Jason Yribar Movies
You can take the clerks out of the Quick Stop, but you just can't take the Quick Stop out of the clerks as Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson) prove in this long-awaited sequel to Kevin Smith's breakthrough comedy. Years after we last saw them, Dante is still toiling behind the counter at a New Jersey convenience store and Randall is still annoying customers at the video shop next door -- or at least they are until a fire burns down the strip mall, forcing Dante and Randall to look for work. Times are tough, and the guys find themselves embracing the ultimate indignity as they take jobs at Mooby's, a fast-food outlet where the burgers are advertised as "udderly delicious." While Randall's snarky attitude toward the public remains unchanged, Dante is trying to make the best of the situation as he plans to marry his fiancée, Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith), and move to Florida. However, Dante's plans are complicated when he falls for Becky (Rosario Dawson), a funny and tart-tongued woman who happens to be his boss at Mooby's. Lurking about in the background, as always, are Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), who for good or ill have changed even less with the passage of time than Dante and Randall. Clerks II also features Wanda Sykes, Ethan Suplee, and Trevor Fehrman, with cameo appearances from Kevin Smith regulars Ben Affleck and Jason Lee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, (more)
Thirteen-year-old Jenna (Shana Dowdeswell) has had enough with the trials of adolescence. In addition to being saddled with a devoted-but-nerdy best friend, Matt (Sean Marquette), she falls victim to one of the dangers of playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with the coolest kids in school: being stranded without a willing make-out partner. Humiliated, Jenna buries herself in the aformentioned make-out closet, wishing she could skip the whole adolescence bit and move straight into adulthood, and miraculously wakes just weeks away from her 30th birthday. Of course, a lot has changed since going to bed the night before, not the least of which being an impressive set of womanly curves. The new, older Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is a successful magazine editor with friends in high places and a lion's share of potential suitors -- including a hockey-playing boyfriend and a swarthy married man. The problem is that her mind hasn't matured with her body; Jenna not only finds living on her own more terrifying than cool, but is quick to dismiss any male over the age of 14 as "gross." Half excited, half mortified, Jenna seeks out Matt (Mark Ruffalo), whom she learns she had spurned as a teenager in an effort to join the popular crowd. Gary Winick directed, from a script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa; Gina Matthews produced. Choreographer Michael Peters - who died in 1994 - received posthumous credit, as his choreography from the Michael Jackson Thriller video is used in one scene. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
From the producer and writer of Spice World and the director of She's All That comes this musical comedy inspired by and featuring the stars of Fox's hit reality show American Idol. Starring the winner and runner-up of the show's first season, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, as slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, From Justin to Kelly attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the fun-loving beach musicals of the 1960s. When Kelly (Clarkson) and Justin (Guarini) embark on a vacation in search of some fun in the sun with their respective groups of friends, the two meet and fall for each other at first sight. Unfortunately, a series of comedic mishaps and hijinks gets in the way of them getting together. Several song-and-dance numbers ensue. In addition to Clarkson and Guarini, the film stars Greg Siff, Brian Dietzen, and Katherine Bailess. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, (more)
- 1995
- NC17
"I'm gonna dance," Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) insists in the opening scene of Showgirls, and dance she does. In this quasi-update of All About Eve, Nomi is a drifter whose sole ambition is to headline the "Goddess" topless dance show at the Stardust in Las Vegas. Of course, even Nomi must pay her dues, and she does so at the Cheetah, grinding poles and lap dancing her way to a future. Fortunately, her roommate, Molly, works at the Stardust and invites Nomi to see the show, where she meets Crystal Conners (Gina Gershon, in the Bette Davis role), with whom she immediately forms a love/hate relationship. Nomi soon learns what she must do to get ahead, and the rest of the film documents her cat-like crawl up the showgirl ladder of success. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, (Robocop, Basic Instinct, The Fourth Man), Showgirls was conceived as the first big-budget "adult" film since 1977's Caligula, and the first such production to wear the NC-17 rating; its failure at the box-office discouraged further attempts at large-scale adult productions. ~ Dylan Wilcox, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Berkley, Gina Gershon, (more)
A failed effort to revive the big-budget movie musical, Newsies attempted to create toe-tapping, song-and-dance excitement out of the true story of an 1899 strike by newspaper boys against publishing magnate Joseph Pulitzer. The "newsies" band together to protest a pay cut by Pulitzer (Robert Duvall), organizing a union to protect their rights and ensure fair wages. They are helped along the way by Medda (Ann-Margret), a local dance-hall performer who befriends the boys and provides an opportunity for an additional song or two. Director Kenny Ortega had previously choreographed Dirty Dancing, and composer Alan Menken had provided the acclaimed scores for Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors, but their work here failed to capture the spark of their popular successes. Unable to connect with older or younger viewers, Newsies gained a reputation as a major bomb that cut short an attempt to bring back the live-action musical, though in the intervening years it has gained a small but appreciative cult. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, David Moscow, (more)
