John Bregar Movies
Two kids with nothing in common are brought together in a very unexpected way in this comedy. Nell (Samaire Armstrong) is a pretty but hopelessly geeky teenage girl who loves Shakespeare and wants little more than to study literature at Yale when she graduates from high school in a few months Woody (Kevin Zegers), who lives next door, is the quarterback on the school's football team, and seems like a sure bet to land a lucrative football scholarship despite the fact he isn't especially bright. Nell and Woody are not at all friendly and normally have nothing to say to one another, but one day during a class field trip to a historical museum, the two fall under the spell of an Incan icon and when they awake the next morning, Woody's mind is in Nell's body, and vice versa. Neither is comfortable with their sudden gender switch or having to assume the other's personalities, but they quickly realize that until they can find a way to reverse the spell, they have to work together if Nell is to go to Yale and Woody is to get his scholarship and move away from this loutish parents (Sharon Osborne and Maury Chaykin. Elton John was an executive producer on It's A Boy Girl Thing, and songs from his back catalog appear on the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Zegers, Samaire Armstrong, (more)
- 2004
- Add Degrassi: The Next Generation: Season 04 to QueueAdd Degrassi: The Next Generation: Season 04 to top of Queue
Season Four of Degrassi: The Next Generation opens with the two-part "Ghost in the Machine", in which, among other things, Paige (Lauren Collins) has a breakdown after her rapist Dean (Shawn Roberts) walks out of the courtroom a free man; Paige's gay brother Dylan (John Bregar) heads off to college; and several of the relationships forged during the previous season are shown to be null and void, notably the romance between Chris (Daniel Morrison) and Emma (Miriam McDonald). In subsequent episodes, Dylan's former lover Marco (Adamo Ruggiero) overcomes anti-gay hostility to be elected Degrassi class president; Sean (Daniel Clark) takes time out from trying to gain re-admittance to school in order to provide moral support for Ellie (Stacey Farber) after her drunken mother nearly burns down their house; and Spinner (Shane Kippel) gives Paige a hard time as she labors to pay off a debt accrued during the previous season (but it isn't all moans-and-growns for Paige, as she inaugurates a romance with youthful teaching assistant Matt Oleander [Christopher Jacot]). Elsewhere, the mercurial Rick (Ephraim Ellis) hopes to be re-admitted to Degrassi, but his efforts are blocked by Emma, who hasn't forgotten that Rick nearly beat her friend Terri (Christina Schmidt) into a permanent coma. The season's most shocking episode--and one of the most powerful episodes in the entire "Degrassi" saga-- is the two-parter "Time Stands Still." Mercilessly bullied by the other students because of his atrocious behavior and publicly humiliated at a trivia competition, Rick returns to school with a gun and begins methodically mowing down his tormentors, shooting Jimmy (Aubrey Graham) in the spine and nearly "offing" Emma before she is saved by Sean. Understandably, the surviving cast members spend the remainder of the season trying to put the pieces back together and return to normal. Paralyzed from the waist down, Jimmy survives the ordeal of rehab with the help of his friends; Spinner is consumed with guilt, certain that he and he alone had triggered Rick's violent outburst; and in the wake of the tragedy, Principal Raditch is transferred to a different school (an ignominious exit for actor Dan Woods, who'd been part of the "Degrassi" franchise since 1986!) and Ms. Hatzilakos (Melisa DeMarco) is promoted in his place. Also, Craig's (Jake Epstein) behavior becomes increasingly erratic, resulting in a number of appalling displays of temper and a brief stay at a mental hospital, where he is diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. Emma and resident "bad-boy" Jay (Mike Lobel) experiment with oral sex, the result being a bad case of gonnorhea. And Manny (Cassie Steele) causes her rival Paige to break her leg, whereupon Paige formulates a diabolical scheme which culminates in an outrageous display of cruel vengeance on Prom Night. The season concludes with the two-part "Goin' Down the Road", wherein Craig agonizes over the fact that his girlfriend Ashley (Melissa McIntyre) is planning to go London--while another of the grown-up DeGrassi High veterans, Caitlin Ryan (Stacy Mystysyn), is ardently wooed by visiting film director Kevin Smith of Clerks fame! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Barrable-Tishauer, John Bregar, (more)
- 2003
- Add Degrassi: The Next Generation: Season 03 to QueueAdd Degrassi: The Next Generation: Season 03 to top of Queue
New to the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation as the series enters its third season are Alex Nunez (Deanne Casaluce), a well-meaning student with a checkered past; Jay Hogart (Mike Lobel), a would-be "gangsta" who talks series regular Sean (Daniel Clark) into committing the robbery that will get him expelled; Dylan (John Bregar) , older brother of rape victim Paige (Lauren Collins) and the first "serious" soulmate for the recently uncloseted Marco (Adamo Ruggiero); the mercurial Rick Murray (Ephraim Ellis), who takes advantage of his relationship with the emotionally needy Terri (Christina Schmidt) to display the violent side of his nature; and Chris Sharpe (Daniel Morrison), an up-and-coming teen DJ who seriously considers dumping his steady in favor of Emma (Miriam McDonald). The season begins with the two-part "Father Figure", in which the long-suffering Emma learns the awful truth about her birth father just as her mother Spike (Amanda Stepto) is preparing to deliver her baby--while Spike's new husband Snake (Stefan Brogren) learns that he has leukemia and must undergo chemotherapy. In later episodes, Manny (Cassie Steele) decides to shed her "cute" image for a "hot" one and loses many of her friends in the process; the relationship between Ashley (Melissa McIntyre) and the troubled Craig (Jake Epstein) grows serious, if not entirely monogamous; while serving a detention, Ellie (Stacey Farber) reveals that she has been "cutting" herself out of frustration over her mom's alcoholism; class clown JT (Ryan Cooley) begins making inroads into professional show biz; the unbalanced Rick hits Terri so hard that she lapses into a coma; and Marco and Dylan share their first kiss. Several of the season's most powerful episodes are two-parters. In "Pride", Spinner (Shane Kippel) reacts abominably when he learns his friend Marco is gay. In "Holiday", grown-up DeGrassi Highstalwarts Caitlin (Stacy Mistysyn and Joey (Pat Mastroianni) finally confess their long-held love for one another. And in "Accidents Will Happen", Manny (Cassie Steele) makes a profoundly difficult decision when she finds out she is carrying Craig's baby. Echoing one of the more famous season finales from the original Degrassi series, Season Three of Degrassi: The Next Generation concludes with a fire during a school dance--but this time around, the festivities proceed as planned! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Barrable-Tishauer, John Bregar, (more)
