Amanda Detmer
The heightened racial tensions of post-9/11 America are at the center of this 2007 drama, the feature debut from director Hesham Issawi. Co-writer Sayed Badreya stars as Mustafa, an Egyptian-born entrepreneur facing the daily challenges of an Arab Muslim living in Los Angeles and hoping to open a restaurant with his Jewish best friend, played by Tony Shalhoub. As Mustafa is met with friction for this unlikely plan, several other stories of adversity in the Arab-American community unfold around him. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sayed Badreya, Tony Shalhoub, (more)
Actor Craig Sheffer makes his feature directorial debut with this ensemble comedy featuring Ron Livingston, Rob Schneider, Jennifer Esposito, and Michael Clarke Duncan, and following a harried group of characters through twenty-four hours in a typical Los Angeles day. Quite a bit can happen over the course of a single day in L.A., and when smooth-talking scam artist Johnny (Livingston) decides to throw a bachelor party for his best friend Bill (Schneider) the events of the day take a decidedly bizarre turn. As the festivities get underway, the appearance of a transvestite prostitute, a trigger-happy ex-con, and a notorious porn king signal that this isn't going to be your typical night on the town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Livingston, Rob Schneider, (more)
Directed by Joey Travolta, the thriller Final Move concerns a detective with extrasensory perception who is pulled out of his retirement in order to solve an unsolved murder. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Schulze, Lochlyn Munro, (more)
A man is being driven crazy by his shiftless best friend, just as the layabout starts making nice with his wife and neighbors in this comedy. Carl and Molly (Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson) are a thirtysomething couple who have just gotten married and are settling down into a cozy new home in a quiet neighborhood. While Carl and Molly are happy with their new digs, Carl's best friend, Randy Dupree (Owen Wilson), is not content with his living arrangements. Dupree has all but made a career out of avoiding work, responsibility, and commitment, and while his charm usually manages to keep him afloat, when he loses his job, his apartment, and his car. Carl can't bear to see Dupree in such dire circumstances, and tells Dupree he can stay on their couch until he can get things straightened out. But while Carl was expecting Dupree to stay for a few days, it soon becomes obvious to both him and Molly that their guest has no intention of moving out anytime soon, and while the likable freeloader starts working his charm on Molly, their neighbors, and their friends, Carl soon finds himself at the end of his rope with his best man and childhood buddy. You, Me and Dupree also stars Amanda Detmer, Seth Rogen, and Michael Douglas as Molly's father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, (more)
A car wreck causes the lives of 15 strangers to unexpectedly collide in this independent comedy drama. It's Father's Day, and Ted (William Forsythe) is out on the road with his 19-year-old son Josh (Dan Byrd). When Josh slams on the brakes to avoid hitting a dog along a two-lane highway in the country, his car is rear-ended by Lorraine (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a cellist en route to a gig. Josh's car hits a telephone pole which soon blocks the road, and a traffic jam results. Among the folks waiting for the road to clear are Lilac (Gina Torres) and her lesbian girlfriend Rose (Mariah O'Brien), who is about to have a baby and needs medical help. Jerry (David DeLuise) and Curt (Christopher Amitrano) are a pair of half-bright rednecks who have stolen an ATM machine and are trying to figure out how to liberate the cash from it when they're enlisted to help Rose have her child. Divorcé Dale (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is spending the day with his kids Robert (Skyler Gisondo) and Brianna (Marissa Blanchard), but he isn't sure how to break the news he'll soon be moving away and won't see them very often. Gary (Jonathan Silverman) and Judy (Julie Claire) are a bickering yuppie couple at odds over the fact they haven't been able to have a baby. Amy (Amanda Detmer) is on her way to her wedding, and her friends Stephanie (Amanda Foreman) and Jen (Elizabeth Bogush) are there to lend support, but Amy is having second thoughts and Stephanie knows something that would have a very serious effect on the nuptials. And Mick (Alex Rocco) is a middle-aged man traveling with his wife Ruby (Tess Harper) who ends up acting as an advisor on affairs of the heart to several other stranded motorists. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Four twentysomething friends find out too late that their theory about love blooming in extreme circumstances may have one fatal flaw in director Lorena David's romantic action comedy. When a random accident on the ski slope results in romance for one of the four close-knit friends, his lovelorn pals soon conclude that it was the stress of the event that helped to cement the instantaneous bond between the pair. Soon convinced that the surefire way to find love is to plan a series of risky dates in which chaos is the key ingredient, the four friends find their plan coming frustratingly close to fruition before cooking up an elaborate kidnapping ruse that's sure to result in true love. The only problem with the plan is that the "kidnappers" that the friends have hired are actually a pair of ex-cons with a devious plan all their own. Now, with their friend missing and the police in pursuit, the remaining pals hatch a daring plan to foil the kidnappers ad rescue the captives before their harmless experiment yields deadly results. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2003
The initials in the title of this ensemble sitcom stood for Assistant United States Attorney. This was the job description of the series' protagonist, Adam Sullivan (Scott Foley). As a novice Federal Prosecutor in New York City, the wide-eyed Adam thought he was prepared for nasty perpetrators, tough opposing attorneys, and intractable judges. What he wasn't prepared for was the sarcastic animosity of his own boss, Geoffrey Laurence (Peter Jacobson), or the fact that his former girlfriend, Susan Rakoff (Amanda Detmer), was one of his principal antagonists, a legal aid lawyer. Other regulars included Ana Ortiz as streetwise A.U.S.A. Ana Rivera, Eddie McClintock as Adam's dippy best friend, Owen Harper, and John Ross Bowie as eccentric paralegal Wally Berman. Created by Richard Appel, himself a former paralegal, A.U.S.A. premiered February 4, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Foley, Amanda Detmer, (more)
- 2003
Divorced Denver TV weatherman Will (Scott Wolf) only has custody of his son during holidays. Divorced mom Jane (Amanda Detmer) has custody of her daughter every day of the year except holidays. Inevitably, Will and Jane meet at the Denver airport while picking up and dropping off their respective children. And inasmuch as this is a made-for-cable romantic comedy, Will and Jane are destined to run into one another at the same airport again and again on subsequent Holiday weekends. And of course they will ultimately fall in love, despite such complications as the effort by Jane's ex-husband to win her back. The first film project of Friends star Lisa Kudrow's Is or Isn't Entertainment, Picking Up and Dropping Off made its ABC Family channel debut on December 7, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
New England native Vanessa Parise makes her directorial debut with the Italian-American wedding movie Kiss the Bride. Danni Sposato (Amanda Detmer) embarks on her wedding plans aided by her mother, Irena (Talia Shire), and grandmother Julia (Frances Bay). Danni's three sisters return home to Rhode Island for the wedding: oldest Niki (Brooke Langton) is the Hollywood star of a TV show, who brings along her rude boyfriend/manager Marty (Johnny Whitworth); icy Chrissy (played by director Parise) is a wealthy New York City businesswoman with no romantic prospects; and youngest Toni (Monet Mazur) drives a motorcycle and brings along her girlfriend Amy (Alyssa Milano). Also starring Burt Young and Sean Patrick Flanery. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda Detmer, Sean Patrick Flanery, (more)
Former co-stars of the TV sitcom Head of the Class teamed up to write the story and script for this teen comedy. When junior high-school student Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz) realizes that his class paper has been ripped off and turned into a hit motion picture called "Big Fat Liar," he takes matters into his own hands. Along with his best friend, Kaylee (Amanda Bynes), Jason travels to Los Angeles, where he intends to confront Hollywood big shot Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), the sleazy producer responsible for ripping him off. When he's unable to get Wolf to do the right thing, Jason subjects the showbiz power broker to a series of humiliating pranks and stunts designed to make an honest man out of him. Big Fat Liar co-stars Lee Majors and Amanda Detmer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, (more)
This romantic comedy is from director, former actor, and regular Adam Sandler collaborator Dennis Dugan. Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs) is a loser at love, so his best friends J.D. (Jack Black) and Wayne (Steve Zahn) set him up on a date with his dream girl, Judith (Amanda Peet). A serious relationship develops and threatens to become a marriage, but J.D. and Wayne come to the conclusion that Judith is totally wrong for Darren. In an effort to reunite their pal with Sandy (Amanda Detmer), his long-lost love from school, they kidnap Judith. However, the wily bride to be is at least one step ahead of her captors in the wits department. Saving Silverman also stars R. Lee Ermey and Neil Diamond in a cameo role as himself. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, (more)
Director Frank Darabont created this Frank Capra-inspired drama based on a screenplay by his friend and one-time schoolmate Michael Sloane. Jim Carrey stars as Pete Appleton, a screenwriter in the Hollywood of the 1950s. Pete's on top of the world with his first motion picture "Sand Pirates of the Sahara" just released to theaters and his romance with a beautiful starlet (Amanda Detmer) heating up. However, his triumph turns to dismay when he's called before the commie-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee and advised by a studio lawyer and his agent to play ball with the witch hunters. Depressed by the film industry's weak-kneed reaction to the hearings, Pete gets drunk and drives his car north along the California coast, where he crashes from a bridge and wakes up on shore the next morning suffering from amnesia. Wandering into the nearby small town of Lawson, Pete is mistaken for Luke Trimble, a lost hero of World War II who, like most of the area's young men, never returned from the war a decade earlier. "Luke" has soon reunited with both his father (Martin Landau) and his one-time girlfriend (Laurie Holden), and finds that his reappearance has given the citizens of Lawson an emotional boost that's sorely needed. When he refurbishes and reopens his family's decrepit movie theater, the Majestic, Luke revitalizes Lawson just as his memory of his true identity begins to reassert itself. Sloane's original script for The Majestic (2001) was entitled The Bijou. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, (more)
In this teenage horror film, a young man avoids the hand of death, only to find that he can't get away from it so easily. On the way to Paris with his high-school French club, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a vivid premonition of the plane crashing and killing all its passengers. After Alex and some other passengers demand to be let off the flight, his premonition turns out to be true, and the jet explodes during takeoff. While the FBI is convinced that Alex was involved in some kind of foul play, the passengers who got off the flight are all dying in horrible ways, as if whoever determined that the passengers would perish is punishing those who cheated death. Final Destination marked the feature directorial debut of James Wong, a producer and director for the TV series The X Files. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Devon Sawa, Amanda Detmer, (more)
In this romantic comedy, good friends change their feelings about each other over the course of their four years in college. Ryan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Jennifer (Claire Forlani) have known each other since grade school, though their oil-and-water personalities don't always mesh. Engineering student Ryan focuses on his studies and future career, while Jennifer likes loud music, partying, and not doing her homework. As they suffer their share of disastrous relationships, these two opposites begin to wonder if they were meant to be more than friends. The supporting cast includes Jason Biggs as Ryan's loudmouth roommate Hunter, Amanda Detmer as Jennifer's neurotic pal Amy, Alyson Hannigan as Ryan's sometime girlfriend Betty, and Heather Donahue, who is no worse for wear after her experiences in the Maryland woods in The Blair Witch Project. Director Robert Iscove also worked with Prinze on She's All That (1999). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Prinze, Jr., Claire Forlani, (more)
Jean de Segonzac directs Richard Crenna and Craig T. Nelson in the police thriller To Serve and Protect. Police officer Tom Carr begins to look into the death of a woman, but his suspicions that his perp is a serial killer become more pronounced after the death of a judge. Although Carr is able to get help from two other generations in the Carr family, he must step up his game when the killer takes an unexpected hostage. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna, Craig T. Nelson, (more)
