Jay Underwood Movies

Set in 1950, this is a convincing, well-acted drama about a young girl's growing up in Las Vegas amidst poverty and a turbulent home life. The 13-year-old Rose (Annabeth Gish) lives with her mother (JoBeth Williams), stepfather (Jon Voight), and two sisters in a working-class home. Trouble is brewing on several fronts: her stepfather is his usual abusive self but is dipping into the bottle more frequently, her glitzy Aunt Starr (Ellen Barkin) arrives for a six-week stay and causes an upheaval in the marriage, and an above-ground nuclear bomb is about to be exploded at the government test site (only 65 miles away). If Rose can survive all this with her health, her sanity, and her clear intelligence intact, it will not be due to her supportive environment. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This pre-teen comedy finds the studious Grover (Jay Underwood) using the notes of his late scientist father to complete a project. With unsolicited help from pigeon droppings, a substance is created that renders the consumer invisible for 30 minutes. The effectiveness decreases by five minutes with each dose, inexplicably expanding to 30 again on the eight attempt. This gives Grover the power to fulfill every hetero teen-male's fantasy; a visit to the girls locker room. Karen Black plays Grover's dizzy mom. . ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this cheerful, lightweight comedy, excruciatingly clumsy, disorganized, and messy Uncle Buck Russell (John Candy) becomes the screens most unlikely babysitter since Clifton Webb in Sitting Pretty. While their parents are away, eight-year old Miles (Macaulay Culkin), six-year old Maizy (Gaby Hoffman) and their teen-aged sister, Tia (Jean Kelly) are left in the care of Buck. Surprisingly, the very inept Uncle Buck entertains the younger children who come to love him and earns the respect of Tia when he rescues her from her worthless boyfriend. However, in doing so, Buck nearly loses his long-time girlfriend Chanice (Amy Madigan). John Candy is delightful in the leading role giving a touching and notable comic performance. Directed by John Hughes in his typical broad style, this youth-oriented comedy is perhaps the best role of John Candy's regrettably brief career. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Jay Underwood plays Jeff Sherman, a teenage movie fan who idolizes the classic films of Humphrey Bogart. Jeff's Uncle Ben (Vince Edwards) owns a small detective agency, and Jeff asks if he could have a job working there to earn some extra money. Ben warily agrees, assigning Jeff the most rudimentary of tasks. But when a gangster client comes to the agency, needing someone to spy on his fiancee, Rita Benson (Tracy Scoggins), whom he suspects is cheating on him, Jeff is given the assignment. Hiding out in a closet in a hotel room, Jeff documents an assignation between Rita and her lover Glenn (Charles Lucia). But then strong-arm men push their way into the room, pump Glenn with tranquilizers, and carry him off. Jeff proceeds to fall out of the closet, and Rita asks Jeff for help. They immediately go to the police to report the crime. Unfortunately for the luckless duo, the police and the kidnappers are in cahoots, and soon Jeff and Rita are on the run from both the gangsters and the cops. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A substantial improvement on its predecessor, this in-name-only sequel retains only a few characters from the original To Die For, standing alone as an effective vampire tale in its own right. The complex plot revolves around the facilities of vampire Doctor Max (Michael Praed), whose stores of whole blood provide temporary food supplies for wayward bloodsuckers in need of a fix. Into Max's clinic arrives young Danny (Jay Underwood) and his sister Nina (Rosalind Allen), whose adopted baby is suffering from an unknown affliction. While Danny eventually falls under the seductive spell of the translucent-looking Celia (Amanda Wyss), Max's predatory brother Tom (Steve Bond) sets his sights on Nina's unprotected neck, leading to a confrontation with Max over the fate of Nina and her child, revealed to be a human/vampire half-breed, of whom Max is the father. Events are further stirred by the arrival of manic vampire hunter Martin (Scott Jakoby), who is obsessed with destroying them all. This slick and stylish production belies its low budget with technical panache (aside from occasional cost-cutting measures in the special effects department), which includes superb photography, razor-sharp editing, and a script that provides dimension and believable motivations for its characters without skimping on scares. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this Disney adventure, the third in a series, Chip, the android boy, must save his father from the cruel business magnate who has abducted him. To do so, he reconfigures his father's robotic look-a-like and then prepares to face the spooky Spartacus, his robotic nemesis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Unreleased to the general public and infamous for its poor quality within geek circles, this Roger Corman adaptation of the Marvel Comics supergroup is an interesting cult item that ranks up there with the dismal Captain America feature and the cheap Hulk TV movies. The story of the film goes back to the late '80s when Marvel Comics were licensing out their characters for mild profit in a time when the comic industry was failing. Enter a German company called Neue Constantin and producer Bernd Eichinger, who held the rights for almost four years before their contract was about to run out. In order to retain the rights to future remake/options and get out of paying a five-million-dollar fee, Neue were forced to put something to film, so they made a deal with Roger Corman's New Horizons studio to make the film quick and on the cheap for $1.5 million. Once the film was finished, Eichinger bought out Corman's interest, then turned around and sold it to 20th Century Fox, who were then prepping a 50-million-dollar adaptation with director Chris Columbus. The film then dove into virtual obscurity, save for the comic convention bootlegs and later through the internet. The storyline follows the basic framework of the comic, with the exception of a few minor details, including the introduction of a new villain, The Jeweler, who directly becomes responsible for the team's mishap in space and takes liberally from another one of the comic's famous villains, The Mole Man. In reference to its underground popularity, Corman now regards it as his most profitable film that never saw release, while Marvel president Avi Arad reportedly burned Fox's only print. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

This horror film begins on a typical night in 1978 as seven-year-old Griffin Davis' parents are telling him a bedtime story about the Sandman. Meanwhile a serial killer with a taste for slaughtering families is dangerously close. Each of the families had a boy Griffin's age. His parents finish their story and leave the room. Later the police arrive just in time to save the frightened boy and capture the killer. Seventeen years pass and the murderer, known as The Sandman, is being prepared for execution. At the same time, Griffin, a rookie journalist and Megan, a photographer feel attracted to each other as they wait for the death. In his death row cell, Sandman is visited by a strange clergyman who bestows the killer with supernatural powers. After he is executed, his body changes into real sand. Assuming human form, the walking dune takes off after Griffin to finish what he started so long ago. Mayhem and murder ensue. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A tranquil Arizona community is being terrorized by a series of robberies staged by an elusive truck-stop bandit. In addition, a number of disreputable-looking strangers have descended upon the community in search of buried treasure. Fortuously visiting a friend who lives near the town in question, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) ends up helping the new, inexperienced sheriff handle the onslaught of trouble--which of course is capped by a murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With the future of the world hanging in the balance, one fearless hero's quest to solve "The Riddle of the Chosen" leads to the adventure of a lifetime in this effort from Ryan Carroll -- the executive producer of such horror hits as The Convent and The Toolbox Murders (2003). As the Lord Protector (Patrick Cassidy) makes his way through a land of magic and mystery, his allies grow stronger and his enemies more fierce. Will the Lord Protector make it to the center of evil and banish the dark forces that plot destruction, or will the power of evil overwhelm this mortal man and envelope the entire planet in a shroud of darkness and despair? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The true story of one of the most unlikely love stories and show biz successes of the '60s is reenacted in this made-for-cable comedy drama. Sonny Bono (Jay Underwood) is a guy determined to get his foot in the door of the Los Angeles music business; he pitches his songs to artists and producers when he's not busy with his day job, and will do nearly anything to climb the ladder of success. In time, Bono makes his way into the session band for famous record producer Phil Spector (Christian Leffler) and gets a job signing acts and producing sessions for a small independent label. But Bono gets his biggest break when he's fixed up on a date with one Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre (Renee Faia), who, as it turns out, is a singer struggling to make it in Hollywood. Sonny sees talent in the girl called Cher for short, and he puts his money and career on the line to make a duet record with her. The two also fall in love and are happily married by the time "I Got You Babe" makes them pop stars. But as their career goes through peaks and valleys, so does their relationship, and as their act reaches a crossroads they divorce, forcing both to reestablish themselves on their own. And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny & Cher Story was first broadcast on February 22, 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A man who went astray in a moment of weakness finds his mistake coming back to haunt him in this thriller. Mack Maddox (C. Thomas Howell) appears to have a happy, ordinary life -- a nice home, a happy marriage, and a loving daughter. But not all has been perfect in Mack's life and he gets a sudden and startling reminder of his checkered past when he's called up for jury duty. Mack will be hearing the trial of Ezra Tyler (Jay Underwood), who stands accused of killing his wife, and as the testimony goes on, Mack remembers that he actually knew Mrs. Tyler -- and had a brief affair with her. Ezra's morbid jealousy led him to murder his wife and Mack beings to wonder if he knows about his wife's infidelity. Soon Mack has become obsessed with Ezra, and when the trial is called off on a technicality, he discovers that Ezra is following his trail. Stalker was also released under the title Fatal Affair. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide