Stephen Tobolowsky Movies
Perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable -- yet seemingly unidentifiable -- character actors to have succeeded in Hollywood, Stephen Tobolowsky's non-movie star looks have enabled the native Texan to portray a wider variety of characters more conventional movie stars simply could not. Born and raised in Dallas, Tobolowsky attended Southern Methodist University for his undergraduate degree and went on to earn a Master's degree in acting from the University of Illinois. While at S.M.U., the young Tobolowsky won his first film role in a low-budget horror film entitled Keep My Grave Open. Soon after finishing his studies, he went west to Los Angeles and started working somewhat consistently in both television and film in the early '80s -- while gaining some notice for his work in the films Swing Shift and Mississippi Burning. After toiling on the West Coast for a few years, Tobolowsky became a bi-coastal star with a role in a 1981 Broadway production of Beth Henley's play The Wake of Jamey Foster. In 1986, he collaborated with Henley -- who also happened to be a fellow student of Tobolowsky's during his undergraduate studies at S.M.U. -- and David Byrne to co-write the script for Byrne's 1986 film True Stories. The multi-talented thespian then went on to write and direct his own play, Two Idiots in Hollywood, which he also turned into a film in 1988. The early '90s brought Tobolowsky his greatest exposure to the movie-going public, with a number of diverse and interesting roles that highlighted the actor's great range and skill -- nearly to the extent of upstaging these films' higher-profile stars. Perhaps the most prototypical Tobolowsky characterization can be found in the 1993 Harold Ramis comedy Groundhog Day, in which Tobolowsky portrayed the hapless insurance salesman Ned Ryerson. Other memorable performances from this decade include Thelma & Louise, Basic Instinct, Sneakers, and The Radioland Murders. Tobolowsky continued creating endearing characters into the 2000s, starting with Christopher Nolan's indy hit Memento. As amnesiac Sammy Jankis, Tobolowsky created one of the most powerful dramatic performances of his career. His next significant film role came via the 2002 Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman film Adaptation, which further displayed the nearly chameleon-like actor's range and talent that make him one of the best character actors in the industry. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide- 1993
- PG13
In this road movie, the motorists are a pair of preteens--brothers Josh (Jacob Tierney) and Sam (Noah Fleiss)--who hit the highway after their parents announce their pending divorce. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss, (more)
Bill Murray plays Phil, a TV weatherman working for a local station in Pennsylvania but convinced that national news stardom is in his grasp. Phil displays a charm and wit on camera that evaporates the moment the red light goes off; he is bitter, appallingly self-centered, and treats his co-workers with contempt, especially his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot). On February 2, 1992, Phil, Rita, and Larry are sent on an assignment that Phil especially loathes: the annual Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, PA, where the citizens await the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who will supposedly determine the length of winter by his ability to see his own shadow. Phil is eager to beat a hasty retreat, but when a freak snowstorm strands him in Punxsutawney, he wakes up the next morning with the strangest sense of déjà vu: he seems to be living the same day over again. The next morning it happens again, and then again. Soon, no matter what he does, he's stuck in February 2, 1992; not imprisonment nor attempted suicide nor kidnapping the groundhog gets him out of the loop. But the more Phil relives the same day, the more he's forced to look at other people's lives, and something unusual happens: he begins to care about others. He starts to respect people, he tries to save the life of a homeless man, and he discovers that he's falling in love with Rita and therefore wants to be someone that she could love in return. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, (more)
Paul Mazursky directed this comedy, which blends a broad satire of the film industry with a thoughtful tale of a middle-aged man looking back on his life's failures. Harry Stone (Danny Aiello) is a film director who desperately needs a hit -- so desperately that he gets talked into directing an inane sci-fi film about a group of farm kids (led by Ally Sheedy) who grow an enormous pickle that they turn into a spaceship, allowing them to visit the planet Cleveland (ruled by Little Richard and his right hand man, Griffin Dunne) where everyone eats nothing but meat. Convinced that the film will flop, Harry is in a state of panic as he returns to New York with his Parisian girlfriend Francoise (Clotilde Courau), a mere 20 years his junior, and visits his ex-wife Ellen (Dyan Cannon); his mother Yetta (Shelley Winters); and his son Gregory (Chris Penn). Meanwhile Harry flashes back on his childhood and the film he could have made of it, and pitches his dream film (a historical epic about the life of Montezuma) to studio executives, who instead want him to make a movie kids can relate to. The Pickle was filmed in 1991, but only received a token theatrical release two years later. Actually, the sci-fi story with Little Richard as the undisputed ruler of Cleveland looks like it might have been an ideal vehicle for Edward D. Wood Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Dyan Cannon, (more)
- 1993
- PG13
Lots of guys used to dream about having a date with Marilyn Monroe, but three friends who are about to graduate from high school to go their separate ways try to make that fantasy a reality in this comedy, set in 1962. Roy (Jason Priestley), Ned (Gabriel Olds), and Scott (Jerry O'Connell) have been buddies since the age of six, when they were entered together in a Howdy Doody look-alike contest. With only a few weeks to go before they graduate from high school, Roy has impulsively joined the Army to get away from his abusive father, while Ned has discovered he's going to be a father, and Scott is still plagued by his pesky virginity. Wanting to enjoy their last few weeks of freedom, Roy "borrows" a wad of cash and a blue Galaxie 500 convertible from his former employers, repo men Arturo and Antonio Gallo (Kurt Fuller and Stephen Tobolowsky), and persuades his friends to join him as he heads to Hollywood. Roy wants to meet the woman of his dreams, Marilyn Monroe, whom he's learned is working on a new picture, Something's Got to Give. With the help of Roy's Uncle Harry (Joe Pantoliano), they locate Monroe's home and camp out at her gate, hoping to get a glimpse of the glamourous goddess. However, Roy breaks out a reefer to smoke while they attempt to stay up all night (tactical error number one: marijuana does not make you more alert!), and when she slips out without their noticing, the three end up on a mad chase to find Marilyn before she gets away. Meanwhile, the Gallo Brothers have noticed their car is gone, and they are determined to get it back, without much concern for the health or safety of the thief. Calendar Girl was Jason Priestley's first vehicle following his success on the television series Beverly Hills 90210. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Priestley, Gabriel Olds, (more)
In this tech-thriller from director Phil Alden Robinson, a group of five renegade computer hackers, led by Martin Bishop (Robert Redford), are hired by the government to steal a black box, containing a code-breaking machine, from the mathematician who invented the device. The government is able to persuade Martin to take the job by convincing him that they will drop a decades-old federal warrant for his involvement in computer fraud. Martin agrees and he takes his team on the mission, eventually taking the box. Shortly after the hackers have stolen the device, the mathematician turns up dead. Before long, the quintet realize that they've gotten themselves into more than they'd originally bargained for, as Bishop's old rival Cosmo (Ben Kingsley) enters into the fold. The eclectic ensemble also includes River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and James Earl Jones. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, (more)
This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America. The plot concerns Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a successful bisexual mystery writer who may also be a ruthless murderer. Everyone close to Catherine dies, and troubled policeman Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) must find out why. In the process, Nick becomes sexually involved with both Catherine and police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), while the bodies begin piling up and Catherine turns the cat-and-mouse game around on Nick. Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas -- who was paid $3 million for the script -- keep the tension ratcheted up throughout, even during the frequent sex scenes, which carry a violent edge reminiscent of the Italian thrillers of Dario Argento. The film's most notorious scene, a police interrogation in which Catherine makes drooling idiots out of her captors by revealing that she is not wearing underwear, became a cultural touchstone and was widely imitated and parodied. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point that she claimed Verhoeven had aimed lights on strategic locations without her knowledge. George Dzundza and Dorothy Malone co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, (more)
In this psychological thriller, a needy young woman finds fulfillment by trying to literally become her successful roommate. Attractive Manhattanite Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda) has it all: a handsome beau, a rent-controlled apartment, and a promising career as a fashion designer. When boyfriend Sam (Steven Weber) proves unfaithful, Allison strikes out on her own but must use the classifieds to seek out a roommate in order to keep her spacious digs. In steps Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who's timid and frumpy but puppy-dog sweet. The self-centered Allison finds Hedra's eager friendship flattering, but soon she grows annoyed as Hedra begins emulating everything about her. After Allison gets back with Sam and asks Hedra to please vacate the premises, the pert beauty really gets to see her weird new roomie's bad side -- Hedra, it seems, is downright homicidal. Directed by Barbet Schroeder, who wowed Hollywood with Barfly and Reversal of Fortune. Single White Female was the second screenplay from future Opposite of Sex director Don Roos. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
Stephen Frears' Hero is a contemporary re-working of a Frank Capra-styled fable about a two-bit criminal named Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) who saves several passengers from a plane crash and leaves the scene without being identified, leaving only a lost shoe for identification. One of the passengers happens to be news-reporter Gale (Geena Davis) who is intent on finding her savior, and offers a million dollars to the "hero" of the crashed flight. Bernie has since given his remaining shoe to a homeless man named John (Andy Garcia) who decides to cash in on the offer. A handsome, charming man, John wins the hearts of the entire city. Soon, Bernie realizes that he's been cheated out of a million dollars, and he begins an effort to get his proper recognition--and his money. Hero manages to be quite funny and satirical while sticking to a story that is essentially a Hollywood fable. That is to the credit of director Frears and the cast, who turn in uniformly excellent performances. Nevertheless, Hoffman is superb as a bitterly comic and spiteful variation on his classic Ratso Rizzo character. By the way, be on the lookout for Chevy Chase in a very funny cameo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, (more)
Marc Rocco's gritty drama Where the Day Takes You stars Dermot Mulroney as King, a street-smart hustler who acts as a father figure to a motley collection of young runaways. Among the people in his sphere are the young self-destructive drug addict Greg (Sean Astin), self-hating gay prostitute Little J (Balthazar Getty), and newcomer Heather (Lara Flynn Boyle). The film is structured as a series of flashbacks triggered by King's conversations with a prison psychologist (Laura San Giacomo). Included in the impressive cast are such soon-to-be-famous names as Will Smith and Ricki Lake, and the already established Kyle MacLachlan, Christian Slater, and Alyssa Milano. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Astin, Lara Flynn Boyle, (more)
Chevy Chase stars, though not always visibly, as Nick Halloway, a low-level businessman with an acerbic approach to life and work, whose humdrum existence utterly bores him. Nick gets an unexpected jolt of excitement when, nursing a hangover, he's the only one not to evacuate an office building that becomes a disaster area after a mishap involving nuclear testing equipment. An unexpected by-product of the accident is that it turns the molecules of the building, as well as Nick and the clothes he's wearing, transparent. When a team of shady government agents, led by David Jenkins (Sam Neill), notices that a human has been turned invisible, they try to take him into custody, planning to use him as the most dangerous secret intelligence agent the world has ever known. Distrusting their motives, the frantic and confused Nick escapes, and quickly begins learning new information about his unusual condition, such pragmatic details as trying to sleep when he can see through his eyelids and any unprocessed food he eats will give him away. Soon, however, he discovers that the scientist in charge of the experiments (Jim Norton) has no idea how to return him to normal, and begins plotting how best to live a semblance of a normal life while steering clear of his pursuers. Nick involves a beautiful woman he met the night before the accident (Daryl Hannah) in his dilemma, and soon she too becomes a target. Memoirs of an Invisible Man was adapted from a book by H.F. Saint. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, (more)
Screenwriter/electrician Abbe Wool makes her directorial debut with the offbeat road movie Roadside Prophets. Brooding factory worker Joe (X front man John Doe) takes a road trip in order to scatter the ashes of his co-worker Dave Coleman (David Anthony Marshall). Riding his vintage Harley Davidson, Joe leaves Los Angeles and heads for a small Nevada town called El Dorado to fulfill Dave's final wish. His journey is complicated by a small fry named Sam (the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz), a wannabe biker who continually lights off fireworks and nurtures an odd obsession with Motel 9. Joe also has to cope with making daily phone calls to Angie (voice of Sonna Chavez), his co-worker back in L.A. who is giving him sick days in exchange for the promise of a hot date. While traveling through the desert, Joe and Sam meet various eccentric characters played by the likes of David Carradine, John Cusack, Timothy Leary, and Arlo Guthrie. They eventually end up at their destination, which turns out to be a washed-up gambling town called Jackpot. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Doe, Adam Horowitz, (more)
- 1991
This suspenseful drama tells the chilling true story of up-and-coming model Marla Hanson who was viciously attacked by a make-up man after she rejected his advances. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Pollak, Dale Midkiff, (more)
In this futuristic action drama directed by Lewis Teague, Frank Warren (Rutger Hauer) is a man accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of gems. In prison, all the inmates wear collars which are electronically joined to those of an unknown partner. The collars will explode if either partner gets more than 300 feet away from the other. Warren is determined to escape, however, and finds that his partner is Tracy Riggs (Mimi Rogers). They plan and execute an elaborate escape and head off to search for the stolen diamonds. But members of Warren's former gang pursue them. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Mimi Rogers, (more)
Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon play Thelma and Louise, two working-class friends who together have planned a weekend getaway from the men in their lives. Thelma's husband, Darryl (Chris McDonald), is an overbearing oaf, and Louise's boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Madsen), simply will not commit. Though the road trip starts out as a good time, the pair eventually wind up at a bar. A tipsy Thelma ends up in the parking lot of the bar with a would-be rapist. Louise shoots the man dead. The two decide that they have no choice but to go on the run. They eventually meet up with a young criminal named J.D. (Brad Pitt), whose cowboy spirit rubs off on the timid Thelma. The pair is pursued by a police officer (Harvey Keitel) sympathetic toward their plight. He chases them to the Grand Canyon, where the women make a fateful decision about their lives. Directed by Ridley Scott, Thelma & Louise brought first-time screenwriter Callie Khouri many accolades including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, (more)
- 1991
- R
In a futuristic world, the U.S. is ruled by a repressive government that bans most forms of media. As part of the enforcement, a cop (Billy Zane) is sent to the rebel state of Megaville on an undercover mission to infiltrate an unlawful media organization. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, J.C. Quinn, (more)
- 1991
Actress Susan Ruttan, who played the quietly efficient legal secretary on LA Law, does an artistic about-face in the TV movie Deadly Medicine. She plays a Texas pediatrics nurse who may have committed several "mercy killings" of her charges. 43 babies die under mysterious circumstances, with Ms. Ruttan seemingly always lurking in the corridor. When confronted by doctor Veronica Hamel, Susan threatens to accuse Ms. Hamel of the murders--and she does, with astonishing success. Though constructed like a network "mystery of the week", Deadly Medicine is founded on fact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Perry Mason must reevaluate his legal principles when an old buddy asks him to represent the gangster suspected of murdering his wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Burr, Paul Anka, (more)
This tension-filled made-for-television drama is set a few hours before the Viet Cong took over Saigon in 1975 and chronicles the struggle of Americans and Vietnamese to be on board the last commercial flight out of the city. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- R
In this straightforward horror film, a new widow (Karen Black) and her daughter (Rainbow Harvest) have just moved into a new home. They don't discover until much later that the previous owner was mad, mad, mad. By then, the mirror that the woman left behind in the house has served its purpose as a gateway to demonic worlds, and the evil ones have wreaked havoc in this one. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Black, Rainbow Harvest, (more)
The can't-miss teaming of Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn is squandered on a clumsy, illogical romantic melodrama. Running across her old boyfriend Gibson at a Wisconsin gas station, Hawn is astounded that he seems not to recognize her. How could she have known that Gibson was put into the Witness Relocation Program after testifying against a homicidal mob boss (say, don't they usually alter your appearance when they put you in that program?) Curious over Gibson's furtive behavior, Hawn unknowingly sets herself up as a target for the bad guys. The whole affairs culminates in an after-hours showdown at a zoo (a plot device vastly improved upon in the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Eraser). While Bird on a Wire admittedly has its moments of enjoyment, most of the film is on a par with Gibson's embarrassing, homophobic scene with a pair of epicine hairdressers. And whoever heard of the Chinatown section of Racine, Wisconsin? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, (more)
Director Stephen Frears' tense adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel The Grifters was one of a number of revival film noirs in the first half of the '90s. Updating the setting to contemporary Los Angeles, the film follows a trio of con artists who are intent on out-foxing each other. Roy Dillon (John Cusack) is a simple, two-bit con, whose life is thrown into turmoil when his estranged mother Lilly (Anjelica Huston) returns home in an attempt to evade the law. Lilly doesn't warm to Roy's girlfriend Myra Langtry (Annette Bening), who is too similar to herself. Soon, the two women are competing for Roy in a battle that is more of a power struggle than a pursuit of affection, and the battle quickly turns dangerous. Huston was nominated for an Academy Award for her work. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, (more)
- 1990
A disabled ex-Green Beret who served in Vietnam begins getting clues of his forgotten past via flashbacks and attempts to make sense of it. Apparently, he makes somebody uncomfortable in doing so, and soon is a target for a more complete cover-up. This story of intrigue and dangerous political games was made for cable TV. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG13
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In this film, the small town of Clyde, Ohio is buzzing with excitement when it is said that the famous Roxy Carmichael is leaving her luxurious Hollywood life to return to her old hometown. Her return causes upheaval in the lives of family-man Denton Webb (Jeff Daniels), her old boyfriend, and an angst-ridden teen, Dinky Bossetti (Winona Ryder), who is convinced that Roxy Carmichael is her natural mother. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Jeff Daniels, (more)
The once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between star Gene Wilder and director Leonard Nimoy resulted in the charmingly haphazard and anachronistic Funny About Love. Wilder plays political cartoonist Duffy Bergman, who falls in love with much-younger Meg (Christine Lahti) during a book-signing session. Once married, the old "clash of careers" bugaboo arises: Meg wants to continue working as a chef in a fancy New York restaurant, while Duffy would prefer that she think about starting a family. When it seems as though Meg may be incapable of bearing children, the self-involved Duffy impregnates earthy college coed Daphne (Mary Stuart Masterson). How a happy ending can grow from this complication is a puzzlement. Funny About Love was based--extremely loosely--on a speech once delivered by Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene. The laughs tend to be sporadic, though Stephen Toblowsky scores high marks as a jocular fertility doctor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Christine Lahti, (more)
Until its last 10 minutes or so, this filmed biography of controversial recording star Jerry Lee Lewis plays like a live-action cartoon. As played by Dennis Quaid, "the killer" is a very mixed-up individual: a saintly sinner, a world-wise naif, a skilled performer with zero sense of discipline, a loving husband who uses his wife for a punching bag. The story takes place during the years 1956 through 1958, as Lewis rises to the top of the charts with such hits as "Crazy Arms," "A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," and the title tune. Along the way, he falls in love with his second cousin Myra (Winona Ryder), eventually marrying the girl. When it is revealed that Myra is only 13 years old, Lewis is condemned as a molester and pervert by the public (his disastrous tour of England during this crisis is depicted in hilarious Tex Avery fashion). After establishing a brisk, satirical tone through most of the proceedings, the film plummets into heavy dramatics in its final portions, jarring disastrously with all that has gone before. Otherwise, Quaid is terrific as Lewis (expertly lip-synching to the original records,) and Ryder is equally good as the long-suffering Myra. Featured in the cast are Alec Baldwin as Jerry's cousin Jimmy Swaggart (the same!), Michael St. Gerard as Lewis' great rival Elvis, and Steve Allen as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, (more)
