Michael McKean Movies

It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The writing and directing team who created Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show turn their satiric eye toward the world of folk music in this sly mockumentary. Irving Steinbloom was one of the great behind-the-scenes figures of the folk music boom of the late '50s and early '60s, and helped to nurture the careers of three of the best known acts of the era. The Folksmen -- Mark Shubb (Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (Michael McKean) -- were an earnest folk trio who sang of America's noble past and the challenges of the future; they split up in the early '70s after a failed attempt to go electric. Mitch & Mickey were a duo in both music and life, comprised of Mitch Cohen (Eugene Levy) and Mickey Devlin (Catherine O'Hara). They sang soulful songs of love until the collapse of their relationship sent Mitch into a deep and incapacitating depression. And The Main Street Singers were a nine-piece vocal group -- a "neuftet," as they prefer it -- who offered energetic good-time music, cranking out nearly 30 albums in the course of a decade; their current incarnation, The New Main Street Singers (played by Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins, David Alan Blasucci, Steve Pandis, Christopher Moynihan, Paul Dooley and Patrick Sauber) is still on the road. When it is announced that the legendary Irving Steinbloom has died (the character never appears in the film), his son Jonathan (Bob Balaban) decides that the best way to memorialize his father is through music, and with the help of Mike LaFontaine (Fred Willard) of Hi-Class Management, they set out to bring The Folksmen, Mitch & Mickey, and The New Main Street Singers back together for a special concert at New York's Town Hall. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer -- who previously teamed up for This Is Spinal Tap -- not only perform together as The Folksmen in A Mighty Wind, but composed most of the songs performed onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A twentysomething misfit dedicates his life to giving the drummer some, even when the drums are only imaginary, in this comedy written and directed by comic Ari Gold. Power (Gold) grew up in a small mining town in New Mexico, where his father (Michael McKean) always imagined his son would one day join him in digging copper from the earth. But Power has a dream of playing the drums, and since he doesn't have a drum kit, he's become a master of "air drums," flailing his arms in the manner of Neil Peart or Keith Moon against a huge but nonexistent set of traps. Power's desire to become the world's greatest air drummer doesn't earn him much respect at home, so he travels to Mexico, where he learns of an air-drumming competition in Newark, NJ. Power hits the road for the garden state and meets Carlos (Steven Williams), a master air drummer who becomes his guide in the art of not really playing. Power also gets some much-needed encouragement from Annie (Shoshannah Stern), a sweet born-again girl living upstairs from him. But when Power learns that his father back home is leading a strike to save jobs for the employees at the local copper mine, winning the title becomes a matter of defending the honor of his family and his hometown, and he dedicates himself to defeating arrogant country music star Dallas Houston (Adrien Grenier), who is favored to win. Adventures of Power also stars Jane Lynch, Travis Johns, and Jimmy Jean-Louis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Antonio Banderas plays the title role in this cable-TV reenactment of a little-known chapter in the life of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The year is 1914: With Villa's war of rebellion against the Huerta forces going badly, he hits upon a brilliant method to finance his crusade. Actually, the idea is brought to him: American filmmakers D.W. Griffith (Colm Feore) and Harry Aiken (Jim Broadbent), then busy at work on The Birth of a Nation, approach Villa with a request that he sell them the movie rights to his revolution. Acting as Griffith and Aiken's representative, junior executive Frank Thayer (Eion Bailey) tags along with Villa as the rebel leader willingly "directs" the film of his campaign, even going so far as to delay mass executions until early morning so that the cameramen won't "lose the sun." Ultimately, Villa's dreams of cinematic glory are dashed when the American public, goaded on by certain special interest groups, turns against Pancho and his noble cause. By turns comic, tragic, gruesome, and ironic, And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself was first telecast by HBO on September 7, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field makes her debut as a director of a theatrical feature with this gently satiric comedy. Mona Hibbard (Minnie Driver) is a woman from a small town in Illinois who never enjoyed much of a rapport with her parents. Looking for approval and validation, Mona began entering local beauty pageants in her early teens; now in her early 20's, Mona is still grimly determined to one day walk away a winner as she finds herself in the early innings of the Miss American Miss competition, organized by Verna Chickle (Kathleen Turner). Somewhere along the way, Mona became a single mother; determined not to let this stand in the way of a pageant victory, Mona has persuaded her best friend Ruby (Joey Lauren Adams) to raise her daughter Vanessa (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) as her own. However, Vanessa seems to have sensed that something is wrong; she feels a much greater bond with Mona than her "mother," and (like nearly everyone else), she's noticed that she looks a lot more like Mona than Ruby. Beautiful also features Kathleen Robertson, Bridgette Wilson, and Leslie Stefanson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A teenager in the '50s moves to a new neighborhood and has to deal with all the problems that come with it in this lighthearted feature--complete with a rock 'n' roll soundtrack. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Billed as a prequel to the 1995 family film Casper, which in turn is based on an enduring Harvey cartoon character "Casper the Friendly Ghost," this direct-to-video entry is aimed at younger kids (though some of the scenes may be inappropriate for really young children). The story begins as Casper, who is new to the ghostly plane, rides a death train towards Ghost Central Station where he is to attend a camp to train him to scare people. Instead, he irritates another passenger and is tossed off the train. The bewildered little spirit lands in Deedstown where he becomes friends with 10-year-old Chris Carson, a troubled boy whose mother is gone and whose work-obsessed father ignores him. Chris sees that Casper is troubled too and so decides to show him how to be a real ghost by taking him to Applegate Manor, the town's haunted house, and introducing him to the riotous Ghostly Trio. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dana Carvey plays a private detective who forgets everything when he goes to sleep at night, waking up each morning with a "clean slate," in this hit-and-miss comedy that plays like a companion piece to the much funnier Groundhog Day. Pogue (Carvey) is afflicted with his unique form of amnesia after getting injured in a car explosion. With the aid of a mysterious woman (Valeria Golino) who allegedly died in the bombing, he must find a priceless coin and evade the murderous clutches of the mobster (Michael Gambon) who executed the explosion and who wants to silence Pogue before he can testify against him. Carvey fares reasonably well in his role, but the best moments are provided by Pogue's dog, a one-eyed Jack Russell named Barkley who makes a habit out of running into things headfirst. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

"The Coneheads" were a sketch on the Saturday Night Live television show of the late '70s which were expanded to feature-length proportions with this film. The story concerns Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymaat (Jane Curtin), who leave the planet Remulak to prepare for an invasion of Planet Earth. But due to a malfunction, they find themselves plunged into the Hudson River and forced to take up residence in Paramus, New Jersey where Beldar gets work as an appliance salesman and makes a deal for a phony social security card. Before long, all thoughts of invading Earth are left behind as Beldar and Prymaat quickly adapt to suburban life -- except for their coneheads and metallic-sounding voices, they become a typical middle-class suburban family. The Coneheads have a child, Connie (Michelle Burke) and Beldar becomes a New York cab driver and starts up his own driving school. Connie grows into a teenager and a neighborhood boy, Ronnie (Chris Farley), develops a crush on her because he likes to rub her conehead. But a nefarious INS agent, Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean), and his toady assistant, Turnbull (David Spade), are hot on The Coneheads' trail because of Beldar's false social security card. Not only that, but the Remulakian Highmaster (Dave Thomas) is beginning to wonder what ever happened to Beldar's invasion of the third rock from the sun. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This drama is from the Wonderworks series and centers upon the mischievous Daniel and his pals who have great fun taunting the artist Sam Rodia as he endeavors to construct the famous glass towers in Watts, the notorious Los Angeles ghetto. One day young Daniel accidentally breaks a shop window and is forced to pay for fixing it. Unfortunately, he is broke and so goes to Sam for help. Sam agrees to pay for the window on the condition that Daniel help him find more glass for his towers. As they begin their search, the two become good friends, and from the artist, Daniel learns much about life. The friendship between Sam and Daniel is fiction, but Sam really did build the landmark towers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide