Diana Scarwid

Paul Morse (Jason Lee) (Brother Pete Morse (Thomas Lennon), friend Jim (Shawn Hatosy), father Buck Morse (David Koechner) and Mother Dorothy Morse (Julie Hagerty)) and Karen Cooper (Selma Blair) (Mom Sandra Cooper (Diana Scarwid) and dad Ken Cooper (James Brolin)) are about to get married in Seattle. During his bachelor party, Paul has a chat with one of the dancers at the party, Becky Jackson (Julia Stiles), and they find that they have an affinity for each other. Paul wakes up the next morning and is terrified to see Becky in the bed next to him. Assuming they slept together, Paul rushes Becky out of his apartment and hopes never to see her again. He tries to cover up the connection for the few days before the wedding. Karen is due to arrive at the apartment and to save himself, Paul hides Becky's underwear in the toilet tank. Unfortunately, Becky unexpectedly shows up around town (she is the toll booth collector) and turns out to be Karen's cousin. Ken is upset that Paul didn't invite him to his bachelor's party. Paul works as a marketing exec in Ken's company. Paul realizes that he has crabs and has horrendous itching in his crotch. He visits the pharmacy to get some medicines. He runs into Sandra at the pharmacy. To save his ass, the pharmacist Jeff (Fred Ewanuick) lies that he is a chef and cooked crabs for Paul. Sandra books Jeff to cook the rehearsal dinner for 20 people. At a general family dinner, Paul sees Becky and realizes she is a cousin of Karen. He tries very hard to hide in the bathroom and escape via the trees but trips the car alarm and can't escape. He pretends to have diarrhea to avoid coming out of the bathroom, but Becky circles back to pick her purse (by then Paul was out of bathroom) and both are introduced to each other. The next day Paul tracks Becky down at a music store where Becky tells him that they didn't have sex (he passed out with his pants around his ankles). Becky also says that Paul didn't get the crabs from her, and maybe from the use of a public toilet seat. Even worse, Becky's malicious ex-boyfriend cop Ray Donovan (Lochlyn Munro) had Becky followed and photographed. Ray confronts Paul and asks him to stay away from Becky and reveals that existence of those pics. Karen finds the underwear in the toilet tank and confronts Paul about it. Paul says that it was a gift for her. Karen points out that the underwear is dirty, and Paul complains that the store sold him dirty underwear. Karen confronts the store, who figure out the issue and lie to Karen that some kids played a prank and put dirty underwear in their underwear bins. Minister Ferris (Larry Miller) is Paul's, neighbor and dislikes him as he saw Becky rushing out of his apartment that morning. He also accuses Paul of corrupting his son with pornographic photos, which Paul hides in his crotch as Karen was in his apartment. Paul tries to burn the photos and throws them out of the bathroom window, only for Minister's son to again pick them up and the minister again confronting Paul with a bunch of half burnt photos. Intermittently it is implied that Pete loves Karen and is in awe of her. Pete is divorced and is jealous that Paul is marrying Karen. Becky and Paul meet again to steal those pictures from Ray's apartment. They are confronted by Ray's dog, and they have to hide in his shower. They manage to trap the dog, find the photos and escape via the fire escape stairs. Paul realizes that he is more adventurous and wilder when he is with Becky, who brings out the best in him. Ray arrests Paul after he drops Becky. But at the station, Paul is taken in by internal affairs people, who want Paul to wear a wire to implicate Ray, whom they have been tracking. Paul goes to his rehearsal dinner and tells Becky that the police have put a wire on him to collect evidence against Ray. Meanwhile Jeff, the pharmacist, whom Sandra hired to be the caterer mixes pot in every dish and the entire party gets high. Pete gives an emotional toast where he betrays his feelings for Karen. Karen and Pete remember how they first met each other at a bar. Pete laments that at the time he was married, and Karen got hitched to Paul. Paul returns to his apartment and finds Ray waiting for him. Ray admits that he planted evidence and the internal affairs team moves in on them. The wedding day arrives, and Paul hyperventilates in the toilet with Pete and recounts all the events of the last 7 days. When Pete leaves, Ken emerges from the bathroom. Ken says, "its a guy thing", it happens and tells Paul to move on. Turns out Minister Ferris is going to marry them as their regular priest got sick at the rehearsal dinner. Ferris is totally against Paul marrying Karen. He asks the gathering is anyone believes Paul and Karen shouldn't get married. Paul himself steps up and recounts the events of the last 7 days. He says he doesn't want to marry Karen. Pete steps up and proposes to Karen. Karen accepts. Paul pursues Becky and they hook up.

Anthony Perkins directs and stars as Norman Bates who is released from prison & returns home to the Bates Motel where he must face the murderously possessive skeleton in his closet.

A woman narrowly escapes assault but loses her purse. Fearing retaliation, she seeks help. When her attacker returns, she manages to trap him. Now she faces a moral quandary: free him, report him, or take matters into her own hands. An intended rape victim manages to escape from her attacker but leaves her purse behind. Worried that he may visit her house and finish what he has started, she contacts the police but they are unable to help, saying that she has no proof. Her worst fears are realised when, alone one day in the house, her attacker visits and attempts again to rape her. Circumstances allow her not only to resist the attack but to turn the tables and lock him away. And that is where her dilemma really starts. Does she release him and risk another attack? Does she go to the police and risk being called a liar? Or does she kill him - and become as low as him? —Rhino <rhino@blueyonder.co.uk> Marjorie, a museum employee, loses her purse after a late-night sexual assault in an empty parking lot. Saved by the skin of her teeth, the woman reports the incident to the police, only to realise nothing can protect her against the unknown assailant. As a result, Marjorie faces the ruthless rapist in her home. But nothing is over until it's over. As Marjorie turns the tables on the brutal invader, the shocked pursuer is with his back to the wall. And tied up in the fireplace, he is at the lady's mercy. After all, Marjorie has the upper hand. Above all, she knows how to get her revenge. —Nick Riganas

Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the film begins in a diner called Benny's Billiards, where local tough guy Rusty James is told by Midget that rival group leader Biff Wilcox wants to meet him that night in an abandoned garage lot for a fight. Accepting the challenge, Rusty James then talks with his friends: the wily Smokey, loyal B.J., and tall, nerdy Steve; who all have a different take on the forthcoming fight. Steve mentions that Rusty James' older brother, "The Motorcycle Boy," would not be pleased with the fight as he had previously created a truce forbidding gang fights, or "rumbles." Rusty James dismisses him, saying that the Motorcycle Boy (whose real name is never revealed) has been gone for two months, leaving without explanation or promise of return. Rusty James visits his girlfriend, Patty, then meets his cadre and walks to the abandoned garage lot, where Biff and his buddies suddenly appear. The two battle, with the fight ending when Rusty James disarms Biff and beats him almost unconscious. The Motorcycle Boy arrives dramatically on his motorcycle and his appearance distracts Rusty James who is slashed by Biff in the side with a shard of glass. Incensed, the Motorcycle Boy sends his motorcycle flying into Biff. The Motorcycle Boy and Steve take Rusty James home (past Officer Patterson, a street cop who's long had it in for the Motorcycle Boy) and nurse him to health through the night. Steve and the injured Rusty James talk about how the Motorcycle Boy is 21 years old, colorblind, partially deaf, and noticeably aloof; the last trait causing many to believe he is insane. The Motorcycle Boy and Rusty James share the next evening with their alcoholic, welfare-dependent father, who says that the Motorcycle Boy takes after his mother whereas, it is implied, Rusty James takes after him. Things start to go wrong for Rusty James and he's eventually kicked out of school after his frequent fights. Despite Rusty James's desire to resume gang activity, the Motorcycle Boy implies that he has no interest in doing so. Shortly after, Rusty James goes to a party at a lakeside cabin hosted by Smokey, where he has sex with another girl, causing Patty to break up with him. At Benny's some time later, Rusty James sees that Patty and Smokey have begun dating, and Smokey confesses that he set up the entire party so that Rusty James would cheat on Patty, driving her to leave him for Smokey. The two brothers and Steve head across the river one night to a strip of bars, where Rusty James enjoys briefly forgetting his troubles. The Motorcycle Boy mentions that he located their long-lost mother during his recent trip while she was with a movie producer, which took him to California although he did not reach the ocean. Later, Steve and Rusty James wander drunkenly home, and are attacked by thugs, but both are saved by the Motorcycle Boy. As he nurses Rusty James again, the Motorcycle Boy tells him that the gang life and the rumbles he yearns for and idolizes are not what he believes them to be. Steve calls the Motorcycle Boy crazy, a claim which the Motorcycle Boy does not deny, further prompting Rusty James to believe his brother is insane, just like his runaway mother supposedly was. Rusty James meets up with the Motorcycle Boy the next day in a pet store, where the latter is strangely fascinated with the Siamese fighting fish, which he refers to as "rumble fish." Officer Patterson suspects they will try to rob the store. The brothers leave and meet their father, who explains to Rusty James that, contrary to popular belief, neither his mother nor brother are crazy, but rather they were both born with an acute perception. The brothers go for a motorcycle ride through the city and arrive at the Pet Store where the Motorcycle Boy breaks in and starts to set the animals loose. Rusty James makes a last-gasp effort to convince his brother to reunite with him, but the Motorcycle Boy refuses, explaining that the differences between them are too great for them to ever have the life Rusty James speaks of. The Motorcycle Boy takes the fish and rushes to free them in the river, but is fatally shot by Officer Patterson before he can. Rusty James, after hearing the gunshot, finishes his brother's last attempt while a large crowd of people converges on his body. Rusty James finally reaches the Pacific Ocean (something the Motorcycle Boy failed to do) and enjoys the shining sun and flocks of birds flying around the beach. He also tries to forget what happened to his brother.

At the beginning of the film, we see Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) as she rises very early in the morning to prepare for a work day at the MGM Studios. She engages in a slightly neurotic morning ritual where she scrubs her face vigorously with soap and hot water, then plunges it immediately into ice with alcohol in it to close the pores. We learn early on that Joan is obsessed with cleanliness and wants those around her to follow her instructions to the letter; when a new maid thinks she has Joan's living room in spotless condition, Joan finds one minute detail that the maid overlooked and momentarily loses her temper over it. She very clearly intimidates the maid, as well her new live-in personal assistant, Carol-Ann (Rutanya Alda). Joan is in a steady romantic relationship with Hollywood lawyer Gregg Savitt (Steve Forrest), but her career is in a bit of a downswing. She reveals to Gregg that what she really wants is a baby, but that she can't get pregnant; no less than seven pregnancies when she was married to actor Franchot Tone all ended in a miscarriage. When she is denied an application for adoption through a legal agency, she enlists Gregg's help to secure a baby through means which are not made clear. Finally Joan gets what she wants; a blonde haired, blue eyed little girl whom she names Christina Crawford. The film moves abruptly to when Christina is approximately eight or nine years old (a plot hole, since Joan Crawford won the Oscar for Mildred Pierce when Christina was six). Joan has adopted another child, a boy she calls Christopher, but the focus of the film remains on Christina (Mara Hobel). Joan lavishes her with attention and luxuries such as an extravagant birthday party, yet enforces a strict code of denial and discipline as well. Joan makes the decision to donate all but one of Christina's birthday presents to an orphanage, making Christina take responsibility for the gesture, which has been documented in the press (presumably garnering publicity for Crawford). As Christina begins to rebel against her mother's stringent demands and standards, a series of confrontations emerges that forms the movie's core. Joan easily overtakes Christina in a swimming pool race, then becomes enraged at the young girl when she reacts with childish disappointment. When Joan discovers Christina putting on makeup at her dressing table and imitating her, Joan takes offense and cruelly cuts off Christina's hair with a pair of scissors. Joan's relationship with Greg abruptly ends after a night at her favorite restaurant because she believes Greg did not display the proper protocol of chivalry to escort her in and they were insisted by her shady studio boss, Louis B. Mayer (Howard DaSilva) and other executives to join them for dinner. Joan gets drunk and Greg leaves. Quickly these tantrums grow even more bizarre and violent, as when Joan is asked to leave MGM by studio boss Louis B. Mayer (Howard Da Silva). Presumably later that evening, she flies into a bitter rage and hacks down her prize rose garden with a pair of large gardening shears and an axe, dragging Carol-Ann, Christina, and Christopher into the madness. In the film's most notorious scene, Joan stalks into Christina's bedroom in the middle of the night, her face covered with white beauty cream, and discovers one of the child's fancy dresses hanging on a wire hanger. Joan instantly becomes furious and launches into a frightening tirade, screaming at the girl that she had forbidden wire hangers, viciously tearing apart her closet, and then beating the girl with the hanger. The fight continues when Crawford stumbles into Christina's bathroom and feels that she has not obeyed her orders to scrub the floor that day. Furious that the child doesn't understand her notion of cleanliness, Joan destroys the bathroom as well, beating Christina with two cans of scouring powder and hurling the cleanser over everything. Finally she leaves the girl with an angry order to clean up the mess all by herself. Eventually Crawford sends Christina away to attend a boarding school, and the story advances to when Christina seems to be about 16. She has taken up theater acting classes and appears to have genuine talent. Her mother claims to be losing her financial stability and works out an arrangement that allows Christina (now portrayed by Diana Scarwid) to perform chores around the school for her board and tuition. Meanwhile, Christina begins to realize that her mother's erratic behavior is fueled in part by her alcoholism. Christina's grades are excellent and she seems to be proud of her schoolwork, but things change drastically when she is caught in a compromising position with a boy. Although the encounter was innocent and the boy will be disciplined according to the rules of the institution, Joan arrives at the school furious and removes Christina permanently after screaming in rage at the school's headmistress, Mrs. Chadwick (Priscilla Pointer), claiming the school is a den of iniquity and that the boy be expelled. Joan even refuses to accept Mrs. Chadwick's explanation that it was an innocent encounter between two curious teens. Joan brings Christina home with her, where Barbara Bennett (Jocelyn Brando), a reporter from Redbook magazine, is in the house writing a puff piece on Crawford's supposedly idyllic balance of career and home life. Joan tells Bennett that Christina was expelled from Chadwick, a claim Christina angrily denies in front of Bennett. An argument erupts and Christina accuses her mother of adopting her children simply to give herself free publicity. Joan accuses her daughter of being disrespectful and wonders aloud why she will not treat her like anyone on the street would. Christina counters, saying she isn't one of her mother's fans. Joan slaps Christina several times across the face and then becomes completely unhinged, dragging Christina to the carpet and attempting to choke her to death. Carol-Ann and Barbara witness the attack and intervene, but there are apparently no repercussions for Crawford, who sends Christina to a strict convent school. The film's final act takes place after Christina matures and sets out on her own. Joan marries Alfred Steele (Harry Goz), CEO of Pepsi Cola, and urges him to take on a great deal of debt to fund their lavish home and lifestyle, including an expensively-renovated apartment in New York City. After his death, she remains on the company's board of directors, but not without a bitter confrontation with the all-male board, who slyly try to force her out. Christina and her mother enter into a somewhat amicable phase in their relationship, despite the fact that Joan seems to sabotage Christina's attempt to establish herself as an actress. In a disastrous move, when Christina is unable to attend the taping of a soap opera because of appendicitis, Joan takes her place, attempting to step into a role calling for a much younger actress. It comes as a complete shock to Christina and Christopher that, upon Joan's death at the end of the film, they are both disinherited in her will "for reasons that are well known to them". Her final exchange with her brother hints that Christina has decided to write a book about her experiences growing up with "Mommie Dearest" and thus avenge Christopher and herself, saying that their mother doesn't have "the final word."

This film is partly based on an interview with an actual child prostitute that worked in New Orleans during the early 20th century as found in the book "Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic, Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District" by Al Rose. The movie opens with eleven-year-old Violet (played by a 12-year-old Brooke Shields) watching the birth of her baby brother. This echoes her own beginnings as the daughter of prostitute Hattie (Susan Sarandon) and an unknown client. Violet is one of several children living at Madam Nell's (Frances Faye) swanky New Orleans brothel in the year 1917. Early one morning photographer Bellocq (Keith Carradine) comes calling looking for a model. Hattie poses for him while Violet watches. At first Bellocq finds Violets inquisitive nature a bother, but after a while he starts to like her. Violet seems fascinated by Bellocq as he never seems to want to have sex with the girls, but just photograph them. Even given her tender years Violet has been become part of the brothel business. She is playing in one of the upstairs bedrooms when her mother brings a client in telling him that Violet is a virgin and only for "French." Hattie indicates Violet is to follow them back to her room where Hattie climbs on the bed and starts to undress and the client drops his pants and sits down. It is clear that Violet is expected to stimulate him orally. With the resigned sigh of someone who has already done this too many times Violet enters the room, closes the door and the scene ends. When Violet turns 12 arrangements are made to auction off her virginity. Nell gives a dinner party for her best clients during which Violet, dressed only in a sheer, see-though gown is paraded around the table on a platter as the madam announces the auction. A few minutes later, redressed in a white party dress, Violet stands in the parlor while the men of the house bid on her. The winner (Don Lutenbacher), then carries Violet up to a bedroom. A short scream announces the loss of her virginity and we see her client hurriedly depart from the house. When the other girls check on Violet they find her motionless lying across the bed and fear the worst. She breaks out laughing and we realize she is only joking with them, though she winces when she sits up, telling us that her initiation into womanhood has not been completely painless. Violet now becomes a regular part of the brothel lineup, though not always at her convenience. She is interrupted mid-bath by Madam Nell who wants to show her to a rough-looking farmer customer (Hobe May). (This scene involved nudity for Shields and is one of the more controversial in the film). One day Hattie's client/ boyfriend, Alfred Fuller (Don Hood) announces he is moving Hattie and her baby son to St. Louis where he will marry her. His plans don't include Violet as Hattie in her vanity has told him Violet is her younger sister. Hattie promises Violet at the right time she will break the news to him and send for her. Hattie leaves and Bellocq complains to Nell about Violet being left alone. Nell's response is that Violet is now making plenty of money on her own and the only reason Bellocq is concerned is that he has fallen in love with her, something he vehemently denies. Violet misbehaves and Nell orders the bartender (Henry Braden) to take her to woodshed and discipline her. We hear the beating after which a defiant Violet emerges and declares to Nell, "It didn't hurt!" When she turns away though we see the whipping was violent enough to shred her nightgown and we can see her bare bottom. This incident causes Violet to leave the brothel and move in with Bellocq. He is opposed to the idea at first but Violet uses her feminine charms to convince him to let her stay. However, she soon becomes bored of just being his photography model and he is not yet prepared to deal with her childishness. After one long nude photography session (This scene involved frontal nudity for Shields and is also highly controversial) they fight and in revenge Violet scratches some of the Belloca's valuable negatives and he throws her out of the house. Violet returns to the brothel, but it is clear that things are not going well there. The Navy has pressured the city into closing the district. At Nell's house items are being sold off one-by-one and the girls are making arrangements to find other places to live. Violet packs her things too, but before she can get far Bellocq arrives, tells Violet he is going to marry her and she agrees. Though a girl as young as Violet usually needs her parents permission to marry it is allowed because she has been abandoned. Violet, the girls and Bellocq celebrate with a picnic along the river. One morning at Bellocq's house after about two weeks of marriage it is clear that Violet has not quite adapted perfectly to the role of a wife as all she seems to do is have sex and sleep, but it is clear that Bellocq still loves her. Violet and Bellocq's breakfast is interrupted when Hattie and her new husband arrive. They demand that Violet come with them and join them in St. Louis as part of a "proper" family. Violet is torn between Bellocq and her mother, but as her mother has the firmer legal claim, Violet has little choice but to go with her. At the train station Violet's new step-father attempts to take a family portrait of his wife and her son and daughter with his Brownie camera, but it is clear from Violet's expression that Violet wonders if she can ever go back to being just a child after having lived as an adult.