Busy Philipps

Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, and Will Arnett headline this high-concept comedy concerning two male figure-skating rivals aching to compete despite having been banned from the sport. Their medals stripped after getting into a highly publicized fight at the World Championships, star figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) are barred from ever competing in the sport again. Upon discovering a loophole that will allow them to perform together in the pairs figure skating category, the two athletes determine to put their differences aside in order to pursue their gold medal aspirations. Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, Craig T. Nelson, and Rob Corddry co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When brothers and fellow FBI agents Marcus (Marlon Wayans) and Kevin Copeland (Shawn Wayans) accidentally ruin an otherwise painstakingly executed drug bust, getting back into the good graces of their boss becomes a high-priority assignment in itself. With this in mind, Marcus and Kevin take on a case far beneath their usual standards when they agree to escort socialite sisters Brittany (Maitland Ward) and Tiffany Wilton (Anne Dudek) from a private terminal at JFK Airport to their hotel room in the Hamptons. Once there, two considerably higher-ranking agents will take over the girls' protection. The extra security is no mere perk of wealth, however, as it appears that Brittany and Tiffany have been targeted by a serial kidnapper. The FBI hopes to apprehend the perpetrator by using the girls as bait, unbeknownst to them. The plan may have worked if it weren't for Kevin and Marcus, who manage to let the sisters in on the secret. Understandably, neither of them want any part in the process, so they force the brothers to come up with a radical solution: With the help of an FBI lab scientist, the very much African-American Kevin and Marcus will be transformed into two white women who could pass for Brittany and Tiffany. The agents must keep the charade up long enough to lure the kidnapper, but fooling everyone involved will be the job of their lives. Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, White Chicks also features James King and Lochlyn Munro. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

The sixth and final season of Dawson's Creek begins just as summer of Dawson Leery's 19th year is drawing to a close. Having spent the summer in Hollywood as an assistant film director, Dawson returns to his native Massachusetts, there to work on a location shoot of the horror epic "Wicked Dead" under the tutelage of bombastic moviemaker Todd Carr (Hal Ozsan). This will be quite an experience for Dawson, especially when he hooks up with the film's tempestuous star Natasha Kelly (Bianca Kajlich); and when Todd storms off the set in disgust, Dawson is afforded his first opportunity to be a full-fledged director. Likewise back from L.A. are Dawson's pal Pacey (Joshua Jackson) -- who will soon take a job at brokerage firm run by slickster Rich Rinaldi (Dana Ashbrook) -- and Pacey's latest tootsie Audrey Lidell (Busy Philipps), who happens to be the extremely unstable college roommate of Dawson's off-and-on girlfriend Joey (Katie Holmes). As for Jen (Michelle Williams), the girl to whom Dawson finally "gave it up" during the previous season, she has returned to Boston Bay College, doing her best to deal with the fact that her fun-loving grandmother Evelyn (Mary Beth Piel) has decided to enroll as well. Additionally, the beleaguered Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith), having come to terms with his own homosexuality, has a new boyfriend named David (Greg Rikaart). As the season rolls on, Jen is attracted to college peer counselor CJ (Jensen Ackles), Joey begins going out with a bartender named Eddie Dooling (Oliver Hudson), and Audrey lands a job as a rock singer, breaking up with Pacey and developing a dangerous dependency on booze in the process. Several more plot twists and turns later, the series arrives at its final two-hour episode, set five years in the future. Dawson is now a major TV producer, turning out a semi-autobiographical series called "The Creek" (which, like Dawson's Creek, is seen on Wednesday nights!); Pacey owns a restaurant, and Jack is a teacher, dating Pacey's brother Doug; Audrey has straightened out her personal problems and is touring with a big-name band; Joey has a thriving career as a book editor in Manhattan; and Jen is now a single mom and the manager of an art gallery. A happy ending? Not quite...not with the tragic pall hanging over the familiar characters, due to Jen's very fragile health. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After getting kicked out of law school, fast-talking Jay Garvey (Brad Raider) and his failed medical school pal, Nick (Sean Murray), discover that the wild beach partiers during college spring break need legal assistance to stay out of jail. Their business takes off, with Jay double-talking the judge into acquittals and Nick writing phony doctor's notes for defendants, until Jay becomes a local pop culture legend. But self-righteous Senator Claxton (Gary Grubbs) decides to crack down on the rampant juvenile behavior with maximum penalties, and Jay and Nick get tossed into the slammer for minor offenses. Meanwhile, the case of a pathetic innocent who was railroaded into jail increases in importance -- particularly with Jay's ostensible girlfriend, Jenny (Busy Philipps) -- and Jay has to use all of his pseudo legal skills to get himself and Nick out of jail to save the day. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

Though it didn't even make it through its inaugural season on NBC, this 1999-2000 cult hit helped launch the career of many a fine young actor and attracted a huge new audience upon its elaborate DVD release in 2004. An ensemble comedy drama about a group of misfits growing up in the Detroit suburbs in the early '80s, Freaks and Geeks was the brainchild of executive producer Judd Apatow. With a writing staff that included indie-film mainstay Mike White, Apatow set out to chronicle those twin crossroads of adolescence: the move from junior high to high school, and the choice between stoner antics and goody two-shoes academics. To unite his two titular cliques into a single fictional framework, Apatow created the Weir family: Lindsay (Linda Cardellini), a brainy "mathlete" newly turned on to the thrill of rebellion; Sam (John Francis Daley), her swooningly romantic pipsqueak brother; and their rock-solid if painfully earnest parents, Harold (Joe Flaherty) and Jean (Becky Ann Baker). James Franco, soon to find movie stardom in the Spider-Man flicks, portrayed freak king Daniel Desario, a charismatic layabout and the object of Lindsay's secret affections. Busy Philipps, a future Dawson's Creek star, played his volcanic girlfriend, Kim Kelly, while Seth Rogen and Jason Segel played beta-male losers Ken Miller and Nick Andopolis. As for the geeks, young Sam found himself joined at the hip by asthmatic Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) and dapper, if tiny, Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine). With storylines that bounced back and forth between both groups and broke down the mythic high-school hierarchy developed in the '80s oeuvre of John Hughes, Freaks and Geeks earned plenty of critical praise upon its inaugural run. Despite its rich, character-driven humor and nostalgic, retro setting, the series dealt with all sorts of weighty issues: domestic violence, drugs and alcohol, single motherhood, and simple adolescence. NBC declined to air one episode, "Kim Kelly Is My Friend," deeming its family psychodrama too disturbing. The series was soon canceled, leaving several unaired episodes. But thank to Internet fandom and growing word of mouth, Freaks and Geeks cemented its status as the coulda-been hit that was snuffed out too early, and the clamor for a DVD release reached a deafening roar. By the time the complete series, including unaired episodes, was released in 2004, the show's reputation had grown to the point where a deluxe edition -- including a fake high-school yearbook -- could be released and even the regular edition boasted more commentary tracks than there were episodes. Since the show's cancellation, star Cardellini has gone on to greater fame in the Scooby-Doo movies and on ER, while her cast mates have turned up in all sorts of unexpected places. But for a large contingent of obsessive Freaks and Geeks fans, the actress will always be identified with her character's signature green jacket. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide