Brad Garrett Movies

Alan Alda stars in this period drama as Willie Walters, a talent agent booking acts into nightclubs in the 1940s. Willie would like his son Stuey (Steven Webber) to join him in his business, but Stuey isn't so sure that's the path he wants to take in life, and his uncertainty starts to drive father and son apart. Club Land also stars Louise Lasser and Robert Weil, and was directed by noted actor Saul Rubinek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

So here's how things stand as Everybody Loves Raymond enters its fifth season on CBS. Sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his PR-rep wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and their three kids are still living in Long Island, still next door to Ray's obstreperous parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts). And after experimenting with independence by moving into his own apartment, Frank's brother, divorced cop Robert (Brad Garrett), has returned to his parents' home -- minus his off-and-on girlfriend Amy (Monica Horan), who has apparently given up on Robert because of his inability to make a commitment. But things aren't entirely bleak romantically for Robert this season. While vacationing in Rome with his family (in an episode shot on-location in Italy), the neurotic policeman falls head over heels in love with Stefania (Alex Meneses). Inasmuch as Robert has proclaimed her "the girl of my dreams," Stefania shows up in New York later in the season, certain that their relationship will soon become both permanent and legal. Alas, Robert is still constitutionally incapable of committing himself to any woman, and the couple breaks up -- but not before Stefania's strict, "old world" father, Marco (David Proval), who is now a friend and kindred spirit of Ray and Robert's prickly dad, Frank, has decided to remain in the Big Apple, going so far as to purchase the Barones' favorite restaurant, Nemo's.

With all this going on, one would think that series star Ray Romano had taken a back seat to his supporting cast -- but one would be wrong. During season five, Ray Barone has many a misadventure of his own, beginning with the emotional fallout attending his decision to finally tell his parents that they are far too much a part of his and Debra's lives. Later on, Ray accidentally commits "petslaughter" on his daughter Ally's (Sawyer Sweeten) beloved hamster; receives a serious ego drubbing when his book on sports is rejected by the publisher; goes into "hamana-hamana-hamana" mode upon meeting a girl he'd dated 25 years earlier (an evening that he messed up with his untoward advances!); and tries to mediate a battle between his parents and his in-laws (Robert Culp, Katherine Helmond) during Thanksgiving dinner. The season closer is likewise devoted to Raymond, as he recalls the day that wife Debra gave birth to daughter Ally. For the second year in a row, Patricia Heaton won an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the end of Everybody Loves Raymond's fifth season. Likewise honored was Doris Roberts, for Outstanding Supporting Actress. The series itself continued to be the shining jewel of CBS' Monday-night schedule, moving up again in the overall TV ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not much has changed personnel-wise as Everybody Loves Raymond enters its fourth season. Sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his PR-exec wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and their three children still live in New York. Their next-door neighbors are still Ray's obstreperous parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts). And still living with his folks is Ray's neurotic policeman brother, Robert (Brad Garrett), who has for the umpteenth time broken up with his girlfriend Amy (Monica Horan) because of his inability to make a firm commitment. In the season opener, Debra toys with the idea of getting an "enhancement" after ruefully witnessing Ray's excited reaction to her friend's newly enlarged breasts. Later installments deal with a tussle over the family will; a very surprising visit by Debra's hippy-dippy sister Jennifer (Ashley Crow); another eventful Thanksgiving dinner as Debra tries a new approach to fending off Marie's not-so-veiled insults; the academic problems of Ray and Debra's son Michael (Sullivan Sweeten) -- who hasn't even gotten out of pre-school yet(!); Robert's chronic inability to propose to girlfriend Amy (Monica Horan), leading her to surmise (briefly!) that he might be gay; and the "forced" renewal of Ray and Debra's wedding vows after discovering that Ray has accidentally used their wedding tape to record the Super Bowl. The season ends with another crisis in the vacillating relationship between Robert and Amy, as Robert's ex-wife Joanne (Suzie Plakson) pops up out of nowhere. Though Everybody Loves Raymond dropped slightly in the overall TV ratings during season four, the series remained CBS' Monday-night linchpin -- and as a bonus, co-star Patricia Heaton won an Emmy this season as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A real estate developer (Eric Roberts) sells out his partner/buddy in order to clear the path for the construction of a major hotel. The wife of his buddy, who was a former lover of his, discovers the body of her husband (with the body of a woman he was having an affair with) and becomes aware his scheme. The big boss in charge of the whole project (Angus McFadyen) assigns two goons to get rid of the wife, but she manages to escape their bumbling chase and get her revenge. ~ All Movie Guide

Season three of Everybody Loves Raymond finds sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and kids, Ally (Madylin Sweeten), Geoffery (Sawyer Sweeten), and Michael (Sullivan Sweeten), still living next door to Ray's overbearing father, Frank (Peter Boyle), and snoopy mom, Marie (Doris Roberts), in the same Long Island neighborhood. As for Raymond's brother, divorced cop Robert (Brad Garrett), his romance with Amy (Monica Horan) is now a thing of the past, due to Robert's inability to make a commitment. As the season progresses, Robert finally moves out of his parents' house and into an apartment of his own, but can't deal with independence any more than he could with a relationship, and is soon back where he started. Meanwhile, Debra decides to re-enter the workplace, taking a PR job. By season's end, Ray and Debra are still commuting to work, and Robert is still camping with his folks -- after a tentative effort to rekindle the flames of passion with Amy has failed, and for the very same reason as before (this guy's in a rut!). Even with all this going on, the writers haven't forgotten that, after all, Ray Romano is the star of the show. Thus, there are plenty of episodes revolving around the tribulations of Ray and his family, beginning with a lively season opener involving an infestation of termites in the Barone household, and ending with the season finale, in which Ray and Debra recall their first meeting way back in 1984. Having ranked as the 30th most popular TV program in America during its second season, Everybody Loves Raymond zoomed up to 11th in the ratings for season three -- making a renewal for season four a foregone conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Awakening from a nightmare about a funeral (surprisingly not her own!), Murphy (Candice Bergen) is unable to go back to sleep. In her efforts to allay her fears, she places emergency phone calls to Jim (Charles Kimbrough), who is poised to reconcile with estranged wife Doris (Concetta Tomei); to Frank (Joe Regalbuto), who is otherwise occupied with a SWAT team stakeout; and with Corky (Faith Ford), who is frantically searching for her missing ABBA album. But the funniest call is placed to Kay (Lily Tomlin), who endeavors to cure Murphy's insomnia by whipping up some chocolate chip cookies--from scratch, and via long distance! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Securely snuggled into a new Monday-night slot after languishing for half of its first season on Friday nights, Everybody Loves Raymond continued to accumulate loyal fans during the series' second season, closing out the year in TV's Top 30 (it was, in fact, the 30th highest-rated program). Few changes were made in format or personnel during season two. Ray Barone (Ray Romano) was still a newspaper sportswriter, still living in Long Island with wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) and children Ally (Madylin Sweeten), Geoffery (Sawyer Sweeten) and Michael (Sullivan Sweeten). Ray and Debra's house was still next door to the one owned by Ray's obstreperous father, Frank (Peter Boyle), and incurably snoopy mom, Marie (Doris Roberts); likewise, Ray's brother, divorced cop Robert (Brad Garrett), still resided with his parents, and still refused to make a commitment to his erstwhile girlfriend Amy (Monica Horan). Added to Ray's circle of friends was Kevin (Kevin James), a color announcer for the New York Mets. As mentioned, ratings for Everybody Loves Raymond were solid if not spectacular, assuring the series a third season on CBS. ~ All Movie Guide

The first of several sight gag and slapstick-rich comedies he produced without the team of Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams, this lowbrow comedy from executive producer and star Leslie Nielsen suffers by comparison to his work with the "ZAZ" team. Nielsen plays Dick Steele, secret agent WD-40, called out of retirement to stop the world-conquering plans of his old nemesis, General Rancor (Andy Griffith), an armless madman determined to avenge himself upon Steele (who is responsible for Rancor's lack of appendages). With the help of Russian agent Veronique Ukrinsky (Nicolette Sheridan), Steele prepares to battle Rancor at his tropical island lair, where the daughter of Steele's long-ago love is being held captive. Along the way, such films as True Lies (1994), Speed (1994), Jurassic Park (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) are spoofed. Director Richard Friedberg had previously directed Nielsen in a series of automobile rental commercials and goofy "how-to" golf videos. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In the first half of "The Bottle Deposit," it's Elaine versus the "Oh Henry Heiress" in a bidding war for a set of golf clubs originally owned by J.F.K. and highly coveted by Peterman (John O'Hurley). Kramer (Michael Richards) and Newman (Wayne Knight) travel to Michigan to get a double refund on a cache of soda bottles and cans. Jerry's (Jerry Seinfeld) car is stolen by his own mechanic. And George (Jason Alexander) jumps upon a major project without getting all the details. Originally telecast as a 60-minute episode, "The Bottle Deposit" has been edited into two half-hours for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first season of Everybody Loves Raymond drew heavily upon the standup routines of comedian Ray Romano, who depicted himself as a loving but befuddled husband and father of three children, bedeviled by his own overbearing Italian-American parents and a jealous older brother who happened to be a policeman. In the series proper, Romano played Ray Barone, Long Island-based sportswriter for New York Newsday. Ray, his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and their three children lived next door to Ray's parents, bombastic Frank (Peter Boyle) and snoopy Marie (Doris Roberts). Frank and Marie in turn lived with Ray's older brother, a divorced cop named Robert (Brad Garrett), who still harbored a childhood jealousy for his younger sibling. In the pilot episode, Ray's three children were played by the Ferreira children: Amber, Drew, and Justin. The youngest kids, twin boys, were named Matthew and Gregory (after Romano's real-life children), while the six-year-old daughter was not identified by name. Thereafter, the children were known as Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey, and were played by members of the Sweeten family: Madylin, Sullivan, and Sawyer. During season one, a handful of semi-regulars were introduced, among them Ray's friend Andy (Andy Kindler), a sports statistician; Nemo (Joseph V. Perry), the owner of the pizza parlor; and Amy MacDougall (Monica Horan), Robert's off-and-on girlfriend. Also firmly established was the intensely combative relationship between Ray's parents, who also had a cute habit (cute to everyone but Ray's long-suffering spouse Debra) of dropping into their son's house unannounced and poking their noses into everyone else's business. More welcome drop-ins occurred whenever Ray's sports-world friends -- usually celebrity athletes and famous TV commentators -- opted to pay a visit to the series. Despite languishing in a low-rated Friday-night slot, Everybody Loves Raymond quickly became a critical favorite, encouraging CBS to move the series to a more advantageous Monday-night berth in mid-season. Though the ratings didn't exactly go through the roof, the series garnered enough of a fan following to warrant a second season. ~ All Movie Guide

Will (Will Smith) relates an incredible, hair-raising story of how he once witnessed a mob killing, forcing himself and the Banks family into the Witness Relocation Program, whereupon everyone is bundled off to the Alabama boonies (in a town called Deliverance!) Truth to tell, however, Will's tall tale has been concocted to distract Jazz from continually winning at poker against Will and Carlton. A pre-Everybody Loves Raymond Brad Garrett appears as a VERY tall hit man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide