Carly Pope Movies

Two young lovers use their mobile phones to break free from the relationships that bind them, and seek true happiness together in this quirky romantic comedy from director Warren P. Sonoda. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A secretary turns small-scale revolutionary in this satiric comedy drama from director Jamie Babbit. Anna (Melonie Diaz) is a woman in her early twenties who has recently graduated from college but is still figuring out what she wants to do with her life. Anna works as a receptionist for a plastic surgeon, but has mixed feelings about how he manipulates women's negative self-image for profit. Anna is also single and a lesbian, and is having a hard time meeting new women after breaking up with her latest girlfriend. One evening, Anna sees a woman spray painting graffiti on the side of the building where she works, encouraging women to not get breast enlargement surgery; Anna is intrigued and introduces herself. The vandal is Sadie (Nicole Vicius), the leader of a group of lesbian counter-cultural pranksters who call themselves "C*nts in Action," or the CIA. Sadie takes a liking to Anna and invites her to join fellow members Shulamith (Carly Pope), Aggie (Lauren Mollica), and Meat (Deak Evgenikos) as they deface billboards and put up homemade sculptures of feminist icons in public parks. Anna likes the CIA and their aggressive style, and she is strongly attracted to Sadie; eventually, they sleep together, but Anna soon learns Sadie already has a longtime companion, Courtney (Melanie Mayron), and she begins to wonder if she can support every position the CIA has embraced. Itty Bitty Titty Committee was voted Best Feature Film at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Worn to a frazzle by her job at trendy "Glow" magazine, straitlaced J.J. Jenner (Carly Pope) is gratified when her boss offers her the job of writing an important food column--but only if she can finish a decent article within a two-week deadline, which will fall upon Christmas Eve. Impeding J.J.'s potential success is the breakup of her current romance, and especially the unannounced arrival of her freewheeling mother Lee (Christine Baranski), former hippie and lifelong chorus girl. To get her well-meaning but annoying mom out of her hair, and to assure that the food-column job will definitely be hers, J.J. enters into an arrangement with publicity-hungry restaurant owner Alex (Bobby Cannavale), wherein he will date Lee in exchange for a glowing review of his eating establishment. Suffice to say that things don't quite turn out as either J.J. or Alex originally planned. Produced for the Lifetime cable channel,Recipe for a Perfect Christmas debuted December 5, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Susan Seidelman directed this made-for-cable comedy drama about a few days in the lives of a group of "working girls" in Reno, NV. "The Ranch" is a legally operated brothel that operates under the careful watch of state health inspectors (who insist on weekly medical checkups) and the semi-benevolent leadership of Mary (Amy Madigan), the manager. While the women on staff don't have to dodge the law like their comrades elsewhere, that doesn't mean they don't have their problems, as moms juggle parenthood with the world's oldest profession, some of the prostitutes struggle to keep their work a secret from their boyfriends, and others try to escape the mistakes of the past that brought them to Nevada. Originally created as a pilot for a possible cable series, The Ranch was released in R-rated and "uncut" editions; the supporting cast includes Samantha Ferris, Jessica Collins, Paige Moss, and Nicki Micheaux. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When the best doctors at St. Albert's Hospital suddenly abandon their posts, it's up to the six inexperienced interns to keep the hospital running and the patients breathing in an all-star comedy featuring Dave Thomas, Dan Aykroyd, Maury Chaykin, Dave Foley, Matt Frewer, and Saul Rubinek. Things aren't what they used to be at St. Andrews Hospital, and between the wild parties down in the morgue and the misplaced patients, it's going to take a miracle to maintain the appearance of order in this medical facility. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The scene is San Francisco, where a diabolically crafty serial killer is preying on newlywed couples, killing the groom before the bride and then removing both wedding rings. Assigned to track down this maniac is homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer (Tracy Pollan), who, despite the usual quota of false clues and red herrings, seems more than prepared for the biggest challenge of her career. But Lindsay is not prepared for facing her own mortality: She has been diagnosed with a blood disease that nearly always proves fatal and may not live long enough to bring the honeymoon killer to justice. Based on a novel by James Patterson (as indicated by the film's "official" title), First to Die debuted February 23, 2003, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Back when they were junior-high-school "geeks," Melissa and Gabrielle (aka Mel and Gabby) were perennial targets for abuse from the prettier and more popular girls on campus -- especially the beautiful but bitchy Cara Cabot. The most crushing humiliation came when Mel was led to believe that the school's handsomest boy, Drew Hesler, was truly interested in her -- only to be told otherwise in the cruelest and most public fashion imaginable. Eleven years have passed, and Mel (Carly Pope) is now a slim, attractive, high-powered public relations executive, with Gabby (Sara Rue) as her equally well-poised partner. Assigned to publicize a new, trendy restaurant, Mel is astonished to discover that the establishment's owner is none other than Drew Hesler (Brian Austin Green) -- who doesn't even recognize her. Thirsting for revenge, Gabby insists that Mel cook up a scheme that will make both Drew and his partner Cara (Gina Tognoni) look as foolish and flustered as Mel had been back in junior high. But Mel threatens to spoil the scheme by falling in love with Drew all over again. The made-for-cable This Time Around debuted June 22, 2003, on the ABC Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young college student begins to question his family's expectations of him -- as well as his own expectations of himself -- in first-time Canadian director Ori Kowarsky's film Various Positions. Law student Josh Szchevisky (Tygh Runyan) -- eagerly following the educational path his parents (L. Harvey Gold and Marie Stillin) have plotted for him -- begins preparing to spend the Passover holiday at home when he meets a hot young coed named Cheryth (Carly Pope). The two embark on a quick and intense romance, which leaves Josh fearful of announcing his relationship with a non-Jew to his devout family. As Josh eventually decides to bring Cheryth to dinner, his father and younger brother Tzvi (Michal Suchanek) give her enough grief to inflict some damage on Josh and Cheryth's fragile relationship. Furthermore, their treatment of Cheryth also gives Josh pause as he questions how his family's desires for his future conflict with his own. Various Positions was selected for inclusion into the Panorama Canada program at the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Season one of Popular ended with what seemed to be a dual triumph for snooty high-school cheerleader Brooke (Leslie Bibb) and her intellectual classroom rival Samantha (Carly Pope), as the wedding between Brooke's dad, Mike (Scott Bryce), was canceled after the announcement from Brooke's real mom, Kelly (Peggy Lipton), that her divorce from Mike was never finalized! Season two picks up the action, with Kelly scheming and conniving to win back Mike's love, and the heartbroken Jane briefly moving out of town with Sam in tow. Elsewhere, the walls of the two leading cliques at Jacqueline Kennedy High School -- Brooke's and Sam's -- are slowly crumbling to dust. Brooke's bitchy friend Nicole (Tammy Lynn Michaels) is aghast when she loses her coveted slot in the "Glamazon" cheerleading squad to Sam's chubby chum Carmen (Sara Rue). Brooke's football-jock boyfriend, Josh (Bryce Johnson), likewise finds his supremacy challenged by newly arrived gridiron star George Austin (A.T. Montgomery), who, to make matters worse, has crossed over to the enemy camp by dating Sam. And in a similar move, Sam's nerdy buddy Harrison (Christopher Gorham) commits a form of treason by going out with Brooke's shrill Southern-belle pal Mary Cherry (Leslie Grossman); can it be that Harrison's later bout with leukemia is punishment for selling out his anti-clique values? (Even worse: once his disease is in remission, Harrison takes up with Brooke herself!) As the season (and the series) draws to close, Sam's mom, Jane, gives birth to a baby conceived during her relationship with Brooke's dad, Mike, and for a few fleeting minutes the two girls become inseparable friends. But this truce is forgotten by season's end, which concludes with a nail-biting cliffhanger...one that, alas, will likely never be resolved. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's "clique" vs. "anti-clique" at Jacqueline Kennedy High School during the first season of the continuing teen drama Popular. Outraged by the smug social supremacy of head cheerleader Brooke Page (Leslie Bibb) and her snooty, shallow friends, Samantha "Sam" McPherson, crusading editor of the school newspaper, forms her own "army" of the anti-cool, comprised of nerds and misfits. Imagine the horror of the two rival leaders when Sam's mom, Jane (Lisa Darr), falls in love with Brooke's dad, Mike (Scott Bryce). Forced to bury the hatchet and form a united front against this dreadful contingency, Sam and Brooke conspire to break up their parents' romance before they make things legal via marriage. As for the friends of the two heroines, dweebish Harrison John (Christopher Gorham) is burdened by his apparently hopeless crush on Sam, and by his mom's decision to become a lesbian. And Brooke's boyfriend, football star Josh Ford (Bryce Johnson), breaks ranks by dating Sam's chubby chum Carmen Ferrara (Sara Rue). Amidst all this intrigue, a subplot involving the efforts of deranged Nurse Jessie Glass (Diane Delano) to murder her twin sister, Bobbi (also Delano), seem almost benign by comparison! It should surprise no one that the first season of Popular ends on a cliffhanger. In this instance, the wedding of Jane McPherson and Mike McQueen is rudely interrupted by a surprise announcement from Brooke's biological mom, Kelly (Peggy Lipton). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi