Sara Sugarman Movies
- 2007
When the much-loved coach of a local Welsh rugby team dies, the fate of the rag-tag group of athletes rests on the shoulders of the coach's son, played by Alan Cumming. The son, however, does not fit the typical mold of a coach: he is flamboyantly gay and has enjoyed a career performing in cabarets. Even still, he decides to do his best, and with the help of a friend (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) and his experience in choreography, he might just live up to the dream his father had for him, in a way that neither of them ever would have imagined. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
- PG
- Add Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen to QueueAdd Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen to top of Queue
British actress/director Sara Sugarman makes her U.S. feature debut with the Disney-produced comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, based on the young-adult novel by Dyan Sheldon and adapted for the screen by Gail Parent. The story concerns a popular urban teenager named Mary Elizabeth Cep (Lindsay Lohan), who is convinced her real name is Lola. Unfortunately, her family moves from fashionable New York City to a small suburb in New Jersey. Disturbed by her environment, Lola is quick to wage war against the popular Carla Santini (Megan Fox). She's also pursued by high school hunk Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), but chooses to focus her attention on winning back her title of Most Popular Girl in School. With the help of a frumpy drama teacher (Carol Kane) and shy new friend Ella (Alison Pill), Lola creates a dramatic performance to earn her coveted high status. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, (more)
A Welsh woman is belatedly forced to come out of her shell when poor fortune befalls her family and friends in this kitchen-sink comedy. Annie Mary (Rachel Griffiths) is a woman in her early thirties who seems never to have finished growing up; she still lives at home with her widowed father Jack (Jonathan Pryce), hasn't established much of a life of her own, and can't get her relationship with her boyfriend Colin (Rhys Miles Thomas) to go anywhere. Jack, an enthusiastic ladies' man with a passion for opera and no modesty about sharing his vocal talents with those around him, runs a bakery, and is known to sing the occasional aria for the edification of fellow motorists as he delivers bread. Annie-Mary has been slowly saving up money for a down payment on a flat of her own until disaster strikes and Jack suffers a stroke. Confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, Jack is incapable of running the bakery, and it falls to Annie-Mary to keep the business afloat. Attempting to rise to the occasion, Annie-Mary decides to give the bakery a make-over, with limited success, but as she tries to keep the business going and care for her father, Annie-Mary discovers that one of her closest friends, Bethan (Joanna Page), is suffering from a serious illness and hasn't long to live. Bethan has always wanted to visit America and see Disneyland, so Annie-Mary hatches a plan to raise the money by winning a local talent show; despite her feeble dancing ability, Annie-Mary decides to form a pop group with her friends, in hopes of fulfilling one of her foiled ambitions from her teenage years. Though shot in 1999, Very Annie-Mary didn't find its way to theaters until 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachel Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
- 1998
Mad Cows is a slapstick comedy about sex and the singles scene. Single and confused Maddy has just had a baby. The first day that she goes out with her baby, she gets arrested at Harrods for shoplifting. While in detention at the Holloway Prison's Mother and Baby Unit, she smuggles Jack out in her friend's handbag. She seeks help from her ex-lover Alex, who is sure he is god's gift to women. In the meanwhile, the prison psychotherapist Edwina Phelps is on Maddy's back. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Friel, Joanna Lumley, (more)
- 1989
- R
The financial and personal dealings of high finance set the stage for this drama. The London branch of Whitney Paine, a major American investment bank, is in the midst of a crisis; after the loss of $100 million, one of their leading traders, Tony Eisner (Simon Slater) commits suicide by putting a slug through his head while seated at his place in the board room. Despite the high stakes, many of the firm's staff are eager to step into Tony's now-vacated shoes and get credit for saving the company. Daniel Pascoe (Paul McGann), the leading trader at the firm, is convinced that he's first in line for the assignment, but the firm imports a new trader from America, Anna Schuman (Rebecca DeMornay). Daniel is enraged and makes a point of trying to dig up as much dirt on Anna as he can (which, given her extra-curricular activities with dealers from other firms, is a considerable amount), but the longer Daniel and Anna work together, the more he finds himself attracted to her. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul McGann, Rebecca De Mornay, (more)
This bizarre comedy spoof on spaghetti westerns was made in a hurry on location in Almeria, Spain. Simms (Joe Strummer), Willy (Dick Rude), and Norwood (Sy Richardson) are inept hitmen who decide to rob a bank. They encounter the MacMahon's (The Pogues), a quintet of caffeine-addicted gunslingers who ride motorcycles across the range wreaking havoc. Elvis Costello has a reoccurring role as a waiter who is always ready with a new tray of coffee. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, (more)
During WWII, Sobibor was a notorious Nazi death camp. This gripping, fact-based drama chronicles the courage of an inmate who managed the largest escape from such a place. Thanks to him, over 300 prisoners were freed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Punk rock's first great embodiment of the motto "live fast and die young," Sid Vicious joined The Sex Pistols when they were already established as the most controversial rock band in British history; and it soon became apparent that he couldn't play his instrument, had a magnetic attraction to chaos, and possessed a dangerous thirst for booze, drugs, and violence. Sid and Nancy opens shortly after Sid (Gary Oldman) joined the band, when he meets an obnoxious American punk groupie named Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb). Nancy claims that she can get drugs, and Sid naively gives her his money. Nancy doesn't show up with the goods, but when Sid runs into her a few days later, she has a tall tale about getting ripped off - and Sid sympathizes with her. Before long, Sid and Nancy have fallen in love, and while they argue with uncommon vehemence, they also depend completely on each other. When The Sex Pistols break up, Sid has few prospects and an increasingly voracious appetite for heroin, and Nancy's attempts to "manage" his career only hasten his downhill slide. Former Clash leader Joe Strummer wrote the film's theme song, "Love Kills," and The Pogues, The Circle Jerks, and Pray for Rain contributed to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, (more)
This weak, self-conscious, made-for-TV comedy (one of producer David Puttnam's "First Love" series) is about four girlfriends who play soccer during their teen years and cheer on their favorite soccer players as well. The story begins with one of the four, the sports reporter Julia (Julia Goodman), getting a ride home from a sports broadcast with her girlhood hero, Danny Blanchflower -- and then flashbacks take the scenario to Julia's teen years with her three friends and the difficulties, triumphs, and excitement they shared as soccer consumed their lives. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zoe Nathenson, Julia Goodman, (more)
