The Hottest State (2006)

Ethan Hawke wrote, directed, and costarred in The Hottest State (2006)—and if that isn't enough Ethan for your tastes, rest assured that it's also based on his semi-autobiographical 1996 novel of the same name. The story concerns Texan actor wannabe Mark Webber, who has come to New York to score work in the thespian game. Mark meets wealthy Connecticut cutie Catalina Sandino Moreno, and the two bond over their artsy leanings and all-around good-lookingness. They date, vacation in Mexico, fall in love, and then fall into a troubled state, with Catalina calling it off for reasons more of the psyche than of the heart. Mark has his own share of issues—flashbacks show the sad fate of the young lovers who spawned him and then went their separate ways. The ever-ambitious Ethan plays Mark's distant father; Laura Linney is lovely as always as his no-nonsense ma.