Erika Christensen
- 2007
Entourage star-turned-director Kevin Connolly teams with producer Leonardo DeCaprio to tell this darkly-comic tale of a twenty-something deli counter clerk (Lukas Haas) who still lives with his parents and spends most of his free time slacking with friends. After accidentally saving a neighborhood girl from a notorious serial rapist, the listless lunchmeat slinger becomes convinced that his newfound purpose in life is to become a true-life crime-fighter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giovanni Ribisi, Lukas Haas, (more)
Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, and Gavin Rossdale star in a high-stakes caper film in which the only thing for certain is that nothing is as it seems. Fed up with the manner in which super-sized corporations continually stack the deck against the common man, Jason "Jinx" Taylor (Stahl) reaches his wit's end after attempting to withdraw his last 20 dollars from the bank and getting refused due to the fact that the transaction fee will overdraw him. Locked in a tightly sealed bank vault with pretty Jessica (Christensen), Jinx struggles to find a way out as armed robber Simon (Rossdale) and his men search for a means of getting in. As Officer De Gespe (Terry Crews) and his men surround the bank, it begins to appear that the situation is slightly more complicated than the cops anticipated. When Simon fails to intimidate Jinx into opening the vault, loyalties are tested and the situation quickly turns volatile. Soon it's revealed that the true mastermind of the operation is a man whom no one had expected, and that in order to collect the funds that have been skimmed from bank fees over the course of many years, he will have to convince Jinx and Jessica to issue a secret PIN number. Now, in order to escape with both the cash and their lives, Jinx will have to convince cops and robbers alike that he and Jessica are merely hostages who need to be released before things get truly out of hand. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, (more)
- 2006
Originally developed for the WB network, the hour-long drama series Six Degrees ultimately made its debut courtesy of ABC. In the tradition of the Oscar-winning theatrical feature Crash, the series offered a sextet of diverse Manhattanites whose lives intersected in strange and mysterious ways. The title was, of course, derived from the familiar conceit that everyone on the face of the earth is divided by only six degrees of separation (and no, Kevin Bacon did not appear on the show). Filmed on location in New York, the series' multigenerational ensemble cast included Laura (Hope Davis), a single mother grieving over the death of her war-correspondent husband; Steven (Campbell Scott), a washed-up, formerly successful photographer; Whitney (Bridget Moynahan), a publicist who gives Steven a major professional break and also befriends Laura; Carlos (Jay Hernandez), an idealistic public defender; Damian (Dorian Missick), a limo driver and chronic gambler; and "mystery woman" Mae (Erika Christensen), who while on the run from an unknown pursuer was defended by Carlos on a charge of public indecency, and who, while donning one of her many disguises and adopting one of her aliases, was hired by Laura as a nanny -- and who, inevitably, was somehow connected to the troubled Damian. Six Degrees first aired on September 21, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Hernandez, Bridget Moynahan, (more)
A woman is forced to prove her own sanity to save the life of her daughter in this taut thriller. Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a successful aircraft designer who has recently been dealing with the traumatic death of her husband. After traveling to Berlin on business with her six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), Kyle falls asleep on their flight back to New York, only to discover that her daughter has gone missing. While not knowing where Julia has gone is troubling enough, even more disturbing is the insistence by sky marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) and Captain Rich (Sean Bean) that no records indicate that the child ever boarded the jet. As Kyle becomes increasingly desperate to find her daughter, she must prove to the men in charge that her daughter did in fact board the plane with her, and that this turn of events is not a product of her imagination. But if Julia has gone missing, who has taken her and why? Also starring Erika Christensen and Kate Beahan, Flightplan was the first English-language feature from German director Robert Schwentke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
Screenwriter Richard Alfieri and director Arthur Allan Siedelman adapt Anton Chekhov's classic stage play The Three Sisters to the screen in this film starring Mary Stuart Masterson, Maria Bello, and Erika Christensen as the titular siblings. Upon departing from Charleston, SC, to further their education at a prestigious Manhattan college, sisters Marcia (Bello), Olga (Masterson), and Irene (Christensen) soon become lost in fantasies of what their lives may have been to the point where they are unable to affect change in their real lives. As the three sisters gradually open up to each other and their brother, Andrew (Alessandro Nivola), the specter of their deceased father soon lifts, leaving the nostalgic siblings to realize that the only way to confront the brutal realities of life is through honesty and understanding. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
Two friends wonder if there might be more between them when their lives both take a left turn in this romantic comedy. Terry (Joan Allen) is a middle-aged housewife and mother of four teenaged daughters and gets the shock of her life when her husband, without a word of warning, leaves them behind, presumably to move to Sweden with his secretary. Going through a bender of depression and alcohol, Terry finds herself commiserating with Denny (Kevin Costner), a former baseball star turned unenthusiastic radio personality who was her husband's colleague and friend and an occasional presence at the house. With both Terry and Denny feeling down in the dumps about recent events in their lives, the two find themselves drawn to one another, and while Terry fights the notion of a new romance, her daughters -- Andy (Erika Christensen), Hadley (Alicia Witt), Emily (Keri Russell), and Lavender (Evan Rachel Wood) -- each have different ideas about their futures. The Upside of Anger was written and directed by Mike Binder, who also plays a supporting role as the producer of Denny's radio show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, (more)
A young man who has flirted with death is forced to come to terms with mortality in this tale of terror based on a story by Stephen King. Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson) is a college student studying art at the University of Maine in 1969. Cursed with an over-active imagination, Alan constantly obsesses over the worst outcome of any situation, and when he begins to suspect his girlfriend, Jessica (Erika Christensen), is thinking of leaving him, it drives him to the brink of suicide. Shortly after this brush with death, Alan receives word that his mother, Jean (Barbara Hershey), has suffered a severe stroke and may not pull through. Alan grabs his jacket and hits the road, hoping to hitchhike the one hundred miles to the hospital. As it happens, Alan is trying to catch a ride on Halloween night, and after he's picked up by one George Staub (David Arquette), he realizes that he's riding the highway with a creature not of this Earth. Riding the Bullet was directed by Mick Garris, marking the fourth time the filmmaker has brought one of King's stories to the cinema or television screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette, (more)
Produced by MTV Films, The Perfect Score is a teen crime comedy about a group of high school students who decide to steal the answers to the SAT exam. Kyle (Chris Evans) wants to be an architect, but his scores are too low to get into the school of his choice. Matty (Bryan Greenberg) is heartbroken when he is rejected from the school to which his girlfriend goes. Good girl Anna (Erika Christensen) is pressured by her parents to excel in academics and remain innocent. Desmond (Darius Miles) is a basketball player who believes the SAT exam is racist. Rounding out the group is gutsy Francesca (Scarlett Johansson) and lonely Roy (Leonardo Nam). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, (more)
Leave it to MTV to cook up a musical version of Emily Brontë's brooding 19th century British novel Wuthering Heights, updated to the 21st century and relocated to Southern California. This time around, the kindly Mr. Earnshaw (John Doe), father of spoiled-rotten Cate (not Cathy) and Hendrix (not Hindley) Earnshaw, lives in a reconverted lighthouse which he has christened Wuthering Heights. One day, Earnshaw brings home an abandoned child named Heath (not Heathcliff), whom he semi-adopts, much to the dismay of his natural son, Hendrix, but to the delight of the willful Cate. Upon reaching adulthood, Heath (Mike Vogel) declares his love for Cate (Erika Christensen), but they are kept separated by the envious Hendrix (Johnny Whitworth) and by the covetous Cate's intention to opt for wealth and security by wedding preppy snob Edward (not Edgar) Linton (Christopher Masterson). The spurned Heath decides to get even with Cate by spitefully entering into a marriage with Edward's sister, Isabel (not Isabella, played by Katherine Heigl), who manages to entrap the sexy Heath (who has achieved a measure of fame as a rock singer) with the help of her bitchy best friend, Raquelle (Aimee Osbourne), a character with surprisingly no counterpart in the Brontë original. The original songs were penned by Jim Steinman, the man largely responsible for Meat Loaf's classic album Bat out of Hell. Originally titled Wuthering Heights, CA, apparently out of concern that somewhere, someone might confuse this opus with the original novel, Wuthering Heights first aired on September 14, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erika Christensen, Mike Vogel, (more)
American independent filmmaker Paul F. Ryan makes his feature debut with the psychological drama Home Room. The students of Valley High School try to get on with their lives in the aftermath of a traumatic school shooting in which nine students were killed. Even though the perpetrator is dead, the townspeople still want to find some answers. Detective Martin Van Zandt (Victor Garber) decides to interrogate high school student Alicia Browning (Busy Philipps), who was present during the attack. Because of her cynical attitude and dark fashion choices, she is viewed as a possible threat. Principal Robbins (James Pickens Jr.) sentences her to regular hospital visits with the pretty and popular Deanna Cartwright (Erika Christensen), who was seriously injured in the attack. Alicia and Deanna overcome their initial differences and develop a nurturing friendship with psychological help from Dr. Hollander (Holland Taylor). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Busy Philipps, Erika Christensen, (more)
For some folks, the 1960s never really ended, and one woman still cheerfully stuck in the Summer of Love discovers her one-time best friend has left that decade as far behind as humanly possible in this comedy. In the late '60s and early '70s, Suzette (Goldie Hawn) and Vinnie (Susan Sarandon) were two of Southern California's most celebrated groupies. Affectionately nicknamed "The Banger Sisters" by Frank Zappa, best friends Suzette and Vinnie partied hearty with practically every rock star of the era who mattered, and kept a collection of Polaroid snapshots documenting their randy exploits. In 2001, Suzette is still her free-spirited self, and after losing her job as a barmaid at an L.A. rock club, she decides to look up Vinnie, whom she hasn't seen for 20 years. Suzette hits the road for Phoenix, AZ, to pay Vinnie a surprise visit, and en route picks up Harry (Geoffrey Rush), a novelist with writer's block who can't drive and hasn't had sex for a decade. Upon her arrival, Suzette discovers Vinnie isn't quite the same person who used to chase any man with long hair and an electric guitar. Now going by her given name of Lavinia, she's a straight laced social worker with a lawyer for a husband, Raymond (Robin Thomas), and two teenage daughters, Hannah (Erika Christensen) and Ginger (Eva Amurri), none of whom know a thing about her wild and crazy past, and have a pretty hard time imagining Lavinia even attending a rock concert. Eva Amurri comes by her role as Susan Sarandon's daughter naturally enough -- Amurri is Sarandon's daughter in real life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, (more)
A moment of temptation leads to a high body count and untold regrets for a high-school swimming star in this thriller starring Bring It On's Jesse Bradford and Traffic's Erika Christensen. Despite a shady past involving drugs and the juvenile justice system, Ben Cronin (Bradford) seems to have it all: a loving mother, a devoted girlfriend (Shiri Appleby), and a shot at a college scholarship in California. But the same week that athletic scouts will be deciding his future, Ben finds himself embroiled in a flirtation with Madison Bell (Christensen), a bewitching transfer student who seduces him into supposedly strings-free sex during an impromptu swim lesson after hours in the school pool. When Ben takes Madison at her word and goes about his business as if nothing had happened, she insinuates herself into his life with sinister glee. Showing up at Ben's house, befriending his girlfriend, and sending him naked pictures -- none of her strategies wins his heart. So Madison turns to other, more devious forms of courtship. Soon, Ben finds himself kicked off the swim team for supposed steroid use, suspected of murdering a rival (Clayne Crawford), and rejected by his girlfriend for his sexual indiscretions. Eventually, though, he receives help in uncovering the genesis of Madison's uncanny fixation from an unexpected source. Originally titled "Swimfan85" (after Madison's Internet screen name), the retitled Swimfan hit the top spot at the back-to-school box office when it was released September 6, 2002. Dan Hedaya co-stars as Ben's stern but loving mentor, Coach Simkins. Actor-turned-director John Polson previously helmed Siam Sunset. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, (more)
Described by director Steven Soderbergh as "Nashville meets The French Connection," this multi-character drama explores the effects of international drug trafficking on all fronts: from their source, to the U.S. border, to the federal government, to the private lives of users. Based upon a miniseries originally aired on Britain's Channel 4, Traffic divides its time among three main storylines and almost a dozen locales. The first and primary plot thread, set in Ohio and Washington, D.C., concerns freshly-appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), whose enthusiasm for his new prestige position is quickly offset when he realizes his 16-year-old daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse -- a secret that his wife, Barbara (Amy Irving), has kept from him. South of the border, Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) attempts to wage his own war on drugs, heading off a cocaine shipment in the middle of the desert with his less-than-virtuous partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas). Surrounded by corruption, Javier approaches the drug war with an attitude of patience and compromise, which opens him up to investigation from General Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian), the country's dubious drug-enforcement liaison to the U.S. Meanwhile, San Diego drug kingpin Carlos Alaya (Steven Bauer) is caught in a sting operation spearheaded by DEA agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman), leaving behind his very pregnant and very oblivious wife, Helena (Catharine Zeta-Jones). At the behest of Carlos' lawyer and shady confidante, Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid), Helena decides to carry on the family business -- with tragic consequences. Adapted by Rules of Engagement scribe Stephen Gaghan, Traffic marked Soderbergh's second major release in 2000 after the critical and box-office success of Erin Brockovich, as well as his second feature as cinematographer (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews). A favorite with various guild and critics' awards, Traffic won four Academy Awards in 2001, including statues for Best Supporting Actor (Del Toro) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Gaghan), and surprise wins for Steven Mirrone's editing and Soderbergh's direction. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, (more)
- 1999
In this episode, we learn that Monica (Roma Downey) has always wanted to be a singer, but her voice is so hideous that she was kicked out of the Heavenly Choir eons ago. Thus when she is assigned to straighten out the life of Alice (Charlotte Church), a 13-year-old girl who possesses a exquisite singing voice, Monica is consumed by jealousy. What really sticks in our heroine's craw is the fact that Alice is nasty, rude, and totally unappreciative of her special gift. As a result, Monica turns the assignment down flat--and gets herself in hot water with her Higher-Ups. Appearing in this episode as a motley crew of street performers is 'N Sync. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Still out of a job after several weeks, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is convinced that he is living under a curse. This conviction is aggravated when our hero receives an invitation to his high-school reunion, where he will be surrounded by dozens of successful former classmates, all of them undoubtedly fully employed. Should Frasier avoid humiliaition by turning down the invitation, or should he put on a brave face and show up -- and risk being exiled to the "nerd table"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Cleaver Family makes the jump from the small black and white screen to color and Panavision in this updated version of the classic TV sit-com. Eight-year-old Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (Cameron Finley) is a good natured kid with a habit of getting in trouble; he's not bad, mind you, just a bit absent-minded. Beaver lives with his 12-year-old brother Wally (Erik Von Detten), his father Ward (Christopher McDonald), and his mother June (Janine Turner) in a small town in Ohio. Beaver wants a new bicycle more than anything, but his father wishes that he had more of an interest in team sports; someone suggests to Beaver that if he joined the school's football team, Ward might be impressed enough to buy him the bike. Beaver signs up, but his skills on the gridiron fall somewhere between slim and none, and the experience proves more than a bit embarrassing for both Beaver and Ward. Before long, Beaver has quit the team, but he tries to hide this fact from his father. Beaver does get his bike -- but he doesn't get to do much with it before it's stolen by a bigger kid in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Wally's best friend, the mildly sleazy Eddie Haskell (Adam Zolotin), has fallen for a cute girl at school, Karen (Erika Christensen), and wants Wally to help him impress her; however, Karen seems to like Wally more than Eddie. This puts Wally in dutch with his best friend, and Wally feels even worse when he and Karen begin to quarrel. Ken Osmond, who played Eddie Haskell on the original TV series, plays Eddie's father here, and Barbara Billingsley, the original June Cleaver, appears as Aunt Martha. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher McDonald, Janine Turner, (more)
