Lawrence C. Gamell, Jr. Movies
Two people discover just how true the old adage "lucky in life, unlucky in love" can be in this romantic comedy. Ashley (Lindsay Lohan) has always been the sort of girl fortune smiles upon -- she's pretty, she has a great job, she had good friends, guys fall over themselves to ask her out, and she never has trouble getting a cab. Jake (Chris Pine), on the other hand, is not nearly so lucky -- he's clumsy and accident prone, things never seem to go his way, and he's just lost his job at a bowling alley. However, these two opposites meet one night at a ritzy masquerade ball, and Ashley and Jake exchange an impulsive kiss as two shooting stars cross in the sky. Suddenly, they both find their luck taking a one hundred and eighty degree turn; Jake is befriended by a wealthy musician and suddenly finds himself successful and flush with cash, while Ashley loses her job and her apartment after a major misunderstanding with the police. While Jake's luck with women has also taken a turn for the better, he's become deeply infatuated with Ashley, and tries to help her turn her life back around as he struggles to win her heart. Just My Luck also stars Samaire Armstrong, Faizon Love, and Tovah Feldshuh. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Lohan, Chris Pine, (more)
- 2004
Less lurid than its title suggests, this made-for-TV movie was based on the true story of the trials and tribulations of three generations of New Orleans prostitutes. Ellen Burstyn stars as Tommie, matriarch of the "working girl" family which operates out of a brothel in an otherwise quiet, respectable neighborhood. Tommie is the domineering boss of her daughter Jeanette (Annabella Sciorra)), who had followed in mom's footsteps (so to speak) because she had no alternative. Conversely, Jeannette's daughter Monica (Dominique Swain) is showing signs of rebellion, hoping to break free from her grandmother's grasp for the sake of her own daughter Navaeh. The family's internal squabbles are played against a backdrop of federal intrigue, as the FBI works overtime to nail Tommie and her family on charges of racketeering and drug trafficking. But just when it looks like the jig is up thanks to the testimony of a local doctor, Tommie saves herself by threatening to reveal a few unsavory secrets about a few highly placed male individuals. The real-life Jeannette Maier acted as the film's technical advisor, insisting in press releases that she and her mother ran a "clean, tight, business" and that the FBI's charges were so much applesauce (it is clear where the filmmakers' sympathies lie in those scenes wherein the Feds are shown wiretapping the ladies' business when they should be concentrating on capturing the terrorist perpetrators of 9/11). The Madam's Family debuted October 31, 2004 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Back in the sixties, we were feelin' groovy. This is the 1990s, however, and the best we can hope for is Feelin' Screwy. Quincy Reynolds and Larry Gamal play a couple of bumbling nerds who hope to score with the chicks. To do this, the boys vow to break up a dangerous narcotics ring. In real life, they'd be fish food, but movies like Feelin' Screwy refuse to have any relation to real life. Besides, everybody pulls for the underdog-even zeroes like Quincy and Larry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
