Carole Curb Nemoy Movies

Just how far will some guys go to pay off a debt? Frank (Jason Lee) and Eddie (Crispin Glover) are a pair of inept would-be wise guys trying to scare up enough money to get out of the small Texas town they call home. They think their ship may have come in when Spider (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a local crime boss, offers them a big payday to drive a truck full of bootlegged cigarettes into Mexico. Frank and Eddie jump at the chance, but soon discover they're been made patsies in a scam when the truck turns out to have been booby-trapped, and by the end of the day they owe Spider a quarter-million dollars. Desperate to raise the cash, Eddie, a part-time gravedigger, hears that an exotic dancer with a rich sugar daddy has recently died, and was buried wearing a valuable diamond necklace. Frank and Eddie then hatch an elaborate scheme to exhume the stripper, swipe the necklace, and hold her remains for ransom. Drop Dead Sexy was the first directorial credit for writer and producer Michael Philip. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A plumber looking for love hopes to find romance by impersonating a movie director in this offbeat independent comedy. David Kulovic (Martin Donovan) is a single guy who doesn't have much luck impressing the ladies, a dilemma he attributes to the poor opinion most people have of his trade, plumbing. One day, David is mistaken for a well-known film director, and discovers people, especially women, seem a great deal more friendly toward him when they think he works in the movies. David's case of mistaken identity gives him a brainstorm, and with the help of his pal R.J. (Kevin Carroll), he decides to pass himself off as a struggling independent filmmaker, hoping to meet aspiring actresses at his bogus casting calls. Of course, a filmmaker needs a script, and David swipes one from one of his neighbors, Toni Edelman (Mary-Louise Parker, who is trying to get her own foot in the door of the film business). As it happens, Toni's screenplay happens to be quite good, and soon David's nonexistent project is developing a very real buzz in indie film circles. Seeing this as her big chance at a career in Hollywood, Toni begins coaching David in how to act like a filmmaker in the hopes they can actually get David's phantom picture off the ground. Writer and director John C. Walsh based Pipe Dream in part on his own experiences as he was making his first feature film, Ed's Next Move. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman finds love when all she wanted was a quick and painless death in this dark comedy-drama. Shawn (Selma Blair) is a deeply depressed young woman who is unhappy with her job as a bank teller and is frustrated with her romantic relationship with her boss (D.W. Moffett), who happens to be married. Deciding there's no reason to go on, Shawn climbs to the roof of the bank and steels her nerve to leap to her death. But before she can jump, a novice bank robber named Charlie (Max Beesley) stages a hold-up at the bank, taking Shawn hostage in the process. Charlie and Shawn are soon trapped in the bank, and Charlie asks Shawn to help him escape; she agrees, but only under the condition that he kill her later. He agrees, but after they make their getaway, Charlie finds himself increasingly attracted to Shawn and isn't so sure he wants to see her dead, while Shawn is similarly intrigued with Charlie and decides to join him in his life of crime. Kill Me Later received its premiere at the 2001 Santa Barbara Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this drama, Henry Musser (Robert Forster) fights an uphill battle to keep open a small-town factory that supports his family and his community. Family Tree also stars Cliff Robertson, Krystal Benn, Genevieve Butler, and Naomi Judd, best known as half of the Judds and mother of Ashley Judd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An LA radio talk show host with a night call-in program finds his rating soar after a psychopathic killer becomes a regular caller in this low-budget thriller. Dee jay Karlin Pickett is known for being a wild and crazy guy. He is first seen working in Phoenix. He picks up a girl in a bar and shortly thereafter, she is killed. This is naturally upsetting to Pickett who then moves to LA to take a better job. Soon the antics of himself and his new side-kick Jon catch fire and they become one of the most popular shows around. Then the killer calls and announces that he has killed the woman he just slept with. No one but Detective Dimotto takes it very seriously; it is just good for ratings. When another woman dies, Dimotto moves in and solves the case, something perceptive viewers will have done long before the story's grand finale. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Infidelity, murder, and white-collar crime walk hand in hand in this sophisticated thriller. Trevor McCabe (Michael York) is a British businessman who oversees the Brazilian branch of a successful multinational corporation with his partners Austin (Grainger Hines) and Frank (Will Kepper). While Trevor is married to Kitten (Dee Wallace Stone), their relationship has been rocky lately, and Trevor's been having an affair with Frank's wife, Paige (Jennifer O'Neill). Trevor discovers that someone within the company has been embezzling millions of dollars from the company's accounts, and while both Austin and Frank deny any knowledge of what's happened, Trevor doesn't think Frank's explanation holds water. Thinking Trevor is on to him, Frank persuades a sexy young artist who moonlights as a call girl, Miranda (Elizabeth Gracen), to seduce Trevor and take his mind off his investigation. Frank's plan works for a while until Paige finds out about Miranda; feeling angry and betrayed, Paige arranges for Kitten to find out about her husband's infidelity, and Kitten sends Trevor packing. Not long afterward, Paige is murdered, and Trevor has to prove that he isn't involved in her death while still trying to get to the bottom of the embezzlement scheme. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Patsy Kensit stars in Don Boyd's distaff version of Alfie, with Kensit playing 21-year-old Katie, an attractive and self-absorbed Londoner who has just reached this milestone of an age and is trying to make some sense out of it. Until now, Katie has enjoyed life and all its pleasures without thinking too much about it. But, as she speaks to the camera, she reflects upon the men in her life and wonders if she has made all the right romantic decisions. There is Bobby (Rufus Sewell), her charming Scottish boyfriend, who has a propensity for slipping off to the bathroom for a heroin fix. And then there is Jack (Patrick Ryecart), another lover, whose sad-eyed demeanor belies his lack of sexual excitement. So what should Katie do about her beaux, particularly when she is preparing to move to New York? ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi