LAURENCE MARK, executive producer
Laurence Mark received an Academy Award nomination for producing "Jerry Maguire," starring Tom Cruise and directed by Cameron Crowe; and he executive-produced "As Good As it Gets," starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear and directed by James L. Brooks, which was nominated as well for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Mr. Mark also recently produced "Finding Forrester," starring Sean Connery, "Anywhere But Here," starring Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman, and "The Object of My Affection," starring Jennifer Aniston. Upcoming big-screen projects for Mr. Mark include "Riding in Cars with Boys," starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Penny Marshall, and "All That Glitters," starring Mariah Carey. For television, Mr. Mark is executive producer of These Old Broads, starring Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor, and scheduled to air on ABC in February 2001. Laurence Mark Productions is headquartered at the Sony Studios, where the company has a long-term production arrangement with Columbia Pictures.

ILENE AMY BERG, executive producer
Ilene Amy Berg, a producer of television movies, drama series, news and reality programming, is currently the president of television for Laurence Mark Productions which is based at Sony Studios. During the 1997/1998 television season, Ms. Berg was the supervising producer of the primetime drama series Cracker, for Granada/Kushner-Locke/ABC. Ms. Berg's production company, Berger Queen Productions, completed an exclusive 10-year production deal with ABC Productions in 1996. During that time Ms. Berg served as executive producer on numerous critically acclaimed films, including Baby M (ABC 1988), which was nominated for seven Emmy Awards -- including Best Miniseries -- and listed by Time magazine as one of the "Year's Ten Best," and Sophie and the Moonhanger (Lifetime 1996), which was nominated for a CableAce Award for Best Picture.