Gina Wendkos Movies
A girl plays Cupid for her mom, but has to invent the right man to woo her in this romantic comedy. Jean Hamilton (Heather Locklear) is a single mother with two daughters, teenaged Holly (Hilary Duff) and grade-school-aged Zoe (Aria Wallace). Fortysomething Jean has stumbled in and out of a number of bad relationships in her lifetime, and is desperate to find a good man; however, Holly has grown a bit tired of Jean's favored means of therapy after a bad breakup -- packing up the family and moving to a new city. Once Jean and her girls settle in Brooklyn, Holly thinks they should stay for a while, and when Jean's romantic prospects begin to look less than rosy, Holly and her new friend Amy (Vanessa Lengies) decide to invent a secret admirer for her. Needing advice on what the "perfect man" would say and do, Holly and Amy turn to Ben (Chris Noth), Amy's uncle who talks a very good game when it comes to romance. But convincing Jean that there's a real man behind the steady stream of letters and e-mails from her new admirer isn't as easy as Holly imagines, and it looks as if her imaginary suitor might get in the way of a flesh-and-blood Mr. Right. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, (more)
- 2004
- G
- Add The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement to QueueAdd The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement to top of Queue
Directed by Garry Marshall, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement picks up where its predecessor left off -- that is, with American teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) reeling over the news that she is a princess within the royal family of Genovia, a little-known European nation with a population of barely 50,000. As promised, Mia, along with her best friend, Lilly (Heather Matarazzo), travels to Genovia after their high-school graduation. The unlikely princess has hardly settled into the castle, let alone begun representing the country, when she learns that a larger title is approaching more rapidly than expected; it seems as though Mia will have to take over as queen. Suddenly, in addition to further schooling on the etiquette of royalty, Mia finds herself with a daunting prospect -- according to Genovian law, all princesses must be married before they can be crowned. In addition to Julie Andrews' reprisal of her role as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, The Princess Diaries 2 also features Hector Elizondo and John Rhys-Davies in supporting roles. Though Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot did pen a sequel (The Princess Diaries: Princess in the Spotlight), this film is not an adaptation. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, (more)
This teen comedy from Disney is based on a popular novel by Meg Cabot and directed by Garry Marshall. Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a teenage klutz who's openly mocked by the popular Lana Thomas (pop singer Mandy Moore). In fact, Mia's only friend at her exclusive prep school is the socially outcast Lilly (Heather Matarazzo). Mia's life takes a dramatic turn, however, when her mom announces that her late biological father was in actuality the crown prince of a small European nation, Genovia. Now Mia is the sole heir to the throne, and her grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) wants to tutor the awkward teen in royal behavior. It's a daunting task given Mia's lax table manners, poise, and hair care, but the girl perseveres with some makeover help from her grandmother's security chief Hector Elizondo) and a style expert (Larry Miller). In the meantime, Mia's romantic affections are torn between the handsome, popular Josh (Erik Von Detten) and the more appropriate Michael (Robert Schwartzman), who also happens to be Lilly's brother. The Princess Diaries is the second film from Whitney Houston's production shingle after the television version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, (more)
An aspiring musician becomes one of the most famous bartenders in New York in this high-spirited comedy-drama. Small-town girl Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) dreams of making a name for herself as a singer and songwriter, so she moves to New York City in hopes of landing her big break. Needing to support herself until stardom rolls around, she takes a job as a barmaid at a new nightspot called Coyote Ugly, where the owner Lil (Maria Bello) and the staff of attractive young women dance on the bar, flirt with the mostly male clientele, sing along with the jukebox, and goad the customers into matching them shot for shot. Soon, local media pick up on the bar's success, turning the staff into unexpected celebrities, a situation that presents its own set of problems. Coyote Ugly also stars John Goodman as Violet's straight-laced father, Adam Garcia as a customer Violet becomes involved with, and Tyra Banks, Melanie Lynskey, Bridget Moynahan, and Izabella Miko as the barmaids; action-film titan Jerry Bruckheimer produced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, (more)
A pre-Twister Jami Gertz heads the cast in the independently produced Jersey Girl. Born and bred in the Garden State, Gertz is overwhelmed by a desire to taste life in the Big City across the river. Once she lands in New York City, Gertz instantly meets Dylan McDermott, the man of her dreams-nearly totalling his Mercedes in the process. Likewise a refugee from New Jersey, the well-heeled McDermott feels both gratified and uncomfortable by Gertz's attentions; after all, she represents everything that he's fought long and hard to forget. Your enjoyment of Jersey Girl is utterly dependent upon your feelings towards Jami Gertz, since she's pretty much the whole show in this unpretentious PG-rated romance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jami Gertz, Dylan McDermott, (more)
- 1989
- R
In this comedy, a bizarre relationship is created between a young married couple and their attractive neighbor. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Anderson, John M. Jackson, (more)
- 1935
In the fourth of 18 inexpensive Tom Tyler Westerns produced by Reliable Pictures and filmed on location in Newhall, California, Tom and his sidekick, Windy (Ben Corbett), are hired by John Baker's Bar X Ranch. Baker (Lafe McKee) offers a $1,000 reward to anyone who can capture "The Phantom," a wild stallion suspected of chasing a herd of mares through a hole in the Bar X fence. The real horse thief, however, is Bar X's unscrupulous neighbor, Mack Larkin (Dick Alexander), who is in cahoots with Baker's crooked foreman, Bert (Charles "Slim" Whitaker). Tom befriends "The Phantom" and is determined to prove the horse innocent. Despite the skepticism of Baker's pretty daughter, Helen (Alice Dahl), Tom and Windy set out to prove Larkin's guilt. Although sharing the same character name, "Windy," the rustic Corbett had little else in common with George Hayes (later nicknamed "Gabby"), the quintessential comic sidekick of "Hopalong Cassidy" series fame. A holdover from the silent era, Corbett was woefully unfunny and an amateurish actor to boot. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
