Courteney Cox Movies
Born on June 15, 1964, Courteney Cox grew up with three older siblings in Mountain Brook, an affluent Alabama town. Though Cox participated in multiple extracurricular activities during her high school years, she did not exercise her taste for acting until she dropped out of the architecture program at Mount Vernon College. Landing a contract with the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency led Cox to several commercial appearances. Her first official role arrived in 1984, when she was cast as a young debutante in one episode of the long-running soap opera As the World Turns.Her big break, however, was rooted in director Brian De Palma's decision to feature Cox as the girl pulled from the audience in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video. Years later, after the actress had gained a great deal more notoriety, this short music-video appearance became a key piece of celebrity trivia in a multitude of magazines and entertainment shows. In 1985, she starred alongside Dean Paul Martin in the forgettable series Misfits of Science. Cox reappeared on the television screen as Michael J. Fox's girlfriend, Psychology major Lauren Miller, in the '80s sitcom Family Ties.
Though Cox landed bit parts in a handful of mediocre films (Mr. Destiny, The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them) after Family Ties wrapped in 1989, her status as an actress officially gelled in 1994, when she co-starred with Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and, most notably, won the role of Monica Geller on the hugely successful sitcom Friends. This role brought her a nomination for an American Comedy Award, as well as a prominent role in Wes Craven's Scream trilogy. Cox's role as the notoriously cutthroat reporter Gale Weathers was significant not only in terms of critical acclaim, but also because the set of Scream was where she met fellow actor David Arquette, whom she married in 1999.
Although she certainly attempted to match the big screen-success of her fellow Friends castmates with such efforts as 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), and The Longest Yard (2005), Cox-Arquette fought a tortuous uphill battle, and never managed to land a part that brought her nearly as much goodwill as the high-strung Monica. She voiced Daisy the Cow in Steve Oedekerk's 2006 animated feature Barnyard, alongside an all-star cast that includes Danny Glover, Kevin James, Wanda Sykes, Sam Elliott and Andie MacDowell. The endeavor became a double-edged sword; on one hand, most critics detested the $50 million picture; on the other, it worked wonders at the box office, as one of the top grossers of its season.
Cox-Arquette's decision to join the cast of the family-friendly superhero story Zoom alongside Tim Allen and Chevy Chase didn't prove nearly as capricious. The picture suffered from relentless (though arguably justifiable) critical drubbings and performed abysmally on a commercial front, grossing just over $4 million in the week that followed its premiere - from an estimated $60 million budget. It also became the latest in Allen's long line of box office stinkers that included Christmas with the Kranks, Joe Somebody, and many others; The New York Times's Jeannette Catsoulis moaned that it "bleeds boredom from every frame," while Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwartzbaum observed, "this lifeless family comedy sucks the joy from every joke it touches."
That same year, the trades indicated Cox's forthcoming producer credit in longtime husband David Arquette's 2007 directorial debut, the slasher picture The Tripper, with Balthazar Getty, Paul Reubens and Lukas Haas. The Hostel-like story involved a group of potheads who travel to a Woodstock-esque concert for indulgence in sensual (and visceral) pleasures, but find themselves stalked by a psychotic. Cox and Arquette each cameo in the film.
2007 also found Cox returning to TV, producing and starring in the dramatic thriller Dirt, about the seedy side of an already seedy industry - the tabloid press. The show only ran until 2008, but Cox was soon onto the next project, the sitcom Cougar Town, which she produced and starred in as well. By 2011, she was back in the movies, working on Scream 4 -- though production also brought rumors that she and husband/co-star David Arquette were separating.
~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
The comedy series loved all over the world. Now for the first time on video and DVD - the top episodes of the long-running series, as voted by fans and the series' creators.
1) Pilot
2) The One with Two Parts [Parts 1 and 2]
3) The One with All the Poker
4) The One Where Ross Finds Out
5) The One with the Prom Video
1) Pilot
2) The One with Two Parts [Parts 1 and 2]
3) The One with All the Poker
4) The One Where Ross Finds Out
5) The One with the Prom Video
- 1981
No relation to the later cable-TV sitcom of the same name, Dream On is a tale of struggling LA actors seeking out an audience. This talented but impoverished troupe stages a "guerilla theatre" production, wherein each actor takes on a variety of characterizations. Given that the actors include an ex-hooker and a pair of mismatched homosexuals, perhaps the troupe is using their production as a means of escaping the torments of their own lives. Perhaps, nothing-that's just what they're doing. Most of the unknown players in Dream On have remained unknown, with the spectacular exceptions of Ed Harris and Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
This sci-fi outing is the pilot for a short-lived television series and chronicles the adventures of a gang of unusually talented teens. One uses his mind to control others, another is a wizard at cryogenics, while the other two can manipulate electrical energy and make things change sizes. This time, they team up to keep the government from using a deadly neutron cannon. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1986
Season Three of Murder She Wrote begins with the first episode of a two-part story, in which mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) pays a visit to the Carmody Circus, an extremely small-time operation. It seems that Jessica has evidence that one of the circus' employees, a roustabout-clown who calls himself Carl, is actually her brother-in-law Neil (Jackie Cooper), who has long been presumed dead. No sooner does Jessica link up with Neil than the man is accused of murdering the circus' hateful manager Hank Sutter (Charles Napier). A young Courtney Cox appears as Neil's granddaughter, Carol Bannister. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1986
In the second half of Murder She Wrote's two-part Season Three opener, Jessica's long-missing brother in law Neil Fletcher (Jackie Cooper), who has been working under an alias with the Carmody Circus, has confessed to the murder of circus manager Hank Sutter. Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is convinced that Neil is innocent, and that he is covering up for somebody else--and this proves to be a reasonable conclusion when a second murder occurs, in which the victim is rival circus owner Harry Kingman (Joe Dorsey). Seriously hampering Jessica's investigation is the stone wall of resistance built up by the highly clannish circus folk--and by the curiously hostile local authorities. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1987
When a tour bus driver plans to save his daughter from her captors, a Belgian circus performer, the Americans on his European bus tour lend a help hand. ~ Rovi
Dolph Lundgren stars in this live-action film version of the popular television cartoon series (based on a collection of Mattel action figures). Lundgren is He-Man, a well-muscled super-hero, battling the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) for control of the universe. Skeletor has designs on conquering the planet Eternia, a ravaged utopia ruled over by the Sorceress of Greyskull Castle (Christina Pickles). He-Man is summoned to stop Skeletor's plans. But when the wily dwarf Gwildor (Billy Barty) utilizes his Cosmic Key, He-Man and Skeletor finds themselves transported to California. There, a waitress named Julie (Courteney Cox) and her boyfriend Kevin (Robert Duncan Mitchell) come across the Cosmic Key and become embroiled in the intergalactic battle between He-Man and Skeletor. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this well-wrought, fast-paced caper flick, a naive, good-hearted waitress doesn't think twice about helping her troubled roommate. Unfortunately, her help lands her in Central America fleeing for her life with a grungy mercenary. They are chased because the two are believed to have possession of a priceless religious icon. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carey Lowell, Charles Rocket, (more)
Cocoon 2: The Return, like most sequels, relies a bit too heavily on one's familiarity with the first film. Without dwelling too long on Cocoon #1, we can observe that it ended with a group of senior citizens heading for the distant planet of Antarea, hoping to find a new, rewarding and elongated life. Cocoon 2 picks up the action five years later: The Antareans return to earth to check on the damage caused to their life-regenerating cocoons by earthquakes. Coming along for the ride are the elderly couples whom we met in the first film. Also carried over from the first Cocoon are young ferryboat captain Steve Guttenberg and gorgeous Antarean Tahnee Welch, who resume their interplanetary romance. Oldster Jack Gilford, whose beloved wife died in Cocoon, likewise finds romance in the form of Elaine Stritch. A secondary plot involves an insidious secret government plan to exploit the Antareans, which is foiled by sympathetic researcher Courteney Cox. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, (more)
- 1988
I'll Be Home for Christmas has the texture of a Norman Rockwell painting and the ambience of William Saroyan's The Human Comedy. Set in Rockport, Massachusetts (where this TV movie was filmed), the story takes place during World War II. Hal Holbrook and Eva Marie Saint are the parents of three grown children, all of whom are involved in some capacity with the defense program. Oldest son Whip Hubley is a bomber pilot, daughter Nancy Travis is a "Rosie the Rivetter," and younger son Jason Oliver has just enlisted. The film doesn't miss a trick, from the presence of the daughter's soldier-boy sweetheart to the crucial wire from the War Department. Its expected cliches aside, I'll Be Home for Christmas is meticulous in its recreation of the Yuletide of 1944; the film is perfect Christmas Eve TV fare, and never mind that it originally premiered on December 12, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer was based on the best-selling 1987 autobiography of (who else?) Roxanne Pulitzer. Since both the book and the subsequent TV movie were told from Roxanne's point of view, it is to be expected that certain ego-massaging liberties would be taken with the facts behind her sensational divorce from publishing heir Herbert Pulitzer (Perry King), and Herbert's subsequent bitter child custody battle. Thus it is that Roxanne is portrayed as a wide-eyed innocent at the time of her marriage, and Pulitzer is a double-dyed dastard. Those who tuned in to see the sex and drug orgies which permeated the couple's relationship were in for a major letdown: these "hot" elements were soft-pedalled into virtual invisibility. The leading lady of Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer is Chynna Phillips, daughter of another famous star-crossed duo, musicians John and Michelle Phillips. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
Originally titled Judith Krantz' Till We Meet Again, this two-part soaper covers forty-three years in the lives of three women. In 1913, French chanteuse Lucy Gutteridge embarks upon a successful showbiz career. She marries a champaigne heir and bears two daughters, played by Courtney Cox and Mia Sara. The story follows the trials and tribulations of mother and daughters through three wars and an infinite number of romances. A dash of adventure is provided by Courtney's activities as a stunt pilot, while there's glamour aplenty as Mia becomes a world-renowned movie star. The best scenes take place during World War 2, with the horrors of the battlefield running second place to the ladies' boudoir escapades. Barry Bostwick, who seems to have been in every Judith Krantz movie ever made (at least, that's what TV Guide told us back in 1989), costars as Courtney's erstwhile lover. Partly filmed in England, Till We Meet Again was first telecast November 19 and 21, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1990
- PG13
Shaking the Tree is an ensemble dramedy about four male friends living in Chicago, pushing 30, who help each other through a series of crises. Barry (Arye Gross) is a real estate salesman and a huge White Sox fan who's nervous about his impending wedding to Michelle (Christina Haag). When he presses her about her sexual past, he finds out she once slept with one of his pals. Duke (Steven Wilde, who co-wrote the script with director Duane B. Clark) was forced to give up boxing due to an injury, and is unhappy with his life as a womanizing bartender. Sully (Gale Hansen) comes from a wealthy family. He is also a womanizer, and his gambling problem is spiraling out of control. When he loses ten grand to some shady characters, his family refuses to bail him out. Michael (Doug Savant of Melrose Place) is a college professor with a massively pregnant wife, Kathleen (Courteney Cox), and his fear of becoming a father leads him to consider an affair with a seductive student, Brigette (played by actor Gale Hansen's wife, Brittney Hansen). After Cox became a success on television with Friends, the film was re-released on video with the photo on the box changed to feature the actress prominently, although she plays a supporting role in the film. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Arye Gross, Gale Hansen, (more)
- 1990
In this graphically violent and taut made-for-cable actioner an aspiring photographer teams up with a sexy sculptress to take down the hit man who lives in the loft next door. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Businessman Larry Burrows (James Belushi) has a wife who ignores him, a screwball friend who won't leave him alone, and a car that continually breaks down. All that and more is enough to give him a mid-life crisis. After his car stalls once more, he enters a bar looking for help and encounters a bartender (Michael Caine) who shows him what his life would have been like, if he hadn't struck out in a baseball game back in high school. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Michael Caine, (more)
Long before she was in Friends, Courteney Cox had to deal with a few enemies in Blue Desert. A rape victim, Cox is given the runaround by the New York police. Fed up with city life, she heads for the wide open spaces of Arizona. Not long afterward, she is propositioned by lowlife Craig Sheffer. She reports this to sympathetic local cop D.B. Sweeney, who replies matter-of-factly that this is not the first time that Sheffer has been accused of a sexual offense. To her amazement, Cox is later visited by Sheffer, who agitatedly warns her not to trust the supposedly sweet-natured Sweeney. Someone is lying about something-and Cox plain doesn't know who to believe. When she finally finds out, it's nearly too late. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Courteney Cox, D.B. Sweeney, (more)
- 1993
- R
In this romantic comedy, a pair of disparate yuppies attempt to bridge the considerable disparities between them and have a relationship. During their tempestuous struggles, their two best friends offer expert commentary. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Arye Gross, Courteney Cox, (more)
Who'd have thought that we'd ever watch Debbie Reynolds and Suzanne Pleshette playing grandmothers? Yet, grannies they are-and very glamorous ones-in the made-for-TV Battling for Baby. A pre-Friends Courteney Cox plays a young mother who decides to go back to work to help pay the bills. Cox's mother, Pleshette and her mother-in-law Reynolds battle over who will have the honor of looking after the baby while the new mom is away. A few "very special" dramatic scenes aside, this is essentially harmless froth, in the tradition of 1950s TV sitcoms. Battling for Baby originally aired January 12, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1994
Few ensemble sitcoms of the 1990s and early 2000s commanded as much love and devotion from their fans as the immensely popular NBC series Friends -- and few such sitcoms generated as many "water-cooler conversations" as the characters' lives and loves evolved over the series' ten-year run. Set in New York City, the action largely took place in two neighboring loft apartments. One of these was the home of Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), who can be described as the series' "rock" -- or better yet, "den mother." An assistant chef who later ran her own restaurant, Monica lived with her best friend, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), who had come to New York after running out on her wedding; employed as a waitress in the earlier episodes, Rachel later became a buyer for a retail fashion chain, and finally an assistant to a high-profile designer. Occasionally dropping into Monica's apartment was her brother, Ross (David Schwimmer), a paleontologist who spent most of the first season coming to grips with the fact that his wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), had declared herself a lesbian and divorced him (Carol would later give birth to Ross' son Ben, whom she and her partner insisted upon raising themselves). Across the hall from Monica's flat lived Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), an aspiring actor whose professional luck was generally bad until he landed a continuing role on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives -- as a man with a woman's brain! Joey lived with "corporate guy" Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), who was regarded as the class clown of the bunch. A frequent guest at both apartments was Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), an airheaded will-o'-the-wisp who never quite got it all together at any one time.
When the "friends" weren't at home or at work, they could be found hanging out at Central Perk, a Greenwich Village coffeehouse manned by Gunther (played by real-life "coffee guy" James Michael Tyler, who did not receive screen credit until well into the series' run), where Phoebe occasionally performed as a folksinger. Gradually and inevitably, many of the friends became lovers. First it was Ross and Rachel, a relationship that came to a screeching halt in season three when Ross slept with another woman when the couple was "on a break." Ross then ended up marrying the prickly Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale) during a jaunt to England in season four. That this alliance was doomed from the start was demonstrated when, during the ceremony, Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's. After the dissolution of the marriage, a drunken Ross and Rachel impulsively got hitched in Las Vegas at the end of season five, but they soon realized that they'd acted too hastily, and were themselves divorced. In season eight, Rachel gave birth to Ross' baby, a girl named Emma. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica, who after "getting it on" at Ross' wedding ceremony tried to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, were married at the close of season seven. They would later discover that they could not have children, whereupon they adopted a baby from a woman named Erica (Anna Faris). In a similar vein, the whimsical Phoebe had earlier agreed to be artificially inseminated so that she could bear a child for her half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife (and former teacher), Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Ultimately, Phoebe gave birth to triplets. Phoebe also had another sibling, a twin sister named Ursula -- actually the same character played by Lisa Kudrow in the earlier NBC sitcom Mad About You, which was still in production when Friends debuted on September 22, 1994.
The series' tenth and final season (2003-2004) wrapped up several loose plot strands. Having admitted that he always loved Rachel, Joey proposed to her, but the marriage never came off -- and in an eleventh-hour decision, Rachel forsook plans to move to Paris, and returned to Ross. After several desultory relationships, Phoebe married a nice guy named Mike (Paul Rudd). And as Friends approached its two-part finale, Erica, the birth mother of Monica and Chandler's soon-to-be-adopted baby went into labor -- and surprisingly delivered twins, which they named Erica and Jack. After the storyline of the series ended, Joey would end up moving out of New York, heading to L.A. to pursue a film career, thereby setting up the premise of Matt LeBlanc's spin-off sitcom Joey. At or near the number one ratings slot throughout most of its run, Friends also earned a veritable warehouse of Emmy Awards -- not to mention full-fledged stardom for all of the series' regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
When the "friends" weren't at home or at work, they could be found hanging out at Central Perk, a Greenwich Village coffeehouse manned by Gunther (played by real-life "coffee guy" James Michael Tyler, who did not receive screen credit until well into the series' run), where Phoebe occasionally performed as a folksinger. Gradually and inevitably, many of the friends became lovers. First it was Ross and Rachel, a relationship that came to a screeching halt in season three when Ross slept with another woman when the couple was "on a break." Ross then ended up marrying the prickly Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale) during a jaunt to England in season four. That this alliance was doomed from the start was demonstrated when, during the ceremony, Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's. After the dissolution of the marriage, a drunken Ross and Rachel impulsively got hitched in Las Vegas at the end of season five, but they soon realized that they'd acted too hastily, and were themselves divorced. In season eight, Rachel gave birth to Ross' baby, a girl named Emma. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica, who after "getting it on" at Ross' wedding ceremony tried to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, were married at the close of season seven. They would later discover that they could not have children, whereupon they adopted a baby from a woman named Erica (Anna Faris). In a similar vein, the whimsical Phoebe had earlier agreed to be artificially inseminated so that she could bear a child for her half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife (and former teacher), Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Ultimately, Phoebe gave birth to triplets. Phoebe also had another sibling, a twin sister named Ursula -- actually the same character played by Lisa Kudrow in the earlier NBC sitcom Mad About You, which was still in production when Friends debuted on September 22, 1994.
The series' tenth and final season (2003-2004) wrapped up several loose plot strands. Having admitted that he always loved Rachel, Joey proposed to her, but the marriage never came off -- and in an eleventh-hour decision, Rachel forsook plans to move to Paris, and returned to Ross. After several desultory relationships, Phoebe married a nice guy named Mike (Paul Rudd). And as Friends approached its two-part finale, Erica, the birth mother of Monica and Chandler's soon-to-be-adopted baby went into labor -- and surprisingly delivered twins, which they named Erica and Jack. After the storyline of the series ended, Joey would end up moving out of New York, heading to L.A. to pursue a film career, thereby setting up the premise of Matt LeBlanc's spin-off sitcom Joey. At or near the number one ratings slot throughout most of its run, Friends also earned a veritable warehouse of Emmy Awards -- not to mention full-fledged stardom for all of the series' regulars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1994
- PG13
When your dog, bird, or water-dwelling mammal disappears, who do you call? Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) is a low-rent private eye who specializes in recovering lost animals, so when Snowflake, the Miami Dolphins' aquatic mascot, is kidnapped, team representative Melissa Robinson (Courtney Cox) puts Ace on the case. However, Snowflake isn't the only Miami Dolphin who has gone missing; several key members of the team also disappear, including quarterback Dan Marino (who plays himself), who is spirited away while filming a TV commercial. With the Super Bowl only two weeks away, will Ace be able to find Snowflake and the missing athletes in time to salvage the big game? Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was a surprise box office smash and catapulted manic comedian Jim Carrey to stardom. The supporting cast includes Sean Young as ill-tempered Lois Einhorn, Udo Kier as the sinister Ronald Camp, and rapper Tone Loc as Ace's detective pal Emilio (Loc also wrote and performed a song for the closing credits). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, (more)
The first season of Friends could easily have been retitled "Getting to Know You," as all the soon-to-be-familiar characters, and their equally soon-to-be familiar interrelationships, were swiftly and economically established. In the opening episode, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) abandons her "Mr. Potato Head" spouse at the altar and moves in with her former high-school friend Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) in Monica's spacious New York loft apartment. Not long afterward, we meet Monica's brother, Ross (David Schwimmer), who is down in the dumps because his ex-wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), has not only declared herself a lesbian, but will soon be giving birth to his son (named Ben), whom she and her partner intend to raise without any of Ross' help. Also, we are treated to the first of aspiring actor Joey Tribbiani's (Matt LeBlanc) dead-end "big breaks" when he is hired as Al Pacino's stand-in. Finally, airhead Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) is given the opportunity to perform her treacly folk songs at the gang's favorite hangout, the Central Perk coffeehouse -- only to have her debut spoiled by a citywide power blackout. In other developments, Ross "adopts" a monkey named Marcel; Joey briefly falls for Phoebe's bitchy twin sister, Ursula (also played by Lisa Kudrow); and Joey's roommate, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), betrays a confidence by informing Rachel that Ross has a crush on her. A solid hit from the moment it left the starting gate, Friends wound up its freshman season as the eighth highest-rated program on American television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, (more)
- 1995
Sketch artist Jeff Fahey returns in this made-for-television sequel. Jack Whitfield stars as Fahey, a police artist whose latest job is to help blind rape victim Emmy O'Connor (Courtney Cox) come up with a description of her attacker. The rapist is also a serial murderer and Emmy is the only one to survive after one of his attacks -- but the murderer isn't through with her yet. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- 1995
This 1995 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Courteney Cox and features musical guest Dave Matthews Band. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi
- Starring:
- Courteney Cox, Dave Matthews Band, (more)
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