Charlotte Burke Movies
- 2005
Mark Christopher - writer-director of the hit Miramax drama 54 (1998) - returns to the helmer's chair for the first occasion in eight years with the indie comedy Pizza, from IFC Films. An unofficial homage to mid-80s teen films, the picture concerns Cara-Ethyl (Kylie Sparks), an overweight high-schooler whose mom (screen vet Julie Hagerty) lost her sight in a baking accident. Despondent and lonely as her eighteenth birthday arrives and passes - not to mention embarrassed by her lack of friends - Cara attempts to save face by lying to her mother and pretending that she's expecting a whole host of guests. She then impersonates the "friends" one at a time in front of her mother. When thirty-something pizza delivery guy Matt turns up, Cara falls instantly in love; he then invites her to accompany him, into the night, on his pizza route. As Matt inducts Cara into the area's social realm - replete with bed-hopping flatmates, deadhead teenage addicts and obstinate employers - a friendship forms between the two. Joey Kern, Alexis Dziena and Judah Friedlander co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethan Embry, Kylie Sparks, (more)
- 2001
An immigrant trying to make a new life for herself in America discovers her old life is following close behind in this independent drama. Ah Na (Amy Ting) was born and raised in a Chinese village where her desire to challenge the norms led to ugliness and violence, so she decides to emigrate to the United States in hopes of starting over. Ah Na finds a job at Buddha's Happiness, a Chinese restaurant run and staffed by fellow Chinese expatriates, but her tiny shared apartment and long working hours do not afford her much more freedom than she knew in China. One day, Ah Na stumbles upon "the Golden Palace," a section of Grand Central Station where other women from China hang out to talk, share gossip, and try to catch the eye of American men. In time, Ah Na strikes up a relationship with one such man (James Burns) who, unfortunately, turns out to be married; her new relationship is looked upon with scorn by her co-workers, and when Ah Na's mother decides to come to the United States, she must scramble to come up with a likely cover for the lie that she lives in a fine home in the suburbs. Miss Wonton was the debut feature from writer and director Meng Ong; the film was screened in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Wang, James Burns, (more)
- 1997
Set in New York's East Village, director Emanuele Crialese wrote this light romantic comedy about two couples, four "strangers" determined to make love and the American dream work, despite the odds. Ajay Naidu plays Apu, an Americanized native of India; more than 20 years after leaving his homeland he awaits his bride by arranged marriage. Devi Anjalee Deshpande has trouble adjusting to the new culture. Apu's acquaintance, Antonio Vincenzo Amato, is an illegal alien from Italy, who has his own tryst with the object of his desire -- a radio talkshow host Jessica Whitney Gould--but their match is ill-timed. The trials, errors and demands of looking for a love in the late '90s is studied to great comic effect. All of the characters, despite their foibles, are incredibly appealing, due in no small part to a fine unknown cast, script and direction. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincenzo Amato, Jessica Whitney Gould, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
Eleven-year-old Charlotte Burke, the neglected daughter of Ben Cross and Glenne Headley, passes out on the school playground and dreams of visiting a house she'd previously drawn in her composition book. She imagines another visit to her "paper house" while playing hide-and-seek. Experimenting, Burke draws a figure in the window of the house; the next time she dreams, she meets a young boy, as lonely as she. Convinced that she wields a large degree of power in her pencil, Burke draws a picture of her father, Cross, hoping that in doing so he will return home. But Burke is dissatisfied with the picture, and crosses it out--whereupon Cross shows up in her dreams as a murderous stalker. What happens next is a maelstrom of psychological horror, told completely from the child's point of view. Paperhouse is based on Marianne Dreams a novel by Catherine Storr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Burke, Glenne Headly, (more)
