Alanna Ubach Movies

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

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

In a futuristic, high-tech world run by huge corporations, Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) is an L.A. policeman serving time for killing the psychotic who murdered his wife and child. Lindenmeyer (Stephen Spinella), a Dr. Frankenstein of the computer era, has created a monster, Sid 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity which is programmed with the character traits of scores of mass murderers. Sid 6.7 has escaped the control of its creator and is now running amok. The privatized police force in charge of keeping the peace in the city is run by Elizabeth Deane (Louise Fletcher). Barnes has volunteered to test a new criminal tracking system based on a virtual reality device. His job is to find Sid 6.7, with the help of psychologist Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch). Barnes gets out of prison and reinstated to the police force to pursue his dangerous prey. ~ Michael Betzold, 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

This made-for-television drama is based on the true story of a mother's attempts to get her daughter out of the deadly world of prostitution. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The exciting world of rollerblading provides the basis of this tale of a young teen who tries to inspire the affection of a pretty girl with his skating prowess. The lad is 15-year-old Mitchell Goosen who is sent from sunny southern California to snowy Cincinnati to live with relatives while his parents go on a long trip to Australia. The boy comes to the Ohio city clutching his surfboard and meets his goofy cousin who quickly becomes his friend. Naturally his laid back West Coast ways make him the subject of ridicule in his new high school. His biggest foe is the school jock. The pain of his new life is eased a bit after Mitchell meets perky blond Nikki. They talk and then he is forced to play in a hockey game. Mitchell has no idea what hockey is about but still manages to score the winning goal causing him to be the victim of more ostracism. In the spring, he begins rollerblading and the other kids are amazed by his many stunts. Eventually, he uses his skills to win the respect of his enemies and Niki's heart, but not without a lot more daring skating escapades. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide