Patricia Arquette Movies
Actress Patricia Arquette is the granddaughter of Cliff Arquette, the daughter of character actor Lewis Arquette, and the sister of actors Rosanna Arquette, David Arquette and Alexis Arquette. Inaugurating her own film career in the mid-'80s, the actress came into her own with a gallery of fine portrayals in the '90s. In 1993 alone, she was seen as the hero's cousin/inamorata in Ethan Frome; the strung-out heroine in the stylishly violent road movie True Romance; and the hero's lesbian sister in Inside Monkey Zetterland. Arquette closed out 1994 on a fine note with her sympathetic portrayal of Kathy O'Hara, the second wife of Hollywood's "world's worst director," in Tim Burton's Ed Wood.The following year included a starring role in John Boorman's Beyond Rangoon and a marriage to actor Nicolas Cage. In 1996, Arquette had lead roles in a number of films, most notably David O. Russell's Flirting With Disaster, in which she played Ben Stiller's put-upon wife. She then switched gears with starring roles in David Lynch's Lost Highway and the thriller Nightwatch. She tried her hand at a Western in 1998, playing the object of Woody Harrelson's and Billy Crudup's desires in Stephen Frears' The Hi-Lo Country. Despite an interesting premise and excellent cast, the film flopped, but Arquette continued to work steadily the following year, with lead roles in the black comedy Goodbye Lover; Stigmata, in which she starred opposite Gabriel Byrne as the unwitting target of a supernatural phenomenon; and Martin Scorsese's Bringing out the Dead, a film starring Arquette's then-husband Cage as a burnt-out paramedic.
Following the weightiness of the creepy Stigmata and the disturbing Bringing Out the Dead, Arquette took things in a decidedly lighter direction with her next two projects. In 2000, she played Adam Sandler's love-interest in the comedy Little Nicky, while the following year found her opposite Tim Robbins in the off-the-wall Human Nature. Written by Being John Malkovich scribe Charlie Kaufman, Human Nature was the feature debut from acclaimed music-video director Michel Gondry and featured Arquette as a woman cursed with a coat of fur covering her body.
As the decade progressed, audiences could see Arquette in projects ranging from the star-studded documentary Searching for Debra Winger to the sleeper family film Holes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Hollywood visionary Tim Burton pays homage to another Hollywood visionary, albeit a less successful one, in this unusual fictionalized biography. The film follows Wood (Johnny Depp) in his quest for film greatness as he writes and directs turkey after turkey, cross-dresses, and surrounds himself with a motley crew of Hollywood misfits, outcasts, has-beens, and never-weres. The real story, however, is his friendship with aging, morphine-addicted Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), whom he tries to help stage a comeback. Landau's unforgettable Oscar-winning performance must be seen to be believed, as must Rick Baker's Oscar-winning makeup. While it would have been easy to make a film simply ridiculing the bumbling director, Burton instead focuses on his driving passion for filmmaking and his unwavering persistence in the face of ridicule and failure. Possibly the most surprising aspect of the film is the genuine sentiment with which Burton treats the relationship between Wood and Lugosi; his devotion to Lugosi is touching, as is Lugosi's final soliloquy -- an inane bit of dialogue from the hilariously bad Bride of the Monster that grows into a poignant metaphor for the actor's life and ultimate triumph of his spirit. Even the look of the film is right; it manages to preserve the air of one of Wood's own films while retaining a sense of artistry in much of the composition on screen (note the scene at the drug rehab where Lugosi endures a horrifying night of detox). In all, Ed Wood is a unique film -- at times side-splittingly funny; at others, tragic or even frightening -- and a heartfelt tribute to the love of movies, good and bad alike. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, (more)
As if losing both her husband and her money isn't enough, a woman in her mid-20s also finds herself married to a 12-year-old boy (who doesn't even like her) in the comedy Holy Matrimony. Havana (Patricia Arquette) is an aspiring showgirl who is working at a sleazy carnival while she dreams of her big break. Short on cash, Havana's boyfriend Peter (Tate Donovan) comes up with a plan; while Havana flirts with her boss, Peter will swipe his keys and lift the day's take from the carnival's safe. After grabbing the cash, Havana and Peter hightail it to Canada, where Peter figures that they can hole up with his family. However, Peter didn't always lead a life of crime; he was raised in a Hutterite community, and while Peter's Uncle Wilhelm (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and younger brother Ezechiel (Joseph Gordon Levitt) are glad to see him, they don't think much of Havana, whose brassy personality convinces them that she was the one who led Peter down the wrong path. To make peace with his family, Peter marries Havana, but not long after, he dies in a car wreck. Hutterite custom demands that when a man dies, his widow is to marry his brother; the catch in this case is that Ezechiel is only 12 years old and understandably not interested in matrimony. However, Havana agrees to the marriage, largely because Ezechiel knows where Peter stashed the earnings from the robbery and Havana does not. Havana's ignorance of Hutterite traditions and lack of enthusiasm for their austere lifestyle is a matter of no small annoyance to her, but Ezechiel shrewdly uses his knowledge about Peter's hidden bankroll to persuade Havana to lead a more righteous life. Holy Matrimony was directed by Leonard Nimoy in one of his periodic breaks from acting. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (more)
Quentin Tarantino scripted this wild and wooly blend of action and dark comedy, which reached theaters a year before his breakthrough hit Pulp Fiction. Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) is a well-meaning but socially unskilled comic-shop clerk whose idea of a big night out is catching a Sonny Chiba triple-feature at a downtown grindhouse. Clarence is celebrating his birthday in just such a manner when he meets a beautiful girl named Alabama (Patricia Arquette), and it's love at first sight for both of them. Clarence's enthusiasm isn't dampened much when he discovers Alabama is actually a prostitute who was paid by his boss to bump into him; she's only been in the business for a few days, and is more than eager to give up streetwalking to be with Clarence. However, Alabama is certain her pimp, Drexl (Gary Oldman), will not be happy; he's an ill-mannered sort with mob connections and a fondness for violence. Chivalrous Clarence offers to break the news to Drexl and collect her belongings, but he doesn't tell her he also plans to kill Drexl while he's there; a melee breaks out that leaves Drexl and his henchmen dead. Clarence grabs a suitcase that he thinks contains Alabama's clothes, but he discovers it instead holds five million dollars' worth of cocaine. The couple hits the road for California, planning to sell the dope and enjoy the good life in South America with the proceeds, but soon a group of very unhappy underworld characters are after them, as well as the police. True Romance also stars Dennis Hopper as Clarence's father, Christopher Walken as a mob boss who wants his cocaine back, Brad Pitt as a cheerful stoner, and Val Kilmer as the ghost of Elvis Presley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, (more)
Actor Steven Antin wrote the screenplay, and U.S.C. film professor Jefery Levy directed this self-absorbed trifle about a self-absorbed screenwriter and his nutty family and friends. Antin plays Monkey Zetterland, an innocuous young man who is trying to work on his screenplay -- something having to do with the defunct Los Angeles streetcar system -- while a collection of relatives, friends, and neighbors continually interrupt him. His family is a collection of personified neurosis: there is Honor (Katherine Helmond) a soap-opera actress with hemorrhoids who is afraid of being fired; Grace (Patricia Arquette), his lesbian sister who is crestfallen to find that her lover Cindy (Sofia Coppola) is pregnant; brother Brent (Tate Donovan), an anal hairdresser with his elbow constantly bent over a cell phone; and Mike (Bo Hopkins), his Dad, who shows up for Thanksgiving dinner with his pet parrot. But his neighbors are no better: Imogene (Sandra Bernhard) screams to him, "I love you, Monkey Zetterland!"; Daphne (Debi Mazar) complains that Monkey doesn't spend enough time with her; Sofie (Martha Plimpton) and Sasha (Rupert Everett) are a pair of terrorists devoted to blowing up insurance companies that deny insurance policies to HIV-positive patients; and Bella (Ricki Lake), a crazed fan of Monkey's mom. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Antin, Patricia Arquette, (more)
In this lively crime thriller, luckless ex-con Harry Talbot wins several thousand dollars and a luxury car in a poker game. He is delighted, having no idea that the others let him win because the trunk of the Lincoln contains the remains of Gordo. No, Harry is finally feeling lucky and in his shiny convertible sets off across the country in search of more card games. While driving, he picks up a lovely hitchhiker named Kit. She is out on a personal vendetta and is pursued by her grandmother, a crime boss, and her dim-bulbed cousin Danny. Realizing that he is a gambling addict, Kit manipulates him into driving to a certain mob-operated casino where she plans to off her father's killer. Things get more sticky when a gangster informs the card sharps who put Gordo in the trunk, that the deceased is carrying a key to a safe-deposit box containing a vast amount of money. They immediately set out after Harry as he fatefully heads for the gambling house. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Madsen, Patricia Arquette, (more)
Ethan Frome is an adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1911 novella . Set in Massachusetts in the late-19th century, the film relates the sad story of reclusive farmer Ethan Frome (Liam Neeson). Considering himself too homely for romance, he enters into a loveless marriage with the wealthy but spiteful Zeena (Joan Allen). Things become nearly unendurable when Zeena becomes an invalid, imperiously demanding her husband's attentions day and night. Ethan seeks solace in an affair with Zeena's pretty cousin Mattie Silver (Patricia Arquette), who has arrived to act as housekeeper. Produced on behalf of PBS' American Playhouse, Ethan Frome was released theatrically in late 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1991
- R
Corey Haim takes on white supremacist rollerbladers in Prayer of the Rollerboys, the futuristic tale of teen angst and sweet love on skates. Haim stars as Chris Griffin, a pizza delivery boy whose younger brother Miltie (Devin Clark) gets caught up with the local drug-pusher gang, the Rollerboys. With the help of Casey (Patricia Arquette), a female cop out for revenge for her own brother's death, they help bring down the dreaded 'boys for good. But the deeper Chris and Miltie get into the crew, the scarier their racist attitudes become, especially when its revealed that repeated use of their drug will sterilize the entire population of L.A. outside of the Rollerboys' inner circle. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Haim, Patricia Arquette, (more)
The Indian Runner, Sean Penn's debut film as director (he also wrote the script, based on the Bruce Springsteen song "Highway Patrolman") is a brooding tale of two brothers -- one peaceful and sedate, the other violent and aggressive -- whose natures, left unchecked since they were children, are set to the boiling point as they head toward middle-age. David Morse is the quiet brother, Joe Roberts, who is a deputy sheriff in a small town. His older brother Frank (Viggo Mortensen) shows up on Joe's doorsteps, after a recent run-in with the police. Frank tells Joe that he is coming back home to stay and that he has given up his criminal life. His wife Maria (Valeria Golino) is skeptical, but Joe tells her that he is prepared to help Frank get his life back together. Frank has almost convinced himself that his future holds real promise and he's ready to start a new life with his pregnant girlfriend Dorothy (Patricia Arquette). But, once again, Frank's violent temper explodes, and everyone's plans for Frank's future crumble into rubble. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, (more)
Set in the rural South of the '30s, the made-for-cable film Wildflower is about a pair of teenaged siblings who become friends with an epileptic girl named Alice (Patricia Arquette), who has been forced to live in the barn behind her father's house because he believed her seizures were the work of the devil. With the help of the two teenagers, the girl is able to become part of everyday society. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, William McNamara, (more)
- 1991
Dillinger is a messily directed, haphazardly edited TV movie, which takes a revisionist squint at the criminal career of the 1930s' Public Enemy Number One. Mark Harmon captures some of the charisma but little of the ruthlessness of John Dillinger, while Sherilyn Fenn gives an anachronistic interpretation of the gun moll who eventually betrays Johnny D. to the Feds. Vince Edwards is supposed to be FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover, but comports himself more like a grouchy crossing guard. The film is rife with poorly staged gun battles (including the Biograph Theatre finale), shot in a shivery "MTV" fashion which suggests that the camera operator has St. Vitas' Dance. Most of Dillinger was lensed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the 1930s-style exteriors were well chosen, though the interior scenes at FBI headquarters look like they were filmed inside the Milwaukee Public Library--which indeed they were. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
In this cheerful, lightweight comedy, excruciatingly clumsy, disorganized, and messy Uncle Buck Russell (John Candy) becomes the screens most unlikely babysitter since Clifton Webb in Sitting Pretty. While their parents are away, eight-year old Miles (Macaulay Culkin), six-year old Maizy (Gaby Hoffman) and their teen-aged sister, Tia (Jean Kelly) are left in the care of Buck. Surprisingly, the very inept Uncle Buck entertains the younger children who come to love him and earns the respect of Tia when he rescues her from her worthless boyfriend. However, in doing so, Buck nearly loses his long-time girlfriend Chanice (Amy Madigan). John Candy is delightful in the leading role giving a touching and notable comic performance. Directed by John Hughes in his typical broad style, this youth-oriented comedy is perhaps the best role of John Candy's regrettably brief career. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Amy Madigan, (more)
- 1988
John (Alan Olsen) is a Danish-born son who sets out to locate his father in this comedy thriller. While traveling to Los Angeles, John is caught in a small town in New Mexico and promptly has his money stolen. The main suspect is the waitress Lucy (Patricia Arquette), but she offers herself to him sexually. John soon is watched closely by the local sheriff (Richard Bright) and the suspicious hotel owner (Vincent Schiavelli). He joins a survivalist group run by Lucy's father, a local preacher who has more than fatherly love for his daughter. John and the father soon lock horns in an inevitable showdown. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Olsen, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
Writer/director Sam Shepard's jaundiced view of "Lake Woebegone" territory is essentially a vehicle for his lady fair Jessica Lange. Far North is set in rural Minnesota, at the home of a dour, curmudgeonly farm family. Only Kate (Lange) has been able to escape this repressive environment, but she comes home when dad Bertram (Charles Durning) is laid up in the hospital. Despite her city-bred sophistication, Kate almost instantly reverts to childhood, trying desperately to "prove herself" to her misogynistic papa. To do this, she vows to kill the poor old horse that caused her father's injury. Considering its bleak surroundings and vituperative characters, Far North contains very funny dialogue; in terms of the film's cinematic value, however, Shepard's idea of directing seems to be to yell "Action!" and hope for the best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, (more)
The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this adolescent-oriented drama, a young woman is forced to attend a posh finishing school in the Mediterranean. She vents her anger by rebelling against the cruel and sicko headmaster. When she discovers that he has been secretly photographing them naked and profiting from the pictures, she rallies the other girls and gets revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tricia Leigh Fisher, Lisa Lorient, (more)
"Daddy" is Dermot Mulroney--a high-school-age kid who has no clue of what he's in for. Mulroney has gotten his girlfriend Patricia Arquette pregnant, less out of callousness than naivete. Arquette drops out of school, thinking she can drop back in anytime, while Mulroney puts his music lessons on hold for the "duration," also treating the situation as temporary. The film is remarkable in conveying the principles' utter lack of preparedness for their upcoming parental responsibilities. Some critics felt that the film should have been required viewing for teens who think themselves wise beyond their years simply because they've discovered sex. Made for TV, Daddy was first telecast April 5, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
