P.J. Hogan Movies
Australian director and screenwriter P.J. Hogan spent the 1990s virtually putting his trademark on black comedies revolving around marriage-obsessed young women. Hogan had his breakthrough with 1994's Muriel's Wedding, a film of the aforementioned nature that proved to be an international sleeper hit.Before the film's success, the director, who graduated from the Australian Film and Television School, spent much of the 1980s toiling in relative obscurity and poverty. He did find a bit of early success as the director, writer, and editor of the 1984 short Getting Wet, which won two Australian Film Institute awards. In 1991, Hogan served as the second unit director and script editor on wife Jocelyn Moorhouse's acclaimed Proof; two years later, with virtually no payment, he wrote and directed Muriel's Wedding. The great success of the film, which also helped to launch the careers of actresses Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths, afforded its director recognition on both sides of the Pacific.
Just how much recognition was evident when Hogan was tapped to direct the Julia Roberts vehicle My Best Friend's Wedding. Like Muriel's Wedding before it, the 1997 film was a black comedy revolving around its heroine's matrimony-inspired borderline insanity, and it proved to be one of the most popular films of the year. In addition to further securing Hogan's reputation, it made a star out of Rupert Everett (who stole the film as Julia Roberts' gay confidante) and marked the triumphant return of Roberts to the romantic comedy genre. Hogan and Everett re-teamed in 2000 for another romantic comedy, Unconditional Love, which cast the actor as the lover of a murdered pop star (Jonathan Pryce) who joins forces with an American woman (Kathy Bates) to solve the star's murder. The film featured a script written by Hogan and wife Moorhouse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
A Manhattan shopaholic (Isla Fisher) whose buying sprees have buried her in immense debt lands a columnist gig dishing out financial advice in this Touchstone comedy based on Sophie Kinsella's series of books. P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding) directs, with producing duties being handled by Jerry Bruckheimer. Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher) can't seem to break her habit for making impulsive purchases, and while she's always decked out in the latest styles, her credit card bills are as thick as a telephone book. If Rebecca could somehow manage to land her dream job at a high-profile fashion magazine, perhaps she could transform what is now a simple addiction into something that could really benefit her professionally. When Rebecca becomes an advice columnist at a financial magazine published by the same company as her favorite fashion magazine, her fresh approach strikes a chord with readers and she quickly becomes the toast of the town. Meanwhile, her bank account is still bone dry, wreaking havoc on her love life and placing her career in jeopardy. As Rebecca teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, she gradually begins to reassess her priorities in life. Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Hugh Dancy, and Krysten Ritter co-star in the Touchstone Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, (more)
The executive producers of High School Musical keep the good times rolling with this upbeat musical comedy set in the one place every American teenager's home away from home - the local shopping mall. Ally (Nina Dobrev) is an optimistic adolescent singer/songwriter whose hard working mother owns the mall music shop frequented by every teen in town. When Ally shares her music with Joey (Rob Mayes), a janitor in the mall who harbors rock star ambitions, she is thrilled to find someone who can truly relate to her songs as well as her heart. Trouble looms on the horizon, however, in the form of the mall owner's spoiled rotten daughter Madison (Autumn Reeser). Madison is the kind of girl who's used to getting whatever she wants, and what she wants now could prove disastrous for both Ally's ambitions, and her mother's popular music store. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nina Dobrev, Rob Mayes, (more)
Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding) helms this live-action retelling of J.M. Barrie's classic children's play Peter Pan. Starring Jeremy Sumpter (Frailty) in the title role, the film follows the adventures of the Darling children, Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell), and Michael (Freddie Popplewell), as they are visited by the boy who never grows up and whisked away to Neverland, where they encounter The Lost Boys, Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier), and the evil Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs). ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, (more)
What's a middle-aged woman to do when her husband walks out on her and her favorite pop star is murdered by a serial killer? Writer/director P.J. Hogan explores this and many other pressing questions in Unconditional Love, a comic murder-mystery he devised with his wife and co-screenwriter, Jocelyn Moorhouse. Their heroine, Grace Beasly (Kathy Bates), finds her placid Midwestern life turned upside down after she loses both of the aforementioned men in her life: her husband (Dan Aykroyd) and the Tom Jones-like, Welsh singing star Victor Fox (Jonathan Pryce), whom she unabashedly worships. After Fox's death, Grace impetuously flies to England for his funeral. Paying an uninvited visit to his countryside estate, she discovers Dirk Simpson (Rupert Everett), Fox's longtime, secret live-in lover, who's also in a state of shock following the senseless murder. Together, the two team up, traveling back to the Windy City to find the infamous "Crossbow Killer" who took Fox's life. After receiving a fall 2002 release in the U.K., Unconditional Love had its U.S. premiere on the Starz network in August 2003. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, (more)
A woman realizes that friends can be lovers, but now has to convince the friend in question in this romantic comedy. Michael O'Neal (Dermot Mulroney) and Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) were romantically involved in college, and after breaking up, they have managed to remain close friends. For years, Julianne and Michael have had a pledge that if both were single when they turned 28, they would get married. Shortly before her 28th birthday, Julianne is lamenting the sad state of her love life when she gets a call from Michael, who announces that he has important news. Julianne is convinced that Michael is going to ask her to marry him, and she is crestfallen when he announces that he's engaged to Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz). Kimmy seems like the perfect woman for Michael; she's sweet, pretty, bright, and adores Michael, and her wealthy family is just as fond of him as she is. But now that Julianne has realized how much she loves Michael, she's not about to give him up without a fight -- and isn't afraid to fight dirty. Julianne's uneasy ally in the battle for Michael's affections is her friend and editor George Downes (Rupert Everett), a cheerfully out-of-the-closet homosexual who is not prepared when Julianne asks him to pose as her boyfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, (more)
A socially inept young woman slowly learns to overcome her insecurities in this sleeper hit from Australia. The unconventional Muriel (Toni Collette) is deeply unsatisfied with her life, stuck in the nowhere town of Porpoise Spit and feeling rejected by her friends and family. Believing herself unattractive and worthless, she seeks meager solace in ABBA songs and fantasies of gorgeous weddings, with herself as the bride. Muriel's life takes a turn for the better, however, when she befriends the carefree Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), who encourages her to take control of her life. Together, the two women travel to Sydney, where a series of liberating experiences help Muriel develop self-esteem and take the first steps towards maturity. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, (more)
