Shawnee Smith Movies
Thesp Shawnee Smith's name might not be a household word, but her face will register with thousands of sci-fi and horror aficionados thanks to her supporting turns in the big-screen remakes of The Blob (1988) and Carnival of Souls (1998). Smith's recurring role as Amanda, a young woman tormented by the clown-like serial killer Jigsaw, in the popular Saw series, broadened her exposure, even as it threatened to further typecast her as a woman in peril and fix her reputation as a horror queen. Yet the actress's resume demonstrates far greater versatility than this, and it may surprise fans to discover that she claims several decades of credits in multiple genres.Born on July 3, 1970, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Smith debuted on the big screen at 11, as a dancer, in mogul Ray Stark's multimillion-dollar production of Annie (1982). A bit part in Michael Tuchner's acclaimed telemovie Not My Kid (1985) followed, at the age of fourteen; the picture drew solid Nielsen ratings and favorable critical responses, but Smith's only amounted to a bit part. She maintained greater visibility in the late eighties, with two significant roles: Rhonda Altobello in Carl Reiner's 1987 Mark Harmon-starrer Summer School. While most critics dismissed the film, it charmed a handful of others (such as Kevin Thomas and Rita Kempley) and did outstanding box office for a programmer, grossing several times its original budget. The very same could be said of Chuck Russell's 1988 remake The Blob, and then some: in addition to delighting nostalgia-hungry moviegoers (and some critics), it purportedly acquired a loyal following, becoming - in time - something of a cult film.
Over the nineties and into the 2000s, Smith evinced a predilection for slightly deeper and more intelligent fare, but kept a somewhat low onscreen profile for several years, usually (though not always) with bit parts in lower budget indie dramas. Smith also appears in director Paul Quinn's Never Get Outta the Boat, which dramatizes the lives of several recovering addicts. She landed a regular role as Linda, a not-so-bright nurse's aide, on the 1998 CBS sitcom Becker, starring Ted Danson, and stuck with the series until it wrapped in 2004.
When Smith's horror film quotient skyrocketed in the early 2000s (with the Saw role) it temporarily eclipsed her involvement in more substantial fare, even as her screen activity per se crescendoed. In the vein of earlier slasher film franchises, the initial Saw entry and its sequels did exemplary box office and obtained a rabid following; surprisingly, the pictures drew a favorable response in some critical quarters, as well. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Making its world premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, this story adapted for the screen and directed by first-timer Toni Kalem is based on the Anne Tyler novel of the same name. The story deals with finding love in a dead-end life. Evie (Lili Taylor) is a loner, living with her widowed father, who works at an aging kiddie park where she is a costumed cartoon character. One night she hears the words and music of a musician named Drumstrings Casey (Guy Pearce) on the radio, and Evie is immediately infatuated by him. She attends his concerts and falls in love with him. The problem is he doesn't know she exists, so Evie decides to carve Casey's name on her forehead with broken glass. The resulting media attention gets her an introduction to Drumstrings Casey himself. From there, a relationship develops as Casey needs Evie for creative support and Evie needs Casey for emotional stability. Soon after, they get married; unfortunately their problems only get worse as Casey's career takes a nosedive and Evie's father passes away. Will these two people make something of themselves or will they forever just be slipping down life? ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lili Taylor, Guy Pearce, (more)
This family classic is adapted from the Broadway musical, which was based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. During the Great Depression in New York City, a plucky red-haired scrapper named Annie (Aileen Quinn) is the voice of hope for her fellow orphans who live under the supervision of drunken floozy Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). Annie's spirit is fueled by the belief that her real parents dropped her off at the orphanage with a half of a locket, promising to return for her with the other half. One day, the dingy orphanage is visited by the sophisticated Grace Farrell (Ann Reinking), personal secretary to conservative politician Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney). In order to improve his image, Grace brings Annie to the Warbucks estate for a weeklong visit. Annie quickly wins the hearts of servants and politicians alike, eventually even bringing her song of hope, "Tomorrow," to President Roosevelt in Washington. Warbucks and Grace even go so far as to perform a public search for Annie's parents, creating an opportunity for Miss Hannigan, Rooster (Tim Curry), and Lily (Bernadette Peters) to scam their way to the reward money. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, (more)
- 1988
Bluegrass was a two-part TV movie that resurrected virtually every "racetrack" cliche known to man. Widowed Cheryl Ladd heads to Kentucky to start up a horse farm. Her wicked neighbor is Wayne Rogers who seeks Ladd's downfall. Faithful farm manager Brian Kerwin won't let Rogers stand in the way of Ladd's dream. Anthony Andrews hangs around as a Harlequin romance-style Irish rake with a Dark Secret. And what would a horse-farm movie be without Mickey Rooney? Part One of Bluegrass raised a stir upon its February 28, 1988 debut, with a brief shot of horses mating. But it was the foaling sequence in Part Two that really made the headlines. All tangled plotlines knot together in the second half of Bluegrass. Part Two, first telecast on Leap Year day in 1988, Ladd literally bets the ranch on the Kentucky Derby, while mysterious Irish stranger Anthony Andrews reveals his (gasp!) terrible secret. One of the film's highlights was the genuine birth of a foal. The poor animal looked so shaky that the network issued an official statement insisting that the newborn horse survived. When the truth came out (the foal didn't make it), the producers were heartily condemned by animal activist groups--which may be why all current films bear the closing disclaimer about no animals being injured during shooting. Bluegrass was directed by Simon Wincer, who later helmed the epic miniseries Lonesome Dove. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Ladd, Brian Kerwin, (more)
In a small American town called Midland City, Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis) -- a loyal father, a successful car dealer, and a respected member of the community --lives with his wife Celia (Barbara Hershey), who's addicted to pills and TV shows, and his son Bunny (Lukas Haas), who is a weakling. What's more, his best friend and employee Harry Le Sabre (Nick Nolte) is a paranoid red-lace-lingerie fetishist. Dwayne finds short-term consolation in the arms of his secretary and mistress, Francine (Glenne Headley). As the American Dream slowly becomes his nightmare, Hoover begins to retreat into a fantasy world, filled with strange voices and fearful visions. It takes only the arrival of third-rate science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney) -- whose novels are turned into fourth-rate porno comics -- at the Midland City Art Festival for things to explode. Hoover's only hope is Kilgore, whom he has raised to the status of a guru in his fantasies. However, the two men meet when time, space, and reality have already lost their meaning. Now it is only nonsense that makes sense and madness that reigns; the American dream has turned into lunacy. Breakfast of Champions, which had its world premiere during the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, is the outcome of a project in the making for over twenty years. Director Alan Rudolph wrote the script when the novel by Kurt Vonnegut was first published. However, it took all this time (and perhaps the casting of someone like Bruce Willis in order to get it financed) for the project to be realized. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, (more)
Loosely based on the 1962 cult favorite, this thriller concerns a young woman named Alex who as a child witnessed her mother's murder. Since then, Alex has suffered from terrible visions of the crime and the killer, Louis Seagram. One day, to her terror, Louis Seagram returns, dressed as the clown he once was, and he soon draws Alex into a cat and mouse game with deadly stakes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Miller, Shawnee Smith, (more)
- 1985
In this prison drama, two adolescent girls are incarcerated with adults by an obsessive judge. There they are terribly exploited and abused. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A failed actor discovers how little it takes to be a V.I.P. in a small town -- and what can happen when you abuse that small amount of fame -- in this independent drama. Philip Van Horn (Trevor St. John) left his tiny hometown of Cuba, Missouri, to move to Hollywood, with big dreams of making it as an actor. Thirteen years later, Philip has nothing but a handful of walk-ons and bit parts to show for his ambitions, and he returns to Cuba to visit his mother Rose (Karen Black) feeling like a failure. However, most of the locals treat him as if he's a big shot -- after all, he's been in movies with Jeff Bridges and Molly Ringwald, so he must be some sort of star, right? Philip knows better, but he doesn't let on, since he hopes his new reputation in town will attract the attention of Dorothy (Mary Stuart Masterson), his unrequited crush from high school who still lives in Cuba. However, the last 13 years have been much crueler to Dorothy than Philip; she's now a depressed, alcoholic hairdresser involved with Ezra (Jon Favreau), a racist thug who thinks that blacks are to blame for his inability to get out of town. Dorothy and Philip soon fall into a romance, which does not please Ezra, who already has a number of local drug dealers after him. Karen Black and writer/director George Hickenlooper both won awards for their work on this film at the 1998 Hermosa Beach Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Stuart Masterson, Jon Favreau, (more)
- 1986
Gerald McRaney flies in the face of his likeable Simon and Simon image in the made-for-TV Easy Prey. McRaney plays real-life serial rapist/murderer Christopher Wilder who, in early 1984, abducted a teenaged girl from a California shopping mall. Repeatedly assaulting the girl and keeping her quiet with threats of death, Wilder forced her to accompany him on a crime spree that ranged from one end of the country to another. Shawnee Smith is excellent as Wilder's terrified victim. Filmed in Canada, Easy Prey was first aired on October 26, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
No sooner has unsuccessful artist Darcy Palmer (Tracey Gold) met music student Brianne Dwyer (Mireille Enos) at an airport than she murders Brianne, stuffs her body in her trunk, and assumes her identity! Entering a prestigious New Hampshire University on the late Brianne's scholarship, Darcy is subsequently introduced to widowed art collector Russell Polk (Perry King), the father of her roommate, Jeanelle (Shawnee Smith). Within what seems like ten minutes, Darcy and Russell have fallen in love, and her future in the rarefied world of art seems assured. Then, without warning, Darcy's web of deceit begins to unravel thanks to a pair of "ghosts" from her past. Clearly, there is no other alternative for Darcy than to start killing people again -- just as she has done so many times in the past in her many previous stolen identities. Its incredible lapses of logic taken care of by its breathless pace (not to mention an ending straight out of The Silence of the Lambs!), the made-for-TV Face of Evil made its CBS network bow on April 9, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Gold, Perry King, (more)
- 1988
A telephone prank by 2 teenagers leads to their stalking by a psychotic killer, the person who answered the prank call. ~ All Movie Guide
A seat-of-the-pants militia attitude gets a boost from this conventional drama about the heroics of a teen son anxious to free his father from captivity in a small Middle Eastern nation. Doug's (Jason Gedrick) father is an Air Force pilot who was shot down on a mission near the border of an Arab country and is now held hostage. Failing adequate U.S. intervention causes a desperate Doug to enlist his school chums in a wild plan to essentially sneak away with two Air Force jets and take off on a mission to rescue his father. He convinces the veteran Chappy (Louis Gossett, Jr.) into flying one plane, while Doug himself flies another (he learned how to pilot from his father). Yes. If audiences believe all this, then the ending should come as no surprise either. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Gossett, Jr., Jason Gedrick, (more)
Mike Figgis' grim drama documents a romantic triangle of sorts involving prostitute Sera (Elisabeth Shue), failed Hollywood screenwriter Ben (Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage), and the constant flow of booze which he loves more dearly than life itself. Arriving in Las Vegas with the intention of drinking himself to death, Ben meets Sera, and they gradually begin falling for one another. From the outset, however, Ben warns Sera that no matter what, she can never ask him to quit drinking, a condition to which she grudgingly agrees. A darkly comic tragedy, Leaving Las Vegas charts the brief romantic convergence of two desperately needy people who together find a brief flicker of happiness. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, (more)
A woman who enjoys playing the field begins to ponder the relative merits of long-term commitment in this witty look at love, sex, and relationships. Stella James (Sean Young) lives in New York and wants two things out of life: a career as a gourmet chef and a satisfying relationship with a man. Stella shares a flat with her wealthy friend Teo (Dylan Walsh), but while they're close, their relationship is more platonic than romantic -- thanks in part to Stella's willingness to take up with any man that strikes her fancy -- and neither Stella nor Teo is entirely happy. In hopes of prodding her into doing something with herself, Teo gives Stella a gift -- an airline ticket to Los Angeles. In California, Stella finds a job in an upscale restaurant and soon begins making her way through a new batch of men; while she still enjoys picking and choosing from the many romantic prospects who cross her path, Stella finds herself becoming emotionally involved with George (John Heard), the owner of the dining room where she works. But is she willing to settle into the same sort of consistency in her love life that she's enjoying in her professional life? The supporting cast includes Karen Black, who also contributed to the screenplay; Mark Mothersbaugh composed the original score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In 1944, Angela Lansbury and Mickey Rooney both appeared in the classic racetrack film National Velvet. The two veterans are reunited in this story, which appropriately enough revolves around a thoroughbred horse, and two families who have staked everything in an upcoming race. When her old friend, horse trainer Matt Cleveland (Rooney), is murdered, Jessica (Lansbury) hits the trail of clues and collars the killer in the home stretch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Executive produced by John Cusack, the dark independent comedy Never Get Outta the Boat is the sophomore effort from director Paul Quinn and features a script by first time screenwriter Nick Gillie. Gillie stars along with Sebastian Roche, Devon Gummersall, Harry J. Lennix, Dwain A. Perry, and Emilio Rivera as an eclectic group of drug addicts trying to stay clean together in a Los Angeles rehab center. Never Get Outta the Boat, whose title is a reference to a line from Apocolypse Now, had its premiere at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alley Mills, Devon Gummersall, (more)
- 1985
The endurance of an upper-middle-class family is put to the test in this well-made television drama about drug abuse. Based on the book of the same name by Beth Polson, Viveka Davis (Shoot The Moon) stars as Susan Bowers, the teenage daughter of a successful surgeon (George Segal) and homemaker (Stockard Channing). When innocent-looking Susan's secret life as a druggie comes to light, her parents try anything and everything to get her clean. Unable to make any headway, they turn to a strict drug-treatment center, where streetwise counselors deal with tough kids on their own terms. The Bowers soon learn that their daughter's rehabilitation will not only be a long haul but also an exercise in family dynamic exploration. Young Davis is compelling as the rebellious daughter, and Channing and Segal are wholly believable as the bewildered parents. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
The directorial debut from filmmaker James Wan, this psychological thriller comes from the first screenplay by actor Leigh Whannell, who also stars. Whannell plays Adam, one of two men chained up in a mysterious chamber. The other, Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes), like Adam, has no idea how either of them got there. Neither of them are led to feel optimistic by the man lying between them dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Together, Adam and Dr. Gordon attempt to piece together what has happened to them and who the sadistic madman behind their imprisonment is. Also starring Danny Glover and Monica Potter, Saw premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, (more)
Jigsaw, the diabolical criminal who captured the imagination of horror fans in the 2004 hit Saw, returns in this equally bloody sequel. Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is a police detective who, after discovering the aftermath of a particularly gruesome murder, is convinced that Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is up to his ugly tricks again. Matthews's hunch turns out to be correct, but the master criminal proves to be disconcertingly easy to capture. As it happens, Jigsaw is eager to be put behind bars in order to throw the authorities off his trail as he once again punishes people who in his eyes have transgressed the boundaries of acceptable moral behavior. But instead of trapping two people in a filthy dungeon where they must engage in a terrible contest in order to win their freedom, eight people have been locked away by Jigsaw, and they must torture their bodies and minds to achieve the terrible justice Jigsaw seeks. Saw II was written by Leigh Whannell, who also scripted the first film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, (more)
Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back, and this time he's concocted his deadliest set of traps yet in this gore-soaked sequel written by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and directed by Saw II's Darren Lynn Bousman. Picking up directly where its predecessor left off, Saw III finds Jigsaw near death and fighting to stay alive for one final game. Determined to show his protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), what it truly means to carry out his deadly game, the ailing Jigsaw instructs his apprentice to kidnap unsuspecting doctor Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) in order to ensure that he survives long enough to see how his latest victim Jeff (Angus MacFadyen) fares when faced with the prospect of imminent death. As Lynn and Jeff both struggle to beat the clock and carry out their tasks before Jigsaw draws his final breath, a much larger plan begins to emerge that shows just how cunning the legendary killer can truly be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, (more)
