Alanna Ubach Movies

The television show Beakman's World was little more than an updated of the classic children's program Mr. Wizard. Best of Beakman's World contains fifteen experiments attempted on the program, each presented in such a way that a viewer can get the necessary equipment and perform the experiments along with the characters on screen. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In the sequel to the hit comedy Sister Act, Whoopie Goldberg reprises her role of Deloris Van Cartier, a Las Vegas entertainer who hid out with in a convent of nuns to avoid a nasty bunch of gangsters. In Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Deloris is persuaded to return to the convent by the Mother Superior (Maggie Smith), because her help is needed in teaching their choral students at St. Francis High in San Francisco. However, St. Francis is in a crisis, since the administrator running the school (James Coburn) is threatening to shut the place down. If the gospel choir wins first place in a singing contest in Los Angeles, St. Francis will be saved from the priest's plans. Though the plot is rather thin and derivative, Sister Act 2 is lighthearted fun, thanks to good musical numbers and winning performances from the cast. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Penny Marshall's feel-good comedy, invoking parts of Dead Poet's Society, Sister Act, and Private Benjamin, features Danny DeVito as Bill Rago, a divorced advertising man who is fired from his job. During an appointment at the unemployment office, a counselor finds him a job as a civilian instructor at the local Army base. At the base, he is assigned a group of eight army hardcases. Rago is supposed to increase this group's "basic comprehension." Sweating it out and unable to interest his students in anything, he finally latches onto Shakespeare. He turns the lecture into a master class on Hamlet with the students converting the Shakespeare tragedy into a rap musical. Looking askance at all this is drill sergeant Cass (Gregory Hines), who feels that the whole class is a waste of time. Finally winning the respect of his students, Rago now has to win the hearts and minds of the contemptuous Cass and his staff. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The Brady Bunch Movie pays tribute to the 1970s TV show while poking gentle fun at it. The Brady family, led by father Mike (Gary Cole), still live in their suburban, split-level home and are still throwbacks to the era that spawned them. Eternally perky wife Carol (Shelley Long) is the perfect homemaker, while the kids' behavior is as wholesome as their loud, time-warp pastel clothes. Meanwhile, the greedy, selfish modern era swirls dangerously around them, embodied in next-door neighbor and real estate agent Ditmeyer (Michael McKean), who wants to buy the Bradys' property and turn the neighborhood into a giant mall. But no amount of money or prodding can persuade the Bradys to give up their home. Director Betty Thomas contrasts the overlit sitcom look of the Brady house interiors (faithfully recreated from the series) with real locations and natural grit for the modern L.A. scenes. The result is a satire that deftly spoofs the idea of staying true to old-fashioned values without ever passing judgment on those values. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Thanks to the technological marvels of wireless phones, answering machines, the internet, and e-mail, it is no longer necessary actually to see anyone you know, and seven friends have taken this notion to its logical extreme in this comedy. Linda (Aida Turturro) throws a birthday party and to her dismay, none of her friends show up. The next day, while making phone calls with several acquaintances (none of whom ever meet face to face), Linda hears the same excuse from everyone: they were busy with work and tied up on the phone. Denise (Alanna Ubach), meanwhile, is pregnant, and she decides to call the father, Martin (Dan Gunther), whom she's never met; he made what he thought was an anonymous donation to a sperm bank, and he isn't so sure he wants to be part of the parenting process. Gale (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) wants to set up a blind date between her friend Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) and Jerry (Liev Schreiber), who exchange photos via fax machine. The group ends up having a wake via conference call when one of their friends dies in a car accident, while talking on a cellular phone, of course. Denise Calls Up was the directorial debut for screenwriter Hal Salwen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In a series of flashbacks, two detectives try to determine the identity of a confused "Jane Doe" (Allison Smith)--and also her connection with a shooting in which a young man named Alex Jackson (Brandon Douglas). Inevitably, Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey) is also a key player in the mystery. Elements essential to the solution include a special delivery to a worried mother, a handsome real-estate developer, an inquistive female reporter, and an apparent menage-a-trois. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bailey (Scott Wolf) gets jealous when his pal Will (Scott Grimes, in his last regular series appearance) bends over backward to be nice to his geeky new college roommate (Peter Simmons). Kirsten (Paula Devicq) decides to pursue her academic and professional career far from home, causing a rift between herself and Charlie (Matthew Fox). Griffin (Jeremy London) once again demonstrates his utter lack of financial responsibility, prompting a stern lecture from Julia (Neve Campbell)...who, as it turns out, is in no position to preach. And the romance between Claudia (Lacey Chabert) and her "summer love" Byron (Rider Strong) hits a snag when he evinces more interest in Julia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two male hustlers with different ideals and goals struggle through a tough night in this gritty drama. It's Christmas Eve on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, and John (David Arquette), a male prostitute who works the streets, is desperate. John's birthday is Dec. 25, and he had hoped to spend the day at a fine hotel, ordering room service and feeling like a big shot for a change. To this end, John had lifted $300 from Jimmy The Warlock (Terrence DaShon Howard), a drug dealer, but the night before, John's lucky sneakers were stolen, with his bankroll inside. Now John is back working the streets in hopes that he can raise enough money for a hotel room and to pay back Jimmy. Also working that night is Donner (Lukas Haas), a young hustler who is infatuated with John. While Donner acknowledges his homosexuality, John stubbornly contends that despite his occupation, he's really straight, and he has a girlfriend Mikki (Alanna Ubach), though they spend most of their time arguing. While John can only look to his immediate needs, Donner thinks that they should leave Los Angeles and head to Branson, Missouri, where he's convinced that they can get jobs as lifeguards at Camelot, a theme park. As the night wears on, John and Donner meet several fellow street people, including Crazy Eli (Christopher Gartin) and Homeless John (Keith David), and scare up a few customers, ranging from a harmless closeted businessman (Elliott Gould) to others looking for violent, dangerous sex. Johns was the first feature film for former TV documentary director Scott Silver. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this postmodern exploitation flick loosely based on "Little Red Riding Hood," the uneducated daughter of a drug-addicted prostitute flees the foster-care system in search of her long-lost grandmother but meets up instead with a serial killer. Vanessa (Reese Witherspoon), a nearly illiterate firebug and serial shoplifter, desperately clings to normalcy even though her mother turns tricks, does drugs, and manages to ignore the fact that the girl's stepfather Michael T. Weiss has been abusing her for years. When both of her parents get arrested, Vanessa steals the car of her family-services caseworker (Conchata Ferrell) and heads up Interstate 5 in search of her paternal grandmother, who's never met her. Car problems force her to accept a ride from Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), a youth counselor who uses charm and sympathy to get the girl to open up. Confessing the sordid details of her childhood to Bob, Vanessa is shocked when he suddenly declares that she's one of the "garbage people" and that he plans to murder her and have sex with her corpse. Bob, it turns out, is the "I-5 Murderer," who's been slaughtering young prostitutes in the Los Angeles area. Thanks to a gun borrowed from her fiancé, Vanessa manages to turn the tables on Bob, shooting him repeatedly and leaving him for dead. He survives, Vanessa is arrested, and the two meet up again in court -- with her unrepentant, even though the police disbelieve her story, him flanked by his prim wife (Brooke Shields) and the righteous indignation of the American legal system. Locked up in the juvie for psychological evaluation, Vanessa gets in touch with her wild side and eventually escapes, heading off to her fateful meeting with grandma. Although Freeway was originally filmed for HBO, vigorously positive critical response eventually earned it a theatrical release. Alanna Ubach, who portrays Vanessa's nemesis/accomplice Mesquita, would go on to appear with Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. Freeway also features two Clueless alumni: Dan Hedaya, as a police detective, and Brittany Murphy, as the disfigured lesbian who befriends Vanessa in lock-up. Michael T. Weiss, who previously appeared in gay indie Jeffrey, appears in both Freeway and its sequel, Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) find young Lydia (Alanna Ubach), a talented artist from a wealthy family, living in squalor and addicted to crack cocaine. Despite the best efforts by Lydia's father Bill (Dan Lauria) and new stepmother Margaret (Mary-Joan Negro), the girl makes no effort to clean up her act, and in fact becomes more drug-dependent the harder her parents try. Finally, Tess, posing as a drug counselor, tersely advises Bill and Margaret to start practicing "tough love"--in other words, to be cruel in order to be kind. But when Lydia surpasses her previous misdeeds by kidnapping a newborn baby, it looks like even Tess has failed! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For her debut feature film, filmmaker Jody Podolsky wrote, directed, and produced this comedy drama about a young woman who leaves her big-city life to head home for the holidays. Not looking forward to her mother, Glenda (Lesley Ann Warren), pressuring her to start a family, Amy (Alanna Ubach) dreads her return to the suburbs. Once the two women come together, facades are stripped away and long unaddressed issues finally bubble to the surface. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Three over-achieving students struggle to maintain their ultra-confident images in order to win the prestigious Sterling Chase award at stuffy, tradition-bound Chadley College. Senator's daughter Alexis (Nicholle Tom), tries to get back in the closet to appease her controlling parents, even if it means jettisoning her girlfriend Chris (Devon Odessa). As one of the college's few African American students, Darren (Sean Patrick Thomas) enjoys the seeming acceptance of his brothers in the frat-like Wolf Club, though he remains troubled by lingering suspicions that he is there just to fulfill minority quotas. Meanwhile, though Jenna (Alana Ubach), the campus' most outspoken and assertive feminist, actively pursues one-night stands as a part of her denouncement of the patriarchal oppression of women, she quietly reveals her vulnerable side by admitting to her friend "Buns" (John Livingston) the real reason she has thwarted commitment. During the course of a 48-hour period, the three reexamine their lives and learn a bit in the process. The Sterling Chase was screened at the 1999 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Reese Witherspoon stars in this romantic comedy, the feature film debut of award-winning Australian director Robert Luketic. As a ravishing Miss Hawaiian Tropic, sorority president, and calendar girl, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is a big hit on the campus of her sun-drenched Los Angeles college. She's also got the perfect boyfriend in Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), a wealthy East Coast blue blood. Fearing that his snooty friends and family will never accept the bubble-headed Elle, however, Warner dumps her before heading off to graduate law school at Harvard University. Determined to win back her man, Elle enrolls in the same imposing institution, quickly becoming an object of scorn and ridicule, especially to Warner's old prep school flame (Selma Blair). Despite her penchant for malls, makeup, and tanning, Elle is no dummy and is soon showing elite Ivy League snobs a thing or two about class, self-confidence, and courtroom victory. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide