Forbes March Movies
A sexy woman discovers just how hard it can be to find a worthwhile man in this outrageous romantic comedy. Rebecca (Jenny McCarthy) is a beautiful blonde who thinks she has it made with her hunky boyfriend, Richard (Victor Webster); however, when she comes home early one day and finds him in bed with another woman, she realizes that isn't quite the case. Devastated, Rebecca takes the advice of her friends Carrie (Kam Heskin), a half-bright actress, and Michelle (Carmen Electra), a racially confused beautician, and throws herself back into the dating game to prove to Richard that she can do better. However, there's a problem -- Rebecca is a bit of a klutz, she keeps ending up with men who are either crazy or strange, and each date she goes on ends in disaster. Does Rebecca have any chance at either finding new love or winning Richard back? And is it possible her pal John (Eddie Kaye Thomas) might be interested in being more than just friends? Dirty Love was written by leading lady Jenny McCarthy and directed by John Asher, McCarthy's then-husband. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny McCarthy, Eddie Kaye Thomas, (more)
Season three of Mutant X begins as the series' superpowered mutant protagonists struggle to come to grips with the death of their comrade Emma "Rapport" deLauro, a psychic mutant who used force bolts to control and monitor the emotions of others. Also, the human leader of the Mutant X team, Adam Kane, has been forced to fake his own death and go into hiding, the better to continue his battle against the sinister government research lab Genomex and the lab's mutant-killing Genetic Security Agency. This, of course, explains why actor John Shea is billed as a guest star during his sporadic third season appearances. Replacing the departed Emma is Lexa Pierce (Karen Cliche), who, like her new teammate Fuse (Victor Webster) is an elemental mutant, capable of harnessing and controlling certain forces of nature. It is clear from the outset that Lexa will have no trouble fitting in with, and following the agenda of, the established Mutant X team, which in addition to Fuse also includes the molecule-rearranging Synergy (Forbes March) and the cat-like Shadowfox (Victoria Pratt). Whereas in previous seasons the Mutant X team was dedicated to rescuing their fellow mutants from harm, season three finds them broadening their base to include helping ordinary humans in ordinary situations. As a result, the individual plot devices are bit more standardized: the serial killer who leaves cryptic clues behind, a race to find the antidote for a slow-acting poison, the sudden appearance of a disreputable twin brother, and a "clip show" in which the teammates try to recall all the good times when one of their number hovers between life and death. The season finale, "The Assault," reveals several hitherto unknown and unsuspected facts about Mutant X and its true purpose in the scheme of things. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Pratt, Victor Webster, (more)
There's a bit of good news for Adam Kane (John Shea) and his genetically enhanced mutant comrades-in-arms as Mutant X launches its second season. Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus), the megalomaniacal madman who, as supervisor of the top-secret Genomex company, created a race of mutant superhumans, has been captured and imprisoned. However, there is little time for celebration: Eckhardt has been replaced as leader of the Genetic Security Agency, the organization set up to track down and destroy all mutants lest the secret agenda of Genomex be revealed to the world. The new head of the GSA is Gabriel Ashlocke (Michael Easton), a deranged super-mutant who possesses more deadly powers than all four members of Adam's Mutant X team combined. What does this sinister plot development hold in store for the catlike Shadowfox (Victoria Pratt), the electrically charged Fuse (Victor Webster), the psychic Rapport (Lauren Lee Smith), and the molecule-rearranging Synergy (Forbes March)? Well, without giving too much away, it can be noted that at least one member of the team will not be coming back for season three. As in past episodes, Mutant X leavens its tension-filled plotlines with moments of self-reflective humor, especially whenever the scriptwriters are moved to insert a few "in-jokes" for comic book and sci-fi fans, such as a passing reference to a psychiatric hospital presumably named after science fiction author Harlan Ellison, and naming one of the secondary villains after a character in the old cartoon series Space Ghost. Also, an aura of mystery and expectation is cunningly sustained with scattered suggestions that the Mutant X team possesses powers they are not even aware of...powers even more awesome than their established talents. Finally, season two of Mutant X marks the auspicious scriptwriting debut of actor Freddie Prinze Jr., who penned the episode titled "One Step Closer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Shea, Victoria Pratt, (more)
- 2001
The premise of Mutant X is firmly established in the series' two-part season one opener "The Shock of the New." Breaking away from the sinister government research organization Genomex, a scientist named Adam (John Shea) vows to shatter the megalomaniacal dreams of his former boss Mason Eckhart (Tom McCamus), and to rescue those genetically enhanced, superpowered human mutants created under Eckhart's evil influence. Adam quickly organizes several new mutants -- the catlike Shadowfox (Victoria Pratt), the electrically charged Fuse (Victor Webster), the psychic Rapport (Lauren Lee Smith), and the molecule-rearranging Synergy (Forbes March) -- into his own do-gooding agency Mutant X. As Adam's team endeavors to keep one step ahead of Eckhart's Genetic Security Agency, created to hunt down and kill the "renegades," they also save a number of their own mutant species from various grisly fates. Of course, some mutants are beyond redemption, and have crossed over into evil, among them a frightening array of "invisibles," shape shifters and even vampires. The last of season one's 22 episodes, "Dancing on the Razor," finds both Mutant X and Genomex facing their most deadly peril: public exposure! (up to now, Mr. John Q. Citizen has been kept in the dark as to all the superpowered and supernatural shenanigans). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Shea, Victoria Pratt, (more)
- 2001
Five friends who nursed their dreams all through college are having a hard time making them come true in the real world in this independent comedy drama. Darrin Michaels (Brad Beyer) is a struggling playwright whose father is more than happy to keep him afloat financially, but he's trying to find a way to succeed on his own terms while battling writer's block. Darrin also carries a torch for Rebecca Moscowitz (Morena Baccarin), a beautiful actress who is willing to read for anything, but keeps coming up against dunderheaded casting agents and sexist directors. Mickey Cancoon (Michael Parducci) is a would-be filmmaker looking for a break while avoiding the real world in graduate school; he used to date Rebecca, but even though they've split up, their break-up sex was so good they're still sleeping together, much to Darrin's chagrin. Rebecca has also occasionally fallen under the spell of Jay Green (Forbes March), a talented guitarist with a fear of success who prefers to sponge meals and nights on the coach from his friends rather than make something of himself. And Ethan Willard (Jordan Gelber) is another grad student who teaches an English course; self-conscious about his weight and his inexperience with women, Ethan wants a girlfriend but can barely bring himself to answer questions in class from his female students. Way Off Broadway was the first feature film from writer and director Daniel Kay; while the film began making the rounds of film festivals in 2001, it didn't win a theatrical release until 2004, after Morena Baccarin earned a following for her role on the television series Firefly. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Beyer, Morena Baccarin, (more)
