Frank Whaley Movies
Actor, writer, director, and musician Frank Whaley is best known for his vivid portrayals of put-upon, sometimes ill-fated young men. Born in Syracuse, NY, on July 20, 1963, Whaley studied theater at both the University of New York, Albany and New York City's Actors Studio, where he earned a B.A.The actor got his first break with a role in Ironweed (1987), sharing the screen with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. Following secondary parts in films like Field of Dreams and Born on the Fourth of July (both 1989), he landed the more substantial role of Steve Bushak in The Freshman (1990). The film put Whaley on the Hollywood map, and he was able to work consistently throughout the rest of the decade, turning in particularly strong performances in films like A Midnight Clear (1991), in which he played a doomed World War II soldier; The Doors (1991), which cast him as Doors guitarist Robby Kreiger; Swing Kids (1993), in which he played a musician and a doomed man; and Pulp Fiction (1994), in which he had a brief but memorable appearance as an ill-fated business associate of Marsellus Wallace. The same year that he appeared in Pulp Fiction, Whaley starred in Swimming With Sharks, a black comedy that gave him one of his comparatively few leading roles. As used and abused office boy of a sadistic studio executive (Kevin Spacey), Whaley gave torment a good name, proving that it was possible to display a certain kind of finesse when portraying someone relentlessly slapped by power.
In 1999, after spending the previous few years playing more conflicted men (to particular acclaim in the made-for-TV World War II drama When Trumpets Fade), Whaley took matters into his own hands by writing and directing Joe the King. A dark independent feature starring John Leguizamo, Camryn Manheim, Val Kilmer, and Ethan Hawke, it premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where Whaley won a Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for his efforts. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
This comic fantasy stars Howie Mandell as a monster who lives under a little boy's bed. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Savage, Howie Mandel, (more)
The sensationalistic murder of diet guru Dr. Herman Tarnower is explored in this stylized take on the tabloid cover story from first-time director Phyllis Nagy. As the inventor of the popular "Scarsdale Diet," Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley) became an overnight success during the peak of the early '80s diet craze. Despite the popularity of the Dr. Tarnower's revolutionary "lose one pound per day" diet, the womanizing ways of the Casanova cardiologist would soon come to a brutal end at the hands of his jealous, prescription drug-addicted lover Jean Harris (Annette Bening). Driven to despair after their 14-year romance failed to result in marriage and enraged by Dr. Tarnower's shameless status as a ladies' man, Harris confronts her former lover in one violent, final act of desperation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, (more)
Two lifelong pals living in New York City discover that sometimes the only way to remain friends is to grow apart in this semi-autobiographical drama from screenwriter/director Frank Whaley. Owen (Freddie Prinze, Jr. is an aspiring filmmaker who frequently spends the early hours of the evening with his girlfriend Lynn (Jamie-Lynn Siegler) before ducking out to watch best-friend Ray (Chris Klein)'s provide the beats for his popular bar band. By day Owen may work at the local photomat, but when night falls he strives to forget about his dead end job by drinking the town dry and raising hell with Owen and company. The late night hours, when Owen and Ray inevitably end up at raucous parties with uninhibited women and plenty of booze, are usually when things get really interesting though. One day, after Owen receives word that his latest film has been invited to screen in a popular festival, the lives of these two best friends begin to travel down divergent paths. Now Ray begins to see himself in competition with Lynn for Owens attentions, and the death of a friend's father prompts both friends to stand back and take stock of their lives. Later, after Owen and Ray meet actor Wallace Shawn at the airport, the unlikely trio strikes up an amiable friendship. Trouble soon arises, however, when Owen discovers that Ray has been posing as Shawn's son and the two part ways on unfriendly terms. But as with most lifelong friends it's only a matter of time before Owen and Ray find their way back into one another's company, and eighteen months apart can work wonders for healing old wounds. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Klein, Freddie Prinze, Jr., (more)
Outrageously violent, time-twisting, and in love with language, Pulp Fiction was widely considered the most influential American movie of the 1990s. Director and co-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino synthesized such seemingly disparate traditions as the syncopated language of David Mamet; the serious violence of American gangster movies, crime movies, and films noirs mixed up with the wacky violence of cartoons, video games, and Japanese animation; and the fragmented story-telling structures of such experimental classics as Citizen Kane, Rashomon, and La jetée. The Oscar-winning script by Tarantino and Roger Avary intertwines three stories, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, in the role that single-handedly reignited his career, as hit men who have philosophical interchanges on such topics as the French names for American fast food products; Bruce Willis as a boxer out of a 1940s B-movie; and such other stalwarts as Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, whose dance sequence with Travolta proved an instant classic. ~ Leo Charney, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
A man with little passion for either his job or his wife gets a wake-up call in this independently produced romantic comedy. Frank Whaley plays Alan, an L.A.-based advertising executive currently being wooed by a tech firm in Seattle. He's about to move himself and his significant other (Dawn Eason) to the rainier climate when, upon returning from the interview, he finds she's left him for another man (Adam Baldwin, at that). Uncertain of anything anymore, Alan tries to find solace in friends and family, turning to his longtime friend Marissa (Annabeth Gish) for support; she in turn is having her own troubles with her husband, Jack (Alex Hyde-White). Hitting the singles bars to find a new love, Alan is slow to realize that the "right girl" may be right in front of him. Actor-turned-director John Putch is the son of actress Jean Stapleton, who appears briefly in Pursuit of Happiness. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Whaley, Annabeth Gish, (more)
Science fiction crime thriller from Louis Morneau, genre director and graduate of the Roger Corman school of filmmaking. Kylie Travis stars as Karen, a psychiatrist and former hostage negotiator with the Chicago Police Department. After a negotiation gone lethally wrong, Karen has quit and returned home to Texas, where her car breaks down on the side of the highway. Picked up by Frank (James Belushi) and his ex-wife Rayanne (Shannon Whirry), it becomes quickly evident that Frank, a psychotically violent and jealous man, is involved in some sort of illegal activity involving a stolen computer disk. During a break at a truck stop, Frank murders Rayanne. Karen escapes to a nearby government installation, where Brian (Frank Whaley), a scientist, is working on a time travel device. Karen uses the machine to turn back the clock a few hours and try to prevent Frank's murderous rampage, but her interference only makes things worse. Returning again and again to the past, Karen only succeeds in adding fuel to Frank's fire. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Kylie Travis, (more)
Prolific French filmmaker Yves Simoneau directs Sam Shepard and Frank Whaley in a sports drama detailing the remarkable racing career of the horse many believe to be the finest thoroughbred filly ever to run the tracks. In her first ten runs Ruffian was unbeaten, and continued to break longstanding records with every stride. But some careers are like shooting stars, and in just her second season racing Ruffian suffered a career-ending injury. On July 6, 1975, race fans gathered at the Belmont and in front of their televisions eager to witness the prized racehorse's eleventh official race. Billed as the "Battle of the Sexes," this landmark run pitted Ruffian against Kentucky Derby top colt Foolish Paradise. As the race got underway Ruffian was running at her best, but disaster would strike just short of the one-mile marker. It was there that Ruffian would take a brutal tumble that would effectively end both her racing career, and her life. Yet despite her tragic end, Ruffian's inspirational story lives on in this drama that shows why she was the only horse ever to be buried at the Belmont. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Frank Whaley, (more)
- 1999
In this two-part miniseries, the formative days of rock & roll are relived through the experiences of a fictional musical quartet called the Heartaches. The group is led by the handsome Tyler (Brad Hawkins), whose heart belongs to Lyne (Bonnie Somerville), the female member of the band. Along the bumpy road to fame, Tyler achieves enormous success, his ego swelling with every new gig -- and the chasm between himself and his three fellow band members growing ever wider. Eventually Lyne breaks up with Tyler, finding success of her own in a most unexpected fashion. The soundtrack reverberates with expert re-creations of vintage rock & roll tunes, while B.B. King shows up to offer a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Fur Slippers." Shake, Rattle & Roll: An American Love Story was telecast on November 7 and 10, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bonnie Somerville, Samaria Graham, (more)
Originally screened at Telluride as The Buddy Factor, Swimming With Sharks is an uneven but engrossing picture, and a possible warning to anyone with plans to break into the motion-picture business. When Guy (Frank Whaley), a recent film-school graduate with big ideas, takes a job as assistant to major studio executive Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey), he believes his ship has finally come in; little does he know it's a slave ship, for his boss is indeed worse than a slave driver. Buddy delights in abusing his boy-toy (exemplified by the scene in which he forbids Guy to go to the bathroom as he pours water back and forth from a glass to a pitcher). Meanwhile, Guy struggles to push his idea for a script and feels he's finally made it when Buddy congratulates him on a job well done. However, much to his chagrin, his conniving boss actually takes sole credit for the project, pushing the young assistant to wit's end -- he breaks into Buddy's Beverly Hills showplace and takes him hostage, then proceeds to torture him in a number of demeaning and horrifying ways. The whole film stands as a sort of parable about the value system in Hollywood and the cost of reaching the top; it doesn't play like real life, but it's not supposed to. The real reason to watch the film, however, is Spacey's performance. He manages at once to be terrifying, hateful, and hilarious, and he makes Buddy Ackerman a character the audience won't soon forget. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, (more)
In 1939 Hamburg, Germany, a group of teenagers express their rebellion against Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime through their affection for American swing music, British fashion, and Harlem slang. American and British big-band jazz records are among those banned by the Fuhrer, but the young men secretly get together with their friends to listen and dance to the music. As their escapades become increasingly bold, they each get into trouble with the authorities. Robert Sean Leonard stars as Peter, who ends up being forced -- by a prank -- into having to join the Hitler Youth with his friend Thomas (Christian Bale). They are both engineering students at the university, where Thomas' father was taken away for defending his Jewish colleagues. With Arvid (Frank Whaley), they pretend to be Nazi supporters by day while rebelling with the swing music by night. Kenneth Branagh, in an uncredited appearance, is a glib Nazi Gestapo chief who makes matters more difficult. Each of the boys must choose among family, safety, friendship, and freedom as politics impinges on their youthful exuberance, and the Nazis set them against one another. The movie was shot in Prague, directed by Thomas Carter from a script by Jonathan Marc Feldman, and released by Disney. Barbara Hershey appears as Peter's mother. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, (more)
- 2003
Envisioning the death of his prizefighter friend Danny Avila (Greg Serano) during an upcoming heavyweight title bout, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) goes public with his psychic premonitions. Alas, Johnny's announcement does not cancel the match as he had hoped; instead, the value of the fight has been enhanced as a big-time, pay-per-view attraction, and even the boxing commission has succumbed to the greedy excitement. Desperately, Johnny tries to figure out a way to allow Danny to go through with the fight and survive -- and to do this, he needs the unwitting assistance of Danny's opponent (Jay Winston Kramer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John L. Adams, Nicole deBoer, (more)
- 2003
While on a camping trip with the Bannermans, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) has a vision of a crashed plane with two million dollars on board. Sure enough, that amount has recently been stolen, and Johnny is invited to join a search party headed by mountain ranger Randy Truman (Scott William Winters). Also participating in the search are Mark and Pauline Dionne (Ian Tracey, Krista Rae), the owners of a local boat shop -- who happen to be the thieves who stole the loot, and who do not intend to leave any witnesses to their crime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole deBoer, Chris Bruno, (more)
- 2003
Still recovering from the death of a close friend, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) goes on a vacation with the Bannermans and Bruce (John L. Adams). Before long, Johnny experiences another of his disturbing psychic visions -- this one of a tornado that bids fair to be the storm of the century. Despite his own fears of death, Johnny must confront the tornado head-on to save the lives of his loved ones. The first Dead Zone episode filmed in the letterbox format, "The Storm" was intended as the inaugural episode of the series' third season, but was included instead in season two. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John L. Adams, Nicole deBoer, (more)
- 2003
Who is the facially scarred "man in black" who has been stalking Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) throughout the past few episodes? It turns out that the mystery man, Christopher Wey (Frank Whaley), has an important message from the future -- one that will profoundly alter the future of humanity. But Wey refuses to reveal the particulars of his prophecy unless Johnny agrees to prevent the seemingly unpreventable murders of Wey's wife (Ione Skye) and daughter. This final episode of The Dead Zone's second-season closes with the traditional cliffhanger, this time incorporating an ominous magazine cover. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John L. Adams, Nicole deBoer, (more)
In this western, which combines Old West authenticity with a modern outlook and neo-feminist perspective, Sarah O'Rourke (Linda Fiorentino) is a tough-minded woman who made the mistake of marrying a violent, abusive man. Sarah decides that she can take no more and kills her husband. It's Sarah's poor fortune that her late spouse's father is Marshall Bill Speakes (Sam Elliott), a bitter, no-nonsense lawman who will see to it that Sarah pays for her crime with her life. Sarah is being transported by stagecoach to another town; riding with Sarah and Speakes is Jack Cooper (Craig Sheffer), who is carrying $2,500 with him. En route, bandits attempt to hold up the stage; in the confusion, Sarah escapes with the money. Jack gives chase to get the money back, and while he catches up with her, they soon find they're both being pursued by Speakes, who is not about to let the niceties of the law prevent him from taking his revenge. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Elliott, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
Val Kilmer delivers what was considered one of 1991's best performances as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's hallucinatory bio-pic of the seminal 1960s rock group The Doors. Stone cuts a jagged swath through Morrison's life, starting with a childhood memory where Morrison sees an elderly Indian dying by the roadside. It picks up with Morrison's arrival in California and his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, followed by his film school days at UCLA; his introduction to his girlfriend Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan); his first encounters with Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan); and the origin of The Doors -- made up of Manzarek, Robby Kreiger (Frank Whaley), and John Densmore (Kevin Dillon). As the fame of The Doors grows, Morrison's obsession with death increases. The band grows weary of Morrison's missed recording sessions and no-shows at concerts. Morrison, meanwhile, sinks deeper into a drug-induced haze, having mystical sexual encounters with Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan), an older rock journalist involved with sadomasochism and witchcraft. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, (more)
In this farcical comedy, Matthew Broderick plays Clark Kellogg, an aspiring director who arrives in New York City to attend film school. However, moments after he arrives in the city, he's robbed by Victor Ray (Bruno Kirby), leaving him no money for the $700 in books required by his instructor, Arthur Fleeber (Paul Benedict). A few days later, Clark runs into Victor and demands his money back, but Victor has already lost it (on a horse race in which he wasn't entirely sure the animal he bet on was a horse). Instead, he offers to fix Clark up with a job with his boss, an "importer and exporter" named Carmone Sabatini (Marlon Brando), who bears a stunning resemblance to Don Corleone in The Godfather. Clark's adventures with Sabatini are just beginning when he's instructed to pick up a package from the airport. Clark is expecting it to be contraband, and he's right, but not in the way he figured -- it turns out he's accepting delivery of a komodo dragon, which is to be served at a "gourmet club" specializing in dishes prepared from endangered species. Marlon Brando's hilarious comic variation on one of his best-known roles is the highlight of this film, but Bruno Kirby and Paul Benedict also deliver fine comic turns, and Matthew Broderick copes nobly with his role as the film's lone normal person. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Marlon Brando, (more)
- 1996
- R
This little chiller unfolds like a late-night campfire ghost story as it tells the strange tale of treasure hunters and a prison break from a North Carolina prison farm. It begins when a man approaches two inmates at the prison farm and tells them about a fabulous treasure buried in the coffin of a wealthy but miserly merchant. The convicts, King and Tyn, want the treasure and so bribe a guard into letting them escape. They leave the man who told them about the cache back in the pen. While on the lam, Tyn gets shot trying to steal clothing from a laundry line and the two end up forced to bring in King's ex-lover and some old gang mates to help them find the grave. The guard then shows up and demands a share of the take and this creates all sorts of problems. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Sheffer, Gabrielle Anwar, (more)
Following up on his directorial debut, Joe the King, actor-turned-sometimes director Frank Whaley made this gritty character study of a man consumed by anger. Working as a clerk at a supermarket, Jimmy (Whaley) makes it a practice to steal anything and everything he can get away with, usually cases of beer. At home, he supports his neglected wife (Carla Gugino), his infant daughter, and his foul-tempered invalid grandmother, whom he has been caring for since he was a teen. A compulsive complainer, Jimmy is vitriolically bitter about his lack of a childhood. His latest dream, one in a series of failed schemes to make it big, is to be a standup comedian. Yet Jimmy's idea of a schtick is less one-liners and gags than a prolonged confessional rant about his marriage, the loss of his parents, and his grandmother. As the film progresses, Jimmy's monologues grow darker and ever more sinister. This film was scheduled to be screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Whaley, Carla Gugino, (more)
- 1996
- R
After director Alex Cox alienated the powers that be in Hollywood with Straight to Hell and Walker, his anarchic follow-ups to Repo Man and Sid and Nancy, it would be nearly a decade before he made a film in the United States again. After making the critically acclaimed, underseen Highway Patrolman in Mexico, he agreed to direct The Winner, based on the play A Darker Purpose by Wendy Riss. Vincent D'Onofrio stars as Philip, a soft-spoken, rather dimwitted young man who stumbles into an incredible lucky streak in Las Vegas. Every Sunday, he enters the same casino, wins some money, and goes home. While Philip himself is pretty nonchalant about his lucky streak, it earns him the attention of a lot of unsavory characters. Louise (Rebecca De Mornay, who also executive produced the film), a tacky nightclub singer, and her impotent hitman boyfriend, Jack (Billy Bob Thornton), plan to get Philip to fall in love with Louise and offer her a fortune to pay off her debt to the sinister, seemingly omnipotent Kingman (Delroy Lindo), the casino owner who employs Jack. A small-time hood, Joey (Frank Whaley) and his motley crew (Richard Edson and Saverio Guerra) plan to rip Philip off, but their plans are complicated when the antic, impulsively violent Joey begins to feel a strange attraction to his would-be prey. Wolf (Michael Madsen), Philip's thuggish brother (and Louise's former lover) arrives in town, practically guaranteeing some kind of violent showdown. After shooting the film, Cox returned to Mexico to work on his next project. While he was away, the producers then re-edited The Winner without his consent, and replaced the film's soundtrack. Cox has since distanced himself from the final product. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent D'Onofrio, Rebecca De Mornay, (more)
- 1994
When an elderly woman dies, she decides to take possession of a stray dog's body so as to keep an eye on her widowed husband in this wonderful tale based on the novel by Terry Kay. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This biopic follows physically challenged Richmond Flowers Jr. as he overcomes his difficulties and the conflicts caused by his father's activism in the civil rights movement, and becomes a famous college athlete. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A vacationing couple makes a terrifying discovery about the motel room they have just checked into in this thriller scripted by Mark L. Smith and directed by Nimród Antal (Kontroll). Their car broken down and their prospects for finding a tow-truck driver at such a late hour slim to none, David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale) decide to make the best of their situation by resting out the night at a nearby motel. Left with few choices of entertainment for the evening, the pair soon settles down to enjoy one of the low-budget slasher films sitting atop their motel room VCR. Upon realizing that all of the films seem to have been shot in the very same room they currently occupy, David and Amy suddenly become the stars of a particularly sadistic fright flick. As hidden cameras track their every move, the hapless couple attempt to turn the tables on their would-be killer before they meet the same grim fate as the poor souls being butchered on television. Frank Whaley and Ethan Embry co-star in a thriller that's sure to keep leery travelers sticking to the main highway. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, (more)
- 1998
- R
- Add Went to Coney Island On a Mission From God...Be Back By Five to QueueAdd Went to Coney Island On a Mission From God...Be Back By Five to top of Queue
Richard Schenkman, who debuted with the disappointing The Pompatus of Love (1996), returned with this comedy-drama, set on the streets of Brooklyn. When young Richie (Rafael Baez) vanishes, rumor has it that he went insane at Coney Island, so pizza guy Stan (Rick Stear) and pawnshop clerk Daniel (Jon Cryer, who co-scripted with Schenkman) spend a winter's day searching for their childhood friend through the deserted amusement park. They encounter a variety of locals in their wanderings, while flashbacks fill in the story of past events, including Stan's alcoholic escapades which ended his relationship with Gabby (Ione Skye). Shown at the 1998 L.A. Independent Film Fest. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Rick Stear, (more)
John Irvin directed this gripping and effective WWII drama set amid the carnage and slaughter of the Hurtgen Forest battle when the Allies moved on toward Germany in the fall of 1944. Private Manning (Ron Eldard) hopes for a Section 8 switch away from the frontline combat, but when he's the only survivor of his platoon, Captain Pritchett (Martin Donovan) is so impressed he upgrades Manning to sergeant. This irritates Sgt. Talbot (Dylan Bruno) who views Manning as a coward. Manning is put in charge of a group of awkward recruits, including the clumsy Sanderson (Zak Orth), as the Allies prepare to take a key location, a well-defended bridge. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival, this television production had its HBO premiere on June 27, 1998. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Eldard, Zak Orth, (more)
