Dave Thomas Movies

An old friendship is renewed and new bonds are forged as Kenai and Nita set out on the adventure of a lifetime in this animated, direct-to-video sequel to the 2003 Disney hit Brother Bear. When Kenai emerges from his first hibernation with a hearty appetite and a craving for the best spring berries around, he takes his younger brother Koda to Crowberry Ridge for a delicious feast. As Rutt and Tuke scour the landside looking for some female companionship, Kenai is surprised to find his childhood friend Nita venturing into the wilderness with a pressing problem that only Kenai can solve. It appears as if the amulet given to Nita by Kenai has much greater power than either of them had previously thought, and in order to marry, the old friends must travel back to Hokani Falls to burn the amulet together. Now, as the pair travel over icy mountain ranges and down raging rivers, the plan set into motion by the Great Spirits for Nita and Kenai slowly begins to come into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A small-town Canadian waitress pining for the attention of the former high-school football star finds her affections returned from the least likely of places in this entry into the 2005 Vancouver Film Festival from director Vic Sarin. To say that Eve Stuckley (Marla Sokoloff) has a low self-opinion would be an understatement. Though she may not necessarily be Cosmo material, the lovelorn waitress with dreams of being accepted to a New York City art school and a slight case of body dysmorphic disorder just can't seem to catch the eye of town hunk Jeff Sweeney (Barry Watson) -- even though Jeff is best friends with Eve's older brother, Chuck (Jonathan Cherry). When mysterious beauty Linda (Monika Schnarre) breezes into town on business, heads immediately turn and she is soon fending off the advances of both Jeff and Chuck. Despite the attentions lavished on her by the handsome duo, Linda is instead attracted to a lonely waitress whose true beauty has gone sadly unrecognized. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In the Disney-animated adventure Brother Bear, Joaquin Phoenix provides the voice of Kenai, a young Native American boy whose brother, Sitka (voice of D.B. Sweeney), is killed by a mother bear protecting her cubs. With revenge in mind, Kenai sets out into the woods only to find himself magically transformed into a bear himself. Seeing the world through the eyes of his prey, Kenai is forced to learn a lesson about nature and life. On a comic footnote: Brother Bear also features the voices of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Rutt and Tuke, moose characters reminiscent of their beer-guzzling McKenzie brothers from SCTV and Strange Brew; because this is a family-oriented cartoon - and it would be inappropriate for the moose to quaff beer -- the two moose express a fondness for eating wheat hops instead. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Composer and man-about-town Asa (Jason Priestley) can either be found hard at work writing a new song or trying to pick up women dressed in tails and a top hat. With considerable success in both ventures, Asa has no need to trouble himself with a real job, especially since he is quite capable of getting by on his trust fund. The one responsibility Asa does have is as father to young son Michael (Connor Price), who lives with Asa's ex-wife Charity (Deborah Odell) and her new boyfriend. One night, Asa brings Michael along with him as he hits his usual watering holes and Charity finds out about the adventure after the fact -- prompting the angry woman to threaten the removal of Asa's visitation rights unless the carefree musician straightens out his act. Unwilling to lose his son, Asa takes a job in his uncle Billy's (Dave Thomas) advertising agency and is soon forced to make a choice that may compromise his self-respect. On the other hand, he gets to work with the alluring Karen (Tanya Allen) on the project, which would give Asa the opportunity to get close to his new co-worker. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

A chimp learns the blue lines rules of hockey (which is more than can be said for many fans) in this family oriented comedy from the creative team behind Air Bud. Jack is a three-year-old chimpanzee who has been the subject of a long-term experiment by Dr. Kendall (Lomax Study), a researcher who been teaching Jack to communicate through sign language. Jack, however, has not been making progress fast enough for Dr. Kendall's sponsor, Dr. Peabody (Oliver Muirhead), who has cut off his funding and sold Jack to a medical research lab. Afraid of what could happen to his simian friend, Dr. Kendall sneaks Jack out of his home in the lab; however, Jack is accidentally sent to Canada, where he gets loose and is discovered by Tara (Jamie Renee Smith), a deaf girl who recognizes Jack's sign language. Jack has an even bigger surprise for Tara's older brother Steven (Kevin Zegers); Jack scrambles onto the ice in the midst of practice for Steven's junior league hockey team, and he and his teammates discover the monkey has a natural talent for the game. With Jack on the team, Steven's team is on their way to a league championship, but Jack's notoriety attracts the unfortunate attention of Dr. Peabody, who are determined to send Jack back to his new owners. Jack is played on screen by three different chimps, Bernie, Mac, and Louie; the suppoirting cast also features former SCTV regular Dave Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This animated musical is the newest incarnation of Astrid Lindgren's mischievous, magical Pippi Longstocking, the nine-year-old daughter of a sea captain whose adventures have delighted young readers, moviegoers and television fans for generations. The tale begins as Pippi sails the seas with her father. A storm tosses him overboard, but just before he disappears he promises his daughter that he will return to their home at Villa Villekulla. Pippi returns home to raise herself amongst a menagerie of interesting animals. She supports herself with a cache of gold coins given to her by her father. Pippi's friends include her neighbors Tommy and Annika, who find her a refreshing change from the boredom of their suburban lives. Together the trio get into good-natured trouble with the townsfolk. Real trouble comes in the form of two idiotic thieves who try to steal Pippi's money. Songs include"Pluttifikation" and "A Bowler and a New Gold Tooth." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While discussing the hiring of a new head writer with Artie (Rip Torn), Phil Wallace Langham) unexpectedly jockeys for the position himself. Despite the fact that Artie thinks Phil lacks the "people skills" that the job of head writer demands, he gives a determined Phil a shot at the job. Quickly disillusioned due to the substantial amount that office politics play into the job, Phil runs into grief with both Paula (Janeane Garofalo) as well as a headstrong executive. Soon on the outs with the rest of the writers, Phil makes outrageous demands in hopes that Artie will fire him. The plan backfires, and Artie is convinced that Phil will go a long way as head writer. Special guests include Doug Ballard, John Riggi, Jim Turner, Richard Narita, and SCTV alum Dave Thomas. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

For many years, comedian John Candy was a staple of the prestigious Second City comedy troupe where he was known for creating such unforgettable characters as Johnny La Rue and Dr. Tongue. He was also a noted impressionist who had audiences rolling in the aisles with his take on such figures as Jake LaMotta, Divine and even Julia Child. This video presents only but a few of the most hysterical moments of the show. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

SCTV alumnus Dave Thomas manned the megaphone for the direct-to-video Experts. John Travolta was between career highs when he agreed to appear in this anachronistic cold-war comedy. Travolta and Arye Gross play Travis and Wendell, a couple of vagabonds hired by Soviet spy Cameron Smith (Charles Martin Smith) to act as experts on the American lifestyle. It seems that Smith is in charge of one of those "typical American towns" constructed in the middle of the Soviet Union for espionage-training purposes (remember all those Red-baiting documentaries of the 1950s?) Under the influence of drugs, Travis and Wendell are relocated to the phony burg of Indian Springs, Nebraska (actually well within the Russian borders). They immediately begin indoctrinating their "American" neighbors in all the guilty pleasures of Yankee hedonism. Hardly a comedy classic, The Experts did produce one salutary by-product: it was on the set of this film that John Travolta met his future bride Kelly Preston, here cast as a peaches-and-cream Russian spy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Moffitt directed this silly Canadian comedy about a falsely accused Salem witch (Kelly Preston). Terry Sweeney's script seems to find most of its humor in sex, drugs, and bathroom jokes, none of which are very amusing. Genre devotees will be quite pleased, however, with a cast featuring Barbara Carrera, SCTV member Dave Thomas, Bud Cort, Stuart Pankin, and Anne Ramsey. Dr. Joyce Brothers makes one of her obligatory cameo appearances as well. Preston appeared in another witch film, Janet Greek's Spellbinder, the following year. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Adam Swit (Raphael Sbarge) is hounded by his consumer parents in their plush L.A. home, beset by his sexually deprived sister, and faces agony at school at the hands of the tougher kids. In order to escape his troubles, he daydreams about a fantastic young woman. Lo and behold, a dead-ringer for his dream woman shows up at school one day as a transfer student (Page Hannah) and Adam sets out to befriend her right away. On their first date they find a teacher in the parking lot who has just been severely worked over by a gang of thugs. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Director John Landis helmed this Cold War farce starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase as Austin Millbarge and Emmett Fitz-Hume -- two loser misfits who dwell in the lower ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency. Convinced despite much evidence to the contrary that they're prime secret agent material, both men keep taking service exams in an effort to win promotion. Caught cheating on their latest round of tests, Austin and Emmett expect to be fired but are instead made full field agents and ushered into intense training. Little do they know that it's all a ruse and that they're about to be dumped in Pakistan to throw Russian spies off the scent of two real agents with an important clandestine assignment. A spoof of the "road" pictures popularized by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, the film features a cameo by the latter as his golf-playing self. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide