Swoosie Kurtz Movies
Whether on stage, screen, or television, award-winning supporting, character, and occasional leading actress Swoosie Kurtz has the rare gift of stealing almost every scene in which she appears. The daughter of a U.S. Air Force colonel, she was named after her father's WWII plane, which in turn was named after a popular Kay Kyser song. Following college, Kurtz studied drama in London and gained early experience during the late '60s, appearing in regional theater back in the States. In New York, Kurtz won an Obie for an off-Broadway production of The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon-Marigolds. Her success in this part led to a stage career that resulted in her winning such major New York theater awards as a Tony and a Drama Desk award. Kurtz made her Hollywood debut in the TV soap As the World Turns, playing Ellie Bradley, in 1971. She did not make her feature-film debut until she landed a role in the box-office flop First Love (1977). She next appeared in Slapshot (1977) and then in another stinker, Oliver's Story (1978). In 1982, Kurtz had her first real success in films playing a prostitute in the critically acclaimed adaptation of John Iriving's The World According to Garp.Through the 1980s, Kurtz appeared in major films in ventures ranging from Against All Odds (1984) to Dangerous Liaisons (1989) and on television in films like A Caribbean Mystery (1983) and The Image (1989). Kurtz has also had success in television series such as the short-lived Love, Sydney (1981), for which she won an Emmy, and a starring role in the long-running Sisters(1991-1996), playing eldest sibling Alex Reed Halsey. Notable movie appearances from the '90s include a turn as a crusading lesbian in Citizen Ruth (aka Meet Ruth Stoops) (1996) and a small but fun part as an exasperated lawyer taking on a crazy Jim Carrey in Liar Liar (1997). Frequently alternating between television and film in the years to follow, Kurtz would build an impressive body of work with memorable roles in such television mini-series as More Tales from the City (1998) and films including Cruel Intentions (1999) and Get Over It (2001). Her turn as a paranoid overprotective mother in Bubble Boy (2001) found Kurtz utilizing her comic talents to maximum effect, and after returning to the small screen for that same year's The Wilde Girls, the talented actress joined the cast of Roger Avary's satirical teen drama The Rules of the Game (2002). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In 1975, John Hurt starred in a BBC television adaptation of Quentin Crisp's autobiography The Naked Civil Servant, playing the flamboyantly gay author and actor, and in 2009 Hurt revisits the role in this comedy-drama based on the latter years of Crisp's life. Crisp rose to fame in the UK following the publication of his memoirs and the success of a one-man show, but when a series of typically frank but witty quips during an interview lead to a public scandal, Crisp is approached by an American talent agent, Connie Clausen (Swoosie Kurtz), who says she can get him work in the United States. Crisp relocates to New York City, where he stages a show entitled "How To Be Happy" and gains a new audience. However, the high camp of Crisp's persona and his habit of making deliberately provocative statements (such as calling AIDS "a fad" and calling homosexuality "a terrible disease") earns him the enmity of some gay activists and causes the show to close prematurely. Clausen arranges for Crisp to meet Phillip Steele (Denis O'Hare), the publisher of the Village Voice, and Steele offers Crisp a job as the paper's new film critic. Crisp's witty and acerbic commentary on new movies wins him a new fan base and he and Steele become close friends, but as age and broken relationships begin to take their toll on Crisp, he returns to the stage in a new show created in collaboration with performance artist Penny Arcade (Cynthia Nixon). An Englishman In New York received its world premiere at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival; the film takes its title from a song by Sting, who struck up a friendship with Crisp when they both appeared in the movie The Bride. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Denis O'Hare, (more)
Inspired by the best-selling DC comic The Death of Superman, the animated feature Superman Doomsday finds the Man of Steel locked in mortal combat with an intergalactic serial killer named Doomsday. Never before have two rivals of such equal footing squared off in a duel to the death that could determine the fate of an entire planet. Will Superman summon the strength needed to save Metropolis by making the ultimate sacrifice, or could it be that the denizens of this bustling city are about to witness the demise of the greatest protector they ever had? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, (more)
- 2005
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A series of devastating storms are leveling major cities across the globe, and it's up to discredited scientist Faith Clavell (Shannon Doherty), dedicated storm chaser Tommy Tornado (Randy Quaid), and the FEMA head Judith Carr (Gina Gerson) to journey into the eye of the storm and find out just why mother nature has turned so violently on mankind in the shocking sequel to 2004's weather-gone-wild thriller Category 6: Day of Destruction. An unprecedented Category Six storm has leveled the Eiffel Tower and reduced the Great Pyramids to rubble, and as the pitch black funnel clouds lay waste to anything and everything in their path, three dedicated heroes attempt to discover whether the malevolent weather is the cause of global warming, or something far more sinister. When a vengeful gang of terrorists threaten to use the storms to their advantage by staging a large scale attack the likes of which the world has never seen, it seems as if it very well may be the end of the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Gershon, Cameron Daddo, (more)
- 2005
As any college theater student will tell you, the title of this episode translates as "god from the machine," a theatrical device whereby everyone's problems are solved by a single, miraculous and highly unlikely climactic act of divine intervention. In this case, the deus ex machina is literally a "machine" -- an airplane found in the forest that may or may not prove a means of escape for the survivors. But there's more to the story than that, especially when an extended flashback reveals some traumatic events from Locke's (Terry O'Quinn) past. As an adult, Locke made contact with his biological father, whom he'd never known, and the two started to bond, but there was more to the situation than there seemed to be. In other events, Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is suffering from extreme headaches, and Jack (Matthew Fox) and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) come up with a solution that he most certainly does not like. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Tighe, (more)
The first feature-length romantic comedy produced exclusively for the Oxygen cable network, Nadine in Date Land stars Janeane Garofalo as the title character, who though her own love life is in a shambles somehow believes that she can run a successful dating service. Having borrowed heavily from her mother (Swoosie Kurtz) to get the business started, Nadine must now prove to Mom that she herself can have a lasting romance, lest every penny be withdrawn. Thus, when her old flame Adam (Brad Rowe), comes back to town, Nadine vows to literally force him to fall in love with her. Unfortunately, our heroine faces two formidable obstacles: Adam's erstwhile fashion-expert girlfriend Magda (Julie Claire), and Nadine's own incredible gift for stumbling over herself and inserting foot in mouth at all the wrong times. Essentially a contemporary screwball comedy with a generous supply of Bringing Up Baby-style slapstick, Nadine in Date Land was written and directed by Amie Steir, whose short comic films had been an Oxygen channel mainstay for years. The movie was given several video-on-demand previews before its official debut date of June 25, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Just how far would you go to have the home of your dreams all to yourself? A couple start asking themselves that very question in this dark comedy directed by Danny DeVito. Alex (Ben Stiller) and Nancy (Drew Barrymore) are a young couple who are happy and successful, but lack one thing that they truly want -- the perfect home in Manhattan. Alex and Nancy think they may have found just the place they've been looking for when they discover the bottom half of a beautiful old duplex has opened up. While the couple are delighted with their new flat, they discover it has one major disadvantage they hadn't counted on -- their upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel), an elderly woman who soon makes their lives a living hell. Persuading Mrs. Connelly to move is fruitless, since she has a long term rent-controlled lease, and as things become more and more difficult, Alex and Nancy begin to wonder if she won't go away on her own, perhaps a more drastic (and permanent) solution may be in order. Duplex also stars Harvey Fierstein, Justin Theroux, James Remar, and Swoosie Kurtz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore, (more)
Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel about the sexual, emotional, and chemical interactions of a group of wealthy and amoral college students is brought to the screen in this adaptation from writer and director Roger Avery. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is a student at Camden College, a well-respected private school on the East Coast. Sean is attracted to Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), a high minded and seemingly unapproachable coed, while Lauren is infatuated with Victor (Kip Pardue), a handsome but self-centered ladies' man. Lauren's empty-headed roommate, Lara (Jessica Biel), is also attracted to Victor, while he has no qualms about being involved with both. Lauren used to date affected snob Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder), but Paul, a bisexual, currently lusts after Sean. Meanwhile, friendly campus drug dealer Rupert (Clifton Collins Jr.) finds a ready market for cocaine among his classmates; Sean, a steady customer, finds himself financially embarrassed and begins dealing drugs to help pay off his debts, while leading Paul on for his ready supply of marijuana. The Rules of Attraction also features Eric Stoltz as Mr.
Lance Lawson, Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as semi-concerned parents, and Fred Savage as one of Sean's customers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Lance Lawson, Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as semi-concerned parents, and Fred Savage as one of Sean's customers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, (more)
Jake Gyllenhaal, the young star of the critically well-received October Sky (1999), follows up that film with this offbeat comedy. Gyllenhaal stars as Jimmy Livingston, a teenager with an immune system deficiency who has spent his entire life living in a plastic bubble under the doting, overprotective care of his mother (Swoosie Kurtz). Jimmy is in love with his next-door neighbor Chloe (Marley Shelton), so when he learns that she has left for Niagara Falls in order to be married, he's devastated. He quickly assembles a portable "bubble suit" and sets out on a 2,755.8-mile odyssey in order to stop her and proclaim his affection. Along the way, Jimmy experiences a number of adventures, including encounters with freaks, bikers, rock stars, and a cult. Bubble Boy is a comic riff on the classic TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), which starred a young John Travolta. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Swoosie Kurtz, (more)
Ben Foster stars in this teenage comedy as Berke Landers, an average high schooler who has achieved high status by winning over Allison (Melissa Sagemiller), reputed to be the most popular and beautiful girl in his class. After an initially winning time, Allison finds herself drawn to the hot new guy in school, leaving Berke in the lurch. At the risk of ruining his unsteady reputation, Berke concocts a scheme for getting Allison back: he will join the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and prove his romanticism to her. Realizing he needs an effective acting coach, he turns to Kelly (Kirsten Dunst), who was once the annoying little sister of a best friend and has suddenly blossomed into a grownup -- to whom Berke finds himself drawn. Berke must then decide if getting Allison back is the ultimate priority, as he falls for the more sensible Kelly, all while trying to maintain a credible presence both in school and in his new acting gig. Get Over It also features R&B singer Sisqo, comedian Martin Short, and Shane West in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, (more)
- 2001
This made-for-cable comedy-drama stars Olivia Newton-John as Jasmine Wilde, a former teen idol who is trying to put her reckless past behind her and live a quiet, inconspicuous life in a small Georgia community where she's raising a teenage daughter, Izzy (Chloe Rose), on her own. Jasmine's best friend Sierra (Swoosie Kurtz) discovers that Izzy has a remarkable gift as a singer, and decides to surprise both mother and daughter by arranging an audition for Izzy with a well-known record producer. While the producer is more than impressed, the incident also blows Jasmine's cover, and what was intended to be an exciting visit to Los Angeles for Izzy becomes a nightmare for her mom, as Jasmine takes an unexpected jog down memory lane, reliving the low points of her career and encountering Izzy's father for the first time in years. The Wilde Girls was written and directed by Del Shores. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivia Newton-John, Chloe Rose, (more)
Michael O'Connell ran several video stores in Denver, CO, before taking up screenwriting, and the endless stream of direct-to-video thrillers that littered his shelves inspired his script for this satiric black comedy. Hutch Rimes (Steven Weber) runs an insurance company, and even though he's married, he's developed a bad habit of getting involved with his secretaries. Hutch's latest Girl Friday, Holly (Nina Siemaszko), is also married, but often finds herself being used as a punching bag by her loutish husband Cotton (Gregg Henry). Holly persuades Hutch to help her kill Cotton, but things don't go as planned, and Cotton pulls a gun on Holly; Hutch manages to escape just before Cotton kills his wife. Ten years later, Cotton is released from prison just as Hutch begins receiving a series of anonymous letters from someone who wants to kill him. But since Hutch is having an affair with his stenographer Olivia (Gail O'Grady), he's not sure if the angry party is Cotton or Olivia's husband, Dewey (Stephen Tobolowsky). Things get even stickier for Hutch when Olivia decides she wants out of her relationship with Dewey -- and asks Hutch to help murder her husband. Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes also features Swoosie Kurtz as Binny, one of Hutch's few female employees that he never gets around to sleeping with. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Weber, Swoosie Kurtz, (more)
In an adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) are step-brother and step-sister living in Manhattan. With their absent parents travelling in Europe, the wealthy pair have the family penthouse to themselves as they while away their summer break before beginning senior year at a private high school. Sebastian, bad-boy lothario, has apparently slept with all the girls in town and appears numb to it all. Kathryn, who appears to be the good girl class president, is actually far more amoral and malicious than Sebastian, but maintains appearances to the contrary. When she is dumped by her boyfriend, Court Reynolds (Charlie O'Connell), for the innocent Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair), she schemes revenge by destroying Cecile's reputation. She challenges Sebastian to deflower Cecile and transform her into a tramp to humiliate Court. Sebastian isn't as interested as Cecile -- she's spent her whole life in a Catholic girl's school and presents no challenge. The girl who has caught his attention is Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), the new headmaster's daughter. Annette had written an article for Seventeen Magazine on her plans to stay a virgin until she finds her one true love. Kathryn makes a wager. If Sebastian fails to lure Annette into bed before the summer is over, Kathryn gets his car. If he succeeds, Sebastian gets Kathryn, whom he wants anyway. Sebastian accepts the bet, but Annette turns out to be more than either of them bargained for. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, (more)
- 1998
When the wife (Swoosie Kurtz) of televangelist Emmitt Chambliss (Gary Grubbs) is brought into the ER suffering the aftereffects of a recent face-lift, Chambliss draws up plans to telecast a fundraiser from the hospital. Elsewhere, Ross (George Clooney) and Carol (Julianna Margulies) put their careers on the line by performing an experimental treatment on six-month-old meth addict Josh McLean instead of returning the baby to his mother. Romano (Paul McCrane) reacts strongly to the relationship between Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Corday (Alex Kingston). And HIV-positive Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) may have contacted pneumonia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Previously adapted twice before, most notably for the Oscar-nominated 1950 film starring James Stewart, Mary Chase's classic stage-play Harvey once again receives the celluloid treatment with this 1998 CBS made-for-TV movie. Night Court's Harry Anderson fills Stewart's shoes, starring as the quirky Elwood P. Dowd, a grown man whose best friend is a six-foot-tall rabbit that only he can see. Directed by George Schaefer, the film also stars Swoosie Kurtz and Leslie Nielsen. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Anderson, Swoosie Kurtz, (more)
- 1998
Armistead Maupin calls the three-story wooden house at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco "my homestead, my Tara." He began his portrait of Barbary Lane life during the '70s in a daily newspaper serial, expanding the material into a series of six novels. PBS aired the original TV miniseries in 1994, but threats and pressures prompted PBS to drop their plans for a follow-up, leaving an unresolved cliffhanger for four years. Several members of the original PBS cast were reunited for this six-part Showtime sequel (adapted from Maupin's second novel in the series), set in San Francisco of 1977. It picks up the threads of the story six weeks after the point where the PBS miniseries ended. When Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), hoping for romance, and her cynical gay friend Michael (Paul Hopkins) take a Mexican cruise, Mary Ann meets amnesia victim Burke Andrew (Colin Ferguson) and Michael runs into his former lover, Dr. Jon Fielding (William Campbell). Michael's roommate Mona Ramsey (Nina Siemaszko), in a purple haze of pot and angel dust, answers phones at a Reno brothel owned by Mother Mucca (Jackie Burroughs). Mona learns about her lineage and also about Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), the former Mr. Madrigal. Rich widow Frannie (Diana LeBlanc) finds a cure for her depression at the rural resort Pinus, where society ladies celebrate their 60th birthdays with youthful houseboys. Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson) is married to Frannie's pregnant daughter DeDe (Barbara Garrick), but Beauchamp isn't the father. Locations include San Francisco, Montreal (substituting for some areas of San Francisco), and Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Premiered June 7, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
- 1998
From the director of the acclaimed Salaam Bombay, My Own Country is based on the best-selling memoir of an Ethiopian doctor who treated HIV and AIDS patients in Johnson City in the smoky mountains of Eastern Tennessee in 1985. The film narrates the tribulations of a physician who takes home the problems of his patients. He has no time for his wife or his son, who are slowly becoming strangers to him. He resists the temptations of a blond nurse but gets drunk 'like a man' in the garage of a auto repairman friend. The film abounds in clichés, bad acting, and stereotypical characters, and its treatment of homosexuality is also questionable. It was screened at the 4th International Film Festival of Kerala, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naveen Andrews, Glenne Headly, (more)
- 1998
- R
A group of strangers are brought together under unexpectedly dangerous circumstances in this offbeat drama. Trucker Odell Parks (Robert Forster) pulls into a diner in Ozona, Texas, for a cup of coffee, where a number of other weary travelers are taking a break. Wit Roy (Kevin Pollak) is an out-of-work clown trying to figure out how to get to Las Vegas on his last few dollars, where a job offer awaits; his girlfriend Earlene (Penelope Ann Miller), a one time stripper, is tagging along and thinks that she knows how to raise some money. Reba Twosalt (Kateri Walker), a Native American, is heading west with her Grandmother; the old woman is dying, and they would like to see the ocean together one last time. And Marcy and Bonnie (Sherilyn Fenn and Beth Ann Styne) are two sisters en route to the funeral of their father. As the customers eat their food and drink their coffee, the radio is playing vintage jazz and blues, a form of protest from the disc jockey, Dix Mayal (Taj Mahal), who is breaking the station's country and western format after being forced to work an extra shift by his boss, station manager Floyd Bibbs (Meat Loaf). However, there's a killer on the highway near Ozona, and very soon all of these people will find themselves crossing his path. In addition to playing the disc jockey, blues great Taj Mahal also contributed several songs to the soundtrack of Outside Ozona. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Kevin Pollak, (more)
- 1997
Hollywood agent Libby Glaser (Swoosie Kurtz) is surprised when her movie-star mother Vera King (Janet Leigh) refuses to appear at an awards dinner honoring former Hollywood Blacklist victim Clive Hathaway (Joseph Campanella)--especially since Hathaway had been the best friend of Libby's late father, fellow blacklistee Budd Glaser. In confidence, Vera reveals to Libby that Hathaway was the one who'd named her father as a Communist before the HUAC, and that her dad had committed suicide as a result. Now driven by hatred, Libby intends to expose Hathaway as an informer during the ceremony, using an FBI file supplied by none other than Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey)--who, despite the odds against her, must somehow persuade Libby to forgive the man who betrayed her father. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An attorney who tells the truth for 24 hours straight? This has got to be the movies! Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a lawyer obsessed with his career, and he's devoted his life to bending the truth to his advantage. This habit has broken up his marriage to Audrey (Maura Tierney) and isn't doing much good for his relationship with his young son Max (Justin Cooper). Fletcher repeatedly promised Max that he'll be there for Max's eighth birthday party, but when an important assignment comes up at work, Fletcher calls Audrey and makes an excuse so flimsy that even Max can see through it. When it comes time to blow out the candles on his cake, Max makes a wish: that his Dad could go just one day without telling a lie. Suddenly, Max finds himself physically incapable of saying anything that isn't true -- which, given the divorce settlement case he's just been handed, is going to make his next day in court very interesting indeed. While designed to show off a warmer and more likable side of Jim Carrey's personality, Liar Liar still revels in the broad physical comedy that made Carrey a star in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective -- which makes sense, since both were directed by Tom Shadyac. Both Carrey's fans and foes will get a chuckle out of Swoosie Kurtz's tongue-in-cheek insult to the film's star in the blooper reel that runs under the final credits. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, (more)
