Andy Tennant Movies

Hapless bounty hunter Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) jumps for joy at the prospect of tracking down his bail-skipping ex-wife, Nicole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston), but gets a hard dose of reality when the job proves tougher than anticipated. Every time Milo gets close to resourceful reporter Nicole, she gives him the slip. A high-profile murder has been committed, and Nicole is determined to stay out of jail long enough to crack the case. And she must be getting close, because now someone is trying to take them both out. They may not have been able to make marriage work, but if Milo and Nicole can just stay alive long enough to solve the murder, they might discover they're not such a bad team after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Originally titled Emma Brody, the weekly 60-minute drama series American Embassy was intended to be the "diplomatic" version of Fox's Ally McBeal, but the events of September 11, 2001 changed all that. Arija Bareikis starred as Emma Brody, a young Toledo woman who had entered diplomatic service to get over an unhappy romance. Assigned to be vice-counsel at the U.S. Embassy in London, the inexperienced Emma fell prey to the autocratic whims of her boss, Elque Polk (Jonathan Adams), who demonstrated his lack of confidence in the girl by assigning her cases that apparently no one else wanted. The heroine could take some solace in her friendships with mercurial CIA operative Doug Roach (David Cubitt) and her cross-dressing neighbor Gary Furbush (Michael Cerveris). The first episode, which aired over Fox on March 11, 2002, ended with a terrorist attack, indicating that the rest of American Embassy would be anything but a lighthearted lark. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The true story of Anna Leonowens' experiences as a governess to the children of an eccentric Asian king has been adapted into a book of memoirs, a biography, a stage play called Anna and the King of Siam -- which was adapted into a 1946 film, a stage musical called The King and I -- made into both the live-action The King and I (1956)) and the animated The King and I (1999) feature films, and a short-lived 1972 TV series. Now the story is brought to the screen yet again, as Jodie Foster stars as Leonowens, hired by the king of Thailand (Chow Yun-Fat) in the 19th century to help care for his children. The king wants the best for his children, but Anna soon discovers that he is a strong-willed but quixotic leader, and her stay in Thailand becomes a struggle for power with romantic overtones, as they decide who will have authority over the royal youngsters. Anna and the King was directed by Andy Tennant, best known for his 1998 variation on the Cinderella story, Ever After. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two relative strangers try to turn a one night stand into a marriage in this romantic comedy. Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) is a designer from New York City who is sent to Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a nightclub that his firm has been hired to build. Alex is a straight-laced WASP-ish type who, while enjoying a night on the town, meets Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), a free-spirited Mexican-American photographer. Alex and Isabel are overtaken by lust at first sight and end up spending the night together; however, their immediate attraction doesn't last in the cold light of day, and they don't see each other for another three months. When they do meet again, it's because Isabel has some interesting news for Alex: she's pregnant with his child. Alex and Isabel decide that they should do the right thing and quickly get married (with an Elvis impersonator serving as witness), but after Isabel meets Alex's mom (Jill Clayburgh), and Alex is confronted by Isabel's father (Tomas Milian), both start to wonder if "doing the right thing" was just that, especially as Alex tries to balance his career in New York with Isabel's desire to continue working in Nevada. Fools Rush In gave Matthew Perry his first big-screen starring role following his success on the TV series Friends. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One of three made-for-television films recounting the notorious Amy Fisher story, this drama recounts the torrid affair between teen-age Amy and middle-aged married man Joey Buttafuoco, and Amy's notorious shooting of Mrs. Buttafuoco. This was the most successful and the most sexually explicit of the three Amy Fisher films. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Based on a novel by Thomas McGuane, this made-for-TV feature stars William Petersen as Joe Starling, a painter suffering from creative block. For inspiration, he returns to his family's Montana home, only to find the land coveted by a malevolent developer (Jack Palance). ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Made for television, Moving Target bears a few faint echoes of the 1986 theatrical feature Out of Bounds. Jason Bateman plays a teenaged musician returning home from summer camp. He is hardly greeted with open arms; as a matter of fact, his family has moved out in his absence. Compounding this traumatic turn of events, Jason becomes the quarry of a syndicate hit man (Jack Wagner)--and of the US Justice Department. It dawns on the boy that he'd better locate his family before anyone else does. Jason Bateman's leading lady in Moving Target is Chynna Phillips, daughter of musicians John and Michelle Phillips, and later the star of the TV biopic Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Given the runaway success of Grease, which became the biggest-grossing movie musical of all time, it was all but inevitable that there would be a sequel, and four years later this follow-up brought a new group of kids back to Rydell High. It's 1961, and Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the tough leader of the Pink Ladies, while Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) is a clean-cut British exchange student. Michael likes Stephanie, but the Pink Ladies' by-laws prevent her from dating guys who aren't members of the T-Birds, their affiliated male gang. However, when a Zorro-like masked avenger on a motorcycle rescues Stephanie from a gang of ill-mannered toughs, she's eager to get to know the hero with the cool wheels. Any guesses as to who he might be? Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, and Dody Goodman return from the first film as members of the Rydell High faculty, while actual '50s teen icons Tab Hunter and Connie Stevens are on board as new members of the staff; Didi Conn as Frenchy is the only one of the students to appear in both movies. Patricia Birch, who served as choreographer on Grease, made her debut as a director on Grease 2; while she's remained active as a choreographer, she hasn't directed again since. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

In this explicitly violent espionage drama, spies and counterspies collide in Athens as they endeavor to lay claim to a vital piece of microfilm that contains info regarding the identity of several key agents. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi