Joan Cusack Movies
One of Hollywood's funniest and most underappreciated actresses, Joan Cusack was for years relegated to playing the buddy sidekicks of her more glamorous co-stars and known primarily as John Cusack's older sister. Thanks to a couple of Oscar nominations and strong roles in a number of movies, Cusack finally began getting her due in the late 1990s, earning both recognition and respect for her singular talent.Born in New York City on October 11, 1962, Cusack grew up in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. The daughter of actor and filmmaker Richard Cusack, she and her siblings were encouraged to perform from an early age. As a result, Cusack grew up acting on the stage and training with the Piven Theatre Workshop. She broke into film while still in her teens, getting her start - -and often acting alongside her brother -- in such teen comedies as My Bodyguard (1980) and Sixteen Candles (1984). In 1985 she was offered a part on the Saturday Night Live roster, but felt constrained by the lack of quality material offered to women, and left the show after one season. Gradually getting better supporting work in such films as Broadcast News (1987) and Married to the Mob (1988), Cusack had her screen breakthrough in Working Girl (1988), earning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Melanie Griffith's street-smart best friend. More strong notices followed in 1989 for Cusack's work in the drama Men Don't Leave, in which she played a nurse who helps get Jessica Lange's life back on track after her husband's death.
Following a negative experience during the making of the Steve Martin comedy My Blue Heaven (1990), Cusack decided to abandon Hollywood in favor of Chicago, where she spent the next few years concentrating more on her family than on her acting career. Her film appearances were sporadic (1993's Addams Family Values, 1994's Corrina, Corrina, 1995's Nine Months), but when she finally did make a comeback in 1997, it was a remarkable one. For her role as a would-be bride who gets left at the altar when her fiancé (Kevin Kline) realizes he's gay in In & Out, Cusack earned her second Best Supporting Actress nomination, and the widespread opinion that her hilarious performance was one of the film's highlights. That same year, she gave a brief but memorable portrayal of the unhinged secretary of a hit man (brother John) in Grosse Point Blank.
Cusack spent the rest of the decade doing steady work in a variety of films. 1999 was a particularly busy year for the actress: after playing a deceptively bland suburban wife in Arlington Road and Julia Roberts' best friend in the romantic comedy Runaway Bride, Cusack could be seen acting alongside her brother in Tim Robbins' historical drama Cradle Will Rock and heard voicing Jessie the Cowgirl in Toy Story 2. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo co-director Lee Unkrich strikes out on his own with this installment into the popular computer-animated series detailing the adventures of wide-eyed cowboy doll Woody and space-ranger action figure Buzz Lightyear. Oscar-nominated scribe Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) handles screenwriting duties. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Based on a 1988 theatrical cartoon short produced in Canada by Kai Pindel, and co-developed by America's TLC cable service and Canada's TVO, the computer-animated Peep and the Big Wide World was an "edu-tainment" series aimed at pre-schoolers. The title character was an insatiably curious newborn chick, who explored the world around him with his best friend, Chirp the Robin and Quack the Duck. In the course of their wanderings, the trio met a variety of friendly porcupines, beavers, fish and what-have-you; and by the end of each 10-minute segment (two of which were seen in every episode) the characters had learned at least one basic scientific principle. Of course, it was hoped that the kids in the audience had learned the same lesson, and to that end series narrator Joan Cusack) encouraged fans to try out easy (and harmless!) scientific experiments at home. The daily American run of Peep and the Big Wide World was launched on April 12, 2004; the series was seen on both TLC and the Discovery Kids cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Cusack, Scott Beaudin, (more)
- 2002
- Add It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie to QueueAdd It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie to top of Queue
What would life amongst the Muppets have been without their unofficial leader Kermit the Frog? That's the question posed by this made-for-TV confection, which not only spoofs the Yuletide classic It's a Wonderful Life, but also takes satirical aim at such pop cultural phenomena as Moulin Rouge and Fear Factor. The plot is set in motion when typically evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) forecloses on the Muppets' famous variety theater, with the intention of building a gaudy nightclub. But Bitterman's machinations take a back seat when apprentice guardian angel, Daniel (David Arquette), shows Kermit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) what conditions would have been had Kermit never existed. Without going into full detail, suffice to say that a Kermit-less world would have found Miss Piggy (voiced by Frank Oz) running a fraudulent psychic hot line, Fozzie Bear as a homeless derelict, and Sam the Eagle as a caged dancer at a rave. Decked out with cameo appearances by everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to the cast of the TV series Scrubs, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie debuted over NBC on November 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, (more)
- 1980
In this youthful drama a rebellious teen tries to make changes at his high-school. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
An assassin posing as a trade-show producer fixes his crosshairs on a Middle Eastern oil minister while maintaining his cover by organizing a high-profile wedding in this satirical action comedy starring John Cusack, Hilary Duff, and Marisa Tomei. A private American corporation run by a former U.S. vice president (Dan Aykroyd) is occupying the war-torn nation of Turaqistan, but a powerful Middle Eastern oil minister is preventing them from taking total advantage of the situation. In order to gain a monopoly on the lucrative opportunities that Turaqistan has to offer, the CEO of the corporation hires an evenhanded hitman named Hauser (Cusack) to take the oil minister out of the picture. Now, in order to carry out the contract without a hitch, Hauser will pose as the corporation's trade-show producer. The stakes are high and the potential for disaster is evident, though if Hauser can successfully organize the wedding of Central Asian pop-star Yonica Babyyeah (Duff), he's got a good chance of pulling it off. But sexy and resourceful left-wing reporter Natalie Hegalhuzen (Tomei) is determined to uncover the truth about what's happening in Turaqistan, and the moment she does, this carefully constructed scheme will crumble like a house of cards. Joshua Seftel directs a screenplay co-written by Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser, and producer/star John Cusack. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Hilary Duff, (more)
A single woman envies the security of her married friends, while they in turn dream of her freedom in this comedy drama. Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) is a single woman in her mid-thirties who feels she's reached a crossroads in her life. Unhappy with her career as a teacher, Olivia quits and takes a job as a maid until she sorts out her feelings. However, Olivia feels as if she could use some support, both personal and financial, from her best friends, all of whom at very least have more in the bank than she does. But that's not to say they don't have problems of their own. Christine (Catherine Keener) and her husband Patrick (Jason Isaacs) are screenwriters who have discovered that collaborating is more stress than they can deal with. Jane (Frances McDormand) is married to Aaron (Simon McBurney); they work together as designers, but while their professional relationship is cordial, they've become numb to one another as lovers and friends. And Franny (Joan Cusack) and Matt (Greg Germann) are a couple who comfortably support themselves and their children thanks to an inherited fortune; while their material needs are met, emotionally they can barely handle marriage and parenthood. Friends With Money was written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, who previously made the acclaimed independent features Walking and Talking and Lovely & Amazing. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, (more)
A man discovers that there's more to love than a good mixed tape in this dramatic comedy about music and relationships. Rob (John Cusack), an obsessive record collector in his mid-thirties, is struggling to reconcile his adolescent enthusiasm for pop music with adult responsibilities and a more mature outlook. He runs a record shop with his friends Barry (Jack Black) and Dick (Todd Louiso), who are known to drive away customers whose taste in music doesn't match their exacting standards -- which may have something to do with why the shop is losing money. But Rob's biggest problem is his failing relationship with Laura (Iben Hjejle), a lawyer who needs more out of the relationship than Rob is capable of giving. To Rob's horror, Laura starts dating Ian (Tim Robbins), his upstairs neighbor, known throughout the building for his long and noisy sex sessions. Rob, on the other hand, finds himself catching the attention of singer/songwriter Marie DeSalle (Lisa Bonet), as he tries to deal with his breakup by tracking down his previous ex-girlfriends and taking a fresh look at what he's been doing wrong. Based on the acclaimed novel by Nick Hornby, High Fidelity also features Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, and Joelle Carter as three of Rob's ex-lovers, and Sara Gilbert as Dick's new girlfriend, who gets a crash course in U.K. punk bands that influenced Green Day. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, (more)
In this tense thriller, a man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be -- and their secrets could be deadly. Michael Faraday (played by Jeff Bridges) is a college professor whose wife, an FBI agent, was killed in the line of duty by members of an extremist right-wing terrorist group, leaving him to raise their nine-year-old son by himself. One day, he saves the life of a boy he sees on the street. The child turns out to be the son of his new neighbors, Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack). Michael soon becomes friendly with the grateful Langs, who seem as cheerfully bland as anyone could hope from denizens of suburbia. But the better Michael gets to know Oliver, the more he becomes convinced that something isn't quite right; Oliver seems almost too clean and perfect, and Michael begins to notice that small details in Oliver's stories don't quite add up. The question is whether Michael's well-founded paranoia about the radical right is getting the better of him, or are the Langs up to something a lot more sinister than their cheerful smiles and manicured lawn would suggest? Ehren Kruger's screenplay for Arlington Road won the Motion Picture Academy's Nicholl Fellowship prize in 1996; the film was the second directorial effort for Mark Pellington, who debuted with Going All the Way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, (more)
The sometimes rocky relationship between art and politics in America in the 1930s -- as well as the gulf between the wealthy and the struggling -- sets the stage for Tim Robbins' ambitious comedy-drama Cradle Will Rock. Pulling together a variety of threads from actual events, Robbins examines the lives and ambitions of a variety of creative mavericks and figures of power. Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) and John Houseman (Cary Elwes) are working with Marc Bliztstein (Hank Azaria) to stage the latter's leftist musical "The Cradle Will Rock" for the WPA-funded Federal Theater Project. After Congress cuts funding for the embattled Federal Theater over the perceived leftist slant of their presentations, the project is canceled on the day of its premier. Welles and his cast respond by marching 21 blocks from the theater where the show was to open to another venue where, in deference to Actors Equity regulations, they perform the entire show from the audience. A member of Welles' cast, Aldo Silvano (John Turturro), is a dedicated actor from Italy who is trying to resolve his attitudes about his family, who loyally support Mussolini, to Silvano's disgust. Meanwhile, El Duce's former mistress, Margherita Sarfatti (Susan Sarandon), is consorting with industrial tycoon Gray Mathers (Philip Baker Hall) -- whose wife, Contesse LaGrange (Vanessa Redgrave) is a friend and supporter of Welles' project. Elsewhere, Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) has hired expatriot Mexican artist Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) to create a mural for his projected Rockefeller Center, but the two are soon locking horns over their different views on art, politics and the work at hand. And a ventriloquist fallen on hard times, Tommy Crickshaw (Bill Murray), finds himself trying to teach both comedy and speaking without lip movements to a pair of would-be performers at a WPA-backed vaudeville house. William Randolph Hearst (John Carpenter), Marion Davies (Gretchen Mol), Frida Kahlo (Corina Katt), and Olive Stanton (Emily Watson) are also woven into the tapestry of this historical epic, which premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hank Azaria, Rubén Blades, (more)
Most people have trouble deciding what to say when they're asked what they've been doing with their lives at a High School reunion, but Martin Blank (as played by John Cusack) has a different problem than most -- he has to make his career sound less interesting than it actually is. Martin is a former CIA operative who is now a freelance hit man, making good money for killing people he doesn't know. However, Martin's game has been a bit off lately; he's no longer happy in his work, and both his secretary Marcella (Joan Cusack) and his psychiatrist, Dr. Oatman (Alan Arkin), who is more than a bit nervous about having a hired assassin as a patient, think that Martin should accept an offered assignment in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, his old home town, which would conveniently coincide with his ten year high school reunion. While in Grosse Pointe, Martin discovers that his high school sweetheart, Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver), is still living in town, and still holds a grudge against him for standing her up on prom night. While Martin tries to sort out his past and tie up loose ends with Debi (whom he still loves), he discovers someone in Grosse Pointe is out to kill him; he's also confronted by the highly unstable Mr. Grocer (Dan Aykroyd), a fellow hit man who wants Martin to join forces with him and form a union and isn't keen on taking no for an answer. Grosse Pointe Blank was a pet project for star John Cusack, who co-wrote the screenplay and also served as co-producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Minnie Driver, (more)
This romantic comedy from the John Hughes school of domestic farce stars Greg Kinnear and Lauren Holly as Danny Robertson, an elevator installer, and his wife Jennifer, the owner of an aroma therapy products store. They have a great marriage until Jennifer, who desperately wants a child, secretly stops taking her birth control pills. When she fails to become pregnant, she covertly delivers a sample of Danny's sperm to a fertility clinic, which discovers a biological problem. Danny is furious and embarrassed, but he reluctantly joins the effort to conceive. The crusade to have a baby becomes a humiliating spectacle for both Robertsons, and, as their marriage begins to fracture from the stress, Danny contemplates the charms of a sexy architect (Jill Hennessy) while Jennifer eyes a charming business executive (Christopher McDonald). A Smile Like Yours was the directorial debut of Keith Samples, producer of Big Night (1996) and Two Days in the Valley (1996). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Lauren Holly, (more)
- 1991
- R
Flamboyant Broadway renaissance man Peter Sellars was the director of The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez. This freewheeling musical horror spoof isn't meant to be taken seriously, so don't be fooled by those Karloffian trappings. Ron Vawter plays the title character for all it's worth. He has to, with such formidable competition as Joan Cusack, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Werner Klemperer, the latter cast as "Fat Man Searching for a Tax Break." There's also a "Beaver Gourmet" in the cast of characters, which should clue you in as to the level of subtlety here. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mikhail Baryshnikov, Joan Cusack, (more)
Michelle Pfeiffer is Married to the Mob in this comedy. The wife of Mafia hitman Alec Baldwin, Pfeiffer regularly chastizes her husband for his underhanded line of work. Baldwin refuses to entertain any thoughts of quitting the mob-and besides, he's got a good thing going with Nancy Travis, the promiscuous girl friend of gang boss Dean Stockwell. When Stockwell catches on to Travis' peccadilloes, he murders both his mistress and the unlucky Baldwin. At Baldwin's funeral, Stockwell is overwhelmed by Pfeiffer's beauty, and immediately begins plying her with expensive gifts. But Pfeiffer is through with this sort of thing, and with her young son in tow, she leaves town, hoping to start life anew. Upon making the acquaintance of bumbling, seemingly sincere Matthew Modine, Pfeiffer is convinced that Modine is just another mob flunkey. But it's even worse: Modine is an FBI agent, ordered to get to Stockwell by using Pfeiffer as bait. Reluctantly (he's grown quite fond of her himself), Modine blackmails Pfeiffer into setting up a rendezvous with Stockwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, (more)
- 1988
- R
Though a fine cast was assembled for this comedy, none can save this embarrassingly humorless satire. Henderson Dores (Daniel-Day Lewis) is a very proper British art expert sent to rural Georgia by his boss to purchase a painting by Renoir. The present owner, hillbilly Loomis Gage (Harry Dean Stanton), claims he bought the painting for $500 in France in 1946. Dores offers $10 million, but Gage's scheming son Freeborn (Maury Chaykin) has made a deal with a rival art dealer for $15 million. Steven Wright plays Dores' business rival Pruitt with his typical deadpan charm, and Joan Cusack and Laurie Metcalf provide romantic interest. Tea and crumpets collide with moonshine and cornbread in this feature, but the results are unpalatable. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton, (more)
Unhappy with her job and her loser boyfriend, Melanie Griffith takes a secretarial post at a major Wall Street firm. Her boss is Sigourney Weaver, an outwardly affable yuppie whose grinning visage hides a wicked and larcenous propensity for exploiting the ideas of her employees. While Weaver is incapacitated, Griffith is compelled by circumstances to pose as her boss. Her inborn business acumen and common sense enable Griffith to rise to the top of New York's financial circles, and along the way she wins the love of executive (Harrison Ford). Things threaten to take a sorry turn when Weaver returns, but it is she who suffers from the consequences of her own past duplicity. Working Girl was Melanie Griffith's breakthrough film, proving than she was more than just the off-and-on "significant other" of Don Johnson. The film was later adapted into a brief TV series, starring a pre-Speed Sandra Bullock. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, (more)
Writer/director/producer James L. Brooks scores on all counts with this clear-eyed look at the television news business and the dysfunctional types who work in it. Brooks' intelligent script introduces us to Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), an ambitious producer at the network news division's Washington D.C. branch, who is calm under fire yet has a good cry at her desk every morning over her empty personal life. Jane works well with Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), an excellent reporter who lacks the visual charisma to make him a star. Into their lives comes Tom Grunick (William Hurt), a regional newscaster who admits he can't write news and doesn't understand many of the events he's covering, but has the presence and physical appeal that the increasingly entertainment-oriented network wants for its news programs. Jane is also physically attracted to him, which drives her crazy, because Grunick stands for everything she's fighting against in the news business, while Altman is devastated by her attraction because he secretly yearns for Jane. As Grunick becomes a rising star at the network, and layoffs of the old guard loom, the three leads deal with their feelings for each other, their careers, and their values. Hunter, Hurt, and Brooks are all superb, as is the excellent supporting cast (including an unbilled turn by Jack Nicholson as the network's smarmy national anchor). Brooks' script is funny, poignant, gritty, and brutally honest in its examinations of the television industry and the ways in which professionals interact on and off the job. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Albert Brooks, (more)
- 1984
- R
The Saroyanesque Grandview USA focuses on a sleepy Midwestern town and its younger denizens. Bored out of his gourd, recent high-school graduate Tim (C. Thomas Howell), befriends the much-older Michelle (Jamie Lee Curtis), who runs the local demolition derby. Michelle's top driver is "Slam" (Patrick Swayze), who though a star on the track is a washout when it comes to affairs of the heart. As the three characters grow closer, each does a lot of growing up. When it sticks to business, Grandview USA can be quite charming; it falters only in a couple of rock-video and fantasy sequences, reportedly tacked on at the insistence of the distributors. The highly appropriate supporting cast ranges from such TV regulars as Troy Donahue and William Windom to such stars-to-be as Jennifer Jason Leigh and John Cusack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Lee Curtis, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
With a plot that is a cross between a teen, low-brow farce and a coming-of-age story, Class opens with scenes of two best friends -- nerdy whiz Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) and carefree jock Skip (Rob Lowe) -- going around in lingerie; they also barf on a double date, break into a quiet meeting at a girls' school, and generally behave as emotional throwbacks. But when the nerd Jonathan is picked up in a Chicago bar by Skip's mother Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset), the tone changes completely. The affair between the student and the older woman is torrid until they rendezvous in New York and Ellen dumps Jonathan because she finds out he is not a Ph.D. candidate from Northwestern University. Meanwhile, Jonathan does not know who Ellen is until Skip brings him home for the Christmas holidays and the two clandestine, September-May ex-lovers come face to face with the truth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
Director Nick Cassavetes collaborates with screenwriter Jeremy Leven (The Notebook) for this drama about a pair of parents who resort to unorthodox methods in order to save their young daughter's life, only to find their decision coming back to haunt them in a manner neither could have ever foreseen. Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric) are coasting through life with their young son and daughter when tragedy threatens to tear the family apart. Suddenly, their baby girl falls ill, and her only hope for survival rests in her parents' ability to find a compatible bone marrow donator. Desperate to save their daughter's life at any cost, Sara and Brian conceive another child in hopes that the baby will be a genetic match. But that decision raises a series of moral and ethical questions that rapidly begin to erode the foundation of the once-happy couple's relationship. Incensed upon learning that she was brought into this world for the singular purpose of prolonging the life of her ailing older sister, the young girl (Abigail Breslin) ultimately decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body. Alec Baldwin, Sofia Vassilieva, and Joan Cusack co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, (more)
Directed by Garry Marshall, Raising Helen revolves around Helen Harris (Kate Hudson), whose successful fashion career and decadent Manhattan lifestyle are plenty in terms of keeping her occupied and content. Helen's days as a socialite are brought to a swift end, however, when she is informed not only of the death of her sister and brother-in-law, but of the decision to leave their three children in her care. Being one of New York's hippest matters little to 15-year-old Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), ten-year-old Henry (Spencer Breslin), and five-year-old Sarah (Abigail Breslin), who would much rather have their parents back. Convinced she can raise the kids and maintain her already fast-paced schedule, Helen quickly finds herself burnt out and disheartened by her older sister's (Joan Cusack) lack of faith. Despite her already hectic schedule, however, Helen finds the time to develop a genuine affection for her new dependents, as well as an equally genuine attraction to Pastor Don Parker (John Corbett), the kids' school principal and local pastor. Eventually, Helen realizes she can't balance the two lives, and is faced with a difficult decision: Does she live her old dreams or take a chance on a new one? ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Hudson, John Corbett, (more)
