Suzanne de Laurentis
A man is forced to go against his family and his principles in the name of serving his country in this drama inspired by actual events. Tommy Santoro (James Marsden) was just a boy when his father was murdered, and young Tommy quickly discovered his dad was a high-ranking member of the Philadelphia Mafia. Tommy grew up determined to stay on the right side of the law, but his brother Vincent (Brad Renfro) and cousin Joey (Giovanni Ribisi) had other ideas and ended up joining "the family business." Tommy enlisted in the Army and served in Operation Desert Storm, but when he impulsively stole a jeep, he was arrested by the military police. However, Tommy finds he's not questioned by MP's, but by Horvath (Brian Dennehy), an FBI agent who knows all about his past and family history. Horvath has learned that Sicilian mobsters have been taking over the Philly rackets, and persuades Tommy to join up with Vincent and Joey in order to infiltrate the Mafia and serve as an informant to the FBI. Tommy grudgingly agrees, but he's uneasy about betraying his family and following the path that killed his father -- especially when he discovers his actions have put Vincent and Joey in grave danger. Also starring Dennis Hopper, Piper Perabo, and Lesley Ann Warren, 10th & Wolf was the directorial debut for Bobby Moresco, who won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Crash. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi, (more)
The romantic comedy Shut Up and Kiss Me concerns two best friends, one a stockbroker and the other a slacker surfer, who each fall in love with the perfect girl the same day. The situation gets complicated when the uncle of one of the girls turns out to be a mob boss who is troubled by the thought of his niece dating the surfer. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Daniel Barnes, Brad Rowe, (more)
- 1991
- PG
Flamboyant window dresser Hollywood Montrose (Meshach Taylor) provides the link between this film and the original Mannequin after the departure of Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy from the cast. Hollywood has now been promoted to the head of Prince & Company's Visual Display Department. He takes on a new assistant, Jason (William Ragsdale) who, in times past, was the dauphin of the kingdom of Hauptmann-Koenig. One thousand years ago, he lost his beloved Jessie (Kristy Swanson) when an evil sorcerer (Terry Kiser) turned her into a wooden icon, now known as the Enchanted Peasant Girl. As a tribute to Hauptmen-Koenig, the Enchanted Peasant Girl is being sent to Prince & Company for a window display. Jason awakens Jessie and the two get re-acquainted, having a millennium of things to catch up on. But the evil sorcerer, now reincarnated as Count Spretzle, arrives on the scene to take Jessie (and a prized necklace) and hop a flight for Bermuda, with Jason the only one who can stop him. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Ragsdale, Kristy Swanson, (more)
- 1986
This minor exploitation oddity pits two curvaceous ex-cons against the inbred populace of a small fishing town -- particularly the title character, whose creepy mother encourages his campaigns of terror against the girls. Though Junior's antics are often quite sadistic -- ranging from pelting one girl with worms to gutting the other's dog -- the filmmakers seem to lack the seedy convictions possessed by the films which clearly inspired them (namely Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and I Spit On Your Grave), making the heroines' climactic revenge less satisfying. We're almost asked to pity the poor lunkhead, whose actions are dictated by the desires of his mother ... who, by the way, seems to be sporting a serious case of five o'clock shadow! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
A lesser "teens on the loose" farce, Breaking All the Rules is set in a Canadian amusement park. The main characters are park worker Carl Marotte and his pal Thor Bishopic, who fancy themselves God's gift to women. The boys manage to impress the impressionable Carolyn Dunn and Rachel Hayward, especially after winning a stuffed toy at one of the booths. Since there has to be a plot somewhere, the toy contains a valuable diamond, stolen by three humorless crooks. The ensuing chase whisks our protagonists into a break-dancing contest, where the storyline is resolved in laff-riot fashion. Though four writers are credited for the screenplay of Breaking All the Rules, one gets the impression that it was being improvised as it went along. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carl Marotte, Thor Bishopric, (more)
In this crime drama, a girl launches her own investigation after the police fail to learn the identity of a local serial killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
