Mark Gleason Movies
Thirteen-year-old Jenna (Shana Dowdeswell) has had enough with the trials of adolescence. In addition to being saddled with a devoted-but-nerdy best friend, Matt (Sean Marquette), she falls victim to one of the dangers of playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with the coolest kids in school: being stranded without a willing make-out partner. Humiliated, Jenna buries herself in the aformentioned make-out closet, wishing she could skip the whole adolescence bit and move straight into adulthood, and miraculously wakes just weeks away from her 30th birthday. Of course, a lot has changed since going to bed the night before, not the least of which being an impressive set of womanly curves. The new, older Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is a successful magazine editor with friends in high places and a lion's share of potential suitors -- including a hockey-playing boyfriend and a swarthy married man. The problem is that her mind hasn't matured with her body; Jenna not only finds living on her own more terrifying than cool, but is quick to dismiss any male over the age of 14 as "gross." Half excited, half mortified, Jenna seeks out Matt (Mark Ruffalo), whom she learns she had spurned as a teenager in an effort to join the popular crowd. Gary Winick directed, from a script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa; Gina Matthews produced. Choreographer Michael Peters - who died in 1994 - received posthumous credit, as his choreography from the Michael Jackson Thriller video is used in one scene. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
- 2001
James Franco, hot off his performance as James Dean in a well-received TV biopic, and before his supporting turn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, starred in this low-budget indie as Danny, an aimless young prep school student. The story is told in flashback. Danny leaves school and searches for his lover, the mysterious and alluring Darcy (Morgan H. Margolis). After promising to take Danny away with him, Darcy vanished, leaving a lot of unhappy people looking for him. Danny picks up the trail at the home of April (Shawn Montgomery in her first feature role), Darcy's pretty blond ex-girlfriend. Danny arrives just in time to foil April's suicide attempt. She's distraught because Darcy has apparently found someone new and run off. Danny, realizing that he is the new person April has described, doesn't tell her about his relationship with Darcy. The pair are soon joined by Wayne (Mark Patrick Gleason), a shady character -- apparently some kind of low-level mob enforcer -- with his own interest in finding Darcy. As the three search and learn more about the ugly business in which Darcy was involved, they form an unlikely bond. But as sinister forces converge on them, their newfound connection will be tested by life-threatening circumstances. Stefan Woloszczuk's debut feature (as writer, director, and producer) was shown in competition at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Franco, Shawn Montgomery, (more)
