Jonathan Groff Movies
A native of rural Lancaster, PA, stage and screen player Jonathan Groff cut against the grain of his sports-inclined family by gravitating to theatrical performance from an early age, with innumerable onstage appearances at the Fulton Opera House during his youth. As preparation for university applications, Groff impulsively caught a bus to New York City and began theatrical tryouts, where he promptly landed the role of Rolf in one of the revivals of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music; theatrical success soon took over and superseded Groff's collegiate plans. Subsequent stage projects included prominent roles in Fame at the Beverly, Massachusetts North Shore Music Theater, and a key role in the 2007 Broadway disaster In My Life, directed by Joe Brooks.At about the same time, Groff moved into television work with a portrayal of Henry Mackler on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
A handsome yet sexually awkward young man becomes caught up in the dysfunctional web of a Cedar Rapids family in director Jeff Lipsky's caustic satirical drama. Jeff (Jonathan Groff) has had a crush on Mel (Portia Reiners) ever since high school, and now he's finally mustered the courage to chat her up. Unfortunately for Jeff, Mel isn't really interested in romance. Later, at a local party, Jeff hits it off with Mel's chaste, withdrawn older sister, Maura (Mamie Gummer), who proves unexpectedly responsive to his not-so-subtle advances. Though at first it may have seemed like a mere coincidence that Jeff was involved with both sisters, his motivations begin to seem suspicious when he allows himself to be seduced by their sexually frustrated mother, Vivian (Karen Young), whose bisexual husband, Martin (Reed Birney), left her for another man, but occasionally drops by for a quickie. Lately, Martin has been feeling like a failed father, but his ongoing efforts to reestablish a functional relationship with his daughters are continually iced by Maura, who makes no attempts to hide her distain for his lifestyle. Little do Jeff and Martin realize that they're currently on a collision course with one another, and once they meet head-on, nothing will ever be the same again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Reed Birney, Jonathan Groff, (more)
Robert Redford focuses on the chaotic moment in history directly following President Lincoln's assassination to tell the story of the proud mother charged with committing the monumental crime, and the ambitious young lawyer who reluctantly becomes her defense attorney. The Civil War has ended, and upon returning home, Union War hero Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) endeavors to enter the world of politics by establishing himself as a lawyer. Though a high-society ball provides Aiken with the unique opportunity to gain an audience with standing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline), history intervenes when John Wilkes Booth fires the fateful bullet that ends the president's life. The nation is soon engulfed in turmoil as a massive manhunt for Booth's collaborators commences, leading lawmen to Confederate sympathizer Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), whose son John has become a prime suspect, yet remains dubiously out of reach. Meanwhile, as the American public cries out for justice, former attorney general Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) persuades Aiken to act as Mrs. Surratt's defense lawyer, and the mounting pressure both in and out of the courtroom begins to weigh on the conflicted barrister's conscience as the pressure turns up on John to give himself up, and save his mother from paying for his crime in the gallows. Kevin Kline, Alexis Bledel, Evan Rachel Wood, and Justin Long co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Wright, James McAvoy, (more)
Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee tells the story of the Greenwich Village interior designer who inadvertently helped to spark a cultural revolution by offering the organizers of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival boarding at his family's Catskills motel. The year is 1969. Change is brewing in America, and the energy in Greenwich Village is palpable. Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) is working as an interior designer when he discovers that a high-profile concert has recently lost its permit from the nearby town of Wallkill, NY. Emboldened by the burgeoning gay rights movement yet still tied to tradition in the form of the family business -- a Catskills motel called the El Monaco -- Tiber phones producer Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) at Woodstock Ventures and offers boarding to the harried concert crew. Later, as the Woodstock Ventures staff begans arriving in droves, half a million concertgoers make their way to Max Yasgur's (Eugene Levy) adjacent farm in White Lake, NJ, to witness the counterculture celebration that would ultimately make history as one of the greatest events in the annals of rock & roll. Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, and Paul Dano co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Demetri Martin, Dan Fogler, (more)
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