Lisa Gerstein Movies
- 2005
A sex offender moves into the neighborhood, and Larry (Larry David) notes that because the offender is bald, "It's very bad for the bald community." Later, he meets the aforementioned sex offender, Rick (Rob Corddry of The Daily Show), and he turns out to be a pretty good guy. He's a huge Seinfeld fan, he helps Larry with his groceries, and he gives him some valuable golf tips. So Larry hesitantly invites him to the Seder that Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) is preparing. When Cheryl predictably freaks out about the invite, Larry reassures her, "He's cool," and asks pointedly, "What would Jesus do?" Also at the event are Jeff (Jeff Garlin), Susie (Susie Essman), and Susie's brother-in-law, Len (Stephen Tobolowsky), a staunch Republican. Mark (Rob Huebel) and Marla (Lauren Katz) are also guests in the David household, and Larry invites the cranky couple from across the street, Mac (Pat Harrington Jr. and Ethel (Jennie Ventriss), because he suspects that Mark has been stealing his newspapers, and Larry wants Ethel to ID Mark. The event goes sour when there's a controversy involving the afikomen. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
In this drama that explores greed and corruption in American business, Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth Davis, an intelligent and ambitious college dropout who runs a casino in his apartment. Eager to show his father that he can succeed, Seth lands a job with a small stock brokerage firm. He is given a space in the company's "boiler room," where he makes cold calls to prospective clients. As it turns out, Seth has a genuine talent for cold calling, which gains him the approval of his superiors, the admiration of his father, and the attentions of one of his co-workers, Abby Hilliard (Nia Long). However, the higher up the ladder Seth rises, the deeper he sinks into a quagmire of dirty dealings, until he's breaking the law in order to keep his bosses happy and his paychecks coming. The Boiler Room also features Tom Everett Scott, Scott Caan, Jamie Kennedy, Nicky Katt, and Ben Affleck in a cameo as the headhunter who brings Seth into the firm. Ribisi and Scott also appeared together in That Thing You Do; Ribisi was the drummer replaced by Scott, who then led The One-Ders to fictional pop stardom. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, (more)
- 1997
Independent feminist filmmaker Sarah Jacobson directed this blunt comedy about a teenager learning to deal with her emotional and sexual needs. Mary Jane (Lisa Gerstein) is a 17-year-old girl from the Midwest who works at a movie theater specializing in foreign and independent films. Her co-workers are the cream of the city's bohemian crowd, and cute but awkward Mary Jane wishes that there was some way she could fit in. Regarding her virginity as a serious roadblock on the path to greater coolness, Mary Jane allows herself to be seduced by a local lout named Steve, who leaves her very much unsatisfied and hits the road immediately after their brief tryst in a cemetery. Frustrated and unhappy, Mary Jane begins commiserating with her co-workers, several of whom have friendly advice for her. Punk rocker Ericka (Beth Ramona Allen) coaches Mary Jane on sexual technique and the joys of masturbation, gay manager Dave (Greg Cruikshank) offers lots of sympathy and advice on men, and new guy Tom (Chris Enright) displays an encouraging interest in her. Beth Ramona Allen is also a member of the punk rock band The Loudmouths, who appear on the soundtrack, along with Babes in Toyland, Mudhoney, Steel Pole Bathtub, Red Aunts, AFI, and The Cosmic Psychos. Former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lisa Gerstein, Greg Cruikshank, (more)
Eric Schaeffer and Donald Ward managed to scrape together 22,000 dollars to make this independent film about the making of an independent film. Schaeffer plays a New York City cabdriver (which he really was), while Ward co-stars as his roommate (which he really was). They have no money, no script, and admittedly not much talent, but they're determined to put a movie together about a couple of slightly overweight twentysomethings who are united by their "outsider" status. Talent agent Lisa Gerstein, the men's mutual friend, takes a maternal interest in their project. Along the way, they manage to charm genuine celebrities such as Phoebe Cates and Martha Plimpton into appearing in their film. (Cates really was cajoled into appearing when she stepped into Schaeffer's taxi!) My Life's in Turnaround debuted at the Seattle Film Festival, where it scored a hit (despite its misogynistic undertones) and earned Schaeffer and Ward a multimillion-dollar studio deal. Incidentally, the word "turnaround" is a Hollywood term referring to a movie project that has been in development so long that its chances of ever being produced are slim to none; detractors of Schaeffer and Ward (and there are many) tend to wish that this had been the fate of My Life's in Turnaround. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eric Schaeffer, Donal Lardner Ward, (more)
