David Moscow Movies

This lighthearted comedy pokes fun at the culture wars, and the debate over same-sex parenting. Southern gal Miranda is an Evangelical Christian with all the social and political beliefs dictated by her church, but when she gets what she's sure is a message from God, she does a 180 and decides to become a surrogate mother for a married gay couple from Boston. It's a weird enough situation as it is, but things get even crazier for Miranda when one of her baby-daddies-to-be decides to come down South for a visit -- and won't leave! ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Screen legend Ben Gazzara (Husbands, Saint Jack) headlines this gentle, amiable comedy-drama. He stars as Jake Palladin, a famed Hollywood actor (and two-time Oscar winner) self-exiled to Guatemala. Jake's life gets shaken up with the arrival of young and conceited Hollywood talent agent Josh Ross (David Moscow), shuttled off to Jake's Central American small town to retrieve the aging actor and pull him out of hiding. Unfortunately, locating Jake proves far more difficult than Josh anticipates, and he must rely heavily on the assistance and support of the local community, which he resents, to find the great thespian. Though Josh eventually succeeds in locating his man, neither he nor Jake can anticipate the journeys of self discovery that their encounter will engender, forcing each man to reconfront his long-abandoned past. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Michael Madsen, Erik Palladino, and David Moscow star in director Russell Mulcahy's action thriller about an undercover FBI agent on a mission to infiltrate the treacherous world of "choppers." Special Agent Kevin Hawkins (Palladino) knows that the stakes are high when he ventures into the world of fast cars, but he never expected to find himself stuck between a murderous crime boss (Madsen) and a vicious group of cutthroat gangsters. Now, with danger closing in from both sides of the criminal underworld, Hawkins straps himself in for a race that could mean the difference between life and death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Can a new marriage survive meddling friends, disapproving families, and some of the worst accommodations in Europe? That's the question posed in this broad comedy. Tom Leezak (Ashton Kutcher) is a regular guy who likes sports and beer and tries to make ends meet working as a nighttime radio traffic reporter. Sarah McNerney (Brittany Murphy) is a beautiful young woman from a wealthy and privileged family who is trying to make a name for herself as a writer. Tom and Sarah have seemingly nothing in common, but that doesn't stop them from falling in love. Sarah's family doesn't much care for Tom's boorish ways, and Tom's buddies think Sarah is too highbrow for him, but, if anything, this makes the couple all the more determined to be together, and they decide to get married and head off to Italy for a month-long honeymoon despite the pleas of those closest to them. However, even after the knot is tied, Sarah's former beau, Peter Prentiss (Christian Kane), is dead set upon breaking up the happy couple, though as it turns out, a seemingly endless stream of bad luck and post-marital jitters may do the job for him. Just Married was written by Sam Harper, who claims to have loosely based the script on his own experiences on an ill-starred European honeymoon with his wife; fortunately, the couple's marriage survived the experience. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Penny Marshall directed this serio-comic story, based on the memoir by Beverly Donofrio, about a young woman who finds her life radically altered by an event from her teen years. Born in 1950, Beverly (Drew Barrymore) grew up bright and ambitious in a working-class neighborhood in Connecticut; her father (James Woods) was a tough but good-hearted cop with an understanding ear for his daughter's problems, and her mother (Lorraine Bracco) was a nervous woman eager to imagine the worst. From an early age, Beverly displays a keen intelligence and an interest in literature, and she dreams of going to college in New York and becoming a writer. However, she also develops a precocious interest in boys, and at 15 finds herself madly in love with a boy from her high school. However, an attempt to get his attention leads to an embarassing incident at a party, and Ray Hasek (Steve Zahn), a sweet but thick-headed 18-year-old, steps forward to defend her. Beverly and Ray end up making out, and after one thing leads to another, Beverly discovers she's pregnant. Telling Ray is only marginally less difficult than informing her parents, and at 16, Beverly is a wife and mother. Against the odds, Beverly is determined to still finish high school and go on to college, but that goal becomes more difficult with time, especially after Beverly's marriage begins to fall apart; while Ray tries to do the right thing, he has trouble holding a job, and circumstances become all the more difficult when Beverly learns her husband is addicted to heroin. Riding in Cars With Boys also stars Brittany Murphy as Beverly's best friend Fay; Beverly's son Jason is played, at various points in his life, by Adam Garcia (age 20), Logan Lerman (age eight), Cody Arens (age six), and Logan Arens (age three). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Eric Bross directed this drama of romantic roadblocks and racial issues between a group of waitresses and bartenders waiting for their "big breaks." Former alcoholic Chris (Adrien Brody) is a playwright who works as a bartender at the popular Hoboken, New Jersey, restaurant J.T. McClure's, a gathering spot for a variety of creative wannabes. At a local theater, rehearsals are underway for Chris' play, an autobiographical drama echoing his past relationship with Leslie (Lauryn Hill); for the fictional Leslie character, Chris has cast the vulnerable vocalist Jeanine (Elise Neal), and finds himself falling for her. Meanwhile, the actor playing the role of "Chris" has been sleeping with the real-life Leslie, adding to the real-life Chris' confusion. Providing philosophical guidance is the wise-guy best friend Reggae (Michael Stoyanov), a fellow "Newark boy" whose main creative energy goes into scoring drugs. Restaurant was one of the much-discussed stand-outs at the 1998 L.A. Independent Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A teenager tries to do the right thing with heavy odds stacked against him in this hard-hitting independent drama. Marcus (Brendan Sexton III) is a 14-year-old growing up in a tough section of New York City. Marcus' father is dead, and his mother is in prison; while she told him that it was for helping to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States, he later discovers that she was actually convicted of the murder of his dad. Living with his grandmother, who works as a bartender, Marcus doesn't get much in the way of guidance, and he soon falls in with a group of kids who ride bikes, hang out, and engage in small-time theft for fun and profit. Marcus and his new friends shoplift CDs and sneakers and then sell them in the schoolyard; however, before long, some of the other kids bring up the idea of pulling bigger thefts for bigger profits, and while Marcus is resistant to the idea at first, the decision isn't entirely his to make. One of Marcus' few friends who wants to see him straighten up is Melena (Isidra Vega), who is growing up with a strong set of principles despite being raised in an abusive home. Hurricane (also released under the title Hurricane Streets) won both the Audience Award and the Director's Award at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival; it was the first feature for director Morgan J. Freeman (not to be confused with actor Morgan Freeman). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A failed effort to revive the big-budget movie musical, Newsies attempted to create toe-tapping, song-and-dance excitement out of the true story of an 1899 strike by newspaper boys against publishing magnate Joseph Pulitzer. The "newsies" band together to protest a pay cut by Pulitzer (Robert Duvall), organizing a union to protect their rights and ensure fair wages. They are helped along the way by Medda (Ann-Margret), a local dance-hall performer who befriends the boys and provides an opportunity for an additional song or two. Director Kenny Ortega had previously choreographed Dirty Dancing, and composer Alan Menken had provided the acclaimed scores for Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors, but their work here failed to capture the spark of their popular successes. Unable to connect with older or younger viewers, Newsies gained a reputation as a major bomb that cut short an attempt to bring back the live-action musical, though in the intervening years it has gained a small but appreciative cult. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

More than anything else, 13-year old New Jerseyite Josh (David Moscow) wants to be "big". That's the wish he makes at an odd-looking amusement pier fortunetelling machine. The next morning, Josh wakes up-only to discover that he's grown to manhood overnight! (At this point, the part is taken over by Tom Hanks). Still a 13-year-old mentally and emotionally, Josh decides to hide out in New York City until he can figure out what to do next. He lucks into a job with a major toy company run by kid-at-heart McMillan (Robert Loggia). By cannily bringing a child's eye view to McMillan's business, Josh rises to the top-and in process, he falls in love with fellow employee Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). But he's still a kid, and he'd like to go back to his own world and own body. Written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, Big proved a crucial success for budding director Penny Marshall, who'd work harmoniously with Hanks again on the radically different A League of Their Own. The cinematography was by Barry Sonenfeld, who went on to become a director himself with The Addams Family. That Big was heavily reliant upon the input of Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall was proven by the failed attempt to turn the property into a Broadway musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide