Venida Evans Movies
The first film by Duncan Tucker, Transamerica stars Felicity Huffman as a pre-operative transsexual named Bree (whose given name was Stanley). One week before going under the knife, Bree learns that she fathered a boy who is now 17 and is in trouble with the law. Bree would like to ignore this information, but is forced to meet the young man, Toby (played by Kevin Zegers), by her analyst Margaret (Elizabeth Peña), who will not allow the surgery to happen unless Bree meets him and confronts this aspect of her past. Upon meeting, the son believes that Bree is simply a do-gooder. She buys a car and the two road-trip back to her home in Los Angeles, Bree all the while attempting to keep from Toby the truth of the situation. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers, (more)
They say the heart goes where it will, and six people find theirs following a very complicated road map with a seventh creating some unexpected detours in this dark romantic comedy. Dag (Ron Eldard) is a successful director of television commercials who shares his home with his beautiful girlfriend, Halley (Kyra Sedgwick). Dag, however, has a serious case of roving eye and is given to frequent flings with other women. Halley tries to turn a blind eye to Dag's infidelity, but when she discovers he had a one-night stand with Rebecca (Marley Shelton), a beautiful but troubled dancer who is dating Dag's close friend Peter (Patrick Breen), she decides things have gone too far. Halley gives Dag his walking papers and she soon makes the acquaintance of Andre (Taye Diggs), a very handsome and well-mannered classical musician. Andre, however, is married to Colleen (Sarita Choudhury), a woman with exotic sexual tastes who meets up with Peter, now suddenly without a girlfriend, on an airline flight. Meanwhile, Peter's very angry confrontation with Dag attracts the attention of Paula (Marisa Tomei), a mysterious but very sexy woman who has taken a decidedly carnal interest in Peter. However, as Paula makes her way through Peter's daisy-chained circle of friends, events begin taking a strange turn as her new acquaintances begin dropping like flies. Just a Kiss was the first feature film directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Fisher Stevens. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Eldard, Kyra Sedgwick, (more)
- 1992
A wealthy young bride is killed in what appears to be a mugging gone awry. The ensuing investigation reveals that the victim's husband was cheating on her. As it turns out, the solution to the case hinges on a valuable silver pin that was owned by the unfortunate woman. Nancy Marchand, best remembered as the aristocratic newspaper owner on Lou Grant and the mob matriarch on The Sopranos, is here seen as the imperious Mrs. Barbara Ryder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
Playwright Neil Simon made one of his periodic forays into serious themes with the drama The Gingerbread Lady, and while this screen adaptation adds a bit more wit to the proceedings, it remains a change of pace from his usual breezy comedies. Georgia (Marsha Mason) is a successful actress who has just spent 90 days in a rehab clinic in an effort to beat her addiction to alcohol. A number of crises are waiting for Georgia upon her return; her teenage daughter Polly (Kristy McNichol), whom she neglected as a child, wants to move back in, though they still have a ways to go in repairing their relationship. And her ex-husband David (David Dukes), a writer, has just penned a new drama that he wants her to star in -- a fictionalized version of their often-combative marriage. Georgia also has to tend to her best friends, bitter socialite Toby (Joan Hackett) and Jimmy (James Coco), a gay actor who drowns his sorrows in food. Only When I Laugh garnered Oscar nominations for Mason, Coco, and Hackett, while the latter won a Golden Globe for her performance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, (more)
