Christopher Eigeman Movies
His numerous collaborations with Whit Stillman making him inseparable from the director's films, Christopher Eigeman has earned a reputation as the poster boy for acerbic postmodern male angst. Making his screen debut in Stillman's Metropolitan (1990) as an officious snob, Eigeman went on to work with the director on no less than three subsequent projects, turning in performances that managed to be at once misanthropic and all too human.A native of Denver, where he was born March 1, 1964, Eigeman first took a serious interest in acting while a student at Vermont's Putney School, and continued to nurture his aspirations during his studies at Kenyon College in Ohio. After toiling for a few years in almost complete obscurity, he answered an open casting call for Stillman's Metropolitan, the result of which was his big-screen debut. An arch comedy of manners set among a group of Manhattan trust fund brats, the film earned a substantial degree of critical approval, as well as something of a cult following. Following the film's release, Eigeman took to the stage for a time with the well-regarded Actor's Theatre Company of Louisville, Kentucky.
Eigeman and Stillman again collaborated on Barcelona, the 1994 follow-up to Metropolitan. Also starring the earlier film's Taylor Nichols, Barcelona featured Eigeman as a snotty -- and oblivious -- military man visiting his cousin (Nichols) in the eponymous city. Another droll comedy of manners, it set the stage for Eigeman's work with Noah Baumbach in both Kicking and Screaming (1995) and Mr. Jealousy (1997). The former cast the actor as a philosophical recent college graduate, while the latter netted him some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of a successful yet deeply conflicted novelist.
Following a starring role in a 1996 episode of Homicide: Life on the Streets directed by Stillman, Eigeman and the director teamed up once more for The Last Days of Disco (1998), the last installment in the trilogy that included Metropolitan and Barcelona. Cast in a supporting role as a morally dubious club underboss, the actor shared the screen with a cast that included Chloe Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Matt Keeslar, and Mackenzie Astin. Like its two predecessors, the film took a witty, shabby-genteel look into the lives of privileged urban youths, and, also like its predecessors, it earned strong reviews, which extended to the performances of its stellar ensemble cast. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
A woman struggles to win back the son she lost when she divorced her husband in a gritty drama that marks the directorial debut of actor Chris Eigeman. Kailey (Famke Janssen) is a woman who makes her living playing high-stakes poker and hustling pool, a trade she learned from her longtime friend Quinn (Rip Torn). Kailey's rough-and-tumble life drove a wedge between her and her husband, David (Matt Ross), and when they split up he won custody of their son, Gulley (Jaymie Dornan). However, while David was seemingly the sober and respectable one in their relationship, in truth he's a heavy drinker whose life is controlled by his wealthy, bullying mother, Abigail (Lois Smith). Gulley is unhappy living with David, and unbeknown to his father the boy has been corresponding with Kailey as they plan to start a new life together in Canada. However, Kailey is unable to get legitimate papers for herself and her son, so she heads to New York City to raise the 50,000 dollars she'll need to get passports on the black market. Turn the River also stars Marin Hinkle, John Juback, and Terry Kinney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Famke Janssen, Rip Torn, (more)
A man and a woman are faced with an unusual "fifth wheel" in their relationship -- his analyst -- in this offbeat independent comedy. Jake Singer (Chris Eigeman) is a schoolteacher working at a respected private school for boys. Jake recently parted ways with his longtime girlfriend and isn't especially happy about being single again. Jake begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Morales (Ian Holm), whose advise often seems to cause more harm than good. Jake meets Allegra (Famke Janssen), a woman whose adopted son attends his school; Allegra is still getting over the death of her husband, but Jake is strongly attracted to her and she seems to feel the same way. Morales is convinced Allegra is simply using Jake (there are questions about her ability to care for her son that may cause her to lose custody if she remains single), and he advises Jake that if he must go on dating her, he should seduce Allegra without becoming emotionally involved. This is more easily said than done, but as Jake and Allegra spend more time together, he begins seeing and hearing Morales at the most inopportune moments, with the doctor offering un-called-for tips on their relationship. The Treatment received the award for best "Made In New York" feature at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Eigeman, Famke Janssen, (more)
A kid who is still struggling with the loss of a parent has an unexpected challenge thrown in his path in this coming-of-age drama. Adam (Evan Peters) has just wrapped up his last year in middle school, and is waiting out the summer before he enters high school. Adam is still dealing with the death of his mother and younger sister in a car wreck two years earlier. In tribute to them, Adam hasn't cut his hair since the accident, while Adam's father (Chris Eigeman) prefers to blunt his own sorrows by drinking and giving his son bad advice. Given to angry outbursts of violence, Adam finds he's better off turning to his grandmother (Louise Fletcher) or Father Dan (Kevin Sorbo), an open-minded priest who prefers talking to kids on the basketball court rather than in the church rectory. Over the summer, Adam makes friends with Johnny (Bryan Burke), but he also gains an enemy -- Jerry (Donato Mario Alleva), an older student with a bullying personality and a hatred of long hair. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evan Peters, Christopher Eigeman, (more)
Can a wealthy Republican politician find happiness with a chambermaid from the Bronx? One man is about to find out, though he hardly realizes it at first, in this romantic comedy from director Wayne Wang. Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who is raising her gifted but under-confident son Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) on her own, with some help from her mother Veronica (Priscilla Lopez), after divorcing her husband. Marisa works as a housekeeper at the exclusive Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, where her boss Paula Burns (Frances Conroy) and chief butler Lionel Bloch (Bob Hoskins) urge Marisa and her best friend and fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) to be as efficient and inconspicuous as possible. One day, while cleaning the room of noted socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie spies a beautiful designer gown and dares Marisa to try it on; against her better judgment, she does, and while all dolled up, she bumps into Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a wealthy and well-bred bachelor who is running for the Senate. Immediately charmed, Chris asks Marisa to join him for a walk in Central Park, assuming she's the blue-blooded Caroline. Marisa manages to join Chris for the afternoon, with Ty in tow, and Chris finds himself quite taken with Marisa's beauty and down-to-earth personality, as well as Ty's precocious interest in politics. Chris later calls Caroline's room to set up a lunch date, but soon discovers the stuffy Ms. Lane is not the woman he met before. Marisa is also attracted to Chris, but while her friends encourage her to pursue a romance, Veronica believes her daughter is asking for trouble by trying to win a man so far out of her social strata. The supporting cast also includes Stanley Tucci and Amy Sedaris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Frances Conroy, (more)
P.J. Posner directs the romantic comedy The Next Big Thing. Struggling painter Gus Bishop (Chris Eigeman) gets involved in a scam to make it into the cutthroat New York art world. Con man Deech Scumble (Jamie Harris) dreams up the identity of Geoff Buonardi (inspired by the name of Chef Boyardee), an outsider war veteran artist. The fictitious Buonardi becomes Gus' alter ego personality, and soon his paintings become an overnight success. This scam leads Gus toward a romance with art critic Kate (Connie Britton), who, of course, does not realize that Geoff is really Gus. Soon, Gus is being pursued by a private eye (Mike Starr) and a rich art vixen (Janet Zarish), who both desperately want to meet the mysterious artist. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Eigeman, Jamie Harris, (more)
- 2001
An ambitious, fussbudgety TV reporter finds romance with her polar opposite, a downwardly mobile waiter living with his father, in this romantic comedy set in New York City. Former MTV staple Jenny McCarthy plays Whitney, a short-fused young woman whose career takes her to the Big Apple to compete for an on-air position for one of the biggest networks in the nation. On the way to the interview, she asks directions from a sardonic Gothamite named Jimmy (Christopher Eigeman); when the two cross paths again later in the day, Whitney's harsh demeanor leads Jimmy to mistakenly believe that she's a prostitute. The two go on a series of dates with other suitors, but their chance encounters become more and more frequent, and both Jimmy and Whitney find out that the other may be a more appropriate mate than he or she first thought. The Perfect You toured a series of film festivals including the Los Angeles Film Festival before appearing on the Oxygen network in 2003. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny McCarthy, Christopher Eigeman, (more)
- 2000
Over the course of one year, a group of friends gathers for three parties (a birthday dinner party, a Halloween costume party, and a New Year's celebration) at the Brooklyn apartment of a young married couple (Chris Reed, Lauren Katz). Friendships and relationships are formed, dissolved, and re-formed amidst witty banter.
~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
As another installment of Whit Stillman's trilogy, The Last Days of Disco fits chronologically between Metropolitan (1990) and Barcelona (1994), with several cameos overlapping and linking the films. During "the very early 1980s," friends gather at a popular Manhattan disco club reminiscent of Studio 54, where getting past the velvet ropes and inside was the first step. Edgy ad-exec Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin) can sometimes get his clients in with the help of the club's womanizing assistant manager, his pal Des (Chris Eigeman), who lets them enter via the rear door. Beautiful brunette Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and her former college classmate Alice (Chloe Sevigny) move about the club during the 24-minute opening club sequence. Attorney Tom (Robert Sean Leonard) takes an interest in calm, reserved Alice. Both Alice and the opinionated, assertive Charlotte hold day jobs as entry-level editorial associates at a small book publisher. With Holly (Tara Subkoff) as a third roommate, the trio rents a railroad flat in the Manhattan's Yorkville neighborhood. Charlotte throws dinner parties in an effort to solidify a social circle as an alternative to "the ferocious pairing off" around her. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, (more)
In this dark comedy, former broadcast journalist and current substitute teacher Lester Grimm (Eric Stoltz) is not especially good at displaying a healthy trust in his relationships. Ever since the age of 15, when Lester's first girlfriend ditched him for a 24-year-old, Lester has displayed an overpowering jealousy toward the women in his life -- which explains why he's still single. When Lester meets Ramona Ray (Annabella Sciorra), he's determined that this time he'll keep his emotions in check, until he learns that she has a rather checkered sexual history -- and her most recent boyfriend was a best-selling novelist, Dashiell Frank (Christopher Eigeman). Desperate to know if they still have feelings for each other, Lester starts crashing Dashiell's group therapy sessions in hopes of getting an inside scoop on what he has to say about his ex. Mr. Jealousy was written and directed by Noah Baumbach; it was his first film after his acclaimed independent debut Kicking and Screaming. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Annabella Sciorra, (more)
- 1996
Three homicide investigations -- involving a carjacking, a rape, and a bar fight -- are unfolded in a series of flashbacks from the viewpoint of both the homicide detectives and the victims' families, the latter having formed a support group. A surprise development occurs when the group welcomes a new member -- medical examiner Julianna Cox (Michelle Forbes). Meanwhile, two of the elusive witnesses in one of the three cases compel Pembleton (Andre Braugher), still not fully recovered from his stroke, to embark upon a grueling chase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
Inspired by the advent of Seattle's grunge music sound and popular films such as Slacker (1991) and Singles (1992), the Generation X comedy-drama was born. Typified by characters in their early twenties sharing an abundance of education, a lack of career direction, stunted romantic aspirations and an obsession with popular culture, one of the better examples of the genre was Kicking and Screaming. Josh Hamilton stars as Grover, a recent college graduate and aspiring writer depressed over the departure of his girlfriend Jane (Olivia d'Abo) for a fellowship in Prague. Josh's best friends are in a similar predicament. Skippy (Jason Wiles) is a classic slacker couch potato still attending classes despite having graduated, while the philosophical Max (Chris Eigeman) and Otis (Carlos Jacott), a mechanical engineer, both remain unemployed. Tenth-year student Chet (Eric Stoltz), who works at a local bar and has still not finished his education, serves as a cautionary tale for the four unmotivated pals. Kicking and Screaming was the debut of writer and director Noah Baumbach and the first of several cinematic collaborations between him and actors Eigeman and Stoltz. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hamilton, Olivia D'Abo, (more)
The second film from writer/director Whit Stillman, Barcelona is a smart, urbane comedy of manners set in Spain at the tail end of the Cold War. Taylor Nichols stars as Ted, an American salesman living in Barcelona. Out of the blue, he is visited by his acidic cousin Fred (Chris Eigeman), a U.S. Navy officer sent abroad to work damage control on rising anti-American sentiment. The textbook "Ugly American," Fred travels through the city in full military regalia, impervious to the constant taunts of "Fascist!" Like the similarly self-absorbed Ted, who has become involved with political activist Monsterrat (Tushka Bergen), Fred also finds romance, with a party girl played by Mira Sorvino. A brittle fish-out-of-water comedy, Barcelona is literate and sophisticated, a knowing essay on cultural identity and perception. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Taylor Nichols, Christopher Eigeman, (more)
The debut film from writer-director Whit Stillman etches a sophisticated comic portrait of New York debutante society at the twilight of the 1980s. Set during the Christmas season, the film is told from the vantage point of Tom Townsend (Edward Clements), a self-professed proletarian radical who stumbles into the social sphere of a group of well-off Upper East Side twentysomethings calling themselves the SFRP (or Sally Fowler Rat Pack, named in honor of a frequent party hostess). The group includes Nick (Christopher Eigeman), an acidic misanthrope; sweet-natured Jane Austen acolyte Audrey (Carolyn Farina); Charlie (Taylor Nichols), a tongue-tied bumbler secretly in love with Audrey; and femme fatale Cynthia (Isabel Gillies). Quickly, Tom, who comes from much more humble beginnings, finds himself caught in the middle of the group. Audrey even develops a crush on him, but Tom is still reeling from a broken relationship with renowned man-eater Serena (Elizabeth Thompson), a peripheral member of the SFRP. It all leads to a romantic climax at the Southampton vacation home of Nick's womanizing arch-enemy Rick von Sloneker (Will Kempe). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, (more)
