Kent Osborne Movies
An East Coast native, multihyphenate Kent Osborne (the brother of director Mark Osborne) graduated from Hunterdon Central High in Flemington, NJ. Osborne gravitated to the west coast in subsequent years, then made an early on-camera appearance as an actor in the racially charged youth drama School Ties (1992) (alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck). Almost a decade later, Osborne reemerged on the scene, this time as both an actor (Surviving Christmas, Open House) and as one of Hollywood's more offbeat screenwriters; scripting credits included the 2004 animated outing The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie) and the slice-of-life, "mumblecore" comedy Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) (in which he also acted). In 2008, Osborne reteamed with Hannah stars Greta Gerwig and Joe Swanberg for a supporting role in the duo's co-directorial outing Nights and Weekends. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends) writes, directs, and produces this intimate marriage drama focusing on the troubled union of an artistic young couple. As temptations both sexual and creative in nature challenge the couple's monogamous relationship, the facade of happiness fades to reveal the hardships of modern marriage. Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, and Jane Adams star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, (more)
- 2008
- NR
Two people who fall in love while separated by 800 miles find it's hard to stay friends while living in the same city in this low-key independent drama. James (Joe Swanberg) and Mattie (Greta Gerwig) are in love and trying to make their relationship work. But James lives and works in Chicago, while Mattie calls New York home, and though they try to visit one another as often as they can, their infrequent weekends together are punctuated by telephone calls, e-mails, on-line chatting, and sending digital pictures back and forth. As much as Mattie cares for James, in time the space between them is too much to deal with and they break up. Twelve months later, James' career as a video-game designer is taking off, and a new project necessitates a move to New York City; while they're no longer lovers, he tries to reconnect with Mattie, though his recent success has added a new and uncomfortable element to their relationship. Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig wrote, directed, and produced Nights and Weekends as well as playing the two leads; the film received its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Gerwig, Joe Swanberg, (more)
American independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg's 2007 feature Hannah Takes the Stairs concerns Hannah (Greta Gerwig), a recent college graduate who spends one long, unsatisfying summer in the Windy City attempting to achieve romantic fulfillment in a seemingly endless series of relationships. Drifting in and out of infatuation, but never quite reaching satisfaction, Hannah begins to pose an emotional threat to herself and those around her. The picture co-stars filmmakers Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha) and Todd Rohal (The Guatemalan Handshake) as well as screenwriter Kent Osborne (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie). Gerwig co-authored the script with Osborne and Swanberg. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, (more)
A Sunday afternoon quest to find the perfect American dream home finds a group of wannabe homeowners embarking on a series of strange misadventures in this real estate musical from Slamdance Film Festival founder Dan Mirvish and starring Sally Kellerman, Anne Magnuson, and James Duval. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Rapp, Sally Kellerman, (more)
- 2004
- PG
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Something nefarious is afloat in the depths of Bikini Bottom: King Neptune's crown has been stolen, and the prime suspect is Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at Mr. Krabs' Krabby Patties. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Krabs -- not to mention having been turned down for a long-awaited promotion at the restaurant -- SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) refuses to believe that his boss is responsible and teams up with his best friend, Patrick (voice of Bill Fagerbakke), on a mission to Shell City, where he hopes he can exonerate Mr. Krabs and return the crown to its rightful owner. Of course, this is no easy task; once outside the safety of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob is faced with the overwhelming dangers of the sea, not the least of which being a cyclops that many believe to be responsible for the deaths of countless other unfortunate sea-creatures who ventured outside county lines. Among those who lent their vocal chords to the film include Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor, and Alec Baldwin. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, (more)
Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend they are his parents and that he is a cherished member of the family. This entails participating in Latham family traditions, such as Christmas tree selection and crowded holiday shopping excursions. Though the Valcos reluctantly go along with Drew's requests, Alicia, their eldest daughter, arrives at home and refuses to comply with her "brother's" wishes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, (more)
- 2000
Mark Osborne directs this dark Hollywood satire about TV, suicide, and good lighting. L.A. couch potato Emile (Kent Osborne) gets so much satisfaction from television -- particularly sitcoms and nature documentaries -- that it borders on the indecent. While not watching the telly, he plots his own demise. One day, in the throes of a messy suicide attempt, he gets a call informing him that he landed a job at a nearby motel. Emile is soon assigned the nightshift with dour, officious Henry (David Koechner). While on break, he ventures into a massive, fluorescent supermarket where he slips into a bizarre state of consumeristic bliss, drifting among the aisles. But like his TV binges, this trip soon devolves into thoughts of offing himself. He resolves videotape the deed and send the tape to the girl who jilted him. Unfortunately, such a task cannot be done alone, so Emile soon enlists the help of Henry, who in turn brings in self-proclaimed movie expert Andrew (Vince Vieluf). Before long, Emile's simple desire to record his final act has turned into a full-scale production, complete with gaffers, make-up artists and Hollywood types traipsing about with their cell phones. In the midst of all this, Emile is rethinking the whole deal, especially the part about him committing suicide. His handlers, however, are less than eager for him to stray from the script. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kent Osborne, David Koechner, (more)
An assemblage of young Hollywood actors poised for stardom marked this tale of anti-Semitism at a 1950s prep school. Brendan Fraser stars as David Greene, a working-class Jewish quarterback from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who is offered a senior year scholarship to a prestigious New England academy. It's David's ticket to an Ivy League education and a way out of his Rust Belt hometown, but there's one condition: the school's elders ask him to be discreet about his religion. At first willing to do so, David struggles with his silence about his faith as his popularity grows. David strikes up a friendship with his roommate Chris Reece (Chris O'Donnell) and a possible romance with Sally Wheeler (Amy Locane), a student at a nearby girls' school. When jealous classmate Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon) learns David's secret at an alumni party, he exposes the school's new gridiron hero, and David faces the full force of religious intolerance from the prejudiced WASP institution. Also featuring early performances from Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, and Cole Hauser, School Ties was loosely based on the real-life experiences of producer Dick Wolf, creator of TV's popular series Law & Order. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, (more)
