Andrew McCarthy

The Microlending Film Project tells the stories of citizens on four continents who are mothers, wives, daughters - and entrepreneurs. Armed with microloans invested in increments as small as $25, we follow these women as they start and maintain their own businesses, pulling themselves out of poverty, and sometimes finding that loans aren't enough. In doing so we explore how microborrowing can help women improve their standards of living as it offers an innovative, alternate investment and financing model, the implications when microlending fails - why did the suicides in India happen? - and how it may be used to help small businesses in the U.S. In an effort to tell a comprehensive story, we shot in Paraguay, India, Kenya, and Detroit, MI. —Anonymous

Twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

A group of men are having a bachelor party. But when misfortune befalls one of the strippers at the stag, a convoluted scheme is hatched by the party-goers to avoid blame. Victor Mallick returned to his home and found out that all of his friends have arranged a surprise bachelor/stag party for him. Two strippers were hired to cheer up the party. However, when some of the men accidentally killed one of the strippers, they are left to face the consequences of their action. —Anonymous

Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.

A young man returning home to attend a wedding hooks up with a drifter who turns out to be a violent bank robber. Before he knows it, the man finds himself involved in the robber's plans.

In Ancient Egypt, Ema 'Emmy' Hesire, a young princess, is hiding from her mother inside a pyramid disguised as a mummy. Emmy is against her arranged marriage, and prays to the gods to be united with her true love in the future. Strangely, Emmy suddenly vanishes before her mother's eyes. In present-day Philadelphia, Jonathan Switcher is a young artist working in a mannequin factory. Jonathan takes his time perfecting one he is working on, which angers his boss, who claims he needs to be working on quantity than quality. After protesting, Jonathan is fired and attempts to find other jobs, but his artistic passion also gets him terminated from most of them. One evening, after his motorcycle breaks down in the rain, he passes by some windows being property of the department store Prince & Company and is surprised to see his mannequin in the window. The next morning, Jonathan returns to the store and ends up saving the life of its owner, Claire Timkin, from her own fallen shop sign. Claire becomes very grateful and offers to find Jonathan a position in the department store. Viewed with suspicion by the security guard, Captain Felix Maxwell, Jonathan works with and befriends flamboyant Hollywood Montrose, the store's chief window dresser. Jonathan eventually finds the mannequin he created and is surprised when it comes to life with Emmy's spirit, when he is alone. She explains she has existed for centuries as a muse, sometimes possessing the works of an artist she admires and inspires. Emmy then explains the gods allow her life when she is alone with Jonathan, who is unsure once he is dreaming or has gone insane. The next morning, Jonathan wakes up in a newly created window display advertising tennis equipment and sportswear, unsure once he dreamed all this or not. The window display begins to attract massive attention, bringing shoppers back to Prince & Company. The landmark store has been losing shoppers to a newer, trendier department store called Illustra located across the street. Prince & Company's conniving manager, Daryl Richards, is secretly being paid by Illustra's owner, B.J. Wert, to convince Claire to sell her store to him. However, after the recent floor traffic seen on account of Jonathan's window display, Claire feels that Jonathan could be the key to saving her store. Much to Richards' disgust, the store's board members promote Jonathan to visual merchandising. Over the next several weeks, Jonathan and Emmy continue their secret romance and keep improving the creativity of the store's window displays, which bring a tremendous number of customers and profits for the store. Jonathan soon receives a call from his former girlfriend, Roxie Shield, who works for Illustra. Jonathan meets her for lunch at a French restaurant, where Roxie says that Illustra wants him to be their chief window dresser. Jonathan explains that he cannot do this, considering that he likes working at Prince & Company, as well as working with a very beautiful woman there, enraging Roxie, causing her and another co-worker to sneak into Prince & Company after hours to take pictures of Jonathan and his supposed girlfriend. However, they are shocked when they see what appears to be Jonathan getting intimate with a mannequin. Jonathan's window designs continue to be the talk of the town and business continues to bloom at Prince & Company, leaving B.J. seething and threatening to fire most of his workers once his store's sales do not improve. Claire has been very impressed with Jonathan's work and soon after promotes him to vice president of the department store, after she fires Richards and Felix, for their accusations towards Jonathan. Meanwhile, he chooses to celebrate that evening by taking Emmy for a ride through the city on his motorcycle, despite how unusual this seems to bystanders. However, he is encountered and accosted by Roxie again, claiming he needs to seek help and begs him again to come to work at Illustra. Jonathan denies again, claiming that he has people at Prince & Company who care about him and someone who makes him feel special. Richards and Felix, who are sitting in a car around the corner of the store, plan to go into steal Emmy, but sees her and Jonathan speeding past on the motorcycle. Richards and Felix give chase, with their car getting stuck in a narrow alleyway. Later that evening, Jonathan and Emmy enjoy their time alone in the store, before Emmy leaves his side to take her place in one of the windows. However, Richards and Felix have also come back to the store to steal Emmy, only are unsure which mannequin is her. Being desperate, they simply steal every one from the display room, unaware they are being watched by security cameras. Jonathan wakes up the next morning and is informed of this design by Hollywood while the customers applaud him. Jonathan immediately suspects Illustra's workers are behind this, and he and Hollywood drive over there. Jonathan confronts Richards, Roxie and B.J., demanding to know where Emmy is in the store. Roxie storms out, with Jonathan following her, while being pursued by the store's security guards including Felix, Richards and B.J. Roxie runs into the storeroom and loads the female mannequins into a large trash compactor, then is knocked out by falling debris. As Hollywood holds back the pursuers with a fire hose, Jonathan goes into the room and a janitor watches Jonathan jump onto the compactor's conveyor belt to save Emmy slowly moving to her doom. Jonathan grabs her and Emmy comes to life, grabbing his arm, as he pulls her out and the janitor shuts down the compactor. Once safe, Emmy realizes she is alive again and now free from her ancient curse, she thanks the gods for uniting her with her true love and Jonathan vows to love her forever. While the janitor wonders once other mannequins will come to life, Hollywood arrives and suddenly realizes Emmy was alive the entire time. In the aftermath, the store guards, Felix, Richards and B.J. all barge into the storeroom, along with several police officers, who B.J. orders to arrest Jonathan for trespassing, but Claire arrives to convince the officers that she has video footage of Richards and Felix sneaking into Prince & Company to steal Emmy and the officers arrest Felix, Richards and B.J., who fires Roxie as they are all hauled away. Some time later, Jonathan and Emmy are married in the store window of Prince & Company, with Claire as maid of honor and Hollywood as best man, as well as numerous pedestrians watching them exchange vows.

Andie comes from a poor home, is a bit of an outcast at school and works at a record store. She takes care of her dad, who is still a bit lost after being left by Andie's Mom years ago. Duckie is her best friend who has secretly been in love with her since childhood. Enter Blaine, A popular rich kid who is interested in Andie despite the social pressure from his friends. After a couple days of flirting Blaine eventually asks Andie out, much to Duckie's disappointment. Andie is initially very excited but feels out of place when Blaine takes her to a party and his friends are less then accepting. They leave and go to one of Andie's favorite hangouts, A bar with live music, but the Blaine gets a less the welcome reception from Duckie. Despite the social world differences the two want to make it work and Blaine asks Andie to Prom. Blaine's douche bag friend Steff get's to him though and Blaine backs out of the prom date. Andie eventually decides to go anyways, is meet there by Duckie, and they reconcile their friendship. Blaine realizes he was wrong and apologies to Andie, Duckie relents and tells her to go after him, and Andie and Blaine make up and out in the parking lot and everything is golden in 80's teen romance land.

Four months after their college graduation, Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) and William "Billy" Hicks (Rob Lowe) are in an automobile accident, and their friends, Alec Newberry (Judd Nelson), Kirby "Kirbo" Kegger (Emilio Estevez), Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy), Leslie Hunter (Ally Sheedy), and Jules (Demi Moore), rush to the hospital. The victims suffer only minor injuries after Billy crashed Wendy's new car while drunk. Jules chastises Wendy for paying Billy's medical fees after he destroyed the car her father gave her as a graduation gift. Billy is arrested for the incident. At the hospital, Kirby sees Dale Bieberman (Andie MacDowell), a beautiful doctor he recognizes from college, and his former crush is reignited. Jules posts Billy's bail, and the friends gather at St. Elmo's Bar, where Kirby works. Leslie and Jules question Wendy for accepting Billy's careless behavior. However, Wendy's low self-esteem and romantic interest in Billy prevent her from cutting him out of her life. Meanwhile, Billy telephones his estranged wife, and mother of his child, then flirts with several girls at the bar. Alec is angry when he learns Billy lost the job in a senator's office that he helped get for Billy. The friends quickly resolve their arguments, however, and happily dance and drink together. Sometime later, Alec discusses his political aspirations with his girl friend Leslie, and suggests they get married. Leslie believes they are not yet ready for marriage. The couple get a late-night visit from Jules, who needs a place to sleep for the night. Elsewhere, roommates Kevin and Kirby talk about Kirby's intense infatuation with Dale Bieberman, and Billy arrives to spend the night. Sometime later, Alec helps Billy obtain another job. Kevin visits Jules's new apartment and wonders how she can afford such an expensive place. Jules asks why nothing sexual ever happened between them, and accuses him of being homosexual and in love with Alec. Kevin denies the accusations, and quickly leaves. Kirby invites Dale Bieberman to an expensive restaurant to impress her, however, the busy doctor has to leave when she is called for an emergency. Leslie cooks dinner for Kevin, who tells her he gave up on love after a girl broke his heart. When Alec returns with a gift of lingerie for Leslie, he confides to Kevin that he cheated on Leslie with the sales girl. He vows he would be faithful if Leslie would agree to marry him, but Kevin is doubtful. Later, Jules gets high while snorting cocaine and telephones Alec to rescue her from a group of strange men. He arrives and accuses her of "crying wolf." Billy visits Wendy at the welfare office where she works, and admits that he lost his new job. Wendy brings him home to have dinner with her wealthy family, and borrows money from her father to give to Billy, who shocks her uptight family by climbing onto the roof. Wendy finds his antics charming, and reveals to him that she is still a virgin. Billy makes a clumsy pass at her, and embarrasses her by making fun of her undergarments. Wendy gives him the rent money he needs, then says she no longer wants to see him. On Halloween, the friends gather at St. Elmo's Bar, where Billy plays saxophone with his band. Alec asks Kevin if he can use his apartment to have sex with the lingerie sales girl, and Wendy arrives with a nerdy date named Howie Krantz (Jon Cutler). Jules continues her wild behavior, and jumps onstage. Billy kisses her while Wendy watches. Billy's wife, Felicia (Jenny Wright), arrives with her own date, and the friends worry how he will react. Billy stops the show to yell at Felicia from stage, then jumps down and punches her date. The fight continues outside the bar, and Billy curses at his wife. Moments later, Billy and Felicia kiss passionately. In time, when Wendy and Leslie have an intervention with Jules over her affair with her married boss, she dismisses their concern. Wendy hesitantly asks Leslie about Billy. Kirby's obsession with Dale Bieberman continues. He follows her to a private party, and admits his feelings to her. She attempts to dash his hopes by listing her many flaws, but Kirby mistakenly believes she is not interested in him because he lacks money, and makes it his mission to become wealthy. Meanwhile, Felicia asks Billy for an annulment, but he denies her, and vows to become a better husband and father to their daughter, Melody. Kirby takes a job as attaché to a wealthy businessman, and throws a party at the man's estate to impress Dale. Wendy's father buys her another car as a bribe to marry Howie, but she remains unenthusiastic. The friends arrive at Kirby's party, but Dale Bieberman fails to attend. Wendy introduces Howie to Billy, and Billy tells her that things are going well between him and Felicia. He apologizes to Wendy for hurting her, then crassly asks if she is still a virgin. Billy takes drugs with Jules, and Alec announces a false wedding date to the crowd, in an attempt to get Leslie to commit. They argue in private, and Leslie accuses him of having an affair. Alec blames Kevin for revealing his secret, then lunges at him. Leslie stops the fight saying it was only a hunch, but Alec's response has proven his guilt. Alec shocks Leslie by demanding she move out of their apartment. Jules drives Billy home and he kisses her. Billy becomes aggressive, and Jules fights him off, saying she only needed a friend to talk to. She accuses him of letting everyone down, and Felicia opens the front door to see her drunken husband in the driveway with Jules. Elsewhere, Kirby learns that Dale Bieberman has gone to a cabin for the weekend, and he follows her. He is embarrassed to discover that she is there with her boyfriend. He attempts to leave, but his car gets stuck in the snow. Dale and her date invite him to spend the night in their cabin. Meanwhile, Leslie stays at Kevin's apartment and discovers that he has been secretly in love with her for years. She and Kevin have sex, and in the morning, Alec arrives to apologize to Kevin, unaware that Leslie is there. When Leslie comes out from the bedroom, Alec is stunned. Kirby gets his car unstuck from the snow, and Dale Bieberman kindly says goodbye. Kirby passionately kisses Dale, leaving her speechless, then drives away laughing. Sometime later, Wendy tells her father that she does not care for Howie, and that it is Billy she loves. Leslie returns to her apartment with Alec to pack her belongings, and tells him that she has moved in with Jules. They argue over her involvement with Kevin, and Alec secretly longs to win her back. Leslie witnesses Jules's drug use, and worries about her friend. Kevin asks Leslie to move in and asserts his love for her, but she tells him it was "just sex" to her, and asks him to leave. Sometime later, Leslie visits Alec at his work and asks for help with Jules, who has locked herself in their apartment after all of her belongings were repossessed. Leslie confronted her after discovering that Jules secretly lost her job three weeks before. Kevin and Kirby meet Alec and Leslie at Jules's apartment, and the men climb the fire escape to look inside. They find Jules sitting on the floor with all the windows open, nearly freezing to death. Kirby leaves to get Billy's help to cut the window bars, and Alec takes out his anger on Kevin, dangling him over the fire escape. Leslie begs him to release Kevin. Billy arrives and convinces Jules to open the door. She tells him she has been visiting her comatose, much-hated former stepmother, and talking to her about why her father hates her. Billy tells Jules that her worries are an illusion, like the story of "St. Elmo's Fire,"--flashes of light in the sky that sailors used to guide their voyages. However, the sailors only imagined them to keep motivated on their journeys. Billy comforts Jules, and admits that they all feel lost, and soon they begin laughing. Later, Billy visits Wendy at her new apartment, tells her what happened with Jules, and shares that Felicia is about to remarry. He pays back some of the money he owes Wendy, and they discuss his upcoming move to New York City. Billy asks Wendy if she is still a virgin, and gently asks her for a going away present. Billy makes love to Wendy. Afterward, she walks him to the bus station, where the rest of their friends await to see Billy off. Billy tells Alec not to lose Leslie, then promises to keep in touch with Wendy. Leslie tells Kevin and Alec that she loves them both, but chooses to be on her own for a while, and they all agree to remain friends. The group plans to meet later for breakfast, but decide to find a new place, not St. Elmo's Bar. Jules jokes about her plans to bury her stepmother in a large cat suit to save on funeral costs.

At Vernon Academy, a prestigious boys' preparatory school in Illinois, Jonathan Ogner (Andrew McCarthy) arrives on campus to begin his senior year. Upon entering his dormitory, he is greeted by his new roommate, Squire Franklin Burroughs IV (Rob Lowe), who is nicknamed "Skip." Following a brief chat, Skip coerces Jonathan to dress in women's underwear as part of senior-class ritual, then locks him out of the building, exposing him to ridicule by the other students. Later, Skip apologizes for the prank, explaining it as a school tradition. Jonathan endures the taunts of his classmates until lunch the next day, when he runs from the cafeteria in tears. Skip returns to his room and discovers Jonathan hanging from the ceiling. The horrified student fetches Mr. Kennedy (Remark Ramsay), the headmaster, but when they enter the room, Jonathan's body has been replaced with a mannequin bearing Kennedy's likeness. The prank earns Jonathan the respect of Skip and his classmates. That night, over a bottle of vodka, Jonathan admits that he cheated on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, believing that his "life depends" on being accepted to Harvard University, even though he has always been an exceptional student. He and Skip sneak out of the dormitory to meet Lisa (Virgina Madison) and Susan (Deborah Thalberg), who attend Vernon's sister school, Foxfield Academy. Jonathan ruins the evening by vomiting in the backseat of Skip's car. Sometime later, Skip appoints Jonathan as secretary to the school's dance committee, which travels to Foxfield to meet with Headmistress DeBreul (Fern Persons) and several students, including Lisa and Susan, to plan a Halloween dance. Jonathan's clumsiness in the presence of the women causes a series of mishaps, including the baring of Lisa's breasts and the destruction of a vase given to the school by Eleanor Roosevelt. Jonathan is banned from Foxfield for life, denying him the only source of female companionship within a hundred miles of Vernon. Skip directs Jonathan to the Free and Easy Club in Chicago, Illinois, where he is likely to meet a sex partner. Skip also instructs Jonathan to return to school with a pair of panties as evidence of his conquest. At the club, Jonathan endures two awkward encounters before he meets Ellen (Jacqueline Bissett), an older, uninhibited English woman in her late-thirties. Taking Skip's advice, Jonathan lies about his age, saying he is a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University. Afraid of further embarrassing himself, Jonathan leaves the bar and hails a taxi. Ellen joins him and directs the driver to her hotel, where she and Jonathan make love in an elevator. Two days later, Jonathan returns to Vernon with a pair of Ellen's panties, and word spreads quickly of his sexual prowess. During a subsequent tryst in Chicago, Ellen asks to visit Jonathan at Northwestern the following weekend. When Jonathan claims that he will be attending a conference in New York City, Ellen offers to meet him there, leaving Jonathan no choice but to make travel plans. In a Manhattan clothing store, Ellen inadvertently sees Jonathan's student identification card and (seeing that he is underage and lied to her about himself attending Northwestern) runs from the store. Before Jonathan can stop her, she speeds away in a taxi. Jonathan returns to Vernon in a state of depression, resulting in a decline in his health and his schoolwork. Skip tries to lift his roommate's spirits, but makes no progress until Jonathan is notified that he has been accepted to Harvard. Over the Christmas holidays, Jonathan visits Skip at the Burroughs family's lavish estate. While the boys converse with Mr. Burroughs (Cliff Robertson) in the den, Skip's mother, who happens to be Ellen, appears. Following a brief introduction and an awkward pause, Ellen retires to her bedroom. At dinner, Ellen drinks heavily while Jonathan struggles to hide his discomfort. Afterward, when Mr. Burroughs scolds Ellen for her behavior, she seeks comfort from Jonathan, who declines her advances. Jonathan leaves the next day at Ellen's request. Upon returning to school, the students of Vernon learn that they are under investigation by a man named Balaban (Stuart Margolin), whom they believe to be a drug enforcement agent. After flushing several pounds of marijuana down the school's toilets, it is revealed that Balaban is targeting students who cheated on the SAT. Over the next few weeks, Jonathan receives several desperate phone calls from Ellen, until he finally agrees to meet her in Chicago. Skip asks to join him, but Jonathan insists on going alone, purportedly to mourn his ill-fated romance. In Chicago, Ellen and Jonathan exchange angry words before falling into each other's arms and making love. Meanwhile, Skip arrives in the city with friends from Vernon and Foxfield with the intention of surprising Jonathan, but when they burst into the hotel room, Skip is appalled at the sight of his mother in bed with Jonathan and runs from the room. Back at Vernon, Skip tells Jonathan that he is not upset by the affair, but is unable to hide his anger, and shows little emotion upon learning of his mother's commitment to a mental hospital. Later, in the cafeteria, Kennedy introduces Balaban to the students, and announces that each of them will be interviewed as part of the investigation. Although Jonathan manages to hide his guilt from Balaban, he worries that Skip may betray him as an act of retribution. When Skip is summoned by Balaban, he defies the investigator and utters an obscenity as he leaves the room. The incident makes Skip a hero among the students, and exacerbates Jonathan's guilt. He tries to instigate a conversation with his roommate, but Skip remains silent until Jonathan makes a provocative statement about Ellen, and a brawl ensues. The boys take the fight into the wooded area behind the school, and then into the dormitory. When both are exhausted, Jonathan explains that he was truly in love with Ellen, but promises never to see her again. Skip offers his forgiveness.