Jennifer Rubin Movies
Jennifer Rubin began appearing in films in the early 1980s. Rubin was seen as teenagers in such productions as Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Permanent Record (1987). She also had a short but telling role in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991), and starred in the 1995 TV remake of the old horror yarn The Wasp Woman. The film credits of Jennifer Rubin should not be confused with those of actress Jennifer Rothschild, who in the early stages of her career was likewise billed as Jennifer Rubin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1975
This satire looks at a young couple from the city who search for a new life in the pure, clean, spacious countryside. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
- Add A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors to QueueAdd A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors to top of Queue
The best of the Elm Street sequels, this creepy, surreal fantasy features terrific effects, a fine young cast, and an air of grim fatalism that sets it apart from its giggly successors. Patricia Arquette stars as Kristen, whose nightmare leads to a slashed wrist which looks suspiciously like a suicide attempt. She is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with a group of six other troubled teens who all dream about the same horribly burned man (Robert Englund) trying to kill them. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this picture, however, is the unexpected depth of sadness running through it. There are some achingly sweet moments in this otherwise frightening film which, though not disruptive, are impossible to analyze. The first and most bizarre of these is Heather Langenkamp's entrance, which inexplicably causes most viewers to get misty-eyed, and there are several similar scenes throughout the film. One answer can be found in the sensitive direction of Chuck Russell, who emphasizes the tragedy and utter hopelessness in these kids' lives and manages to wring some unexpectedly perceptive turns from his cast. This is a film in which a great deal of care was obviously lavished on individual scenes (the sets are outstanding) and performances. The results are well worth repeated viewings, and prove that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior films. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, (more)
- 1988
- R
A first-rate jazz score dominates the coming-of-age drama Blueberry Hill. Jennifer Rubin plays a small town girl of the 1950s whose musician father dies suddenly. Rubin's grief is not assuaged by her mother Carrie Snodgrass, who is having enough trouble coping with the tragedy on her own. The young girl must turn to jazz singer Margaret Avery for comfort and advice. Along the way, Rubin discovers that she's inherited her father's piano-playing prowess-and has also learned a few unsettling family secrets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carrie Snodgress, Margaret Avery, (more)
High school student Alan Boyce has it all: looks, charm, popularity, excellent grades, a promising future. So why does Boyce abruptly commit suicide? As the shock waves of the boy's death reverberate through the halls of his school, the other students--particularly Boyce's best friend Keanu Reeves--ask themselves if they, too, are capable of self-destruction. As for the adults, Boyce's suicide is one more of a myriad of mysteries concerning "Generation X" (though it was not yet so labelled in 1988). While the film offers no easy answers, either for the characters or the audience, Permanent Record ultimately demonstrates that there are ways to cope with the pressures of life other than taking one's own life. An added bonus: the teenagers in the film act like genuine teenagers, not like TV sitcom wisecrackers or oversexed cretins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Boyce, Keanu Reeves, (more)
The sole survivor of a psycho-led mass suicide awakens from a 13-year coma and begins having visions of the cult leader who was also killed in the fiery death scene. She resists his efforts to have her join him in the hereafter, and soon members from her therapy group start dropping like flies. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, (more)
- 1990
- R
In this riotous British satire, a conniving Catholic priest convinces a dying tycoon into writing the church into his will by having him add the following proviso: the tycoon's children will only inherit the fortune if one of them can produce an heir within one year after his death. If they fail, all the money will go to the Church. The priest is well aware that the magnate's son is gay and that his daughter is a lesbian. After the ailing fellow signs the will, the priest allows him to die. The two siblings soon find themselves pursued by two aspiring real estate agents who want some of that money for themselves and agree to let the middle-aged siblings adopt them. A voluptuous seductress also has her eye on the family fortune and she tries to sway the brother into giving her a go. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Downey, Jr., Eric Idle, (more)
- 1991
- R
In this fast-paced, noirish road movie, a computer expert embezzles half a million dollars and races off to Reno to start anew. Unfortunately, en route, he picks up a pair of hitchers and ends up entangled with a crazed couple who commandeer his car and leave him alone in the desert to die. As soon as he can, he hits the road to get revenge and to find his money before they do. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Metzler, Jennifer Rubin, (more)
Val Kilmer delivers what was considered one of 1991's best performances as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's hallucinatory bio-pic of the seminal 1960s rock group The Doors. Stone cuts a jagged swath through Morrison's life, starting with a childhood memory where Morrison sees an elderly Indian dying by the roadside. It picks up with Morrison's arrival in California and his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, followed by his film school days at UCLA; his introduction to his girlfriend Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan); his first encounters with Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan); and the origin of The Doors -- made up of Manzarek, Robby Kreiger (Frank Whaley), and John Densmore (Kevin Dillon). As the fame of The Doors grows, Morrison's obsession with death increases. The band grows weary of Morrison's missed recording sessions and no-shows at concerts. Morrison, meanwhile, sinks deeper into a drug-induced haze, having mystical sexual encounters with Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan), an older rock journalist involved with sadomasochism and witchcraft. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, (more)
In this made-for-cable TV movie, an attractive woman leaves her small-town life hoping to make it as a model. However, her success earns her more admiration than she bargained for when a deranged killer begins murdering her male friends. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Rubin, Peter Outerbridge, (more)
As directed by Polish film stalwart Lech Majewski in English, with a Hollywood cast including Viggo Mortensen (A Walk on the Moon) and Jack Kehoe (Melvin & Howard), the 1993 allegory The Gospel According to Harry unfolds at some indeterminate point in the future - when much of the Pacific Ocean is now a sandy, scorched and barren wasteland. Mortensen and Jennifer Rubin are Wes and Karen, a young couple trapped in the most unhealthy of relationships and bound by a co-dependency to one another. With only a bleak future in sight, the two go through empty and meaningless days searching for happiness with scarcely an iota of success. Then into the situation walks Harry, a tax collector who looks on as a distant observer but seems powerless to intervene on any level. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viggo Mortensen, Jennifer Rubin, (more)
- 1992
- R
- Add A Woman, Her Men and Her Futon to QueueAdd A Woman, Her Men and Her Futon to top of Queue
In this drama, Helen (Jennifer Rubin) is an attractive woman who goes through a series of unsubstantial relationships; she then uses her brief flings as material for the film script she is writing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Rubin, Lance Edwards, (more)
- 1992
Children's book author Meredith Cole (Christine Lahti) works out of her home. In fact, she does everything out of her home: she suffers from acute and debilitating agoraphobia. Recently separated from her husband, Meredith advertises for a boarder; soon afterward, Jane Caswell (Jennifer Rubin) arrives at her doorstep. Later on, Pete (Dylan McDermott), claiming to be Jane's brother, joins the household. When it becomes painfully clear that Pete and Jane are psychotic murderers, Meredith is too terrified to make a bid for escape, or even attempt to summon help. She finally comes out of her shell when the demented couple threaten the life of her young son (Thomas Ian Nicholas). Made for cable, The Fear Inside first aired August 9, 1992 over the Showtime Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This interesting action-horror film stars Mario Van Peebles as a tough cop who becomes the latest recruit in a secret faction of the police which not only operates on the fringes of the law, but is also composed entirely of werewolves. Horror fans who choose to embrace the fundamental goofiness of this premise will find an interesting blend of hyperkinetic John Woo-style action, comic-book fantasy, and good old-fashioned monster mayhem. Inducted into the league of lycanthropic lawmen by one of its more aesthetically pleasing members (Patsy Kensit), Van Peebles partakes of a drug which, like the others on the squad, brings out his animal instincts and endows him with superhuman strength and agility (as well as some unsightly body hair). Despite some touches of black comedy, director Anthony Hickox plays the material fairly straight, with a strong emphasis on slick, tightly edited action sequences. Originally produced for HBO, this was later released on video with some of the gorier footage restored. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Patsy Kensit, (more)
- 1993
When the call went out for a Baldwin, Stephen answered and was cast in the lead of Bitter Harvest. Patsy Kensit and Jennifer Rubin costar as a pair of oversexed young ladies who get their jollies by victimizing their male lovers. Wide-eyed Baldwin, in need of emotional aid and comfort after the death of his father, finds himself the object of the girls' attentions. Even when he realizes he's being played for a chump, Baldwin hasn't got the inclination to escape the ladies' clutches. And then things take a sinister turn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patsy Kensit, Stephen Baldwin, (more)
The Crush is a psychological thriller wherein a young man is the object of the obsession of a mentally unbalanced young girl. Journalist Nick Elliot (Cary Elwes) rents the guest house of a wealthy couple. The family's 14-year-old daughter Darien (Alicia Silverstone) flirts with him, and when her advances are not reciprocated she becomes increasingly obsessed with him resorting at last to violence and murder. Alicia Silverstone is beautiful and surprisingly good as the obsessed girl. Cary Elwes is also good in conveying his attraction and restraint in his dealings with so young and troubled a girl. However, the premise of the man being trapped by the aggressive, vengeful female is somewhat outdated and cliched. The Crush which should concentrate on the motivations of the girl, instead focuses on her increasingly violent acts, which include the vandalism of Nick's car and the attempted murder of his girlfriend. None of the characters are very real, and the plot is contrived, depending on illogical coincidence and implausible behavior by the principal characters. The Crush, an exploitive, cliched melodrama masquerading as a thriller, fails to either surprise or thrill. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone, (more)
- 1994
In this crime thriller, a pair of police detectives investigates a series of related killings. As the evidence mounts, it becomes chillingly apparent that one of the two gumshoes is the guilty party. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
An actress takes a dangerous detour on the road to success in this suspense drama. Jamie (Jennifer Rubin) is a struggling starlet who is trying to win a role in an upcoming film called Playmaker. Eager to gain advantage on the competition, Jamie's pal Eddie (John Getz) says that he can arrange an introduction with Ross Talbert (Colin Firth), an acting teacher with a reputation for grooming top talent. Ross agrees to tutor Jamie for $5,000; she scrapes up the money, only to discover that his lessons are mainly exercises in psychological abuse. Jamie learns that a number of Ross' students who didn't respond to his techniques have turned up dead, and she spies an "F" next to her name in his grade book shortly before he attacks her with a knife; she grabs a gun and kills him. The police determine that Jamie acted in self-defense -- but the man who she's been taking lessons with wasn't the real Ross Talbert. Playmaker features an original score by Mark Snow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Firth, Jennifer Rubin, (more)
- 1994
- R
In this Canadian thriller, uneducated, disaffected white youths known as skinheads are attacking racial minorities. A government agent (Michael Ironside) investigating the incidents traces them to a wealthy, extreme right-wing, neo-Nazi businessman who is secretly bankrolling the skinheads, using them to do what he would like to do himself, but enabling him to keep his hands clean. The agent assembles a team (as in The Dirty Dozen) to fight back. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt McColm, John Savage, (more)
- 1995
Sex, drugs, lies and betrayal form the basis of this gritty crime thriller that centers on two white guys, Pooch and Big Boy, lifelong friends who decide they want a piece of the local drug trade action in their old neighborhood. They end up being distracted by aspiring-model and pathological-liar Eva, who involves them in an increasingly kinky menage-a-trois that results in jealousy between the friends. Still the two, with the help of their pal Juanito, are getting close to having total control and will be able to make a proposition to the mob behind it all. Unbeknownst to the others, Pooch is working as a spy for the police, but toward the end, he is undecided about whether he should help them, or help himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Roger Corman executive-produced this made-for-cable remake of his 1960 horror-camp classic. Jennifer Rubin plays an aging model who owns a cosmetics company; when a researcher experimenting with wasps brings her a serum that will turn back the aging process, she decides to first try it on herself. The good news is -- the serum works! The bad news is --- sometimes, it also turns her into a wasp woman who tends to kill people ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Rubin, Daniel J. Travanti, (more)
This action-packed sci-fi thriller is set upon the planet Sirius 6B in the year 2078. The planet has been decimated by a vast nuclear war. Many have survived, but their continued survival is threatened by the dreaded screamers, strange shape-changing mechanical creatures who use razor sharp knives to hack up any life-form in their way. They earned their name because when they kill, they make a horrible high pitched sound. The first screamer makes its appearance as a lone soldier approaches a bunker. He has come to deliver an important message from the NEB to its enemy the Alliance. Unfortunately, the low flying screamer gets to the soldier first, and quicker than Popeil's Vegamatic, slices and dices the fellow into tiny pieces. Later a jet crashes near the bunker. Aboard it is a nuclear reactor. One man survives the crash. The man, Ace, knows how to make a bomb with the reactor. Alliance-leader Col. Joseph Hendricksson takes Ace and they travel across the great irradiated desert to met with the NEB leaders. Along the way they find a small boy and though they don't want to, bring him along. Unfortunately, by the time they get to the NEB headquarters, the screamers have killed all but Becker, a tough soldier, Ross, who is nearly mad, and sexy smuggler Jessica. When Becker and Ross see the boy, they think he is a screamer and kill him. They are right and soon the little group find themselves surrounded by the hellish killing machines, all of which have taken the shapes of small boys. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- NR
This made-for-television chiller offers up three spooky stories. In the first, a vicious husband hires assassins to rape and kill his wife. In story two, a dog's savage bite causes a man to go insane. Finally a pair of men get more than they bargained for when a woman gets fed up with their unwanted and insistent advances. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Rubin, Nick Mancuso, (more)
- 1996
- R
A low-budget knockoff of The Craft, this tame horror outing centers around a group of Catholic girls at a remote convent run by a cast of veterans including Jack Nance, Zelda Rubinstein, and a miscast Jennifer Rubin. The girls are the usual variegated lot from Central Casting, who discover a book of incantations to summon a fertility god at a secret baptistry next door. The girls are quickly drawn into the book's spell, and only Faith, a nerdy construction worker, and a mysterious Guardian can prevent all Hell from breaking loose. The problem is that "all Hell" never does break loose. Viewers do get to see a cheesy monster-puppet made by Gabe Bartalos, but only for a few seconds. They also get to see naked Catholic schoolgirls performing dark rituals, but only in long-shot. The only real exploitation highlights that can't be seen in The Craft are Nance's nifty death scene (involving many fish-hooks) and a naked dance by Sheeri Rappaport. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mimi Reichmeister, Sheeri Rappaport, (more)
