Shaun Weiss Movies
A pair of escaped juvenile delinquents discovers that missionary life is just as restrictive as life in their state-sponsored correctional facility after posing as Mormon missionaries to elude detection in director Rodney Henson's religious-themed comedy. Justin (Brandon Beemer) and Ty (Ty Hodges) are two rebellious teens who just can't seem to grasp the concept of authority. Shortly after making a successful escape from their Mojave Desert detention center run by the overzealous General Wilkins (Charles Napier), the pair's perfect escape plan hits a snag when their car dies at a remote rest stop where Mormon missionaries Elder Talbot (Shaun Weiss) and Elder Johnson (Jason Winer) are taking a break before heading to their next assignment in nearby New Harmony. Soon swapping their military fatigues for Mormon missionary duds, Justin and Ty hit the road in their new car assured that the authorities will never suspect their true identities. Though they were correct in their assumption, the one thing that Justin and Ty never expected was to be offered a police escort to New Harmony -- where the ultra-religious locals have big plans for their newly arrived guests. Now stuck in a town where the lights go out at ten, the alarm goes off at six, and God's word is the law, these two identity-thieving delinquents are eventually forced to choose between living a life of lies or finally coming clean about their shady past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Prosky, Charles Napier, (more)
Adam Larson and Tony R. Abrams' directorial debut Pumpkin is an unconventional love story. College senior Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci) agrees to coach handicapped athletes from a local town in order to help her sorority win an award. She and her sorority sister Jeanine (Dominique Swain) are put off by the activity. Carolyn's discomfort begins to dissipate after meeting Pumpkin Romanoff (Hank Harris), a young man in a wheelchair who has dreams of competing in the shot put. Slowly, Carolyn falls in love with Pumpkin, sending her into conflict with her boyfriend Kent (Sam Ball), her sisters, and Pumpkin's mother (Brenda Blethyn). This film was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Hank Harris, (more)
- 2001
A handful of teenagers learns there can be a dark side to a good time in this independent drama. Mary (Aimee Graham), Tracy (Tricia Dickson), and Sadie (Nicholle Tom) are three girls from wealthy families who are bored, self-consciously hip, and looking for some fun one night. When the girls hear about a rave being held in a massive warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, they decide to join the party, accompanied by Brian (Scott Torrence), a gay friend who loves the high-energy flash of the dance scene. Also on hand for the rave is Daffy (Douglas Spain), an Hispanic teen whose relationship with his father (Steven Bauer) has hit a rough spot -- and whose girlfriend Nette (Tamara Mello) has just learned she's going to have a baby. Also making the scene are Jay (Dante Basco), a youth of Korean descent who is at the rave against the orders of his father; Lazy (Shaun Weiss), a cheerful laid-back stoner; his pal JP (Franco Vega), a young tough with a hair-trigger temper; and Sky (Chris Weber), a dealer who specializes in drugs for the rave clientele. While most of the kids aren't looking for any more than a place to dance and have a good time, by the end of the night the discover they've entered a world more dangerous than they imagined. Rave was the first feature film from director Ron Krauss. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Spain, Aimee Graham, (more)
- 1999
The already shaky friendship between Eric (Will Friedle) and Jack (Matthew Lawrence) is further damaged when the boys become managers of the Pennbrook Student Union. The main problem is that good-hearted Eric has a bad habit of giving away the Union's profits whenever he hears a sob story--something that the coldly businesslike Jack can neither understand nor tolerate (at least until episode's end!) Elsewhere, Rachel (Maitland Ward) metes out retribution when she finds out that Cory (Ben Savage) and Shawn (Rider Strong) have been sneaking peeks at her diary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Hoping to prove that he's the same old Cory (Ben Savage) even though he's engaged to Topanga (Danielle Fishel), our hero accompanies his male buddies to a restaurant which boasts scantily-clad waitresses. In the course of the evening, Cory loses his engagement ring, and subsequently tries to prevent Topanga from finding out. Elsewhere, Rachel (Maitland Ward) is assigned to write a paper about male bonding--and guess which two guys she uses for "research". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Apparently inspired by the movie The Truman Show, Eric (Will Friedle) creates a closed-circuit TV series "starring" his roommates Jack (Matthew Lawrence) and Rachel (Maitland Ward). This he does in hopes of gaining popularity with his fellow students--but as it turns out, it is Rachel, who was initially against the project, who becomes the sweetheart of Pennbrook College. Meanwhile, Cory (Ben Savage) and Shawn (Rider Strong) learn the hard way that Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) isn't going to be any easier on them in college than he'd been in high school. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Everybody's favorite underdog youth hockey team hits the ice for a third adventure in D3: The Mighty Ducks. This time out, the Ducks' improbable success under lawyer-turned-hockey player Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) has earned the group of misfits a certain degree of fame, and the entire team is given scholarships to attend Eden Hall Academy, an upscale private school with a rich and snobbish student body. The Ducks are dismayed to discover that they have a new coach, Ted Orion (Jeffrey Nordling), and they soon learn that, as freshmen, they get precious little respect from the Varsity team, and the team's melting-pot lineup makes them stick out like a sore thumb in the white, upper-class surroundings of Eden Hall. However, by the film's final reel, the Ducks will have taught their fellow classmates a lesson about teamwork and overcoming adversity. This proved to be the last film in the Mighty Ducks series, but it was followed by an animated television series that improbably turned the team into hockey stars from another dimension. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Jeffrey Nordling, (more)
Camp Hope is a summer camp for fat kids; it is also the locale of this Disney family comedy. All of the kids at Camp Hope have a weight problem. It is the one place they can go without feeling different. But when the previous owners declare bankruptcy, the camp is purchased by an obnoxious fitness freak who becomes obsessed with changing his chubby charges into budding body builders. He immediately begins serving them low calorie foods and subjecting them to rigorous exercises. Part of his motivation is greed: he is in the process of writing a book, and filming an infomercial on weight loss. The boys at camp rebel and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom McGowan, Aaron Schwartz, (more)
In this sequel to the kid-friendly sports comedy The Mighty Ducks, Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) takes one more shot at a career as a professional hockey player, but a severe knee injury sidelines him for good. However, his success coaching a rag-tag pee-wee hockey team in Minneapolis (as chronicled in the first film) has attracted the attention of a major sportswear firm, which hires him to coach the United States team for the Junior Goodwill Games. Gordon reassembles most of the Mighty Ducks along with several new players, including a huge bully who is great on defense (if low on social skills), a figure skater who knows how to move on the ice, and a hotshot goalie who happens to be a girl. However, the excitement of a trip to Los Angeles and a large dose of overconfidence puts the team at a severe disadvantage when they're pitted against the top-ranked Icelandic team. D2: The Mighty Ducks features cameo appearances from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose athletic career has never involved ice skating. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Kathryn Erbe, (more)
This fill-in-the-blanks children's comedy from Disney was such a success that it spawned a number of fill-in-the-blanks sequels -- along with a real-life professional hockey team. The basic story -- outcast coach handles a team of outcast kids and turns them from losers into winners -- has been told in a number of films, including Wildcats, The Bad News Bears, Hoosiers, and Youngblood. Here the sport is hockey. Emilio Estevez is Gordon Bombay, a high-powered lawyer haunted by an incident from his past: while playing pee-wee league hockey as a child, young Gordon missed a crucial shot in the state finals game, invoking the wrath of his coach, Mr. Reilly (Lane Smith). When Gordon is arrested for drunk driving, the judge orders him to take a leave of absence and coach a hockey team of misfit kids. At first, Gordon treats the coaching job with contempt. But when his team loses to a team led by his old coach Reilly, the fire under Gordon is lit. Inspired, he leads his team on a mission to succeed. The team begins to win games and soon they are ready to face Reilly's team for the big championship game. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, (more)
- 1989
Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) is quite fond of her classmate Clarence (Michael A. Moran), and the feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, Clarence caves into peer pressure from his male friends and begins harrassing Rudy, whereupon she and her friends retaliate in kind. The situation soon gets nasty, culminating with Clarence getting pummelled by Rudy--and it is at this point that the kids' teacher Mrs. McGee (Elaine Stritch) force-feeds them a crash course in Etiquette! Featured in the cast is Tatyana Ali, who later appeared as Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The 13 first-season episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse have become such beloved classics that it hardly seems necessary to offer an overview, but here goes anyway: In "Ice Cream Soup," the series opener, Pee-Wee (Paul Reubens) introduces us to his friends Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart), Cowboy Curtis (yes, that's Laurence Fishburne), Jambi the Genie (John Paragon), Captain Carl (Phil Hartman), and the King of Cartoons (Gilbert Lewis), among many others. He also treats us to the first Secret Word, "door" (and remember to SCREAM REAL LOUD!). "Luau for Two" finds Pee-Wee throwing a luau in the Playhouse, tiki torches and all. Our hero breaks out the paper airplanes and whipped cream when he is cooped up indoors on a "Rainy Day" -- and also makes a prank phone call, much to his everlasting regret. In "Just Another Day," Cowboy Curtis teaches Pee-Wee how to square-dance. "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" is highlighted by Pee-Wee's magic show, which ends up rendering him invisible. Miss Yvonne treats grouchy neighbor Mrs. Steve (Shirley Stoler) to a "Beauty Makeover" in the episode of the same name. "The Restaurant" is what Pee-Wee calls his own kitchen when Captain Carl shows up for a peanut-butter sandwich. Everyone has "Ants in Your Pants" when the denizens of Pee-Wee's animated ant farm make good their escape. A one-eyed "Monster in the Playhouse" soon finds Pee-Wee surrounded by a whole bunch of new friends. A nervous Cowboy Curtis stages a dress rehearsal of his date with Miss Yvonne in "Cowboy and the Countess." Rascally Randy suffers mightily when he consumes the "Stolen Apples" from Mrs. Steve's backyard. Pee-Wee is rescued from a mousehole by his kiddie pals (including at least one overgrown "ringer") in "The Gang's All Here." And it's nonstop fun for everyone, including the usually reserved Reba the Mail Lady (S. Epatha Merkerson) in the aptly titled "Party." It was during this maiden season of Pee-Wee's Playhouse that the series won the first of its many Emmy awards, one for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Outstanding Achievement in Videotape Editing. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
