Rosanna Arquette Movies
Born into a show-biz family that includes her grandfather, Cliff Arquette, father, Lewis Arquette, and siblings, David, Patricia, and Alexis Arquette, offbeat leading actress Rosanna Arquette worked as a teen in television movies through the '70s and the early '80s, but she didn't become a real star until her role in Susan Seidelman's sleeper Desperately Seeking Susan (1985). Though her part seemed to promise a bright future for the talented and beautiful actress, she has since been more or less relegated to supporting roles and co-leads.Born in Manhattan on August 10, 1959, Arquette moved about frequently with her family while she was growing up. She made her acting debut in Los Angeles at the age of 17 in a theatrical production of Metamorphosis, and she continued acting in local plays when her family relocated to Virginia. After an audience with a casting director, Arquette began appearing on television, and she made her feature-film debut in More American Graffiti in 1979. She had her first starring role in John Sayles' 1983 romantic drama Baby It's You, playing an overachieving Jewish girl who falls in love with an Italian hunk (Vincent Spano). Though she has subsequently been typecast as kooky but sexy women, early in her career, Arquette demonstrated considerable dramatic ability in The Executioner's Song (1982), the television biopic about convicted killer Gary Gilmore which was later released theatrically.
Arquette has spent much of her subsequent career popping up in a number of diverse films, including Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), which featured her in a brief but pivotal role as a junkie; David Cronenberg's Crash (1996), in which she all-too memorably allowed James Spader to have sex with her gaping leg wound; Buffalo '66 (1998), which cast her as the protagonist's trampy high school dream girl; Alison Anders and Kurt Voss' Sugar Town (1999), in which she played an actress and one-time sex symbol; and The Whole Nine Yards (2000), a comedy that cast her as the suburban neighbor of a mobster (Bruce Willis) trying to make good. If subsequent roles didn't necessarrily advance her career as much as longtime followers had hoped, Arquette nevertheless remained busy onscreen with a series of low-profile independent efforts intercut with the occasional mainstream feature. Her headlining role as an ageing virgin who's first act of intimacy shakes the foundation of a small Illinois commuity (2000's Too Much Flesh) may have never reached US shores for distribution, though a memorable performance in Allison Anders' redemption-themed drama Things Behind the Sun the following year offered the longtime actress a dramatic role that stateside audiences could access. Thouse who did actually see the David Spade comedy Joe Dirt (2001) were offered a brief but memorable comedic performance by Arquette, in addition to her four other roles that year alone the actress turned in a heartfelt performance as a woman struggling with her compulsive sexuality in Diary of a Sex Addict. After turning up in the made for television drama Rush of Fear in 2003, Arquette could once again be seen on the big screen in the comedy drama Max and Grace. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Originally released in Australia as Wendy Cracked a Walnut, Almost made it to American shores in 1991, nearly five years after its completion. Rosanna Arquette plays Wendy, whose notions of life have been formed by romance novels. On her tenth wedding anniversary, Wendy hopes that her neglectful husband Ronnie (Bruce Spence) will rekindle his premarital ardor. While Ronnie is delayed by circumstances beyond his control (including a bolt of lightning), Wendy makes the acquaintance of handsome stranger Jake (Hugo Weaving). Convinced that Ronnie is cheating on her, Wendy decides to fight fire with fire by running off with Jake-just like in one of her Harlequin Romances. Ronnie tries his best (which is none too good) to win his wife back, leading to an archly whimsical finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Bruce Spence, (more)
- 1985
Jeff Bridges plays an LA sheriff who loses his job due to his inability to stay away from booze. While attending an AA meeting, Bridges is invited to attend a party, where he meets the beauteous Alexandra Paul. Also at the party is an old enemy of Bridges', druggie Randy Brooks. It doesn't take long for Bridges to figure out that Brooks is a pimp and Paul is one of his hookers. She begs Bridges to help her break away from Brooks. Not long afterward, Paul is killed, and Bridges crawls back into the bottle. Eventually sobering up, he vows to avenge Paul's death. Much blood is spilled before the killer is revealed (it isn't who you think); along the way, Bridges gets a new lease on life when he falls in love with ex-hooker Rosanna Arquette. An enormous flop, 8 Million Ways to Die is redeemed by Jeff Bridges' powerful performance. One hopes that the orignal Lawrence Block novel wasn't quite as confusing as the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
A young man searches for his brother and sister many years after the three were sent to separate foster homes in this made-for-TV drama. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Martin Scorsese's After Hours is a dark, tragi-comic tale of a fish out of water, centering on an uptight, white-bread computer consultant from uptown Manhattan who finds himself in the nightmarish and incomprehensible (to him) world of Soho after dark. The ordeal begins when Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) gets lonely and decides to leave the posh East Side and search the Soho streets for some loving from Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), the pretty young woman he met in a downtown cafe. He has her phone number and works up the nerve to call. She wants to see him, and so Paul grabs $20, hails a taxi and sets out. The weirdness begins when he loses his money during the high-speed cab ride. His visit to Marcy's loft, where he meets her crazed artist roommate Kiki (Linda Fiorentino), is a disaster, as is his encounter with the beehive-wearing retro waitress Julie (Teri Garr). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 2009
- R
- Add American Pie Presents: The Book of Love to QueueAdd American Pie Presents: The Book of Love to top of Queue
Three East Great Falls High virgins stumble across the mythical "Book of Love," and vow to use the wisdom contained therein to bed the hottest girls in school. Unfortunately the book is in a bad state of disrepair, and in order to reconstruct it the three pals will need to seek the advice of Jim's Dad (Eugene Levy), one of the original authors of the treasured tome. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bug Hall
In the early 1960s, two very different New Jersey high schoolers share their first love in this bittersweet romantic drama, an early feature by writer/director John Sayles. Jill Rosen (Rosanna Arquette) is a sweet, overachieving Jewish girl heading for college to become an actor; "Sheik" Capodilupo (Vincent Spano) is a mysterious, confident Italian guy who pushes his way into Jill's already busy life. Sheik successfully woos Jill, and the story follows their ups and downs as teenage romantics. While that introduction is lighter fare than most Sayles material, the film trails off into some unexpected plot developments, providing an original take on the "different sides of the track" genre. Sayles directs the high school scenes with a combination of reminiscence and reality, balancing the excitement of cars and the prom with the heartache, anxiety, and classwork that goes along with it. The movie is injected with a mostly 1960s soundtrack, yet the videocassette lists that "some music has been changed" for home video -- the note apparently refers to four Bruce Springsteen cuts. Matthew Modine and Tracy Pollan appear in small parts, and Robert Downey Jr. also has a tiny role. This was the fiercely independent Sayles' first film to be made with a major studio (Paramount), and he claims it will be his last, as he lost final editing control. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, (more)
- 2008
Screen newcomers Kim Hidalgo and Grayson Boucher headline director Brin Hill's inner-city sports drama concerning a talented but deeply troubled high school basketball star, and featuring an impressive ensemble cast including Rosanna Arquette, Nick Cannon, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Harold Perrineau, and Emilie de Ravin. Sticky (real-life basketball player Boucher) may be a king on the court, but when that final buzzer sounds his life turns upside down. Despite the fact that the skinny high school junior is a talented athlete, an early-life tragedy, a bad experience in the foster care system, and an obsessive-compulsive disorder that miraculously vanishes when he steps on the court seem to be hindering Sticky from living up to his true potential. One day, while Sticky is sinking hoops on a Venice Beach basketball court where tempers are known to flare, he begins to realize that he's not the only one struggling to overcome his troubled past and achieve true success. Later that night, Sticky plans to meet up with his girlfriend, Anh-thu (Hidalgo), and celebrate her birthday. He wants to buy her a present that will impress her and show his true devotion, but with only a few dollars to his name that's going to be a pretty daunting task. Now, over the course of one long day, Sticky will struggle to conquer his lifelong feeling of isolation, transcending his perceived limitations, and make a difficult choice that could alter the course of his entire life. Screenwriter and novelist Matt de la Peña teams with director Hill to adapt de la Peña's popular novel of the same name. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grayson Boucher, Kim Hidalgo, (more)
When the peaceful inhabitants of the planet Terra come under attack from humans in search of a new home, the friendship between a human pilot and an alien girl may hold the key to saving both races. Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) is an alien girl living on the planet Terra. The Terrians are gentle race of extraterrestrials that have no need for war, and harbor a deep respect for nature. When Earth's natural resources began to dwindle, the human race established colonies on Venus and Mars. Although that solution worked temporarily, tragedy struck when the colonies on Venus and Mars attempted to declare independence from Earth, and all three planets were destroyed in the ensuing war. Now, humankind's only hope for survival is to reach Terra. The few remaining humans have developed a machine that will make Terra habitable for them yet poisonous for Terrians, and while the human council is dedicated to finding a peaceful means of coexisting with the Terrians, the villainous General Hemmer (Brian Cox) is fast losing patience. When heroic human fighter pilot Lt. Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) crash-lands on Terra while chasing Mala into uncharted territory, the empathetic alien girl saves his life, and an interspecies friendship is forged. But time is running out for both the humans and the Terrians, and when General Hemmer stages a military coup d'état, the stage is set for a battle that threatens to destroy both species. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, (more)
Actor Arliss Howard made his debut as a director with this emotional drama adapted from a handful of short stories by Larry Brown. Barlow (Arliss Howard) is a deeply troubled Vietnam veteran who has been chasing a career as a writer, with little success; when he isn't struggling with his typewriter, he's usually drinking, and his wild mood swings and alcoholic fits of rage have driven away his wife Marilyn (Debra Winger), who has taken their son Alan (Zach Moody) and daughter Alisha (Olivia Kersey) with her. Barlow would like to see his children, but Marilyn refuses to allow it until he catches up on his alimony and child support payments; one of Barlow's few loyal friends, Monroe (Paul LeMat), a buddy from his Army days, is able to get him work as a house painter. With steady paychecks, Barlow is finally able to clear his debts to Marilyn, but she refuses to acknowledge that he's made much progress in turning his life around, and he doesn't get much more emotional support from his ailing mother (Angie Dickinson) or his friend Velma (Rosanna Arquette). Big Bad Love marked the second screen pairing for husband-and-wife Arliss Howard and Debra Winger; it was also Winger's first screen appearance in six years. Acclaimed songwriter Tom Waits composed the film's original score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arliss Howard, Debra Winger, (more)
British director Mike Hodges brought an extra measure of integrity to this made-for-TV thriller. Rosanna Arquette stars as Martha Travis, a psychic who travels the rural American South with her alcoholic father, Walter (Jason Robards), plying her mystical trade for credulous yokels. In reality, Martha is a con woman whose only gift is the ability to defraud those who seek messages from dead loved ones. However, one night the bogus medium intercepts mental images of a murdered man whose wife is in the audience -- and indignantly proclaims that her husband is still very much alive. Within hours, however, Martha's vision becomes reality. Martha has suddenly developed the ability to see murders before they happen, but her newfound ability to prognosticate puts a professional contract killer on her trail. In the meantime, Martha becomes lovers with Gary Wallace (Tom Hulce), a small-town reporter who's intrigued enough by Martha to write a story about her, although he's skeptical about her supernatural talents. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
Actor Vincent Gallo (The Funeral, Palookaville) made his feature directorial debut with this drama about convict Billy Brown (Gallo), released after half a decade spent behind bars. Drifting into downtown Buffalo, Billy kidnaps teen Layla (Christina Ricci) and has her pose as his loving wife when he visits his parents (Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston). Layla praises him and goes along with his fanciful tale that they met at CIA headquarters, where they both worked. Mom and dad not only fall for this, they are entranced by Layla, who soon begins to embellish her act. When she claims to be pregnant by Billy, he hustles her out to a bowling alley and on to a restaurant, where they run into trampy Wendy (Rosanna Arquette), who might be Billy's former girlfriend. Eventually, Billy seems ready to track down and kill the person he feels was responsible for his five years in the slammer. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, (more)
- 1996
- NC17
After surviving a brutal car wreck, commercial director James Ballard finds himself slowly drawn to a mysterious subculture of people who have transformed automobile accidents into erotic events. Like the J.G. Ballard novel that inspired it, David Cronenberg's study of the sexual dimension of man's relationship to technology was a magnet for controversy, drawing a NC-17 rating and criticism from several sources, including studio owner Ted Turner, who attempted to prevent the film's American release. But though some have leveled charges of pornography, James' descent into this fetishistic underworld is approached with cold, scientific detachment. Characters like Vaughn, the charismatic group leader who stages recreations of celebrity car crashes, seem more like driven researchers than sexual renegades, which is undoubtedly part of the film's point. This impression is reinforced by the pristine cinematography by Peter Suschitzsky, which proves particularly haunting during a crucial accident scene, and Howard Shore's superb score. Far from exploitative, Crash in fact proves less transgressive than the original novel, but is still undoubtedly not for all tastes. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Spader, Holly Hunter, (more)
A fifteen year-old boy still recovering from the death of his father fantasizes that his deceased dad returns in ghostly form to put his new stepfamily to the ultimate test. Six years after David lost his father in a tragic car accident, his mother has moved on and found a new husband. But as these two separate families take their first tenuous steps toward becoming a whole, David finds that his new stepsiblings, tempestuous granny, and other quirky family members are simply too much to contend with. But David isn't the only one who seems to have a problem with his new family, because his father's ghost appears frequently to comment on the situation as well. Will David prove capable of leaving the past behind and building his future with a new family, or are his memories of a simpler past just too perfect to let go? Imogen Stubbs and Steven Geller star in a spirited family comedy featuring Rosanna Arquette, James Callis, and Anthony Calf. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Imogen Stubbs, Steven Geller, (more)
Walter Wayland (Tim Roth) has lead a life that many would envy. The heir to a fortune, he was educated at Princeton and then took over the family textile mill. Why then is he sitting before detectives Kennesaw (Michael Rooker) and Braxton (Chris Penn) taking a polygraph test to prove himself innocent of cutting a streetwalker in half? This stylish psychological thriller from twin writer/directors Jonas and Joshua Pate, explores the answer. Firstly Wayland is not as stable as he seems. Addicted to absinthe and suffering from epilepsy, he is also a compulsive liar who occasionally lapses into strange fits where he becomes zombie-like and violent. He also periodically loses his memory. Despite his obstacles, Wayland is a smart cookie. Knowing that the interrogators disbelieve his innocence, he does a little research to learn their weak points and secrets. Chief among the skeletons in their closet are their ties with Elizabeth (Renee Zellweger), the victim, and with a female mobster named Mook. The result is a mental game of cat-and-mouse between the accused and his accusers that culminates in violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Roth, Chris Penn, (more)
A petite New Jersey housewife finds self-fulfillment through amnesia in this new wave comedy of errors set in New York's hip '80s downtown scene. Rosanna Arquette stars as Roberta, who turns to the personals for vicarious thrills after her four-year marriage to staid hot tub salesman Gary (Mark Blum) grows stale. Her favorite classified ads trace the romance of Jim (Robert Joy), a struggling musician, and Susan (Madonna), a SoHo vamp who's just narrowly escaped being murdered alongside one of her other boyfriends -- a gangster who recently stole some Egyptian jewelry. Through a series of complicated missteps, Roberta ends up losing her memory and convincing both herself and a broodingly handsome young man named Dez (Aiden Quinn) that she's the elusive, adventurous Susan. Soon, Roberta finds herself being romanced by Dez and pursued separately by her husband, Jim, Susan, and by a murderous mobster who's looking for the stolen jewels. For her second feature outing, which was partially inspired by Jacques Rivette's Celine and Julie Go Boating, director Susan Seidelman filled her cast with hipster extras, downtown personalities, and New York thespians. Notable faces include comedian Steven Wright; future indie mainstay John Turturro; future TV stars Michael Badalucco and Laurie Metcalf; punk singer Richard Hell, who also starred in Seidelman's Smithereens; and performance artist Ann Magnunson, who would star in the director's Making Mr. Right. The big dance-club sequence was filmed at Danceteria, the disco that helped launch Madonna's career. The scene, and the film, helped propel "Into the Groove," one of the singer's all-time club classics, into the charts even though it was actually a b-side to the single "Angel." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, (more)
- 2001
- R
Joseph Brustman's erotic drama Diary of a Sex Addict tells the tale of Sammy Horn (Michael Des Barres), a man whose sexual addiction forces him into situations where he risks the comfortable suburban life he has created for himself and his family. Rosanna Arquette, Nastassja Kinski, Ed Begley Jr., Alexandra Paul, and former gossip columnist A.J. Benza co-star in this sexually charged thriller. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nastassja Kinski, Michael Des Barres, (more)
- 1990
Made for British television, Don't Hang Up offers one of Rosanna Arquette's best and least-mannered performances. She plays a New York actress, confined to her apartment by a physical handicap. David Suchet co-stars as a Londoner who suffers a mortal fear of crowded places. The two strike up a long-distance romance via telephone, reaching out but never quite touching. Don't Hang Up unfolds like a pleasant (albeit poignant) evening at the theatre; its success hinges entirely upon the superlative performances of its two stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- R
After his wife dies, Max Fish (Jeff Goldblum) trades in his directing career for the life of a New Jersey bookstore owner. As Max struggles to overcome his drinking problem, his moody son Ed (Rory Cochrane) tries out a drug scene of his own, and the two try to work out their changing father-and-son relationship. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Rory Cochrane, (more)
- 1998
Based on novelist Tim Sandlin's Sorrow Floats, this moving drama follows an alcoholic woman and two recovering drinkers as they travel across the nation in search of her son, who was taken away from her by her husband. Along the way, the journey cannot help to inspire the woman to embark upon a quest for her own salvation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Paul Hogan, (more)
Just how much trouble can two guys get into while trying to catch some fish? Joe Waters (Joe Pesci) and Gus Green (Danny Glover) are two guys from New Jersey who've known each other since childhood; they've always been friends, and they've always been inept to the point of posing a threat to life and limb (early on in the proceedings, we get to watch them blow up a factory by accident). Joe and Gus are avid fishermen, and as luck would have it, they win a trip to the Everglades to do some serious angling. They hitch their boat trailer to Joe's 1968 Plymouth and hit the road to Florida, but they run afoul of a con man named Dekker Massey (Nick Brimble), who quickly relieves Joe of his automobile. Not about to let the loss of their wheels stop them, Joe and Gus try to hitch a ride, and they get picked up by a pair of beautiful women, Rita (Rosanna Arquette) and Angie (Lynn Whitfield), who are also headed South. It seems that Dekker conned Rita's mom out of much of her valuables, and they're looking for him in hopes of getting them back; Joe and Gus get roped into helping them out, which leads to a number of misadventures involving guns, treasure maps, boat chases, and hurricanes. Sadly, the production of this comedy had tragic consequences when a stunt performer was killed and two others were seriously injured while filming a jump on a boat ramp. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Danny Glover, (more)
In this comedy, Ryan Turner (Charlie Sheen) is a successful young stockbroker whose life falls apart seemingly overnight when Donald Simpson (Barry Newman), the owner of a powerful media conglomerate, gives him some particularly bad advice about a certain stock; this might have something to do with the fact Ryan has been having an affair with Veronica (Lisa Rinna), Simpson's wife. Ryan loses his job, he finds himself banned from stock trading, and he's about to be evicted from his apartment when his live-in girlfriend Cindy (Denise Richards) decides to leave him to fly off to Rio with a new man. As Ryan tries to come up with a way to pay his rent, he gets a call from Cindy's boss; she writes a newspaper advice column, and it seems her copy is long overdue. Needing Cindy's paycheck to keep a roof over his head, Ryan begins writing her column for her, leading to a wealth of complications and misunderstandings. Good Advice also stars Jon Lovitz, Rosanna Arquette, and Estelle Harris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Angie Harmon, (more)
- 1980
- R
Chaos reigns in the Catskills in this low-budget teen comedy. Kavell (Michael Lembeck) and Bergman (Philip Casnoff) are college students who spend their summers working in the dining hall at Camp Oskemo, an upstate New York summer camp where they're the senior waiters. Serving food to bratty children doesn't interest them nearly as much as trying to make time with the female counselors at the camp, among them pretty but chaste Vicki (Lisa Shure) and attractive but significantly less virginal Evie (Fran Drescher). Kavell and Bergman also wage an annual war against the junior waiters with the help of deranged server Grossman (Dennis Quaid), but their real nemesis is Wallman (David Huddleston), the owner of the camp who makes no secret of his dislike for the waiters. Over the course of one eventful summer, Kavell, Bergman and their fellow food slingers dose the entire camp with amphetamines, taint the Kosher meals with pork, screen pornographic movies during Parent's Weekend, run a tank through the campgrounds and destroy the waiter's housing and most of what surrounds it. Hilarity, or something like it, ensues. While seemingly influenced by Meatballs, Gorp was actually shot at roughly the same time as Bill Murray's summer camp vehicle, though it was released nine months later. Director Joe Ruben later went on to better things, including True Believer, Sleeping With The Enemy and The Forgotten. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Lembeck, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 2005
Rosanna Arquette guest stars as convict Constance Ferguson, who tries to get out of solitary confinement by swallowing four razor blades--an act of pathetic bravado that earns the contempt of Cristina (Sandra Oh). Elsewhere, the newborn quintuplets and their mother (Margaret Welsh) are suffering serious post-natal problems, with one of the infants close to death. As Izzie (Katherine Heigl) cares for the ailing child, Addison (Kate Walsh) decides that it is time to teach the idealistic intern a painful but necessary lesson. Also, Alex (Justin Chambers) broods obessessively over a medical mistake, which only serves to make Izzie (Katherine Heigl) even more angry with him; and under pressure, George (T.R. Knight) agrees to treat a skin-cancer patient with leeches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
