Robin Tunney Movies
Looking as though she hails from an Irish Spring commercial, green-eyed, dewy-skinned actress Robin Tunney became known in the 1990s for her work in a number of teen and independent films. A native of Chicago's South Side, where she attended Catholic high school, Tunney studied acting at the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. She spent her summers performing in such stage productions as Bus Stop and Agnes of God. At the age of 18, Tunney moved to Los Angeles, where she began finding work on various television shows.The actress made her screen debut in the 1992 Brendan Fraser/Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man. She had her first lead role in the teen ensemble film Empire Records (1995), playing a suicidal record store employee who announces her presence in the film by walking into the store and shaving her head. A year later, Tunney starred as a member of a group of high school misfits who use witchcraft to take revenge on their tormenters in The Craft. Sort of a Sixteen Candles meets Carrie, the film proved to be a cult hit, particularly with teenage girls.
Tunney subsequently made her name in independent dramas and mainstream films alike, doing particularly strong work in Niagara Niagara, earning the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actress, for her portrayal of a young woman with Tourette's Syndrome. In 1999, she entered into the realm of bloated budgets and equally bloated plot premises, starring as Satan's intended bride alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in End of Days. That same year, she played a 22nd century paramedic in Supernova, a sci-fi thriller that had her racing against time to escape from an exploding star. After braving icy mountains in the adventure nail-biter Vertical Limit (2000) Tunney would turn-up as a fantasy prone animator placed under house arrest after the mysterious hit and run death of a police officer in the comedy thriller Cherish (2002).
In the wake of The In-Laws, Tunney would carry an impressive collection of independent thrillers including Paparazzi, Runaway, and The Zodiac, with a continuing role on the popular television drama Prison Break serving well to offer steady employment while letting her chose her film roles as she saw fit. A supporting role in frequent television director Allen Coulter's feature debut Hollywoodland found Tunney joining an impressive cast that included Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins, and Adrien Brody to explore the mysterious last days of television Superman George Reevs. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Josh Hartnett, Naomie Harris, Rip Torn, and Adam Scott star in director/co-screenwriter Austin Chick's tale about an ambitious dotcom entrepreneur attempting to stay afloat as the stock market begins to collapse and the entire country remains blissfully unaware of the national tragedy looming ever closer on the horizon. Tom Sterling (Hartnett) is on a professional downward spiral that's rapidly cutting into his personal life as well. His apathetic investor, Ogilvie (David Bowie), is refusing to relinquish control of the company that Tom is fighting to save, and his girlfriend, Sarrah (Harris), seems to have lost all interest in their relationship. In the midst of all this, Tom must also attempt to heal the wounds that have kept him estranged from his father, David (Torn), and brother, Joshua (Scott), as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Naomie Harris, (more)
Finn Taylor's quirky comedy Cherish concerns Zoe (Robin Tunney), a woman unlucky in love. She is berated at work and always seems to strike out with the opposite sex. After being asked by an attractive co-worker (Jason Priestley) to dance at a party, Zoe is kidnapped by a stalker who has fallen in love with her. During a scuffle, they accidentally kill a police officer. The stalker disappears and Zoe is charged with the crime. Soon she is under house arrest. The technician in charge of her ankle bracelet (Tim Blake Nelson) is as socially awkward as she is. Soon they grow close and he gets her a nine-hour window in which the pair tries to find the stalker and clear her name. Rocker Liz Phair and Saturday Night Live alumnus Nora Dunn round out the cast of this film that was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Tim Blake Nelson, (more)
A funky little record shop provides the setting for this youthful comedy that centers on the workers there as they try to help poor Joe Anthony LaPaglia), the manager who really wants to buy the place, recoup his losses after his well-meaning, but dim-bulbed employee Lucas (Rory Cochrane ) steals his savings and loses it all in Atlantic City while trying to increase it twofold at the gaming tables. If they cannot come up with the loot, the mega-chain Music City will buy it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony LaPaglia, Rory Cochrane, (more)
A clueless caveman meets his intellectual match in the form of Pauly Shore in this teen-oriented comedy. Dave Morgan (Sean Astin) is a high school student in Encino, California, where he spends most of his time with his dazed-and-confused buddy Stoney Brown (Shore) and tries to figure out why his girlfriend Robyn (Megan Ward) left him for thick-headed jock Matt (Michael DeLuise). Hoping to boost his low status in the High School pecking order, Dave wants to put in a swimming pool at his family's home for a massive post-prom party. While Dave and Stoney are digging the pit, an earthquake strikes that unearths a frozen caveman (Brendan Fraser). To Dave and Stoney's surprise, the frozen Neanderthal soon comes to life, and after a bath, a shave, and a new set of clothes, the boys are passing off their dim-witted-but-friendly companion "Link" as an exchange student from Estonia. Link soon becomes the most popular guy at school, and Dave is determined to use Link's social success as a way to win back Robyn and foil Matt. Encino Man marked the directorial debut of Les Mayfield, who previously produced the critically acclaimed documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Astin, Pauly Shore, (more)
1999 proved a banner year for screen portrayals of Satan's love life: first his relationship with Saddam Hussein went under the microscope in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, and a few months later his search for a girl to settle down with became the basis of this thriller. With the millennium approaching, a series of disturbing signs suggests that Satan (here played by Gabriel Byrne) has returned to Earth and is walking the streets of New York City. It seems that Satan needs to find a woman who will bear his child, as the time for the arrival of the anti-Christ draws near. A woman named Christine (Robin Tunney) believes that she has seen the Devil and felt his presence, and it's up to Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a former policeman turned elite bodyguard, to keep her safe from The Dark Lord. End of Days was both directed and photographed by Peter Hyams; Kevin Pollak, Renee Olstead, and Udo Kier are among the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
The mysterious and unexpected death of an iconic Hollywood star may be just the tip of an iceberg of scandal in this show biz drama based on a true story. George Reeves (played by Ben Affleck) was a journeyman actor who had played a small role in Gone With The Wind and appeared on screen with the likes of James Cagney, Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich, but his career was not exactly booming when he was cast as comic book hero Superman in a 1951 B-movie, Superman and the Mole Men. A year later, the producers of the movie launched a syndicated Superman television series with Reeves returning as the Man of Steel. The show became a major hit, and Reeves was a star at last. However, on June 16, 1959, to the shock of many, Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound. Police soon declared Reeves' death a suicide and closed the case, but his mother (Lois Smith) refused to believe her son took his own life, and hired Louis Simo (Adrian Brody), a private detective, to find out the truth about her son's passing. Simo found many Hollywood insiders did not care to cooperate as he researched the Reeves case, but his digging uncovered plenty of evidence suggesting the actor did not take his own life, and he also revealed one of Reeves's deepest secrets -- while he was engaged to marry a pretty young starlet, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), Reeves was also carrying on an affair with the beautiful Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a powerful and ill-tempered executive at MGM. While the producers of Hollywoodland based their story on factual accounts of the investigation into the death of George Reeves, they were denied permission to use the Superman logo and the familiar introduction to the Adventures of Superman television show by the respective copyright holders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, (more)
- 2004
The alternate title for this pilot episode of House is "Everybody Lies", which neatly sums up the philosophy of the brilliant but thoroughly obnoxious Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), infectious disease and nephrology specialist at Princton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Convinced that none of his patients will ever tell him the truth, House responds in kind by refusing to talk to them beyond the bare necessities--and he certainly wastes no time being friendly, comforting or supportive. Right now, House's patented indifference is being directed at 29-year-old kindergarten teacher Rebecca Adler (Robin Tunney), who for no discernible reason has begun suffering seizures and speaking gibberish. With no one else able to figure out what's happening to Rebecca, House dismisses it as a brain tumor. It turns out that he's wrong--and also that he'll spend a lot more time than he'd originally intended trying to save Rebecca's life, and to ascertain the real cause for her behavior (which, as often happens in this series,turns out to be a malady that no one could possibly have anticipated). But though House emerges as the hero of the piece, he remains his old gloriously repulsive self. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A group of bohemian intellectuals struggle to have an intelligent discussion of perhaps the world's most emotional subject in this comedy-drama from director Alan Rudolph. Edgar (Dermot Mulroney) is an artist living in Paris during the 1920s who believes that sex is a subject of vital importance, but almost no one discusses it with the gravity it deserves. With this in mind, Edgar gathers together a panel of fellow creative types at the home of a wealthy tycoon (Nick Nolte) and his oddly accented spouse (Tuesday Weld) for an evening in which they will discuss their erotic lives without self-serving wit or exaggeration. Joining Edgar for this experiment is an artist from Germany (Til Schweiger), an arrogant film director (Jeremy Davies), a self-obsessed painter (Alan Cumming) whose fey personality may cross the boundaries of Edgar's prohibition of homosexuality as a topic of conversation, and a student from England (Terrence Dashon Howard) who has attracted the eye of a lovely French girl (Julie Delpy) with whom Edgar has fallen in love. Certain that a number of profound thoughts will be shared with the group, Edgar hires a pair of stenographers to record the proceedings, but the presence of the two young and beautiful secretaries -- innocent Alice (Neve Campbell) and provocative Zoe (Robin Tunney) -- has an unexpectedly strong effect on the group. Investigating Sex had its U.S. premiere as the closing night attraction of the 2001 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dermot Mulroney, Alan Cumming, (more)
Originally aired as a two-part miniseries, this biography looks at the early years of America's most dashing president from his early childhood through his nomination for Congress. It's based on Nigel Hamilton's best-selling biography. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Terry Kinney, (more)
A man brings new life to a small town by announcing that he's killing himself in this low-key comedy-drama that marked a significant change of pace for star Christian Slater. Julian Po (Slater) is a quiet, unassuming bookkeeper -- so quiet and unassuming, in fact, that most people hardly notice that he exists, as his life quietly slips by. Julian has few friends and little to look forward to in life, so one day he decides to commit suicide. One of his few ambitions in life has been to see the ocean, so Julian plans to take one final vacation in which he'll visit the seashore before doing himself in. En route to the coast, Julian's car breaks down in a small town so obscure that the name isn't even posted at the city limits. Julian's plan is to spend the night, get the car fixed, and move on, so he stops to get a room at Vern's Boarding House, where Vern himself (Michael Parks) informs Julian that he almost never has guests. In fact, the town gets so few visitors that most of the locals view Julian with tremendous suspicion, especially the Mayor (Harve Presnell) and the Sheriff (Frankie R. Faison). After his car disappears, Julian decides to tell everyone, while eating at the only diner in town, that he means them no harm and has not come to cause any trouble -- he's merely decided to go somewhere to kill himself. Suddenly, everyone's attitude towards him changes; at once expressing admiration for his determination and concern for his well-being, the whole town tries to leap to his rescue, and as they gently try to convince Julian to go on living, they gain a new lease on life -- especially Sarah (Robin Tunney), a beautiful but lonely woman who has fallen in love with the quiet stranger. Julian Po was the first feature film for writer and director Alan Wade; it was also released as The Tears of Julian Po. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Robin Tunney, (more)
- 1994
The emphasis is more on law than order as the viewer follows detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) through an extremely eventful 24 hours. Their unusually heavy case load includes five murders -- all unrelated -- and a violent, domestic quarrel, in which the husband gets the worst of it. Evidently, this episode made quite an impression on the series' producers; not only was it referred to in the tenth-season Law & Order episode "Entitled," but its memory was also invoked in a first-season episode of the spin-off series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jennifer Leitzes made her directorial debut with this gangster comedy. Claire (Kyra Sedgwick) and terminally ill Nick (Stanley Tucci) kidnap an Asian man, put him in the trunk, and drive away. Realizing they've got the wrong person, they pull off a second kidnapping and then dump their first victim. At headquarters, the Boss (Robbie Coltrane) rules over an eccentric group. When the Boss' mistress Kitty (Robin Tunney) checks out, Claire and Nick are dispatched to find her. A few double-crosses later, Kitty, Claire, and Nick are all on the run from the Boss' hitmen. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, Stanley Tucci, (more)
- 1997
Two emotionally scarred young people find both love and tragedy as they run away together in this drama. Marcy (Robin Tunney) and Seth (Henry Thomas) meet while shoplifting at the same department store; Seth is the son of an angry, abusive father and steals out of rebellion, while Marcy suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, which causes her to compulsively curse, flail about, and indulge in anti-social behavior. The two misfits find a common ground in each other, and they decide to hit the road. Marcy has always wanted a black "You Do The Hairdo" Barbie doll head, and they drive off to Toronto to find one. However, when a pharmacy along the way refuses to refill Marcy's prescription for her Tourette's medication, she and Seth decide to rob the drugstore, and Seth is shot by the pharmacist. An aging tow truck driver named Walter (Michael Parks) shows mercy on them, but his hospitality proves short-lived thanks to Marcy's increasingly violent outbursts. Robin Tunney's performance in Niagara Niagara earned her the prize as Best Actress at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Henry Thomas, (more)
Mia Goldman's psychological drama Open Window stars Joel Edgerton and Robbin Tunney as a husband and wife who have intense professional lives, but are able to rely on each other during their time together at home. One night the wife is raped, sending her into a depression that threatens to crumble the marriage. Elliott Gould and Cybil Shepherd portray the wife's parents. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Joel Edgerton, (more)
Directed by Paul Abascal, Paparazzi chronicles the aftermath of four paparazzi photographers whose search for the all-important "perfect shot" ends in a tragic car accident. Movie star Bo Laramie (Cole Hauser) is understandably furious when, thanks to the notorious celebrity-chasers, his wife, Abby (Robin Tunney), is seriously injured, and his eight-year-old son is paralyzed. After the accident, Bo dedicates his life to putting a stop to a paparazzo's deadly overzealousness. Chris Rock, Matthew McConaughey, Mel Gibson, and Vince Vaughn are reported to be featured in cameo appearances. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cole Hauser, Robin Tunney, (more)
- 2009
A man who talked into doing a favor for his brother discovers the good deed is unexpectedly complicated in this independent comedy-drama from writer and director Matt Bissonnette. Michael (Adam Scott) is a struggling writer who lives in Los Angeles and has a strong aversion to most post-1970 technology -- he hates cell phones, color television, compact discs and reading news on-line. He also hates answering machines, which is why he ends up taking a call from his younger brother Tobey (Joel Bissonnette) early one morning when he'd rather be asleep. Tobey, a recovering drug addict with a checkered past, doesn't have a car and asks Michael if he'd be willing to give him a ride across town. Tobey grudgingly agrees, but en route to his appointment, Michael asks to make a few stops, and what Tobey expected to be a short errand ends up being an all-day road trip through several seedy parts of L.A. As the day wears on, Tobey begins to suspect that his brother's errand isn't as benign as he'd been led to expect, and that they're both in for more than they bargained for. Passenger Side received its world premiere at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Scott, Joel Bissonnette, (more)
- 1992
Television fans fed up with the state of TV talk shows might get a kick from the 1992 Perry Mason TV movie The Case of the Reckless Romeo. The title character, a video personality who's just written a tell-all autobiography, is played by none other than Geraldo Rivera. When the future O.J. Simpson-obsessed talk host is murdered, actress Amy Steel is accused of murder. Mason (Raymond Burr) sets about to prove her innocence. When first telecast on May 6, 1992, The Case of the Reckless Romeo was advertised with the tag line "Geraldo gets killed!" Reports of dancing in the streets remain unconfirmed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Fox's Breakout Hit of the 2005-2006 Season!
Most men would do anything to get out of Fox River Penitentiary, but Michael Scofield will do anything to get in. His brother Lincoln has been sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit, and the only way to save him is from the inside out. Armed with prison blueprints and an impossibly intricate escape plan, Michael gets himself incarcerated, and the race against time is on. Now, he'll need all of the cunning, daring, and luck he can muster... along with the assistance of some of the prison's most vile and dangerous felons.
Most men would do anything to get out of Fox River Penitentiary, but Michael Scofield will do anything to get in. His brother Lincoln has been sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit, and the only way to save him is from the inside out. Armed with prison blueprints and an impossibly intricate escape plan, Michael gets himself incarcerated, and the race against time is on. Now, he'll need all of the cunning, daring, and luck he can muster... along with the assistance of some of the prison's most vile and dangerous felons.
- Starring:
- Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, (more)
- 1998
- PG13
This film from the "Rescuers" series, based on true stories of Christians who helped save the lives of Jews during World War II, concerns a woman (Robin Tunney) who becomes involved with a man (Michael Rappaport) who has been exiled to a Jewish ghetto by the Nazis. Meanwhile, a couple who run a travelling circus (Daryl Hannah and Tim Matheson) help Jews attempting to escape the Holocaust by allowing them to travel with their group as performers. Barbra Streisand served as Executive Producer for this film, produced for the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Based on a popular Zane Grey novel, this well-wrought western centers on a plucky female rancher who incurs the wrath of the local clergy when she boldly refuses to marry a deacon. To get revenge, the town preacher and his followers begin harassing the woman and her ranch hands until a sympathetic gunslinger rides into town and decides to help her out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, (more)
Michael (Aaron Stanford) arrives in a rural town, rents a motel room, and gets a job at the local gas station working for Mo (Peter Gerety), alongside the rambunctious Carly (Robin Tunney). Both Mo and Carly take an interest in Michael's life, and Carly is romantically attracted to him, but Michael's privacy is very important to him, because he has a dark secret. He's run to this small town from an unhappy, traumatic family life, and is forced to earn a living while secretly caring for his little brother, Dylan (Zack Savage). Despite Dylan's constant complaining, Michael rarely lets him leave the motel, because Michael knows that if the authorities find them, they'll be sent back home, or worse. In flashbacks, we see Michael talk to a therapist, Dr. Maxim (Terry Kinney), about his tormented relationship with his parents, Lisa (Melissa Leo) and Jesse (Michael Gaston). Michael blames his father's abuse for his inability to function, and when he saw signs that his father planned to abuse Dylan in the same way, he felt that he had no choice but to take drastic action. As Michael begins to confide in Carly, who has also suffered in an abusive relationship, we gradually learn just how bad things got back home before he ran. Runaway was directed by Tim McCann (Revolution #9) from an original script by Bill True. The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Robin Tunney, (more)
When an underground society of powerful and dangerous men transforms from a secretive safe haven into a tangled web of lies and deceit, their unwavering desperation culminates in a shocking act of murder in this thriller from director Rich Cowan. Everyone in the secret society has committed a crime that could bring their fortune and public face crumbling to the ground, and Harrison French (Matt Davis) is no exception. Convinced by leader William Ashbury (James Spader) that the only way to make his troubles disappear is to confess his agonizing secret to the members of the group -- who will in turn exchange his confession for a "favor" designed to take the weight off his crushing conscience -- French soon discovers that the price for a future of lies and deception may be more than he is willing to pay. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Spader
In the early years of the 22nd century, a medical rescue team is traveling the netherworlds of deep space, waiting to answer emergency calls aboard what amounts to an interstellar ambulance. Captain Marley (Robert Forster), pilot Vanzant (James Spader), medical officer Evers (Angela Bassett), medical technician Penalosa (Lou Diamond Phillips), paramedic Lund (Robin Tunney), and computer technician Sotomejor (Wilson Cruz) pick up a distress signal from a group of workers involved in a mining operation on a comet. But as they move in for a rescue, they discover that this isn't the mission of mercy they were expecting. They pick up Larson (Peter Facinelli), a mysterious and menacing man with a strange alien artifact, who draws the ship into the orbit of a huge star that is due to explode into a supernova at any time. Supernova had a production history that can be charitably described as "troubled." Australian filmmaker Geoffrey Wright was replaced by Walter Hill shortly before filming began. Actor Vincent D'Onofrio left the project shortly after Wright, replaced by Cruz. Hill then left the project in post-production and requested that his name be removed from the film. Francis Ford Coppola was hired to supervise a final re-cut, nearly a year after the completion of photography. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Spader, Angela Bassett, (more)
Charlize Theron top-lines the romantic ensemble The Burning Plain, written and directed by Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. 2929 Production's film tells the tale of a web of interconnecting love stories, with Theron playing Sylvia, a woman with a troubled past who tries to reconcile with her parents. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, (more)
After killing her mother in childbirth, growing up in San Francisco with her father and stepmother, attempting suicide, and moving to Los Angeles, Sarah (Robin Tunney) makes a brief stab at popularity at her new Catholic high school. Ostracized due to the untrue kiss-and-tell tales of football player Chris (Skeet Ulrich), Sarah reluctantly befriends a trio of self-styled outsiders: the horribly scarred Bonnie (Neve Campbell), the trailer-trash Nancy (Fairuza Balk), and Rochelle (Rachel True), a frequent victim of anti-black prejudice at the hands of Laura Lizzie (former Marcia Brady and future Mrs. Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor). After exhibiting latent telekenitic powers in front of Bonnie, Sarah learns that her three new friends have chosen her as their "fourth corner," the final member of their supernatural coven. Using tools stolen from a local incense-and-candle-filled boutique for practitioners of magic, the quartet summons the power of Manon, a primitive deity, to exact revenge on their tormentors and transform their lives. Drunk with power, they watch their spells get out of control, and the new coven soon realizes that with magic, "whatever you give comes back three-fold." This mid-'90s horror flick scored first place at the box office its opening weekend despite its then-unknown cast and modest budget. TV star Neve Campbell, who didn't even receive top billing, would go on to become the '90s answer to '70s horror queen Jamie Lee Curtis in the Scream franchise. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, (more)
