Jana Marie Hupp Movies
According to high school wrestler Matthew Modine, a spiritual "Vision Quest" is necessary for him to decide his future. Thus, Modine starts behaving in a manner that amazes even himself. The crowning achievement of Modine's new outlook on life is his romance with 21-year-old artist Linda Fiorentino. Somehow, all of this boils down to the standard "underdog makes good at crucial sports event" finale. Essentially Rocky and Breaking Away redux, Vision Quest is saved by the spirited performances of its young protagonists. Of historical value is the brief appearance by Madonna, whose voice is heard throughout on the film's music track. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
- 1987
When a pregnant woman is caught in the crossfire of a mob hit, Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) find themselves faced with two daunting tasks. Not only do they have to locate the killer, but they must also establish the identity of the brain-dead victim in order to save the life of her unborn child. A crucial decision by the compassionate McCall caps this pivotal episode, which was directed by series star Fred Dryer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The title character, played by John Turturro, is a Broadway playwright, based on Clifford Odets, lured to Hollywood with the promise of untold riches by a boorish studio chieftain (played by Michael Lerner as a combination of Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohn). Despising the film capital and everything it stands for, Barton Fink comes down with an acute case of writer's block. He is looked after by a secretary (Judy Davis) who has been acting as a ghost writer for an alcoholic screenwriter (John Mahoney, playing a character based on William Faulkner). Also keeping tabs on Fink is a garrulous traveling salesman (John Goodman), the most likeable, stable character in the picture. And then comes the plot twist to end all plot twists, plunging Barton Fink into a surreal nightmare that would make Hieronymus Bosch look like a house painter. Once more, Ethan and Joel Coen serve up a smorgasbord of quirkiness and kinkiness, where nothing is what it seems and nothing turns out as planned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, John Goodman, (more)
- 1991
Like many other Next Generation episodes, this one offers two seemingly unrelated subplots which, by fadeout time, become inextricably linked. One story strand finds Geordi getting the chance to meet the "real" version of Dr. Leah Brahms (Susan Gibney), who he had previously recreated on the Holodeck. In the other subplot, the crew becomes a collective surrogate mother to a newborn alien "energy creature" whose mother Picard was forced to destroy. Originally aired March 16, 1991, "Galaxy's Child" was scripted by Maurice Hurley from a story by Thomas Kortozian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
The Enterprise serves as host for the three winners of a grade-school science contest. Unfortunately, a rare natural disaster occurs during their visit, trapping Picard and the children in the starship's lift. Left in command, Deanna Troi holds the lives of the crew members -- including the pregnant Keiko O'Brien -- in her trembling hands. Scripted by Ronald D. Moore from a story by Ron Jarvis and Philip A. Scorzza, "Disaster" initially aired October 26, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Working at a car dealership, Ron (Darryl M. Bell) meets his female counterpart, a fast-talking con artist named Lennox Baylor (Jana Marie Hupp). When her misbehavior gets him fired, Lennox and Ron decide to go into business together, with remarkable results. Elsewhere, Kim (Charnele Brown) despairs over the likelihood that she will never be accepted by a top-drawer medical school. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
The long-delayed wedding between Rachel's friend Mindy (Jana Marie Hupp) and her ex-fiancé, Barry (Mitchell Whitfield), promises to be quite an occasion, especially since Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) is to be maid of honor (Egad! That wedding outfit!). Other developments: Joey (Matt LeBlanc) lands a role that requires kissing -- but not the kind that Joey is looking forward to. Monica (Courteney Cox) and Richard (Tom Selleck) have a showdown. And Chandler (Matthew Perry) finds the girl of his dreams on the Internet, or at least he thinks so until he meets her in person. This was the final episode of Friends' second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A group of intrepid humans attempts to save the Earth from vicious extraterrestrials in this extremely popular science-fiction adventure. Borrowing liberally from War of the Worlds, Aliens, and every sci-fi invasion film inbetween, director Roland Emmerich and producer and co-writer Dean Devlin present a visually slick, fast-paced adventure filled with expensive special effects and large-scale action sequences. The story begins with the approach of a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms, looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save the human race. As this is a Hollywood film, this effort is led by a group of scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman). While some critics objected to the film's lack of originality and lapses in logic, the combination of grand visual spectacle and crowd-pleasing storytelling proved irresistible to audiences, resulting in an international smash hit. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Pullman, Will Smith, (more)
- 1998
Drew (Drew Carey) astonishes his friends when he accepts a wedding invitation from his ex-girl friend Nicki (Kate Fifer), who is slated to be married on a boat in the middle of Lake Erie. To prove that he has gotten over Nicki (which he hasn't), Drew impulsively invites a video-store clerk named Margaret (Jana Marie Hupp) as his guest, then makes an elaborate display of indifference towards Nicki's nuptuals, saying in effect that "time and beer heal all wounds." Inevitably, Drew makes a complete jackass out of himself during the ceremony, with a climactic emergency helicopter trip capping his humiliation. And back on dry land, Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles) come to the conclusion that offering Buzz Beer in little parafin bottles was not the brightest promotional stunt ever hatched. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
After making a career in the Big Apple, a lawyer returns to the small Ohio town of his birth in this comedy-drama series from Worldwide Pants Productions, the company headed up by David Letterman. Ed Stevens (Tom Cavanagh) thought his career as an attorney in New York City was going well -- until he's fired by his law firm and his wife decides to leave him. Looking to start over, Ed visits Stuckeyville, OH, the town where he grew up, and discovers his high school sweetheart Carol Vessey (Julie Bowen) is still single. Ed decides he'd like another chance with Carol, but Carol isn't so sure; hoping to convince her he has no intentions of running away, Ed buys the local bowling alley, the Stuckeybowl. Now the owner of a semi-successful local business, Ed divides his time between running the bowling alley and starting a new law practice, while also dealing with the community's many genial eccentrics and attempting to work his charm on Carol. Ed first aired on the NBC television network on October 8, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cavanagh, Julie Bowen, (more)
