Nicole Ari Parker Movies

A graduate of the Tisch School for the Performing Arts as well as a published poet, Nicole Ari Parker began acting in small-stage productions in Harlem before landing her film debut in The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995). She would go on to appear in other independent features, such as The End of Violence, Boogie Nights, and 200 Cigarettes. She also began working in television, starring in a Rosie Perez-produced episode of Subway Stories and getting a reoccurring role on The Cosby Show. In 2001, she gained two NAACP Image award nominations: one for her work in the feature film Remember the Titans, and the other for her role as the lawyer Teri on the Showtime original series Soul Food. Parker would go on to play another lawyer a year later in the romantic comedy Brown Sugar, with Taye Diggs. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
2009  
PG  
Add Imagine That to QueueAdd Imagine That to top of Queue
A powerful financial executive whose career was sent spiraling down the drain due to sudden lack of confidence finds the answers to his inexplicable setback in an imaginary world dreamt up by his young daughter in a fantasy comedy starring Eddie Murphy and co-scripted by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson (the writing duo behind Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Eddie MurphyYara Shahidi, (more)
2008  
PG13  
Add Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins to QueueAdd Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins to top of Queue
A single father who has just found success as the host of an outrageous television talk show begins to question his path in life when he returns home to attend his parents' 50th wedding anniversary party in the company of his famous fiancée -- a reality television star -- in this crisis-of-conscience comedy starring Martin Lawrence. RJ Stevens (Lawrence) is a television talk-show sensation who has transcended his modest Southern beginnings to become the most popular self-help guru ever to grace the small screen. His show, "Team of Me," is a ratings juggernaut, his fiancée is a beautiful reality television star, and his pockets are always lined with large bills. There are few Tinseltown dreams that RJ hasn't already achieved, so when his parents announce their 50th wedding anniversary, the family-oriented television star immediately drops everything and sets his sights on Georgia. As a boy, RJ was always the target of ridicule within his family, but these days things are different; not only does RJ have a ten-year-old son, but his bride-to-be is admired by countless viewers all across the globe on a weekly basis. But RJ's egotistical West Coast attitude simply doesn't fly in the South, and when his lovable but relentless family refuses to cut him any slack due to his current superstar status, he must finally pause and take stock of the man he has become. Louis C.K., Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Clarke Duncan, and James Earl Jones co-star in a Southern-flavored family comedy written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Martin LawrenceMargaret Avery, (more)
2005  
PG13  
Add King's Ransom to QueueAdd King's Ransom to top of Queue
A multi-millionaire plans a scam that goes wrong in a great many ways in this comedy. Malcolm King (Anthony Anderson) is a wildly successful businessman who has gotten used to having things his own way. When King decides to divorce his wife, she's none too thrilled at the prospect and makes it clear she will make him pay a huge settlement in exchange for his freedom. King isn't keen on this idea, so he and his mistress hatch a scheme by which one of her friends (Jay Mohr) will "kidnap" King and demand a large portion of his fortune for his return, which will be kicked back to the businessman later. But King seriously underestimates the ineptitude of his would-be kidnapper -- no to mention how many other people want a piece of his fortune. King's Ransom also stars Regina Hall, Leila Arcieri, Charlie Murphy, and Donald Faison. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Anthony AndersonJay Mohr, (more)
2002  
PG13  
Add Brown Sugar to QueueAdd Brown Sugar to top of Queue
A woman wonders if it's just friendship or real love she feels when a close male friend announces he's tying the knot in this romantic comedy. Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) became best friends when they were ten years old -- the same time that both first became aware of the first rumblings of the Hip Hop revolution in New York City. Today, Dre runs a successful record label, and Sidney is a respected music journalist; both have managed to turn their love for the music into careers, and both are still close friends. Close enough, in fact, that many of their pals wonder why they've never become boyfriend and girlfriend. While both have always denied their attraction to one another, Sidney begins to have second thoughts when Dre proposes to his girlfriend Reese (Nicole Ari Parker), a lawyer. Even though Sidney has a relationship of her own with professional basketball player Kelby (Boris Kodjoe), as Dre's wedding draws closer, Sidney begins to suspect that her longtime best friend is actually the love of her life. Brown Sugar features supporting performances form real life Hip Hop stars Mos Def and Queen Latifah; former basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Taye DiggsSanaa Lathan, (more)
2002  
 
A violent pile-up occurs during an amateur soccer game -- and when the teams disperse, unpopular hockey player Terry Rivers (David Andriole) is found at the bottom of the pile, with his throat slashed. As Grissom (William L. Petersen), Catherine (Marg Helgenberger), and Sara (Jorja Fox) investigate Rivers' murder, Warrick (Gary Dourdan) and Nick (George Eads) try to determine if a saxophone player died of a drug overdose. Among those closest to the dead musician was casino singer Lillie Ivers (Nicole Ari Parker), in whom Warrick takes a more than professional interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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2000  
 
Adapted from the acclaimed 1997 film of the same name, the Showtime series Soul Food revolves around the fortunes of the Joseph clan, a close-knit African-American family coping with the death of their beloved matriarch, Big Mama (Irma P. Hall, who also played the character on the big screen). Opening five months after Big Mama's death, the series begins with Big Mama's youngest daughter Bird (Malinda Williams), ready to give birth to her first child. After leaving the hospital, Bird returns home with her husband Lem (Darrin Dewitt Henson) and newborn son Jeremiah, and is dismayed to find her mother's household flooded and in disarray. She quickly finds herself arguing with her sisters Teri (Nicole Ari Parker) and Maxine (Vanessa Williams) over how to best handle the disaster. The series' first episode was directed by E.R.'s Eriq La Salle and executive produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife, Tracey, who also produced the film version of Soul Food. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Rockmond DunbarIrma P. Hall, (more)
2000  
PG  
Add Remember the Titans to QueueAdd Remember the Titans to top of Queue
A high school football coach finds himself fighting for stakes much higher than the State Championship in this drama based on actual events. In 1971, a court order forces three high schools in Alexandria, Virginia (two white, one African-American), to integrate their student bodies and faculties for the first time. As a result, Coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton), longtime head coach of the T.C. Williams High School football team, is asked to step down, and Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is appointed to replace him as the school's first black faculty member. The new coach is hardly welcomed with open arms, either by the school's staff or the students, and the newly integrated team is full of players (both black and white) who have little trust or respect for one another. But Boone is determined to put a winning team on the field -- it's how he approaches the game, and his future depends on it. Against long odds, Boone helps his team overcome distrust and misunderstanding of their coach (and each other) as they become a gridiron force to be reckoned with. Remember the Titans also features Nicole Ari Parker, Kate Bosworth, and Jerry Brandt, and was produced by action-film kingpin Jerry Bruckheimer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Denzel WashingtonWill Patton, (more)
2000  
 
Add Dancing in September to QueueAdd Dancing in September to top of Queue
Reggie Rock Bythewood makes his directorial debut with this sharp comedy-drama about love, compromise, and TV. The film opens with the parallel childhoods of Tomasina "Tommy" Crawford (Nicole Ari Parker) and George Washington (Isaiah Washington). Both were utterly shaped by television -- watching Roots was one of the few times that Tommy's parents stopped fighting long enough to sit on the couch together, while George was traumatized by being banned from TV for a month after swiping some church donation cash. As adults, George is a programming executive at the WPX network where fledgling writer Tommy tries to pitch shows. On the strength of both her passion for her craft and her striking good looks, George decides to champion her show called "Just Us," a serio-comedy about a juvenile offender adopted by a judge. They shoot the pilot, the network greenlights the project, and eventually they fall in love. Even though Tommy longs to present her characters in an uncompromised, unvarnished manner, pressure from network execs and advertisers forces her to water down the plot. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Nicole Ari ParkerJames Avery, (more)
1999  
 
Add Loving Jezebel to Queue
Writer-director Kwyn Bader debuts with this romantic comedy about finding the right woman at the wrong time. Theodorus (Hill Harper) has a knack for falling for "Jezebels," women who are already involved with someone else. His romantic misadventures begin in Kindergarten and continue with a platonic relationship with beautiful acting student Frances (Nicole Ari Parker), a fling with a teddy bear-obsessed lass, and a passionate crush on fledgling poet and very married Samantha (Laurel Holloman). Loving Jezebel was screened at the 1999 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Hill HarperNicole Ari Parker, (more)
1999  
R  
Add 200 Cigarettes to QueueAdd 200 Cigarettes to top of Queue
On New Year's Eve, no one wants to be alone. On this night in 1981, several different groups of young desperate people begin a journey from around New York City to a big party hosted by Monica (Martha Plimpton) and new friend Hillary (Catherine Kellner). As the hours pass and no one shows, Monica begins to unravel. She must bribe Hilary to stay with the promise of a clear shot at Monica's old boyfriend, Eric (Brian McCardie). Eric, at that moment is drinking in a nightclub with his new girlfriend, Bridget (Nicole Parker) and her friend Caitlyn (Angela Featherstone). When Bridget learns the host of the party is Eric's ex-girlfriend, she moves in on the bartender (Ben Affleck). Another group consists of two teenagers from Long Island, Monica's cousin Val (Christina Ricci) and Stephie (Gaby Hoffmann). The two get lost on the way when they run into a pair of punk rockers, Tom (Casey Affleck) and Dave (Guillermo Diaz). In a nearby diner, Lucy (Courtney Love) commiserates with her best friend Kevin (Paul Rudd) who has just been dumped by performance artist Ellie (Janeane Garofalo) so she could move in with her therapist. As they bar hop it slowly dawns upon the two that they could be more than friends. Elsewhere, new acquaintances Jack (Jay Mohr) and Cindy (Kate Hudson) are celebrating more than the new year. Cindy lost her virginity to Jack the night before, though is afraid Jack is with her out of sense of obligation. Now if only everyone can get to the party by midnight. Linking the different stories is the disco cabbie (Dave Chappelle) in whose cab the party never stops. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Ben AffleckCasey Affleck, (more)
1999  
PG13  
Add Blue Streak to QueueAdd Blue Streak to top of Queue
Can a crook go straight without really trying? Jewel thief Miles Logan (Martin Lawrence) was being chased by the police after a robbery when he was forced to hide a cache of diamonds, worth $20 million, at a construction site. Despite his caution, Miles ended up behind bars anyway; after serving his time, he goes back to retrieve the stones only to discover what was being built: a police station. Miles needs to spend some time at the station to figure out what happened to his nest egg, so he sneaks in, posing as a police detective. Trouble is, he's so convincing that the cops assign him a rookie partner, Carlson (Luke Wilson), to put through training. To his surprise, Miles turns out to be a good cop, and the more he tries to find the missing diamonds, the higher he's promoted through the department, until he finds himself in line for a top spot in the detective's division. Supporting Lawrence and Wilson in Blue Streak are Dave Chappelle, William Forsythe, and Nicole Parker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Martin LawrenceLuke Wilson, (more)
1999  
 
The strong bonds of family are put to the test in this drama. Mavis (Nicole Ari Parker) is a twentysomething woman who has kicked a dangerous heroin habit, only to discover that she's contracted the AIDS virus. With nowhere else to turn, Mavis asks her mother (Barbara O. Jones) to take her in. Mama agrees, and Mavis' younger sister Lisa (Teja Frank) observes as Mama cares for her increasingly frail adult daughter. Mute Love was the debut feature film for director Patrice Mallard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Nicole Ari ParkerBarbara O. Jones, (more)
1998  
 
Add The Adventures of Sebastian Cole to QueueAdd The Adventures of Sebastian Cole to top of Queue
Tod Williams made his feature directorial debut with this teen comedy-drama set in 1983. High school senior and writer wannabe Sebastian Cole (Adrian Grenier) survives a car accident in a remote Southwestern area near the trailer home of a Spanish-speaking woman. As she dresses his wounds, Sebastian looks back over the past year and his dysfunctional family life. After a divorce, Sebastian's near-alcoholic mother Joan (Margaret Colin) remarried. His architect father Hartley (John Shea) was more devoted to career than family. His sister Jessica (Marni Lustig) is off to the West Coast with her dullard boyfriend. Sebastian's stepfather Hank (Clark Gregg) plans a sex change. Since being married to a woman doesn't appeal to Joan, she returns to her native England with Sebastian. Months later, Sebastian moves back to his upstate New York hometown, rejoining Hank. However, Hank is now Henrietta, wearing makeup and women's clothing and serving as both a mother and father figure for Sebastian. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Adrian GrenierClark Gregg, (more)
1998  
 
Essentially a feature-length episode of NBC's long-running series Law & Order, this crime and courtroom drama marks the return of Chris Noth (Detective Mike Logan) to Manhattan's 27th precinct. For the past three years, Logan has been stuck on Staten Island, the result of an incident in which he lost his temper. Regretting his outburst, Logan yearns to return to his home station. A murdered hooker's body found floating in the harbor may provide the key to his return. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Chris NothDabney Coleman, (more)
1998  
 
Add Spark to QueueAdd Spark to top of Queue
Garret Williams made his directorial debut with this tale of an urban black couple trapped in a desert town of rednecks. Byron (Terrence Howard) and Nina (Nicole Ari Parker) are driving a BMW from Chicago to L.A. when they experience a back-road breakdown. Teen Mooney (Brendan Sexton III) tows them to a white-trailer-trash town where they're charged $500 for repairs. When the BMW dies again, they stay overnight in a motel, and the situation soon gets grim. The characters in this low-budgeter were first introduced in a 1996 short. Spark was shown at 1998 film festivals (Sundance, Berlin). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Terrence HowardNicole Ari Parker, (more)
1997  
R  
Add The End of Violence to QueueAdd The End of Violence to top of Queue
Wim Wenders directed this allegorical drama about the emotional impact of violence in our culture, set against the backdrop of California's entertainment business. Mike Max (Bill Pullman) is a Hollywood producer who has earned a great deal of money and power in the film industry through his success with a series of brutally violent action pictures. While Max can juggle any number of tasks while working, he can't find time for his wife Paige (Andie MacDowell), and when she announces that she's divorcing him, he admits to himself (but not to her) that he deliberately put her through emotional trauma; Paige leaves to do volunteer work in the Third World, hoping to bring new meaning to her life. Very little reaches Max on an emotional level until Cat (Traci Lind), a stunt performer, is seriously injured on the set of Max's latest project. Not long after, Max is first car-jacked, then kidnapped by a pair of desperate thugs. He escapes and is given shelter by a group of Mexican-American gardeners. Wanting to retreat from the physical and spiritual violence that has become a key part of his life, Max opts to work with the gardening crew and stay away from his old life, remaining "missing" in the eyes of the world as he searches for a new life. Meanwhile, Max and his secretary Claire (Rosiland Chao) become aware of a secret plan that Ray Bering (Gabriel Byrne) has prepared for the city of Los Angeles, which will essentially put the entire town under constant surveillance, with the goal of ending violent crime once and for all. Frederic Forrest, Udo Kier, and legendary director Samuel Fuller also star; Ry Cooder composed the film's striking original score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Bill PullmanAndie MacDowell, (more)
1997  
R  
Add Boogie Nights to QueueAdd Boogie Nights to top of Queue
While set within the milieu of the Los Angeles adult film industry, Boogie Nights is less a film about pornography than the serio-comic story of a group of misfits, losers, and lost souls who are embraced by Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a director who makes "adult films, exotic motion pictures." In 1977, while hanging out at a disco, Jack spots Eddie (Mark Wahlberg), the new busboy at the club, and tells him he's convinced "there's something wonderful inside those jeans waiting to get out." Jack knows his business well and his expert eye has not betrayed him; Eddie is a pornographer's dream -- good looking, remarkably endowed, and willing and able to do as many takes as might be needed. The product of a woefully dysfunctional upbringing, Eddie is not terribly bright but is very ambitious and eager to prove he has a "special something" to share with the world. Eddie changes his name to Dirk Diggler and quickly becomes the biggest star in hardcore. Working alongside "Dirk" in Jack's films are Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), a porn actress who applies her misplaced maternal instincts to anyone who needs nurturing; Rollergirl (Heather Graham), a cheerful but blank-faced high school drop-out who never removes her roller skates; Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), a none-too-bright actor, aspiring magician, and failing songwriter; Buck (Don Cheadle), a black actor fascinated with cowboy iconography who wants to open a stereo shop; Scotty J (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a stocky and awkward soundman infatuated with Dirk; Little Bill (William H. Macy), Jack's assistant director, who has trouble dealing with his wife's brazen infidelity; and Colonel James (Robert Ridgely), Jack's backer, who has a weakness for young girls. In the brief, late-'70s moment when porn was chic and sex films seemed poised to break into the mainstream, Dirk becomes a star and Jack a respected name. But a few years later, drugs and pride have taken their toll on Dirk and many of his friends, while the advent of the VCR radically changes the adult movie business; Jack goes from being a "filmmaker" to manufacturing and wholesaling videocassettes, a wealthy but emotionally broken man. In his second film, wunderkind director Paul Thomas Anderson juggled a broad range of characters in a manner reminiscent of Robert Altman's ensemble films, making Boogie Nights a sad but funny story of a makeshift family of damaged people and what happens before and after their brief moment in the sun. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Mark WahlbergBurt Reynolds, (more)
1995  
R  
Add The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love to QueueAdd The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love to top of Queue
This endearing romantic comedy about two high school girls, blue collar tomboy Randy (Laurel Holloman) and privileged, popular Evie (Nicole Ari Parker), was the first mainstream success for director Maria Maggenti, who chronicles the odd couple's relationship from tentative first steps to full-blossoming romance. Cast almost entirely with newcomers, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love brings Randy's family (a lesbian aunt and an assortment of current and past partners), Evie's well-heeled and overprotective mother (Stephanie Barry), and a collection of friends, enemies, one ex-boyfriend (Andrew Wright), and one unsatisfactory affair (Maggie Moore) into the mix, balancing the excitement and passion of adolescent romance with the pitfalls of social and familial rejection. Maintains a light and quirky tone throughout, reminiscent in many ways of the teen comedies of John Hughes. ~ Genevieve Williams, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Laurel HollomanNicole Ari Parker, (more)

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