Patti D'Arbanville Movies

Two brothers dutifully working the days away at the family carpet business attempt to assert their independence by going to work for the king of Long Island wedding videographers, only to find their new careers floundering when they are forced to move into a cramped studio apartment. It's been five years, three months, and 26 days since Anthony and Carmine Marconi went to work at their father's carpet store, and now both brothers are beginning to fear that their lives have hit a standstill. When he's not slaving away full-time amidst endless yards of carpet, Anthony is attempting to balance a full load of classes at the local community college. Meanwhile, brother Carmine is hoping to strike it rich by playing the tables in Atlantic City and buying scratch-off cards. One day, during a routine carpet installation, the brothers' fate takes an unexpected turn when they cross paths with Maurice "Mo" Brown -- a fast-talking wedding-video producer with some flashy toys and sexy "secretaries." Though Anthony and Carmine miraculously manage to land positions as Mo's new assistants, their father doesn't take the news too well; he immediately slaps them each with a 500-dollar-a-month boarding fee.

Now, for the first time in their lives, Anthony and Carmine are on their own, and they're working for a certifiable lunatic who calls wedding shots like he's Cecil B. DeMille and flies into an uncontrollable rage at the sight of his alcoholic ex-partner and wife, Sonya -- the in-house wedding photographer. To make matters even worse, Anthony has started an affair with Sonya's assistant and Carmine has just screwed up the audio on the wedding vows. With time running out before Mo catches wind of the latest disaster, Anthony and Carmine will have to work overtime if they hope to keep their jobs and save their necks. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A man who has developed an unhealthy obsession with a former lover becomes the focus of someone with evil on their mind in this independent thriller. Jeffrey (Daniel Sauli) is an architect who is sharing a flat in New York City with his friend Nicki (Heather Alicia Simms). One day, Jeffrey picks up a handsome man named Rene (Julien Lucas), but after spending the afternoon making love, they're interrupted by Nicki, and with the mood broken, Rene announces he wasn't interested in anything more than a one night stand. Jeffrey can't get his mind off Rene, and when he sees him on the street one day, he follows him. After discovering where Rene lives, Jeffrey learns that one of the apartments in his building has recently become vacant, and he decides to move in. While Nicki and Rene are both outraged by Jeffrey's behavior, which borders on stalking, Jeffrey soon discovers he has more to worry about than what his friends think of him. The previous tenant of Jeffrey's flat has gone missing, leaving his belongings behind, and after a hysterical visit from the missing man's lover, Jeffrey begins to wonder why landlady Gladys (Patti D'Arbanville) was so eager to have him move in right away -- and why she stops by so often. You Belong To Me was the first feature film from writer and director Sam Zalutsky. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three women whose lives have followed very different paths ponder their pasts and their futures in this omnibus film from second-time director Rebecca Miller, adapted from her acclaimed short story collection of the same name. Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) grew up in a fractured household; her mother abandoned the family when Delia was a child, and her father (Brian Tarantina) was a drug-addled loser who could barely be prodded off the couch. When she entered adolescence, Delia realized that she could use her body to get men to do as she pleased. While this gained her a feeling of power and self-sufficiency, it also earned her a reputation as the "class slut," and the end product was her marriage to Kurt (David Warshofsky). Greta (Parker Posey) is the daughter of a successful lawyer (Ron Leibman) who left her mother when she was young and offered Greta criticism rather than affection. Plagued with self-doubt, Greta is squandering her literary talents editing cookbooks and is married to Lee (Tim Guinee. When Thavi (Joel de la Fuente), a respected and successful young novelist, asks Greta to edit his next novel, it forces her to reassess herself on a number of levels. Finally, Paula (Fairuza Balk), yet another product of a fractured family, ran away from her mother and was homeless until she met Vincent (Seth Gilliam), who took her in and became her boyfriend. A year later, Paula is uncertain in her feelings about Vincent, unsettled to learn that she's pregnant, and startled after witnessing a murder while out clubbing with a friend; she hits the road again, and soon picks up a fellow alienated teen, Kevin (Lou Taylor Pucci), who bears the scars of a recent -- and very brutal -- beating. Personal Velocity: Three Portraits was honored with the Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The husband-and-wife team of Laura Landau and Les Landau made this drama about Vietnam vets in LA. Vietnam vet and house painter Archibald Wright (Dorian Harewood) can't commit to his waitress girlfriend Diana (Vanessa Bell Calloway). Hired by Elaine (Patti D'Arbanville) to work on a Beverly Hills mansion, Archibald stumbles into a family situation: Elaine left J.P. (Michael McKean) while he was fighting in Vietnam; their daughter Tory (Amie Carey) is a classical guitarist who's just been accepted at a top music school. J.P. is now living an alcoholic existence in downtown LA, and Elaine forbids Tory from seeing her father. Archibald has a handle on J.P.'s post-Vietnam problems, and after J.P. lands in a V.A. hospital after some heavy drinking, Archibald steps in with an attempt to help both father and daughter. Shown at the 1998 Hollywood Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Two of the screen's most popular comic actors meet in this movie about two men brought together by unexpected circumstances. On the surface, Jack Lawrence (Billy Crystal) and Dale Putley (Robin Williams) wouldn't appear to have much in common. Jack is an efficient, serious-minded lawyer with a successful practice and a beautiful wife, Carrie (Julia-Louis Dreyfus). Dale is a very single performance artist given to dramatic mood swings and extreme overreaction to the sad state of his career. However, 17 years ago both men were involved with the same woman, Collette Andrews (Nastassja Kinski); she later had a son, Scott (Charlie Hofheimer), without being sure if Jack or Dale was actually the father. Collette chose to raise the boy on her own, but when Scott runs away from home and she can't track him down, she calls both Jack and Dale looking for help. It doesn't take long for the two men to discover that they're both looking for the same boy in the same places, and they decide to join forces, though their personalities don't get much more compatible the longer they hunt for Scott. Keep an eye peeled for a brief cameo by Mel Gibson and an appearance by the rock band Sugar Ray, shortly before their commercial breakthrough. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A tough congresswoman tries to keep her family together after her son-in-law dies in a car crash. This Emmy-nominated made-for-television drama follows her efforts and her reaction when she learns that drugs were involved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Honest small-town cop Wings Hauser is weighed down by personal problems. This fact must be put on the back burner when crooked businessman John Saxon commits murder. Though the identity of the killer is never in question, Saxon manages to buy everybody off except Hauser. In order to collar the criminal, the sheriff must overcome his emotional difficulties-and keep one step ahead of a frame-up concocted by Saxon This modest melodrama offers good work from distaff cast members Frances Fisher, Patty D'Arbanville and Margaux Hemingway. Deadly Conspiracy was also released as Frame Up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film, loosely-based on the book by Bob Woodward, follows the career of comedian John Belushi (Michael Chiklis) as his spirit is guided through the past by the Angel Velasquez (Ray Sharkey). ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In Call Me a lonely, frustrated journalist for an alternative newspaper begins receiving intriguing erotic telephone calls, calls which trigger her own fantasies and leads her into danger. Anna (Patricia Charbonneau) is having an affair with Alex (Sam Freed), who travels frequently and has little time for her. She meets an interesting stranger named Jellybean (Stephen McHattie) in a local bar and begins to believe that he might be the source of the erotic calls. As the calls increase in frequency and become more explicitly sexual, Anna finds herself increasingly aroused and interested. Call Me, despite a sometimes contrived plot, is well-directed by Sollace Mitchell who uses her strong cast to explore the outer-limits of sexual desire and obsession. Charbonneau is excellent as Anne, and Patti D'Arbanville as her friend Con gives a refreshing, relaxed and convincing performance. Steve Buscemi, one of the finest contemporary character actors, gives one of his usual satisfying performances as the creepy Switch Blade who menaces Anne. The film's "surprise" ending will surprise only the most unsophisticated viewer, but the film, because of its great cast and excellent direction is a fresh, exciting thriller with an interesting twist. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Martha Coolidge directed this comedy taking place at fictional Pacific Tech, concerning incoming freshman Mitch (Gabe Jarret), a high school student whose Science Fair project made important inroads into laser beam technology. Mitch has been recruited by famed physics professor Hathaway (William Atherton), who asks Mitch to work in his laboratory. On campus, Mitch becomes roommates with the brilliant Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), legendary as the smartest freshman in the history of the college; but now, as a senior, he is less interested in his studies and more interested in having fun. It turns out that Hathaway is enlisting his students, unbeknownst to them, as a slave labor force to do research in developing a state-of-the-art laser device for the Defense Department (he uses his government grant funds to build a house). But Chris and Mitch begin to suspect that something is amiss with Hathaway's project. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Consensus opinion is that Paul Morrissey directed L'Amour on his own, despite Andy Warhol's name on the credits. This film has much more of a story than the other Andy Warhol Factory productions, but it takes the same casual approach to nudity and sex. In the story, two female tourists (Donna Jordan and Jane Forth) seek out Michael (Michael Sklar) a wealthy American resident, who has been living with a handsome French boy (Max Delys). Everyone tries, with varying success, to seduce everyone else, though the two men have only an implied relationship. Eventually, Michael decides to marry one of the girls and return to the U.S. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide