Jessica Collins Movies
Blonde, bewitching American actress Jessica Collins built a career for herself in diverse films of astonishingly variable quality -- from the highs of Catch Me If You Can to the lows of Dirty Love. She also maintained a steady output from the mid-'90s into the new millennium. Born in 1971, in Schenectady, NY, Collins attended London's Royal National Theatre Studio and the Howard Fine Acting Studio in L.A. prior to landing her first significant break, as Dinah Lee Mayberry on the daytime soap opera Loving. Collins segued from this popular role into a series of movie parts. She began with the direct-to-video exploitationers Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996) and Best of the Best: Without Warning (1998), then broke straight through to A-listers with a small turn as Peggy in Steven Spielberg's seriocomic biopic Catch Me If You Can.Shortly thereafter, Collins returned to her first love (and greatest success) -- television -- appearing in a handful of episodes of the music-themed '60s drama American Dreams as Colleen. She followed that up with a supporting turn as Meredith, the drug-addled sister of telepathic Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku), on the popular series Tru Calling (2003). This scored with the public (and made viewers sit up and notice Collins); unfortunately, she scraped the low of lows the following year by appearing in the badly received, misogynistic Jenny McCarthy comedy Dirty Love (2004), which reportedly elicited howls at Sundance and did absolutely nothing for Collins' career -- fortunately, hers constituted a small part. Not long after teaming up with the gifted Susan Seidelman on her 2004 prostitution-themed dramedy The Ranch, Collins returned to television once again, with a supporting role on the short-lived prime-time drama series Big Shots (2007). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Created by Jon Harmon Feldman (whose previous credits included such worthwhile weeklies as American Dreams), the semi-serious Big Shots was pigeonholed in the trade press as a "Sex and the City for guys." The series traced the activities of four upscale male friends who regularly commiserated over their lives and careers at a posh country club. The designated "moral center" of the series was James Walker (Michael Vartan), who'd become CEO of Amerimart Industries by a fluke (his boss had been killed in a freak accident just before James was to have been fired), but who was determined to be a standard bearer of integrity both in and out of the workplace -- and to tactfully ignore the fact that his wife, Stacey (Wendy Moniz), had been having an affair with his former employer. James' best buds included Brody Johns (Christopher Titus), senior vice president of Alpha Crisis Management, who had trouble "managing" his contentious spouse, Janelle (Charisma Carpenter); Karl Mixworthy (Joshua Malina), chief exec of a huge pharmaceutical conglomerate, tolerably married to Wendy (Amy Sloan) while having an affair with hyper-possessive Marla (Jessica Collins); and Duncan Collinsworth (Dylan McDermott), top man at Reveal Cosmetics, who though long divorced somehow found it difficult to resist the sexual charms of his ex-wife, Lisbeth (Paige Turco), and whose future was jeopardized by an unfortunate one-night stand with a hooker named Dontrelle (Jazzmun), who turned out to be a transsexual. Nor did Duncan's emotional entanglements end there; he also had a lot of trouble relating to his estranged 19-year-old daughter, Cameron (Peyton List), and seemed oblivious to the fact that he was worshipped by his attractive business associate Katie Graham (Nia Long). Also in the cast was Francesca P. Roberts as therapist Dr. Seaver-Filner, who was kept solvent by the repeated visits from the Walkers and the Collinsworths. Big Shots premiered on ABC on September 27, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, (more)
Susan Seidelman directed this made-for-cable comedy drama about a few days in the lives of a group of "working girls" in Reno, NV. "The Ranch" is a legally operated brothel that operates under the careful watch of state health inspectors (who insist on weekly medical checkups) and the semi-benevolent leadership of Mary (Amy Madigan), the manager. While the women on staff don't have to dodge the law like their comrades elsewhere, that doesn't mean they don't have their problems, as moms juggle parenthood with the world's oldest profession, some of the prostitutes struggle to keep their work a secret from their boyfriends, and others try to escape the mistakes of the past that brought them to Nevada. Originally created as a pilot for a possible cable series, The Ranch was released in R-rated and "uncut" editions; the supporting cast includes Samantha Ferris, Jessica Collins, Paige Moss, and Nicki Micheaux. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Madigan, Nicki Micheaux, (more)
A sexy woman discovers just how hard it can be to find a worthwhile man in this outrageous romantic comedy. Rebecca (Jenny McCarthy) is a beautiful blonde who thinks she has it made with her hunky boyfriend, Richard (Victor Webster); however, when she comes home early one day and finds him in bed with another woman, she realizes that isn't quite the case. Devastated, Rebecca takes the advice of her friends Carrie (Kam Heskin), a half-bright actress, and Michelle (Carmen Electra), a racially confused beautician, and throws herself back into the dating game to prove to Richard that she can do better. However, there's a problem -- Rebecca is a bit of a klutz, she keeps ending up with men who are either crazy or strange, and each date she goes on ends in disaster. Does Rebecca have any chance at either finding new love or winning Richard back? And is it possible her pal John (Eddie Kaye Thomas) might be interested in being more than just friends? Dirty Love was written by leading lady Jenny McCarthy and directed by John Asher, McCarthy's then-husband. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny McCarthy, Eddie Kaye Thomas, (more)
- 2003
In the opening episode of Tru Calling's first season, impoverished medical grad student Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku) takes a night-shift job at a Boston morgue. In short order, she discovers that she has the ability to communicate with one of the corpses -- which leads to the discovery of another gift, that of being able to relive the events of the past 24 hours, and thereby save the corpse from an untimely death. While this state of affairs is beneficial to those on the slab, it sometimes posed serious and potentially fatal problems for Tru, her chronic-gambler brother, Harrison (Shawn Reaves); her drug-addicted sister Meredith (Jessica Collins); and her boss and co-worker, Davis (Zach Galifianakis). There are several standout episodes during season one of Tru Calling. In "The Longest Day," Tru's efforts to rescue one of her "clients" results in a Groundhog Day dilemma in which the same day is repeated over and over, with no end in sight. In "Valentine," Tru tries to arrange past events to thwart a serial killer, only to set up a premise whereby one of her best friends will be the killer's next victim. In "Past Tense," our heroine really has her hands full when five corpses simultaneously beg for her help. And in the season finale, "Two Weddings and a Funeral," Tru battles with her archrival, Jack Harper (Jason Priestley) -- who possesses the same psychic "gift" that she has, only to use it for sinister purposes -- with the life of her own brother in the balance. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eliza Dushku, Shawn Reaves, (more)
A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) -- who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, (more)
- 1998
Phillip Rhee directed and stars in this action thriller about a martial arts expert who runs afoul of a group of Russian mobsters involved in an elaborate scheme to counterfeit U.S. currency. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phillip Rhee, Ernie Hudson, (more)
In this episode of the grisly little green man's saga, the Leprechaun heads for outer space to steal the gold from a mining planet and to marry the girl of his dreams. When she is rescued by a unit of intergalactic commandos, the leprechaun sets off to get gory revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warwick Davis, Rebekah Carlton, (more)
