Johnathon Schaech Movies
Tall, dark, and very handsome, Johnathon Schaech has all of the physical attributes one would expect of a leading man. Despite his appearance, however, Schaech has eluded true stardom, appearing in films that allow him to showcase his talent without providing the opportunity for the actor to make a solid splash in the mainstream.Born in Edgewood, MD, in 1969, Schaech was a model before being cast in his first role, in a 1993 film called The Webbers. Co-starring David Arquette and Jennifer Tilly, the film was mired in obscurity, much like Schaech's next effort, Franco Zefferelli's Storia Di Una Capinera or Sparrows (1993). It was director Gregg Araki who gave Schaech his first real break, when he cast him as a dangerous, perpetually aroused drifter in his 1995 film The Doom Generation. Ecstatically bad-mannered and filled with an abundance of sex, violence, and severed heads, the film became something of a cult classic and gave Schaech a limited dose of fame. The scope of his fame was widened a little bit with his next significant picture, How to Make an American Quilt (1995). As one of the token Y-chromosome bearers in a virtually all-female cast, Schaech made a favorable impression with many filmgoers in his role as Winona Ryder's lifeguard suitor. His notices were favorable enough to get him a leading part in Tom Hanks' 1996 film That Thing You Do! and the title role of the made-for-cable Houdini (1998). Along with these relative successes came the requisite flops, among them 1997's Welcome to Woop Woop, which featured a memorably bizarre title and little else, and Hush (1998), in which Schaech played the son of a completely crackers Jessica Lange. In 1999, Schaech had another shot at cult stardom when he again collaborated with Araki on Splendor, which had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. The same year, he was also cast in the Jennifer Love Hewitt series, Fox's The Time of Your Life. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Horror veteran Tobe Hooper brings another one of Stephen King's haunted car tales with From a Buick 8, the story of a man whose tragic loss of his father during the line of duty leads him to a mysterious Buick that might be the doorway to another dimension. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Heather Locklear and Johnathon Schaech star in this screen adaptation of the Nora Roberts novel concerning a withdrawn young woman who is forced to reconnect with the human race after her car fails in the town of Angel's Fist. The only problem is that by seeking the help of others, she may put her own life in danger once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Locklear, Johnathon Schaech, (more)
- 2007
Mexican screen legend Angelica Maria returns to the silver screen for the first time in twenty years to star alongside Brazilian star Sonia Braga in this magic realism style film that eschews the cynicism and violence so common in 21st Century cinema to explore the mysteries and wonders of human relationships. Convinced that she shares a powerful connection with the sea, a beautiful woman defies everyone around her and soon discovers that, in a world where myths are reality and truth imaginary, sometimes humans can connect with nature in the most remarkable ways. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Sendi Bar, (more)
- 2007
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A man who makes a horrifying discovery about the founding fathers of America must protect his family from the murderous loyalist determined to safeguard the volatile secret at all costs in director Peter Medak's adaptation of a short story by author Bentley Little. Soon after his grandfather's funeral, Mike (Johnathon Schaech) unearths an artifact that paints the first president of the United States in a troubling new light. According to Mike's discovery, George Washington was a ravenous cannibal, and his flesh-eating legacy lives on to this very day. Now, as a loyal band of Washingtonians is determined to ensure that they remain well fed, and their secret never gets out. Of course, the best way to do this is by consuming Mike and his family, but this is one feast that the Washingtonians are going to have to fight for. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Saul Rubinek, (more)
Author James Patterson's critically acclaimed best-seller about love and loss comes to the screen in this affecting drama starring Emmy award-winning actress Christina Applegate. Kate Wilkinson (Kathleen Rose Perkins) is a New York book editor who has it all - everything except for love, that is. When Kate meets handsome writer Matt Harrison (Johnathon Scaech) it seems as if all of her dreams in life have been answered. Just as it appears their relationship is reaching that critical point of commitment, however, Matt suddenly and abruptly ends their passionate affair without explanation. At first devastated by her heart-breaking loss, Kate soon receives a package from Matt containing the diary of his late wife Suzanne (Applegate). In the diary, Suzanne details the Martha's Vineyard romance shared between a young housepainter who dreams of becoming a writer, and a female doctor who yearns to experience the joys of motherhood despite her heart-scarred past. As the tragic story of Matt's first love plays out right before Kate's teary eyes, the melancholy measure of closure affords a heavy-hearted New York editor an opportunity to reflect on the love that slowly slipped out of her loving embrace. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Applegate, Johnathon Schaech, (more)
Originally filmed under the title Slow Burn, this made-for-TV thriller stars Jennifer Beals as Sloan McBride, a Cher-like rock diva. After 17 years on the top, the fortysomething Sloan is faced with the realization that her popularity is being chipped away by the Britneys of the world. Enter the diva's "biggest fan," Jenny (Keri Lynn Pratt), whose boundless idolatry and flattery earns her a job as Sloan's chief assistant. What at first seems to be a rehash of All About Eve takes on sinister shadings when Jenny's hidden agenda is revealed. It seems that Sloan had been instrumental in ruining the career of Jenny's mother...or at least that is what the revenge-seeking girl believes in her heart of hearts. They Shoot Divas, Don't They? joined the VH1 movie rotation on October 5, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
New England native Vanessa Parise makes her directorial debut with the Italian-American wedding movie Kiss the Bride. Danni Sposato (Amanda Detmer) embarks on her wedding plans aided by her mother, Irena (Talia Shire), and grandmother Julia (Frances Bay). Danni's three sisters return home to Rhode Island for the wedding: oldest Niki (Brooke Langton) is the Hollywood star of a TV show, who brings along her rude boyfriend/manager Marty (Johnny Whitworth); icy Chrissy (played by director Parise) is a wealthy New York City businesswoman with no romantic prospects; and youngest Toni (Monet Mazur) drives a motorcycle and brings along her girlfriend Amy (Alyssa Milano). Also starring Burt Young and Sean Patrick Flanery. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda Detmer, Sean Patrick Flanery, (more)
David Snedeker directs this nutty indie flick about a couple of wacky neurotic 20-something New Yorkers. After Gen-X loser Parker Concord (Jonathan Schaech) accidentally burns down his own apartment, he crashes at the pad of his womanizing buddy Jack, who lives by the credo that "New York is a dessert tray of beautiful women." Not unlike Jack Tripper in Three's Company, Parker is forced to hide his heterosexuality in order to get a really cool apartment with comely young female Sam (Alison Eastwood), who only rents to gay men. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Gabrielle Anwar, (more)
In this suspense thriller, Rachel (Natasha Henstridge) is a young woman who works in a museum by day and indulges her passion for birds in her spare time. She finds herself drawn into a new world of danger when she falls in love with a handsome man (Jonathan Schaech) who is involved in a plot to assassinate South African president Nelson Mandela. She's able to foil the murderer's plans, but the would-be killer manages to escape, assume a new identity, and work out a new plan to kill her along with Mandela. Rachel must now uncover her old lover's new identity and lead him to the police before it's too late for herself and the others on his hit list. Lauren Hutton and David McIlwraith co-star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Henstridge, Johnathon Schaech, (more)
- 1993
It is the 19th century in Italy, and Maria (Angela Bettis) has joined a convent in order to explore her strong feeling that she has a calling to become a nun. She has adapted to live at the convent quite nicely, and is relatively untroubled, but a cholera outbreak sends her back to be with her family for a while, near the steaming peak of Mount Etna. She enjoys her freedom to move around the countryside, and is wooed (unsuccessfully, it seems) by a charming young man named Nico, but returns to the convent when the danger is past. There, she is troubled by the thought that she truly loved Nico, and that her calling may not be as firm as she thought. When she learns that Nico has married her sister, she nearly goes mad with self-recrimination, but eventually weathers the storm. All the dialog in this Italian-made film by Franco Zeffirelli is in English. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Bettis, Johnathon Schaech, (more)
Jay Hernandez, Jennifer Carpenter, and Johnathon Schaech star in this remake of Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza's successful, Spanish-language horror film [REC], which follows a television reporter and her cameraman as they fall under a mysterious quarantine issued on an inner-city apartment building. Television reporter Angela Vidal (Carpenter) and her trusty cameraman (Steve Harris) were documenting a night in the life of a Los Angeles fire station crew when the firefighters were summoned to a nearby apartment building to answer a routine 911 call. Upon arriving at the scene, Angela and company discover that police have already arrived to investigate the blood-curdling screams ringing out from one of the apartments. One of the women living in the building has been infected with something terrible, but what? When a few of the other residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape and discover that the CDC has quarantined the building. The officials in charge won't relay any information to those trapped inside the building, and it's impossible to seek information from the outside since telephone, Internet, television, and cell-phone access have all been cut off. By the time the quarantine is lifted, the intrepid cameraman's chilling footage provides the only evidence of the horrors that unfolded on that terrible night. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, (more)
Mankind faces extinction at the hands of the ultimate biological weapon in this thriller starring Johnathon Schaech (The Doom Generation) and Erica Leerhsen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). His whole life, Frank Sears (Schaech) has wondered about the mysterious scars covering his body. Now, those scars have led him to discover a derelict Army base housing a highly classified Cold War experiment. When the Organizm is awakened and unleashed into the outside world, it begins absorbing light and energy while growing at an astonish rate. Can Army hazmat specialist Carrie Freeborn (Leerhsen) help Sears to stop this diabolical entity from annihilating the entire human race? With only a few hours to unlock the Organizm's complex genetic code before it becomes unstoppable, the pair must race to figure out the mysteries of the military's best-kept secret. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Erica Leerhsen, (more)
Four friends are swept up in a treacherous game of intrigue and betrayal during a Monday night poker game gone terribly awry. Every Monday night, Aaron Tyler (Johnathon Schaech) and his friends get together for a friendly game of poker. They've had the same routine for years, and it's always been a low-key affair. But tonight's game of poker will be anything but routine, because after accidentally killing a burglar who was sneaking into Aaron's house, the boys attempt to cover up the crime by quietly disposing of the corpse. When the dirty deed is done, the friends take a pledge of silence, agreeing to take the secret to their graves. But someone else knows exactly what they've done, and as the murderous game of revenge gets underway, the friends realize that their horror has just begun. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Judy Reyes, (more)
Two brothers are victimized by a weak and jealous man in this drama shot on location in Louisiana. Beaux Dupuis (Jonathan Schaech) lives on a houseboat with his brother Pemon (Fred Koehler) in the swamps of Cajun country. Beaux is a handsome and responsible man who supports his family by running a bait shop and looks after Pemon, who is mentally handicapped. Beaux used to love Mary-Louise (Tamara Braun), a dark-eyed beauty, but she's recently married local ne'er do well Carl Lebauve (Jeremy Davidson), who has a mean streak and a jealous nature. As it happens, Carl has reason to suspect Mary-Louise -- she still stops by the Dupuis home occasionally to bring snacks for Pemon, and is sometimes tempted into infidelity by Beaux. Carl's father is the local sheriff, and when he's killed in the line of duty, his son takes his place; it isn't long before Carl learns Mary-Louise has been having an affair with Beaux, and he uses his new authority to put Pemon behind bars on false change as a way of punishing his big brother. Little Chenier was directed by actress and filmmaker Bethany Ashton Wolf, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jace Johnson, whose short story provided the basis for the story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Fred Koehler, (more)
A group of malicious drug runners are attempting to take over the Black Pelican roadhouse, and it's up to the owner's nephew to beat down the bad guys and keep the club in the family in director Scott Ziehl's sequel to the 1989 Patrick Swayze cult classic. When undercover DEA agent Shane (Johnathon Schaech) learns that his uncle Nate has been brutally assaulted by thugs in a violent attempt to muscle away ownership of the battered bar owner's lucrative watering hole, he hastily comes to his uncle's rescue while attempting to locate the powerful drug lord who authorized the attack. Now, as an endless barrage of drug runners descends upon the Black Pelican with every intention of using brute force to claim the place as their own, it's up to Shane to take on the toughest fighters in the underworld save his uncle's bar the only way that he knows how. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Jake Busey, (more)
An extortionist threatens to derail the career of a prominent politician by revealing visual proof of his lurid sex life in this sequel to Joel Schumacher's disturbing 1999 hit. In the world of politics David Huxley (Johnathon Schaech) is on the move. A crafty political visionary with lofty goals and an eye towards the future, Huxley's only Achilles heel is the sexual obsession that drives him into some of the city's seediest sex clubs. An unnamed extortionist has captured Huxley and his fiancée Tish (Lori Heuring) in a kinky three-way with an attractive young model (Zita Görög), and the high price he puts on the photographic proof send his target reeling. When the blackmail attempt takes a dark turn and Huxley is kidnapped, his fiancée must come up with $5 million in ransom or risk losing both her future husband, and her life as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnathon Schaech, Lori Heuring, (more)
Former South Park writer and Win Ben Stein's Money sidekick Nancy Pimental makes her feature screenwriting debut with this relationship comedy. Cameron Diaz stars as Christina Walters, a jaded, club-hopping single woman in San Francisco who has given up trying to find the perfect mate to focus on "Mr. Right Now." Her equally cynical friend, Courtney (Christina Applegate), a divorce attorney, shares much the same attitude, while their pal, Jane (Selma Blair), is more starry-eyed and naïve. Christina's attitude gets an unexpected makeover one evening at a nightclub when she meets Peter Donahue (Thomas Jane), a real estate agent she finds adorable and just about perfect. Unfortunately, Peter leaves and all Christina knows about him is that his brother, Roger (Jason Bateman), is getting married soon in their small hometown. Recognizing her friend's romantic distress, Courtney suggests they road trip to the wedding and Christina agrees, leading to encounters with a series of obstacles, including some funky leftovers, a filthy service station restroom, and a rather unpleasant revelation once the women arrive at the nuptials. The Sweetest Thing co-stars Parker Posey. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, (more)
An aging hipster finds that there may be more to life than good looks and fast cars in this introspective comedy from first-time director Danny Comden. Twenty-something Los Angeles womanizer Sol Goode (Balthazar Getty) has been gliding through life thanks to solid genes and a quick wit, but when his car is trashed and the shadow of eviction forces him to consider getting a real job, he slowly begins to realize that some soul searching is in order. Eschewing his unfulfilling ways in a bid to find true happiness, Sol finds himself increasingly attracted to his best friend Chloe (Katharine Towne), who is all too aware of Sol's loose interpretation of the word "relationship." Will Sol ever be able to convince Chloe that he has truly changed and his feeling for her are genuine, or will his past remain a roadblock to the only means of happiness he knows? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Balthazar Getty, Katharine Towne, (more)
Genre writer/director J.S. Cardone crafts his own history of the vampire legend in this teen horror outing that takes place primarily in desert locations, à la Near Dark (1987) and Vampires (1998). Sean (Kerr Smith) is traveling across the desert to attend his sister's wedding when he picks up an unusual hitchhiker, Nick (Brendan Fehr). A vampire hunter, Nick soon has Sean embroiled in a battle between himself and a band of the undead creatures led by Kit (Johnathon Schaech). Caught in the middle of the supernatural shenanigans with Sean is Megan (Izabella Miko), who had been nearly turned into a vampire herself by Kit and his followers. Sean and Megan develop a romantic attachment, which encounters a further obstacle when Sean is infected with the vampire virus; only Kit's death can prevent Sean from permanently becoming one of the nosferatu. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, (more)
- 2000
- R
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Somewhere in L.A., Peter (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up British playwright, struggles to duplicate his past glory as he surfs a foul-smelling tide of disenchantment. His wife, Melanie (Robin Wright Penn), manages to maintain an optimistic outlook even as she longs for the baby that her husband is hesitant to help her conceive. When Peter befriends Amy (Suzi Hofrichter), a neighborhood girl who has mild cerebral palsy, their friendship softens him to the idea of fatherhood and propels Melanie's maternal yearnings into hyperdrive. As if baby fever weren't enough, Peter is plagued by a seemingly benevolent stalker (Jared Harris), his neighbors' incessantly noisy dog, and the flighty cast and crew of his latest play. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Jared Harris, (more)
A group of high school friends converge for their 10 year reunion, to re-experience the violence and sexual intertwinings of their youths. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Applegate, Molly Ringwald, (more)
A struggling actress forges an unusual family unit with two separate boyfriends in this romantic comedy from indie auteur Gregg Araki. Veronica (Kathleen Robertson) hasn't had a decent date for a year, but one Halloween she meets not one but two perfect guys: Zed (Matt Keeslar), a rock drummer who does her on the floor of a club bathroom after his show, and Abel (Johnathon Schaech), an affable rock critic and would-be novelist, who seems more interested in connecting with her soul than her private parts. Unable to lie to either guy about her attraction to both of them, Veronica soon convinces them to share her. Eventually, the unemployed Zed and the underemployed Abel even move in with her, resulting in kinky sex and domestic bliss. Trouble comes calling, however, in the form of an unplanned pregnancy -- and in the person of Ernest (Eric Mabius), an aptly named TV director, who gives Veronica her big break and the chance to play house and raise her child in a monied, more normal environment. Its soundtrack filled with the director's trademarked mixture of shoegazer drone and electronic bliss, Splendor premiered at Sundance in 1999. Araki's first outing after the completion of his "Teen Apocalypse Trilogy," the film reunited him with two actors who had appeared in that series: Schaech (The Doom Generation) and Robertson (Nowhere). Both of those earlier characters participated in unorthodox romantic tableaux similar to the one documented in Splendor. Robertson, in fact, would return to the world of the ménage à trois with 2002's XX/XY. Offscreen, the actress raised eyebrows after beginning a romance with her openly gay director. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Robertson, Johnathon Schaech, (more)
- 1997
- R
In part, filmmaker Stephan Elliott (best known for The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert) made this black, surrealistic and subversive comedy to bid farewell to Australian cultural traditions (i.e. excessive beer drinking, racism and sexism) that are rapidly disappearing due to the increasing infiltration of urban sophistication and political correctness into even the county's most remote regions. Unfortunately, Elliot's outrageous tribute to past 'traditions' is presented with such vulgar abandon that many Australians are sure to be offended, not tickled, even though Elliot did try to tone down the mean spirit of the original script which was first titled 'Big Red.' The story centers on Teddy, a fugitive con-artist who has fled New York and gone into the Australian outback. His troubles begin when he is picked up at a lonely gas station by the blonde and brassy Angie who quickly seduces him and then knocks him out cold. Teddy awakens to find himself in the dusty town of Woop Woop. Surrounded by steep cliffs, the town, which was built near a now-defunct asbestos mine, is ruled by Angie's father Daddy-O, who is as much a warden as he is a local leader, deciding when and who will enter and leave Woop Woop. A weird place that is supported by a kangaroo-meat dog-food factory, it is populated by beer-swilling rednecks, crude eccentrics (and a giant kangaroo named Big Red) who find endless entertainment listening to Oscar & Hammerstein musicals (the town's ramshackle drive-in runs The Sound of Music and South Pacific continuously). Teddy quickly discovers that he is in effect the burg's newest prisoner and is expected to constantly service the sexually insatiable Angie. Not willing to remain a captive, Teddy begins planning his escape. The story's surrealism comes from Elliot's deliberately inappropriate use of musical numbers to punctuate events. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
