Tara Subkoff Movies
At times resembling a modern day Twiggy, actress/fashion designer Tara Subkoff has little need to follow in the footsteps of yesteryear icons after a series of memorable film roles and a trend-setting career as the co-founder/designer of a flamboyant clothing-line brought both the film and fashion worlds to her well-adorned feet. Following her memorable screen debut as a mentally challenged mute in the 1993 thriller When the Bough Breaks, East Coast-reared Subkoff spent the remainder of the 1990s developing her onscreen career in such efforts as Freeway (1996), All Over Me (1996), and As Good As It Gets (1997) before focusing on her emerging career in fashion. Reluctant to be pigeonholed in either career, Subkoff often blurred the lines between the two with appearances in such high-fashion cinematic exploits as The Last Days of Disco (1997) and The Cell (2000). Teaming with Matt Damhave to transform Salvation Army castoffs into high-priced haute couture, "Imitation of Christ" found the fashionable duo the toast of the town with their cheekily arty creations. With such fashion-icon followers as Chloë Sevigny sporting IOC threads, it wasn't long before numerous wannabes were threading cheap imitations. Though many may find it ironic that an Otis Parsons dropout could find such success in the fashion world, Subkoff's catwalk career continued to flourish as she appeared onscreen in such efforts as controversial Kids director Larry Clark's Teenage Caveman (2001) and the dark psychological thriller Undermind (2002). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Celebrated and vilified in equal measure, the pinup goddess Bettie Page inspired a legion of followers -- and an indecency scandal -- by appearing in a series of nude, sado-masochistic, and/or revealing magazine spreads in the 1950s. An era later, writer/director Mary Harron casts a knowing eye upon the woman who indirectly gave birth to modern pornography in the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page. As a teen, Page (Gretchen Mol) is a smart, plucky girl with ambitions beyond her Tennessee roots. Suffering varying degrees of abuse from her father, her first husband, and suitors of dubious virtue, Page makes her way to New York City, where an amateur photographer discovers her lounging on the beach. It isn't long before images of the shapely brunette reach Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor), brother-and-sister entrepreneurs who publish illicit magazines dedicated primarily to men's fetishes. The casual nudist Page eventually finds herself acquiescing to their requests to don thigh-high boots, whips, and chains, which raise the ire of the smut-fearing senator Estes Kefauver (David Strathairn). The Notorious Bettie Page had its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gretchen Mol, Christopher Bauer, (more)
- 2004
- PG13
- Add Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy to QueueAdd Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy to top of Queue
Marking the directorial debut of Adam McKay, former head writer for Saturday Night Live and founder of the Upright Citizen's Brigade, Anchorman is set during the 1970s and stars Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, San Diego's top-rated news anchorman. While Burgundy is outwardly willing to adjust to the idea of females in the workplace -- even outside of secretarial positions -- he certainly doesn't want his own job challenged. Keeping that in mind, it's no wonder that the arrival of Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), an aspiring newswoman, is, in Ron's eyes, not the studio's most welcome addition. After Veronica pays her dues covering so-called female-oriented fluff pieces (think cat fashion shows and cooking segments), the ambitious Veronica sets her eyes on the news desk; more specifically, on Ron's seat behind it. Not unpredictably, Ron doesn't take the threat lightly, and it isn't long before the rival newscasters are engaged in a very personal battle of the sexes. Anchorman was co-written by Ferrell, and features supporting performances from David Koechner, Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Tara Subkoff, and Maya Rudolph. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, (more)
A young lawyer becomes trapped in an eerie alternate reality in this haunting psychological thriller from first-time filmmaker Nevil Dwek. Derek (Sam Trammell) seems to have the perfect life. A 27-year-old lawyer with an impressive career and remarkable talent in the courtroom, he's on the fast track to success when he awakens in a strange apartment next to an unknown woman who inexplicably refers to him as "Zane." Though everything in this altered reality seems familiar, nothing seems right, and Derek soon discovers that he and Zane have somehow traded identities. Forced to see life from the other side of the spectrum, Derek and Zane must now reevaluate their entire lives to find out who they truly are on the inside, and what they aspire to become in a world where nothing is certain. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Trammell
Part of the "Creature Features" retro horror movie series on Cinemax, Teenage Caveman is an exploitative remake of Roger Corman's 1958 sci-fi B-movie, re-imagined by director Larry Clark (Kids, Bully). In a post-apocalyptic Neanderthal-style future world, teenage tribal leader David (Andrew Keegan) kills his Shaman father (Paul Hipp) for trying to have sex with his girlfriend, Sarah (Tara Subkoff). Because his father is this big spiritual leader, David is publicly punished and left for dead. However, his attractive band of teenage malcontents rescues him before the whole gang is swept up in a nuclear storm. They end up in the conveniently stylish 20th century dwelling of uninhibited Neil (Richard Hillman) and sexed-up Judith (Tiffany Limos), leading to the inevitable orgy of naked teenagers indulging in sex, drugs, and general gracelessness. The gore-filled conclusion involves several characters literally exploding. Teenage Caveman was the last production for late exploitation mogul Samuel Z. Arkoff. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Keegan, Tara Subkoff, (more)
In this science fiction thriller, child psychiatrist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) has developed a technique that allows her to travel through the minds of her patients. When Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a multiple murderer who methodically drowns his victims and performs bizarre rituals with their bodies, falls into a coma, FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) asks Deane to enter the killer's psyche, in the hope of finding a missing girl whom Stargher has kidnapped; if she's not soon found, in all likelihood she'll die in his torture cell. However, once Deane enters the bizarre world of Stargher's mind, she finds getting out to be a very difficult matter. The Cell was the first feature from director Tarsem, who previously made award-winning commercials and music videos, including the video for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." The supporting cast includes Catherine Sutherland, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dylan Baker, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, (more)
In Linda Kandel's comedy-drama Mascara, three friends find themselves dealing with the not always enjoyable prospect of turning 30 at a time when their lives are already unstable. Rebecca (Ione Skye) has trouble holding a steady job and has gone though a long series of affairs with older men. Her latest boyfriend, Nick (Steve Jones), is a middle-aged photographer who shows a less than wholesome interest in his ripening teenage daughter. Laura (Lumi Cavazos) has just ended a seven-month marriage with Donnie (Steve Schub), who helpfully maxed out all her credit cards before she dumped him. Laura works as a therapist, but she doesn't have much patience with other people's problems at the moment. And Jennifer (Amanda de Cadenet) has separated from her husband after discovering he had a mistress for a short time. Jennifer's response is to throw herself into a series of one-night stands with casual acquaintances and relative strangers -- one of whom she beats when their lovemaking gets too rough for Jennifer's liking. Mascara also features a supporting performance from Karen Black as Rebecca's Aunt Eloise, who has a habit of telling her what she either already knows or doesn't want to hear. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ione Skye, Lumi Cavazos, (more)
As another installment of Whit Stillman's trilogy, The Last Days of Disco fits chronologically between Metropolitan (1990) and Barcelona (1994), with several cameos overlapping and linking the films. During "the very early 1980s," friends gather at a popular Manhattan disco club reminiscent of Studio 54, where getting past the velvet ropes and inside was the first step. Edgy ad-exec Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin) can sometimes get his clients in with the help of the club's womanizing assistant manager, his pal Des (Chris Eigeman), who lets them enter via the rear door. Beautiful brunette Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and her former college classmate Alice (Chloe Sevigny) move about the club during the 24-minute opening club sequence. Attorney Tom (Robert Sean Leonard) takes an interest in calm, reserved Alice. Both Alice and the opinionated, assertive Charlotte hold day jobs as entry-level editorial associates at a small book publisher. With Holly (Tara Subkoff) as a third roommate, the trio rents a railroad flat in the Manhattan's Yorkville neighborhood. Charlotte throws dinner parties in an effort to solidify a social circle as an alternative to "the ferocious pairing off" around her. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, (more)
- 1997
- R
This independent drama takes an unexpectedly light and emotionally sensitive approach to a potentially controversial subject -- a teenager taking up a career as a prostitute. Sixteen-year-old Jake (Tara Subkoff) is a pretty but troubled girl who has been abandoned by her mother. Needing a place to stay, she shows up on the doorstep of her sister Darlene (Kristy Swanson) and begs her to take her in. Darlene refuses, and Jake is left with nowhere to go. Marci (Sandra Bernhard), Darlene's next door neighbor, takes pity on Jake and gives her a meal and a place to stay for the night. The next morning, Marci heads off for work and Jake tags along to discover that Marci manages a massage parlor. Jake is a bit naive about what goes on at such places, but after meeting Marci's charges -- Bambi (Sahara Lotti), Coco (Loretta Devine), and Teddy (Renee Humphrey) -- she catches on that the women are offering their male clientele more than a simple rubdown. Needing money, Jake asks Marci for a job; Marci says no, since Jake is underage, but after much begging and pleading, Marci agrees under the condition that Jake make herself scarce when Jean (Susan Barnes), the owner, comes around. Jake becomes friendly with Bambi, Coco, and Teddy, who show her the ropes of her new "career" and let her stay at their communal apartment. Soon Jake is making a good living, and Darlene is impressed enough to get a job of her own at the parlor. However, Darlene doesn't get along with the other women any better than she does with Jake, and when Jake's friends get on Darlene's bad side, she turns Jake in for working underage, which leaves everyone out in the cold. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bernhard, Kristy Swanson, (more)
In this teen-oriented horror movie, Kyle (Scott Bairstow) is a high school swimming champion who sinks into a depression after the accidental death of his best friend. When his parents, Ken (Bruce Burkhartsmeier) and Barbara (Dee Wallace-Stone), move the family from California to Washington State, Kyle falls in with a group of kids led by the mysterious Shane (Eric Mabius). Eric and his friends wear lots of black clothing, take drugs, and listen to loud Goth-metal music, but the full extent of their "rebellious" streak doesn't become evident to Kyle until he discovers that Eric's clique is actually a Satanic cult. Music fans may want to keep an eye on the supporting cast, which includes former X leader John Doe, singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb, and one-time New Kids on the Block heartthrob Donnie Wahlberg as a drug dealer. Black Circle Boys appeared on home video at roughly the same time as the mass murder at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A teenage lesbian comes-of-age in this drama. Claude (Alison Folland) is a raw-boned girl graduating from high school. She spends all the time she can with her beautiful friend Ellen (Tara Subkoff). Ellen has lately gotten a new boyfriend, and has less time for their previous intimacy. Claude has a part-time job at a pizza joint in her multiracial neighborhood in New York City, and makes friends there, and in her neighborhood. Gay newcomer Luke, with whom she shares her dream of becoming a rock musician, is among her most recent acquaintances. Realizing finally that Ellen will not return her affections and that her own affections are lesbian in nature, she slowly develops the courage to act on her feelings, and she hesitantly goes to a lesbian bar, where she meets Lucy (Leisha Hailey), an older woman who can simultaneously offer her sexual guidance and help Claude with her musical aspirations. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, (more)
In this postmodern exploitation flick loosely based on "Little Red Riding Hood," the uneducated daughter of a drug-addicted prostitute flees the foster-care system in search of her long-lost grandmother but meets up instead with a serial killer. Vanessa (Reese Witherspoon), a nearly illiterate firebug and serial shoplifter, desperately clings to normalcy even though her mother turns tricks, does drugs, and manages to ignore the fact that the girl's stepfather Michael T. Weiss has been abusing her for years. When both of her parents get arrested, Vanessa steals the car of her family-services caseworker (Conchata Ferrell) and heads up Interstate 5 in search of her paternal grandmother, who's never met her. Car problems force her to accept a ride from Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), a youth counselor who uses charm and sympathy to get the girl to open up. Confessing the sordid details of her childhood to Bob, Vanessa is shocked when he suddenly declares that she's one of the "garbage people" and that he plans to murder her and have sex with her corpse. Bob, it turns out, is the "I-5 Murderer," who's been slaughtering young prostitutes in the Los Angeles area. Thanks to a gun borrowed from her fiancé, Vanessa manages to turn the tables on Bob, shooting him repeatedly and leaving him for dead. He survives, Vanessa is arrested, and the two meet up again in court -- with her unrepentant, even though the police disbelieve her story, him flanked by his prim wife (Brooke Shields) and the righteous indignation of the American legal system. Locked up in the juvie for psychological evaluation, Vanessa gets in touch with her wild side and eventually escapes, heading off to her fateful meeting with grandma. Although Freeway was originally filmed for HBO, vigorously positive critical response eventually earned it a theatrical release. Alanna Ubach, who portrays Vanessa's nemesis/accomplice Mesquita, would go on to appear with Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. Freeway also features two Clueless alumni: Dan Hedaya, as a police detective, and Brittany Murphy, as the disfigured lesbian who befriends Vanessa in lock-up. Michael T. Weiss, who previously appeared in gay indie Jeffrey, appears in both Freeway and its sequel, Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
The Houston, Texas police department is thrown into an uproar when someone discovers a bag full of severed human hands. Each one has a different number tattooed on the palm and the police suspect a serial killer. Things take an even stranger turn when they enlist the aid of an unusual boy with telepathic powers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Walker, Martin Sheen, (more)
