John Quaintance Movies
- 2008
This workplace comedy takes place at the illustrious New York destination known as the Inn - one of the most popular and exclusive hotels in the country. Always brimming with celebrity guests and the most expensive furnishings, the inner workings of the Inn are anything but smooth. The operation's obsessive manager Neal (Jerry O'Connell) makes even the most minor into a large scale catastrophe, and his anal-retentive attitude is seldom appreciated by coworkers like sassy HR rep Rhonda (Niecy Nash), who has her own set of rules, or front desk clerk Nicole (Molly Stanton), a former model who's usually in a bad mood from being in some stage of starvation. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, (more)
Two teenagers think they have problems until they come to the rescue of a girl with a fishy story to tell in this teen-oriented comedy. Thirteen-year-old Claire (Emma Roberts) and same-aged Hailey (Joanne "JoJo" Levesque) are two close friends living in Tampa, FL, who are facing a separation in a few weeks -- Claire's mother is a marine biologist who has been given a prestigious new job in Australia, meaning the girls are not likely to see much of each other again. While the girls wonder if there's anything they can do to avoid the inevitable, a storm breaks out and the waves toss an unusual example of sea life into Hailey's swimming pool -- Aquamarine (Sara Paxton), a teenaged mermaid who has some problems of her own. Aquamarine's father is a leader of the undersea world who has arranged for his daughter to marry a boy whom she doesn't care for. It seems Dad doesn't put much stock in the land-locked notion of love, and unless Aquamarine can prove to him that it's real, she will have to go through with the wedding. Claire and Hailey find Aquamarine, and discover that she fortunately sprouts legs when on dry land during the daylight hours; after learning of her romantic dilemma, they decide to help her by teaching her how to turn the head of Raymond (Jake McDorman), a cute lifeguard at the nearby beach. However, pretty Aquamarine learns her lessons well enough to make Cecilia (Arielle Kebbel), a mean girl with a crush on Raymond, jealous, leading her into a battle over the young man's affections, which Aquamarine has to win if she wants to avoid a loveless marriage. Aquamarine was the first feature film from director Elizabeth Allen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emma Roberts, Joanna 'Jojo' Levesque, (more)
Stripped of their wealth and forced to fend for themselves when the multi-million-dollar cosmetics company inherited from their father suffers due to controversy, two sisters who have never known the simple life must finally find out how the other half lives in a high-fashion comedy about hard times starring Hilary and Haylie Duff. Ava (Haylie) and Tanza (Hilary) are teen heiresses whose charmed lives consist of little more than showing up at all the hottest celebrity parties and putting in the occasional cameo at their company's board meetings while letting the responsible adults in charge handle all of the complicated details. All of that changes, however, when an unforeseen scandal robs the privileged "celebutantes" of their car, their cash, and even their lavish home; but what's a poor little rich girl to do when everything she's ever known is suddenly made null and void? In the case of Ava and Tanza, the only answer is to use their substantial setback as a means of realizing their true potential, and put the wisdom imparted to them by their father to use in clearing the family name and proving that there's much more to life than the almighty dollar. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, (more)
