Thora Birch Movies
By the time six-year-old Thora Birch made her feature film debut with a small role in Purple People Eater (1988), she was already a veteran television actress with two years' worth of commercial and series work under her diminutive belt.Probably best known up to that point for her work opposite über-grandad Wilford Brimley in a Quaker Oats commercial, Birch went on to grow up in front of the camera, evolving from Monkey Trouble's moppet with a primate to a bras and boys-obsessed teeny bopper in Now and Then to Kevin Spacey's rebellious daughter in American Beauty.
Birch, who was born in Los Angeles on March 11, 1982, first attracted sizable notice for her role as Elijah Wood's tomboy friend in Paradise, a 1991 family drama that also starred Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Afterwards, her visibility began to increase, first with a supporting role as Harrison Ford's daughter in Patriot Games (1992) (which she reprised in 1994's Clear and Present Danger), and then as one of the three kids who inadvertently bring three witches back to life in Hocus Pocus (1993).
The actress got her first chance to play a teenaged role in the aforementioned Now and Then (1995), a coming-of-age drama that cast her as the younger version of Paradise co-star Melanie Griffith. Neither that film, nor Birch's subsequent project, Alaska (1996), made a great impact among critics or audiences, and it was not until the actress was cast in American Beauty (1999) that her career really began to accelerate. Birch, who dyed her hair Goth black and adopted a resolute sullenness for her role as the rebellious Jane Burnham, earned wide praise and a Screen Actors Guild award, and a host of international awards nominations, for her work in the acclaimed film.
After the success of American Beauty, Birch -- who also had an uncredited role in that same year's Anywhere but Here -- was suddenly busy with a number of projects. Included among them were Ghost World, Terry Zwigoff's screen adaptation of Daniel Clowes' celebrated comic about two teenage girls trying to deal with life after high school; The Smokers, a teen drama that cast Birch as a drug-addled schoolgirl; and Dungeons and Dragons, in which she played an empress whose mystical kingdom is threatened by an evil wizard (Jeremy Irons).
~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
A group of collegiate American wrestlers encounter a cunning killer while riding the rails though Eastern Europe. When Alex (Thora Birch) and the athletes party so hard that they miss the train to Odessa, a kindly stranger suggests that they take an alternate route. With no other options, the hung-over group boards the next train and hopes for the best. But these weary travelers may never make it to their destination alive, because somewhere on that train lurks a ruthless killer, and tonight he's out for blood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch
The true story of the first televised murder trial in U.S. history, Winter of Frozen Dreams reveals the bizarre tale of a brilliant biochemistry student who lead a shocking double life. Barbara Hoffman (Thora Birch) was a top student at the University of Wisconsin, and one of Madison's most notorious prostitutes. But how could a girl known for her remarkable mind be drawn into such a lurid plot of passion and murder? When Barbara's fiancé Jerry Davies (Brenden Sexton III) reported the discovery of a corpse one frigid Christmas morning, he never thought police would suspect him of being the killer. Just hours before, Jerry had buried the body in a snow bank, and now Detective Lulling (Keith Carradine) smells foul play. Insisting that he and Hoffman didn't kill the deceased but merely buried the man's corpse, Davies and his bride-to-be quickly establish themselves as the prime suspects in a perplexing murder case. Later, as Hoffman languishes in prison, she becomes an object of curiosity in the media for her refusal to give interviews or even go before the parole board. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch, Keith Carradine, (more)
Nightmares blend with dreams to offer a surreal and terrifying portrait of one woman's rapidly deepening psychological malaise in first-time writer/director Ray Gower's tale of a troubled young woman pursued by malevolent creatures led by a mysterious villain known as Needletooth. Upon awakening to the shriek of her alarm clock in the early hours of the morning, Karen Clarke (Thora Birch) gets out of bed, walks to the bathroom, and receives the shock of her life upon glancing at the mirror and discovering that she has been badly beaten. With no memory of the violent confrontation that led to her apparent pummeling and nothing but a mysterious locker key to guide her, the young mortuary worker attempts to go about her daily duties preparing bodies for pre-funeral viewings. Soon after a corpse suddenly sits upright and curses Karen for an unknown transgression, the frightened girl finds herself being relentlessly pursued by a villain who seems to have escaped from her worst nightmares. When Karen falls back asleep, however, she is surprised to find that she has taken on the persona of Susan (also Birch), an average girl with a normal job and a decidedly sane existence. Now, if she could only figure out which is the dream, and which is the true reality. Perhaps the strange locker key she has recently discovered will help to unlock this troubling mystery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch, Toby Stephens, (more)
Taylor (Balthazar Getty) and Ashley (David Arquette) have been best friends since they were boys. They've grown older and stuck together, making a meager living, drifting across the country running low-level cons. They end up in Fairfield, CT, where Ashley thinks they can scam rich lonely housewives. At a children's hockey game, Taylor chats up Karen (Julianna Margulies), who seems to fit their victim profile to a T. She's depressed and unsatisfied in her second marriage. Her teenage daughter from her first marriage, April (Thora Birch), is away at college, and her neglectful, philandering husband is rarely around. Ashley wants Taylor to spend some time with Karen, gain her trust, and case her house for valuables, but the situation gets complicated when Taylor begins to develop genuine feelings for her. Karen soon realizes that Taylor does not offer the solution she seeks to her problems, and ends their affair. Taylor pines for her until he accidentally runs into April. As Taylor and April begin to develop a relationship, the unstable Ashley grows distraught over the state of his partnership with Taylor. Slingshot was written by director Jay Alaimo, producing partner Matt Fiorello, and Matthew Martin (who also has story credit). The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Thora Birch, (more)
Celebrated writer and director John Sayles turns his eye to politics in America in this drama. The son of respected Colorado politician Senator Jud Pilager (Michael Murphy), Dicky Pilager (Chris Cooper) is a charming but half-bright man with a bad habit of mangling the English language and a decided lack of political correctness. Dicky is also in the midst of a hard-fought campaign to become governor of Colorado. Dicky's campaign manager, Chuck Raven (Richard Dreyfuss), is a ruthless sort who will leave no stone unturned to see that his candidate wins, so when Dicky snags a dead body while fishing during the shooting of a campaign commercial, Raven is determined to find out if his man has been set up. Raven hires Danny O'Brien (Danny Huston), a former journalist turned private investigator, to find out who the dead man is and if he might be connected to Pilager's enemies. But the deeper O'Brien digs into the matter, the more he finds out about the candidate and his family -- and very little of it is flattering. John Sayles assembled a typically impressive cast for Silver City, with the supporting cast highlighted by Tim Roth, Kris Kristofferson, Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Daryl Hannah, Billy Zane, and Mary Kay Place. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Huston, Maria Bello, (more)
- 2003
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In this fact-based cable TV drama, Thora Birch stars as Liz Murray, the daughter of a loving but extremely dysfunctional Bronx family. Weighed down with a coke-addict father and an HIV-infected mother, Liz spends her early years shuttling from squalid apartment to public shelter and back again. At 15, she breaks away from her home life (what there is of it) and takes to the streets. Only after the death of her mother does Liz develop the determination to better her lot in life. Virtually begging her way back into high school, she becomes a superb student, and at 19, with funding from a scholarship and a part-time job with the New York Public Interest Group, "born loser" Liz enters Harvard University. The real Liz Murray co-produced the film and plays a cameo role as a social worker. Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story premiered April 7, 2003, on the Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch
Filmmaker Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed breakthrough success with his 1994 documentary Crumb, shifts gears as he examines the lives of two young women on the verge of leaving their adolescence behind in his first dramatic feature. Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are two close friends who've just graduated from high school, and are trying to decide what to do with their lives. Enid is a dark-haired arch cynic who is tired of living at home with her ineffectual dad (Bob Balaban) and his annoyingly perky girlfriend Maxine (Teri Garr), while Rebecca is prettier and a bit cheerier, but no more certain about her future. While the two girls have vague plans of getting an apartment together, they seem content to while away their summer hanging out and indulging in their shared infatuation with Josh (Brad Renfro), a friend from school who works at a convenience store and doesn't seem to be especially attracted to either of them. Enid discovers that in order to get her diploma, she'll have to take an additional class over the summer, where she winds up studying art with Roberta (Illeana Douglas), who is determined to encourage Enid's creative impulses, whether Enid likes it or not. More significantly, Enid meets Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a geeky record collector more than twice her age, and while they would seem to have little in common (and Rebecca thinks he's a creep), Enid discovers a kindred spirit in fellow misfit Seymour, who shares her disgust with the world around them, and a relationship begins to develop between the two. Ghost World is based on the award-winning graphic novel by comic artist Daniel Clowes, who also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi, (more)
A fun-filled getaway for four teenagers becomes a season in Hell in this tense British thriller. Liz Dunn (Thora Birch) is a student at an exclusive private school who is head over heels for Mike Steel (Desmond Harrington), a handsome classmate whose father is a well-known American rock star. Liz, however, is self-conscious about her looks and is convinced Mike would rather be with the prettier girls in her class. Liz is also unenthusiastic about an upcoming field trip, in which she and the other students will have to camp out for three days while studying local geography. Liz confesses her infatuation with Mike to Martin Taylor (Daniel Brocklebank), a science-minded geek and longtime friend who happens to be in love with Liz, though she prefers to ignore it. Martin proposes a solution to both of Liz's problems; he's found an underground bunker built during World War II near the school grounds, and he arranges a little party in which Liz and Mike will spend the three days of the field trip in the bunker, with class couple Geoff (Laurence Fox) and Frankie (Keira Knightley) going along, giving Liz a perfect chance to impress Mike with her charm. The students lay in a supply of food, water, and booze to last them for three days, but after 72 hours, they discover they've been locked in, and they're not sure if Martin intends to let them out. The Hole also stars Embeth Davidtz as a psychiatrist who consults with Liz after her ordeal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, (more)
Christina Peters directs this wacky comedy about a trio of evil teens. Based at Wisconsin's Lindenhurst Academy, Jefferson (Dominique Swain), Karen (Busy Phillips), and Lisa (Keri Lynn Pratt) like to smoke pot and rape men at gunpoint. Thora Birch appears as Jefferson's drug-addled sister. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Swain, Busy Philipps, (more)
The imaginary world of the world's most popular fantasy role-playing game comes to life in this special-effects laden adventure. In the Empire of Izmer, magic is the key to power in both the supernatural and political realms. The Mages are a sect who know the secrets of magic and use it to hold sway over the masses. The youthful Empress Savina (Thora Birch) wants to use her powers to bring justice and prosperity to all, but Profion (Jeremy Irons) is an evil Mage who wants to use his knowledge of magic to overthrow Savina and establish his own despotic rule. Through deceitful means, Profion wins away the special scepter that allows him to control the nation's Golden Dragons; Savina's only hope to recover the scepter and the rule of Izmer is to obtain the Rod of Savrille, a talisman that will give her powers over the Red Dragons, even more powerful than their golden counterparts. As Savina sets out to gain control of the Red Dragons, she gains a number of unlikely allies, including a pair of thieves, Snails (Marlon Wayans) and Ridely (Justin Whalin); a powerful dwarf, Elwood (Lee Arenberg); and Norda (Kristen Wilson), an elf with a gift for finding lost objects. Dungeons & Dragons also features Zoe McLellan, Bruce Payne, and Richard O'Brien, the latter of whom is best known as the writer and co-star of the perennial cult item The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, (more)
- 1999
Based on the novel by Barbara Esstman, this made-for-TV drama concerns Neal (Keith Carradine) and Nora (Rebecca DeMornay), a married couple who run a horse ranch. Neal and Nora have slowly but surely drifted apart; while they still live together, they no longer feel that they have anything to say to each other. Nora dotes on their 17-year-old son Simon (Jordan Brower), while Neal has bonded with his daughter, 15-year-old Clea (Thora Birch). One day, Simon is killed in a riding accident, which throws Nora into a severe depression. Nora's mother Maggie (Ellen Burstyn), along with Neal, struggle to reach out to Nora for the first time in years, as Nora, who blames herself for Simon's death, tries to persuade Neal to sell the ranch and leave behind the life they've known all their lives. Night Ride Home was the 200th production shown as part of the acclaimed dramatic anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Rebecca De Mornay, (more)
Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with outward appearances. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, (more)
- 1997
Monica (Roma Downey), Tess (Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye) show up as counselors at a summer camp for HIV-positive teenage girls. One of the kids, Erin (Thora Birch), develops a serious crush on Andrew--and when he appears to be indifferent to her attentions, the heartbroken girl forms a suicide pact with four other campers. Somehow or other, the angels must prove to the disillusioned, disenfranchised girls that, in spite of all their woes, life is still worth living. The children's song "Duermente Nino Lindo" serves as a touching leitmotif. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Widower Jake Barnes (Dirk Benedict) moves with his daughter and son to a fishing village in Alaska, and earns his keep as a bush pilot by ferrying supplies to remote locations throughout the state. While the daughter loves her new home, the son cannot stand it, and is impatiently waiting until he is grown up enough to move away. However, they join forces to look for their father when they learn that he has gone down in an airplane accident. The official search party is called off and Jake is assumed dead, but the children will have none of it, and go off on their own into the Alaskan wilderness. Along the way, they thwart a big-game poacher (Charlton Heston) and his sidekick, and learn about survival in the wilderness. A highlight of the film is its fine footage of wild Alaska. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thora Birch, Vincent Kartheiser, (more)
Four women look back at the girls they used to be in this warm comedy-drama. Author Samantha Albertson (Demi Moore), actress Tina Tercell (Melanie Griffith), gynecologist Roberta Martin (Rosie O'Donnell), and housewife Christina DeWitt (Rita Wilson) are friends from childhood who get together for the first time in years when Christina is about to have a baby. Seeing the old gang sends Samantha down memory lane, as she recalls the summer of 1970, when the girls were 12-years-old and edging into womanhood. Samantha (Gaby Hoffmann) is struggling with the collapse of her parent's marriage, Roberta (Christina Ricci) must deal with the death of her mother, Tina (Thora Birch) is upset over her folks' apparent disinterest in her, and Christina (Ashleigh Aston Moore) is trying to overcome her mother's disinformation campaign about sex. Together, they discuss boys and first kisses, compare notes on the physical and emotional changes they're going through, and have seances where they try to communicate with a boy who died tragically 30 years earlier. Demi Moore, whose character narrates the film, also served as producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, (more)
This is the third film based on Tom Clancy's high-tech espionage potboilers starring CIA deputy director Jack Ryan. Harrison Ford, returning to the Ryan role after his first go-round in 1992's Patriot Games, is assigned to a delicate anti-drug investigation after a close friend of the President (a Reaganesque Donald Moffat) is murdered by a Colombian drug cartel. When Ryan discovers that the President's wealthy friend was in league with the cartel, the President's devious national security adviser (Harris Yulin) and an ambitious CIA deputy director (Henry Czerny) send a secret paramilitary force into Colombia to wipe out the drug lords. The force is captured and then abandoned by the President's lackeys. It falls to Ryan to enter Colombia and rescue them, aided only by a renegade operative named Clark (Willem Dafoe), with both his life and career on the line. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, (more)
A young girl secretly adopts a runaway monkey only to have to deal with the simian's mischief-making tendencies in this family comedy. Young Eva (Thora Birch)'s dreams of having a pet are frustrated by the objections of her mother (Mimi Rogers) and allergic stepfather (Christopher McDonald). When she finds a stray capuchin monkey, she cannot resist it, and she keeps the animal -- which she names Dodger -- hidden in her room. Eva doesn't know that Dodger has just escaped from an evil organ grinder named Azro (Harvey Keitel, playing a regrettable Gypsy stereotype), who had trained the monkey to become an accomplished pickpocket. Old habits prove hard to break, and Dodger begins stealing everything in sight, landing Eva in plenty of trouble. Her problems are only compounded by the actions of the unscrupulous Azro, who wants to find Dodger and use him as part of an important robbery. The standard misunderstandings and slapstick comedy ensue, with the spunky Eva struggling to protect her new pet and herself. While probably too predictable to appeal to many adults, Monkey Trouble's skillful animal antics and resourceful young heroine may prove entertaining to youngsters. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Finster, Thora Birch, (more)
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy romp around like coked-up versions of The Three Stooges in the frantic Disney romp Hocus Pocus. The film begins in 1693 where three witches -- Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy) -- are preparing a potion that will grant them immortality and eternal youth. But before they finish mixing their cocktail, the people of Salem capture them and execute them for practicing witchcraft. Before their deaths, they vow to return to Salem 300 years hence on Halloween to exact their revenge. Three hundred years later, a skeptical, newly transplanted Californian, Max (Omri Katz), explores the ruins of the legendary witches' house and dares the witches to manifest themselves. Disregarding the warnings of his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and girlfriend Allison (Vinessa Shaw), Max lights the Candle of Black Flame. With that, the witches reappear to wreak havoc on the town. The kids take off with the witches' spellbook and a musty tome of hexes and recipes. The sorceresses, who will die by the morning light if they don't recite the incantation for immortality, have to get the books by whatever means they can. So, Winifred, Sarah, and Mary hop on their broomsticks for a chase through Halloween night. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, (more)
In Patriot Games, Harrison Ford plays former CIA agent Jack Ryan, taking over from Alec Baldwin, who had played author Tom Clancy's brainy protagonist in Hunt for Red October. This time around, Ryan foils an attempted assassination, thereby incurring the wrath of a maniacal Irish radical (Sean Bean). After seemingly neutralizing the villains, and deciding to celebrate the occasion with his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch), everything appears to be back to normal; then all hell breaks loose. Author Tom Clancy himself bemoaned the liberties taken with his novel in the final sequences; the picture scored with audiences, however, and soon inspired a followup, A Clear and Present Danger (1994), also starring Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, (more)
Mary Agnes Donohue adapted her French success Le Grand Chemin for this American version, reworked as a vehicle for Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Paradise is a coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old boy named Willard (Elijah Wood), who is sent by his mother to stay with her best friend Lily (Melanie Griffith), who lives in the Delta shrimp-fishing country in a town called Paradise. Lily and her husband Ben (Don Johnson) have been living in an unmentioned emotional vacuum since the death of their own three year old boy. Willard makes friends with the local 9-year-old tomboy, Billie (Thora Birch), who teaches Willard to be comfortable with himself. When Willard gains a handle on his own emotions, he can now help Ben and Lily to connect, overcome grief and rediscover themselves. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, (more)
The leading lady of the Christmas tale knows just what she wants for Christmas and she lets Macy's Santa know, too. She wants nothing more than the reuniting of her recently divorced parents. Bordering on being a Miracle on 34th Street re-make, this film follows much the same theme, but the kids here get more involved as they thwart any likelihood of romantic success between their mom and her new boyfriend and try ever-so-hard to make Mommy and Daddy love each other again. A reunion does result, but it's a lackluster one and so's this film, which was generally seen as a little too contrived and way too bland. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harley Jane Kozak, Jamey Sheridan, (more)
- 1988
- PG
Linda Shayne wrote and directed this children's story based on the 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley. Billy Johnson (Neal Patrick Harris) is joined by a friendly alien from outer space who wants to play in a rock & roll band. Peggy Lipton plays Billy's mom, with James Houghton as the father and Ned Beatty as Grandpa. The band lends a hand to some senior citizens in their fight to keep their beloved retirement complex. Add Little Richard and Chubby Checker to the fun as the heroes try and stop the greedy landlord Mr. Noodle (John Brumfield) from kicking out the elderly residents. Only one word in the film gives the movie a PG rating instead of G. Watch for Sheb Wolley in a cameo role as the trapeze instructor in this low-budget family feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ned Beatty, Neil Patrick Harris, (more)
