Brooke Shields Movies
Despite her efforts to be taken seriously as an actress, Brooke Shields has been unable to escape her youth, during which time she found herself in the precarious position of simultaneously being idolized as a late-'70s icon of adolescent wholesome virginal innocence and being constantly photographed in manners verging on the mildly pornographic. Shields' early career was managed and pushed by her mother, Teri Shields, a small-time actress who placed her daughter in front of the camera before she was even one. As the Ivory Snow baby, Shields was once hailed as the "most beautiful baby in America." After spending many years hawking products, she was in such demand that her mother started marketing her under the logo "Brooke Shields & Co." Shields made her feature film debut in Alice Sweet Alice (1976), but did not become a bona fide star until French director Louis Malle cast her as a 12-year-old New Orleans prostitute who becomes the romantic obsession of a much older painter in Pretty Baby (1978). The film was released amidst great controversy because of the scenes in which Shields (or a body double representing her) appeared nude. But while she did participate in some adult scenes, those moments were handled with taste and discretion by Malle and his cinematographer, Sven Nyquist, and the general consensus was that Shields was not exploited in the film. Thus far, her acting in Pretty Baby remains Shields' best. Through her teens, Shields was among the world's top fashion models and her countenance was everywhere. Controversy again stirred when she did some provocative ads for Calvin Kline in which she was seen wearing a too tight pair of jeans and cooed, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." This was in contrast to her other ads in which she advised young girls to abstain from sex and a different campaign against smoking. At the peak of her fame, Shields appeared three times on the cover of Life magazine and once on the cover of Time. Her film career picked up around this time with appearances in such venues as King of the Gypsies (1978) and Wanda Nevada (1979), but her best-known film is the so-bad-it's-good The Blue Lagoon (1980) in which she and teenage hunk Christopher Atkins find themselves shipwrecked for years on a desert island. Ostensibly, the film is a tender tale about innocence and true love, but it's primarily a titillating romp filled with plenty of flesh shots of Shields and Atkins' taut, tanned, and partially clad bodies. In 1981, Shields tried her hand with a more serious role in Franco Zeffirelli's tepid teen romance Endless Love, but did not succeed. Shields decided it was time for college and so enrolled in Princeton, where but for the occasional appearance on a Bob Hope television special, made-for-TV movie, or other special event, she immersed herself in college life. While there, she majored in French Literature and also became interested in the theater, gaining experience in two regional productions of Love Letters. Shields graduated from Princeton with honors. Upon her graduation, Shields returned to acting full time and appeared in films that can most kindly be described as mediocre. In 1996, Shields was given her own situation comedy on NBC network's Suddenly Susan, where she played a single career girl struggling to reassemble her life following her breakup with her wealthy fiancé. Though never among the most natural and relaxed of actresses, Shields gradually grew into her role and proved to be a competent, charismatic comedy actress. She was married to tennis great Andre Agassi. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The shockingly brutal murder of a little girl in a church where she was just about to receive her first Communion sets a strong tone for terror in this disturbing horror film. The prime suspect in the death of Karen Spages (Brooke Shields) is her sister, Alice (Paula Sheppard), who happily tormented Karen by donning a mask and a raincoat to scare her. Comforting the grieving mother, Catherine Spages (Linda G. Miller), is her sister, Annie (Jane Lowry); local priest Father Tom (Rudolph Willrich); and Catherine's estranged husband, Dominick (Niles McMaster). Other characters include Father Tom's quirky housekeeper, Mrs. Tredoni (Mildred Clinton); a pair of detectives (Tom Signorelli, Michael Hardstark); and Catherine Spages' obese, cat-loving landlord (Alphonso De Noble). While the police investigation and all visual clues quickly point to Alice, director Alfred Sole manages to cast doubt on the killer's identity while the masked madman strikes several more times. About two-thirds of the way through the movie, Sole allows the viewer to see the killer. However, he smartly keeps his characters in the dark setting up a tense finale which culminates in yet another bloody slaying on holy ground before the lunatic is finally stopped. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda G. Miller, Mildred Clinton, (more)
Inside jokes about the film industry dominate this slight tale of ambition and romance at the Cannes Film Festival. Keith Carradine plays a first-time director who has sunk two years and all his money into a movie about the execution of murderer Gary Gilmore. With his last bit of cash, he flies himself and his picture to Cannes, but the film is seized by French customs. The wife of an Italian producer (Monica Vitti) helps him retrieve his work, and the two become embroiled in a passionate, yet ultimately ill-fated, affair. Carradine gets the first-time, self-important director mostly right, but the movie is so specific to the film industry that viewers may lose interest. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Monica Vitti, (more)
- 1990
Not to be confused with the oft-filmed Fannie Hurst yarn Back Street, Backstreet Dreams is a contemporary drama of Humanity vs. the Streets. Jason O'Malley plays a New York hoodlum who doesn't trust his wife Sherilyn Fenn as far as he can throw her (and for good reason). The only person O'Malley truly cares for is his autistic son Shane, played by twin children Joseph and John Viezzi. Brooke Shields (who's better than you might think) enters the scene as a PhD candidate who hopes to get through to Shane. Now it is the unfaithful Fenn's turn to seethe with jealousy as Shields applies her "force holding" theory to Shane, she and O'Malley draw closer together. O'Malley is so taken by Shields' compassion that he severs his mob ties--but Big Boss Burt Young won't let him off so easy, and uses Shane as a "bargaining chip." Backstreet Dreams appears at times to be three films jumbled together; every time a story element starts rolling, it is exiled to the back burner in favor of another gratuitous subplot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Jason O'Malley, (more)
The inner workings of the New York hip-hop scene, and the fascination of white observers with rap music and hip-hop culture, set the stage for this drama written and directed by James Toback. Rich Bower (Power) is a mover and shaker in the world of rap music (he's involved with a number of other licit and illicit business ventures as well), and his apartment is a favored meeting place for musicians, hangers-on, and hipsters who want to seem cool, including a clique of white kids who want to be on the inside of whey they consider the coolest scene of the day. Sam (Brooke Shields), a filmmaker, is making a documentary about Rich and his circle, with the help of her husband Terry (Robert Downey Jr.), a closeted homosexual who doesn't feel at home in this milieu. Dean (Allan Houston) is a talented college basketball player and Rich's friend since childhood who is offered a deal by a bookmaker, Mark (Ben Stiller) to throw a few games for a price. Dean takes the money against his better judgment, and he soon realizes how much of a mistake he made when Mark turns out to be a cop hoping to dig up dirt on Rich. Rich in turn discovers that Dean might be forced to tell what he knows to stay out of jail, and he decides that Dean has to be killed; however, rather than murder his friend himself, Rich asks one of the white kids who hangs out with him, who seems especially eager to prove himself, to do it for him. The kid, however, is actually the son of the District Attorney. Also contributing to Black and White's supporting cast are controversial boxing legend Mike Tyson, musician Bijou Phillips, Wu Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, model Claudia Schiffer, and Donald Trump's former spouse Marla Maples. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Caan, Robert Downey, Jr., (more)
The romantic comedy Bob the Butler stars Tom Green as the title character. Unable to maintain any gainful employment, Bob decides to go through the phone book in order to get a job. This leads to him enrolling in a course that teaches the students how to be a house servant. In this capacity, single mother Anne (Brooke Shields) hires him. He quickly establishes a strong relationship with her children, which in turn leads to a change in the relationship between Bob and Anne. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Green, Brooke Shields, (more)
- 1986
- PG
Brook Shields plays the comic-strip journalist, Brenda Starr, who travels to a South American jungle on an assignment. It is there that she covers the story about a mad scientist who plans to blow up the planet with his newly developed rocket fuel. Also appearing are Timothy Dalton and Charles Durning, among others, who don Bob Mackie-designed costumes. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Timothy Dalton, (more)
- 1985
Children's Songs & Stories with the Muppets was culled from some of the best moments of the popular syndicated TV weekly The Muppet Show. Most of the sketches spotlight the star Muppets Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear et. al. There are few of the series' celebrity guests, an omission evidently made to avoid residual costs. The best moment is an all-infant band bursting forth with a rendition of "Tuxedo Junction". This 56-minute compilation can generally be found in the "Family Viewing" section of your local video store, and rightly so; like all of the best Muppet material, the tape transcends age boundaries and can be enjoyed with equal fervor by both children and adults. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
Based on a novel by Scott Spencer, Endless Love details the doomed romance between 17-year-old David (Martin Hewitt) and 15-year-old Jade (Brooke Shields). Banished from Jade's home by her daddy Hugh (Don Murray), David obsessively cooks up a scheme to get back into the family's good graces. Since this plan involves setting Jade's house on fire, one can easily predict that the puppy-love romance is in for a bumpy ride. Jailed for arson, David heads directly to Jade the moment that he's released, with tragic results. Posting respectable earnings thanks to the popularity of Brooke Shields, Endless Love was also the film debut of Tom Cruise, billed 18th in the cast list. A young James Spader lends a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, (more)
- 2005
Terrance (Malcolm McDowell) advises Vince, while the agent's daughter Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) focuses on Eric. Elsewhere, Drama is consumed with a costar. ~ Joe Friedrich, All Movie Guide
The manic writing-directing comedy team of Tom Stern and Alex Winter (the latter of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey) followed up their deranged short-film collaborations and the short-lived MTV series The Idiot Box with this comic fantasy, which amounts to a virtual car crash of anarchic, mind-blowing weirdness. The brain-damaged plot follows self-centered sitcom actor Ricky Coogin (Winter), official spokesman for the E.E.S. (Everything Except Shoes) corporation, into the jungle-bound South American nation of Santa Flan. Coogin has been sent as an emissary on behalf of E.E.S. to placate the media uproar over a substance called Zygrot-27, a chief ingredient in many E.E.S. products which has been decried as a fatal environmental toxin. Accompanied by his friend Ernie (Michael Stoyanov) and environmental activist Julie (Megan Ward), Ricky takes a detour into the jungle to a bizarre amusement park overseen by bombastic barker/inventor Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid), who specializes in the display of "Hideous Mutant Freekz" (the film's original title). The trio soon discover that Skuggs manufactures his oddities himself, and they find themselves at the mercy of his hideous freakmaking factory -- which coincidentally uses Zygrot-27 as a catalyst. Once he has the hapless heroes strapped down, Skuggs reveals his intention to transform Coogin into an evil mega-freak who will destroy all the others in a slam-bang, standing-room-only closing event. Miffed at the notion of sustaining an acting career as a spine-covered, pus-gushing monster, Coogin joins a rebellion within Skuggs' captive stable of other man-made freaks -- whose ranks include such monstrosities as effete human worm; a bearded lady (Mr. T in a frilly dress); a man with a sock-puppet for a head (voiced by Bob Goldthwait); and Ortiz the Dog-Boy (an uncredited Keanu Reeves). Their plans to turn Ricky into a zygrot-powered superhero go astray, however, leading to a hilariously apocalyptic finale. Doomed to home-video status by lethargic distribution from Twentieth-Century Fox, this unappreciated gem deserves a second look; packed with hilarious visual gags, ultra-gross setpieces and body-function jokes, Freaked is a hallucinogenic funhouse of a movie. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Winter, Megan Ward, (more)
In this postmodern exploitation flick loosely based on "Little Red Riding Hood," the uneducated daughter of a drug-addicted prostitute flees the foster-care system in search of her long-lost grandmother but meets up instead with a serial killer. Vanessa (Reese Witherspoon), a nearly illiterate firebug and serial shoplifter, desperately clings to normalcy even though her mother turns tricks, does drugs, and manages to ignore the fact that the girl's stepfather Michael T. Weiss has been abusing her for years. When both of her parents get arrested, Vanessa steals the car of her family-services caseworker (Conchata Ferrell) and heads up Interstate 5 in search of her paternal grandmother, who's never met her. Car problems force her to accept a ride from Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), a youth counselor who uses charm and sympathy to get the girl to open up. Confessing the sordid details of her childhood to Bob, Vanessa is shocked when he suddenly declares that she's one of the "garbage people" and that he plans to murder her and have sex with her corpse. Bob, it turns out, is the "I-5 Murderer," who's been slaughtering young prostitutes in the Los Angeles area. Thanks to a gun borrowed from her fiancé, Vanessa manages to turn the tables on Bob, shooting him repeatedly and leaving him for dead. He survives, Vanessa is arrested, and the two meet up again in court -- with her unrepentant, even though the police disbelieve her story, him flanked by his prim wife (Brooke Shields) and the righteous indignation of the American legal system. Locked up in the juvie for psychological evaluation, Vanessa gets in touch with her wild side and eventually escapes, heading off to her fateful meeting with grandma. Although Freeway was originally filmed for HBO, vigorously positive critical response eventually earned it a theatrical release. Alanna Ubach, who portrays Vanessa's nemesis/accomplice Mesquita, would go on to appear with Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. Freeway also features two Clueless alumni: Dan Hedaya, as a police detective, and Brittany Murphy, as the disfigured lesbian who befriends Vanessa in lock-up. Michael T. Weiss, who previously appeared in gay indie Jeffrey, appears in both Freeway and its sequel, Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
- 1996
Ross (David Schwimmer) discovers that Marcel the Monkey has become a popular TV commercial star (next step to superstardom: "Virus II"). Fortune also smiles upon Joey (Matt LeBlanc) during his tenure on Days of Our Lives -- or at least he thinks so until meeting his unbalanced "number one fan." And Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) finds that her songs may not be suitable for all ages when she plays for a group of library kids. Michael Lembeck won an Emmy award for his direction of this episode. Part one of "The One After the Super Bowl" originally aired in a 60-minute slot with part two, but was rebroadcast and syndicated as a separate entity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The psychological thriller Gone But Not Forgotten concerns a serial killer who leaves behind a black rose and a note that reads "Gone But Not Forgotten" every time he claims a new victim. The murders were never solved, but years later when a crime fitting the same MO occurs in Oregon lives are forever changed. A detective, an attorney, and a missing private eye all know part of the truth, but any of them may become the next victim. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- PG
In this comedy, an elderly ex-vaudevillian is surprised to find a naked young woman in the trunk of his car. He soon discovers that she is a runaway fleeing from both the police and an enraged drug dealer she cheated out of $20,000. Meanwhile, the codger's daughter continually attempts to get him committed because of his overly generous support of his former colleagues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, Brooke Shields, (more)
- 2008
- PG13
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Adapted from the six-issue comic book series originally published in 2004, the animated adventure Justice League: The New Frontier follows the epic adventures of Superman and his fellow DC Comics superheroes from the end of World War II to the global tensions of the Cold War. In addition to detailing the ultimate fate of DC war comic squadron The Losers and showing how reluctant fighter pilot Hal Jordan made the stunning transformation into The Green Lantern, the film also follows Superman and Wonder Woman as they struggle with their involvement on the East Asia battle arena, finds the Martian Manhunter arriving on planet Earth, and showcases John Henry's valiant struggle against the evil Ku Klux Klan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Jeremy Sisto, (more)
Not surprisingly, this fascinating dissection of Gypsy life in America was vilified by several ethnic special-interest groups, who'd previously delivered their mimeoed missives to novelist Peter Maas, on whose book the film was based. Sterling Hayden is the "king" of a New York-based gypsy tribe, who on his deathbed passes his crown to his reluctant grandson, Eric Roberts. Roberts' scuzzy father Judd Hirsch, envious that he's been passed over, begins plotting the demise of his own son. It appears at first that the boy, a thoroughly assimilated Manhattanite, would be more than willing to give up his invisible throne to Hirsch, but there's something about his heritage that always draws him back to his own people. Several genuine gypsies took part in the film as extras, bit players and technical advisers; reportedly, they also spent much of the shooting time trying to cadge a few dishonest dollars from cast and crew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sterling Hayden, Shelley Winters, (more)
Based on the best-selling novel by Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle is the sassy, sexy, and inspirational new series about three high-powered women who support each other through the triumphs and tears of big-city life. In all seven Season 1 (2008) episodes, follow the ups and downs of Wendy (Brooke Shields), a sophisticated movie exec trying to manage a career and a family; Victory (Lindsay Price), a free-spirited designer dreaming of romance and making it big; and Nico (Kim Raver), an independent and ambitious fashion magazine editor. Armed with strength, style and a wicked sense of humor, these women show that it takes a lot to make it in the Big Apple...especially good friends!
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, (more)
- 2008
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Dionne Warwick, Tina Turner, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and others take the stage to perform some of their best known hits in this collection of rare concert clips featuring some of pop-music's biggest divas. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tina Turner, Gladys Knight, (more)
- 2003
- G
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Based on a series of children's books by David Kirk, this cartoon special features the voice of Brooke Shields as Miss Spider, a sensible young arachnid who, within a few minutes after the opening credits, has become Mrs. Spider. Happily wed to the nerdish but loveable Holley (voiced by Rick Moranis), Miss Spider hopes to experience the joys of a genuine family, something denied her when she was adopted as an infant. Alas, things get off to a shaky start when the spiders' wedding party is spoiled by a huge, rampaging chicken. Not long afterward, however, Miss Spider's son Squirt demonstrates that even huge, rampaging chickens can have maternal feelings when he tries to unite an egg with its "mama." Employing 3-D animation, vivid characterizations and eminently delightful colors and background art, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids was produced by Canada's Nelvana studios on behalf of the Nickelodeon cable service, where it first aired on March 31, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A meager grocery clerk embarks on an epic mission to win the international competitive bagging championships and bag the heart of his dream girl in the first National Lampoon comedy produced in house in nearly twenty years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Farina, Paul Campbell, (more)
