Jason Sudeikis Movies
Hailing from Overland Park, KS, clean-cut comedic actor Jason Sudeikis rose to fame as a member of that Valhalla of comics, Saturday Night Live; he joined the series not as an actor but as a writer, in the 2003-2004 season, then moved into performance and distinguished himself during his premiere season with three portrayals that instantly became audience favorites: burglar Ed Mahoney, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, and that of a Bluetooth-wearing, egomaniacal "A-hole" in a series of sketches that also starred Kristen Wiig. Prior to SNL involvement, Sudeikis entered the comedic realm via participation in Kansas City's ComedySportz ensemble, then relocated to Chicago and enlisted with Second City. He also performed with Boom Chicago in Amsterdam and co-founded Second City Las Vegas. From SNL, Sudeikis made the short leap to prime-time television and feature films. On the small screen, he landed a recurring role as Tina Fey's boyfriend Floyd on the popular NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Sudeikis' feature-film appearances (the majority in the comedy vein) include supporting roles in the outings The Ten (2007), What Happens in Vegas (2008), Semi-Pro (2008), and The Rocker (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
The Office star Rainn Wilson portrays a drummer named "Fish," who gets a second shot at fame 20 years after getting kicked out of his band on the very night they signed the record contract that made them stars. Fish has spent the past two decades languishing at soul-crushing day jobs while his old bandmates became legends, continuing to grace magazine covers and dominate the radio. He might just get another chance at musical success, however, when his teenage cousin invites him to drum for his high school garage band, and they end up catching the ear of record executives. Now, Fish is determined to live the hedonistic rock & roll lifestyle he missed out on 20 years ago, but his new bandmates don't appreciate his hard partying -- and neither do his middle-aged knees. This Fox Atomic comedy co-stars Christina Applegate. Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) and Tom McNulty co-produced the feature, which was penned by Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes, and directed by Peter Cattaneo (Opal Dream). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, (more)
The American Basketball Association is on the verge of collapse, and when a former NBA benchwarmer returns to his hometown of Flint, MI, to whip his former team into shape for the playoffs, redemption is just a free throw away in this period sports comedy starring Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson. Penned by Old School scribe Scot Armstrong, Semi-Pro tells the tale of a 1970s-era basketball player who doesn't have much luck in the NBA, but vows to leave his mark on the sport by coaching the Flint Tropics. When the upstart ABA league agrees to be absorbed by the NBA, only four teams will be allowed in. Jackie Moon (Ferrell) must orchestrate a successful season both on the court, and financially off the court with the help of many odd promotional events, in order to remain in the sport he loves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, (more)
Two strangers (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher) find themselves hitched after a wild night of Las Vegas shenanigans in this 20th Century Fox comedy. Jack Fuller (Kutcher) is a single Manhattanite who can never quite commit to a permanent, long-term relationship and repeatedly hears from his lovers that he "isn't serious boyfriend material." Employed by his father (Treat Williams) at a local furniture business, Jack spends his workdays goofing off by watching sporting events behind dad's back. Joy McNally (Diaz) is faring slightly better; a young, polished urbanite, she juggles a demanding job as a trader on the NYSE with a marital engagement to the impressive Mason (Jason Sudeikis), but has modified her entire life and all of her interests to please her intended.
Coincident with Mr. Fuller's decision to fire his son, Mason severs his engagement to Joy; as a result, both Jack and Joy hit the skids at around the same time and decide to cut their losses by heading out to Vegas. The two accidentally bump into one another when a computer mix-up at the hotel puts them in adjoining rooms; though they begin their acquaintanceship by bickering endlessly, they end up spending a long, drunken night on the town together, and when the sun rises and Joy comes to, she discovers that she unwittingly married Jack in the middle of the night. Alas, just when the two are about to call it quits by filing for divorce after the shortest marriage in history, Jack tosses a coin into a Vegas slot machine and hits a three-million-dollar jackpot -- which naturally pits the newlyweds against one another in an attempt to claim the full share of the money. A conservative local judge, R.D. Whopper (Dennis Miller), then adds the final twist by refusing to grant a divorce until Joy and Jack have given married life a fair shake. In time, the marrieds may just discover that this union isn't as far off the mark as they initially thought. Dennis Farina, Queen Latifah, and Zach Galifianakis round out the supporting cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Coincident with Mr. Fuller's decision to fire his son, Mason severs his engagement to Joy; as a result, both Jack and Joy hit the skids at around the same time and decide to cut their losses by heading out to Vegas. The two accidentally bump into one another when a computer mix-up at the hotel puts them in adjoining rooms; though they begin their acquaintanceship by bickering endlessly, they end up spending a long, drunken night on the town together, and when the sun rises and Joy comes to, she discovers that she unwittingly married Jack in the middle of the night. Alas, just when the two are about to call it quits by filing for divorce after the shortest marriage in history, Jack tosses a coin into a Vegas slot machine and hits a three-million-dollar jackpot -- which naturally pits the newlyweds against one another in an attempt to claim the full share of the money. A conservative local judge, R.D. Whopper (Dennis Miller), then adds the final twist by refusing to grant a divorce until Joy and Jack have given married life a fair shake. In time, the marrieds may just discover that this union isn't as far off the mark as they initially thought. Dennis Farina, Queen Latifah, and Zach Galifianakis round out the supporting cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, (more)
- 2007
- Add Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 to QueueAdd Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 to top of Queue
Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 collects some of the most well-known moments from that season of the sketch comedy program. Highlights include the award-winning music video "D*** in a Box," Amy Poehler and Mya Rudolph as Bronx housewives who host a local TV talk show, and the cross-dressing monologue by Jake Gyllenhaal. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, (more)
A film freak has his life turned upside down when he starts dating a real-life femme fatale in this comedy. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan who runs a video store, "Gumshoe Video," specializing in classic film noir and offbeat cult items. Neil spends nearly every evening on the couch, soaking up classic movies from the blue glow of his television; Neil's lack of a social life has not been good for his relationships with women, and his latest girlfriend walked out on him after he declared he wanted her to be more like Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But then Neil meets Violet (Lucy Liu), a sexy and adventurous woman who is immediately taken with him. However, Neil soon decides Violet may be a bit too adventurous -- while he's content to get his excitement from watching movies, she would rather throw herself into thrilling situations rather than observe them from a distance, and her appetite for danger proves to be far more than he bargained for. Watching the Detectives was the first directorial effort from Paul Soter, who as a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe helped write the films Super Troopers and Beerfest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cillian Murphy, Lucy Liu, (more)
Much of the group responsible for MTV's The State -- including director/actor David Wain and performers Ken Marino, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Joe Lo Truglio -- reunite for this outrageous, irreverent, and raunchy sketch comedy, which skewers the Ten Commandments. In the framing sequences, comedian Paul Rudd (who collaborated with much of the cast on Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter) stands on a black stage with giant Biblical tablets projected behind him and promises to deliver ten mini-stories, each loosely based on one of the commandments, from "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me" through "Thou Shalt Not Covet." For all of the storyteller's efforts, however, he is constantly, comically distracted by interferences, particularly those emanating from intrusions by his multiple girlfriends. The stories are nonetheless told one by one in short-film form, beginning with a sketch in which Stephen (Adam Brody) goes skydiving with his intended, Kelly (Winona Ryder), but forgets to wear his parachute and gets stuck in the mud, waist-deep, which draws gawkers, media, and in time, worshipers. Several of the subsequent stories consist of raunchy, jet-black riffs on sexual perversion, including one about a virginal librarian (Gretchen Mol) entangled in a sultry and messy affair with a Mexican, and another memorable bit about a nutty surgeon who plays a prank by burying a pair of scissors in a patient's stomach and is then sent to prison -- where he experiences brutal sexual abuse at the hands of other men. As an added bonus, the picture packs in a fully animated sequence, narrated by several crack-smokers, entitled "The Lying Rhino." ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, (more)
