Joan Blair Movies
Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend they are his parents and that he is a cherished member of the family. This entails participating in Latham family traditions, such as Christmas tree selection and crowded holiday shopping excursions. Though the Valcos reluctantly go along with Drew's requests, Alicia, their eldest daughter, arrives at home and refuses to comply with her "brother's" wishes. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, (more)
A wealthy couple attempts to give back to their community by handing out giant lollipops to the local homeless population in the mockumentary-style directorial debut of The Office star Jenna Fischer. On the surface, James and Jenna (real-life husband and wife team James Gunn and Jenna Fischer) couldn't be more charitable, but a closer look at their newfound philanthropy points to a more self-serving motivation. Beneath their shallow veneer, all James and Jenna care about is using their preposterous new charity to mix in with the jet set and keep themselves in the public eye. As desperate James attempts to get his mediocre art to the masses by using it to wrap the lollipops and self-absorbed Jenna tries to land the funding needed to drive her outlandish endeavor, the would-be charitable couple's inherent inability to truly connect with those who they claim to be helping grows increasingly obvious to everyone except themselves. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gunn, Jenna Fischer, (more)
- 2004
An act of sabotage causes a string of power blackouts in San Francisco--not to mention three deaths. Monk (Tony Shalhoub) unearths evidence indicating that the man responsible for the chaos is anti-military activist Winston Brenner. Well and good--except that Winston Brenner died nine years ago. This doesn't stop Monk from ardently pursuing the murderous "corpse", who has apparently struck again and claimed a fourth victim. Watch for a fleeting reference to Silence of the Lambs (1991), in which Monk regular Ted Levine (Captain Stottlemeyer) played wily serial killer "Buffalo Bill." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Two fathers get a crash course in caring for kids other than their own in this family-friendly comedy. Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) is an advertising executive whose job monopolizes his time, making it difficult for him to stay in touch with his young son, Ben (Khamani Griffin). However, after Charlie and his partner, Phil (Jeff Garlin), are given their pink slips in the wake of a disastrous campaign for a new breakfast cereal, Charlie's wife, Kim (Regina King), goes back to work, and with the family budget tighter than before, Charlie becomes a stay-at-home dad. After pulling Ben out of an expensive and exclusive daycare center run by the humorless Gwyneth Harridan (Anjelica Huston), Charlie comes up with a brainstorm -- since he and Phil watch their own children every day, how much harder could it be to watch a few more kids and open their own day care center? Charlie and Phil discover there's much more to running a daycare center than they ever imagined, but after a very rough start, with the help of likable slacker Marvin (Steve Zahn) their new business becomes a success -- so much so that Harridan finds herself losing customers to the upstart fathers, and she starts searching for a way to shut them down. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, (more)
In 1971, filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles released his third film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which he wrote, directed, and scored. Despite boasting an all-black cast, an X rating, a low budget, and a decidedly non-Hollywood approach to moviemaking, the ground-breaking independent film went on to gross over ten million dollars while inspiring countless other films of the genre that would come to be called blaxploitation. Mario Van Peebles, the director's son, was 13 at the time and got his first taste of show business with a small role in the film. Over three decades later, the younger Van Peebles directed and co-wrote this film, in which he stars as his father. BAADASSSSS! chronicles the director's struggles to get the film made by highlighting the social roadblocks and production pitfalls Van Peebles faced, as well as the personal sacrifices he was forced to make. Also starring T.K. Carter, Ossie Davis, and Nia Long, BAADASSSSS! premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles
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