Helen Hunt Movies
A precociously talented youngster, Helen Hunt was drawing paychecks as a television actress from the age of ten. Before she was 17, she had appeared as a regular on two series, Swiss Family Robinson (1975) and The Fitzpatricks (1977). Hunt proved she was more than just a workaday child actor with her starring performance in the fact-based 1981 TV movie The Miracle of Kathy Miller, in which she played a high school athlete who overcame severe mental and physical damage brought on by a highway accident.
While she had been appearing in films as early as Rollercoaster in 1977, Hunt was never groomed as a star player, and it is possible that her resemblance to another child actress, Jodie Foster, held her back from more important roles.
After taking on her first adult role in the 1982 sitcom It Takes Two, Hunt's film assignments improved, with sizable roles in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Project X (1987), Next of Kin (1989), and The Waterdance (1991). She also gained a small measure of cult status by appearing in a brace of science fiction films, including Trancers II (1991) and Trancers III (1992). That same year, Hunt landed her longest-lasting acting assignment to date, as the co-star of the Paul Reiser-created comedy series Mad About You. During the show's seven-year run, she won both Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her portrayal of Jamie Buchman. In 1996, Hunt had her most successful film role to date in the blockbuster Twister. The following year, she topped that when she received a Best Actress Oscar for playing a caring waitress and single mother who befriends acerbic, obsessive-compulsive author Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson, who also won an Oscar for his performance) in As Good As It Gets. After Mad About You ended in 1999, Hunt appeared in films by several veteran directors, including Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away [2000]), Robert Altman (Dr. T and The Women [2000]), and Woody Allen (The Curse of the Jade Scorpion [2001]). She starred in Life x 3 on Broadway in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Though set in Wyoming, Pioneer Women was lensed in the unspoiled wilderness of Alberta, Canada. Joanna Pettet plays the title role, one of many Wyoming homesteaders of the post-Civil War era. Joanna endures the death of her husband (William Shatner), then must decide whether or not to make a go of her new home with only the help of her children. The supporting cast is dotted with past and future TV series stars: The Fugitive's David Janssen, Werewolf's Lance LeGault, and Mad About You's Helen Hunt, here cast as Pettet's 10-year-old daughter. Made for television, Pioneer Woman first aired December 19, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pettet, William Shatner, (more)
The 1975 TV movie Death Scream is based on the shameful Kitty Genovese affair of 1964, in which a N.Y.C. woman was stabbed to death while 38 witnesses locked their windows and doors and pretended not to hear. Raul Julia stars as the detective who investigates the murder and stirs up the guilt feelings of those who refused to help. The film casts celebrity actors in the roles of the witnesses (Diahann Carroll, Cloris Leachman, Lucie Arnaz, Nancy Walker, Art Carney, et al.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Even though he was pushing thirty, John Rubinstein was still fresh-faced enough to pass for a college student in 1975's All Together Now. Rubinstein plays the oldest of four orphans, who wishes to be named legal guardian for his younger siblings. The court gives Rubinstein thirty days to prove that the family can function properly without parents. If he fails, the children will be shipped off to separate foster homes. Made for television, All Together Now is in a certain sense a "second generation" offering: John Rubinstein is the son of symphony conductor Arthur Rubinstein, while his costars Adam Arkin and Larry Bishop are the sons of Alan Arkin and Joey Bishop, respectively. Featured in the cast is a gifted teenaged actress named Helen Hunt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Rollercoaster was a by-product of the brief "Sensurround" craze of the 1970s. Nutsoid Timothy Bottoms sabotages an amusement-park roller coaster, killing several innocent revelers. After several other acts of terrorism, Bottoms (whose character is credited as Young Man) presents his demands to the authorities via audio tape: one million dollars, or he'll stage five roller-coaster disasters simultaneously in five different parks. Because detective Harry Calder George Segal evinces a grudging respect for the elusive extortionist, Bottoms declares that only Detective Calder will be permitted to deliver the money. Thus the stage is set for an explosive climax, which during the film's original run was accompanied by the Sensurround effect, a gimmick that electronically caused the filmgoer's chairs to begin shaking and vibrating during the "thrill scenes." As with most disaster flicks of the era, Rollercoaster is top-heavy with "guest stars," including Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, and Susan Strasberg. Watch for 13-year-old Helen Hunt as Detective Calder's spunky daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1979
In this drama, an ambitious executive must decide whether or not to have a much needed heart transplant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
PCP, a deadly drug commonly known as Angel Dust, made its first destructive appearances on the street in the late 1970s. In Angel Dusted, Jean Stapleton plays a cloistered housewife/mother who knows little and cares less about drug problems. Her son is a hard-working college student who decides to experiment just once with marijuana. The boy freaks out after smoking pot laced with PCP--and it doesn't look like he'll ever totally recover. Adding texture to the film is the presence of the film's screenwriter Darlene Craviotto as the boy's psychiatrist--and the presence of Jean Stapleton's real-life son John Putch in the role of her on-screen son. Angel Dusted was based on a book by Ursula Etons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Helen Hunt is outstanding as the real-life Kathy Miller, a 13-year-old Arizona athlete and honor student whose world came screeching to halt in 1977. Struck by a car on a lonely highway, Kathy spends the next ten weeks in a coma. Upon awakening, she is unable to walk, talk, read or write: she has sustained massive brain damage and her leg has been mutilated. The experts say "No hope", but neither Kathy nor her parents (Sharon Gless, Frank Converse) will settle for that diagnosis. After eight torturous months of physical and mental therapy, Kathy Miller is entered in a 6-mile race -- the first of many stepping stones to her ultimate status as a world champion. Made for television, The Miracle of Kathy Miller was written with an emphasis on optimism and a minimum of sentimental gush by Mel and Ethel Brez. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hunt, Sharon Gless, (more)
Originally made for television and based on a true story from the '50s, this film concerns a rural Arizona town that deals in polygamy. Specifically, a boy is shocked that his father (Christopher Atkins), a veteran of the Korean War, wishes to take a 15-year-old girl for another wife. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this made-for-TV film, a high-school counselor (Joyce Brothers) faces ineffectual help from administration in combating drugs, so she recruits several students to help in the battle. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hunt
- 1983
Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1983
This fact-based youth-oriented drama chronicles the courage and determination of a teenage girl who stands tall in the face of sexist traditionalism and fights for her right to play on the varsity football team. Not only does she succeed, she also manages to become the homecoming queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hunt, Don Murray, (more)
- 1983
Bill: On His Own is the laudable made-for-TV sequel to the Emmy-winning 1981 film Bill. Mickey Rooney once more shines as Bill Sackter, a mentally-retarded adult struggling to survive in the mainstream. The owner of a coffee kiosk at the University of Iowa, Bill becomes disoriented when his friend and mentor Dennis Quaid moves to Los Angeles. Taking over Bill's case is idealistic young social worker Helen Hunt. While studying towards his Bar Mitzvah (which he was denied at the age of 13 because of his "incompetence"), Bill suffers a severe personal blow that threatens to send him spiralling back into helplessness. Bill: On His Own was originally telecast November 9, 1983, some four months after the death at age 70 of the real-life Bill Sackter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The made-for-TV Code of Honor covers a time span of over a dozen years. Merritt Butrick plays Captain Paul Dennison, whose career-and life-is unfairly snuffed out by fellow officer Joseph Cheever (Kevin Dobson). Fourteen years later, Cheever, now a highly decorated and universally respected major, comes face to face with Dennison's revenge-seeking sister (Kelly McGillis). Failing to recognize the girl, Cheever tries to make love to her--a fatal mistake. Code of Honor was originally telecast October 31, 1984 under the title Sweet Revenge; its production title was For the Love of a Soldier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Dobson, Kelly McGillis, (more)
With the whimsical tagline "Jack Deth is back and he's never been here before," director Charles Band melds Blade Runner, The Terminator, and Jingle All the Way for this low-budget science fiction adventure. The story takes place in Angel City in the year 2247, when enforcer Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) has just retired from the weekly grind after vanquishing villain Martin Whistler (Michael Stefani) and his roving cohorts, called "trancers." But Whistler and his trancers have gone back to Christmas 1985, with the insidious plan of exterminating the ruling council by killing off all the council members' ancestors. So Deth agrees to go back in time to get Whistler and the trancers all over again. To do so, he must transfer his memory into the body of one of his ancestors, who in this case has just had an erotic interlude with the perky and attractive Leena (Helen Hunt), who works as a Santa's elf at a shopping mall and gets to wear a skimpy, tight-fitting elf suit. Deth discovers that Whistler has taken over the body of the police inspector and has started transforming the Los Angeles population into trancers --including Santa Claus. With Leena's help, Deth sets out to even the score. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, (more)
On her first day at an all-girls Catholic High School in Chicago, shy and reserved Janey Glenn (Sarah Jessica Parker) meets the wild and wacky Lynne Sands (Helen Hunt). Even though her oppressive dad, Col. Glenn (Ed Lauter), won't let her go, Lynne talks her into sneaking out to try out for a spot on the beloved show Dance TV. Janey wows the judges with her gymnastic ability and makes first cuts, conveniently assigned to a cute dance partner: blue-collar bad boy Jeff Malene (Lee H. Montgomery). They compete against the bratty rich girl Natalie Sands (Holly Gagnier), who sabotages them because she wants Jeff and the contest for herself. Janey and Lynne get revenge by inviting punks and street kids to crash her debutante ball. Natalie then resorts to making her wealthy industrialist dad, J.P. Sands (Morgan Woodward), threaten Jeff; If he doesn't let Natalie win, his dad (Biff Yeager) could lose his job at the factory. It all leads up to the live television broadcast of the Dance TV contest, right when Janey's dad races to the studio to stop her. Also starring Shannen Doherty as Jeff's little sister, Maggie. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Jessica Parker, Lee Montgomery, (more)
- 1985
In the conclusion of a two-part story, wealthy horse breeder Mr. Armstrong (Stephen Elliott) is still dead set against the romance between his playboy son Garth (John Hammond) and the daughter of Armstrong's head trainer MacGill (Noble Willingham). It is up to angel-in-training Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) to smooth out the course (or in this case, the bridal path) of true love. Complications ensue when the young couple elopes -- with Garth unaware that his sweetheart is suffering from cancer. A decidedly pre-Mad About You Helen Hunt guest stars as feisty Lizzy MacGill in this, the final episode of Highway to Heaven's first season. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1985
Highway to Heaven closes out its first season with episode one of a two-part story. Angel-in-training Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) is assigned to a horse-breeding farm, owned by fabulously wealthy Mr. Armstrong (Stephen Elliott). The good news is that Armstrong's playboy son Garth (John Hammond) has fallen in love. The bad news, at least so far as Mr. Armstrong is concerned, is that Garth's sweetheart is Lizzy MacGill (Helen Hunt), the daughter of the farm's "lowly" horse breeder. Two regulars from Michael Landon's previous series Little House on the Prairie, Richard Bull and Noble Willingham, appear in supporting roles. ~ All Movie Guide
During her 25th high school class reunion, middle-aged Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) tries to forget her marital problems with husband Charlie (Nicolas Cage) by renewing old friendships. Wondering if she made the right decisions in her life, Peggy Sue gets a chance to try again when, zapped into a time warp, she finds herself a teenager back in 1960. Armed with foreknowledge (the scene in which she tells off her algebra teacher is a particular treat), Peggy Sue gets to retrace the steps leading up to her unhappy marriage to high-school sweetheart Charlie. Will nerdish Richard Norvik (Barry Miller), who always carried a torch for Peggy Sue and whom she knows will become a millionaire computer mogul by 1985, win out over the unreliable Charlie this time? A "small" film from the otherwise profligate Francis Ford Coppola, Peggy Sue Got Married possesses an irresistible charm that makes up for its glaring plot deficiencies. The youthful cast is matched in its appeal by such veterans as Leon Ames, Maureen O'Sullivan and John Carradine. And yes, that is Jim Carrey as Walter Getz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, (more)
Project X is a top-secret government undertaking involving trained chimpanzees. Grounded pilot Matthew Broderick, assigned to teach the chimps how to operate a flight simulator, discovers that his charges are to be subjected to high levels of radiation to test potential human endurance. Risking a court martial, Broderick links up with Helen Hunt, the researcher who has taught the chimps sign language, to save the simians from destruction. The serious subtext of Project X is forgotten during a Disneyesque comic finale, wherein the lovable chimps nearly trigger a nuclear meltdown! Without taking anything away from human stars Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt, we must note that the most engaging performance in Project X is delivered by Willie the Chimp, who essays the challenging role of Virgil the Chimp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, (more)
The storytelling device of the flashback gets an intense workout in this tragic coming of age drama. Mark Harmon stars as washed-up baseball player Billy Wyatt, who is shocked when he receives news that his childhood sweetheart and friend Katie Chandler (Jodie Foster) has committed suicide and left the disposal of her ashes to his judgment. Although Billy and Katie have not kept in touch through the years, he has always carried a torch for her, his first love. On his way home, Billy recalls his past associations with the free-spirited Katie: their first meeting, the time they made love, and conversations they had, mostly during summers at the New Jersey shore. Billy also remembers the adolescent mischief he got into with his best friend Alan Appleby (played by Jonathan Silverman in the flashbacks, Harold Ramis in the present-day), like when each of them ended up sleeping with other's prom date. Billy finally decides to cast Katie's ashes to the wind in the place where they were happiest, by the seashore. Stealing Home was reportedly based on the real-life experiences of its writers, former Second City troupe members and WKRP in Cincinnati writers Steven Kampmann and Will Aldis. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Harmon, Blair Brown, (more)
- 1988
- G
Based on the classic fairy tale, this musical children's film follows the well-known story of a beautiful princess (Aileen Quinn) who wouldn't keep a promise. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
Two brothers (Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson) have inherited a large farm (once voted "Farm of the Year") from their father, but cannot keep it afloat. When the farm goes bankrupt, the pair decide to torch the place and take off across the Midwest, fleeing the law to become folk heroes for many rural farmers in the area. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson, (more)
