Rachael Leigh Cook Movies

An ambitious young woman (Jessica Simpson) attempting to navigate her way through the cutthroat corporate world becomes the unwitting pawn of two unscrupulous executives seeking to topple and replace the powerful head of an international conglomerate. Penelope Ann Miller, Luke Wilson, Andy Dick, Rachel Leigh Cook, and Jamie Kennedy co-star in director Scott Marshall's loose remake of the Mike Nichols' 1988 comedy Working Girl. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the sprawling six-part, 12-hour TV miniseries Into the West covers 65 years of American history, from the first major migration westward in the mid-1820s to the massacre at Wounded Knee in the early 1890s. The story is largely seen through the eyes of two protagonists (and their families): Jacob Wheeler (Matthew Settle), a wheelwright who leaves his Virginia hometown and his family's business in 1827 to seek his destiny in the company of legendary mountain man Jedediah Smith (Josh Brolin); and Loved by the Buffalo (George Leach), a Lakota Sioux holy man who spends a lifetime seeking the answers to his profound and disturbing images about the future of his country -- and his people. Eschewing the usual "old-age makeup" route often pursued in epic tales of this nature, the main characters are played by progressively older actors in the course of the story: for example, Loved by the Buffalo is portrayed by no fewer than four different performers! In a more traditionalist How the West Was Won vein, the miniseries is festooned with major stars, some cast in very brief roles: among these are Josh Brolin, Keri Russell, Matthew Modine, Beau Bridges, Gary Busey, Tom Berenger, and Judge Reinhold. Nor is How the West Was Won the only inspiration for the multi-plotted storyline: other films echoed and emulated throughout the saga include The Iron Horse, The Big Trail, Westward the Women, The Searchers, and Dances With Wolves. As mentioned, the story is divided into six parts: "Wheel to the Stars," in which the fates of Jacob Wheeler and Loved by the Buffalo become forever intertwined; "Manifest Destiny," chronicling the first major trek to California; "Dreams & Schemes," wherein the Lakota lands are despoiled by Gold Fever and war breaks out between the North and South; "Hell on Wheels," chronicling the postwar chaos and the coming of the railroad; "Casualties of War," wherein the conflict between Native Americans and the white man results in wholesale bloodshed -- and, surprisingly, a "counter-revolution" of compassion and understanding; and "Ghost Dance," the last great stand of the Lakota, which brings the story full circle. Largely filmed in the Canadian Rockies over a six-month period, and utilizing the talents of six directors, Into the West premiered June 10, 2005, on the TNT cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sophomore outing for Mark Illsley, the writer and director of 1999's Happy Texas, Bookies is a return to the crime comedy genre of the filmmaker's first project. Starring Nick Stahl, Lukas Haas, and Johnny Galecki as college buddies Toby, Casey, and Jude, the film begins with the trio upset over a substantial gambling loss. After paying up, they decide that they are on the wrong side of the transaction and concoct a plan to become bookies themselves. Working in the shadows so as not to let on that they are anything but professionals, the young entrepreneurs devise a system that involves leaving money in unpopular books at the library where Jude works. Before they know it, the guys are rolling in the dough. Casey buys a bunch of computer equipment, Jude gets himself a drug habit, and Toby uses his newfound wealth to impress Hunter, a fellow student played by Rachael Leigh Cook. But just as fast as things started to go well, they take an unexpected turn. The boys are making so much money that they're cutting into the business of the local mafia. As one might expect, the thugs don't take too kindly to competition. Also starring John Diehl and David Proval, Bookies premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A teenager tries to find his memory in a hospital for the dying in this inspiring if downbeat drama. Barney Snow (Elijah Wood) is a young man suffering from amnesia; while he's able to summon up a few vague and disconnected memories of his past, most of it is extremely foggy at best, and he's somehow found his way into a hospital for terminally ill young people, where two of the doctors on staff (Janeane Garofalo and Roger Rees) try to work with him when they can spare time from their other patients. Barney gets to know some of the other patients at the clinic, including Billy the Kidney (George Gore III) and Mazzo (Joseph Perrino), who is battling cancer but not winning the fight. Barney also meets Mazzo's sister Cassie (Rachel Leigh Cook), who seems to be developing a crush on him. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway received enthusiastic notices for its younger cast when it was screened at France's Deauville Festival of American Cinema in 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Deserted by her no-good mother Angie (Ally Sheedy), Emma Baker (Rachael Lee Cook) has been raised by her grandfather, a tough but compassionate old coal miner named Clayton Hayes (George C. Scott). Now 15 years old, Emma insists upon a reunion with her drink-sodden mom--only to be raped and impregnated by Angie's current lowlife boyfriend Ray Wilcox (Don Diamont). When Clayton goes to court in hopes of adopting Emma's sickly baby, he is thwarted by a misguided legal system that regards Wilcox as a more suitable guardian! Outraged, Clayton steals the baby and embarks upon a lengthy odyssey, with the authorities dogging his trail and a virtual battalion of truck drivers and other "little people" treating the old man as a folk hero. Produced for the CBS network, the made-for-TV Country Justice premiered January 14, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A divorced, alcoholic salesman attempts to pull his life together in time to get his old job back and avoid becoming the laughing stock of the company in this midlife crisis comedy starring Michael Leydon Campbell, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Amy Ryan. As if a failing marriage and a serious bout with the bottle aren't troublesome enough, socially challenged salesman Bob Funk (Leydon Campbell) realizes that his life has really hit the skids when he's fired by his own mother (Grace Zabriskie). Now, in order to rejoin the sales force, Bob will have to take stock of his life and meet his problems head on. When Bob finds himself falling for the very woman his mother has hired in as his replacement, however, the road to recovery starts to get a little bumpy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Love and larceny cross paths in an unexpected way in this direct-to-video thriller. Sarah (Melanie Griffith) is a U.S. expatriate living in Paris, where she makes a good living as a courier on the black market, smuggling for several clients including art collector Walter Shrenger (Malcolm McDowell). She is involved in a May-December romance with American Jack, but he betrays her by falling in love with Jenny (Rachael Leigh Cook), a beautiful American woman who works for an upscale jewelry store and knows how to access their safe. Jack begins an affair Jenny, setting up a dangerous and potentially explosive love triangle between the three; meanwhile, one of Sarah's smuggling jobs goes horribly wrong. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A reporter might have to pay with her life for a big story in this independent crime drama. A small town is gripped with fear when a serial killer with an unusual way of doing his dirty work arrives on the scene. The killer stalks his victims for several days with a video camera before moving in for the kill -- and then sends a copy of the tape to his next victim. Jessie St. Clair (Rachael Leigh Cook) is an ambitious but inexperienced reporter working for a local television station who thinks covering this story could be a stepping stone to bigger things, and Jessie cynically milks the town's fear for all it's worth with the help of producer Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra) and cameraman Rob (Kip Pardue). Jessie is upset to discover she has competition from Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes), who is covering the murders for a popular tabloid television series, but she soon has bigger things to worry about when she receives a video in the mail which indicates she's the killer's next intended target. American Crime was directed by Dan Mintz, who also served as cinematographer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Leonardo Ricagni, director of the 1998 Uruguayan comedy El Chevrolé, helmed this straight-to-video ensemble crime thriller, in which the main character is a bag of money. Initially belonging to a casino on an Indian reservation, The Chief (Russell Means) hires The Hitman (Chris O'Donnell) to track the bag down when it turns up missing. As The Hitman gets closer and closer to finding it, the bag of dough passes through the hands of several other nameless characters, including The Waitress, played by Rachael Leigh Cook, The Drifter, played by Jeremy Davies, and The Sheriff, played by Keith David. Before hitting American video-store shelves in 2003, 29 Palms screened at the München Fantasy Filmfest and the Cologne Fantasy Film Festival, both in Germany. The film should not be confused with the 2004 Bruno Dumont picture of the same name. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A man who has made murder his business is thrown into the underbelly of an unfamiliar criminal world in this thriller. Jack Carter (Sylvester Stallone) is a ruthless hired killer whose bloody career in Los Angeles has driven a wedge between himself and his family in the Northwest. When he learns that his brother has died, he flies back to Seattle, hoping to pay his respects and reconnect with his relatives. At the funeral, his brother's wife, Gloria (Miranda Richardson), and her daughter, Doreen (Rachael Leigh Cook), are wary of Jack's attempts to reach out to them, but when he learns that his brother's death was no accident, Jack forms an uneasy alliance with Doreen to find the killers and deal out his own brand of justice. Get Carter is based on the novel Jack's Return Home by Ted Lewis, which was previously filmed in 1971 with Michael Caine as the gangster seeking revenge. Caine also appears in this remake as Cliff, the boss of Jack's late brother; Mickey Rourke, Alan Cumming, and Gretchen Mol also highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A wealthy young man wants to wed a painfully ordinary girl, and a few hours with his family will convince anyone why he's doing so in this black comedy. Marty Pascal (Josh Hamilton) is engaged to marry Lesly (Tori Spelling), a dizzy blonde he met when she was working at a doughnut shop, and he bravely decides that it's time she met his family, so he brings her along for Thanksgiving dinner at his mother's house in West Virginia. Bravery is necessary because the Pascals are not an especially healthy or wholesome family. Mother (Genevieve Bujold) explains her philosophy about parenting like so: "You raise cattle; children just happen." In this environment, where refusing your child anything is all but unknown, her youngest son Anthony (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) has grown up to be an overanxious virgin eager to seduce Lesly while Marty's not paying attention. And Marty's twin sister Jackie (Parker Posey), malignily obsessed with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, often re-enacts the murder of JFK using spaghetti sauce for blood (when she can't get ahold of real bullets) and enjoys incestuously seducing Marty (which hardly bothers Mother, who notes that "Jackie's hand was holding Marty's penis when they came out the womb"). The House of Yes was based on the play by Wendy MacLeod; first time director Mark S. Waters (brother of screenwriter Daniel Waters) also adapted the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A case of mistaken identity turns a love affair upside down in this romantic comedy, the first English-language feature from French director Laurent Firode. Vanessa (Rachael Leigh Cook) is a young woman who is soon to be married, but as her wedding day approaches, she develops something of a wandering eye when it comes to men. Vanessa begins fantasizing about practically every guy she sees, and is driven to distraction by sexual thoughts. Eager to clear her mind, Vanessa stops by a church and confesses her lustful daydreaming to a priest. However, it turns out Vanessa wasn't really talking to a priest, but a carpenter doing repairs at the church. The carpenter quickly becomes infatuated with the attractive young woman with sex on the brain, and he wonders if she might be looking for a way out of her upcoming marriage. However, he also makes the mistake of telling some of his friends about his dilemma, which starts a wave of gossip about Vanessa and her fiancé. My First Wedding also stars Kenny Doughty and Paul Hopkins. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide