Sandra Bernhard Movies

An overachieving good girl, a sexually confused outsider, and a rich kid hiding behind his bad-boy persona unexpectedly find their lives colliding during their last semester of high school. Alexa (Emmy Rossum) may get good grades, but she longs to get her nose out of the textbooks and experience life. Meanwhile, melancholy teen Ben (Ashley Springer) wrestles with his sexuality, and good-looking rich kid Johnny (Zach Gilford) realizes that he can't maintain his bad-boy image forever. As their lives slowly converge, it becomes ever more apparent that they have little to rebel against other than their own self-imposed inhibitions. Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming, and Sandra Bernhard co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A frustrated New York actor whose sick of being typecast due to his Italian-American heritage sets out to seek help from the one actor who could provide his big break in a satirical showbiz comedy starring William DeMeo, Carmen Electra, Sandra Bernhard, and Tyson Beckford. Johnny Argano is Brooklyn born and bred. Though he's confident that he has the skills to make a name for himself on the big screen, he resents the fact that casting directors only seem to select him for stereotypical roles. In Johnny's eyes, the only way to break the vicious cycle of typecasting is to get the attention of his screen idol Robert De Niro, and in order to make that happen Johnny will have to pen a screenplay that truly stands apart from the pack. With his career on the line and nothing left to lose, the frustrated actor gathers together a dedicated team of die-hard filmmakers to raise the money they need to get their film made, and convince the star of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to accept a starring role in the movie that will make them all famous. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Actress/comedian Sandra Bernhard is known to millions as a frequent guest star on TV series such as Roseanne and Ally McBeal, but I'm Still Here Dammit! provides a document of her most enduring work: her one-woman shows. Although the piece originally ran on Broadway and was the basis of a comedy CD, the version here was recorded live at the San Francisco club Slim's for an HBO broadcast and bolstered by an additional 30 minutes of footage on video. Clad in a diaphanous peach frock that reveals both her underwear and her very visibly pregnant belly, Bernhard practices her wit on topics such as cell phones and the Internet, faux spirituality, the Lilith Fair, America's obsession with anti-bacterial products, her Latino house-painter and her lone, unpleasant experience taking hashish at an Amsterdam bar. Although the show features fewer songs than her previous outings, Bernhard is backed by longtime collaborator Mitch Kaplan on such tunes as "On the Runway," a mock-tribute to slain fashion designer Gianni Versace, which Berhnard imagines as a collaboration between Sting, Elton John, and Naomi Campbell, with proceeds to benefit "fashion victims everywhere." Other celebrity monologues chart Fleetwood Mac singer Christine McVie's fantastical transformation into a greasy-spoon waitress and Bernhard's possibly imaginary friendship with grunge diva-turned-actress Courtney Love. I'm Still Here Dammit was directed by Pee-Wee Herman Show vet Marty Callner. Award-winning Hollywood cinematographer Haskell Wexler also participated. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Pat Proft directed this satire on The Fugitive with a plot parody of the 1993 Harrison Ford movie, which in turn was inspired by the 1963-67 ABC television series with David Janssen. Violinist Ryan Harrison (Leslie Nielsen) romances the wife (Kelly Le Brock) of his benefactor (Michael York), a man murdered by mercenaries. Naturally, Ryan gets blamed. Headed for Death Row, he's on a bus involved in a train accident and escapes in order to locate the real killer -- a one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed man. Tracking Ryan is Lt. Fergus Falls (Richard Crenna). Other movies lampooned here include Titanic, Clear and Present Danger, Chinatown, Mission Impossible, and North by Northwest. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Iranian-born director Ramin Niami loosely adapted the Maxim Gorky play The Lower Depths for this ensemble character study set in modern-day New York City's Lower East Side. Sandra Bernhard stars as Betty, a remarkably introverted and lonely therapist hungering for a male companion. In her apartment building, several other residents also have emotional, career, or romantic issues. Chinese student Lu Lu (Bai Ling) wants to stay in the U.S., so she interviews prospective husbands in hopes of obtaining a green card. Marta (Ornella Muti) is forced to sexually service her building's fat landlord daily in exchange for a free room, but she's in love with Frankie (Robert John Burke), an inept thief. Che (Paul Anthony Stewart) is a rich kid trying to incite a worker's revolt from his basement headquarters, while Graham (Peter Stormare) is a gay Shakespearean actor looking for love. Their stories intersect in the film's finale, which involves the kidnapping of former New York mayor Ed Koch (who plays himself). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Roseanne is depressed about Dan's affair. After she stays in bed for days eating junk food, her friends and family members try different ways to get her to snap out of it. Nancy (Sandra Bernhard) tries to lure her out of bed with crystals and New Age methods. Eventually, Roseanne comes out on her own with a decision about the diner. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This independent drama takes an unexpectedly light and emotionally sensitive approach to a potentially controversial subject -- a teenager taking up a career as a prostitute. Sixteen-year-old Jake (Tara Subkoff) is a pretty but troubled girl who has been abandoned by her mother. Needing a place to stay, she shows up on the doorstep of her sister Darlene (Kristy Swanson) and begs her to take her in. Darlene refuses, and Jake is left with nowhere to go. Marci (Sandra Bernhard), Darlene's next door neighbor, takes pity on Jake and gives her a meal and a place to stay for the night. The next morning, Marci heads off for work and Jake tags along to discover that Marci manages a massage parlor. Jake is a bit naive about what goes on at such places, but after meeting Marci's charges -- Bambi (Sahara Lotti), Coco (Loretta Devine), and Teddy (Renee Humphrey) -- she catches on that the women are offering their male clientele more than a simple rubdown. Needing money, Jake asks Marci for a job; Marci says no, since Jake is underage, but after much begging and pleading, Marci agrees under the condition that Jake make herself scarce when Jean (Susan Barnes), the owner, comes around. Jake becomes friendly with Bambi, Coco, and Teddy, who show her the ropes of her new "career" and let her stay at their communal apartment. Soon Jake is making a good living, and Darlene is impressed enough to get a job of her own at the parlor. However, Darlene doesn't get along with the other women any better than she does with Jake, and when Jake's friends get on Darlene's bad side, she turns Jake in for working underage, which leaves everyone out in the cold. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ally tries to shake off her prudish image; and the firm is sued again---this time by the object of Elaine's lawsuit. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide

Sandra Bernhard, Cameron Dye, and Laura San Giacomo star in this science-fiction thriller about a spaceship carrying a load of explosive material that is thrown out of orbit and suddenly begins heading straight for Earth. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A fairly faithful remake of Disney's earlier feature of the same name, this version first aired on television. Gaby Hoffman stars as Annabelle, a girl who thinks her mother has an easy life. Her mother Ellen (Shelley Long) thinks Annabelle's life is the better of the two, and after an argument one Friday morning, the two magically switch personalities. After much mayhem and confusion, the two learn that the grass is not really greener on the other side of the fence. Actress-turned-director Melanie Mayron directed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When Larry (Garry Shandling) takes two weeks off from the show to recover from plastic surgery, Sandra Bernhard fills in as guest host for The Larry Sanders Show. Despite Bernhard and her manager Ellen's (Lois Foraker) suggestions to Artie (Rip Torn) as to how the show might be improved, the reluctant producer politely declines. Angered at having their ideas rejected by Artie, the fill-in host and her wrangler leak a story to the press concerning Bernhard replacing Larry, prompting the angered host to cut his leave short and return to the show in hopes of clearing the air. Despite his initial enthusiasm at being back on the soundstage, Larry's parade is dampened when the network brass express interest in replacing the high-salaried host and retaining their high ratings on the cheap. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The job of a television producer can be highly stressfull and greatly under-appreciated, as Artie (Rip Torn) finds out when little things around the office begin to add up. After Artie's close friend Ryan O'Neal is bumped from an appearance on the show, Hank's (Jeffrey Tambor) incessant complaining and Larry's (Garry Shandling) indifference begin to grate on the already high-strung Artie. After he befriends Russian janitor Nikolae (Elya Baskin) while burning the midnight oil, the newfound friends leave obscene messages on Larry's machine to blow off some steam. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide