Steve Zahn Movies
Making an art out of portraying dysfunctional losers and likable freaks, Steve Zahn worked for years before getting his due as one of the most engaging and unconventionally gifted actors in Hollywood. Hailing from Marshall, MN, where he was born in 1968, Zahn was first introduced to improvisational acting in high school. Following a year at Gustavus-Adolphus College, he was accepted at the prestigious American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, where he trained for two years. After completing his tenure there, Zahn settled in Hoboken, NJ, and tried to support himself with acting in New York, working a variety of odd jobs on the side. He found work in various theater productions, including a 13-month road tour of Bye, Bye Birdie, which provided both steady employment and an introduction to his wife, who was a dancer in the musical.Zahn's break came when he was cast in Sophistry, a play that also starred Ethan Hawke. His performance was seen by Ben Stiller, who offered him a role in his upcoming film, Reality Bites. Zahn took the part of Sammy, Winona Ryder's amiable, slightly conflicted gay friend. The film, which was released in 1994, was actually Zahn's second feature, the first being the 1993 drama Rain Without Thunder. Reality Bites met with relative success and helped to jump-start not only Zahn's career, but those of Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo, as well. Zahn proceeded to take a significant role in Eric Bogosian's play SubUrbia and his work in the production led to his casting in the 1995 submarine thriller Crimson Tide, starring Denzel Washington. The following year, he won a leading role in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! and subsequently re-created his SubUrbia role for the play's film adaptation, which also featured Giovanni Ribisi and Parker Posey.
In 1998, Hollywood began to take notice of the actor, as he was featured in four different films. Three of them, You've Got Mail, Out of Sight, and The Object of My Affection, proved to be box-office successes; the other one, Safe Men, was released into general obscurity. The following year, Zahn made an appearance in the romantic comedy Forces of Nature, co-starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock, and had a leading role in Happy, Texas, which was released at Sundance. For his performance as a con artist forced to play gay, Zahn won a special acting award at the festival, a much-deserved token of appreciation for an actor as underrated as he is original.
In the years that followed, Zahn elevated his portrayal of lovable losers to a virtual art form. Though he would head up an impressive cast in the 2000 feature Chain of Fools, the film would be inexplicably relegated to cinematic limbo and audiences would next catch an unexpected glimpse of the rising star in director Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000). If the following year's Saving Silverman found Zahn back to his usual antics, abysmal reviews and poor audience reaction quickly sunk the romantic comedy and audiences would catch their next glimpse of him in John Dahl's edge-of-your-seat thriller Joy Ride (also 2001). His portrayal of Drew Barrymore's character's well-intending but hopeless husband in the 2001 comedy drama Riding in Cars with Boys showed a dramatic side many audiences had yet to experience from Zahn, and after a brief break from the screen Zahn returned in 2003 with a pair of high profile comedies. After joining comedian/actor Martin Lawrence as one half of a pair of hapless security guards in the 2003 comedy National Security, Zahn attempted to bring up baby opposite actor/comedian Eddie Murphy in the family friendly comedy Daddy Day Care. A series of supporting performances in Shattered Glass, Speak and Employee of the Month (all 2004) were quick to follow, ensuring that audiences who couldn't get their fill of Zahn's unique and endearing quirkiness wouldn't be left out in the lurch for long.
Behind the camera, Zahn has provided vocal work for such family films as Stuart Little (as well as its 2002 sequel), Doctor Dolittle 2 and Chicken Little (2005).
In 2006, Zahn again tried his hand at more dramatic work with a role in the Werner Herzog POW film Rescue Dawn, but soon he was going back to his comedic roots with 2008's Sunshine Cleaning and Strange Wilderness. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Honeymooning newlyweds Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are hiking an 11-mile trail in Hawaii when they cross paths will ex-military man Nick (Timothy Olyphant), who earns their trust by helping them navigate a particularly treacherous mountain cliff. A few yards later, the trio runs into a group of girls whose parents are begging them to return home following reports that a honeymooning couple has been murdered on one of the other islands. The suspects in the killings are a young white couple, and when Cliff and Cydney meet Nick's frees-spirited girlfriend, Gina (Kiele Sanchez), tensions start to rise. The further the foursome walks together, the more delicate the balance of trust and suspicion becomes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, (more)
This epic western starring Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Linda Cardellini, and Rachel Griffiths was adapted from Larry McMurtry's sprawling novel of the same name, and actually constitutes a prequel to Lonesome Dove. Texas Rangers Woodrow Call and Agustus McCrae may be getting up there in years, but their determination to capture Comanche war chief Buffalo Hunt, Comanche horse thief Kicking Wolf, and an elusive Mexican bandit king certainly hasn't faded with age. Now, as Gus attempts to resolve his personal issues with longtime love Clara Forsythe and Call comes to terms with his feelings for local prostitute Maggie Tilton, fellow Texas Rangers Deets, Jake Spoon, and Pea Eye Parker do their best to safeguard the advancing western frontier from the legions of Comanches who have vowed to defend their land to the death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, (more)
A train conductor (Danny Glover), a pre-med student (LeeleeSobieski), and a fast-talking salesman (Steve Zahn) find their greed clashing with their better judgment after stumbling into a fortune in diamonds aboard a speeding locomotive, and attempting to figure out a way to keep their discovery a secret. A nameless passenger has died en route to an unknown destination. His only possession: a mysterious box containing a valuable treasure. With that amount of money, the conductor, the student, and the salesman could all live comfortably for the rest of their days. But all three would rather have the fortune to themselves, and as the train races toward its destination, temptation, betrayal, deceit drives them each to irrational extremes in a paranoid bid to outsmart the others. Little do these three desperate souls realize that there's something sinister to this innocent looking box, and they might not find out what it is until it's already too late. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Glover, Steve Zahn, (more)
A young man on his way up hitches his wagon to a middle-aged star on his way down in a comedy from writer and director Sean McGinly. Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) is a guy in his early twenties who has dropped out of law school and is pondering his next move. Troy has an interest in working in the entertainment business, and when he learns that a "celebrity performer" is looking for a personal assistant, Troy thinks he's found the ideal entry-level position. Troy soon discovers he's landed a job as a glorified gofer for Buck Howard (John Malkovich), a once-famous mentalist who appeared on The Tonight Show 61 times during Johnny Carson's reign as host. However, Howard hasn't been doing much lately, and he's hired Troy and new publicist Valerie (Emily Blunt) as he grooms himself for a comeback. While Troy is fascinated with Howard's creaky but still effective act, his boss has enough personal quirks and absurd demands to give anyone second thoughts about working with him for long. One thing that keeps Troy on the road with Buck is Valerie, who wastes no time in showing her sexual interest in him; however, Valerie is also the only one who harbors no illusions about Howard's prospects for a return to fame, and she isn't afraid to tell him about it. The Great Buck Howard also features Tom Hanks as Troy's father; as it happens, he's also Colin Hanks' real life dad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, (more)
A thirtysomething single mother whose boundless potential was squandered through a series of failed relationships and a misguided effort to help her younger sister succeed in life finds the fruits of her labors finally coming together in director Christine Jeffs' dark family comedy. Back in high school, the future looked pretty bright for Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams); not only was she the cheerleading captain, but she was also dating the star quarterback. Flash forward a little over a decade, and Rose is working overtime in hopes of getting her son into a better school. Her sister, Norah (Emily Blunt), is still living at home with their father, Joe (Alan Arkin), a failed salesman whose penchant for jumping into get-rich-quick schemes has left the family without a financial net to fall back on. Rose may be down, but she certainly isn't out, and when she hatches a plan to launch a crime-scene cleanup business, the money starts rolling in. Sure, cleaning up murder scenes and suicide sites may not be the most glamorous job in the world, but death is a fairly profitable business, and as the phone keeps ringing, Rose and Norah finally begin to experience the closeness of sisterhood that has eluded them all these years while also providing their family with true security. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, (more)
After a one-night fling, a motel manager (Steve Zahn) impulsively follows a small-time art dealer (Jennifer Aniston) across the country in this romantic comedy from playwright-turned-director Stephen Belber. Woody Harrelson co-stars as Aniston's wealthy boyfriend in the MGM production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, (more)
A pair of animal enthusiasts desperate to boost the ratings of their failing television series "Strange Wilderness" set out for the Andes in search of the elusive Bigfoot in this comedy directed by Fred Wolf and starring Justin Long, Steve Zahn, Kevin Heffernan, and Ernest Borgnine. Peter Gaulke (Zahn) and Fred Wolf (Allen Covert) are the energetic hosts of "Strange Wilderness" -- television's most unconventional nature show. When the ratings take a nosedive and they are confronted with cancellation, Peter finds himself resorting to desperate measures in order to stay on the air. Perhaps if the "Strange Wilderness" crew could somehow track down the most elusive creature ever to stalk the woodlands, they could keep their show on the air and go down in history as the adventurers who solved one of nature's greatest mysteries. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, (more)
- 2007
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This decidedly different take on the fable of the Three Little Pigs pokes fun at the fairy tale with a wry sense of humor that both kids and adult will be able to appreciate. In this animated version, the big bad wolf sends a team of Special Ops agents to infiltrate the home of the pigs by leaving an irresistibly innocent baby wolf on their doorstep. The pigs raise him as their own, but when that canine tyke reaches his teens, in identity crisis ensues that might just let the wolves nefariously drawn out plan come to fruition. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Brad Garrett, (more)
Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog returns to direct his first feature since 2001's Invincible with this dramatic action film inspired by his own 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly and detailing the escape efforts of a German-American pilot who was taken as a prisoner-of-war after being shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. When U.S. fighter pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) escaped death after being shot down over one of the most intense front lines in the Vietnam War, his troubles were only beginning. Subsequently taken captive by the enemy and forced to endure a harrowing stint in a Vietnamese prison camp, Dengler and his fellow captives stage a death-defying escape that would later inspire one of Germany's most accomplished directors to capture the remarkable tale on camera. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, (more)
Latina heartthrobs Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz co-headline the rousing indie Western Bandidas. The brainchild of producer/screenwriter Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Big Blue), Bandidas marks one of only a handful of films in its genre (along with Bad Girls, Cattle Annie and Little Britches, and Johnny Guitar) to use women as its principals, and distinguishes itself further by adding hefty doses of comic relief to the Western formula. Hayek and Cruz play Sara and Maria, respectively -- two women whose fathers (one a banker, the other a peasant farmer) are each wiped out by a nasty, vile, gun-wielding swindler named Tyler Jackson (Sling Blade co-star and country music singer Dwight Yoakam). Jackson cuts a bloody swath across the Southwest as he reduces one bank after another to an impoverished trash heap. In revenge, these women (who sit at opposite ends of the personality spectrum) vow to beat Tyler at his own game by hitting and robbing each of the banks before their father's killer can reach them. Steve Zahn co-stars as the "criminal science" officer who aids the girls in their mission; Espen Sandberg and Joachim Roenning co-direct. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, (more)
An old fable gets a high-tech update in this computer-animated comedy from Walt Disney Pictures. Chicken Little (voice of Zach Braff) is an earnest young fowl living in the town of Oakley Oaks who one day starts a panic when a falling acorn drops on his head, and he warns everyone that the sky has started to collapse. Chicken Little was wrong, of course, much to the embarrassment of his father, Buck Cluck (voice of Garry Marshall), and now the young chicken is struggling to live down the incident. While his best friends Abby Mallard (voice of Joan Cusack), Runt of the Litter (voice of Steve Zahn), and Fish out of Water stand by him, the school's star athlete Foxy Loxy (voice of Amy Sedaris) never passes up an opportunity to make fun of the diminutive chicken. As a result, Chicken Little tends to keep his more recent discoveries to himself, but what's a bird to do when he uncovers pseudo-scientific evidence that suggests the sky really is starting to fall, in large hexagonal chunks? Chicken Little was directed by Mark Dindal, who previously helmed The Emperor's New Groove for Disney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Braff, Steve Zahn, (more)
Matthew McConaughey stars as explorer and adventurer Dirk Pitt in this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Clive Cussler. Pitt thinks he may have found both a fortune and the answer to a long-standing mystery when he discovers a rare coin in the waters of a river in West Africa. During the Civil War, an ironclad battleship with a valuable cargo went missing, and Pitt's theory is that the coin places the ship somewhere in the Sahara Desert. Pitt and his goofy sidekick, Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), set out to find it, but along the way they make the acquaintance of Dr. Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), a scientist and physician who is trying to determine the source of a strange and deadly disease sweeping the nation. As Eva joins Dirk and Al, they begin to wonder if the mysteries they're trying to uncover might be somehow linked. Sahara was only the second of Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures to be adapted for the screen; the first, 1980's Raise the Titanic, was publicly dismissed by the author. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, (more)
Adversaries become wary allies in this free-wheeling action comedy. Hank Rafferty (Steve Zahn) is a Los Angeles Police Department officer who finds himself out of a job after he becomes involved in a violent altercation with police academy flunk-out Earl Montgomery (Martin Lawrence), escalating into a media event which brings the LAPD a wealth of bad publicity. Unable to find work, Hank finally takes a job as a "rent-a-cop" with a private security firm -- and discovers to his annoyance that his new partner is Earl. While neither of them are thrilled to be working together on the lowest strata of the law enforcement community, the two find themselves dealing with bigger crime than they expected when they stumble across evidence of a elite smuggling network operated by criminal mastermind Nash (Eric Roberts). Hank and Earl want to put Nash out of business, and they try without success to persuade the police of the importance of the case. But before long they discover it's not just Nash's men who are after them, but two high-ranking LAPD officials, Lt. Washington (Bill Duke) and Detective McDuff (Colm Feore). National Security was directed by Dennis Dugan, who'd previously helmed antic comedies starring Adam Sandler and Chris Farley; this film also marked Martin Lawrence's entry into the elite of Hollywood's comedy stars, with Lawrence taking home a 20-million-dollar paycheck for his work on the picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, (more)
The directorial debut of actor/writer Mitch Rouse (Comedy Central's Strangers With Candy), Employee of the Month stars Matt Dillon as David Wells, a hapless guy whose day seems to be getting more and more out of control. After getting his life straightened out with a job he loves at a bank and beautiful fiancée (Christina Applegate), David is convinced he's got it made. Unfortunately, things take a distinct turn for the worse when he is dumped and fired all in the same day. Enter David's best friend, Jack (Steve Zahn), an oddball who makes his living stealing from corpses. Jack is determined to help cheer up David, but when a bank robbery and a large sum of cash enter the picture, it begins to become apparent that the disastrous and madcap events have only just begun. Employee of the Month premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, (more)
Two fathers get a crash course in caring for kids other than their own in this family-friendly comedy. Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) is an advertising executive whose job monopolizes his time, making it difficult for him to stay in touch with his young son, Ben (Khamani Griffin). However, after Charlie and his partner, Phil (Jeff Garlin), are given their pink slips in the wake of a disastrous campaign for a new breakfast cereal, Charlie's wife, Kim (Regina King), goes back to work, and with the family budget tighter than before, Charlie becomes a stay-at-home dad. After pulling Ben out of an expensive and exclusive daycare center run by the humorless Gwyneth Harridan (Anjelica Huston), Charlie comes up with a brainstorm -- since he and Phil watch their own children every day, how much harder could it be to watch a few more kids and open their own day care center? Charlie and Phil discover there's much more to running a daycare center than they ever imagined, but after a very rough start, with the help of likable slacker Marvin (Steve Zahn) their new business becomes a success -- so much so that Harridan finds herself losing customers to the upstart fathers, and she starts searching for a way to shut them down. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, (more)
Before Jayson Blair made headlines for his plagiarized New York Times reporting, Stephen Glass defamed the weekly current events magazine The New Republic with a series of eye-catching, entertaining, and completely fabricated stories. Now Glass' trail of lies gets the big-screen treatment in writer/director Billy Ray's Shattered Glass, featuring Hayden Christensen in the title role. The film chronicles Glass' time at the magazine in the late '90s, when his colorful coverage of a hedonistic Young Republican convention, superstar web hackers, and the circus surrounding the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal made him the toast of the publishing world, garnering attention from such national publications as George and Rolling Stone. Barely out of college, the eager Glass ingratiates himself with the office staff, including his mentor, managing editor Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria). But when Kelly is unceremoniously fired and replaced with editor Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), Glass' pieces come under a greater degree of scrutiny, until one in particular threatens to expose his tall tales to the rest of the world. Based in part on a Vanity Fair article by journalist Buzz Bissinger, Shattered Glass premiered at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals before its limited fall theatrical release. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
Award-winning short filmmaker Jessica Sharzer makes her feature debut with the teen drama Speak, based on the young-adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Kristen Stewart stars as high school freshman Melinda, who has lost her ability to speak. Ever since a traumatic event that occurred at a party over the summer, she has chosen to remain silent. She's abandoned by her friends, while her mother Joyce (Elizabeth Perkins) is too wrapped up in her own problems to notice. By recalling the details of the past situation, it becomes clear that a date rape occurred. Yet no one has offered her support in order to deal with the psychological consequences. Eventually her art teacher Mr. Freeman (Steve Zahn) reaches out, helping her develop ways to express herself. Also starring Hallee Hirsh and Eric Lively. Speak premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the American Spectrum competition. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristen Stewart, Eric Lively, (more)
This sequel to a family hit based on the popular children's book by E.B. White again mixes live action actors with computer-animated cartoon characters. Michael J. Fox returns as the voice of Stuart Little, a three-inch tall talking mouse adopted by a human family in New York City. When his older "brother", George (Jonathan Lipnicki), starts spending more time with his other friends, playing games that Mrs. Little (Geena Davis) feels are too dangerous for the diminutive Stuart, the lonely fellow goes in search of companionship and finds it when he makes the acquaintance of Margalo (voice of Melanie Griffith), a tiny bird wounded by a sinister falcon (voice of James Woods) that is relentlessly pursuing her. While Margalo's busted wing heals up the Littles' house, Stuart grows closer to her and falls in love, but his new pal is hiding a secret that involves the villainous falcon and jewelry theft. In order to save his friend and their friendship, Stuart must call upon the assistance of the dreaded Snowbell (voice of Nathan Lane), the Little family cat with a Catskills comic delivery and no great love of Stuart. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, (more)
Penny Marshall directed this serio-comic story, based on the memoir by Beverly Donofrio, about a young woman who finds her life radically altered by an event from her teen years. Born in 1950, Beverly (Drew Barrymore) grew up bright and ambitious in a working-class neighborhood in Connecticut; her father (James Woods) was a tough but good-hearted cop with an understanding ear for his daughter's problems, and her mother (Lorraine Bracco) was a nervous woman eager to imagine the worst. From an early age, Beverly displays a keen intelligence and an interest in literature, and she dreams of going to college in New York and becoming a writer. However, she also develops a precocious interest in boys, and at 15 finds herself madly in love with a boy from her high school. However, an attempt to get his attention leads to an embarassing incident at a party, and Ray Hasek (Steve Zahn), a sweet but thick-headed 18-year-old, steps forward to defend her. Beverly and Ray end up making out, and after one thing leads to another, Beverly discovers she's pregnant. Telling Ray is only marginally less difficult than informing her parents, and at 16, Beverly is a wife and mother. Against the odds, Beverly is determined to still finish high school and go on to college, but that goal becomes more difficult with time, especially after Beverly's marriage begins to fall apart; while Ray tries to do the right thing, he has trouble holding a job, and circumstances become all the more difficult when Beverly learns her husband is addicted to heroin. Riding in Cars With Boys also stars Brittany Murphy as Beverly's best friend Fay; Beverly's son Jason is played, at various points in his life, by Adam Garcia (age 20), Logan Lerman (age eight), Cody Arens (age six), and Logan Arens (age three). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, (more)
Eddie Murphy returns as a doctor with a gift for talking to animals in this sequel to a box-office blockbuster. Murphy is John Dolittle, who this time around attempts to save an endangered Pacific forest from lumber industry forces by reintegrating an endangered species of bear back into the wild. Unfortunately, Dolittle's candidate is a performing bear (voice of Steve Zahn) with a taste for junk food and no natural skills in the wild. If Dolittle is going to save the species and its habitat, he must get him to mate with a fussy female (Lisa Kudrow) by providing lessons in winning the heart of the opposite sex. Dr. Dolittle's problems are compounded by a local animal work stoppage and furry woodland creatures who have organized their own version of the Mafia. Norm Macdonald returns as the voice of Lucky the Dog, co-starring with Kevin Pollak, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Rapaport, Molly Shannon, Reni Santoni, and Kristen Wilson. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wilson, (more)
This romantic comedy is from director, former actor, and regular Adam Sandler collaborator Dennis Dugan. Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs) is a loser at love, so his best friends J.D. (Jack Black) and Wayne (Steve Zahn) set him up on a date with his dream girl, Judith (Amanda Peet). A serious relationship develops and threatens to become a marriage, but J.D. and Wayne come to the conclusion that Judith is totally wrong for Darren. In an effort to reunite their pal with Sandy (Amanda Detmer), his long-lost love from school, they kidnap Judith. However, the wily bride to be is at least one step ahead of her captors in the wits department. Saving Silverman also stars R. Lee Ermey and Neil Diamond in a cameo role as himself. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, (more)
Actor Ethan Hawke takes the director's chair for a test drive with this independent feature, based on a play by Nicole Burdette, in which a number of creative types living in New York's famed bohemian enclave the Chelsea Hotel struggle with their muses as well as their personal concerns. Middle-aged novelist Bud (Kris Kristofferson) is having problems with his latest project, as well as his appetite for alcohol, while he juggles two relationships -- with his wife Greta (Tuesday Weld) and his lover Mary (Natasha Richardson). Audrey (Rosario Dawson) is a poet who is attracted to Val (Mark Webber), but Val has a hard time staying away from drugs, and his pal Crutches (Kevin Corrigan) is doing nothing to help. Grace (Uma Thurman) is trying to make a name for herself as a poet, but in the meantime she supports herself waiting tables; she's developed a crush on her neighbor Frank (Vincent D'Onofrio), but she can't figure out how to get him to pay attention to her. And Ross (Steve Zahn) and Terry (Robert Sean Leonard) are a pair of would-be rock stars who have just arrived in New York from the Midwest, wondering how to get noticed as they try to pick up women. Jeff Tweedy from the acclaimed rock band Wilco composed the film's musical score, while legendary jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott appears in a nightclub scene. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Corrigan, Rosario Dawson, (more)
After forays into film noir, thrillers, dramas, and even documentaries, director John Dahl tries the teen horror genre on for size. Paul Walker stars as Lewis Thomas, a college freshman embarking on a cross-country road trip during summer break to pick up his girlfriend Venna (Leelee Sobieski). Along for the ride is Lewis' brother Fuller (Steve Zahn), a practical joker who uses the car's CB radio to play a cruel prank on a lonely trucker known only by the handle Rusty Nail. The victim of Fuller's gag turns out to be a psychotic murderer and soon the brothers are being pursued by the relentless stalker, who gets his revenge in gruesome fashion. Joy Ride, which co-stars Matthew Kimbrough, was produced under the working title "Squelch." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, (more)
In this independent comedy, a man finds stolen treasure cannot change his bad luck. A luckless barber (Steve Zahn), despondent over his life's downhill slide, is considering suicide when he comes across a stash of rare and valuable coins. But the coins turn out to be stolen, and before long, an increasing number of strange people are after him, the coins, and each other, including hired thief Avnet (Jeff Goldblum). The barber's confusion isn't helped when he finds himself falling for Sgt. Meredith Kolko (Salma Hayek), a centerfold-turned-police detective who is investigating the theft. The film's supporting cast includes Orlando Jones, Michael Rapaport, David Hyde Pierce, and Claudia Schiffer. Shot under the title Shiny New Enemies, Chain of Fools is the first feature directed by Pontus Löwenhielm and Patrick Von Krusenstjerna, members of the Swedish filmmaking collective Traktor, best known for their innovative television commercials, including the Miller Beer "Presented By Dick" campaign. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Zahn, Salma Hayek, (more)
