Jennifer Tilly Movies
A raven-haired actress with an unmistakable voice, Jennifer Tilly was born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1958. Following her parents' divorce when she was five, Tilly relocated with her mother and siblings to the rural setting of Texada Island, British Columbia, where she'd spend most of her childhood. Tilly's acting career began in the early '80s with small roles on shows like Hill Street Blues and Cheers. Her big break came with the part of Monica the singing waitress in 1989's The Fabulous Baker Boys -- a part that was written for her specifically. Though she divorced Simpsons producer Sam Simon in 1984, she continued to show up in films like The Doors and Body Snatchers throughout the '90s, and in 1994 she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway. Another memorable role came in 1996, when she acted opposite Gina Gershon in the erotically charged Bound.In 1998, Tilly delighted horror fans with a tongue-in-cheek turn in Bride of Chucky, voicing the title role and helping to bring a comic twist to the franchise. She soon found another avenue for her comedic voice talents by joining the cast of the animated series Family Guy as the show's perpetually pregnant neighbor, Bonnie. She then went on to lend her voice talent to such titles as Monsters, Inc., Stuart Little, and The Haunted Mansion. In 2005, Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet and a cash prize of 158,625 dollars in the Ladies' No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em event. She went on to win the third World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament and subsequently become a popular and formidable competitor in the world of high-stakes poker. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
This run-of-the-mill teen romantic comedy's main attraction is 22-year-old Demi Moore as Laura Victor, an aspiring rock singer. The slightly younger Jon Cryer is Charles Cummings, a dedicated photographer who meets Laura, falls in love, and decides that a dedication to furthering her career might further his own amorous designs. Charles is essentially a loser when it comes to women -- and just about anything else except photography. One day Charles captures Laura on film along a San Francisco seashore and is shocked but excited to run into her later while at a North Beach nightclub where she is a performer. Unable to just let her go, he finally convinces her to pose for him, and as a result of that session he comes up with one good photo which he then puts on nearly 200 San Francisco cabs -- using up all his savings in the process. The result consists of offers that have nothing to do with singing -- until one exception occurs. Another new face in the crowd in this conventional movie is Jennifer Tilly (younger sister of Meg Tilly and Oscar-nominated for her role in Bullets Over Broadway), working in her first film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Demi Moore, (more)
In this flat attempt at comedy by the director of the Police Academy series, Neal Israel, a brash Dana Cannon (John Murray, brother of Bill) lands in a crooked re-education school for delinquent drivers, run by Deputy Halik (James Keach, brother of Stacey). The objective is to lord it over the miscreant drivers sent to the school (wrongly given citations and tickets by cops out to fill a quota, according to opening sequences) and make some money in the bargain. Deputy Halik has already decided to flunk out anyone in his classes, with the objective of impounding their cars and then auctioning off the vehicles to the highest bidders. Dana, the irrepressible new student, manages to unite the other put-upon drivers at the school into a single, determined faction -- and trouble quickly brews. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, (more)
- 1986
- R
Agoraphobia (Greek for "fear of the marketplace") is the focus of this drama starring Elliott Gould as Jimmy Morgan. Morgan seems fairly well-adjusted considering that deeply afflicted agoraphobics live in fear and even terror of human relationships and other people; a fear of going outside is only one part of the illness. Yet Morgan controls his finances from home, has sexual partners brought in by an escort service, persuades his relatives to visit him, and gets his drugs via housecalls. This travesty of a seriously sick man is only allayed slightly when he lies to everyone and tries to disguise his inability to step outside his door (a common trait of agoraphobics). As Morgan loses friends, business investments, and a budding relationship with one of the escort women (Jennifer Tilly), he is driven to consider treatment for the first time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Howard Hesseman, (more)
- 1986
When his latest date with an "intellectual equal" doesn't pan out, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) relies upon Sam (Ted Danson) to fix him up with a girl -- any girl. Unfortunately, Frasier's new amour (Jennifer Tilly) is equally desperate for male companionship, the upshot being an overnight courtship and instant marriage proposal. Despite the amusing complications stemming from the basic situation, the most fascinating aspect of this episode is the woman with whom Frasier breaks up in the early scenes. That woman is fellow psychologist Dr. Lilith Sternin, played by Bebe Neuwirth in her first Cheers appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- PG13
When aspiring musician Bryan Peters (David Hallyday) wins a trip to L.A. to meet his rock idol (Warwick Sims), there's one catch: bachelor Bryan must bring a girl friend. This could present a problem, since he doesn't have one. The solution: his manager Reggie (T.K. Carter) goes drag. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- T.K. Carter, David Hallyday, (more)
Johnny Walker (Anthony Michael Hall) is a hot-shot high-school quarterback who receives intoxicating offers from spirited college recruiters in this adolescent teen comedy. Bathroom humor and sight gags are strung together in a story involving booze, broads, and other benefits for the coveted quarterback. Robert Downey Jr., Uma Thurman, and Paul Gleason co-star. Even cameos from Jim McMahon and Howard Cosell can't save this feature from itself, though it isn't the fault of the cast. Originally rated PG-13, it was reedited to R (with scenes added) for a home video release. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey, Jr., (more)
The owner of an Irish castle decides to attract visitors by falsely claiming that the building is haunted, only to have a pair of real ancestral spirits start causing trouble in this uneven attempt at fantasy-comedy. The story centers on Jack and Sharon (played by Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D'Angelo), naive American tourists who are initially unimpressed by the owner's attempts at fraud but become more interested in the real ghosts, Mary and Martin (played by Daryl Hannah and Liam Neeson). This is especially true for Jack, who falls in love with the beautiful Mary, despite several centuries' difference in their ages. After the film's initial unsuccessful release, people involved with the production blamed studio interference for damaging director Neil Jordan's original vision, although Jordan is better known as a director of quirky, dark dramas (Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, Interview With a Vampire, The Company of Wolves). For whatever reason, the end result was an awkward, forced comedy that more often than not falls flat, squandering a strong collection of talent. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Peter O'Toole, (more)
- 1988
- R
A pair of naive documentarians find themselves in over their heads when they agree to finish an "art film" for the head of a local public television station in exchange for a chance to direct a documentary on Indian farming techniques. Comical situations ensue when they discover that "Halloween in the Bunker," is really a porno film detailing the sexual practices of the Nazis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Mull, Dick Shawn, (more)
- 1988
- R
In Remote Control, a video by the same name is a big-time rental at the video parlors. Too bad for its renters, because when they watch the video, they get hypnotized and then go out on violent sprees. The video store's boss catches on to what's going on and tries to discover who's behind the evil ploy. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Dillon, Deborah Goodrich, (more)
- 1989
His face ruined by plastic surgeon Dr. Simon Brill (Nicholas Pryor), wealthy recluse Leslie Hunzinger (Andrew Robinson) wants to sue Brill for malpractice, and hires David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) to gather the necessary investigation. Their investigation leads the detectives down a long and winding trail of broken hearts and vengeful females. In fact, things get so complicated that at one point, the comment is made that Moonlighting probably won't be able to get 22 episodes in the can this season after all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Former child star and one-time scandal magnet Drew Barrymore had her first teenage role in this offbeat thriller with comic overtones. Charlie Cross (Matt Frewer) is vacationing with his 15-year-old daughter Joleen (Barrymore). Charlie and Joleen are stranded in an Arizona trailer park when they run out of gas, and they quickly get to know their temporary neighbors, including ill-tempered landlady Agnes Reed (Susan Tyrrell), her son Jimmy (Andras Jones), friendly but scrambled Viet Nam vet Duckett (Richard Masur), fellow travelers Amy (Jennifer Tilly) and Louise (Karen Austin), and geeky Pinky Sears (Anthony Rapp). However, it turns out that a psychotic murderer is in their midst, and Sheriff Bill Childers (Dick Miller) joins with the mobile home dwellers in trying to catch the killer before he can strike again. Far From Home marked the directorial debut of Meiert Avis, while screenwriter Tommy Lee Wallace previously worked with co-star Frewer as a director for the TV series Max Headroom. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Frewer, Drew Barrymore, (more)
Joe Pytka's comedy stars Richard Dreyfuss as Trotter, a cab driver who gets a hot tip on a horse race and soon finds himself on the gambling hot streak of his life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, David Johansen, (more)
Real-life siblings Beau and Jeff Bridges star as the eponymous Fabulous Baker Boys. Musical prodigies both, the Bakers have long been teamed as a twin-piano act, with the less talented Frank (Beau Bridges) coasting on the skills of his brilliant younger brother Jack (Jeff Bridges). Their career dwindling to nickel-and-dime dates in second-rate clubs, the Bakers decide that they need a female vocalist to boost their popularity. They select auditioner Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer), who in addition to being a gifted songstress is drop-dead gorgeous. The newly renovated Baker Boys act scores a success, which is inevitably threatened by Susie's growing popularity and by Jack's insistence upon pursuing an affair with the girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
Val Kilmer delivers what was considered one of 1991's best performances as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's hallucinatory bio-pic of the seminal 1960s rock group The Doors. Stone cuts a jagged swath through Morrison's life, starting with a childhood memory where Morrison sees an elderly Indian dying by the roadside. It picks up with Morrison's arrival in California and his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, followed by his film school days at UCLA; his introduction to his girlfriend Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan); his first encounters with Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan); and the origin of The Doors -- made up of Manzarek, Robby Kreiger (Frank Whaley), and John Densmore (Kevin Dillon). As the fame of The Doors grows, Morrison's obsession with death increases. The band grows weary of Morrison's missed recording sessions and no-shows at concerts. Morrison, meanwhile, sinks deeper into a drug-induced haze, having mystical sexual encounters with Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan), an older rock journalist involved with sadomasochism and witchcraft. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
Based on a best-selling novel, this drama, set amongst a remote Eskimo tribe in 1935, was -- at the time it was produced -- the most expensive Canadian motion picture ever made, with a budget of $31 million. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Agaguk, the rebellious son of tribal leader Kroomak (Toshiro Mifune). The two men disagree strongly over the growing presence of white men in the area. Agaguk wants nothing to do with the interlopers, while his father has opened a fur trade with one of them, Brown (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu). Agaguk and Kroomak also clash over Igiyook (Jennifer Tilly), a beautiful woman whom both men want to marry, but Agaguk wins her hand. After he slays Brown in an argument, Agaguk is cursed and cast out of the tribe by his father. Agaguk takes Igiyook into the wilderness and struggles to survive there as she gives birth to a child, while Henderson (Donald Sutherland), a lawman, shows up to investigate Brown's death. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Toshiro Mifune, (more)
Scorchers is set way down in steamy Louisiana, deep in bayou country where the women get hot and hotter--or not hot at all. This movie delves into the sex lives of three ladies: one is an unfulfilled prostitute, one can't get her husband's attentions (he'd rather be with the whore), and one's a newlywed who can't get over her fear of having sex with her new fella. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emily Lloyd, Jennifer Tilly, (more)
Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers is the third screen version of Jack Finney's cold war science fiction novel Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Marty Malone (Gabrielle Anwar) is moving with her father, stepmother, and stepbrother to a military base where her father will investigate possible environmental and ecological problems. Before they get to town, Marty is warned in a gas station restroom by a crazed looking military man that, "They get you when you sleep!" Marty adjusts to life on the base by flirting with a young officer and making friends with the rebellious daughter of the base commander. These friends help her when a plot by aliens to turn all humans into unemotional, unfeeling "pod people" shifts into high gear. As her family and friends are attacked, Marty doesn't know who to trust. Previous versions of his story were directed by Don Siegel (1956) and Phillip Kaufman (1978). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabrielle Anwar, Terry Kinney, (more)
Richard Benjamin directed this farce that plays like "Guess Who's Coming for Insemination?" Whoopi Goldberg stars as Sarah Matthews, who runs an African-American oriented bookstore in Oakland. She is raising her daughter, a beautiful high school student named Zora (Nia Long), on her own after her husband's death many years earlier. As a result of a science class blood test, Zora discovers that the man she thought was her father actually wasn't. Instead Zora finds she was the result of artificial insemination. After researching the sperm bank's records, Zora discovers, much to the surprise of Sarah and herself, that the anonymous sperm donor is in fact, Hal Jackson (Ted Danson), a loud, crude obnoxious (and white) used-car dealer who advertises on late-night television. Zora visits Hal while he is filming a commercial and Hal brushes her off. Enraged, Sarah tells Hal off, but after meeting Zora he now feels a paternal itch. Not only that, but he is beginning to feel an attraction to Sarah. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson, (more)
An innocent girl becomes the victim of an ancient curse in this erotic horror story. Charlotte (Alyssa Milano) is a beautiful but chaste college freshman who is nearing her 18th birthday. Charlotte's boyfriend Chris (Harrison Pruett) would like to take their relationship to the next level, but Charlotte isn't sure if she's ready. Meanwhile, Charlotte finds herself aggressively pursued by a mysterious new suitor (Martin Kemp). What Charlotte doesn't know is that she's the reincarnation of a Transylvanian princess (Rebecca Ferratti), and her new friend is a vampire who once loved her. The vampire will be able to retain his powers of eternal life only if he can seduce Charlotte before she turns 18 -- which only gives him three days. To weaken Charlotte's resolve, the vampire arranges for lovely Sarah (Charlotte Lewis) to introduce her to the pleasures of lesbianism. Embrace of the Vampire featured former child star Alyssa Milano in several nude scenes; a large number of internet fan sites began posting frame captures of Milano topless from the film after it was released on home video. Milano and her mother responded by taking legal action against web sites using her images without permission; as a result, she has since pledged not to disrobe onscreen again. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alyssa Milano, Martin Kemp, (more)
- 1994
Incredible as it must seem to some, quite a few families and individuals have agreed to give up all or part of their privacy and permit a film crew to record their every act. Therefore, the premise of this send-up of "reality television" is not so far-fetched as might be supposed. In the story, a ratings-hungry television executive (Robby Benson) persuades the Webber family to become subject to this sort of intrusion, in return for lots of money and the opportunity to live in a really fancy mansion. The star of the resulting show is the family's nubile and sexually active daughter (Jennifer Tilly), who takes casts of each of her dates' better body parts in hopes of one day putting together a model of her ideal man. The highly intellectual father in the family is a psychiatrist (Jeffrey Tambor) with some very strange patients, some of whom have agreed to appear on camera as well. The mom (Rita Taggert) becomes a popular role model, even though she feels neglected by the rest of the family, and especially her husband, and the son (David Arquette) just moons around, in mourning for his recently dead girlfriend. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Tambor, Rita Taggart, (more)
Bullets Over Broadway is a Woody Allen romp that, as the title suggests, combines gangsters with show business at the height of the Roaring Twenties. David Shayne (John Cusack) is a straight-arrow playwright who plans to stand firm against compromising his work, but quickly abandons that stance when his producer (Jack Warden) finds a backer to mount his show on Broadway. There's just one catch, however: the backer is a mobster (Joe Viterelli) who sees Shayne's play as a vehicle for his dizzy, talent-free girlfriend, Olive (Jennifer Tilly). Shayne also has to deal with the demands of veteran theatre diva Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest) and is shocked to discover that Olive's hitman bodyguard, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), is probably a better playwright than he is, as he secretly revises Shayne's work when he sits in on rehearsals. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Jack Warden, (more)
The Getaway, a remake of Sam Peckinpah's excellent escape thriller of the same name, adapted from a story by Jim Thompson, is the story of ill-fated romance on the run. Doc McCoy (Alec Baldwin) is released from a Mexican prison with the help of gangster Jack Benyon (James Woods) who wants Doc's help in the hold-up of a racetrack. With the help of Doc's wife Carol (Kim Basinger), and Jack's thugs Rudy (Michael Madsen) and Frank (Philip Hoffman), the robbery is successful, but a guard is murdered. Doc also finds out that Carol has had an affair with Benyon. Carol shoots Benyon and the two flee for Mexico and freedom. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, (more)
This lively and complicated romantic comedy-drama centers on four fellows. Runyon is a poet carrying a torch for Kathryn; he flies to LA to talk about scripting a movie and is accompanied by the lovely Tarzaan. Gadabout Josh is seen having a fling with a Chinese hat-check girl and pursuing Cynthia; despite his womanizing, he also still cares for his ex-wife Gina, the sister of Phil, a plumber and owner of a hardware store who is married with two children. Phil is in a quandary because he finds himself lusting for a sophisticated English coquette who just might be interested in him. Meanwhile, therapist Mark is utterly wrecked over a difficult relationship with Tasha. The title of the film comes from a line in rocker Steve Miller's song, "The Joker". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Tim Guinee, (more)
