Fisher Stevens Movies

In the 2004 presidential election, Ohio became the state that decided who would lead the nation for the next four years; throughout the campaign, both George W. Bush and John Kerry realized it was a key "swing state" which could go to either candidate, and they devoted much of their time and resources to bringing in the vote in the Buckeye state. The controversies of the 2000 election led many to suspect that voter fraud could be a possibility, and many were watchful for tampering of voting machines or registration rolls. Filmmakers James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo brought their cameras to Ohio for the final weeks of the election, and ...So Goes the Nation is a documentary which offers a detailed look at both Bush and Kerry's campaign staffs as they make the final push toward victory or defeat. While examining the possibilities of election tampering, ...So Goes the Nation primarily concerns itself with the differences between the campaign styles of the candidates and how their behind-the-scenes staffs struggles to swing voters to their man, with Kerry concentrating on domestic issues of economics, health, and security while Bush spoke of the war on terror and Kerry's alleged "flip flopping" and service record in Vietnam. ...So Goes the Nation received its World Premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

New York City may be the city that never sleeps, but that means some people have to stay awake all night to look after the folks whose days begin after the sun goes down; this made-for-premium-cable drama looks at a group of cabbies trying to get by while working the night shift. The Lady Luck Cab Company is a taxi service run by Box (Sarita Choudhury), who inherited the failing business from her late father and is struggling to keep it afloat against long economic odds as Lady Luck's drivers work long shifts in some of the Big Apple's less picturesque neighborhoods. Hershey (Danny Glover), one of Lady Luck's drivers, was once a professional boxer, but when his athletic career went south, so did his wife, and now he drives a hack while trying to romance George (Pam Grier), a good-looking waitress who likes Hershey, but is frustrated with his schedule, which rarely allows him a night off. This is bad news for Hershey, since Ralph (Paul Calderon), a regular at the diner where George works, has been making a play for her as well. Another driver, Salgado (Michelle Rodriguez), is a short-fused Latin American woman who is frequently the victim of sexual harassment from her customers, which makes her all the more difficult to be around. Jose (Bobby Cannavale) thinks he's hit the jackpot when he discovers a briefcase full of cash has been left in his cab, though he has reason to believe it's stolen. And Rasha (Sergej Trifunovic), a refugee from Bosnia, is still tormented by the violence that cost his family their lives, and has trouble concentrating on his driving, leading him into more than one auto accident. While the drivers deal with their individual dilemmas, all of them are suddenly wary of their customers, thanks to reports of a serial killer preying on New York's cab drivers. Produced for the Showtime premium cable network, 3 A.M. was screened at the Sundance Film Festival prior to its broadcast debut, where it earned an enthusiastic reception. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young artist struggling with his career and his muse is getting more than a little aggravation from Cupid in this romantic comedy written and directed by Woody Allen. Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs) is a promising 21-year-old comedy writer living in New York City. While Jerry has talent, he's having a hard time getting his career off the ground, which might have something to do with the fact his agent Harvey (Danny DeVito) is a well-meaning, but ineffectual, blowhard, and his mentor David Dobel (Allen) is an increasingly paranoid eccentric whose twin careers as a teacher and standup comic are both floundering. Poised at the top of Jerry's mountain of anxieties is his relationship with his girlfriend Amanda (Christina Ricci); from the first moment he saw her, Jerry has been in love with her, but Amanda's multiple neuroses, fear of commitment, and frustrating intimacy issues make her all but impossible to be around. Jerry is approaching his breaking point when the small flat he shares with Amanda becomes home to a third roommate -- Amanda's mother Paula (Stockard Channing), who has decided to come to New York to chase her dream of becoming a cabaret singer. Anything Else also features supporting performances from Jimmy Fallon, William Hill, and jazz vocalist Diana Krall. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the early 1960s, two very different New Jersey high schoolers share their first love in this bittersweet romantic drama, an early feature by writer/director John Sayles. Jill Rosen (Rosanna Arquette) is a sweet, overachieving Jewish girl heading for college to become an actor; "Sheik" Capodilupo (Vincent Spano) is a mysterious, confident Italian guy who pushes his way into Jill's already busy life. Sheik successfully woos Jill, and the story follows their ups and downs as teenage romantics. While that introduction is lighter fare than most Sayles material, the film trails off into some unexpected plot developments, providing an original take on the "different sides of the track" genre. Sayles directs the high school scenes with a combination of reminiscence and reality, balancing the excitement of cars and the prom with the heartache, anxiety, and classwork that goes along with it. The movie is injected with a mostly 1960s soundtrack, yet the videocassette lists that "some music has been changed" for home video -- the note apparently refers to four Bruce Springsteen cuts. Matthew Modine and Tracy Pollan appear in small parts, and Robert Downey Jr. also has a tiny role. This was the fiercely independent Sayles' first film to be made with a major studio (Paramount), and he claims it will be his last, as he lost final editing control. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide

Produced for theatrical released by PBS' American Playhouse, Bloodhounds of Broadway is not exactly a remake of the 1952 film of the same name, though both pictures use the same Damon Runyon stories as inspiration. The scene is Broadway: the time is New Year's Eve, 1928. Madonna plays small town girl-turned-hoofer Hortense Hathaway, who loves gambler Feet Samuels (Randy Quaid) more than somewhat. Since it is known far and wide that Feet has not a penny to his name, he must find some way to pay off his debts in a hurry. So he offers to sell his huge feet to a demented-an operation which will, alas, cost Feet the use of his life. Upon waking up to the fact that Hortense loves him, Feet decides that he prefers breathing to pushing up daisies. Meanwhile, a society doll named Harriet MacKyle (Julie Hagerty) turns on the spigots when her pet parrot is laid low by a clumsy gunman. And while all this is transpiring, high-roller Regret (Matt Dillon) has to beat a murder rap. Even while Regret is sweating it out, "The Brain" (Rutger Hauer), who is bleeding profusely after confronting the business end of a shiv, searches high and low for someone willing to donate blood to save his life. If you can, keep an eye out for author William Burroughs as a butler. Bloodhounds of Broadway was the first non-documentary effort of filmmaker Howard Brookner-and the last, since he died before the film was released. To gloss over the film's plot holes, the distributors added a Winchell-like narrator to the proceedings, courtesy of actor Joseph Sommer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

All poor Atsushi Hirata really wants is to leave the cold Japanese winter and take a week's vacation in warm Hawaii. Unfortunately, he ends up forced to honor tradition and travel to even more frigid Iceland to pay tribute to his late parents who died there seven years before. This internationally produced very funny road movie chronicles his many misadventures that begin when he disembarks from his plane in the midst of a blizzard and ends up boarding the wrong bus. The bus takes him to some popular hot springs and he must take a taxi back to Reykjavik. He doesn't make it back, because the driver needed to stop in his hometown and participate in a nativity pageant. This forces poor Hirata to bum a ride on a truck. During the journey, he meets a broad assortment of eccentric and bizarre characters ranging from a woman with a thing about photographing funerals, an aspiring Bonnie and Clyde, and a band of Icelandic cowboys. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Dan Klores recounts the true story of one of the most bizarre romances of the 20th century in this documentary. In 1957, Linda Riss was a receptionist in her early twenties who bore a striking resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, while attorney Burt Pugach was married and in his mid-thirties. That didn't stop Pugach from falling in love with Riss on first sight when he saw her walking past her home in the Bronx, and he quickly asked her out on a date. Riss accepted, and continued to see Pugach even after she discovered he had a wife. However, after a year of wining and dining, Riss broke off the affair, convinced that Pugach would never divorce, but continue to string her along. Pugach desperately tried to convince Riss to give him a second chance and began stalking her, but when that failed and he learned she had decided to wed someone else, he told her, "If I can't have you, no one else will have you, and when I get through with you, no one else will want you." Pugach's statement was no idle threat -- a thug hired by Pugach threw lye into Riss' face in order to scar her for life, and ended up blinding her in one eye. The crime earned Pugach a 15-to-30-year prison sentence, but less than a year after he was released on parole, a peculiar thing happened -- Linda Riss and Burt Pugach got married. Crazy Love (aka Love Is in the Air) shares the details of this very strange love affair, and how this extremely unlikely couple has stayed together for 30 years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A burnt out college professor finds his quest for vitality leading him into the arms of disaster in this seriocomic tale of love and desperation starring Julian Sands, John Savage, Katherine Towne, and Jim Belushi. Packard Schmidt (Sands) is having a mid-life crisis. Unfulfilled by his job as an English professor at an inconsequential college, and longing for a sense of unpredictability in his monotonous daily routine, Schmidt sets his sights on the bright lights of Las Vegas. When a series of impulsive romantic encounters lead him into the arms of his best friend Frank (Savage)'s daughter Sallu (Towne), his obsession with the younger girl send both his personal and professional lives careening towards disaster. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A group of friends living in suburban Oregon come into contact with a sensual free spirit named Chloe (Alexa Davalos), who changes their outlook on life in the most unexpected of ways in this ensemble drama adapted from the acclaimed novel by author Charles Baxter. As college professor and writer Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) sits quietly in the coffee shop of his tight-knit Oregon community, the local residents all around him all become swept up in the magical mischief of love. Coffee shop owner Bradley (Greg Kinnear) has a bad habit of looking for love in all the wrong places, and his relationship with wife Kathryn (Selma Blair) is a prime example of that penchant. Meanwhile, frazzled real estate agent Diana (Radha Mitchell) becomes ensnared in a taboo affair with a married man (Billy Burke), lovely newcomer Chloe attempts the formidable task of romancing troubled soul Oscar (Toby Hemingway), and Harry's own wife, Esther (Jane Alexander), affectionately tries to get through to her husband as he wrestles with the pain of losing a loved one. Fred Ward, Alexa Davalos, Stana Katic, Toby Hemingway, and Erika Maroszán star in a whimsical tale of intersecting lives inspired by Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and directed by Robert Benton (Nobody's Fool, The Human Stain). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Bruno Barreto returned to his native Brazil after a ten-year absence to direct this fact-based political thriller that was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Pedro Cardoso stars as Rio de Janeiro journalist Fernando Gabeira, who decides with his friend Cesar (Selton Mello) to take up arms with a radical leftist organization, MR-8, in 1969. The revolutionaries, who include the tough-talking and beautiful Maria (Fernanda Torres), are fighting to overthrow Brazil's brutal military government through civil unrest and guerilla tactics. Their first action, the robbery of a bank, is successful, although one group member is captured and tortured by Henrique (Marco Ricca), a secret service agent plagued by his conscience. As a follow-up to the heist, the MR-8 members kidnap the U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Charles Burke Elbrick (Alan Arkin). During four days of captivity, however, the kidnappers discover that their prisoner is a good-hearted man of conscience, causing Fernando to become increasingly uneasy about the group's plan to kill Elbrick if a demand for the release of political prisoners goes unheeded. O Que E Isso, Companheiro? (1997) was based on Gabeira's book of the same name but was released in the U.S. under the title Four Days in September. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

It isn't precisely "You show me mine, I'll show me yours" when Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) tries to get even with Chandler (Matthew Perry) for accidentally seeing her topless in the shower. Joey (Matt LeBlanc) discovers that his dad (Robert Costanzo) is having an affair with a gorgeous pet mortician, leading to a curious family showdown. And Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) latest boyfriend is a know-it-all shrink named Roger (Fisher Stevens). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stephen Frears' Hero is a contemporary re-working of a Frank Capra-styled fable about a two-bit criminal named Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) who saves several passengers from a plane crash and leaves the scene without being identified, leaving only a lost shoe for identification. One of the passengers happens to be news-reporter Gale (Geena Davis) who is intent on finding her savior, and offers a million dollars to the "hero" of the crashed flight. Bernie has since given his remaining shoe to a homeless man named John (Andy Garcia) who decides to cash in on the offer. A handsome, charming man, John wins the hearts of the entire city. Soon, Bernie realizes that he's been cheated out of a million dollars, and he begins an effort to get his proper recognition--and his money. Hero manages to be quite funny and satirical while sticking to a story that is essentially a Hollywood fable. That is to the credit of director Frears and the cast, who turn in uniformly excellent performances. Nevertheless, Hoffman is superb as a bitterly comic and spiteful variation on his classic Ratso Rizzo character. By the way, be on the lookout for Chevy Chase in a very funny cameo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

They say the heart goes where it will, and six people find theirs following a very complicated road map with a seventh creating some unexpected detours in this dark romantic comedy. Dag (Ron Eldard) is a successful director of television commercials who shares his home with his beautiful girlfriend, Halley (Kyra Sedgwick). Dag, however, has a serious case of roving eye and is given to frequent flings with other women. Halley tries to turn a blind eye to Dag's infidelity, but when she discovers he had a one-night stand with Rebecca (Marley Shelton), a beautiful but troubled dancer who is dating Dag's close friend Peter (Patrick Breen), she decides things have gone too far. Halley gives Dag his walking papers and she soon makes the acquaintance of Andre (Taye Diggs), a very handsome and well-mannered classical musician. Andre, however, is married to Colleen (Sarita Choudhury), a woman with exotic sexual tastes who meets up with Peter, now suddenly without a girlfriend, on an airline flight. Meanwhile, Peter's very angry confrontation with Dag attracts the attention of Paula (Marisa Tomei), a mysterious but very sexy woman who has taken a decidedly carnal interest in Peter. However, as Paula makes her way through Peter's daisy-chained circle of friends, events begin taking a strange turn as her new acquaintances begin dropping like flies. Just a Kiss was the first feature film directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Fisher Stevens. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide