Ethan Embry Movies
Born June 13, 1978, Ethan Embry grew up to be one of the few child stars to make a reasonably successful transition to adult (or at least young adult) roles. Beginning with his starring role in the ill-fated John Hughes vehicle Dutch (1991), in which he co-starred with Ed O'Neill, Embry went on to find steady work throughout the 1990s, maturing from child actor to drool material for teenage girls everywhere.Following Dutch (in which he was credited as Ethan Randall), Embry had a minor role in the Albert Brooks comedy Defending Your Life (1991), and then in the same year starred in All I Want For Christmas with Leslie Neilsen. His next substantial role was in the 1993 teen adventure film A Far-Off Place, in which he starred with Reese Witherspoon. The film met with lukewarm response, which was best summed up by Empire Magazine with the statement "Potential date-movie for environmentally aware thirteen year-olds." Embry's subsequent film, Empire Records (1995), met with a similarly negative reception, although it did attain a certain cult status among hormonally-aware teenage girls.
After Empire, Embry was involved in two high profile projects, Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do and Ridley Scott's White Squall (both 1996). Neither film did particularly well, although the latter allowed Embry to appear with a virtual Who's Who line-up of up-and-coming male actors including Ryan Phillippe and Scott Wolf. Next up was Vegas Vacation (1997), the latest in the National Lampoon odessey, followed by Montana (1998) and two teen invasion showcases, Can't Hardly Wait, with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Disturbing Behavior (both 1998).
~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Small-town America is the key setting for this tale of four West Texas high-school pals who vowed to leave their tiny town after graduation and head for L.A. Keller (Breckin Meyer) is ready to walk, but his goals are formless. Wealthy Terrell Lee Lusk (Peter Facinelli) knows his parents (Patricia Wettig, Michael O'Neill) want him to work in their family oil business. Squirrel (Ethan Embry), who lives with his alcoholic father in a rundown trailer, should find escape easy, but he finds reasons to stay, as does John Hemphill (Eddie Mills), a young man more suited for life as a rancher. Leaving was something the quartet dreamed about since age 11, but the actual departure requires ripping up some roots. Will they do it? Director Tim McCanlies shot this film in 25 days at Fort Davis, Texas. Shown at the 1998 South by Southwest Film Festival (Austin, Texas). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, (more)
This is the fourth in a series of movies that began with National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983 and feature the family headed by Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) going on wacky vacations. This time, the Griswolds visit Las Vegas. Clark immediately goes to the blackjack table and starts blowing all his money, continually encouraged to spend more and more by a taunting dealer, Marty (Wallace Shawn). Ellen Griswold (Beverly D'Angelo) becomes smitten with the lounge singer Wayne Newton (playing himself), who invites her to sing onstage with him. Their son Rusty (Ethan Embry) is incredibly lucky playing dice, and he is virtually adopted by a family of gangsters who see him as their meal ticket. Daughter Audrey (Marisol Nichols) gets hooked up with her wild cousin Vickie (Shae D'Lyn), who takes her to sleazy dance clubs. White-trash cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), who lives on a former A-bomb test site in the nearby desert, also gets involved with the capers. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
Based on a true incident from 1960, White Squall is the story of the tragic sinking of the Albatross, a prep school educational two-masted schooner, during a Caribbean storm. Screenwriter Todd Robinson wrote the script after meeting one of the tragedy's survivors, Chuck Gieg. In the film, Gieg (Scott Wolf) is the narrator. He and his fellow students, whose parents have paid handsomely for their schooling, which combines classroom work with real-life adventure, are introduced to their grizzled seafaring captain, Christopher Sheldon (Jeff Bridges). Gieg is initially skeptical of Sheldon's authority, but he gradually comes to see the captain as a model of manhood. The other boys aboard include Frank Beaumont (Jeremy Sisto), a self-absorbed snob; Dean Preston (Eric Michael Cole), a troublemaker and bully; Tod Johnston (Balthazar Getty), a returning student; and the naïve Tracy Lapchick (Ethan Embry). John Savage plays the pompous English teacher aboard the ship. Various incidents establish the boys' insecurities and relationships with the authorities -- and foreshadow their eventual fate. The killer squall comes up quietly but soon turns deadly, and the boys are forced to go beyond their privileged upbringings and deal with real danger. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, (more)
Tom Hanks made his directorial debut in this bright comedy set in the mid-1960's about a rock group and their brief fling with fame. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) works as a salesman at his father's appliance store and plays the drums in his spare time, fancying himself a jazz musician. One day, a buddy of Guy's tells him a local rock band, The One-Ders (it's pronounced "wonders"), are in need of a drummer -- they have Battle of the Bands coming up and their usual timekeeper has broken his arm. Guy agrees to sit in, but when it's time to play their best original, a love ballad called "That Thing You Do," Guy lays in a sharp, driving beat that turns the tune into an uptempo pop-rocker. Lead singer Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) isn't happy at first, but guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) and the nameless Bass Player (Ethan Embry) think the song sounds better that way -- and they notice the girls like it just fine. Soon people are actually requesting the song at their shows, and the One-Ders scrape together some money to press a single of "That Thing You Do" to sell between sets. A DJ puts the song on the radio, and opportunity knocks in the form of Mr. White (Tom Hanks), who works for the very major Play-Tone Records label. Play-Tone buys the rights to "That Thing You Do" and puts the band on the road as their song makes it way to the top of the national charts. But what can The Wonders (as Play-Tone have re-named them) do for an encore? And what should Guy do about his infatuation with Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye (Liv Tyler)? Real-life 60's obsessed rocker Chris Isaak has a small part as a recording engineer, and fans of real 60's garage bands will appreciate the wealth of small, accurately observed details (for example, halfway through the film, when a few "That Thing You Do" royalty checks have presumably kicked in, the band's inexpensive Danelectro guitars disappear and the Wonders are suddenly playing on brand new Fender gear -- the height of rock style in 1965). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, (more)
A teenager wins an interactive robot that plays shooting games. Soon it starts loading with real ammo and hunting down other kids. This film is a stupid thriller but still manages to be occasionally fun. ~ Sean D. MacLaggan, All Movie Guide
