J.B. Rogers Movies
This made-for-cable biopic recounts the incredible career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who after a hardscrabble childhood in Austria came to America in the pursuit of the three goals: to be a champion bodybuilder, a popular film actor, and a mover and shaker in the world of politics. It goes without saying that he succeeds in all three endeavors -- spectacularly so -- and, as a bonus, enjoys a happy and enduring marriage to Maria Shriver, one of the many well-publicized offshoots of the influential Kennedy family (who, ironically, are Schwarzenegger's political polar opposites). The film parallels Schwarzenegger's dizzying campaign for the governor's office in California with his strenuous efforts to be chosen as "Mr. Olympia" some three decades earlier. Jürgen Prochnow stars as the Arnold Schwarzenegger of 2003, Roland Kickinger is seen as the younger Schwarzenegger, and Mariel Hemingway is cast as Maria Shriver. While the film doesn't really take sides, it is entertaining and good-humored enough to please both fans and detractors of Schwarzenegger alike. Based on the book by Nigel Andrews, See Arnold Run ran on the A&E Network on January 30, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jürgen Prochnow, Roland Kickinger, (more)
Bobby Farrelly and brother Peter Farrelly continue exploring outrageous premises with this comedy directed by their first assistant director J.B. Rogers. In this wacky spin on the boy-meets-girl tale, Gilly Noble (Chris Klein) enters a sexually charged, passionate love affair with girl of his dreams Jo Wingfield (Heather Graham). After a happy time together, they soon realize that they are brother and sister and quickly break it off. Jo begins a new life elsewhere and Gilly is left heartbroken -- until he learns that Jo is not actually his sister; the incest suggestion was in fact a lie begun by a meddlesome third party. As Gilly travels to meet up with his beloved, he finds out that Jo is engaged to be married to another man; he must put a stop to it, even while everyone still believes he is Jo's sibling and is committing an unnatural act. Say It Isn't So also features Sally Field, Orlando Jones, and Farrelly stalwarts Richard Jenkins and Lin Shaye. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Klein, Heather Graham, (more)
The horny teen heroes of American Pie (1999) return for further raunchy antics in this comedy sequel written by the first film's creator, Adam Herz. Returning home following their freshman year of college, old friends Jim (Jason Biggs), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Oz (Chris Klein), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Stifler (Seann William Scott) rent a summer house on Lake Michigan where they hope to score romantically. However, complications ensue due to Jim's relative lack of experience, requiring an interlude with a fellow student and a visit to his old friend Michelle (Alyson Hanigan), who's now a band camp counselor, all in preparation for the return of Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). In the meantime, Oz is separated from Heather (Mena Suvari) by a trip abroad, Finch has another encounter with Stifler's mom (Jennifer Coolidge), and Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) is as clueless as ever about his son's love life. Director J.B. Rogers served as first assistant director on the first film and made his directorial debut with Say It Isn't So (2001). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, (more)
It's said that most American men think about sex once every two or three minutes, but this statistic would seriously underestimate the horniness of Jim (Jason Biggs), a high school senior in suburban Michigan. Jim is thoroughly obsessed with sex, a fact of which his parents become aware when they discover him performing the sin of Onan with a gym sock while watching scrambled pay-per-view porn. Jim's buddies Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Oz (Chris Klein) are no less anxious to relieve themselves of their virginity, so they all make a pledge: they will go to bed with a woman in the three weeks before senior prom or die trying. Kevin appears to have the advantage, since he already has a girlfriend, Vicky (Tara Reid), but before he ventures into the Final Frontier, Kevin is urged to consult "The Bible," a hand-written how-to manual possessing erotic wisdom passed down through the ages. Oz is a good-looking jock who is actually a nice guy -- which is part of the problem, since he has his heart set on a nice girl, Heather (Mena Suvari), who does not seem the type to leap into bed within 21 days. Finch has no immediate prospects, though Jessica (Natasha Lyonne) is in a position to know if those rumors about him are true. And Jim is a truly hopeless case -- after his attempted seduction of beautiful Czech exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) turns out to be a disaster, he ends up going to the prom with Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), an annoyingly chatty band geek who does, however, have a fascinating story about a flute. American Pie was the directorial debut of Paul Weitz, who, along with his brother Chris Weitz (who served as producer), previously wrote several screenplays, including Antz and Madeline (where they presumably worked all their wholesome ideas out of their system). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, (more)
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play the title roles (though viewers may find themselves debating which is which) in this genially low-brow comedy. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are two intellectually-challenged best friends who share an apartment so messy that gangsters aren't sure how to trash the place; the guys also have a certain problem (not difficult to understand) holding on to jobs. Lloyd is working as a limo driver in Rhode Island when he picks up a beautiful and wealthy woman named Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) who is being taken to the airport. Lloyd immediately falls head over heels in love with Mary, and when she leaves a briefcase at the airport, he's determined to return it in hopes of impressing her. Lloyd isn't able to get aboard Mary's flight (though not for lack of trying). Harry has a van decorated to look like a dog (to promote his failing dog-grooming business), and the pair hop in the Poochmobile to find Mary in Aspen. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the briefcase is full of money, which Mary deliberately left at the airport as a ransom payment to save the life of her kidnapped husband. Incidentally, Lloyd's chipped front tooth happens to be real; while Jim Carrey had the injured tooth capped many years ago, he thought a broken smile would suit Lloyd's character and had the cap removed for the duration of filming. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, (more)
This youth-oriented martial arts comedy concerns three children (Colt, Rocky, and Tum Tum) who are instructed in the art of ninjitsu by their grandfather, Ninja Master Mori (Victor Wong). Another of Mori's former pupils grew up to be notorious underworld figure Hugo Snyder (Rand Kingsley), who -- attempting to get the boys' FBI agent dad off his back -- orders the young ninjas kidnapped. In usual Disney fashion, the chopsocky children turn the tables on their inept kidnappers, but get in bigger trouble when a group of ninjas keeps them prisoner in the hold of a ship. Action-packed, but not overly violent, 3 Ninjas is a lot of fun for kids and its success at the box-office led to two sequels. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Wong, Michael Treanor, (more)
- 1991
Roger Corman's Concorde-New Horizons studio rolled out this nutty exploitation hybrid -- a half-baked attempt to fuse a Die Hard action theme (hence the title) to a T&A psycho-horror flick in the hope of producing direct-to-video pay dirt. Viewed on those terms, it almost works. The story begins (here goes) with a group of lovely female employees doing late-night inventory in the basement of the Acme Lingerie Company. After having the pants scared off them (nearly, anyway) by the creepy janitor and getting conveniently drenched by the sprinkler system, they move upstairs to take long showers and change into the company stock. The horror portion of the plot kicks in when they inadvertently open an unmarked package, releasing a malevolent ghost which possesses one of the girls. A convenient twist reveals a crate of weapons, leading to a hot-lead showdown with the demonic cutie. Long-time Corman pal Jim Wynorski applies some comic flair, including his usual references to different Corman projects, for which this film must set some kind of record. Look for Famous Monsters creator Forrest J. Ackerman in a wacky cameo. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
