Brad Garrett Movies

Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, the unfortunate night watchman who continues to encounter living and breathing museum exhibits in Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian, 20th Century Fox's tent-pole sequel from director Shawn Levy. Scott Frank, Robert Ben Garant, and Thomas Lennon provide the script, with Chris Columbus returning to handle producing duties. Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Hank Azaria join the returning cast of Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, and Owen Wilson in the 1492 and 21 Laps Entertainment co-production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Byron Allen showcased numerous popular stand-up comedians as host of the program Comics Unleashed. This release compiles some of the best sets recorded on the show including routines by Dane Cook, Howie Mandel, Margaret Cho, Katt Williams, and Brad Garrett. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A professional collaboration between a popular lyricist and a washed-up musician takes a decidedly personal turn as the pair gradually finds their relationship developing into something much deeper in a romantic comedy directed by Marc Lawrence and starring Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. Alex Fletcher (Grant) may have been all the rage in the 1980s, but these days he's lucky to get a gig playing at the local county fair. Just when it seems as if things couldn't get any more bleak for the dejected has-been rocker, reigning pop diva Cora Corman (Haley Bennett) offers Alex the opportunity of a lifetime -- write and record a duet to be sung with her and watch his career receive a much-needed boost as the nostalgia-crazed public laps it up. Little does Cora realize that not only has it been years since Alex has written a song, but he's never actually written a single lyric. Now, if he hopes to make the comeback needed to save him from a life of complete and utter obscurity, Alex will have to craft a radio-friendly hit in a matter of mere days. Luckily for Alex, his quirky plant-keeper Sophie Fisher (Barrymore) has quite a way with words and may possess just the kind of songwriting talent needed to make such a hit happen. Unfortunately the beguiling Sophie is still reeling from a recent break-up with newly famous novelist Sloan Cates (Campbell Scott), and she isn't quite sure if she's ready for any kind of collaboration right now -- romantic or otherwise. Despite Alex's hesitation to commit and Sophie's reluctance to collaborate, the pair quickly discovers that a little chemistry can go a long way in healing the wounds of the past and laying the foundation for a much-deserved future of happiness and success. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The weekly Fox sitcom 'Til Death was fashioned as a vehicle for towering (6'8") comic actor Brad Garrett, who had just come off a long and successful run as a supporting player on Everybody Loves Raymond. Garrett was cast as Eddie Stamm, a cynical, know-it-all schoolteacher who had been married for 25 turbulent years to wife Joy (Joely Fisher). The humor arose from the contrast between the combative Stamms and their young neighbors, billing-and-cooing newlyweds Jeff and Steph Woodcock (Eddie Kaye Thomas, Kat Foster), who at the outset of the series had been married a whole 12 days. In some cases, the marital crisis of the week was augmented with interviews showing real-life couples discussing love and marriage. Created by the husband-and-wife team of Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, both alumni of the Everybody Loves Raymond lookalike The King of Queens, 'Til Death joined the Fox lineup on September 7, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The new night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History finds that the job comes with more responsibility than he ever dreamed in this wild fantasy comedy directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke. Larry Daley (Stiller) is a kind-hearted dreamer who always knew that he was destined for greatness, he just never quite knew how. None of his ideas or inventions has panned out, so with a heavy heart, he takes a regular job as a lowly graveyard-shift security guard at the Museum of Natural History in order to provide a more stable life for himself and his ten-year-old son. His first night on the job, however, he finds that guardianship of the museum is far from stable -- at nightfall, an Egyptian spell brings the artifacts and wax figures to life! With Attila the Hun charging to war through the hallways, the diorama miniatures embroiled in a deadly feud, and a two-ton Tyrannosaurus Rex nagging to play fetch, Larry has half a mind to turn tail and run. On top of cleaning up after two million years of historical chaos every night, he also has to make sure that not a single museum piece leaves the building -- from the bratty Capuchin monkey in the African exhibit, to the life-sized Neanderthal in the prehistoric display -- because if morning light falls on an escaped artifact, it will turn to dust. Larry turns to a wax replica of President Roosevelt (Williams) for a little advice on keeping things in tact, but Teddy seems to think that a man of Larry's greatness needs little help. Larry isn't sure if the former commander in chief is right; this is hardly what he signed up for, but he can't pass up the chance to care for a museum where history really does come to life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The weekly Fox sitcom 'Til Death was fashioned as a vehicle for towering (6'8") comic actor Brad Garrett, who had just come off a long and successful run as a supporting player on Everybody Loves Raymond. Garrett was cast as Eddie Stark, a cynical, know-it-all schoolteacher who had been married for 25 turbulent years to wife Joy (Joely Fisher). The humor arose from the contrast between the combative Starks and their young neighbors, billing-and-cooing newlyweds Jeff and Steph Woodcock (Eddie Kaye Thomas, Kat Foster), who at the outset of the series had been married a whole 12 days. In some cases, the marital crisis of the week was augmented with interviews showing real-life couples discussing love and marriage. Created by the husband-and-wife team of Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, both alumni of the Everybody Loves Raymond lookalike The King of Queens, 'Til Death joined the Fox lineup on September 7, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A man down on his luck hatches a different kind of get-rich-quick scheme in this independent comedy. Andy Sargentee (Jeff Bridges) is a middle-aged divorcé who is down in the dumps after the departure of his wife, Thelma (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and son, Billy (Alex D. Linz). The fact that Thelma's new hubby is quite wealthy only makes things more troubling for Andy, and he keeps thinking that if he had more money he could be back in her good graces. One night, while knocking back drinks with his friends, Andy has a brainstorm -- pornography is big business these days, so why not round up the local talent and make an adult movie? Andy persuades his friend Barney (Tim Blake Nelson) to sign on as co-producer, and they start putting together a crew, including Emmett (Patrick Fugit), a kid with a video camera who becomes director of photography, Otis (William Fichtner), who volunteers to be the gofer who doesn't really do anything, and as director a guy known only by his nickname, Some Idiot (Joe Pantoliano). Casting proves to be a bit more problematic, especially after they discover that Moose (Ted Danson), who has been cast in the male lead, may be gay when he repeatedly fails to rise to the occasion. The Amateurs also stars Lauren Graham, Valerie Perrine, and Glenne Headly as some of the local women drafted into appearing in the movie; the picture was released in the United Kingdom under the title The Moguls. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of such past sitcom classics as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Seinfeld, the producers of the popular, multi-Emmy-winning CBS comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond decided to quit while they were ahead, bringing the series to an end during its ninth season on the air. Thus, with its 209th episode, telecast May 16, 2005, Raymond shuffled off its mortal coil and ascended to syndicated-rerun heaven. In place during the series' valedictory season are its by-now familiar regulars: sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his PR-exec wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), their ever-growing three children, Ray's overbearing parents (and next-door neighbors), Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), and Ray's neurotic policeman brother, Robert (Brad Garrett), who somewhat incredibly has managed to stay married to his second wife, Amy (Monica Horan), for two whole years. As for the plot developments, things get off to a roaring start when Frank and Marie move out of their home and into a retirement condo -- only to be booted out by the condo's owners due to their obstreperous behavior. Magnanimously, Robert and Amy invite Frank and Marie to move in with them, thus neatly reversing the living arrangements that existed during the series' past eight seasons. As for Raymond, he continues to deal with such matters as Debra's mercurial temper, the academic travails of his daughter, Ally (Madylin Sweeten), and the unwelcome intrusions of his divorced in-laws, Warren (Robert Culp) and Lois (Katherine Helmond). In other words, it's the mixture as before, with few surprises but lots of laughs. And in an unusual move (especially for 21st century sitcoms), the Everybody Loves Raymond finale does not run a "very special" 60 minutes, but instead remains a neat, precise, and economical half-hour of hilarity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Some things stay the same, others change as Everybody Loves Raymond enters its eighth season on CBS. Sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano) is still the husband of PR exec Debra Romano (Patricia Heaton), the couple still has three kids, and they still live next door to Ray's overbearing parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts). However, Ray's neurotic policeman brother, Robert (Brad Garrett), has finally married his longtime girlfriend Amy (Monica Horan) -- and at long last has moved out of his parent's house and into a place of his own. In fact, we don't see much of Robert during the early stages of season eight, due to contractual problems between actor Brad Garrett and the series' producers. Of the season's episodes, several stand out: "Misery Loves Company" finds Debra bemoaning the fact that she and Ray aren't nearly as lovey-dovey as newlyweds Robert and Amy; in "Peter on the Couch," Amy's eccentric brother Peter (Chris Elliott) misinterprets an invitation to drop in and stay a while to mean "stay forever and ever"; "The Bird" is the series' traditional Thanksgiving episode, this time pairing Frank and Doris off against Amy's folks (Fred Willard, Georgia Engel), in a "Pilgrims vs. Indians" charade; "Slave" finds Ray and Debra's daughter, Ally (Madylin Sweeten), regretting the fact that she has proven herself the "perfect" babysitter for her younger siblings; and in "The Mentor," Ray and Robert are astonished when a young man (Jason Kravits) insists that their dad, Frank, has been the most positive influence on his life! While Everybody Loves Raymond continued to post excellent ratings during its eighth season, for the first time in five years the series brought home no Emmy awards, even though it received nine nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Superman apparently sacrifices himself for the sake of his fellow Justice Leaguers. Can it be that The Man of Steel is gone from the scene for good? And how will mankind be able to survive without Superman's benevolent protection? Originally intended to be telecast near the end of Justice League's second season, "Hereafter" was bumped forward to an earlier playdate due to its high suspense quotient. ~ All Movie Guide

Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett brings "The Great One" to life in this made-for-TV biography of video icon Jackie Gleason. The product of a fractious Brooklyn childhood, capped by the abrupt desertion of his ne'er-do-well father, Gleason launches his show business career with the motto "Never depend on anyone." Yet because of his multitude of insecurities, he demands total loyalty and 100-percent devotion from everyone around him. Trouble is, he has no loyalty or devotion to give in return: Dedicated to his career, his drinking, and his womanizing (not always in that order), Jackie neglects his wife Gen (Gretchen Egolf) and his children, tyrannizes his associates in general and his faithful agent George "Bullets" Durgom (Saul Rubinek) in particular, and shamelessly steals other people's ideas and comedy material, claiming it exclusively as his own. For all his bluster and bullying, Gleason remains likable and arguably even lovable -- just like his most famous TV character, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (indeed, the script suggests that Gleason was Kramden and Kramden was Gleason -- and that Jackie was envious of Ralph's ability to "make things up" to his long-suffering wife Alice at the end of each Honeymooners sketch). The film is at its best in its re-creations of Gleason's stage and TV triumphs, though one could nitpick about the hazy and often downright inaccurate chronology of events. As the title character, Brad Garrett offers an uncannily on-target portrayal, despite the fact that the 6'8" actor was nearly a foot taller than the real Gleason (this discrepancy was amply compensated for by the clever camera angles of cinematographer Neil Roach, not to mention the elevator shoes worn by practically every other member of the cast). Of the supporting players, Gretchen Egolf and Terry Farrell are superb as Jackie's first and second wives respectively, while Michael Chieffo's portrayal of Art Carney is eerily perfect. Co-written by Michael Preminger and Rick Podell, the same team responsible for Jackie Gleason's final theatrical feature Nothing in Common, Gleason made its CBS network debut on October 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide