John Lithgow

2009 
PG 
AddConfessions of a Shopaholicto Queue
A Manhattan shopaholic (Isla Fisher) whose buying sprees have buried her in immense debt lands a columnist gig dishing out financial advice in this Touchstone comedy based on Sophie Kinsella's series of books. P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding) directs, with producing duties being handled by Jerry Bruckheimer. Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher) can't seem to break her habit for making impulsive purchases, and while she's always decked out in the latest styles, her credit card bills are as thick as a telephone book. If Rebecca could somehow manage to land her dream job at a high-profile fashion magazine, perhaps she could transform what is now a simple addiction into something that could really benefit her professionally. When Rebecca becomes an advice columnist at a financial magazine published by the same company as her favorite fashion magazine, her fresh approach strikes a chord with readers and she quickly becomes the toast of the town. Meanwhile, her bank account is still bone dry, wreaking havoc on her love life and placing her career in jeopardy. As Rebecca teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, she gradually begins to reassess her priorities in life. Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Hugh Dancy, and Krysten Ritter co-star in the Touchstone Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Isla FisherHugh Dancy, (more)
2007 
 
As gasoline prices shoot through the roof and concerns over the effects of automobile exhaust pollution continue to grow, "Car Talk" co-host Tom Magliozzi sets out to replace his cherished 1952 MG roadster with a more environmentally friendly automobile. Along with his brother Ray, Tom explores the revolutionary technology that promises to change the way we drive. Along the way, Ray and Tom pay a visit to the world-famous North American International Auto Show in Detroit, speak with the organizers of Boston's AltWheels Festival, hitch a ride with a hydrogen-powered bus fleet in Iceland, and ponder the future with a green-leaning Colorado think tank. Are the rumors of an electric sports car that goes zero-to-sixty in just four seconds too good to be true? Find out the answers to this question and more as Tom and Ray speak with experts in lithium batteries and biofuels in order to separate the hopeful speculation about tomorrow's technology from the hard facts. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Ray MagliozziMagliozzi Tom, (more)
2006 
PG13 
AddDreamgirlsto QueueAddDreamgirlsto top of Queue
Director Bill Condon brings Tom Eyen's Tony award-winning Broadway musical to the big screen in a tale of dreams, stardom, and the high cost of success in the cutthroat recording industry. The time is the 1960s, and singers Effie (Jennifer Hudson), Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), and Deena (Beyoncé Knowles) are about to find out just what it's like to have their wildest dreams come true. Discovered at a local talent show by ambitious manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), the trio known as "the Dreamettes" is soon offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of opening for popular singer James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). Subsequently molded into an unstoppable hit machine by Taylor and propelled into the spotlight as "the Dreams," the girls quickly find their bid for the big time taking priority over personal friendship as Taylor edges out the ultra-talented Effie so that the more beautiful Deena can become the face of the group. Now, as the crossover act continues to dominate the airwaves, the small-town girls with big-city dreams slowly begin to realize that the true cost of fame may be higher than any of them ever anticipated.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jamie FoxxBeyoncé Knowles, (more)
2006 
 
Unlike many of the other sitcoms of the 2006-2007 series which catered to the under-30 crowd, Twenty Good Years was carefully calculated to appeal to the "oldsters" in the audience--that is, anyone over 30. Seasoned comedy pros John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor were cast respectively as pompous surgeon John Mason and widowed judge Jeffrey Pyne, best friends despite the fact that they were polar opposites. At age 60, Mason was forcibly retired; at the same age, Pyne was being pressured by his current sweetheart to get married again. Hoping to escape the exigencies of their lives and to prove that they were still young and heart, Mason and Pyne vowed to have a grand old time with the time they had left, and to do all the things they'd never dared to do before, from participating in extreme sports to appearing at the beach wearing speedos! Outside of the stars, the only other actors with roles of any consequence were Heather Burns as Mason's pregnant daughter Stella and Jake Sandvig as Pyne's gormless son Hugh. Twenty Good Years launched its NBC run on October 11, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowJeffrey Tambor, (more)
2005 
 
AddNOVA: Einstein's Big Ideato QueueAddNOVA: Einstein's Big Ideato top of Queue
With dramatic historical reenactments featuring Aidan McArdle (Footprints in the Snow) in the central role as Albert Einstein and Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as his wife, Mileva Maric, NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea climbs inside the most earth-shattering discovery of the 20th Century's most brilliant scientific innovator: that of the connection between matter and energy, encapsulated in his 1905 E=mc2 formula, an equation that ultimately yielded the atom bomb. The program also explores how Einstein's professional discovery rested on the foundational research of three of his contemporaries, all tragic figures - Lise Meitner, Antoine Lavoisier, and Michael Faraday - and how each individual's work, in turn, embodied one further step toward nuclear power. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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2004 
AddKinseyto QueueAddKinseyto top of Queue
Alfred Kinsey was an entomologist who taught at Indiana University and had a keen interest in an area of human behavior that had seen little scholarly research -- human sexuality. While the courtship and reproductive patterns of animals had been carefully documented, Kinsey believed that most "established facts" about human sexual behavior were a matter of conjecture rather than research and that what most people said about their sex lives was not born out by the evidence (a subject that had personal resonance for him given the troubles he and his wife Clara Kinsey had in the early days of their marriage). After introducing a course in "Marriage" at Indiana University which offered frank and factual information on sex to students, Kinsey began an exhaustive series of interviews with a wide variety of people from all walks of life in order to find out the truth about sex practices in America. When he published Sexual Behavior and the Human Male in 1948, his findings were wildly controversial, indicating that most men had a wider variety of sexual experiences than most people imagined, including a number of practices commonly thought to be dangerous or perverted (including pre-marital sex, same-sex contacts, and masturbation). An even greater outcry greeted Kinsey's next volume, Sexual Behavior and the Human Female, which contradicted common notions than most women went into marriage sexually inexperienced. Kinsey is a film biography written and directed by Bill Condon which examines Kinsey's life and work from his strict childhood until his death in 1956. Liam Neeson plays Alfred Kinsey, and Laura Linney co-stars as Kinsey's wife and colleague Clara. John Lithgow highlights the supporting cast as Kinsey's repressed and moralistic father, while Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, and Timothy Hutton play members of Kinsey's research team and Tim Curry appears as an IU faculty member at odds with Kinsey's teachings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Liam NeesonLaura Linney, (more)
2004 
 
2004 
 
AddThe Life and Death of Peter Sellersto QueueAddThe Life and Death of Peter Sellersto top of Queue
The often-troubled life of one of the greatest comic actors in the history of the British cinema provides the basis for this biopic. Peter Sellers (Geoffrey Rush) was raised by a domineering mother (Miriam Margolyes) and meek father (Peter Vaughan), and at an early age discovered he liked to hide behind the emotional curtain of playing a character. In time, Sellers put this skill to use as an actor, and discovered he had a great gift for comedy. In the late '50s, Sellers rose to fame on the wildly popular radio series The Goon Show alongside Spike Milligan (Edward Tudor Pole) and Harry Secombe (Steve Pemberton), but as his success on radio gave way to stardom on the big screen, Sellers' ego began to get the better of him. While working on a film with Sophia Loren (Sonia Aquino), Sellers fell in love with the great Italian beauty, and eventually left his wife Anne (Emily Watson) to pursue her; when it became clear that Loren wanted nothing to do with him, Sellers fell into an affair with her stand-in instead. Professionally, Sellers career hits a new high when he agrees to take a role in a picture being directed by American filmmaker Blake Edwards (John Lithgow) called The Pink Panther, and personally he finds a new love with the beautiful Britt Ekland (Charlize Theron). But Sellers' mood swings eventually put paid to their marriage, and while he finds commercial success as a funnyman onscreen, he achieves little in the way of happiness or respect. Produced for the American premium cable service HBO, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers was screened in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Geoffrey RushCharlize Theron, (more)
2004 
 
AddNOVA: Dogs and More Dogsto QueueAddNOVA: Dogs and More Dogsto top of Queue
From the science series NOVA comes the documentary Dogs and More Dogs. Emmy award-winning actor John Lithgow narrates this look at the history of canines, how they are descendants of wolves, and how man has used them for commerce as well as companionship. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

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2003 
 
2002 
PG13 
AddOrange Countyto QueueAddOrange Countyto top of Queue
Some cast and crew from NBC's highly acclaimed, little-seen series Freaks and Geeks reunite for this teen comedy that also marks the first starring role for Tom Hanks' son, Colin. The younger Hanks plays Shaun Brumder, a high schooler eager to propel himself out of the land of surf bums and ranch homes to which the film's title refers. He's had his sights set on Stanford ever since he read the works of professor Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline), and his transcript is stellar enough to gain him admission. Shaun is understandably furious, then, when he receives a rejection letter in the mail; after some detective work on his part, he realizes that his flaky counselor (Lily Tomlin) mistakenly sent the university the wrong papers. It's up to him to get to Stanford within 24 hours to set the record straight -- literally -- and he enlists the help of his slacker brother Lance (Jack Black) to do so. Orange County co-stars Catharine O'Hara and John Lithgow as Shaun and Lance's slightly unhinged parents; the film was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Mike White, both of whom contributed to several episodes of Freaks and Geeks. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Colin HanksJack Black, (more)
2001 
 
AddNOVA: Life's Greatest Miracleto QueueAddNOVA: Life's Greatest Miracleto top of Queue
Lennart Nilsson is an experimental photographer from Sweden who became well-known for his remarkable endoscopic photographs of human embryos growing in their mothers' wombs. Nilsson's remarkable photos and the techniques that made them possible became the subject of an episode of the PBS science series Nova in 1983, Nova: The Miracle of Life. Nova: Life's Greatest Miracle catches up with Nilsson almost two decades later, as we see the latest innovations in fetal photography, as well as learning about the most recent advances in embryonic and fetal research and fertilization techniques. Nova: Life's Greatest Miracle aired on November 20, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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2001 
PG 
AddShrekto QueueAddShrekto top of Queue
In this fully computer-animated fantasy from the creators of Antz, we follow the travails of Shrek (Mike Myers), a green ogre who enjoys a life of solitude. Living in a far away swamp, he is suddenly invaded by a hoard of fairy tale characters, such as the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and Three Blind Mice, all refugees of their homes who have been shunned by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). They want to save their homes from ruin, and enlist the help of Shrek, who is in the same situation. Shrek decides to offer Lord Farquaad a deal; he will rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who is intended to be Farquaad's bride. Accompanying Shrek on his adventure is the faithful but loquacious Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who has a penchant for crooning pop songs. The two must face various obstacles in order to locate the Princess, but they find their world challenged when she reveals a dark secret that will affect the group. Shrek is based on the children's book by William Steig, and features additional voice-work by Vincent Cassel, Cody Cameron, and Kathleen Freeman. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Mike MyersEddie Murphy, (more)
2000 
 
Add3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 06to QueueAdd3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 06to top of Queue
Compared to the zany opening episodes of previous seasons, the sixth and final season of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun boasts a rather innocuous opener, with alien-in-human-form Dick Solomon (John Lithgow) helping his human-in-human form fiancée Mary Albright (Jane Curtin) teach a lesson to Mary's imperious sister Renata (Megan Mullaly). In a subsequent episode, extraterrestrial scientist Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), trapped in the body of a gawky 18-year-old boy, tries to choose a college appropriate to his advanced intelligence--thus compelling Harry and his second-in-command Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson) to interview a host of potential alien replacements for Tommy. Later still, the Solomons toy with the idea of becoming American citizens (after all, you can't get more "alien" than they already are!); a psychic threatens to reveal Dick's true identity; and the strained relationship between Mary and her overbearing mother (Elaine Stritch) becomes even more so when Dick becomes fond of the old lady. The series ends with a brace of two-part stories. In "Mary Loves Scootchie", John Cleese returns as Dick's otherworldly romantic rival Dr. Liam Neesam--only to be transformed into a monkey by the disgruntled Dick, whereupon Mary at long last figures out that her fiancée is from WAY out of town! And in the two-part series finale "The Thing That Wouldn't Die", Mary seriously considers accompanying Dick as he and the other Solomons return to their home planet, while Elvis Costello performs at the family's farewell party (Money, of course, is no object--how can Costello send a bill to a PO Box that's millions of light years away?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowJane Curtin, (more)
2000 
 
A crusade for decency and truth is mounted by a man gone mad (or has he?) in this made-for-TV adaptation of the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Alonso Quijano decides that it is time to devote his life to battling evil in all its forms; he dubs himself Don Quixote (John Lithgow), obtains a suit of armor, and with the help of his loyal friend and squire Sancho Panza (Bon Hoskins), he sets out to confront the world's ills. Inspired by the lovely Dulcinea (Vanessa Williams) and pursued by a mysterious Duchess (Isabella Rossellini), Quixote fights his battles as he finds them, with Sanson Carrasco (James Purefoy) attempting to find the eccentric old man and send him home before he can do any serious damage to himself or others. Don Quixote was something of a labor of love for John Lithgow, who had been attempting to get a feature film version of the story off the ground for several years. This production received its American premier on the TNT cable television network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowBob Hoskins, (more)
2000 
AddRugrats in Paris: The Movieto QueueAddRugrats in Paris: The Movieto top of Queue
The biggest babies in the entertainment business take their act to Europe in this sequel to the surprise-hit animated feature The Rugrats Movie. Chuckie (voice of Christine Cavanaugh) has been fretting over his father Chas (voice of Michael Bell) and his status as a single father, as he wants to have a mommy like all of his friends. Chas and his father Stu (voice of Jack Riley) were hired to create a bevy of electronic critters for the newly opened Euro-Reptarland theme park, but the robots are acting up, and park manager Coco La Bouche (Susan Sarandon) is hopping mad. So Stu and Chas are flown to Paris to do some repairs, with Chas bringing Chuckie and all his friends along. Their visit to the City of Lights proves to be one adventure after another, as Chuckie tries to find a suitable mother (with Coco leading the pack) and Tommy (voice of Elizabeth Dailey) somehow gets behind the wheel of the giant Reptar robot. Rugrats in Paris: The Movie features original songs from T-Boz from TLC, The Baha Men, and Mylene Farmer, while John Lithgow, Debbie Reynolds, and Mako contribute to the voice cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Elizabeth DailyChristine Cavanaugh, (more)
1999 
 
Add3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 05to QueueAdd3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 05to top of Queue
The riotous conclusion of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun's fourth season has a big spillover effect at the beginning of Season Five. The Solomon "family", a group of aliens in human form who've come to earth on a fact-finding mission, are relieved to discover that the baby borne by Harry Solomon's (French Stewart) earthling girl-friend Vicki (Jan Hooks) is human, despite her having been impregnated by the Solomon's extraterrestrial leading, the Big Giant Head (who in his own human form is a dead ringer for William Shatner!). But things haven't quite returned to normal yet: Overwhelmed by her experience, Vicki has threatened to take her story about the Solomons' alien status to the tabloids (too bad she didn't give birth to a bat-baby, or she'd make Page One). Season highlights include such episodes as "Dial M for Dick", in which the Solomons takes an interactive murder mystery staged at a mansion a bit too seriously; "Dick Who's Coming to Dinner", wherein the aliens come face to face with the ugly specte of racism for the first time; "Sex and the Sally" which finds Harry Solomon and his teenaged-looking cohort Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becoming novice panhandlers for fun and profit; and a shameless a spoof of the 1973 PBS documentary An American Family, in which the Solomons become the subjects of a documentary filmed by Dick's human lady friend Mary Albright (Jane Curtin)--forcing them to concoct bizarre "cover stories" for their otherworldy behavior. Best of all, William Shatner makes two encore appearances in "The Big Giant Head Returns", in which he is determined to reclaim his son from Vicki whether she likes it or not; and in the season finale, wherein the Big Giant Head and Vicki have somehow become man and wife (much to his dismay!), Harry prepares to re-enter the dating scene, and Sally helpfully tries to repair the alien-human romance between Tommy and his sweetie Alyssa (Larisa Oleynik). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowJane Curtin, (more)
1998 
 
Add3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 04to QueueAdd3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 04to top of Queue
Resolving the cliffhanger ending of Season Three, Season Four of 3rd From the Sun finds the Solomon family--actually a team of aliens who've assumed human form while on a fact-finding mission on Planet Earth--desperately searching for their kidnapped colleague Harry Solomon (French Stewart), handicapped by the loss of their extraterrestrial powers at the behest of their disgruntled leader The Big Giant Head. Once this crisis is resolved, we have time enough to become acquainted with the newest member of the cast, Larisa Oleynik, cast as Alissa Strudwick, the new human girlfriend of alien scientist Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) (who is still confined to his teenaged body despite his advancing years). The off-and-on romance between group leader Dick Solomon (John Lithgow), who has taken a job as a teacher at Pendleton College, and Dick's colleague Dr. Mary Albright (Jane Curtin), undergoes more "offs" than "ons" this season. That's because Mary has been promoted to college dean, making her Dick's boss--and he doesn't like the situation one teeny tiny bit. Season Four's better episodes include "Collect Call for Dick", a broad spoof of the current Beanie Babies craze in which Dick becomes obsessed to the point of addiction over accumulating a huge collection of "Fuzzy Buddy" toys; "I Am Dick Pentameter", featuring Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne) as an airheaded eccentric who comes between Dick and Mary; "Indecent Dick", wherein Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson) has become so comfortably in her earthly "female" form that she's willing to pose for a nudie magazine, much to the chagrin of her human beau Officer Don (Wayne Knight); and "Two Faced Dick", an all-stops-out laff riot in which Sally requests a "gender reassignment" and is allowed to exchange bodies with Dick. Also: The Solomons are threatened with being exposed as aliens when forced to file their first IRS form in "Dick and Taxes"; another near-exposure occurs in "Alien Hunter", with Kathy Bates playing the highly suspicious title character; and as the "family" comes to face to face with the Internet for the first time, Harry Solomon and his human sweetie Vicki discuss the possibility of having children, in "Y2dicK". The fourth season ends with the long-awaited arrival on earth of the Big Giant Head, who calls himself "Stone Philips" but whose human form very closely resembles that of William Shatner. Having shown up to rake the Solomons over the coals for failing to fulfill their mission, the Big Giant Head not only demotes Dick as high commander, but also manages to impregnate the hapless Vicki--who, in the process, becomes the first human on the series to tumble to the Solomons' alien status. 3rd Rock from the Sun wrapped up its fourth year on the air with two more Emmy Awards, as John Lithgow collected his third statuette and Kristen Johnson received her second. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowJane Curtin, (more)
1998 
AddHomegrownto QueueAddHomegrownto top of Queue
In this comedy thriller, set in northern California, inept but lovable pot farmers Jack Madsen (Billy Bob Thornton) and Carter (Hank Azaria) work for San Francisco entrepreneur Malcolm Stockman (John Lithgow), who arrives for a visit via copter. As soon as Malcolm steps out, the copter pilot shoots him and takes off, leaving the two aghast along with apprentice Harlan (Ryan Phillippe). Minus a boss, the naive trio deduces no paychecks are forthcoming, so they collect cannabis for a big payoff and head to the nearby town where they meet up with go-between Lucy (Kelly Lynch). However, their explanations of Malcolm's whereabouts and their sudden need to sell some of the crop arouse suspicions, while their lazy days on the dope farm have left them unprepared as businessmen seeking buyers for millions in contraband. They soon find themselves in a shadowy new world of greed, paranoia, and duplicity. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowBilly Bob Thornton, (more)
1998 
 
AddJohnny Skidmarksto QueueAddJohnny Skidmarksto top of Queue
Scripter John Raffo made his directorial debut with this noir-slanted mystery thriller about free-lance crime-scene photographer Johnny Scardino (Peter Gallagher) and recovering alcoholic Alice (Frances McDormand). Scardino takes blackmail pictures of well-to-do types in rundown motels. After the blackmailers are bumped off, Scardino wonders if he's next on the hit list, so he searches for evidence or clues that might become visible in photo blowups. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Peter GallagherFrances McDormand, (more)
1998 
PG13 
AddA Civil Actionto QueueAddA Civil Actionto top of Queue
Directed by Schindler's List screenwriter Steve Zaillian, this courtroom drama is based on a true story and non-fiction book by Jonathan Harr. The case revolves around an incident in 1979 in East Woburn, MA, where two drinking wells supplying water to the town were found to be contaminated with industrial solvents. When toxic waste was discovered later that year, suspicions arose that the local factories caused the pollution. The residents felt these companies were responsible for the unusually high rate of leukemia deaths amongst the town's children. Anne Anderson (Kathleen Quinlan), a mother who lost her son Jimmy to leukemia, fronts an effort to bring a lawsuit against the major conglomerates Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace & Co for their pollution crimes -- a heavy-duty problem, because these companies have the money to squash the less powerful citizens. Enter Jan Schlichtmann (John Travolta), a personal injury lawyer whose small law firm is hired to sue these industrial giants for millions of dollars in damages. He's up against Jerome Facher (Robert Duvall) and William Cheeseman (Bruce Norris), high-priced lawyers who represent the big companies. Most of the film takes place in the courtroom during the trial. It also features William H. Macy as Schlichtmann's accountant and John Lithgow as the judge. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John TravoltaRobert Duvall, (more)
1997 
 
A friendly policeman seeking to share some important safety tips discovers that people listen much better when a friendly pooch assists him in this adaptation of the popular children's book by Peggy Rathmann. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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1997 
 
Add3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 03to QueueAdd3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 03to top of Queue
Season Three of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun opens with another dilemma for the group of space aliens who have assumed the human form of the "Solomon" family for the purpose of gathering intelligence on the planet earth: It seems that group leader Dick Solomon (John Lithgow) has been ordered to marry Janet (guest star Roseanne), the niece of his superior back on his home planet, the Big Giant Head. Dick somehow manages to wriggle out of this because of his loyalty to his earthling sweetheart Mary Albright (Jane Curtin)--a loyalty that unfortunately proves to be a one-way street when Mary (still unaware that Dick is an alien) breaks off their relationship, thus launching a recurring motif wherein both Dick and Mary would like to get back together, but are too stubborn and prideful to admit it. In another story strand, Janet's arrival on earth proves so unnerving to Officer Don (Wayne Knight) that he immediately begins suspecting that an alien invasion is imminent--never dreaming that his own girlfriend Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson) is herself Not Of This World. As for the other two members of the alien team, scientist Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)--a middle-ager trapped in the body of a human teenager--yearns to date someone closer to his "real" age (such as Mary) and later "retires" to a nursing home, while doltish crew member Harry Solomon (French Stewart) undergoes an offbeat reunion with his former pet, who has likewise taken on human form. Midway through the third season the Solomons must themselves fend off extraterrestrials when the earth is invaded by Venusians disguised as buxom females (including models Angie Everhart and Cindy Crawford) in the two-part episode "36!24!36 Dick". And in a later two-parter, "Just Your Average Dick", John Cleese does a screamingly funny turn as nutty professor Dr. Liam Neesam, who turns out to be an alien-in-disguise himself--not to mention a worthy adversary for Dick in the war to win Mary's hand and heart. The traditional season-ending cliffhanger finds a romantic "kiss and make up" dinner being ruined when the volatile former boyfriend of Harry's human girlfriend Vicki (Jan Hooks) bursts in and kidnaps Harry--just in time for the Solomons to miss an extremely vital transmission from their home-planet superior officer, The Big Giant Head. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John LithgowJane Curtin, (more)
1996 
 
Actor John Lithgow narrates this film about the Gold Rush that started after gold was found at Sutter's Mill in California. Viewers will learn how quickly unfounded rumors spread that large quantities of gold were just waiting to be dug up by those daring enough to move West. Special segments look at some of the people who journeyed West in hopes of finding their fortune, and what it was like to live in California when panning for gold was so widespread. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

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