Alyson Hannigan Movies

Buffy the Vampire Slayer began its seventh and ultimately final season with a metaphorical return to its roots. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) enrolling at a rebuilt Sunnydale High School and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) quickly installing there as a guidance counselor seemed to poise the series for a return to teenage metaphors and a lighter tone after the darkness of the previous season. But when a new villain is announced by taking the form of each season's previous "big bad" villain, Buffy embarks on an extended story line that mirrors America's deepening commitment to the "war on terror" and the post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan. The continued assaults of the First Evil -- the malevolent but bodiless force from which all other evil springs -- force Buffy to become the general of an ad-hoc army and stage a preemptive strike against the Hellmouth. The resulting story line brings the series to an ultimately hopeful finale, but one suffused with loss. Some fans and critics think that consistently excellent writing was an early casualty of the season. For one thing, series creator Joss Whedon had a full slate executive producing the spin-off Angel and the short-lived Firefly. The introduction of copious new faces in the form of Buffy's new slayer-in-training army didn't leave room for much focus on the show's established characters. When the Scoobies were bestowed with extensive plot lines, they often reflected the season's overarching themes of loneliness and the isolation of power.

Cut off from her friends by returning to the vengeance-demon fold, Anya (Emma Caulfield) finally comes to terms with her search for herself. Meanwhile, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) struggles to redeem herself and master the immense powers that nearly destroyed her. Newly ensouled Spike (James Marsters) finds redemption of his own as Buffy's lieutenant and protector. Geeky former villain Andrew (Tom Lenk) throws in his lot with the good guys who didn't really want him. Dawn and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) struggle with their roles as non-combatants.
Despite a jokey subplot that toyed with the idea that he was an agent of the First, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) tries unsuccessfully to check Buffy's autocratic recklessness. New Sunnydale High Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside) proves an enigmatic presence at first, but the eventual revelation of his ties to Spike and the slayer line adds yet another personality to the Scoobies' rapidly expanding ranks. The return of reformed rogue slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) for the final five episodes helps fulfill the promise that the seventh season would bring Buffy back to its roots.

Written and directed by Whedon himself, the series finale turns the concept of "the chosen one" on its head. New and beloved characters alike bite the dust, as does the town of Sunnydale itself. But Willow and Spike at long last find their redemption, and the show's feminist themes found an excellent final metaphor. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

As Buffy the Vampire Slayer began its new life on UPN after five years on the WB, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) herself returned to the living thanks to the necromancy of her friend Willow (Alyson Hannigan). Her back-from-the-dead depression setting a darker tone for the series, the Chosen One faced new responsibilities as de facto parent of sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). The show's producers have accurately described the theme of the sixth season as "real life is the 'big bad.'" Depression, addiction, relationship wreckage, and dead-end jobs did more to plague the Slayer than the actual bad guys, a trio of nerdy ex-Sunnydale students who fashioned themselves as super-villains. Previous guest stars Danny Strong, as Jonathan, and Adam Busch, as Warren, were joined by newcomer Tom Lenk, as Andrew; their endless Dungeons & Dragons and Star Wars banter provided the bulk of the season's comic relief even as their attempts at villainy grew darker and more successful. Meanwhile, in the celebrated episode "Once More, With Feeling," series creator Joss Whedon fulfilled a lifelong ambition to write a musical. Falling under the spell of an all-singing, all-dancing demon, Buffy and the Scoobies found themselves bursting into song to declaim their innermost feelings. The big revelations included the reservations Xander (Nicholas Brendan) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) felt about their impending marriage; the fact that Willow had manipulated the memories of her girlfriend, Tara (Amber Benson); and the anger Buffy felt when her friends' resurrection spell plucked her not from hellish torment, but from peaceful reward.

With Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) heading back to England in an attempt at tough love, an isolated Buffy turned to the smitten Spike (James Marsters) for comfort. The graphic depiction of the pair's twisted sexual relationship proved controversial, especially to Gellar, who later complained that she found the portrayal degrading. Gay-rights activists, who had long praised the show's depiction of lesbian love between Willow and Tara, raised even bigger objections to the climactic story line. After spending the season attempting to recover from her highly metaphorical addiction to magic, Willow went mad and nearly destroyed the world to avenge Tara's death at the hands of über-geek Warren. An affectionate riff on the classic "Dark Phoenix" saga in Whedon's beloved X-Men comics, this "Dark Willow" story line -- including a promotional spot that declared "Hell hath no fury...like a Wiccan scorned" -- struck some viewers as a sad capitulation to pop culture's "crazy lesbian killer" stereotype. Not that things went very well for the show's heterosexual romances, either. Xander left Anya at the alter, leading her to resume her role as a vengeance demon. And Spike, dumped by Buffy, attempted to rape her, then endured a series of supernatural trials to earn back his human soul and become worthy of her love. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

After a comic go-around with the original vampire playboy in season opener "Buffy vs. Dracula," Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fifth season quickly established its overriding theme: the importance of family, both biological and adoptive. Kristine Sutherland -- mostly absent from season four -- returned as Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother. More importantly, series creator Joss Whedon surprised viewers with the introduction of the Slayer's teenaged sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). Neither a long-lost sibling nor a recent adoptee, Dawn was simply dropped into the mix as if she'd always been there. As the season progressed, though, she was revealed to be The Key, an ancient force that monks had incarnated into human form, with fake memories created for everybody. The reason? So that Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) would protect it from Glory (Clare Kramer), a deposed god who needed it to get back to her own hellish dimension. Rather than the usual picturesque "big bad," Glory appeared to be a well-heeled beauty, albeit one with super strength and a propensity for snacking on people's sanity. As the hellgod stalked Sunnydale in expensive pumps, her minions furiously seeking the identity of The Key, Buffy had bigger problems. Doctors discovered that Joyce was suffering from brain cancer, while Dawn accidentally learned about her true origins and freaked out.

Focusing on her family and refusing to show any weakness, Buffy managed to drive boyfriend Riley (Marc Blucas) away. Of course, she had a little helping hand from Spike (James Marsters), who discovered, to his horror, that he'd fallen in love with his arch-nemesis. Although repulsed by the neutered vampire's affections, Buffy slowly grew to trust him as an ally -- especially after an unexpected death left her feeling more alone than ever. Friends Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendan), and Anya (Emma Caulfield) continued to serve as Buffy's inner circle, while Tara (Amber Benson) escaped from her own repressive family to become a bona fide Scooby, reinforcing the season's familial theme. When an attack from Glory left Tara drooling and helpless, Willow struck back, testing her rapidly growing magical abilities. She failed, leading indirectly to Glory's discovery of The Key's identity. With Dawn in the hellgod's clutches and the clock ticking down to the moment when Glory could use the girl's death to break down the barriers between hell and earth, Buffy reached its 100th-episode season finale. Titled "The Gift," it summed up the season's themes of family, loss, and sacrifice and left some doubt as to the show's future. Behind the scenes, financial negotiations between the show's producers and the WB network had broken down. But upstart UPN agreed to pay top dollar for two more seasons, leaving the WB with a hole in its schedule and fans overjoyed. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first two seasons had established the modus operandi of unveiling a new villain and fresh overriding concept as each season began. The Slayer's senior year at Sunnydale High was no different; themes of power, corruption, and betrayal were encapsulated in the introduction of two new characters. Scheming to achieve supernatural transcendence atop the Hellmouth, crooked Mayor Richard Wilkins III (Harry Groener) served as the season's cuddly but creepy "big bad." But it was Faith (Eliza Dushku), Buffy's new fellow slayer and eventual dark foil, whose descent into sadistic villainy packed the bigger emotional wallop. Of course, as the season began, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was still smarting from the last time a trusted ally had turned on her. But the mysterious return of Angel (David Boreanaz) from the hell to which Buffy had dispatched him caused as many problems as it solved. (Eventually, as the season ended, Angel would leave Sunnydale for the larger horizons of Los Angeles in an eponymous spin-off that lasted five seasons.) As for the other characters, romantic entanglements continued between Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and Oz (Seth Green). Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Buffy's mother (Kristine Sutherland) even enjoyed a brief dalliance while under the influence of an enchantment. Fledgling witch Willow continued to hone her own magical talents. Xander lost his virginity -- and nearly his life -- to Faith. Stuffy new arrival Wesley Wyndam-Price (Alexis Denisof) usurped Giles' role as Watcher, allowing Buffy's mentor to exhibit a newfound suaveness and cynicism. And longtime bit player Jonathan (Danny Strong) took center stage in the controversial episode titled "Earshot." Penned by new staff writer Jane Espenson, whose gift for comedy had already made a big impact with fans, the otherwise humorous episode marked one of the first times a gun had figured prominently in a Buffy plot. In deference to the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, CO, the WB delayed airing "Earshot" -- and the violent season finale -- until months after they were originally scheduled. Nevertheless, the third season's final arc effectively brought the show's long-running high-school-is-hell conceit to its logical conclusion. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

By the time its abbreviated first season ran its course, Buffy the Vampire Slayer had captured the zeitgeist despite its modest ratings. With a fully formed aesthetic and a small but demographically admirable audience, the show entered what many fans and critics consider its golden age. On the villain front, hell-raising vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) arrived to shake Sunnydale up. Their twisted, Sid and Nancy-esque devotion to one another added depth and nuance to the show's moral compass. It also provided counterpoint to the fever-pitch romance between Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and tormented vampire Angel (David Boreanaz). Watcher Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), too, found love, in the arms of cyber-pagan Jenny Calendar (Robia La Morte), while Willow (Alyson Hannigan) began dating laconic, guitar-playing werewolf Oz (Seth Green). As for nice-guy Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and haughty beauty Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), they ended up, against all odds, in one another's arms. While the profusion of often star-crossed romance drove the show's emotional dynamics, it also supplied sudden shifts of allegiance and the death of a major character. In the two-parter "Surprise" and "Innocence" (aired on consecutive nights as a promotional stunt marking the show's move from Mondays to Tuesdays), Buffy and Angel finally consummated their love -- with unexpectedly disastrous results. A pesky gypsy curse and a moment of true happiness were all it took to turn Angel back into a killing machine. As the actors played out momentous story lines in a keener emotional register, new depths were revealed behind the scenes as well. Future show-runner Marti Noxon joined the writing staff and quickly became a key player, while series creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed several landmark episodes. Continuity buffs relished the revelation that Buffy's momentary death the previous season had triggered the emergence of another slayer. The brief but memorable career of Kendra the Vampire Slayer (Bianca Lawson) underscored the constant danger of Buffy's calling. Ultimately, though, it was the Slayer's lover-turned-nemesis whose seeming demise brought the season to a shattering close. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV For My Daughter's Honor concerns a torrid sexual relationship between 14-year-old Oklahoma high schooler Amy Dustin (Nicholle Tom) and the school's popular football coach Pete Nash (Gary Cole), who so far as the rest of the community is concerned is an above-reproach family man. Even allowing for the possibility that the affair was at first consensual, Nash becomes frighteningly possessive of Amy, so much so that she breaks her vow of secrecy and tells the authorities about Nash's infidelities. Unfortunately, there are few in town who are willing to take Amy's word against Nash--and those that do believe the story are convinced that Amy "came on" to the coach. With her daughter's reputation in ruins Amy's mother Betty Ann Dustin (Mary Kay Place) valiantly carries on a crusade to see that Nash is punished for his behavior and that justice is belatedly done. Based on Skip Hollandsworth's newspaper article "The Seduction of Jane Doe", For My Daughter's Honor (home video title: Indecent Seduction) made its CBS debut on November 20, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Animal Planet aesthetics get infused with blush-inducing blue-humor sensibilities as director Bob Saget teams with an all-star cast of comics including Lewis Black, Tracy Morgan, Jason Alexander, Dane Cook, and Whoopi Goldberg to prove that sometimes penguins aren't as sweet as they appear to be on the silver screen. Film star Samuel L. Jackson narrates as actual footage of penguins going about their business in nature is backed by the kind of twisted voice-over work that could only come from the biggest names in comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Misha (Nastassja Kinski) and Lexi (Alyson Hannigan) have a falling out with their scummy Russian boyfriends on the eve of a big heist. With the help of Helena (Jennifer Esposito), who despises her nerdy detective husband (Todd Field), the women arrange to rob the casino themselves. Which, of course, cheeses off the blood thirsty Russian ex-boyfriends. To complicate matters, Helena's husband gets in on the heist without her knowing it. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

It's said that most American men think about sex once every two or three minutes, but this statistic would seriously underestimate the horniness of Jim (Jason Biggs), a high school senior in suburban Michigan. Jim is thoroughly obsessed with sex, a fact of which his parents become aware when they discover him performing the sin of Onan with a gym sock while watching scrambled pay-per-view porn. Jim's buddies Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Oz (Chris Klein) are no less anxious to relieve themselves of their virginity, so they all make a pledge: they will go to bed with a woman in the three weeks before senior prom or die trying. Kevin appears to have the advantage, since he already has a girlfriend, Vicky (Tara Reid), but before he ventures into the Final Frontier, Kevin is urged to consult "The Bible," a hand-written how-to manual possessing erotic wisdom passed down through the ages. Oz is a good-looking jock who is actually a nice guy -- which is part of the problem, since he has his heart set on a nice girl, Heather (Mena Suvari), who does not seem the type to leap into bed within 21 days. Finch has no immediate prospects, though Jessica (Natasha Lyonne) is in a position to know if those rumors about him are true. And Jim is a truly hopeless case -- after his attempted seduction of beautiful Czech exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) turns out to be a disaster, he ends up going to the prom with Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), an annoyingly chatty band geek who does, however, have a fascinating story about a flute. American Pie was the directorial debut of Paul Weitz, who, along with his brother Chris Weitz (who served as producer), previously wrote several screenplays, including Antz and Madeline (where they presumably worked all their wholesome ideas out of their system). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The glorious Hollywood institution of the romantic comedy gets raked over the coals in this broad parody of any number of boy-meets-girl flicks. Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan) is a young woman who wants nothing more than to find the man of her dreams and settle down. However, Julia has a rather serious weight problem that prevents her from making a positive impression on people. Determined to find love at all costs, Julia somehow drops the weight and meets Grant Fonckyerdoder (Adam Campbell), a handsome and charming Englishman who falls head over heels for her. Julia and Grant waste no time in setting the date, but until they make their way to the altar they have to deal with meddling parents, flaky wedding planners, fights over the right wedding dress, vertically challenged romantic advisors, and Andy (Sophie Monk), a longtime friend of Grant, who isn't so happy to hear he's getting hitched. Also featuring Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Eddie Griffin, and Tony Cox, Date Movie was written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, proudly billed as "two of the six writers of Scary Movie." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide