Colin Quinn Movies
From the early days of MTV's Remote Control to his later success with the topical Comedy Central series Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn, gravelly voiced Brooklynite Colin Quinn has become a staple of the comedy scene thanks to his fearless, tell-it-like-it-is style and everyman attitude. Quinn proved to be a ubiquitous presence in the realm of popular comedians thanks to his stint at Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update desk, numerous film roles, and his marked tenacity (even after having no less that three television series canceled, Quinn still returned to host Tough Crowd). His topical brand of comedy doesn't appeal exclusively to New Yorkers, but to anyone who prefers their politics and current events news spiked with a healthy dose of irreverence. A native of Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY, who got his start as a standup comic in the mid-'80s, Quinn made a name for himself with performances at such popular Manhattan comedy clubs as Caroline's and The Comic Strip. He gained a healthy amount of exposure soon thereafter when he joined the cast of MTV's pop-culture game show Remote Control in 1987. Following the cancellation of that show, he took the reigns for the sports comedy series Colin Quinn's Manly World. Though Quinn would appear in such features as Who's the Man? and A Night at the Roxbury during the 1990s, his main focus would remain on television, where he hosted the popular A&E series Caroline's Comedy Hour before stepping in to replace Norm MacDonald as anchor for SNL's popular Weekend Update segment. When his short-lived 2002 series The Colin Quinn Show failed to find an audience, Quinn went back to the drawing board, eventually returning with a winner in the form of Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn. Eschewing the sketch comedy format of the former for a looser, more unpredictable topical approach that found comedians discussing various news stories, the show offered Quinn at his comic best. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
This comedy extends and embellishes characters introduced on Saturday Night Live by regulars Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in their sketch series of two head-bobbing losers who go on the town, looking for action, when they hear the What Is Love? disco tune. Looking cool, brothers Steve (Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Kattan) always fail to pick up women in their hapless nightclub jaunts. In Beverly Hills, they work at a fake-flower store run by their father (Dan Hedaya). They are always denied entrance to the Roxbury, a leading discotheque, but an auto accident with Richard Grieco (portraying himself) gives them a foot in the door. Inside, they meet the club's owner (an uncredited Chazz Palminteri), and two gold-diggers (Elisa Donovan, Gigi Rice) believe they are wealthy businessmen. Steve finds his father shoving him into marriage with next-door neighbor Emily (Molly Shannon), but Doug keeps this from happening. Fortune smiles, and the Butabi brothers become the co-owners of a new nightclub. The real-life Roxbury on the Sunset Strip (once the location of the Imperial Gardens and the Players Club) was converted into a Japanese restaurant by the time this film was released. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, (more)
Barry B. Benson (voice of Jerry Seinfeld) is your average honeybee. Despite having recently received his diploma from bee college and being virtually guaranteed a bright future in honey, Barry feels he has the skills to pursue a number of different career paths and resents the fact that his employment opportunities are strictly limited to producing the sweet nectar. Upon breaking away from the hive and developing a friendship with an insect-loving New York florist (voice of Renée Zellweger), Barry makes the shocking discovery that human beings eat honey in mass quantities. Having finally found his calling in life, the infuriated Barry decides to sue the human race for stealing all of the honey that his fellow bees work so hard to produce. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, (more)
- 2003
On the cusp of stardom, standup comic Maija DiGiorgio suffered an emotional breakdown while performing before a room packed with a number of the comedy industry's head honchos -- whom were on the receiving end of DiGiorgio's obscenity-laced outburst -- at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Subsequently faced with a nearly industry-wide blacklisting as a result, the comic (and film school graduate) came upon the idea of creating a film journal to document her struggles within the industry, as well as within her own psyche. The result is Bitter Jester, DiGiorgio's 2003 film that started as a document of self-examination and evolved into an examination of success and achievement within the standup circuit. Greatly assisted by the contacts and prestige of executive producer Richard Belzer -- a friend and former employer of DiGiorgio's boyfriend and co-conspirator Kenny Simmons -- DiGiorgio proceeds to gain access to a surprising berth of comedy legends, including Chevy Chase, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, and George Carlin, all of whom dispense insightful and sometimes surprising opinions about their individual achievements. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
Two basketball fans, whose enthusiasm overwhelms their intelligence, come up with a new but legally problematic way of helping their favorite team in this comedy. Physical education instructor Mike O'Hara (Daniel Stern) and plumber Jimmy Flaherty (Dan Aykroyd) are close friends and obsessive followers of the Boston Celtics; to them, the Celtics are everything, to the point where Mike's marriage is falling apart because his wife can't deal with his mood swings, hinged as they are on the Celtic's fortunes. One night, with the Celtics and the Utah Jazz tied at three games each in the NBA championships, Mike and Jimmy spot Lewis Scott (Damon Wayans) in a sports bar. The star player with the Jazz, Lewis is known to sink up to 50 shots a game, and his talent on the court is exceeded only by his arrogance. Emboldened by alcohol, Mike and Jimmy start buying Lewis drinks, posing as Jazz fans; the next morning, they wake up hung over to discover that they kidnapped Lewis while drunk, and he's tied to a chair in Jimmy's living room. Neither of them planned on doing anything like this and at first they think they ought to let him go. But then again, if Lewis can't play the final game of the championship series, the Celtics chances look a lot brighter. Former Celtics star Larry Bird has a cameo as himself; as do sports heroes Bill Walton and Deion Sanders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damon Wayans, Daniel Stern, (more)
The world of stand-up comedy is explored from the perspectives of two very different talents -- one wet behind the years, another already a legend -- in this documentary from TV-commercial director Christian Charles. Comedian follows Jerry Seinfeld and Orny Adams as they navigate their way through the cutthroat world of New York's comedy clubs, each working toward the ultimate goal of an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. For Seinfeld, hitting the clubs is a way of proving himself after his years of sitcom success; for the up-and-coming Adams, nightly stand-up routines are an avenue to bigger and better things, preferably comedy festivals, talk show appearances, and sitcom roles. The two occasionally cross paths at such Manhattan comic haunts as The Gotham Comedy Club and Caroline's, where they debate ups and downs of the trade. Comedian also reveals many candid, behind-the-scenes discussions between Seinfeld and such comic legends as Chris Rock, Robert Klein, Dave Chappelle, and Jay Leno, as well as rare glimpses of the star's personal life. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Seinfeld, Greg Geraldo, (more)
- 1997
Jim Breuer, Burt Young, and Colin Quinn headline this zany crime comedy about a group of petty thieves who bungle their plot to lift $1 million in mob cash. Upon learning that mobsters are scheduled to pick up $1 million at a local delicatessen Joe, Chris, Sal, and Johnny scheme to swoop in and steal the cash before it exchanges hands. Unfortunately this gang is none too bright, and before they know it they've got the law, and the underworld gunning for them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A 13-year-old boy (Spencer Breslin) suffering from premature male-pattern baldness does his best to adjust to life in a new high school despite becoming the hapless target of every bully and cruel-minded teenager in town. While he's got the high-school janitor (Cuba Gooding Jr.) on his side, the follicly challenged Harold must still endure the merciless teasing of his unsympathetic peers. Rachel Dratch, Fred Willard, and Nikki Blonsky co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Breslin, Cuba Gooding, Jr., (more)
Michelle Pfeiffer is Married to the Mob in this comedy. The wife of Mafia hitman Alec Baldwin, Pfeiffer regularly chastizes her husband for his underhanded line of work. Baldwin refuses to entertain any thoughts of quitting the mob-and besides, he's got a good thing going with Nancy Travis, the promiscuous girl friend of gang boss Dean Stockwell. When Stockwell catches on to Travis' peccadilloes, he murders both his mistress and the unlucky Baldwin. At Baldwin's funeral, Stockwell is overwhelmed by Pfeiffer's beauty, and immediately begins plying her with expensive gifts. But Pfeiffer is through with this sort of thing, and with her young son in tow, she leaves town, hoping to start life anew. Upon making the acquaintance of bumbling, seemingly sincere Matthew Modine, Pfeiffer is convinced that Modine is just another mob flunkey. But it's even worse: Modine is an FBI agent, ordered to get to Stockwell by using Pfeiffer as bait. Reluctantly (he's grown quite fond of her himself), Modine blackmails Pfeiffer into setting up a rendezvous with Stockwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, (more)
- 2002
Fresh from his "Weekend Update" stint on Saturday Night Live, pugnacious-sounding comedian Colin Quinn was given his own weekly NBC series, which aired on a three-week trial basis beginning March 11, 2002. Rather than dwell on the obvious fact that the network wasn't exactly filing a vote of confidence, Quinn cheerily proclaimed, "If I can't make it good in three weeks, I don't deserve it." Telecast live from NBC's fabled Studio 8H in New York, the weekly, half-hour series found Quinn performing abrasive current-events monologues, moderating "town meetings" of his fellow comics, and testing out new sketch material with another SNL alumnus, Cheri Oteri. Reaction was mixed to The Colin Quinn Show, with some critics applauding NBC for allowing Quinn a freer comic hand than he'd had with SNL, while other dismissed the live broadcast as "Dead on Arrival." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Quinn
- 1988
The Huxtables are both hurt and insulted when college student Denise (Lisa Bonet) would rather spend her weekend home with her friends than her family. Further alienating Denise from parents and siblings is her habit of being out of the house just when her presence is needed the most , to say nothing of her "buttinsky" attitude towards Theo's social life. But the limit comes when Denise insists upon watching an R-rated comedy video in the Huxtable living room. Ultimately, the family finds a creative way to get even with the insensitive Denise. Watch for an early appearance by Saturday Night Live "news anchor" Colin Quinn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
It's a father and child reunion, albeit one with a distinctive showbiz twist, in this episode of HBO's popular late-night talk show satire. Though Artie (Rip Torn) hasn't seen his son Cully (Colin Quinn) for many years, the fatherly producer hires him as a production assistant when he hears that Cully has fallen on hard times. Despite some questionable behavior, Larry (Garry Shandling) is willing to give Cully a shot until the unstable P.A.'s rude behavior becomes too much to handle. Aside from being rude to Larry, Cully further isolates himself from the crew when he totals Hank's (Jeffrey Tambor) car and dates both Paula (Janeane Garofalo) and Betsy the Page. Despite Artie's continued efforts to help his son fit in, the hapless producer finds himself in the position of firing his son after Cully punches Phil (Wallace Langham). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Three Men and a Baby is an Americanized remake of the 1985 French comedy hit Three Men and a Cradle. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg play three upwardly mobile New York bachelors who share an apartment. Their even-keel lifestyle is thrown out of whack when a young woman leaves a baby on their doorstep, suspecting that film director Danson is the father. The balance of the film is devoted to milking as much humor as possible out of the situation of three urbane young men trying to play nursemaid with nary a clue of what they're doing (at one point, a desperate Selleck offers Guttenberg a thousand dollars if Guttenberg will change a diaper). A subplot involving drug dealers is thrown in to sustain audience interest after our trio of heroes become accustomed to a baby around the apartment. "Urban legend" aficionados please note: That cardboard cutout of Ted Danson briefly glimpsed in one scene of Three Men and a Baby is not the ghost of a little boy who died in the bachelors' apartment before filming started. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, (more)
The documentary When Stand Up Stood Out charts the stand-up comedy boom and then decline that took place in Boston during the late seventies and eighties. Consisting of both vintage footage from the era and interviews with the people who were a part of the scene, the film showcases how this fertile comedic territory produced such famous names as Steven Wright, enis Leary, Bobcat Goldthwait, Colin Quinn, and Paula Pundstone. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
In this comedy, bumbling Harlem barbers Dr. Dre and Ed Lover are shipped off to the police academy by their frustrated boss, Nick (Jim Moody). However, when a crooked land developer threatens to forcibly take over their ex-boss' land, it is up to Dr. Dre and Ed to use their new-found police powers to stop him. A number of well-known rap artists make appearances in this film, including Queen Latifah, Humpty Hump, Kriss Kross, B-Real, and Ice-T. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
