Vivica A. Fox Movies
Vivacious actress Vivica A. Fox has been attracting attention for performances that mix equal parts sass and class since making her 1989 screen debut in Born on the Fourth of July. A native of Indianapolis, where she was born July 30, 1964, Fox got her start on television with a stint on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. After making her debut as a hooker in Oliver Stone's aforementioned Born on the Fourth of July, the actress continued to do much of her work on television while appearing in the occasional film. She first attracted notice as Will Smith's girlfriend in the blockbuster Independence Day (1996); her dynamic turn earned her -- together with Smith -- the MTV Award for Best Kiss that year.Fox subsequently appeared in a diverse array of films, ranging from the acclaimed black ensemble romantic drama Soul Food (1997), which cast her as one of three sisters (the other two were played by Vanessa L. Williams and Nia Long), to Batman & Robin (1997), in which she played femme fatale Ms. B. Haven, to Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), which featured her in a critically lauded portrayal of one of the three wives of singer Frankie Lymon.
Fox's profile declined somewhat in the new millenium, although an appearance in the battle-of-the-sexes comedy Two Can Play That Game caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino, who was casting his long-gestating fourth feature, Kill Bill. As the first victim of hired killer Uma Thurman, Fox brought a little blaxploitation-era sass to the role, making for a memorable, suburban-kitchen battle scene.
In addition to her flourishing film work, Fox continued to work on the small screen, most notably as Dr. Lillian Price on Steven Bochco's predominately African American hospital drama City of Angels. 2005's one-season-only reality show The Starlet offered Fox the opportunity to pass on her actorly wisdom -- alongside head judge Faye Dunaway -- to a group of young hopefuls. The following year, she could be seen hoofing it up as a contestant on the astronomically popular ABC competition Dancing With the Stars. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
It's Big Momma's House on the three-point line in this broad farce, which marks the leading man/woman debut of longtime character actor Miguel A. Nunez. Nunez stars as Jamal Jefferies, a hotheaded pro basketball player whose on-court antics and quick temper get him booted from the league altogether. Faster than you can say Dennis Rodman, Jamal has transformed himself into the busty Juwanna Mann in order to be a forward for a high-intensity team in the WUBA league, the Charlotte Banshees. Behind the doors of the womens' lockerroom, Jamal unexpectedly falls for Michelle Langford (Vivica A. Fox), the team's no-nonsense captain. But prosthetic breasts and false eyelashes aren't the only thing preventing Jamal from finding true love with Michelle: there's also the problem of her aggressive, two-timing boyfriend, Romeo (Ginuwine), not to mention the unwanted advances Juwanna gets from a skanky rapper named Puff Smokey Smoke (Tom Davidson). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miguel A. Nuñez, Vivica A. Fox, (more)
Love really is a battlefield in this war of the sexes comedy that marks the directorial debut of Def Jam's How to Be a Player (1997) screenwriter Mark Brown. Vivica A. Fox stars as Shante, a knowledgeable veteran of the dating game who thinks she's found the perfect mate in the handsome Keith (Morris Chestnut). When Keith is spotted stepping out with Shante's arch-rival Conny (Gabrielle Union), the spurned lover institutes what she labels the "ten-day plan," an all-out assault on Keith designed to make him come crawling back to her. Shante's scheme includes sexy lingerie, home cooking, aloofness, and other tactics intended to make Keith regret his errant ways, but Keith is receiving contradictory advice from his allegedly worldly wise buddy Tony (Anthony Anderson). Two Can Play That Game is produced by Doug McHenry, director of Jason's Lyric (1994) and Kingdom Come (2001). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivica A. Fox, Lee Anthony, (more)
Based on the play Dearly Departed by David Dean Bottrell and Jessie Jones (who also penned this screenplay), this new comedy from the director of Jason's Lyric looks at a family gathering after one of their clan dies of a stroke. In the midst of a sweltering summer, the Slocumb family convenes. They include Charisse (Jada Pinkett Smith), the long-suffering, frustrated wife of philandering Junior (Anthony Anderson); there's also the Bible-spouting Marguerite (Loretta Devine), who prays to save her hard-living son Royce (Darius McCrary) from a life on welfare. Lucille (Vivica A. Fox) is the devoted family peacekeeper who is struggling with a money-grubbing funeral director, and her husband Ray Bud (L.L. Cool J) has major contempt for his family and wishes he were burying them instead. Kingdom Come also features Cedric the Entertainer as an intestinally challenged reverend and Whoopi Goldberg as the family matriarch. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, (more)
This drama was the ninth in a series of made-for-TV features dramatizing famous stories from the Bible. Solomon (Ben Cross), the son of David (Max Von Sydow), inherits his father's kingdom and becomes the ruler of Israel. While Solomon consolidates power through his marriages, it is his intelligence, sense of justice, and desire to see his people live in peace that earns him the respect and admiration of his subjects. Solomon also stars Vivica A. Fox as the Queen of Saba, Anouk Aimee as Bethsabea, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Abishag. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Vivica A. Fox, (more)
Jimi Hendrix was perhaps the single most groundbreaking guitarist in the history of rock & roll; utilizing feedback, distortion, and effects pedals as integral parts of his sound and not simply as punctuation, Hendrix created a radically new aesthetic for the electric guitar, which combined with his superlative songwriting abilities and remarkable gift to bring out the most in other musicians helped to make him one of the most important figures in '60s rock, until his death in the fall of 1970s as a result of a drug overdose. This made-for-TV biography (originally shown on the Showtime premium cable network) stars Wood Harris as the legendary guitarist, and examines his life and career, both on and off the stage. Hendrix also stars Vivica A. Fox and Dorian Harewood; the filmmakers were unfortunately unable to obtain permission to use Hendrix's own songs in the film, so his onscreen performances are of covers Jimi recorded during his career. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wood Harris, Dorian Harewood, (more)
After the success of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and television's Dawson's Creek, screenwriter Kevin Williamson made his directorial debut with this screwball thriller in which an honor roll student and two friends kidnap their witchy teacher. Although her single mom (Lesley Ann Warren), a waitress, struggles to make ends meet, aspiring writer Leigh Ann Watson (Katie Holmes) works hard, avoids sexual temptation, and focuses on her studies. She hopes to make valedictorian and earn a scholarship to college -- and get away from her dead-end hometown. As her senior year draws to a close, however, she's dogged by harsh grades from her vituperative history instructor, Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren). On the same day she finds out that she's still in second place behind fellow valedictory candidate Mary Beth Carter (Liz Stauber), Leigh Ann must endure Mrs. Tingle's fierce criticism of the final project into which she's poured her heart. After commiserating with her best friend, aspiring actress Jo Lynn Jordan (Marisa Coughlan), and hunky stoner Luke Churner (Barry Watson), Leigh Ann runs even further afoul of Mrs. Tingle; Luke stashes an advance copy of the teacher's final exam in Leigh Ann's backpack and Tingle discovers it, promising to turn Leigh Ann in for cheating and ruin her chances of a better life. When the three teens turn up at Tingle's house to try to reason with her, Luke and Jo Lynn manage to accidentally kidnap Mrs. Tingle. Soon the three students are keeping their teacher a prisoner, trying to figure out how to blackmail her into silence while maintaining the illusion that nothing strange is going on. Teaching Mrs. Tingle was filmed under the name "Killing Mrs. Tingle," but the title was changed after a rash of real-life high school killing sprees made the headlines. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, (more)
A Saintly Switch is a fantasy comedy about a football player switching bodies with his pregnant wife as a result of a magic trick gone bad. ~ All Movie Guide
Teenage burnouts and post-modern slasher films are both raked over the satiric coals in the blood-soaked comedy Idle Hands. Anton (Devon Sawa) is a cheerful but exceedingly non-ambitious 17-year-old stoner who lives to stay buzzed, watch TV, and moon over Molly (Jessica Alba), the beautiful girl who lives next door. However, it turns out that the old cliché about idle hands being the devil's playground has a kernel of truth after all; there's a demonic beast living in his house that has already decapitated Anton's mom and dad (though it takes him a while to notice), and now the Dark Lord Himself has taken possession of Anton's right hand. Before he's entirely aware of what's happening, Anton's demon hand has killed his two best friends, Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), though both come back as zombies to keep Anton company. Can Randy (Jack Noseworthy), local metalhead and expert on all things Satanic, figure out what the Evil One has planned next for Anton's digits? Will traveling demon slayer Debi (Vivica A. Fox) vanquish the possessed in time? And most important, will Anton get to go to the big dance with Molly before his hand starts causing trouble again? Director Rodman Flender certainly knows the genres he parodies here; he cut his teeth in horror working for exploitation legend Roger Corman and directed the film Bloody Mutilators as well as episodes of the TV series Tales From The Crypt, while more recently he immersed himself in teenage culture directing episodes of the TV series Party of Five and Dawson's Creek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Devon Sawa, Seth Green, (more)
Gregory Nava directed this biographical drama on the brief but intense life of singer Frankie Lymon who stayed with the popular Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers group only for a year. Lymon was 13 years old when the group erupted from radios and jukeboxes with their 1956 hit, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? and appeared in the movie Rock, Rock, Rock (1956). After Mr. Rock and Roll (1957), Lymon turned solo, but then it all fell to pieces. Lymon's career was over by the time he was 18, and he died of a heroin overdose eight years later. Jumping from the '50s to the '80s, this film traces the rise and fall of Lymon (Larenz Tate) in a series of flashbacks as courtroom claims on Lymon's royalties are outlined by three women: Zola Taylor (Halle Berry) of the Platters R&B group; Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), who turned prostitute to cover costs of Lymon's recovery from addiction; and schoolteacher Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon). Little Richard also makes a courtroom appearance, while Miguel A. Nunez Jr. portrays Little Richard in scenes set in the '50s. Shown at the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival (NY). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, (more)
- 1998
This satirical workplace sitcom is set in a Chicago agency, Old Dog Productions, a TV commercials outfit run by Jack Kacmarczyk (Elliott Gould). In the opening set-up, Robyn Buckley (Vivica A. Fox) meets Sam Wagner (Jon Cryer) in a restaurant line. He fixes her up on a blind date with his co-worker Milo Doucette (Duane Martin), but things don't gel well during the date. The next morning, the two guys go to work only to discover that Robyn is their new boss. Later episodes introduced Robyn's mother (Irma P. Hall) and grandmother (Ketty Lester). Premiered April 6, 1998 on Fox. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivica A. Fox, Duane Martin, (more)
This hit domestic comedy-drama concerned the fortunes of an extended African-American family recalled through the eyes of young narrator Ahmad (Brandon Hammond). Ahmad's world revolves around his grandmother, Big Mama Joseph (Irma P. Hall) and her three daughters: workaholic attorney Teri (Vanessa Williams), newlywed salon owner Bird (Nia Long), and Ahmad's housewife mom, Maxine (Vivica A. Fox). Each sister is in turmoil. Teri has lost patience for her husband Miles (Michael Beach), who wants to quit the law and take up music. Bird doesn't realize that her husband Lem (Mekhi Phifer) is about to be humiliated by her ex-boyfriend (Mel Jackson). And while Maxine's relationship with her husband Kenny (Jeffrey D. Sams) is going well, her relationship with her jealous sister Teri needs fixing. These conflicts boil over at Big Mama's traditional Sunday dinners, where the matriarch plays peacemaker. The ritual faces extinction, however, when Big Mama suffers a stroke -- but Ahmad is waiting in the wings to take her place. Soul Food launched the directing career of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native George Tillman, Jr., who based the script on his own family experiences. In the summer of 2000, Soul Food was spun off into a cable TV series. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, (more)
This was the third follow-up to Tim Burton's Batman (1989), the original revisionist look at the Gotham City legend, as well as the second in the Batman series directed by Joel Schumacher and the first featuring George Clooney as the Caped Crusader; it features not one but two super-villains, and a new heroine to fight crime alongside Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) and Dick Grayson (aka Robin) (Chris O'Donnell). The experiments of Dr. Victor Fries (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to preserve his late wife cryogenically have gone horribly wrong, turning him into the evil genius Mr. Freeze, who must keep his body at sub-zero temperature in order to say alive -- and he wants to put Gotham City on ice. Shy horticulturist Pamela Isley (Uma Thurman) goes a bit wild with a Venus Fly Trap-like creation she's been working on and mutates into Poison Ivy, who wants to kill all the people on Earth so plants can take over. Can Batman and Robin stop these fiends before their plans go too far? Meanwhile, Bruce and Dick's faithful butler Alfred (Michael Gough) isn't feeling well, so his niece Barbara (Alicia Silverstone) comes to pay a visit. When Barbara finds out what her uncle's employers do in their spare time, she decides she wants in on the action, and she joins the crime fighting twosome as Batgirl. Batman & Robin also features Jesse Ventura in a small role as a prison guard; it would be his last film role before becoming Governor of Minnesota in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, (more)
It's 3 a.m. -- do you know where your condoms are? That's one of the dilemmas befalling the characters in this raunchy comedy. Rushon (Tommy Davidson) is a mild-mannered Buppie who has been going out with his girlfriend Nikki (Tamala Jones) for about seven weeks; they seem to like each other well enough, but the relationship has been mainly platonic, and Nikki isn't so sure that she wants that to change. Rushon asks Nikki out to dinner, but Nikki wants to bring along her tart-tongued friend Lysterine (Viveca A. Fox). Rushon has to find a date for her, and he comes up with his rude-boy buddy Bunz (Jamie Foxx). Lysterine and Bunz soon hit it off, and, to Rushon's surprise, Nikki decides it's time for their relationship to move to the physical level. Only one problem: this is the '90s, and all parties involved want to be sure they're practicing safe sex. Which means Rushon and Bunz have to find some condoms fast, before the evening's mood evaporates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, (more)
- 1996
- R
- Add Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood to QueueAdd Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood to top of Queue
Much as Keenen Ivory Wayans' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka parodied the basic elements of 70's blaxploitation pictures, this film written by and starring his younger brothers Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans pokes fun at the gritty "reality check" films of the 1990's, such as Boyz N The Hood, Menace II Society and New Jack City. When Ashtray (Shawn Wayans) moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog (Marlon Wayans), who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray keep living the straight life or will he join up with Loc Dog's gangsta homeboys? And is his romance with self-styled poet Dashiki (Tracey Cherelle Jones) going to go anywhere? Big brother Keenen has a small role as a mailman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, (more)
A group of intrepid humans attempts to save the Earth from vicious extraterrestrials in this extremely popular science-fiction adventure. Borrowing liberally from War of the Worlds, Aliens, and every sci-fi invasion film inbetween, director Roland Emmerich and producer and co-writer Dean Devlin present a visually slick, fast-paced adventure filled with expensive special effects and large-scale action sequences. The story begins with the approach of a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms, looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save the human race. As this is a Hollywood film, this effort is led by a group of scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman). While some critics objected to the film's lack of originality and lapses in logic, the combination of grand visual spectacle and crowd-pleasing storytelling proved irresistible to audiences, resulting in an international smash hit. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Pullman, Will Smith, (more)
The sophomore film effort from music video director F. Gary Gray, Set It Off is a crime thriller about four women bank robbers from a housing project in L.A. Ever since her parents' death, Stony (Jada Pinkett Smith) has had to act as a parent to her little brother Stevie (Chaz Lamar Shepard). She works in various capacities to make a future for him at U.C.L.A. Cleo (Queen Latifah) is a butch lesbian who wants nothing more than to customize her classic car. Tisean (Kimberly Elise) is a painfully shy single mother to her son Jajuan, struggling to make ends meet. Frankie (Vivica A. Fox) is the stylish bank teller who gets fired in the opening scene and ends up working with the other three at a janitorial service owned by irritating boss Luther (Thomas Jefferson Byrd). With Frankie upset from her unjust firing, Stony angry from the wrongful killing of her brother, and Tisean losing her baby to the child protective services, the four friends are motivated to rob a bank themselves. Looking for thrills, Cleo gets some guns from Black Sam (Dr. Dre in a cameo role), and they pull off their first job without a hitch. Their success starts a trend and they rob other banks in the area, all the while being investigated by Detective Strode (John C. McGinley). In a romantic subplot, Stony finds romance with wealthy Harvard-educated Keith (Blair Underwood) before the violent chase-scene ending. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, (more)
Based on a true story, The Tuskegee Airmen chronicles the experiences of the first African-American fighter pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Using Hannibal Lee (Laurence Fishburne) as a focal point, the movie follows the airmen from their initial training at Tuskegee, Alabama, through their combat assignments during World War II. Featuring fascinating vintage military planes and exciting air-combat footage, the film also depicts the racism encountered by the pilots. In one example, the airmen are forced to give their seats on a crowded train to German prisoners of war. Even after the airmen complete their training, the military brass is reluctant to trust them in battle. But First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt publicizes their plight by going to Tuskegee and having one of the African-American pilots take her for a plane ride, and shortly thereafter the airmen are assigned a combat role. Eventually they join with other African-American pilots in the 332nd Fighter Group where their skill in protecting bombers from enemy fighters finally earns them the respect they deserve. The screen story was co-authored by Robert Williams, one of the pilots trained at Tuskegee. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1991
Vivica A. Fox guest stars as Janet, the sister of Will's best friend Jazz (Jeff Townes). Fortunately for Will (Will Smith), Janet looks nothing like Jazz, but is instead a ravishing beauty. Unfortunately for Will, Janet is also a control-freak who decides after a single date that she wants to marry our hero--and won't take no for answer. Terrified, Will tries to palm Janet off on cousin Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), with astonishing results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others), Born On The Fourth Of July tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a patriotic, All-American small town athlete who shocks his family by enlisting with the Marines to fight in the Vietnam War. Once he is overseas, however, Kovic's gung-ho enthusiasm turns to horror and confusion when he accidentally kills one of his own men in a firefight. His downfall is furthered by a bullet wound that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. He returns home, spends an appalling, nightmarish stint in a veterans' hospital, and follows an increasingly disillusioned and fragmented path that ultimately leaves him drunk and dissolute in Mexico. However, Kovic somehow turns himself around and pulls his life together, becoming an outspoken anti-war activist in the process. The film is long but emotionally powerful; many consider it Stone's best work and Cruise's best performance. Both were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself, but only Stone, who co-wrote the film with Kovic from the latter's book, won for Best Director. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, (more)
