Sidney James Movies

This teen comedy from Disney is based on a popular novel by Meg Cabot and directed by Garry Marshall. Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a teenage klutz who's openly mocked by the popular Lana Thomas (pop singer Mandy Moore). In fact, Mia's only friend at her exclusive prep school is the socially outcast Lilly (Heather Matarazzo). Mia's life takes a dramatic turn, however, when her mom announces that her late biological father was in actuality the crown prince of a small European nation, Genovia. Now Mia is the sole heir to the throne, and her grandmother, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) wants to tutor the awkward teen in royal behavior. It's a daunting task given Mia's lax table manners, poise, and hair care, but the girl perseveres with some makeover help from her grandmother's security chief Hector Elizondo) and a style expert (Larry Miller). In the meantime, Mia's romantic affections are torn between the handsome, popular Josh (Erik Von Detten) and the more appropriate Michael (Robert Schwartzman), who also happens to be Lilly's brother. The Princess Diaries is the second film from Whitney Houston's production shingle after the television version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this sports drama, a tough and ambitious woman follows her dream to succeed in a field where few women have dared to go. Isabelle Alvarado (Sophia Adella Hernandez) grew up in a tough neighborhood in East Los Angeles, where her father once had a promising career as a professional boxer. He set sports aside and took a job as a policeman, and her mother when Isabelle was still a child. Now that Isabelle has grown to adulthood, she wishes to follow in her father's footsteps and become a female boxer. She discovers, however, that in a sport dogged by corruption and dominated by men, the climb to the top is steep and slippery. Knockout also features Paul Winfield, William McNamara, and Tony Plana. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Twenty-two year old Carla Tate (Juliette Lewis) is a slightly mentally challenged young woman who has spent several years at a sheltered private boarding school. Now she's coming home to her wealthy parents in northern California who are emotionally ill-equipped to deal with her and are guilt ridden over sending her away in the first place. The biggest limitation Carla must now overcome is her overprotective mother Elizabeth (Diane Keaton). When she takes a class at a trade school, Carla soon meets the equally challenged Daniel (Giovanni Ribisi). Despite his limitations, he maintains a job in a bakery and lives alone. Carla dares to dream of independence and love despite her mother who refuses to view her as an adult. When Daniel fails his class, his father cuts off his funds. Facing a move to Florida to live with his mother, the two turn to each other and find a way to stay together to face a world of adult opportunities and responsibilities. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

Selena Quintanilla was a major figure in Tejano music, a Grammy-winning recording artist, a beloved star in the American Southwest and Mexico, and seemed poised to cross over into mainstream popularity on the U.S. pop charts when she was murdered on March 31, 1995 by the president of her fan club. Written and directed by Gregory Nava, this biopic concentrates on Selena's relationship with her family and her rise to fame, dealing only briefly with her tragic death. Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos) is a veteran musician who leads a family-based singing group, The Dinos. At a young age, he notices that his daughter Selena (played as a child by Becky Lee Meza) has a strong singing voice, and he works her into the act (her big number is a version of Over the Rainbow). However, as she grows older, Selena (played as an adult by Jennifer Lopez) wants to establish her own musical identity; while her heritage is Mexican-American, her primary language is English, and her favorite artists are American pop acts like Donna Summer. While Selena and Abraham sometimes argue about the musical direction of the group, he always respects and supports her talent, and her blend of Tejano roots music and danceable pop rhythms soon sparks a revolution in Latin music. Selena later earns the wrath of her father when she becomes romantically involved with Chris Perez (Jon Seda), a rebellious and long-haired guitarist hired to play with the group, but when they elope and Selena convinces Abraham that their love is sincere, Chris is welcomed into the family. After a long string of successes on the Latin charts and playing to a sellout crowd at the Houston Astrodome and a crowd of 100,000 at a stadium in Monterey, Mexico, Selena begins recording her first album in English, which is expected to make her a mainstream star on the level of Whitney Houston or Gloria Estefan. However, the fates decreed it was an album she would never complete. Selena was produced with the participation of the Quintanilla Family (Abraham was executive producer), and Selena's own recordings were used on the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A trip to the attic of his new house lands young Brandon and his loyal dog in a magical world ruled by a wicked queen. There he meets a captive prince and vows to help the youthful prince relocate a powerful sword and prevent it from falling into the queen's greedy hands. This fantasy adventure is aimed at younger audiences. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Neil Simon forgoes his typical urban East Coast kvetchers and replaces them with sunny Californian kvetchers in The Marrying Man, a film which became a beacon of gossip in 1991 due to the alleged shenanigans of stars Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger), who fell in love during production. Simon based his script on a true story concerning the love affair between shoe tycoon Harry Karl and actress Marie (The Body) McDonald during the 1950s. Married to each other four times, McDonald still managed to carry on an affair with mobster Bugsy Siegel. In this Simon-ized version, Baldwin plays Charley Pearl, a sharp and handsome Hollywood millionaire, engaged to Adele Horner (Elisabeth Shue), the daughter of dyspeptic movie studio executive Lew Horner (Robert Loggia). The day before their wedding, Charley heads off to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, and in a sleazy casino on the outskirts of town, he sets his eyes on sexy singer Vicki Anderson (Basinger) and falls for her hard. He wants her immediately and even though she warns him she's the property of Bugsy Siegel (Armand Assante), he crawls into her bedroom window to be with her. Caught with his pants down by Siegel, Bugsy, instead of killing him, forces him to marry Vicki ("I was about to dump her anyway," he says). But after their marriage, Charley and Vicki discover they're more attracted to the danger of their relationship than in each other. Charley's friends -- Phil (Paul Reiser), Sammy (Fisher Stevens), Tony (Peter Dobson), and George (Steve Hytner) -- form a Greek chorus commenting on the crazed love affair and are reportedly inspired by Phil Silvers, Sammy Cahn, Tony Martin, and Leo Durocher. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide