David T. Friendly Movies
David T. Friendly helms Davis Entertainment, a motion picture production company and developer of major feature films and made-for-television movies. He originally wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, pioneering telejournalist Fred Friendly, and studied journalism at Northwestern University. After college, he worked at Newsweek and then the Los Angeles Times. He broke into film production in the late '80s, after he was hired to serve as President of Production at Imagine Entertainment. For four years, Friendly supervised the production and development of some of Imagine's most popular films, including My Girl (1991) and Greedy (1994). As president of Davis Entertainment, Friendly has produced or executive produced such action features as Courage Under Fire (1996) and Daylight and comedies like Out to Sea (1989) and Dr. Dolittle (1998). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In 1965, Marcus Hooks (John Legend), Floyd Henderson (Bernie Mac), and Louis Hinds (Samuel L. Jackson) were just three kids singing doo-wop harmonies around a fire barrel when legendary record producer Willie Mitchell caught an earful of their infectious harmonizing. Two short years later, Marcus Hooks and the Real Deal had signed to Hi Records, and they quickly became one of the most popular soul acts in America. But success can't last forever, and it wasn't long before Hooks decided to strike out on his own. Though Floyd and Lewis did their best to keep the Real Deal going, scoring one breakout hit with "Walk in the Park," clashing egos and "creative differences" would eventually break the duo apart. Flash-forward to the new millennium, when Hooks has won a staggering total of 19 Grammy awards while Floyd and Lewis languish in obscurity. Then, one day, while considering suicide with a mouthful of pills and a bottle of liquor, Floyd is shocked to see a news report that Hooks has suddenly dropped dead just before he was slated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In order to celebrate Hooks' career, Hi Records has organized a lavish tribute concert at the Apollo Theater. Will Floyd and Lewis be able to put aside their differences long enough to drive cross-country and perform together on-stage one last time, or will lingering grudges ultimately cause the pair's already-tenuous relationship to implode long before they reach New York City? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, (more)
With their home planet in danger and no place in the known universe to seek shelter, a desperate crew of miniature alien humanoids boards a human spacecraft in hopes of saving their doomed world. Eddie Murphy stars in a sci-fi comedy that re-teams the longtime comic actor with Norbit director Brian Robbins. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, (more)
When a pudgy, bespectacled seven-year-old, Olive (Abigail Breslin), voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown at an upcoming beauty pageant, her wildly dysfunctional family sets out on an interstate road trip to ensure her a clear shot at realizing her dreams in former music video directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' quirky feature debut, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette. Despite early career success as an outspoken motivational speaker, family patriarch Richard (Kinnear) continues to cling to his "Refuse to Lose" philosophy, much to the chagrin of his increasingly annoyed spouse, Sheryl (Collette). Add into the mix a Nietzsche-reading teenage son (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence until he finds his fate as a fighter pilot; a horny, heroin-happy grandfather (Alan Arkin) with a penchant for creative profanity; and a suicidal genius (Carell) and Proust scholar still reeling about losing both his male lover and his MacArthur Foundation genius grant -- and the stage is set for a road trip in which sanity is sure to take the back seat. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, (more)
An FBI agent finds himself crossing the gender line again in the name of national security in this sequel to the comedy hit Big Momma's House. Tom Fuller (Mark Moses) is a computer whiz who is under investigation by the FBI, who suspect he may be the man behind a dangerous piece of underground software that would allow terrorists and criminals to access secured intelligence files online. The Bureau is looking for a way to get inside Fuller's home to find out what he's doing when a golden opportunity presents itself -- Fuller and his wife, Leah (Emily Procter), are in the market for a nanny to help look after their three children. The FBI sends in Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence), who will once again impersonate feisty septuagenarian Hattie Mae Pierce, better known as "Big Momma." "Big Momma" gets the job, but while trying to dig up the truth about Fuller's possible criminal connections, Malcolm also finds himself developing a close relationship with the suspect's wife and kids. Malcolm also finds himself offering unlikely romantic advice to his new partner, Kevin (Zachary Levi), and developing a new appreciation of the day-to-day travails of his wife, Sherrie (Nia Long). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, (more)
One of television's most beloved sitcoms gets an overhaul for the big screen in this comedy. Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) is a New York City bus driver who has great ambitions and plans to make something of himself one day. However, Ralph's big ideas usually take the form of half-baked get-rich-quick schemes which invariably fail, much to the chagrin of his long-suffering wife, Alice (Gabrielle Union). But Ralph always has a loyal ally in his best friend and upstairs neighbor, Ed Norton (Mike Epps), a sewer worker who also has a wife who is weary of his antics, Trixie (Regina Hall). Alice and Trixie have a plan to come up with the down payment for a dream house: a suburban duplex that's being eyed by a shady developer (Eric Stoltz). But when Ralph and Ed decide to spend their savings on training a stray mutt for the New Jersey dog races, they threaten both couples' futures. Based on the classic Jackie Gleason and Art Carney series, The Honeymooners also stars John Leguizamo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, (more)
Though equally respected in their field, divorce lawyers Audrey Woods (Julianne Moore) and Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan) are opposites inside and out of the courtroom. Audrey is meticulous and by the book, while Daniel relies on personality and luck to get by. Despite the difference in methods, neither lawyer has lost a case, and neither plan on ending their streak after being respectively hired by Serena (Parker Posey) and Thorne (Michael Sheen), a celebrity power couple gone wrong. The divorce settlement hinges on a particularly spectacular Irish castle, which both parties would like to keep for themselves. Audrey and Daniel hurry to Ireland with depositions in their eyes, but a growing mutual attraction manages to squirm out from beneath, and, after being immersed in a romantic Irish festival, the rival lawyers wake up married. Reeling, potentially in love (to Audrey in particular's dismay), and faced with the type of media explosion capable of leading to the end of their careers, the mismatched lawyers contemplate how to go about their clients' divorce hearings as man and wife. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, (more)
A sad sack has to come to term with his own demons after a long run of bad luck in this downbeat comedy drama from writer and director Matt Mulhern. Duane Hopwood (David Schwimmer) lives and works in Atlantic City, where he's a pit boss on the night shift at one of the city's resort hotels, and has a wife, Linda (Janeane Garofalo), and two young daughters, Mary (Ramya Pratt) and Kate (Rachel Covey). Duane also has a drinking problem, and while Linda loves him very much, she's begin to wonder if he's still capable of living up to his responsibilities as a father. The final straw comes when Duane gets arrested for drunk driving while Kate is in the car with him; Linda files for divorce, and the court opts not to give Duane visitation rights. With Duane struggling to hold on to his family, he gets more bad news when he loses his job after he's caught giving money to an argumentative customer to shut him up. With only his friends from work to keep him company -- Anthony (Judah Friedlander), a maintenance man who wants to be a comedian, and Gina (Susan Lynch), a kind-hearted bartender -- Duane realizes he's come to a crossroads where he has to get his life back on track before he loses what little he still has left. Duane Hopwood also features supporting performances from Dick Cavett and Jerry Grayson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Schwimmer, Janeane Garofalo, (more)
In this romantic drama, a young man must make some difficult decisions when he discovers that his girlfriend's future is almost used up. Kelley (Chris Klein) and Samantha (Leelee Sobieski) are waiting out the summer after their high school graduation before moving on to college. Although Kelley comes from a wealthy family and Samantha's folks are working class, they soon find that they have more in common than they imagined, and they fall in love. However, Samantha's parents (Annette O'Toole and Bruce Greenwood) soon learn that their daughter has only a few more months to live. When Kelley learns the awful truth, he must decide if he should stay by the side of the first girl he's ever loved or obey his father's wishes and go to college. This was the second feature film for director Mark Piznarski, who has directed episodes of the TV series E.R., My So-Called Life, and Relativity, as well as the TV miniseries The 60s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leelee Sobieski, Chris Klein, (more)
In this comedy, a cop assumes a new identity in his valiant battle against crime: an elderly grandmother! Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is an FBI agent who is a master of disguise and will stop at nothing to get his man. When a bank robber escapes from prison and goes on a violent crime spree, Malcolm is assigned to bring him in. The thief's girlfriend Sherry (Nia Long), who is also the mother of his child, lives in a small Southern town, and Malcolm plans to set up a stake-out in the house across the street from Sherry's. However, the house is owned by Big Momma (Ella Mitchell), an older woman with a sharp tongue and no patience for back talk, and when Big Momma has to leave town, it leaves her house suspiciously empty. Determined to maintain his cover, Malcolm disguises himself as Big Momma, and now has to convince Sherry (and everyone else in the neighborhood) that Big Momma's still in town. Big Momma's House gained considerable pre-production publicity when Lawrence fell into a coma while jogging in a heat wave before the film's start date; Lawrence claimed that he was trying to lose weight to fit more comfortably into his character's "fat suit." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, (more)
Betty Thomas directed this adaptation of the classic children's stories by Hugh Lofting (1886-1947), updating the original concepts into the present day. When noted surgeon Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) swerves his car to avoid hitting a dog, he hits his head on the windshield, triggering his long-dormant gift for holding conversations with animals. Friends, associates and his wife Lisa (Kristen Wilson), all express concern, but Dr. Dolittle is happy as he takes on new animal clients. Soon Dolittle's clinic becomes a haven for talking rats, birds, and other assorted members of the animal kingdom, and Dolittle's new four-legged and furry friends, in turn, teach him a few things about being human. The effects seamlessly combine Jim Henson Creature Shop animatronics, computer graphics, and real animals, but some viewers might yearn for a return of the Great Pink Sea Snail and Lofting's other imaginative creatures. The 1967 20th Century Fox musical Dr. Dolittle starred Rex Harrison in a strange storyline that began with Dolittle escaping from a lunatic asylum and leaving the Victorian village Puddleby-by-the-Marsh, England, to search the South Seas for the Great Pink Sea Snail. Along the way, he gathered diverse Dolittle denizens and animal anomalies, including the Giant Moon Moth and the famed, two-headed Pushmi-Pullyu. The earlier film spawned the Oscar-winning popular song success, "Talk To The Animals," along with numerous now-forgotten toys, books, and collectibles. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, (more)
- 1998
- PG
Actor Timothy Hutton's directorial debut is set in rural New Hampshire of the mid-'60s. Divorced motel owner Mrs. Frankovitz (Cathy Moriarty) has two daughters -- Gwen (Mary Stuart Masterson), who is preoccupied with various boyfriends, and troubled 10-year-old Harriet (Evan Rachel Wood). One day Harriet finds a playmate -- retarded Ricky Schroth (Kevin Bacon) -- after the car driven by his terminally ill mother Leah (Marian Seldes) breaks down while taking him to be institutionalized. When Mrs. Frankovitz dies in an auto accident, Harriet has to take orders from Gwen (revealed to be Harriet's real mother), so Harriet tries to run away from home. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
A pair of grumpy old men hit the high seas in this comedy. Small-time con man Charlie (Walter Matthau) fast-talks his considerably more straight-laced friend Herb (Jack Lemmon) into joining him for a luxury cruise on an ocean liner headed to the Bahamas. Charlie tells Herb that the trip is free and will be a good way to meet rich widows; both parts are true enough, but Herb doesn't know that Charlie has signed them on as dance hosts (hence the free tickets), and Herb isn't sure if he's ready for romance after the recent death of his wife. As the men struggle with the fact that Herb isn't much of a hoofer (and Charlie can't dance at all) under the strict tutelage of cruise director Godwyn (Brent Spiner), Charlie starts sweet-talking beautiful heiress Liz (Dyan Cannon), while Herb finds a soul mate in Vivian (Gloria DeHaven), who lost her husband not long ago. Out to Sea also stars Elaine Stritch, Hal Linden, Rue McClanahan, and Donald O'Connor, who pulled his dancing shoes out of mothballs for his role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
A soldier discovers how elusive the truth can be in this first major film about America's role in the Gulf War. Lt. Col. Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) was the commander of a unit during Operation Desert Storm who mistakenly ordered the destruction of what he believed to be an enemy tank, only to discover that it actually held U.S. soldiers, including a close friend. Since then, Serling has been an emotional wreck, drinking heavily and allowing his marriage to teeter on the brink of collapse. As a means of redeeming himself, Serling is given a new assignment by his superior, Gen. Hershberg (Michael Moriarty). Capt. Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) was a helicopter pilot who died in battle during the Iraqi conflict, and the White House has proposed that Walden be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Serling is asked to investigate Walden's actions on the field of battle, but he quickly discovers that no two stories about her are quite the same; Ilario (Matt Damon) says Walden acted heroically and sacrificed herself to save the others in her company, while Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillps) claims she was a coward who was attempting to surrender to enemy troops. Meanwhile, reporter Tony Gartner (Scott Glenn) is hounding Serling, trying to get the inside story on Walden and on Serling's own difficulties. Matt Damon lost 40 pounds to prepare for his role in Courage Under Fire, which resulted in a potentially life-threatening illness for the young actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, (more)
Based on a novel by John Grisham, this drama deals with a man trying to come to terms with his family and their ugly secrets. Adam Hall (Chris O'Donnell) is a successful attorney based in Chicago who travels to Mississippi to look into the case of Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman). An outspoken racist and member of the Ku Klux Klan, Cayhall was convicted in the early '60s of the murder of a Jewish civil rights lawyer and his children. Pending a last-minute appeal, it looks as if Cayhall will finally go to the electric chair, and Adam has arrived to see what he can do. It hardly seems like the sort of case Adam would normally be involved with, until we discover Adam's secret: he is actually Cayhall's grandson, and despite his misgivings about the man's racist views, he wants to see if he can spare his life. Cayhall, however, has little use for Adam and even less regard for his legal skills. As Adam spends time with his Aunt Lee (Faye Dunaway), who witnessed Cayhall's execution of a black man years ago, he gets a more complete and disturbing picture of Cayhall's race hatred and the terrible toll it has taken on his family and the community. The Chamber marked the acting debut of former baseball and football star Bo Jackson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, (more)
Sylvestor Stallone comes to the rescue in this disaster/adventure picture. A truck containing dangerous chemicals explodes in the Holland Tunnel, trapping those New Yorkers not killed in the explosion. Authorities know there are survivors, but cannot figure out what to do to save them. Ruptured water mains and leaks in the tunnel itself, which is beneath the Hudson River, will cause it to fill with water in a few hours. Of all the colorful characters trapped there, only Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen), a mountain climber, has any ideas about what to do, but he quickly dies while attempting to save the others. However, Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a former city Emergency Medical Services director who was in the area of the explosion, and he knows the tunnel's construction quirks. He quickly convinces city officials to let him wend his way through the tunnel's maze of exhaust fans to help the exhausted survivors confront the obstacles that await them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, (more)
In this sequel to My Girl, Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) is now thirteen and at the crossroads of adolescence, beginning to question her past. Her father Harry (Dan Aykroyd) is now married to Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis) and preoccupied with an expectant child. Vada feels left out and decides to write about her mother -- whom she knows nothing about -- for a school project. Vada wants to travel to Los Angeles during spring break to find out more about her mother by interviewing old friends and acquaintances. Harry is reluctant to let her go but finally agrees when he arranges for her to stay with her Uncle Phil (Richard Masur), who lives in L.A. with his girlfriend Rose (Christine Ebersole) and Rose's son Nick (Austin O'Brien), who happens to be the same age as Vada. Together Vada and Nick travel all over Los Angeles, uncovering revelations about Vada's mother and her past. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Anna Chlumsky, (more)
It's been said that nothing can bring two men closer together than a dollar placed between them, and a large family finds themselves becoming far closer than they'd like over several million dollars in this satiric comedy. Uncle Joe McTeague (Kirk Douglas) is an elderly man with a multi-million dollar fortune that he made in the scrap metal business and has no immediate heirs. While Joe has no children, he has plenty of relatives, most of whom don't really like him but want to curry his favor in hopes of inheriting his money when he dies (and Uncle Joe is just shrewd enough to know this). However, Uncle Joe has hired a "nurse," Molly Richardson (Olivia D'Abo), who considers modeling bikinis in Joe's Jacuzzi to be therapeutic. The family is afraid that Molly will end up with the lion's share of Joe's money after they've been bending over backwards to earn his approval, so they bring in a ringer. Daniel McTeague (Michael J. Fox) is one of the only members of the family that Uncle Joe actually likes; a professional bowler of no particular skill, Daniel is the son of the family's black sheep, a leftist activist who decided years ago and wanted nothing to do with Uncle Joe. But Joe has a soft spot for Daniel and his imitation of Jimmy Durante, so the family tracks him down and has him come to visit his uncle. The idea is that if Daniel can get on Uncle Joe's good side, he'll be rewarded in his will, and then Daniel will share his fortune with the rest of the family. So Daniel and his wife Robin (Nancy Travis) move to be closer to Uncle Joe, but Daniel soon discovers that he doesn't like his family much more than Uncle Joe does. Greedy also features Phil Hartman, Ed Begley, Jr., Bob Balaban, Jere Burns, and Kirsten Dunst as some of the venal members of the extended McTeague Family; incidentally, the name "McTeague" is a reference to the lead character in Erich von Stroheim's silent epic Greed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Kirk Douglas, (more)
Michael J. Fox stars as Doug Ireland in this romantic comedy about a brash concierge at a swanky New York hotel who always makes it a point to go out of his way for the hotel guests. But Doug doesn't want to be a concierge forever. What he would really like to do is build a swanky hotel of his own, and all he needs is $3 million to do it. When haughty and patronizing tycoon Christian Hanover (Anthony Higgins) comes to the hotel for a rendezvous with his mistress Andy Hart (Gabrielle Anwar), Doug sees the opportunity to convince Christian to invest the $3 million in his dream of a hotel. So, Doug willingly agrees to baby-sit Andy when Christian has to leave her to see his wife. But the more time he spends with Andy, the more affectionate he feels toward her, until finally he has fallen in love with her. Now Doug must make a choice concerning what he really wants -- his dream of a hotel or the love of Andy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Gabrielle Anwar, (more)
Howard Zieff directed this comedy-drama about the emotional awakening of a young girl in a small Pennsylvania town during the summer of 1972. Anna Chlumsky plays eleven-year-old Vada, a quiet child living with her widowed father Harry Dultenfuss (Dan Aykroyd), a local mortician who prepares bodies in his basement. Vada feels responsible for the death of her mother, who died giving birth to her, and lives in an emotional cocoon, her only friend being a personable local boy, Thomas J. Sennett (Macauly Culkin), who suffers from allergies. Like Vada, Harry keeps to himself, until a freelance make-up artist, Shelly DeVoto (Jamie Lee Curtis), comes to town and gets a job working with Harry. Shelly and Harry fall in love and Vada feels threatened by her presence. But then a personal tragedy forces Vada to come out of her emotional shell. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Anna Chlumsky, (more)
