Robert Picardo Movies
Yale alumnus Robert Picardo made his off-Broadway debut in David Mamet's one-act play Sexual Perversity in Chicago. That was in 1975; two years later, Picardo was first seen on Broadway in Gemini. He launched his TV career in the 1980 miniseries The Dream Merchants, and in 1981 made his first film, The Howling--one of several assignments for director Joe Dante. During his early TV years, he was all too often cast in "first husband" or "wrong boyfriend" supporting roles. Things improved in 1986, when he was hired to play the much-feared high school gym teacher Coach Cutlip in the weekly dramedy The Wonder Years. He went on to co-star as Dr. Dick Richard in the highly acclaimed Vietnam-era series China Beach (1989-91). A busy voiceover artist, Picardo has supplied a variety of vocal characterizations for such series as Dinosaurs and Batman. Undoubtedly you'll be reading even more about Robert Picardo in the future, by virtue of his being cast as the holographic Doc Zimmerman on TV's Star Trek: Voyager(1995- ). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1987
In this sci-fi film, actually a television pilot inspired by Nicolas Roeg's provocative 1976 film, chronicles the exploits of an alien marooned on Earth. All he wants is to go back to his dying planet. He is hindered by military forces determined to find him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Directed by seasoned comedy man Melville Shavelson, The Other Woman is a "menage a trois" TV movie with a twist. The stars are middle-aged Anne Meara and Hal Linden, and youngish Madolyn Smith. The twist? Linden, a book publisher, is married to half-his-age Smith, a fashion designer. It is Anne Meara, a fiftyish divorcee and aspiring romance novelist, who turns out to be the "other woman!" Ms. Meara cowrote the teleplay for this engaging contrivance, in which everyone is so essentially likeable that we genuinely care how things turn out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hal Linden, Anne Meara, (more)
A young boy overcomes his obsessive fears by discovering a love for books in this animated fantasy adventure. In a live action wraparound, Macaulay Culkin stars as Richard Tyler, an easily bullied, nervous wreck of a kid who's an expert on safety statistics. His mother and father (Mel Harris and Ed Begley, Jr.) don't know how to inspire their son to embrace life boldly. Barely able to leave the house, Richard ventures out one day, but he gets lost in a storm and ends up at a mysterious library. Inside, he slips, knocks himself unconscious and finds himself in a cartoon realm where books come to life. Guided by Adventure (Patrick Stewart), Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg) and Horror (Frank Welker), Tyler experiences the adventures of classic novels such as Moby Dick and Treasure Island, and he even meets some famed fictional characters, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Leonard Nimoy). Through his experiences in the pages of the legendary books, Richard confronts his phobias and learns to face life more courageously. The Pagemaster was directed by Joe Johnston, a former special effects supervisor and production designer who later directed Jumanji (1995) and October Sky (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
In Paul Verhoeven's wild sci-fi action movie Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a 21st-century construction worker who discovers that his entire memory of the past derives from a memory chip implanted in his brain. Schwarzenegger learns that he's actually a secret agent who had become a threat to the government, so those in power planted the chip and invented a domestic lifestyle for him. Once he has realized his true identity, he travels to Mars to piece together the rest of his identity, as well as to find the man responsible for his implanted memory. Verhoeven has created a fast, furious action film with Total Recall, filled with impressive stunts and (literally) eye-popping visuals. Though the film bears only a passing resemblance to the Philip K. Dick short story it was based on ("We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"), the movie is an entertaining, if very violent, ride. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, (more)
Chappelle's Show and The Boondocks star Charlie Murphy takes the lead for this comedy concerning two best friends sent hurtling through a politically incorrect television landscape thanks to a magical remote control that redefines the concept of interactive entertainment. Now, with each change of the channel, the shows get more bizarre, leaving hapless knuckleheads Bubba and Leroy scrambling to find a way back into the real world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Murphy
- 2009
A deaf artist suffers from crippling guilt after his fiancé's daughter dies while he's supposed to be watching after her. His self-blame sending him into a tormented cycle of alienation and despair, Andrew (Anthony Natale) finds solace in his burgeoning relationship with Mary (Sabrina Lloyd, a woman whose boundless love gives him the courage to endure his darkest hour. With Mary's help, Andrew gradually gains the strength to forgive himself and emerge from his self-imposed prison of despair. Margot Kidder, Robert Picardo, and Ashlyn Sanchez co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margot Kidder, Robert Picardo, (more)
Comedian John Candy, who died during the making of this poorly received comic western, plays James Harlow, a 19th century wagon master who is heading back east with a wagon train full of oddball characters who have had their fill of Western life. They include ex-doctor Phil Taylor (Richard Lewis), kind-hearted prostitute Belle (Ellen Greene), and a bookseller, Julian (John C. McGinley). Harlow is a drunken, washed-up leader who frequently gets lost. The travelers eventually discover that he was a member of the famous Donner party, which resorted to cannibalism when stranded in the mountains. Railroad magnates try to turn back the party, figuring it's bad publicity for people out East to learn that the West is not really a paradise. The tycoons hire gunfighters and villains to stop the expedition, but local Indians protect the wagons, because they are glad to see disgruntled white settlers leaving their lands. This "backwards" western was based on a story by Jerry Abrahamson. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Richard Lewis, (more)
When a company-sponsored white-water rafting expedition turns into a nightmare, an advertising executive finds himself faced with a moral dilemma and an extremely guilty conscience. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Peter Gallagher, (more)
