Joey Lawrence Movies
Rising to fame as a lovable dim-witted television teen heartthrob in Blossom (1991-1995) after charming prime-time viewers as the adorable youngster in such sitcoms as Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, and Gimmie a Break!, Joseph Lawrence has since gone on to numerous film and television roles in addition to maintaining an active recording career as a Philly soul-inspired singer/songwriter. Born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, in 1976, Lawrence was the oldest of three brothers and by age four had convinced his parents that he had what it took to become an actor. Landing the first job he auditioned for and crooning "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "Zippity Do Da" on The Tonight Show shortly thereafter, it was obvious to many that the eager youngster indeed had the energy, talent, and dedication to make it as an entertainer. Making his mark on various television sitcoms before he became a fixture for four seasons on Gimmie a Break!, it was as a teenager that Lawrence made his true mark on the small screen. As the titular character's goofy brother in the popular sitcom Blossom, Lawrence's charming aloofness endeared him into the hearts of starry-eyed teenage girls everywhere. His 1993 self-titled debut album quickly went gold as it sold over two million copies worldwide, proving that Lawrence's fans were indeed loyal. Following a public persona change in which he adopted the more mature moniker of Joseph, the actor/singer continued to make numerous appearances in such made-for-television films as Prince for a Day (1995) and Romantic Comedy 101 (2001) and such features as Tequila Body Shots (1999), Urban Legends: The Final Cut (2000), and Pandora's Box (2001). Lawrence made his directorial debut while simultaneously acting alongside brothers Matthew and Andrew in the mid-'90s sitcom Brotherly Love, and went on to produce (as well as star in) such made-for-television films as Horse Sense (1999) and Jumping Ship (2001). In 2002, Lawrence joined the cast of the period drama American Dreams, playing the recurring character of Michael Brooks. The following year, he starred in the sitcom Run of the House, which he followed with another comedy role, playing Brett on the series Half & Half until 2006. Later that same year, Lawrence took to the floor as a competitor on the reality series Dancing with the Stars, and proved a popular addition to the show's roster. The stint led to Lawrence hosting the reality show Master of Dance in 2008, though it wasn't long before he was making waves with a comedic role again, appearing in the popular TV movie My Fake Fiancé with Melissa Joan Heart in 2009. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The Hollywood dreams of two runaway lovers are suddenly transformed into living nightmares when a momentary pause at an abandoned roadside rest stop turns into a struggle for survival against a predator who sadism knows no boundaries in this tense nail-biter from X-Files writer and executive producer John Shiban. The west coast was a long way off, and when Jess and Nichole decided to stretch their legs at a deserted rest stop they could never have anticipated the terror that awaited them. Now Jess has disappeared, and a savage stranger with a penchant for cruel games has turned up in her place. This is no coincidence, however, and before the day is over Nichole will be forced to fight for her life against a murderous maniac whose creative use of power tools will have her screaming for mercy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaimie Alexander, Joey Mendicino, (more)
- 2004
After a blissful year of living together, Kelly (Maggie Lawson) and Michael (Joey Lawrence) decide to get married. All they want is a small, simple, old-fashioned ceremony, without the "bells and whistles" attending most contemporary weddings. Alas, Kelly's control-freak mother Carol (Marilu Henner) had other ideas--and if that isn't bad enough, the couple's friends have come up with a plethora of discouraging words about matrimony, otherwise known as "The Rules of Engagement" (which was the working title for this film). A broad but generally credible made-for-cable comedy in the tradition of Father of the Bride and Betsy's Wedding, Love Rules! made its ABC Family Channel bow on June 6, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Lawson, Joey Lawrence, (more)
A woman's infidelity leads her into a web of larceny and danger in this noir-flavored independent thriller. Mia DuBois (Monica Calhoun) is a psychologist who until recently worked with the police department, counseling the survivors of victims of violent crime. While Mia has entered into a successful private practice, she's persuaded by her former colleagues to take on new client, Tammy (Chrystale Wilson), who is still dealing with the recent murder of her husband. As Mia helps Tammy with her problems, Mia finds herself thinking about her own marriage to Victor (Kristoff St. John), which has hardly been happy lately. As Mia begins wondering if she has other options, she visits a mysterious nightclub, Pandora's Box, where she meets the sexy and mysterious Hampton (Michael Jai White). Mia soon begins having an affair with Hampton, unaware that Hampton is actually working with Victor and Tammy; Mia is soon to inherit $20 million, and Victor is determined to get his hands on the money. Hampton soon shifts his alliances to stay with Mia, but Victor and Tammy are not giving up their shares of the fortune quite so easily. Pandora's Box also features former teen heartthrob Joey Lawrence in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Calhoun, Michael Jai White, (more)
- 2001
The three Lawrence brothers -- Joey, Matthew, and Andrew -- join forces for this made-for-TV adventure, in which Joey and Andrew reprise their characters from the movie Horse Sense. Jake Hunter (Matthew Lawrence) and his young friend Tommy Biggs (Andrew Lawrence) are invited to a luxury island resort for a vacation, and Jake gets the idea of hiring a boat to take them there so they can get some deep-sea fishing in along the way. The boat, piloted by Tommy's old cohort Michael Woods (Joey Lawrence), turns out to be a dangerous rust bucket, but that soon proves to be the least of their problems when a crew of modern-day pirates attempts to take over the ship, forcing the three passengers to abandon ship and take cover on a nearby island. Jumping Ship was produced for The Disney Channel, where it premiered on August 17, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Matthew Lawrence, (more)
- 2000
- G
An unexpected snowstorm forces Santa Claus to crash-land in the North Woods. By chance, Santa and his reindeer encounter a band of wandering circus animals that frighten the reindeer enough to cause them to run away, thus leaving Santa alone and stranded in the forest. The circus animals decide to assist Santa in rounding up his reindeer and in the process learn about the true meaning of Christmas. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
A vacation in paradise turns into a bloodbath in this modern-dress horror story. Six students from an exclusive East Coast university head down to Florida for spring break, but while sun and fun are the first order of business, things take a turn for the worst when the friends head out for a night on the town, and one of them is brutally murdered at a dance club. Over the next three days, three more of the vacationers turn up dead, and the two survivors have to figure out who the killer is and why they've been targeted -- before it's too late to save themselves. Do You Wanna Know A Secret stars Joseph Lawrence (better known as Joey Lawrence when he was the teen-dream star of Blossom), Chad Allen, Dorie Barton, and Jack McGee.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Chad Allen, (more)
Tall tales turn into chilling reality in this sequel to the 1998 horror hit Urban Legend. Amy Mayfield (Jenny Morrison) is a film student at Alpine University who for her thesis project (which will also be her entry to a prestigious competition for young directors) has decided to make a horror film about urban legends that suddenly and disturbingly come true. However, as Amy and her student cast and crew begin filming staged murders for the project, members of her team begin dying for real, and the survivors have to track down the killer before they become the next victims. And where do Travis (Matthew Davis), Graham (Joey Lawrence), and Toby (Anson Mount), three other students vying for the same prize as Amy, fit into this scenario? Urban Legends: The Final Cut marked the directorial debut for John Ottman, who previously distinguished himself as an editor and composer (he also performed both of those functions for this film). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, (more)
- 1999
District Attorney Sara Perker (Paige Moss) recoils in terror when her former boyfriend Jesse (Joey Lawrence) is brought into court as an armed-robbery suspect. Unable to face Jesse. Sara makes a beeline to the corner bar, where as luck (?) would have it Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) are currently employed. In the course of a very long evening, the angels hear the story of the strange hold that Jesse once had--and still has--over Sara. Special Agent Angel Sam (Paul Winfield) makes a pivotal appearance in the episode's flashback sequence, while Monica and Tess' colleague Andrew (John Dye) has a surprise for everyone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Pop star Joey Lawrence stars in this blend of comedy and horror about a group of college kids who get a lot more than they counted on when they head to Mexico for a good time. Film student Johnny Orpheus (Lawrence) and his buddies Paul (Nathan Anderson) and Al (Josh Marchette) decide to head down to Mexico's Rosaferno Beach for a major league party, held to commemorate the national celebration of the Day of the Dead. A Mexican medicine man persuades Johnny to try a potion that will allow him to read women's minds, doubtless a great advantage in winning the girl of your dreams. Johnny tries it, only to discover it also makes him see Hector (Rene L. Moreno), a horrific demon who has risen from hell to reclaim the hand of his former lover, Carlotta. Will Johnny be able to vanquish evil and snag a date with one of the hot babes he's met? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Dru Mouser, (more)
- 1999
In this frantic comedy, Lily (Christine Taylor) is thrilled when Jonathan (John Corbett), a good-looking man she's had her eye on for some time, asks her to attend a friend's wedding reception with him. But Lily's joy is short-lived when, on the day of the wedding, she misplaces her invitation and is unable to reach Jonathan on the phone. Even though she can't find Jonathan and can't recall the location of the reception, Lily is not about to let her dream date go without a fight, so she enlists the help of her best friend Frances (Paget Brewster), a good-time gal who can smell a party a mile away. Together, they make the rounds of the Los Angeles social circuit, hoping that they'll somehow stumble upon either the reception or Jonathan. Desperate But Not Serious also stars Claudia Schiffer, Joey Lawrence, and Henry Rollins. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Taylor, Paget Brewster, (more)
- 1996
In this western adventure a young man heads off into the wilds to save his parents from their Indian captors. A lovely native woman befriends him and helps out with his search. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Matthew Lawrence, (more)
This animated Disney feature is based on a popular afternoon television show. The story centers on Goofy's teenage son, Max, who is terrified that he will grow up to be as dorky a dog as his daffy daddy. Just as shy Max has screwed up enough courage to ask his dreamgirl, Roxanne, on a date, Goofy stumbles in and announces that they need to spend some quality time together, and then drags Max off on a vacation. Just before they leave, Max tells Roxanne that he will be in the audience at the next Powerline concert, which is to be televised. As Goofy heads for the forest for some huntin' and some fishin', "hyuk," Max schemes to get them to LA where he hopes they will be able to sneak backstage after the concert and fulfill his promise to Roxanne. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, (more)
- 1995
In yet another modern-dress version of The Prince and the Pauper, Joey Lawrence plays Ricky Prince, a famous pop star who has grown tired of the spotlight and the pressures of fame. Ricky makes the aquaintance of Ralph Bitondo (also played by Joey Lawrence), a pizza delivery boy who looks almost exactly like Ricky -- so much so that the two decide to trade identities for a while. Ricky enjoys being able to live like an average guy for a change, and Ralph gets a kick out of the perks of stardom, but predictably enough they both learn the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Also known as The Prince and the Pizza Boy, Prince for a Day also stars Richard Belzer and Khrystyne Haje. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Richard Belzer, (more)
A blend of screwball farce and whodunit murder mystery, this madcap period piece was the brainchild of executive producer George Lucas. In 1939, Penny Henderson (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the harried general secretary and de facto manager of a new fourth radio network, WBN. On the night that the Chicago station goes live on the air, a mysterious voice interrupts, and a series of murders soon follows, each one described by the same sonorous phantom. While Penny and her staff desperately try to keep WBN's roster of shows afloat during the unfolding crisis, her estranged husband Roger (Brian Benben), a staff writer, becomes the chief suspect. Roger is forced to dodge a detective, Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner), find the real killer, win Penny back, and perform last-minute script rewrites for an unhappy sponsor. As the backstage hysteria reaches a fever pitch, the show goes on with real-life radio-era pros such as George Burns and Rosemary Clooney. Although never explicitly pointed out in the film, Radioland Murders (1994) was a pseudo-prequel to an earlier Lucas feature -- Roger and Penny are the future parents of Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) from American Graffiti (1973). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
- 1992
In this made-for-cable actioner a good-hearted social worker embarks upon a one-man crusade to save Miami teens from getting further involved with a gang of crack dealers. The social worker does this in large part to ease his own guilt at having been responsible for the death of his own son back when he was drinking heavily. To save the teen, he pretends to be a dealer and infiltrates the gang. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Household appliances are generally useful and beneficent items, and most of us who own them take them for granted, but should we? This sci-fi thriller shows what happens when electricity gets a mind of its own, becomes evil and turns every-day gadgets into evil killers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff De Young, Roxanne Hart, (more)
This animated musical retells Dickens's Oliver Twist amongst animals in New York City, with Oliver as an innocent kitten who joins a gang of law-breaking dogs. When Oliver is adopted by a wealthy young woman, the gang's evil human owner hatches a kidnapping scheme to tap into the girl's fortune. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, (more)
- 1986
The major cast and format changes in Gimme a Break's sixth and final season commence with the two-part season opener, in which Nell Harper (Nell Carter), housekeeper for the Kanisky family in suburban California, finds herself experiencing a bad case of "empty nest syndrome." Eldest Kanisky daughter Katie (Kari Michaelsen) has moved to San Francisco to start a fantastic new job; middle daughter Julie (Lauri Hendler), her husband Jonathan (Jonathan Silverman), and their baby daughter have relocated to San Jose; and youngest daughter Sam (Lara Jill Miller) is off to New Jersey, there to begin her freshman year at Littlefield College. Staying behind with Nell are the girls' feisty Grandpa Kanisky (John Hoyt), the family's foster son Joey (Joey Lawrence), and Nell's best friend Dr. Addy Wilson (Telma Hopkins). Before long, however, this little group has moved bag and baggage to New York City, where Addy has landed a new job and Joey comes face-to-face with Matthew, the little brother he never knew he had (Matthew is played by Matthew Lawrence, the real-life younger brother of series regular Joey Lawrence). Finding a job with a publishing house, Nell moves into a Greenwich Village apartment over a Mexican restaurant called El Gatspacio, run by a zany character named Marty (Paul Sand), who for business purposes assumes the identity (and wretched accent) of a Latino named Esteban. Also joining the cast on a regular basis is Rosetta Le Noire as Nell's cantankerous mother Maybelle and a very young Rosie O'Donnell as wisecracking neighbor kid Maggie O'Brien. The series' final episode "Mama's Date" is highlighted by a surprising revelation concerning Nell's mother. It does not, however, play like a traditional "finale" -- mainly because the cast and production crew were unaware that NBC had decided to pull the plug on Gimme a Break after six years on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nell Carter, Telma Hopkins, (more)
