Steve Antin Movies
- 2010
Christina Aguilera makes her dramatic feature-film debut with this Screen Gems musical as a burlesque dancer who finds her dreams in the big city after leaving her small-town roots far behind. Steve Antin directs from a script by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich). ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2006
- R
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In this follow-up to the 2001 thriller The Glass House, young siblings Abby and Ethan are adopted by outwardly perfect parents Eve and Raymond Goode, only to find that that their new guardian's remote mansion is far from the idyllic abode that it initially appears to be. Angie Harmon and Joel Gretsch star in a skin-crawling domestic thriller that was scripted by Brett Merryman and marks the directorial debut of longtime actor Steve Antin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Harmon, Joel Gretsch, (more)
A man learns the hard way that, when it comes to women, three is more than a crowd in this frantic comedy. Tomas Fuentes (Eduardo Verástegui) is a successful advertising man living in Los Angeles who has a way with the ladies. Almost too much of a way, in fact, since he's currently dating three beautiful women in three different cities: Lorena (Roselyn Sanchez), a bright and attractive lawyer living in Chicago; Cici (Sofía Vergara), a cocktail waitress from Miami with a fiery personality; and Patricia (Jaci Velasquez), a New Yorker looking to get out from under the domineering shadow of her mother. As it happens, all three women are fans of noted television astrologer Walter Mercado, and on his advice, they each decide to take a bold step in their relationships and visit Tomas in L.A. Needless to say, the women are enraged to discover Tomas' rather spectacular infidelity, but that turns out to be the least of his problems after a mixture of booze and tranquilizers lands him in the hospital, a pair of crooks (D.L. Hughley and Freddy Rodriguez) kidnap him, and he discovers Cici and Patricia are wanted by the law. Produced under the title Papi Chulo, Chasing Papi was the first feature film from director Linda Mendoza after an extensive resume of credits in television comedy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roselyn Sanchez, Sofía Vergara, (more)
Director Sidney Lumet has remade the 1980 movie by his contemporary, John Cassavetes, casting Sharon Stone in the role of Gloria (portrayed in the original by Cassavetes' wife, Gena Rowlands), a street-toughened woman sliding into middle age. When the neighbors are murdered by a group of mobsters, one of which is a former boyfriend, Gloria takes the couple's seven-year-old son (Jean-Luke Figueroa) on the run. In time, she learns why the boy's parents were killed, and maybe just a little about herself. Sidney Lumet, director of '70s classics Network and Dog Day Afternoon, focuses more on the relationship between Gloria and the boy than did the original. Coincidentally, this would make the film very similar to the Brazilian Central Station, released at virtually the same time. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Stone, Jean-Luke Figueroa, (more)
- 1998
Fresh out of prostate surgery, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) returns to active duty -- only to be sidelined by an accident. The investigation of a murder arising from a love triangle is interrupted when Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) is pulled away to investigate a murder that has taken place in the Brooklyn apartment building that he owns. This brings him back into contact with the troublesome Henry Coffield (Willie Garson) -- who, once again, is a prime suspect. Elsewhere, an immunity agreement may impede justice in a child slaying, and former PAA Naomi (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick) visits the precinct with some good news (for a change). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This romantic comedy is the first film from two television veterans, writer Winnie Holzman and director Scott Winant. Gwen Moss (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is a writer working on the life story of former child actress Francesca Lanfield (Sarah Jessica Parker), who is recovering from drug addiction. Nick Dawkan (Dylan McDermott) is an architect working on a housing development that will require razing Gwen's beloved vintage apartment. Gwen frequently visits a restaurant designed by Nick, but she never meets him. In the meantime, she is romantically rebuffed by a college professor (Ken Olin), who reveals that he is bisexual. Eventually, Gwen's crusade to save the apartment complex, which is owned by Francesca, attracts the attention of Nick. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dylan McDermott, (more)
In this bittersweet comedy drama, a man nearing the end of his life seeks closure with his family and friends, and he confronts the issues of the right to die. Nick Stark (Eric Roberts) is a successful architect who is openly gay. He was involved in a committed relationship with Brandon Theis (Gregory Harrison), a television director, until Nick discovered that he's HIV-positive. Nick's first question to Brandon is "You won't leave me, will you? I don't want to die alone." Brandon, however, doesn't have the emotional strength to deal with Nick's condition and soon moves on. Several years later, even though Nick has been mindful of his health, he begins to display symptoms of full-blown AIDS, most notably the brain lesions that indicate Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy, an AIDS-related illness that has already claimed several of his friends. Wanting to go out with his dignity intact, Nick decides to throw one last party, which will give him the opportunity to say goodbye to his friends and family while he's still lucid -- shortly after which he intends to take his own life with painkillers. Nick attempts to make peace with his mother and father (Lee Grant and George Segal), who had difficulty accepting their son's lifestyle, and he enjoys a last laugh with his close friends, until Brandon -- who is hardly welcomed by the group -- shows up. Appearing as Nick's friends and family are Margaret Cho, Bronson Pinchot, Bruce Davison, Sally Kellerman, Marlee Matlin, Roddy McDowall, and Dennis Christopher. Writer and director Randal Kleiser loosely based It's My Party on his own personal experiences when his longtime companion was diagnosed with AIDS and opted to take his own life before his symptoms became too severe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison, (more)
- 1996
When Simone (Jimmy Smits) and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) reopen a old case in which a man may have wrongly been sent to prison, the detective who originally worked the case isn't too happy. Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) runs against Gotelli (Carmine Caridi) in the union-delegate election. Simone probes further into the murder committed in the building he inherited, and again contends with the resentment of Henry Coffield (Willie Garson). And it looks like Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) has a slight edge over Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in the "battle of the bulge." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Detective Stu Morrissey (Conor O'Farrell) thinks that a father knows more than he's letting on about a missing baby. Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) makes a bet that he can lose more weight than Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) campaigns to be elected the squad's union delegate. Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) has a run-in with Henry (Willie Garson) when a woman is killed outside the building Simone inherited from Henry's aunt. And Bobby and Dianne Russell (Kim Delaney) talk over their relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone's (Jimmy Smits) investigation of a limo driver's murder leads to a vice ring. Henry (Willie Garson), the nephew of the woman from whom Simone inherited an apartment building, finally reveals what he knows about a murder that occurred just outside the building. Diane (Kim Delaney) has trouble explaining to Simone that she has been assigned to get the goods on handsome hoodlum Jimmy Liery. The sexually promiscuous Geri (Debra Christofferson) is "kicked upstairs." And a kidnapping plot is foiled by a new member of the precinct, Detective Jill Kirkendall (Andrea Thompson, in her first series appearance). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Simone (Jimmy Smits) wonders if he can trust a breathless young woman (Susanna Thompson) who claims to have witnessed a double homicide. Sipowicz returns to his old Brooklyn neighborhood when a family-owned candy store where he used to work is robbed and the owner's wife is killed. Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) decides to enter a departmental boxing tournament. And while Donna is out, she is replaced by an openly gay cop named John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup, in his first series appearance). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Embracing the supposed nihilism and cynicism of the "slacker" generation, S.F.W. (1995) caused nary a blip on the media-saturated cultural radar screen that it criticized. Stephen Dorff stars as Cliff Spab, an aimless, hard-drinking youth. Spab becomes a national hero when he is one of several people held hostage by gun-toting terrorists in a convenience store. He doesn't care much about his own life or anything else, and his attitude of "So f---ing what?" translates into debates with his terrorist captors and gloomy pronouncements that charm viewers. After a month-long siege, a crisis erupts when the store runs out of beer and junk food, so Cliff finds himself a free man whose celebrity image is emblazoned on t-shirts and whose presence is requested at a rock concert where he is required to do nothing other than appear. In the meantime, Spab's girlfriend Wendy (Reese Witherspoon) becomes a ubiquitous talk show guest. Ostensibly a satire of the celebrity-obsessed culture of the 1990s, the film was withheld from distribution for a year because of thematic similarities to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Reese Witherspoon, (more)
- 1993
The travails of the long morning commute provide the basis of this comedy drama. Every day Driver and Passenger spend an hour each day together driving to and from their respective jobs at IBM and Apple. For Passenger, the drive is pure hell as he must listen to the incessant, ceaseless prattling of Driver, who when not rambling on and on with theories and half-baked opinions atop his figurative soap box, is denigrating he and Passenger's lots in life. When Passenger speaks, it is about his own break-up with the seen-on-screen-but-never-heard Girl. As time passes, Passenger suggests they chronicle their commuting musings on film, and thus the prior action is actually seen to be part of the result. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Warner, Steve Antin, (more)
- 1993
Robin Wirkus (Debrah Farentino) is upset by the terms of her late husband's will, which will provide for Kelly (David Caruso) so long as he keeps an eye on Robin. Elsewhere, the discovery of the "wrong" corpse leads to a murder conspiracy involving a hotelier and a concierge. And Sipowicz's (Dennis Franz) teenaged son, Andy Jr. (Michael DeLuise), faces a drug charge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actor Steven Antin wrote the screenplay, and U.S.C. film professor Jefery Levy directed this self-absorbed trifle about a self-absorbed screenwriter and his nutty family and friends. Antin plays Monkey Zetterland, an innocuous young man who is trying to work on his screenplay -- something having to do with the defunct Los Angeles streetcar system -- while a collection of relatives, friends, and neighbors continually interrupt him. His family is a collection of personified neurosis: there is Honor (Katherine Helmond) a soap-opera actress with hemorrhoids who is afraid of being fired; Grace (Patricia Arquette), his lesbian sister who is crestfallen to find that her lover Cindy (Sofia Coppola) is pregnant; brother Brent (Tate Donovan), an anal hairdresser with his elbow constantly bent over a cell phone; and Mike (Bo Hopkins), his Dad, who shows up for Thanksgiving dinner with his pet parrot. But his neighbors are no better: Imogene (Sandra Bernhard) screams to him, "I love you, Monkey Zetterland!"; Daphne (Debi Mazar) complains that Monkey doesn't spend enough time with her; Sofie (Martha Plimpton) and Sasha (Rupert Everett) are a pair of terrorists devoted to blowing up insurance companies that deny insurance policies to HIV-positive patients; and Bella (Ricki Lake), a crazed fan of Monkey's mom. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Antin, Patricia Arquette, (more)
In this stylized adaptation of her 1988 off-Broadway show, singer/actress/comedian Sandra Bernhard explores celebrity, stereotypes, and her own childhood in a series of monologues and musical numbers. Although much of the material comes straight from the original stage show, Bernhard and co-writer John Boskovich updated many of her pop-cultural musings and added several new production numbers. They also turned a one-woman show into something of a mockumentary, staging interviews with Bernhard's fictional manager (Lu Leonard) and adding several additional characters. Most of the action is staged in a theater full of well-heeled African American patrons who slowly leave in disgust at Bernhard's performance, which includes her deadpan fantasies about an imagined gentile childhood, a dalliance with Warren Beatty, and a trip to Studio 54. Originally given a limited release by New Line Cinema in 1990, Without You I'm Nothing was quickly pulled from theaters when the company that produced it went bankrupt. Eventually, however, it made its was to home video and DVD. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bernhard, Steve Antin, (more)
In this taut outdoor actioner, a pair of teens head into the Rockies as part of a course in survival and end up having to use all of their skills to survive when they find themselves hunted by a pack of crazed mercenaries. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lance Henriksen, Mark Rolston, (more)
- 1989
This "feature film" is comprised of scenes from the six-part sequel to the 1987 TV series Vietnam War Story. Each self-contained playlet involves one or more members of the American forces which occupied Southeast Asia in the 1960s. The first story involves a black GI (Tim Guinee) whose kindness to a Vietnamese girl has tragic consequences. Next, a soldier (Tate Donovan) on leave discovers that the war has taken a toll on his marriage. Then we watch as a group of grunts plan to "frag" their hateful captain. This is followed by the story of a careless soldier who is separated from his comrades in the middle of the jungle. The fifth tale involves a new recruit's last night of "freedom." The film concludes with the story of two nurses--one a vet, one a greenhorn--who are united in their struggle against horrific hospital conditions. Vietnam War Story: The Last Days was originally telecast on a sporadic basis between July 20 and December 7, 1988, over the HBO pay-cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a real-life 1983 incident, The Accused tells the story of Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster), a working-class party girl who likes to live it up with her friends and flirt hard with the guys. After a fight with her boyfriend, she heads to a local bar to cool down -- and after a few drinks, plus some dancing and flirting, she finds herself thrown on top of a pinball machine and gang-raped by a bunch of locals, while others watch and cheer the proceedings. District attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) takes Sarah's case but quickly negotiates a plea bargain in which the attackers' charges are reduced to reckless endangerment. Her reason: defense attorneys could use Sarah's not-so-pretty past to paint her as "asking for it," getting their clients off completely. But a stunned Sarah accuses Murphy of selling her out, and when the lawyer sees how the incident continues to destroy Sarah's life, she decides she must seek true justice. This time, she goes after the crowd of onlookers for "criminal solicitation" -- those who were egging the rapists on. Foster won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, (more)
- 1987
- R
The third entry in the violent cycle of prison dramas has street-kid turned prizefighter Too Sweet back in the slammer again. Because he is such a great fighter, he finds himself caught in the uncomfortable position of having to choose whether to fight for the warden or for the crook who rules the inmates. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leon Isaac Kennedy, Anthony Geary, (more)
Leonard Maltin wasn't alone when he noticed similarities between Goonies and the 1934 Our Gang comedy Mama's Little Pirate. Adapted by Chris Columbus from a story by Steven Spielberg, the film follows a group of misfit kids (including such second-generation Hollywoodites as Josh Brolin and Sean Astin) as they search for buried treasure in a subterranean cavern. Here they cross the path of lady criminal Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and her outlaw brood. Fortunately, the kids manage to befriend Fratelli's hideously deformed (but soft-hearted) son (John Matuszak), who comes to their rescue. The Spielberg influence is most pronounced in the film's prologue and epilogue, when the viewer is advised that the film's real villains are a group of "Evil Land Developers." The musical score makes excellent use of Max Steiner's main theme from The Adventures of Don Juan, not to mention contributions by the likes of Richard Marx and Cyndi Lauper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, (more)
- 1982
When college freshman Cary Stadler (Timothy Wead) is accidentally killed during a sadistic fraternity hazing, the other frat brothers hastily cover up all evidence to the crime. On behalf of Cary's grieving parents (Robert Hogan, Carol Rossen), Quincy (Jack Klugman) investigates the boy's death, only to be stonewalled by students and faculty alike. Meanwhile, Cary's brother Nick (Timothy Patrick Murphy), convinced that justice will never be served, prepares to exact a terrible revenge against Cary's killers. This is the final episode of Quincy, M.E.'s seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A group of teens search for a woman to help them lose their innocence in this sex comedy from Boaz Davidson. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Monoson, Diane Franklin, (more)
This standard slasher film from director Dimitri Sotirakis (using the pseudonym "Jom Sotos") is notable only for its fascinating cast. The story is a rather predictable affair as young Melissa (Aleisa Shirley) sees all of her friends being murdered after their 16th birthdays. Her mother (Susan Strasberg) worries, and Sheriff Dan (Bo Hopkins) is convinced that the local Indians led by Greyfeather (Henry Wilcoxon) are to blame, but when the "shock" ending finally comes, it is no surprise. Patrick Macnee, Don Stroud, Larry Storch, and Sharon Farrell lead the familiar cast, which also includes such genre favorites as Michael Pataki, Steve Antin, and Dana Kimmell, who starred in Friday the 13th, Part III the same year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bo Hopkins, Susan Strasberg, (more)
