Illeana Douglas

This is the first mainstream film to deal with the harrowing true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains in October of 1972 and who were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive more than two months of isolation. (The only other film to tackle the subject, Rene Cardona's Survive! was a seedy little mess that delighted in exploiting the cannibalism aspect.) The events depicted are primarily based on the novel of the same name by Piers Paul Read. The interview-style prologue features an uncredited John Malkovich as one of the survivors, whose spiritual ruminations on the disaster kick off the film's main action. We are briefly introduced to the characters before disaster strikes, in the film's most horrifying set-piece -- the depiction of the crash in grueling detail. The handful of survivors who manage to extricate themselves from the twisted wreckage seem incapable of working through their panic as they hope against all odds that a rescue party will locate them. One of the survivors, Nando (Ethan Hawke), awakens from a coma and makes a remarkable recovery -- enough to demonstrate level-headed leadership after team captain Antonio (Vincent Spano) begins to lose his nerve. As the weeks wear on and rations are depleted, the survivors are forced into a moral dilemma: the only remaining source of food seems to be the bodies of the dead. Those who choose for religious reasons not to consume their former companions must face the realization that they will soon starve or freeze to death. In the end, three men who choose survival above all else find the strength to set out on a treacherous mission to a ridge, where hopefully one of them will make it to civilization. Director Frank Marshall infuses the proceedings with sufficient intensity to keep the story moving, but the film fails to fully explore the often-recounted spiritual aspects of the ordeal as established in the opening monologue. Ironically, the writers' apparent attempts to remain true to Read's account of events -- resulting in some rather odd stretches of dialogue -- impede the drama even more than the Hollywood glamorization of the story's nominal "heroes," who remain rugged and handsome despite months of malnutrition and severe frostbite. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Actor Ben Zook co-wrote and co-directed this broad comedy, in which he stars as Randy Rubio, the leader of a small-time dance troupe who hasn't let his 260-pound girth get in the way of his dreams. When Randy and his fellow hoofers are told their 15-year run at a Topeka, Kansas theme park has come to an end, they decide to pack up their bus and move to Hollywood, where he's convinced fame and fortune await them. Randy's dance partners include Saturday Night Live's Melanie Hutsell and comic Margaret Cho; Janeane Garofalo, Illeana Douglas, Noah Wyle and Laura Innes also make cameo appearances. Satirizing sad-sack showbiz hopefuls and 1980's pop musicals such as Flashdance and Footloose in equal measure, Can't Stop Dancing milks its characters' big ambitions and small talent for all they're worth. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A sheltered meter maid and her disturbed fellow parking enforcer discover that love can bloom even while working in a job that most folks despise in this unflinching look at modern love starring Samantha Morton and Jason Patric. Hypersensitive Claire (Morton) spends her days doling out parking tickets, and her nights caring for her ailing mother (Teri Garr). Jay (Patric) is a highly intelligent parking enforcement officer whose bitterness over squandered opportunities has grown to border on sociopathic. When this unlikely pair first begins to realize they may be headed for something more than friendship, guarded Claire tenuously dips her toes in to test the water as emotionally stunted Jay dives in headfirst. While Claire and Jay both possess a paralyzing fear of commitment, it's the hopelessly disparate way that both set about dealing with their mutual discomfort that shows just how excruciating love can truly be under the wrong circumstances. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Devastated after being fired by director Woody Allen, actress Annabelle Gurwitch sets out on a soul-searching journey to discover whether getting the axe was the best or worst thing ever to happen in her professional career. Anyone who has been in the workforce for an extended amount of time has likely been there -- one minute you've got a good-paying job that you love, and the next minute you're standing in the unemployment line. When Annabelle Gurwitch got fired by the legendary director of such classics as Annie Hall and The Purple Rose of Cairo, she thought her career was over. Upon turning to her many showbiz pals for advice, however, Gurwitch quickly discovered that she was not alone. In this documentary, Gurwitch enlists the aid of filmmakers Chris Bradley and Kyle La Brache in traveling the country to interview such celebrities as Tim Allen, David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Jeff Garlin to find out exactly how they dealt with the heavy hand of rejection. Additional interviews with GM workers in Lansing, MI, who were handed their pink slips offer some tales that are tragically comedic and others that seems to reinforce the old adage about one door closing and another door opening, while a visit to job fairs and "outplacement services" show just what the jobless endure on a day-to-day basis. Conversations with the downsizers as well as the downsized offer viewers a chance to explore the topic from both sides as host Gurwitch reminds viewers that sometimes the greatest success stories are born of failure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

KACL station manager Kenny Daly (Tom McGowan) is down in the dumps over his failing marriage. Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) tries to help Kenny deal with this situation -- only to inadvertently go out on a date with Mrs. Daly (Illeana Douglas). Elsewhere, Daphne's "binge eating" is getting out of control, forcing her to take drastic action. This last subplot was cooked up to explain away the noticeable weight gain of actress Jane Leeves, who was pregnant at the time of filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Richard Glatzer's bittersweet comedy concerns the production of a sleazy tabloid television program called "The Love Judge" and the problems that arise when the Divine-esque producer Jo (Kent Fuher) announces that he/she is leaving to become a Hungarian housewife. Mark (Craig Chester), the head writer who is mourning the loss of his lover to AIDS, spends the time he has not mourning worrying about whether he'll get a promotion to producer of the show after his boss leaves. In his way is the smarmy Paula (Lucy Gutteridge), who also is hoping for the promotion. In the meantime, Mark is flirting with male office worker Bill (Alexis Arquette), even though his old college friend Jeremy (Carlton Wilborn) is warning against Mark's flirtation -- for reasons of his own. In the midst of all this, it's no wonder that the office secretary Leslie (Illeana Douglas) has sworn off men altogether. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Happy, Texas is a fish-out-of-water comedy about two con men who escape from prison, then pose as gay lovers to hide out in a small Texas town. Mistaken for consultants to the Little Miss Fresh Squeezed Beauty Pageant, Harry (Jeremy Northam) and Wayne (Steve Zahn) go along with the ruse so they can stake out the local bank, owned by Josephine "Joe" McClintock (Ally Walker). The story kicks into high gear as Harry starts falling in love with Joe but cannot let on about his feelings. Also complicating matters is that gay Sheriff Dent (William H. Macy) has the hots for Harry, and Harry must pretend he's interested to keep the cops off his back. Meanwhile, Wayne is getting in touch with his feminine side as he tries his best to teach dance steps and flaming baton twirling to the little girls; he's also lusting after the girls' teacher, Ms. Schaefer (Ileana Douglas). Everything leads up to the big beauty pageant, where the cops are finally on Harry and Wayne's tail. First-time director Mark Illsley received wide media attention for this commercial piece, which sold to Miramax after a very public and intense bidding war. Steve Zahn's performance won him a special acting award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where the film premiered in dramatic competition . ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide

A gas leak at homicide headquarters forces the detectives to temporarily pitch camp at an old bank building, where several bad moods are quickly exacerbated. The many story developments this evening include the negative effect that Howard's (Melissa Leo) promotion has on her colleagues, and Giardello's (Yaphet Kotto) inadvertent dismissal of a key piece of evidence in the murder of an elderly woman. Meanwhile, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) continues to fret over his wife's pregnancy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Message In A Bottle stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osborne, a writer for the Chicago Tribune. While her son visits her cheating ex-husband, Theresa goes on a vacation by herself. One day, while running on the beach, she finds a bottle washed up on the shore. She opens it and inside finds a love letter unlike any she's ever read. Captivated by the author's words of love, she returns to her job at the Tribune where she convinces her boss to run an article about the mystery writer, known only as "G." He approves, and Theresa begins her hunt. Scrutinizing every physical detail of the letter and the path the bottle may have taken, she eventually locates Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), a North Carolina boat-restorer who has not been the same since the tragic death of his beloved wife Catherine. Since her death, Garret has written several letters to his dead wife, put them in a bottles, and let them loose in the sea. As Theresa spends time with Garret, she quickly falls in love with him, though she neglects to tell him she knows about the letters. Garret, prodded by his cantankerous, no-nonsense dad, Dodge (Paul Newman), emerges from his shell of grief and develops an interest in Theresa as well. Theresa returns to Chicago and Garret soon visits her; he meets her son, Jason (Jesse James), but also discovers her knowledge of the letters. Eventually the two, who have both lost love, must cast off their emotional baggage and decide if they will pursue love even if it can't always last. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

The omnibus film New York Stories is the product of three powerhouse filmmakers. The film is divided into three stories, each exploring a different aspect of life in the Big Apple. Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorcese, is a Dostoevsky-like tale of the rarefied Art World, with Nick Nolte as a self-indulgent abstractionist who loves Rosanna Arquette, but can't bring himself to lie to her about her negligible artistic talents. Life Without Zoe, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is more than a little reminiscent of Kay Thompson's Eloise stories, with 12-year-old Zoe (Heather McComb) running amok at the Sherry-Netherland hotel while her parents are embarked upon a world-girdling vacation. The last and is Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks, wherein a schnooky lawyer (guess who?) inadvertently "creates" the Jewish Mother From Hell: thanks to a misguided magic trick, Allen's mama (the incomparable Mae Questel) becomes a huge spectral vision on the New York skyline, telling everyone within earshot about her son's inadequacies. The cinematographer lineup on New York Stories includes Nestor Almendros, Vittorio Storaro and Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Daniel Stern, Ileana Douglas, Kevin Pollak, and Jere Burns headline director Tony Krantz's black comedy detailing the meltdown of the typical nuclear family as they attempt to rescue their little princess from a notorious serial killer. Otis Broth (Bostin Christopher) needs a date for the prom, and Riley Lawson (Ashley Johnson) is just the type of girl he's been searching for. Unfortunately for Riley, Otis has a rather sinister method of charming the fairer sex - it's got something to do with power tools and other assorted sharp objects. When the authorities fail to deliver in their promise to bring Riley home unharmed and the young girl miraculously manages to break free of Otis' dungeon-like cellar, the Lawson's decide that the family that slays together stays together and sets out to seek vengeance against the hulking serial killer on their own terms. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this Canadian documentary, two young filmmakers attend the Toronto Film Festival and pitch a film concept to various celebrities. Their film idea, titled The Dawn, concerns a Mafia don who goes for a hernia operation but gets a sex change instead. During the 1996 Toronto fest, they approach Roger Ebert, Norman Jewison (at a packed press conference), Eric Stoltz (leaving a limo), Al Pacino, and others without much success. On a roll, they leave Toronto for Hollywood, getting advice from Arthur Hiller and Neil Simon and finding an agent who expresses interest. Shown at the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide