Steve Monroe Movies

Ever wanted the inside scoop on crashing that exclusive party, getting better than average dope, and spending the night with someone you'd be ashamed to be seen with the next morning? Filmmaker Paul Sapiano answers your questions on these and many other critical areas of the party lifestyle in this satiric comedy. Presented in part as a faux-documentary and in part as the story of a typical night in the life of a handful of Los Angeles nightlife mavens, The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down offers "useful" advice on getting into the club, scamming free drinks, tipping the bar staff, dealing with uncooperative drug dealers, talking your way into an all-star after party, how to attract women by pretending to be gay, and getting rid of last night's pickup in the cold light of the morning. The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down received its world premiere at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This week's murder victim is Serge Cluvarias (Marek Probosz), the much-despised ringmaster for the Dratch and Denby Circus. Monk is convinced that the killer is Serge's tempestuous ex-wife, celebrated high wire artiste Natasia Lovara (Lolita Davidovich). Trouble is, eyewitnesses to the murder insist that the masked killer had jumped down from a high rooftop to do the dirty deed, then performed a somersault before escaping--but Natasia had fractured her foot two weeks before Serge's death, and has the X-rays to prove it. By the time Monk has assembled the clues necessary to close in on the killer, another hapless circus performer suffers "Death By Elephant"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent with a reputation for being aggressive and hard-nosed, who has long wanted to duplicate the career of her deceased mother, also an FBI agent, who died in the line of duty. Her cantankerous nature, though, has made her few friends, excepting her trusting, sensitive partner Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt). However, her true abilities are put to the test when she is called upon to infiltrate a Miss United States pageant after a terrorist threatens to bomb it. Gracie, who prides herself on her toughness, must now feminize her behavior to effectively participate in the pageant with the aid of Victor Melling (Michael Caine), a pompous consultant who dreams of whisking away Gracie's past self and creating "Gracie Lou Freebush" for an appreciative, all-American audience. After her arduous conversion, Gracie must play the role of beauty queen and FBI agent, and try not to blow her undercover outfit. Miss Congeniality, which was produced by star Bullock, features television stalwarts William Shatner and Candice Bergen in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Having witnessed a hate crime committed by a gang of white supremacists against a black law student, baker Matt Colletti (a pre-The ShieldMichael Chilkis) is too frightened to come forward and tell the authorities. It is up to Monica and Tess--disguised respectively as an assistant baker and a visiting preacher--to convince Matt to do the right thing. It takes some doing, but Matt finally takes a stand and provides testimony against the thugs. Alas, when Matt claims to have recognized one of the student's assailants as Satan in disguise, no one (except the angels) believes him! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a book by the great crime novelist Jim Thompson, this dark thriller is set in a small coastal community in New Jersey, where the only action in town is a run-down nightclub called Pavillion. The club's owner, Pete (Jackson Sims), can barely make the payroll for Rags the bartender (William Russell), Myra the barmaid (Jorjan Fox) (who is also Pete's daughter), and clean-up man Ralph (Steve Monroe), so in a bid to bring in more customers, Pete hires a stripper, Danny Lee (Cathy Haase). Danny Lee's act soon turns Ralph's head, which is not good news for his wife Luanne (Loretta Gross). Twenty years older than her husband, Luanne is unable to get out of bed (though the doctor says that there's no medical explanation for this), and while she grudging allows Ralph to sleep with other women, the notion that he might fall in love with someone else sends her into a fit of rage. Luanne's greatest talent (and her most potent weapon) is her gift for gossip, and when she begins to suspect that Ralph might want to leave her for Danny Lee, she starts spreading ugly rumors that have just enough basis in fact to stick. Before long, Luanne has circulated the word that Myra is a drug addict and that her boyfriend Bobbie (Andrew Lee Barrett) is pushing dope at the club, that Pete had an incestuous relationship with Myra, and that Rags was responsible for the death of his family in a car wreck. As this bitter misinformation sweeps through the town, Luanne turns up dead, but this proves to be the beginning and not the end of a wave of violence and ugliness. The Kill-Off was one of three Jim Thompson adaptations to reach the screen within the space of a year, along with The Grifters and After Dark, My Sweet. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide