Shane Edelman Movies
- 2007
Real-life rap artist Snoop Dog guests in this episode as fictional rapper Murderuss, who is accused of killing his musical rival Extra Large (Marcello Thedford). Monk (Tony Shalhoub) does his best to clear Murderuss, but all the circumstantial evidence is against the singer: his trademark pocket watch was used to trigger the bomb that wiped out Extra Large, and Murderuss' famous gold chain was used to strangle the first victim's chauffeur. Before long, even Monk is persuaded of Murderuss' guilt--but he's afraid to drop the case for fear of incurring the rapper's rath--er, wrath. The solution to the crime...comes in a rhyme...in the nick of time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Steve Martin wrote the screenplay and served as co-producer for this screen adaptation of his short novel, which takes a witty but bittersweet look at a young woman and the two men involved with her. Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is an aspiring artist in her mid-twenties who, after graduating from college, moved to Los Angeles, where she works at the glove counter of an upscale department store. Mirabelle's job is simple and not demanding, but it doesn't pay especially well, and she finds herself struggling to get out from under a growing mountain of debt from student loans and credit cards. One night, while doing her laundry, Mirabelle meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), a scruffy but likable would-be musician who makes ends meet selling guitar amps. While Jeremy is obviously infatuated with Mirabelle, she isn't sure how she feels about him, especially after she meets Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a man in his fifties whom she meets at the store. Ray is independently wealthy, intelligent, and charming, and after asking her out on a date he sweeps her off her feet. However, while Mirabelle quickly falls for Ray and he's generous to a fault with her, he refuses to commit exclusively to her and suggests they should both see other people, a prospect that no longer holds much appeal for her. Shopgirl received its world premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Claire Danes, (more)
A woman is forced to prove her own sanity to save the life of her daughter in this taut thriller. Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a successful aircraft designer who has recently been dealing with the traumatic death of her husband. After traveling to Berlin on business with her six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), Kyle falls asleep on their flight back to New York, only to discover that her daughter has gone missing. While not knowing where Julia has gone is troubling enough, even more disturbing is the insistence by sky marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) and Captain Rich (Sean Bean) that no records indicate that the child ever boarded the jet. As Kyle becomes increasingly desperate to find her daughter, she must prove to the men in charge that her daughter did in fact board the plane with her, and that this turn of events is not a product of her imagination. But if Julia has gone missing, who has taken her and why? Also starring Erika Christensen and Kate Beahan, Flightplan was the first English-language feature from German director Robert Schwentke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
A Colombian law student living in Los Angeles and recently threatened with deportation enters into an unusual agreement with an eccentric couple in hopes of maintaining her citizenship and earning her degree in actor-turned-director Shane Edelman's affectionate romantic comedy. Sofia (Angie Cepeda) once had big plans for her life, but lately it seems like everything is falling apart. Her debts steadily growing and her future in the U.S. thrown into question when the man she had married as a means of obtaining her Green Card cruelly steals all of her possessions while threatening her with divorce, Sofia's sole joy in life is the time spent with her precocious six-year-old neighbor Max (Max Wolf Burkholder), a lonesome boy whose parents have always been too busy to provide him with the attention he so desperately needs. When a series of comic coincidences lead Sofia into the company of wealthy eccentrics Frank (Jim Piddock) and Helen Bauman (Nora Dunn), she soon discovers that she may have found the answer to all of her problems. Saddened by their inability to bear children but determined to realize their dream of parenthood at any cost, Frank and Helen offer Sofia 50,000 dollars if she will agree to become a surrogate mother for the pair. Her outspoken cousin Monica (Martita Roca) and Monica's husband George (Richard Speight, Jr.) providing just the support needed to help her successfully deal with both her pregnancy and the increasingly strange demands placed on her by the Baumans in hopes of birthing a healthy baby, Sofia soon begins to feel an increasing closeness with her kindly doctor Neil (Ken Marino). Though her feelings are seemingly reciprocated at first, it soon becomes increasingly obvious that something in Neil's personal life is preventing him from developing a romantic bond with his adoring patient. Determined to face her labor and forge ahead despite her seemingly unending string of personal disappointments, Sofie strives to find the power to regain control of her life during a time when all hope seems lost and she appears to have no one to turn to. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Cepeda
A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) -- who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, (more)
A mockumentary set in Hollywood, Do It for Uncle Manny is the tale of Stu (Shane Edelman). Stu, the favorite nephew of the titular producer Manny Solis, is in town to stay at his uncle's place while interviewing for a posh job at a law firm. Although money and Armani suits beckon, Stu really wants to become a scriptwriter. So he turns to his best friend Danny (Adam Baratta, also the film's director), who waits tables at a Chinese restaurant of dubious repute and goes on desultory acting auditions. It isn't long before Danny and Stu are painting the town a sickly shade of Bachelor Beige, with Danny teaching his friend the seven basic laws of picking up women and leading him along the merry path to County Sleaze. Along the way, however, they meet Jenny, a swinger who proves to be the men's match in more than a few ways, including her ability to lie and manipulate with the best of them. Do It for Uncle Manny, which features performances from Louie Anderson and Paul Mazursky, was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
A young man moves to Los Angeles to make something of himself -- but finds that such a task might take a little more work than he thought -- in this romantic comedy. According to Spencer stars Jesse Bradford as the titular Spencer, an ad agency mail room clerk just-arrived in L.A. and eager to make his presence felt. Renting a room in a run-down mansion, Spencer crosses paths with shady eccentrics Ezra (David Krumholtz) and Feldy (Adam Goldberg), aspiring porn filmmakers who convince him to make inroads as a commercial director -- with little success. But when Spencer serendipitously meets his childhood sweetheart Melora (Mia Kirshner), who's currently stuck in a go-nowhere relationship with the smarmy Craig (Brad Rowe), things begin to look up. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Bradford, Mia Kirshner, (more)
- 2001
As Jane (Clea DuVall) puts it, "I keep trying to kill myself, but I keep getting interrupted," and a close look at her life gives a reasonable idea of why she's depressed about her current state of affairs in this dark, absurdist comedy. Jane hasn't been able to block out much of a career path, earning a meager living as a waitress at a low-rent greasy spoon; her boyfriend (Judson Mills) is an aspiring musician with little talent and even less charm; and her roommates -- Gina (Jennifer Aspen), a struggling actress, and Marvin (Richmond Arquette), a writer who can't write -- are driving her up the wall. Deciding she needs to do something, Jane embarks on a life of crime, getting a gun and giving robbery a try, with Gina and Marvin as her accomplices. Jane isn't much of a thief, however, netting little more than a few cases of Spam, and Gina and Marvin are not much of a help; desperate, she decides to take a stab at kidnapping, with a big-time film producer (Stanley DeSantis) as her target. See Jane Run was the debut feature from writer and director Sarah Thorp. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clea Duvall, Kevin Corrigan, (more)
