Patrick Healy Movies

A south-of-the-border jaunt turns into a Mexican fiasco when a group of California twenty-somethings arrive in Baja for their annual New Year's Eve surfing trip, and become pawns in an explosive showdown between the local mayor and the corrupt police force. Brandt (Tom Carver) is a failed entrepreneur who's just lost his girlfriend, his business, and his mojo. But Brandt's best friend TK (Kenny Morrison) has the perfect cure -- a New Year's Eve surf trip to Baja, Mexico with his girlfriend Mackenzie (Kansas Carradine) and their best bud, Unis (Rini Bell), who's waging a valiant battle against cancer. Unfortunately, Brandt expected to stay in a luxury resort, and when he emerges from his drunken stupor to realize that the gang is instead staying at a primitive campsite on a rural Mexican beach inhabited by a hungry donkey, he prepares to hightail it back home. But Kenny changes Brandt's mind by convincing him to give the "real" Mexico a shot. Now, inspired by Unis' bravery and realizing he has little to return home to, Brandt finally starts to loosen up. Later, when the gang's bus breaks down and they get caught up in a violent battle between the mayor and the corrupt local police, they gain a newfound appreciation for their flawed lives and attempt to outrun the bullets and make it back to their home country. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Farrelly Brothers set this romantic comedy in their home state of Rhode Island. In 1985, when teen-nerd Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) challenges a high-schooler who's bullying retarded Warren Jenson (W. Earl Brown), his concern prompts Warren's sister, the dazzling and desirable Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz) to choose Ted as her senior prom date, a fact Ted's pals find hard to believe. However, on prom night, Ted gets his penis caught in his zipper, so the much-desired date never happens. Living in Providence and waxing nostalgic 13 years later, Ted hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to locate Mary, and the creepy private investigator finds her in Miami, where she lives with her tan-shriveled roommate Magda (Lin Shaye). After Pat develops a stalker-style fixation on the lovely, unattached Mary, he lies to Ted, telling him that she's now an overweight mother confined to a wheelchair. Employing professional eavesdropping equipment, Pat gathers a dossier on Mary's life and future plans, information that forms the basis for more lies when Pat begins dating her. Sure enough, Mary falls for Pat, although her friend Tucker (Lee Evans) is very suspicious of Pat's claim to be a Harvard-educated architect. Meanwhile, Ted learns the truth but continues to encounter offbeat obstacles as he accelerates to Miami in hopes of finding happiness with his true love. Former Modern Lovers singer Jonathan Richman vocalizes a narrative ballad of onscreen commentary in the Cat Ballou (1965) tradition. Most of the cast sings and frolics to Build Me Up, Buttercup by The Foundations during the closing credits. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play the title roles (though viewers may find themselves debating which is which) in this genially low-brow comedy. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are two intellectually-challenged best friends who share an apartment so messy that gangsters aren't sure how to trash the place; the guys also have a certain problem (not difficult to understand) holding on to jobs. Lloyd is working as a limo driver in Rhode Island when he picks up a beautiful and wealthy woman named Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) who is being taken to the airport. Lloyd immediately falls head over heels in love with Mary, and when she leaves a briefcase at the airport, he's determined to return it in hopes of impressing her. Lloyd isn't able to get aboard Mary's flight (though not for lack of trying). Harry has a van decorated to look like a dog (to promote his failing dog-grooming business), and the pair hop in the Poochmobile to find Mary in Aspen. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the briefcase is full of money, which Mary deliberately left at the airport as a ransom payment to save the life of her kidnapped husband. Incidentally, Lloyd's chipped front tooth happens to be real; while Jim Carrey had the injured tooth capped many years ago, he thought a broken smile would suit Lloyd's character and had the cap removed for the duration of filming. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi