Gary Barber Movies

A single woman who has served as a bridesmaid a shocking 27 times wrestles with the prospect of supporting her sister at the altar on number 28, despite having fallen helplessly in love with her smitten sibling's handsome husband-to-be. Jane (Katherine Heigl) has the kind of altruistic traits that everyone looks for in a friend, yet lately the perennial bridesmaid has begun to feel as if something is missing in her life. One night, local newspaper reporter Kevin (James Marsden) spots the devoted bridal attendant racing between receptions in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and quickly surmises that her quirky tale may be just the story to get him off the bridal beat and into the big time. Immediately suspicious of the cynical reporter's motivations, Jane butts heads with Kevin just as her younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman) shows up in town. While Jane has always put the needs of friends and family before her own wants and desires, she's suddenly prompted to reevaluate her priorities when her boss -- with whom she is secretly in love -- falls for her younger sister Tess. When Tess and Jane's boss George (Edward Burns) make plans to marry, the smitten younger sibling mistakenly assumes that her lovelorn older sibling will be happy to take part in the wedding. For as far back as Jane can remember, she has sacrificed her own happiness for the sake of those she holds dearest, but now that her heart has been broken, she's finally found the courage to be honest with herself. Now, as Jane finally comes to terms with her true feelings, her life begins to change in ways she never expected. Judy Greer and Melora Hardin co-star in a romantic comedy scripted by The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and directed by Anne Fletcher (Step Up). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When your dog, bird, or water-dwelling mammal disappears, who do you call? Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) is a low-rent private eye who specializes in recovering lost animals, so when Snowflake, the Miami Dolphins' aquatic mascot, is kidnapped, team representative Melissa Robinson (Courtney Cox) puts Ace on the case. However, Snowflake isn't the only Miami Dolphin who has gone missing; several key members of the team also disappear, including quarterback Dan Marino (who plays himself), who is spirited away while filming a TV commercial. With the Super Bowl only two weeks away, will Ace be able to find Snowflake and the missing athletes in time to salvage the big game? Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was a surprise box office smash and catapulted manic comedian Jim Carrey to stardom. The supporting cast includes Sean Young as ill-tempered Lois Einhorn, Udo Kier as the sinister Ronald Camp, and rapper Tone Loc as Ace's detective pal Emilio (Loc also wrote and performed a song for the closing credits). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

While on assignment in the jungles of Nepal, photojournalist Ted Harrison (Michael Pare) and his girlfriend are savagely attacked by a hideous beast which tears the woman to shreds and leaves Ted badly mauled. He later returns to the States to live near his sister Janet (Mariel Hemingway), nephew Brett (Mason Gamble) and their German shepherd Thor, hoping the presence of family will dispel the horrific memories... until the inevitable effects of a werewolf curse begin to surface. As his humanity begins slipping away, only the family dog begins to suspect something is wrong -- but poor Thor ends up being the chief suspect in a string of recent mutilation murders. Writer/director Eric Red's script (based on the novel Thor by Wayne Smith) plays with the standard werewolf conventions -- territory already barren after being strip-mined by a plethora of Howling sequels -- but tends to retreat into cliché too often to kick it more than a notch or two above the average direct-to-video fodder. Cinematographer Jan Kiesser's widescreen compositions lend a threatening edge to the woodland locations but are sadly lost to cable and home-video formatting. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a writer's triumphant return to his hometown turns out to have a very long string attached. As a child, small and timid David Leary grew up in Hastings, MN, where he lived in mortal fear of the school bully, Roscoe Bigger, aka "Fang." Fang loved nothing more than making David's every waking moment a physical and emotional torment. Fortunately for David, his parents moved the family to California not long after David turned the tables on Fang; Fang stole a moon rock from a school display and David finked on him, putting Fang on the fast track to reform school. Years later, David (played as an adult by Rick Moranis) is a successful author, and he has been invited to teach English at the school he attended as a child. David is intrigued to discover that Victoria (Julianne Phillips), the girl he used to have a crush on, is also on the faculty (as the sex-ed instructor, no less) and interested in seeing him. But David's happiness is short-lived when he meets the school's shop teacher -- none other than Roscoe (Tom Arnold). Fang's stay in a juvenile home shattered his spirit, and he's been a spineless loser ever since; these days, David is the only person still afraid of him. Having someone to intimidate again does Roscoe a world of good; it restores his confidence, lifts his spirits, and even saves his marriage. But it doesn't do much for David, who can't exactly complain to the principal that Fang's picking on him again. Don Knotts appears in a supporting role as Principal Kokelar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Narc and Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan teams with actress Reese Witherspoon for this remake of the 1965 Otto Preminger thriller concerning the mystery that unfolds when a woman reports her daughter missing and the police investigation reveals that no such girl ever existed. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (Quills) rewrites his own script in collaboration with Carnahan for a film produced by Spyglass partners Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber, Mark Gordon, and Type A partners Witherspoon and Jennifer Simpson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Whitley Strieber from his book about his alleged contacts with aliens, Communion dramatizes a story all the more compelling for the author's insistence that it is true, complemented by Christopher Walken's enigmatic performance as Strieber. The film begins in October 1985, as Strieber is living in New York City with his wife Anne (Lindsay Crouse) and son Andrew (Joel Carlson). He is hunting for new book ideas without making much headway. He spends his days pacing around his apartment, thinking out loud or videotaping himself as he improvises bits of dialogue. It is soon decided that a vacation is in order, so, with their friends Alex (Andreas Katsulas) and Sara (Terri Hanauer), the Striebers head for their cabin in Upstate New York. In the middle of the night, an illumination descends on the cabin and surrounding forest, causing Strieber to wake up abruptly. In the semi-darkness of the cabin, he is able to make out a long face with narrow, tear-shaped eyes quietly observing him from a corner of the room. The next morning, he has forgotten -- or been made to forget -- the whole experience. He even shrugs off Alex's and Sarah's concern about "seeing lights" outside their bedroom window, claiming to have slept through the event. Back in New York, it becomes evident to Strieber and his family that something unusual did happen. He begins to have powerful hallucinations, and, after an inconclusive medical examination, he is encouraged by his wife to seek professional help from psychiatrist Janet Duffy (Frances Sternhagen). During hypnotic regression therapy, Strieber's lifelong contact with the "visitors" is brought to light, as well as the details of his more recent encounters. Still unable to accept these revelations, he returns to the cabin alone and finally communicates with the visitors, discovering that, although they are unable to reveal their true identity, their purpose may be to act as agents of personal transformation for himself and for others. An interesting and uneven film, Communion is bolstered considerably by Christopher Walken, whose role in the film, though appropriate for the subject matter, quickly transforms into a thesis on his own eccentricities as an actor. ~ Anthony Reed, All Movie Guide

Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic French thriller gets a Hollywood makeover in this glossy remake. Guy Baran (Chazz Palminteri) is the dull, loutish headmaster of a private school that has seen better days. While Guy oversees the day to day operations, the school is actually owned by his wife Mia (Isabelle Adjani), whose spirit has been crushed by Guy's casual cruelty and whose health is frail. Guy has been openly having an affair with one of his teachers, Nicole Horner (Sharon Stone), who has almost as much contempt for Guy as Mia. Mia and Nicole eventually join forces against their common enemy and plan to murder him and conceal the evidence. However, while the killing goes as planned, Guy's body mysteriously disappears from the carefully chosen spot where it was dumped, and when a chatty detective, Shirley Vogel (Kathy Bates) begins asking questions, both women begin to wonder who knows what about their murderous scheme. This was the third remake of Les Diaboliques, following two made-for-TV adaptations, Reflection of Murder and House of Secrets. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Eight brave sled dogs search for the master who is looking for a way to rescue them in this adventure drama. An American geologist (Bruce Greenwood) flies to Antarctica to participate in a project at the United States Research Base, where he teams up with arctic guide Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) and his best friend, Cooper (Jason Biggs). The scientist soon discovers that Shepard also has eight other valuable friends -- a pack of sled dogs he's worked with for years, who have rescued him from a number of tight spots. As the three men explore a frozen mountain region, an unexpected accident coupled with a massive storm front forces them to fly to safety, leaving the dogs behind. Shepard is determined to rescue his canine friends, but he has to wait until the weather will allow him to travel back to the mountain, while the dogs struggle against the elements to survive as they attempt to make their way back home. Eight Below was inspired by a true story involving Japanese researchers exploring the Antarctic in 1957; the story was made into the film Nankyoku Monogatari. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Greg Kinnear stars in director Marc Abraham's man-against-the-system docudrama Flash of Genius as inventor Robert Kearns, the visionary who developed the modern intermittent windshield wiper. Kearns submitted the invention to each of the big three auto companies, each of which promptly rejected it; the companies then turned around and put the device to use. The enraged inventor spent several decades attempting to collect on his patent, and mounting lawsuits that traveled all the way to the Supreme Court; he eventually collected over 30 million dollars for his obsession. Abraham co-authored the script with Scott Frank and Phillip Railsback, adapting an article by John Seabrook that originally appeared in The New Yorker. Dermot Mulroney plays Kinnear's best friend, with Lauren Graham rounding out the supporting cast. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Geoff Murphy directed this time-travel chase movie. Emilio Estevez stars as Alex Furlong, a racecar driver from 1991, who is just about to experience a deadly crash in his Formula Atlantic. But at the last moment Alex finds himself transported to the streets of New York in 2009. He is saved from certain death and zapped into the future by 21st-century bounty hunter Vacendak (Mick Jagger), who wants to take over Alex's body. Alex escapes Vacendak's clutches and decides to look up an old girlfriend. When he locates Julie (Rene Russo), he enlists her support to help him from being captured by Vacendak. Much to Alex's surprise, he discovers that Julie now works as a top executive for a giant corporation presided over by McCandless (Anthony Hopkins). Julie, separated from Alex for almost twenty years, must decide whether to renew their relationship. But there is not much time for thought by either party, since Vacendak is still coming after Alex. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear star in director David Koepp's fantasy comedy concerning Bertram Pincus, a dentist who gains the ability to communicate with the dead after momentarily dying during a routine medical procedure. When the dearly departed begin requesting favors from Dr. Pincus, the self-absorbed dentist finds that living with ghosts isn't easy. Fortunately, recently deceased businessman Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) agrees to keep the dead at bay if Dr. Pincus will just agree to prevent his widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni), from tying the knot to humorless human rights lawyer Richard (Billy Campbell). According to Frank, Richard is just another morally corrupt gold-digger out to take the wealthy Gwen for all she's worth. At first Dr. Pincus agrees to go along with the ruse, though it isn't long before he begins to question his supernatural sidekick's true motivations. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Usually cast in showy or unsympathetic supporting roles, Harvey Keitel here gets the rare chance to play a leading role as a "nice guy" -- albeit a nice guy with some serious problems -- in this family drama. Ray Weiler (Keitel) is the widowed father of two girls, high school senior Sonya (Fairuza Balk) and her younger sister Greta (Elizabeth Moss). Ray is full of get-rich-quick schemes that never quite pan out and often skirt the edges of the law. While it's obvious that he loves his daughters, he's hardly a healthy role model, and Sonya and Greta both know it -- dealing with bill collectors and angry investors who've dumped money into one of their father's schemes is just a part of life at the Weiler household. Ray has enrolled Sonya in a private school that he can't actually afford, but he's certain his latest mining venture is going to bring him some real money. Mr. Webster (Vincent D'Onofrio), one of Sonya's teachers, thinks she has a real gift as a writer and should go on to college. Sonya, however, knows that Ray would be against it -- and even if he did approve, how would they pay for it? Meanwhile, Ray seems to have found a backer for his latest mining project -- a man named Jarvis (Chris Penn) -- but one of his partners starts to get cold feet, and Jarvis looks like a man who does not take disappointment well. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide