Alanna Ubach Movies

In this satirically witty look at the entertainment industry, Cole (Sean Patrick Flanery) is a record company executive who makes a wager with one of his colleagues that he can take anyone off the street and turn him or her into a star. Enter Maggie Moreno (Camille Guaty), an attractive woman with no outwardly visible talent who becomes the subject of Cole's experiment. In less than a month, he subjects her to music lessons, dance lessons, and a makeover so she'll seem "more Latin" while setting the hype machine in action to make the world aware of the emergence of a new star. But Maggie becomes increasingly unsure if she wants to be a star, especially at the expense of her own identity, while Cole has misgivings of his own when he begins to fall for Maggie. 30 Days Until I'm Famous also features Udo Kier and Alanna Ubach; Scott Stapp and Carmen Electra have cameo roles as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, 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

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

Four women reflect on their lowly place in the corporate caste system in this dryly satiric comedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is a college graduate who hasn't decided what she wants to do with her life, except that she doesn't want the job her father has lined up for her at a frozen food company. While pretending to look for other work, she signs on with a temp agency, which sends her out to do office work for Global Credit, a particularly faceless corporation where the permanent employees go out of their way to avoid the temps. Iris is very much aware that she's at the bottom rung at Global, and she bonds with three other women in the temp pool. Paula (Lisa Kudrow) talks about her career as an actress and insists that she will only temp until one of her auditions pans out. Jane (Alanna Ubach) prattles on about her wealthy fiancé, although her friends are convinced that he's cheating on her. And Margaret (Parker Posey) is at once the rebel of the group, regarding her job and general office procedure with a barely disguised contempt, and the one who most desperately wants a "real" job with Global. When office supplies and various personal items start to disappear, all signs point to one of the temp workers (most likely Margaret), though none will own up to any wrongdoing. Clockwatchers was the directorial debut for filmmaker Jill Sprecher, who co-wrote the screenplay with her sister Karen Sprecher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Amidst a heavy caseload including alleged parental abuse, suicide, and a teenage prostitute with aids, Ross (George Clooney) makes the acquaintance of Diane Leeds (Lisa Zane) from Risk Management. Meanwhile, Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) defends herself against the charges leveled by Kayson (Sam Anderson), with an unexpected payoff. And Benton (Eriq La Salle) argues with Jackie (Khandi Alexander) over how best to care for their ailing mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tom Keenan made his directorial debut with this low-budget comedic look at college seniors who suddenly find their lives in turmoil and confusion as they graduate and accelerate into a head-on collision with the real world. Cameron (David Wheir) plans to ditch girlfriend Val (Alanna Ubach of Clockwatchers and Denise Calls Up), ignore a lurking job recruiter (Paul Wagner), and set out instead on a motorcycle tour through Mexico, continuing on into Central and South America. Val, however, has a different schedule -- one that involves him signing on with an investment firm on Wall Street. Director Keenan, who also scripted, can be seen in the small role of Cameron's mechanic. This film was promoted as an "anti-romantic comedy" when it opened, minus a distributor, at the Waltham, Massachusetts, Landmark Theaters multiplex in May 1998. ~ Bhob Stewart, 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

House (Hugh Laurie) is certain that champion cyclist Jeff Foster (Kristoffer Polaha) is suffering from respiratory problems because he's been taking enhancement drugs--but he's ordered by Foster's handlers to keep his theories to himself. The diagnosis keeps changing as new information continues to turn up, culminating in a public brouhaha when the word "cancer" is mentioned. Meanwhile, Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) holds a grudge against Foster for betraying his devoted fans by not telling them the whole truth, and her attitude casts a pall over the entire proceedings. Elsewhere, House prepares to confront Mark Warner (Currie Graham), the husband of his ex-lover Stacy (Sela Ward), at a group therapy session. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jonathan Silverman, Matt Keeslar, and Desmond Askew star in this modernized take on Robert Louis Stevenson's terrifying tale about a brilliant doctor haunted by his own murderous alter ego. Dr. Henry Jekyll was researching a cure for cancer when he created a computer generated avatar of his alter ego and downloaded it directly into his brain. Now, before Dr. Jekyll knows what's happening, his life has been completely taken over by a psychotic, hedonistic, violent party animal known only as Mr. Hyde. But by the time Dr. Jekyll's faithful girlfriend attempts to break through to her bi-polar boyfriend, it may already be too late. As the bodies begin to pile up and Mr. Hyde's unpredictable temper grows increasingly explosive, it's up to Dr. Jekyll to regain control of his life or risk losing everything he ever cared about. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this crime comedy, a wastrel is helping his girlfriend move into a new apartment and accidentally stumbles into a drug theft gone awry that leaves his girlfriend dead and him literally holding the bag. Within that bag is a fortune in illegal narcotics and Jerry realizes that he has no choice but to take the dope and split. In desperation he goes to his pal Christy who sends him to stay with his con-artist aunt Rose who quickly cheats Jerry at cards. Later Rose's son Angie shows up and tries to convince his ma to toss Jerry out. She refuses. In time, Jerry and Angie become friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Taking home a paycheck that nearly rivals the budget of the first film, Reese Witherspoon reprises the role of Elle Woods in this sequel to 2001's surprise blockbuster Legally Blonde. When she's fired from her job at an upscale law firm for voicing her stance against the testing of cosmetics on animals, Elle heads to Capitol Hill to fight for her cause before Congress, leaving her boyfriend, Emmett (Luke Wilson, reprising his role from the film's predecessor), behind. Once there, she runs into plenty of adversity and red-tape and can't seem to find anyone who will listen to her proposals. While staying at the Watergate hotel though, she meets and befriends an elderly bellman (Bob Newhart in his first theatrical role since 1997's In & Out) who's been around politicians long enough to know the ins and outs of the political machine. With his help, Elle attempts to convince disillusioned U.S. Representative Rudd (Sally Field) to help her get her voice heard in front of the stodgy old coots of the legislative branch. Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld hot off the success of his critically acclaimed indie comedy Kissing Jessica Stein, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde boasts a supporting cast led by Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show, American Pie) and Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Daddy Day Care). ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Not long after being voted "employee of the month" at a suburban Mega-Mart retail store, Edna Coruthers (Marie Cheatham) is killed in what appears to be a freak accident. Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is called in to investigate by the store's security manager Joe Christie (Enrico Colantoni), who suspects foul play. The assignment proves most distasteful for Monk, inasmuch as Christie is his ex-partner, who'd been thrown off the force for stealing drugs. Despite his animosity toward Christie, Monk manages to figure out that Edna was, indeed, murdered--but NOT for what seems to be the most obvious motive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide