Randy Quaid Movies
Whether he is playing a clumsy redneck, spoofing an American president, or portraying a quietly psychotic father, Randy Quaid has a screen and stage presence that is difficult to ignore. Part of this is due to his physical appearance. The curly headed Quaid stands a muscular 6'4" tall, and unlike his handsome younger brother, Dennis, he is an ordinary-looking man with a flexible face that enables him to disappear into a wide variety of characters.An electrician's son, the Houston-born and raised Quaid was majoring in drama at the University of Houston and working as a standup comedian with actor Trey Wilson when he met Peter Bogdanovich. The young director was impressed with Quaid and cast him in a number of his films, beginning with Targets (1968), then The Last Picture Show (1971), Paper Moon (1973), and Texasville (1990). In 1973, Quaid received an Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of a convicted, bewildered sailor escorted to prison by guards Jack Nicholson and Otis Young in The Last Detail. Other notable Quaid performances can be found in Midnight Express (1978), the National Lampoon Vacation films of the '80s and '90s, The Curse of the Starving Class (1994), and Kingpin (1996). In 1999, he stepped in front of the camera for his wife, Evi Quaid, in High Expectations, her directorial debut. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival that year. Moving into the 2000s, the veteran actor continued to appear in a number of high-profile features, including Ang Lee's 2005 Oscar-winner Brokeback Mountain, though his eccentric behavior quickly began to overshadow his impressive film resume. Arrested in 2009 for allegedly defrauding an innkeeper and again the following year on burglary charges, he promptly fled to Canada and sought asylum with wife Evi.
Though successful in feature films, Quaid has had even better luck on television. The burly actor has excelled on the small screen since making his debut in the 1971 movie Getting Away From It All. He has been nominated for an Emmy for playing President Lyndon B. Johnson in the NBC miniseries LBJ: The Early Years (1986), a role that also won him a Golden Globe award. Quaid's television work extends beyond the dramatic: During the 1985-1986 season, he was a regular on NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, and starred in the sitcom Davis Rules from 1991 until 1992. In addition to his film and television career, Quaid has also found success on-stage in both New York and Los Angeles. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
The fun begins when Kenny Witowski, a typical middle school student, begins seeking out e-mail pals on the Internet. Thanks to a glitch in the system, Kenny is connected with a correspondent who signs himself "Average Joe," and who solicits our hero's opinion on practically everything. Little does Kevin realize that "Average Joe" is actually one A. Thorton Osgood II -- President of the United States! Mail to the Chief was first telecast on April 2, 2000, as an entry in the ABC anthology The Wonderful World of Disney. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Holland Taylor, (more)
- 2000
Daniel McCabe and Paul Steckler direct this scrupulously-balanced and exhaustively-researched documentary on reactionary Alabaman firebrand George Wallace. The film opens with the outset of Wallace's public career, when -- surprisingly -- he had a reputation of being progressive in regards to race. After a bruising defeat in a 1958 gubernatorial election in which his fire-breathing racist rival John Patterson painted him as something terrifyingly close to being a liberal, Wallace vowed to be seen as soft on race. In 1962, Wallace was swept into office promising "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever." In spite of this confrontational stance and his outspoken opposition to the NAACP, Wallace was, as McCabe and Steckler argue, genuinely furious over the brutal violence against civil rights activists -- if only because it made Alabama look bad. Of course, it was this very violence that eventually gave him a national platform. By the 1968 presidential election, George Wallace garnered 46 electoral votes as a third party candidate, nearly forcing the race into the House of Representatives. For the 1972 race, he was a serious presidential contender, this time for the Democrats, before he was crippled by an assassin's bullet. After being wounded, Wallace claimed that he had found God, and he abandoned his politics of hate. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid
- 2000
- PG
- Add The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle to Queue Add The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle to top of Queue
The pride of Frostbite Falls and Whatsamatta U's most famous alumni find their way onto the big screen (and the real world) in this comedy inspired by the popular cartoon series. Years after their TV show is cancelled, Rocky the Flying Squirrel (voice of June Foray) and Bullwinkle J. Moose (voice of Keith Scott) are barely getting by on residual checks; they're wondering what to do next when Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), the evil genius of Pottsylvania, transforms himself from a cartoon into a living, breathing, nasty human being, thanks to the assistance of television executive Minnie Mogul (Janeane Garofalo). With the help of his newly flesh-and-blood henchmen Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander) and Natasha Fatale (Rene Russo), Fearless Leader plots to take over the world by using television to zombify people and then persuading the masses to elect him president. Can the daring flying squirrel and the well-meaning but not especially bright moose stop them? Unlike the TV show, which made a virtue of its unsophisticated animation, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle employs a technically sophisticated blend of computer-generated animated characters (Rocky and Bullwinkle) and live actors (Fearless Leader, Boris, and Natasha). Human beings making guest appearances include Randy Quaid, John Goodman, and Jonathan Winters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, (more)
- 1999
- Add The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns to Queue Add The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns to top of Queue
An American businessman rents a cottage in Ireland, only to find the cottage is also inhabited by leprechauns as well. Soon, the American finds himself embroiled in a fierce dispute between the leprechauns and their enemies, the fairies, that only he can help settle. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
Randy Quaid, Tim Redwine and Henry Winkler star in this sci-fi adventure for the family about a group of outcast teenagers who run afoul of an evil scientific genius. However, they are able to get ahold of his latest invention -- a special suit that gives superpowers to whomever wears it. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Tim Redwine, (more)
In this fantasy set in the Old West, Blackjack Britton (Eric Roberts) is an outlaw on the run from police after a bank robbery. Britton and his gang wind up in a small town called Refuge, where things are rather unusual -- outlaws are warmly welcomed and offered free food and lodging but warned not to swear, and none of the residents carry guns, including Sheriff Forrest (Sam Shepard). Britton and his gang notice that Sheriff Forrest bears a striking resemblance to the famous gunfighter Wild Bill Hickock, who died some years ago. Elsewhere in Refuge, Britton's gang meets dead ringers for such late, great outlaws as Doc Holliday (Randy Quaid), Billy the Kid (Donnie Wahlberg), and Jesse James (J.D. Souther). Britton learns that Refuge is actually Purgatory, where the gunfighters are stranded between Heaven and Hell, hoping to hoping to find a redemptive grace that will bring them salvation as they struggle not to backslide into final damnation. Soon Britton's gang becomes restless, and the men of Refuge may have to return to their guns if they are to protect the town. Produced for the TNT cable network, Purgatory also features Peter Stormare, Brad Rowe, and Richard Edson. The film is also available on home video in a Spanish subtitled edition. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1998
- R
Not at all sorry for committing a heinous crime, a convicted killer awaits his execution. By some miracle he survives the execution and demonstrates some profound changes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Embeth Davidtz, (more)
A police detective gets in over his head after he falls in love with the moll of a recently murdered gangster. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
When a typical teenager discovers her family is moving from a large city to a small town in the country, there are plenty of changes she's planning on ... but battling swarms of murderous insects isn't one of them. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
A natural disaster breeds man-made treachery in this suspense thriller. Severe flooding threatens an Indiana town after a massive rainstorm taxes dams to the breaking point. As part of an emergency evacuation effort, armored car driver Tom (Christian Slater) and his uncle Charlie (Edward Asner) are recruited to collect cash from the town's banks and drive it to safety. However, a gang of thieves led by Jim (Morgan Freeman) plan to lay siege to the truck and steal the $3 million on board. After Jim attempts to ambush the truck, Tom hides the cash and reports the attempted theft to the local sheriff (Randy Quaid). However, the sheriff's lack of honesty soon becomes apparent; he puts Tom in a lockup and sets out to take the money for himself. As the flood waters rise, Tom has to escape from jail if he is to save both the townspeople's savings and his own life. Meanwhile, Jim and the sheriff are locked in a race to see who can find the $3 million first. Minnie Driver, Richard A. Dysart, and Betty White highlight Hard Rain's supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, (more)
Bill (Randy Quaid), a wealthy Texan, is fooling around on his wife (Sally Kellerman) with two different women (Jennifer Tilly and Daryl Hannah). But Bill begins realize that he's gotten himself into hot water when all three women in his life begin receiving parts of the same gun in the mail. Gun: All the President's Women also features Sean Young. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daryl Hannah, Sally Kellerman, (more)
This is the fourth in a series of movies that began with National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983 and feature the family headed by Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) going on wacky vacations. This time, the Griswolds visit Las Vegas. Clark immediately goes to the blackjack table and starts blowing all his money, continually encouraged to spend more and more by a taunting dealer, Marty (Wallace Shawn). Ellen Griswold (Beverly D'Angelo) becomes smitten with the lounge singer Wayne Newton (playing himself), who invites her to sing onstage with him. Their son Rusty (Ethan Embry) is incredibly lucky playing dice, and he is virtually adopted by a family of gangsters who see him as their meal ticket. Daughter Audrey (Marisol Nichols) gets hooked up with her wild cousin Vickie (Shae D'Lyn), who takes her to sleazy dance clubs. White-trash cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), who lives on a former A-bomb test site in the nearby desert, also gets involved with the capers. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1996
- PG13
In this rip-roaring actioner, a moonshiner comes to a crossroads in his life when he must decide whether he should spend the rest of his days running illegal corn squeezin's and eluding the vengeful and corrupt sheriff, or follow the advice of his lover (the same sheriff's estranged wife) and head down the straight and narrow. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Randy Quaid, (more)
The tragic story of the Ruby Ridge "massacre" has been so thoroughly covered and disseminated by the mainstream press that to add anything here would be pointless. Suffice to say that the two-part TV movie The Siege at Ruby Ridge uses the facts at hand to show how the tragedy occurred, and how but for a multitude of blunders and miscommunications on both sides, it could all have been avoided. Randy Quaid stars as white separatist Randy Weaver, who for ten terrible days in 1992 barricaded himself, his family, and a number of zealous followers in a tiny refuge on a remote Idaho mountaintop, while 200 government agents surrounded Weaver's headquarters with orders to arrest Weaver's group alive -- if possible. The catalyst for the crisis is of course Randy Weaver himself, though his wife Vicki (Laura Dern) is shown to be just as rigid, stubborn, and foolhardy as her husband -- maybe even more so. Ultimately, blood is shed and lives are lost, the result of such gross ineptitude that the ramifications of the tragedy would reverberate for decades to come. Featured in the cast is Laura Dern's real-life mother, Diane Ladd, and, in the small role of the Weaver's daughter, a very young Kirsten Dunst. The Siege at Ruby Ridge first aired over CBS on May 19 and 21, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Laura Dern, (more)
- 1996
- R
A woman accused of brutally murdering her husband denies the allegations, but only her attorney believes her. Teri Hansen's ordeal with the law begin when police discover her hiding in a desert gully near the car where her husband's charred, bullet-ridden corpse smolders accusingly. Frightened to the point of incoherency, the police do not find out what happened right away. The bullets point to murder, and since her fingerprints are on the gun... Teri swears she didn't kill him, and attorney Ross Bishop takes the case. The tragic details of her story unfold by flashback and begin with her unhappy marriage to Allen, a paranoid and jealous man. Allen proves a lousy lover and Teri seeks solace in the arms of others, something that only makes matters worse. A pregnancy and her decision to abort the baby escalate matters into the violence that led her to jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mary McDonnell, Randy Quaid, (more)
A group of intrepid humans attempts to save the Earth from vicious extraterrestrials in this extremely popular science-fiction adventure. Borrowing liberally from War of the Worlds, Aliens, and every sci-fi invasion film inbetween, director Roland Emmerich and producer and co-writer Dean Devlin present a visually slick, fast-paced adventure filled with expensive special effects and large-scale action sequences. The story begins with the approach of a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms, looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save the human race. As this is a Hollywood film, this effort is led by a group of scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman). While some critics objected to the film's lack of originality and lapses in logic, the combination of grand visual spectacle and crowd-pleasing storytelling proved irresistible to audiences, resulting in an international smash hit. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Bill Pullman, (more)
In the '70s, Roy Munsen (Woody Harrelson) was a bowling phenomenon. He was none too sharp about picking friends, though, and the champion he had to beat, "Big Ern," takes him under his supposedly friendly wing. Big Ern (Bill Murray) shows him the high-living lifestyle, and induces him to go on the road with him, hustling small-town bowlers. A couple of the men he bilks take exception to the scam, and show their displeasure with Roy by mangling his hand. Twenty years later, Roy (who now has a hook in place of his hand), earns his living as a salesman. On a visit to a bowling alley, he cannot help but notice the incredible talents of an Amish boy, Ishmael (Randy Quaid). Bowling is not part of the Amish lifestyle, but Ishmael occasionally sneaks into the bowling alley and plays a frame or two. Roy takes Ishmael under his wing, and together they begin a quest for bowling success. This comedy is directed by Peter and Robert Farrelly, who also directed Dumb and Dumber. Like those comedies, it contains a lot of gross-out jokes and bathroom humor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, (more)
The relationship between an unproven lawyer and the female convict he attempts to save from execution is detailed in this death-row drama. Sharon Stone plays against type as Cindy Liggett, convicted of murder at the age of 19, who has spent over a decade in prison awaiting execution. Having resigned herself to her eventual death, she cares little when her case falls into the hands of newly appointed clemency board attorney Rick Hayes (Rob Morrow). Hayes devotes himself to her case, however, and uncovers several inconsistencies regarding her earlier trial. Seeing a chance to save Liggett's life, Hayes fights for a stay of execution but finds himself facing opposition from powerful political figures and even Liggett herself. Largely ignored at the box office, the film suffered in comparison to Dead Man Walking (1995), the Academy Award-winning drama whose treatment of the death penalty theme may still have been fresh in the minds of audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, (more)
This miniseries follows the original Lonesome Dove miniseries, and both are based on the characters created by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry. Although much of the cast has changed from the original, the compelling saga is as satisfying as ever. The Western tale continues with the gritty Captain Woodrow Call (played this time by James Garner), a former Texas Ranger who is hired as a bounty hunter to track down the elusive and brutal Mexican gunman Joey Garza (Alexis Cruz). The characters Pea Eye Parker (Sam Shepard) and Lorena (Sissy Spacek) also return in this moving and atmospheric drama. ~ Jessica Frost, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Garner, Alexis Cruz, (more)
- 1995
A grizzled frontiersman, a snooty Frenchman, and a plucky young lass search for Esperanza, the famed lake of gold up in a remote corner of the Yukon. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Georges Corraface, (more)
- 1995
This made-for-TV drama, based on a series of popular novels by Ed McBain, stars Randy Quaid as Steve Carella, a police detective investigating a series of grisly murders. A serial killer is targeting women who compete in track and field events, and Carella and his team have to find the perpetrator before he can strike again. Supporting cast includes Ving Rhames, Alex McArthur and Eddie Jones; directed by Bruce Paltrow, whose daughter Gwyneth has done all right for herself in the film industry. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Three divorced fathers, played by Paul Reiser, Matthew Modine, and Randy Quaid, experience the joys and hardships of their former marriages, their relationships with their kids, and getting back into the dating scene in this whimsical comedy. Dave (Modine) is diligently playing the field, while Vic (Quaid) is enraged over his ex-wife's spending problem and Donny (Reiser) is struggling with the love he still feels for his ex and his own feelings of rejection. However, what develops over the weekend changes each man's life forever. Vic goes on a nightmare date with a neurotic woman (Janeane Garofalo), Dave loses control of his female interests when they all show up at the house simultaneously, and Donny finds himself literally out on a limb in order to communicate with his teenage daughter. Though it deals with serious subject matter, Bye Bye Love is a lighthearted look at modern American divorce and the often humorous ways in which people adjust to a new life. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid, (more)
- 1995
When a serial killer starts to prey on female coed runners, the 87th precinct detectives put their own problems on hold on order to catch the maniac. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Alex McArthur, (more)
- 1994
This black comedy about "keeping up with the Joneses" pits a sophisticated college professor and his schoolteacher wife against their next-door neighbors, a loutish beer-drinking butcher, his wife and their son. As each family's pranks against the other escalate, they also start to get crueler and more destructive. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
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