This made-for-cable prequel to the popular 1997 comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion was written by the same person who penned the original film, and stars Katherine Heigl and Alex Breckenridge respectively as Romy White and Michele Weinberger, the roles originated by Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino. Set in the decade before High School Reunion, Romy and Michele: In the Beginning finds our fresh-out-of-high-school heroines scrimping and saving to escape their hometown of Tucson, Arizona and land with both feet in Hollywood. It takes several years, but Romy and Michele finally arrive in La-La-Land, where in emulation of their favorite movie Pretty Woman they naively try to secure work as hookers! Fortunately they are rescued before "the worst" can happen by their new friend Donna (Alexandra Billings), who despite "her" name and appearance is actually a man in the process of becoming a woman. About to go on vacation, Donna allows the girls to live in his posh apartment, where they begin formulating their next scheme to get ahead in Tinseltown: namely, to gain access to the Ozone, the coolest nightclub in town. Along the way, the ladies meets their stud-muffin next door neighbor Taylor Bradley (Scott Vickaryous)--who, because of their association with Donna, assumes that Romy and Michele are female impersonators--and must contend with the velvety viciousness of nasty socialite Linda Fashiobella (Kelly Brook). Oh, and Paula Abdul shows up too. Romy and Michele: In the Beginning was first telecast by the ABC Family channel on May 30, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cast
Katherine Heigl - Romy White; William Ragsdale - Kevin; Paula Abdul - Herself; Vendela K. Thommessen - Herself; Scott Vickaryous - Taylor Bradley; Nat Faxon - Chad; Paul Tigue - John; Tim Maculan - Ned; Kelly Brook - Linda Fashiobella; Rhea Seehorn - Ashley Schwartz; Dania Ramirez - Elena; Alex Breckenridge - Michele Weinberger; D.J. Lockhart-Johnson - Rafael; Alexandra Billings - Donna; Leslie Intriago - Katie
Credit
Robin Schiff - Director, John Axness - Editor, Robin Schiff - Executive Producer, Barry Kemp - Executive Producer, Thomas A. Walsh - Production Designer, Russ T. Alsobrook - Cinematographer, Kevin Inch - Producer, Robin Schiff - Screenwriter
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning is a 2005 TVfilm starring Katherine Heigl as Romy and Alex Breckenridge as Michele, with a special appearance by Paula Abdul. This movie is a prequel to the 1997 feature Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and was critically panned and received low viewership. It was written and directed by Robin Schiff. The working title for the movie was Romy and Michele: Behind the Velvet Rope.
In this prequel to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, it shows Romy and Michele as they graduate in 1987, and again three years later as they take on L.A.
For years Romy and Michele have been dreaming to go to L.A. and become rich and famous, but they decided to put their trip on hold while they save their money. Three years have passed by and they've only managed to save $68, only $8 more than they had in high school. Despite their lack of money, they decide to go ahead with their plans to move to L.A. after seeing Pretty Woman.