Jay Thomas Movies
A character actor who specialized in upbeat, energetic everymen (often with a strong romantic angle), Jay Thomas made his most enduring mark on U.S. television sitcoms during the mid- to late '80s and early '90s. A native of Kermit, TX, Thomas kick-started his career as a standup comedian in the American South, with a particularly strong emphasis on French Quarter comedy clubs in New Orleans, LA. He achieved his big television break in the late '70s thanks to Mork & Mindy show creator Garry Marshall, who cast him as deli owner Remo DaVinci on that blockbuster program just as its ratings were beginning to slide; Thomas remained with it for two seasons, from 1979-1981. Following little-seen movie roles in films such as 1984's C.H.U.D. and 1985's The Gig (a particularly colorful part as an obnoxious entertainer), Thomas returned to series television in a big way, first with a recurring role on Cheers, as Eddie LeBec, the ne'er-do-well, washed-up hockey player husband of saucy barmaid Carla (Rhea Perlman) -- a role he held from 1987-1989 (which ended with the character being run over by a Zamboni machine!).Thomas followed up his Cheers part with two additional key sitcom roles: the lead role of New York Post columnist Jack Stein -- the romantic sparring partner of Wally Porter (Susan Dey) -- on Love & War (1992-1995), and (in a less frequently seen but equally memorable performance) Jerry Gold, one of the paramours of Candice Bergen's acerbic title character, on Murphy Brown -- a role that lasted for nine years. (Both programs were produced by Diane English.) When Brown folded in 1998, Thomas moved back into features, essaying supporting roles in such films as Last Chance (1999), Dragonfly (2002), and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2009
A group of college friends are brought together for a reunion by Josh (Dean Cain), a down and out actor whose recent diagnosis of leukemia leads him to try his hand at pacifying old wounds, including those of his ex-girlfriend, Ginni (Teri Polo), even if he has to pose as a wealthy socialite to do it. Katherine Starr writes and directs the Starr Light Production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2006
- G
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Tim Allen returns as a regular guy-turned-Jolly Old Elf in the second sequel to the 1994 hit The Santa Clause. Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), who doubles as Santa Claus, has settled into his home at the North Pole with his new wife, Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell), and is preparing for another Christmas when he receives a visitor -- Jack Frost (Martin Short), the cold-weather sprite who has been sent to help out St. Nick by Mother Nature (Aisha Tyler) and Father Time (Peter Boyle) after making a scene at a meeting of the Council of Legendary Figures. However, while Jack is supposed to acting as an assistant to Santa, he has a habit of making things go haywire, and as it happens this is no mistake -- Jack is hoping that an exasperated Santa will quit his position so Jack can take over and finally have a holiday he can bend to his will. Meanwhile, Scott has invited Carol's parents, Bud (Alan Arkin) and Sylvia (Ann-Margaret), over for a long-promised visit, but since he needs to keep his other identity a secret, he and his elves are forced to go to great lengths to convince them that they're actually in Northern Canada. Wendy Crewson, Judge Reinhold, and Spencer Breslin also reprise their roles from the first two Santa Clause films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, (more)
Disney's animated feature Teacher's Pet is based on the award-winning ABC cartoon show created by artist Gary Baseman. Spot (voice of Nathan Lane) is a dog who wishes he was a real boy, like his master Leonard Helperman (voice of Shaun Flemming). He gets his wish when Leonard and his mom (voice of Debra Jo Rupp) decide to move to Florida. Spot seeks the help of Dr. Krank (voice of Kelsey Grammer), an evil scientist who experiments with turning animals into humans. Things inevitably go wrong with the procedure and Spot is turned into an old man. Leonard and his friends try to help Spot, who now goes by the name of Scott Leadready II. Teacher's Pet also features the voices of Jerry Stiller, David Ogden Stiers, and Wallace Shawn. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, (more)
Just as Jon Voight's on-target portrayal of controversial sportscaster Howard Cosell) in the 2002 biopic Ali was making the theatrical rounds, actor John Turturro offered his own spin on "Humble Howard" in the made-for-cable movie Monday Night Mayhem. Based on the book by Bill Carter and Marc Gunther, the film chronicles the creation of ABC Television's Monday Night Football telecast in 1970, then continues with the weekly telecast's rapid ascent to the top of the ratings. Reasoning that such a momentous undertaking needed a spectacular "star" lineup in the announcing booth, ABC's aggressive sports director Roone Arledge (John Heard) teams the highly opinionated, irritatingly erudite Cosell with not one but two charismatic ex-athletes, "Dandy Don" Meredith (Brad Beyer) and Frank Gifford (Kevin Anderson). The film makes much of Cosell's open disdain towards his "intellectually inferior" co-anchors and of Meredith and Gifford's reaction to their booth-mate's jibes, and also recreates many of Monday Night Football's highlights, notably Cosell's announcement in the middle of an important game that John Lennon has just been murdered. Monday Night Mayhem originally aired on January 14, 2002, not on ABC (surprise, surprise!) but as part of the TNT cable network's prime time lineup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, John Heard, (more)
In this supernatural thriller, Kevin Costner plays Joe Darrow, a physician mourning the death of his wife Emily (Susannah Thompson) in a bus accident in South America, where she was providing medical outreach. Wracked by grief, Joe works extra shifts at the hospital to take his mind off the tragedy, but the intense workload triggers his short temper and some careless mistakes. His officious boss (Joe Morton) forces Joe to take time off, but Joe feels obligated to check in on his wife's pediatric patients, fulfilling a promise he made before she left. Visiting the ward, Joe starts to believe that Emily is using the near-death experiences of her terminal patients to communicate with him, through images the children report seeing in their dreams, and symbols they are inexplicably compelled to draw. While the children see Joe as a kindred spirit, the hospital staff worries about how these interactions are agitating them. At home, Joe begins finding other ethereal evidence of his wife's attempt to contact him from beyond the grave, some of it featuring the image of a dragonfly, which was the shape of the birthmark on her shoulder. His friends and a caring neighbor (Kathy Bates) worry that Joe is losing his marbles, especially as his quest becomes more frantic, putting his job in jeopardy. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Kathy Bates, (more)
Eight years after getting a crash course in the fine art of personifying Christmas, Tim Allen returns as Kris Kringle's replacement in this sequel to the 1994 hit The Santa Clause. While Scott Calvin (Allen) initially had mixed feelings when he became the new Santa Claus, after eight years on the job he's come to enjoy being Father Christmas, and he and the Elves are looking forward to another holiday season when things begin going a bit wrong. Scott finds he's becoming less and less "Santa-like," and his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) has become difficult enough to land on the official "Naughty" list. Scott discovers most of his problems stem from an obscure passage in his contract with the North Pole which decrees that he has to find a Mrs. Claus. Scott has little choice but to start dating, but he soon learns that when you're a big guy from the North Pole who lacks conventional employment, single women do not come running. In order to leave him more time to search for a wife, Scott and the Elves create a duplicate Santa to keep an eye on the shop; however, the "other" Santa turns out to be more Naughty than Nice, and in time Scott has to wrestle control of the North Pole away from his doppelganger. Wendy Crewson, Judge Reinhold, and David Krumholtz also reprise their roles from The Santa Clause. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, (more)
Adapted from the stage comedy by Wendy Wasserstein, the made-for-cable An American Daughter was clearly inspired by the "Nannygate" imbroglio surrounding President Bill Clinton's political appointees Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood. Christine Lahti stars as Lyssa Dent Hughes, the daughter of a prominent U.S. Senator and a descendent of no less than Ulysses S. Grant. Just when it seems as if Hughes' appointment to the office of U.S. Surgeon General is a done deal, her husband Walter (Tom Skerritt) accidentally reveals a skeleton in Lyssa's closet: It seems that, years earlier, she'd had the temerity to ignore a summons for jury duty. This, coupled with several newly exposed inconsistencies concerning Lyssa's "official" biography, seriously jeopardize her political future, leaving her at the mercy of the horrible juggernaut of peer persecution and public opinion. Highlights of this timely tome include a brief spoof of the daytime TV interview series The View. Produced just in time to cash in on the upcoming presidential elections (not to mention the myriad of scandals attending the Clinton administration), An American Daughter (aka Trial by Media) made its Lifetime Network bow on June 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Lahti, Tom Skerritt, (more)
- 2000
A wedding is guaranteed after 50 women compete to become the wife of an unknown wealthy man, who will narrow the field based on answers to his questions and advice from his friends and family. Hosted by Jay Thomas. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Thomas
- 1999
One of several direct-to-video movies to make their American TV bows on the Lifetime cable channel, Total Stranger was filmed under the title Stranger in My House. Having just emerged from a nasty divorce, and with her daughter off at college, lawyer Patti Young (Lindsay Crouse) decides to make financial ends meet by taking in a younger female tenant, a student named Lara (Zoe McLellan). What Patti does not suspect--until it is too late--is that the deceptively sweet-natured Lara is a "serial invader", who has a habit of taking over the houses and lives of the people who trust her. The problem: Patti cannot get anyone to believe that Lara is sinister as Patti (and the viewer) knows she really is! Also starring Jay Thomas and Dan Lauria, this psychological thriller made its cable-TV debut several years after filming wrapped in 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Crouse, Zoe McLellan, (more)
When dreams collide in a small café located in the dry California desert, a woman and a man must decide between giving up on their past or gambling on an uncertain future in this quiet romantic drama from director Bryan Cranston. A woman who has lived in the wilderness feels as if she has been stripped of all her aspirations in life, but when she makes the acquaintance of a man who has lived his entire life as defined by his dreams, she may find the courage and inspiration to start anew and truly live life to its fullest. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1998
All poor Hallie Richmond wants is to be able to go on a normal date like every other teenage girl. Unfortunately, as the daughter of the U.S. president, she can never be treated as normal, and everywhere she goes she is followed by an obtrusive cadre of secret servicemen. Considered a bit of a nerd, Duncan too has trouble finding dates. He and Hallie hit it off but because it is an election year, the security around her is doubled. What choice do the young would-be lovers have but to sneak away so they can be alone? When they do, all heck breaks loose and a merry chase commences. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dabney Coleman, Jay Thomas, (more)
- 1998
- G
A group of young people try to shot down the operations of a handful of gangsters with the help of some friends from the animal kingdom in this family comedy. Monkey Business stars Jay Thomas, Richard Moll, Billy Drago, Kathren Laurents, and a young Shia LaBeouf; writer Ted Fox appears as Zipper Headley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Fox, Billy Drago, (more)
- 1998
Returning from Europe, abrasive talk-show host Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas) wants to reconnect with his ex-lover Murphy (Candice Bergen)--a consummation which, it turns out, is also devoutly wished by Murphy's coworkers. Although willing to spend the night with Jerry, Murphy still can't make a commitment. As it turns out, this suits Jerry fine, inasmuch as he is about to married--and adding insult to injury, he wants Murphy to be his "best man"! This episode was originally scheduled for January 28, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Popular high school student Mark Kinney (Scott Bairstow) wants to get even with tyrannical English teacher John Griffin (Jay Thomas) for humiliating him in class. Together with a group of like-minded friends, Mark hatches a plot to kidnap Mr. Griffin, using his girlfriend Susan (Amy Jo Johnson) as bait. All Mark wants to do is put a scare in Griffin and take a bunch of photographs that will show up the teacher for the fatuous phony that he seems to be. But the student prank goes horribly awry when Griffin turns up dead, the victim of heart failure! Now it falls upon Mark and his co-conspirators to furtively cover their tracks, lest they be accused of felony murder. Based on the bestselling novel by Lois Duncan, the made-for-TV Killing Mr. Griffin debuted April 7, 1997, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bairstow, Amy Jo Johnson, (more)
This romantic comedy from the John Hughes school of domestic farce stars Greg Kinnear and Lauren Holly as Danny Robertson, an elevator installer, and his wife Jennifer, the owner of an aroma therapy products store. They have a great marriage until Jennifer, who desperately wants a child, secretly stops taking her birth control pills. When she fails to become pregnant, she covertly delivers a sample of Danny's sperm to a fertility clinic, which discovers a biological problem. Danny is furious and embarrassed, but he reluctantly joins the effort to conceive. The crusade to have a baby becomes a humiliating spectacle for both Robertsons, and, as their marriage begins to fracture from the stress, Danny contemplates the charms of a sexy architect (Jill Hennessy) while Jennifer eyes a charming business executive (Christopher McDonald). A Smile Like Yours was the directorial debut of Keith Samples, producer of Big Night (1996) and Two Days in the Valley (1996). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Lauren Holly, (more)
- 1996
Middle-age crises abound in this ribald New Jersey-set sex-comedy. Professional dry cleaner Joey Green is not aging gracefully. With little interest in making love to his wife Beth, a rapidly growing bald spot, and a failing business, he is convinced that he has hit "male menopause." To lift his flagging spirits, Joey's therapist steers him towards a prostitute. The encounter is a flop and in fact leads to Joey's discovery of Beth's affair with her chiropractor Lowell. Worsening matters is her obvious pregnancy. Poor Joey (who is white) will have to wait several months to learn whether the baby is his or the African American Lowell's. Out of spite, Beth insists that Lowell move in with them. This creates considerable chaos amongst Joey's family, chaos that only gets worse when Lowell's estranged wife shows up to win him back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Peter Hunt (Scott Bakula) drops by unexpectedly while Murphy is laboring throughout the night to finish her latest story. After a brief but chaste encounter with her former lover, an exhausted Murphy falls fast asleep--and dreams that she is standing trial for her "relationship sins" (specifically, her unwillingness to make a commitment). Even more nightmarish is the presence of several of Murphy's ex-flames, including Peter, Mitchell Baldwin (Julius Carry), Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas) and even her onetime husband Jake Lowenstein (Robin Thomas), as witnesses for the prosecution! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A cuckolded wife finds renewed happiness in the arms of another after leaving her faithless spouse. But when the husband becomes deathly ill, she agrees to take care of him, even though it could mean losing her new lover. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judith Light, Jay Thomas, (more)
A teacher belatedly discovers just how important his job really is in this emotional drama. Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) is a man with a deep love of music and a desire to write at least one piece of lasting significance. However, playing piano in cocktail lounges while he works on his own compositions doesn't pay the bills, so in 1965 he reluctantly accepts a job as a high school music teacher. Over the next 30 years, Holland is able to teach a great deal about both music and life to thousands of kids who pass through the various classes he leads and school bands he directs; however, he finds it easier to reach his students than his son Cole (played, as he grows older, by Nicholas John Renner, Joseph Anderson, and Anthony Natale), who is deaf, which drives a wedge between Glenn and his wife Iris (Glenne Headly). Richard Dreyfuss earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor for Mr. Holland's Opus; the cast also includes Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, and Jay Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, (more)
- 1992
After enduring some pre-term labor pains, Murphy (Candice Bergen) is confined to her home for two weeks. Ex-lover Jerry (Jay Thomas) generously offers to move in and help out, an offer Murphy is hardly in a position to refuse--and besides, she still harbors warm feelings for her benefactor. Alas, things quickly cool off as Murphy and Jerry realize that they simply can't live with each other--not without homicide as an option! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dolly Parton and James Woods as the screen's hottest new romantic team? That's only one of several casting surprises in this romantic comedy. Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) has had enough of life in her small Arkansas town, not to mention her small-minded Arkansas boyfriend Steve (Michael Madsen). So she decides to head for the big city of Chicago, where she applies for a job as a receptionist at a talk radio station. However, she arrives at the studios just as the staff are frantically searching for the psychiatrist hired to host a call-in show for people seeking advice with their personal problems. Shirlee is put on the air by mistake, and, while she lacks a degree in psychology, she has common sense to spare, and her no-nonsense advice makes the show a hit. Soon "Doctor Shirlee" is the talk of the town, but reporter Jack Russell (James Woods) senses that she might not be all she's supposed to be. Jack does some investigating and finds out the truth about Shirlee, but by this time the two have met and he's fallen in love with her. Will Jack obey his responsibilities as a journalist, or follow his heart? Straight Talk's supporting cast includes filmmaker John Sayles, monologist Spalding Gray, actor and producer Griffin Dunne, and future Lois Lane Teri Hatcher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolly Parton, James Woods, (more)
- 1991
In the conclusion of Murphy Brown's two-part Season Four opener, Murphy (Candice Bergen) has decided to exercise her right as a pro-choice advocate and allow her pregnancy to go to term--but she will not marry her ex-husband Jake (Robin Thomas), the baby's father. Nor does it look as though she can wrest a legal commitment from the other man in her life, Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas). As for Murphy's friends and associatiates are concerned, all of them are aghast at the prospect of her motherhood--all, that is, except her perennial housepainter Eldin (Robert Pastorelli). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Season Four of Murphy Brown picks up where Season Three left off, as investigative journalist Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) comes to grips with the likelihood that she is pregnant. The staff of "FYI" reacts with a mixture of horror and dismay when Murphy breaks the news--but that's nothing compared to the reactions of the two main men in our heroine's life: Her ex-husband Jake (Robin Thomas) and her former lover Jerry (Jay Thomas). This first half of a two-part story originally aired as a part of a single 60-minute episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Murphy Brown closes out its third season with one of the series' most celebrated episodes, which begins as Murphy (Candice Bergen) must chooses between two lovers: Ex-husband Jake Lowenstein (Jay Thomas), who propose that they remarry, and former sweetheart Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas), who opts for merely living together. Adding to Murphy's emotional burden is the fact that a recent pregnancy test--one of several--has proven positive! Viewers in 1991 would have to wait until the Season Four opener of Murphy Brown to see how this situation would work itself out: Contemporary fans need only press a button on their DVD for a quick answer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
