Laura Bell Bundy Movies
A fixture of American musical theater during the mid- to late 2000s, Laura Bell Bundy sported a résumé that could have easily been mistaken for a laundry list of most covetable Broadway roles. Bundy gravitated to stage performance at the tender age of nine in regional and Manhattan-area theater in such productions as Ruthless! The Musical, but achieved greatest prominence on the Great White Way for originating the role of Amber von Tussle in the Tony Award-winning musical of Hairspray (2002), loosely adapted from the 1988 John Waters comedy of the same name. Subsequent stage roles included that of Glinda in the musical Wicked (adapted from the Gregory Maguire novel) and valley girl Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical. Bundy later appeared in Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for the New Elle Woods, a competition-themed reality series that -- per its title -- depicted the contest of the various tryouts hoping to be selected as the successor for the Blonde role.Alongside her theatrical work, Bundy also built up a substantial array of feature film portrayals in outings including Life with Mikey (1993), Jumanji (1996), and Dreamgirls (2006). She also essayed a role on the daytime soap The Guiding Light and embarked on a recording career beginning with the release of the country and western album Longing for a Place Already Gone. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
The familiar Cinderella concept gets a sun-splashed makeover in Death to the Supermodels director Joel Silverman's wave-riding teen comedy. The misfits of Laguna Beach high school have suffered more abuse than they're willing to take at the hands of in-crowd bully Tyler Masters (Ryan Carnes), and as the senior trip draws ever closer their hunger to seek revenge for years of humiliation grows too powerful to resist. Enter newly arrived high school student Jordan (Corey Sevier), a former east-coaster who seems to be having a hard time fitting in at Laguna Beach. When Jordan learns that the highlight of the senior year is the annual surfing contest in Costa Rica, he soon hatches a plan that will give the downtrodden outcasts a much-needed ego boost while simultaneously serving Tyler with a well-deserved comeuppance. In order to do it right, though, Jordan will have to convince outcast hip-hopper Mo (Sisqo), morose Doris (Laura Bell Bundy), skate-punk Taz (Miko Hughes), and virginal Larry (Lee Norris) to break for Costa Rica a week early and train for the competition under the tutelage of loopy former surf pro Rip (Harland Williams). It's not going to be easy, but if Jordan can pull the troops together and make this wild plan work, he just might manage to leave his mark on Laguna Beach High after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Sevier, Laura Bell Bundy, (more)
Jumanji is a visually elaborate fantasy about an enchanted board game that opens a magical portal to a jungle universe. Two young children, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce), discover the game in an abandoned home and suddenly are greeted by Alan (Robin Williams), an adult who has spent his life trapped inside the game since playing it at age 12. Alan's only hope for freedom involves finishing the game, but this proves rather dangerous, as Judy, Peter, and Alan find themselves running for their lives from huge rhinoceroses, evil monkeys, vicious lions, and other terrifying jungle beasts. Director Joe Johnston, whose special-effects background previously came to good use in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, used groundbreaking computer imagery to simulate the thrills. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, (more)
