Lily Tomlin Movies
She is best known for creating a multitude of memorable comic characters, including Ernestine the telephone operator and the rotten five-year-old rugrat Edith Ann, on television and in her stage shows, but let it not be forgotten that Lily Tomlin is also a talented dramatic actress, something she has thus far only demonstrated in two films. She was born Mary Tomlin in Detroit, MI. She was studying premed at Wayne State University when she heard the stage calling and so dropped out to perform skits and characterizations in cabarets and coffeehouses.Tomlin made her television debut on The Garry Moore Show but didn't get her first real break until she became a regular on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in 1970 and stayed through 1973. The series' machine gun pace proved the perfect outlet for Tomlin's offbeat humor and gave her the opportunity to hone her skills and develop her characters. She made an auspicious film debut with a touching dramatic role as a troubled gospel singer trying to deal with her hearing-impaired children and a womanizing Keith Carradine in Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), winning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a New York Film Critics award for the same category.
Her next film, The Late Show (1977), was also more dramatic than comic and Tomlin again won kudos, though not in the form of awards, for her work. While she started off strongly in films, her subsequent output has been of uneven quality ranging from the entertaining All of Me (1984) to the abysmal Big Business (1988). But while her film career has never quite taken flight, Tomlin remained successful on-stage, in clubs, and on television. On Broadway, Tomlin has had two successful one-woman shows, Appearing Nitely (1976) and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1986), which Tomlin made into a film in 1991.
In 1996, Tomlin became a regular on the cast of the long-running sitcom Murphy Brown playing a canny news producer and foil for Candice Bergan's Murphy. That same year she would work for the first time with director David O. Russell on the film Flirting With Disaster. After returning to film with the demise of Murphy Brown, Tomlin took on supporting roles in a variety of films, such as Tea with Mussolini and Disney's The Kid. But television soon came calling again in the form of a recurring role on NBC's The West Wing as The President's eccentric personal secretary.
In 2004, Tomlin teamed with Russell again for the ensemble comedy I Heart Huckabees. A subsequent visit to the animated town of Springfield found Tomlin dropping in on The Simpsons the following year, withg recurring roles on both Will and Grace and The West Wing preceding a turn as one-half of a sisterly singing act along with Meryl Streep in the 2006 Robert Altman radio-show adaptation A Prairie Home Companion. At the Oscar telecast in 2006 Streep and Tomlin presented Altman with a lifetime achievement award, delivering their speech in a style that emulated the distinctive rhythms of his films. That same year she leant her vocal talents to an animated film for the first time in her career providing the voice for Mommo in The Ant Bully, which coincidently also featured her Prairie Home Companion cohort Meryl Streep. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Hollywood funnyman Steve Martin returns to the role made famous by Peter Sellers in this high-concept sequel to the 2006 comedy hit The Pink Panther. The world's most valuable treasures are being stolen. The legendary Pink Panther Diamond is the latest to disappear, and Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese taking over acting duties from Kevin Kline) is assembling a team of international experts and detectives to track down the thief and recover the missing artifacts. The latest addition to the crack team is Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Martin), the intrepid yet awkward French detective who always seems to get his man. Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer reprise their roles as Clouseau's partner, Ponton, and love interest, Nicole, respectively, with Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki, and the Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai rounding out the team that will travel from Paris to Rome in search of the priceless gem. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Jean Reno, (more)
- 2008
- G
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Acclaimed anime master Hayao Miyazaki returns for his ninth animated feature with Ponyo, which deals with a friendship between a five-year-old boy and a goldfish princess who yearns to be human. The daughter of the king of the ocean, Ponyo is no ordinary goldfish -- she has all the magic of the sea at her disposal. But when five-year-old Sosuke befriends the spunky little fish near the seaside home he shares with his mother and father, a special connection sparks between the two children, and Ponyo becomes determined to become human. Transforming into a little girl, Ponyo shows up at Sosuke's doorstep, delighted to make herself at home with her new land-dwelling family. But having a magical fish princess walking around on dry land begins setting the mystical balance of the world off kilter, and even though the innocent love Ponyo feels for her dear friend is strong, it will take some help from the greatest powers in the ocean to make things right again. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Noah Cyrus, Yuria Nara, (more)
With The Walker, Paul Schrader unofficially updates themes and tropes first explored by his controversial erotic thriller American Gigolo (1980). Woody Harrelson stars as Carter Page III, an overtly gay, Virginia senator's son, paid as an asexual escort of middle-aged women in the upper-crust circles of Washington, D.C. Carter's regular clients include three politicos' wives: Natalie Van Miter (Lauren Bacall), Abigail Delorean (Lily Tomlin), and Lynn Lockner (Kristin Scott Thomas), to whom Carter is closest - so close that he squires her, regularly, to sexual rendezvous with her lover, the lobbyist Robbie Kononsberg (Steven Hartley). When an unknown perpetrator stabs Robbie to death, and Lynn discovers his murdered body at his condo, Carter attempts to protect Lynn and her husband, Larry (Willem Dafoe), from media intrusion by informing the police that he found the body himself, despite the fact that it makes him an immediate suspect. In time, Carter discovers from the women (during their gossip over a canasta game) that Robbie was involved with a shady insurance company, on the verge of being investigated - and that the investigation would have uncovered dirt and scandal on each woman. To shield Lynn from trouble, and deliver himself from incrimination, Page ultimately decides to investigate the crime himself, with the close assistance of his lover, the German-Turkish photographer Emek (Moritz Bleibtreu). Schrader authored the original script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
- 2007
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The self-proclaimed "Last Lesbian Comic Standing," Kate Clinton stands at the forefront of the lesbian movement thanks to her fearless, politically-charged humor and pointed insight into female sexuality. A former high school English teacher who walked away from her day job back in 1981, Clinton has since gone on to deliver twenty-five years of laughs. Now, in order to mark her Silver Anniversary as a performer, Clinton embarks on a fifty city tour entitled "It's Come to This" and sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Now, as Clinton takes the Long Beach stage to target everything from gay cruises to the passing of the pope and proper attire for being spotted by surveillance cameras, both the longtime fans and the uninitiated alike will discover just what all the fuss is about. Inter-cut with the performance is a variety of personal moments that happened during the tour and were captured on camera - including backstage conversations with longtime partner Urvashi Vaid and footage captured during Clinton's public reading from her book What the L?. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Clinton, Urvashi Vaid, (more)
Acclaimed filmmaker Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville) brings National Public Radio stalwart Garrison Keillor's long-running radio program to vivid life on the big screen in a intricately woven backstage fable centering on the final performance of a fictionalized version of his variety show. As if the result of some strange mass-media fluke, the popular radio program A Prairie Home Companion somehow managed to survive the television age to entertain its audience every Saturday night from the stage of the historic Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN. Week after week, hangdog host Garrison Keillor serves as unflappable emcee to an amiable hodgepodge of radio-friendly acts that include the likes of popular country duo Yolanda and Rhonda Johnson (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin) and singing cowboys the Old Trailhands (Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly). This is one show where the under-the-line antics are nearly as entertaining as the program itself, though, and in between the efforts of down-on-his-luck private dick and backstage doorkeeper Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) to discover the true identity of a mysterious blonde (Virginia Madsen) and aspiring teen singer Lola (Lindsay Lohan) to find her true voice before a live audience, there's still plenty of fun and mystery to be had at the old Fitzgerald before the final curtain falls on A Prairie Home Companion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garrison Keillor, Meryl Streep, (more)
A kid who hates ants finds himself living among the six-legged critters in this computer-animated comedy-adventure. Lucas Nickle (voice of Zach Tyler Eisen) is a ten-year-old boy whose family has just moved to a new town, and Lucas isn't enjoying it much -- he hasn't made any friends yet, his big sister ignores him, his parents (voices of Larry Miller and Cheri Oteri) are occupied with their upcoming vacation in Mexico, and his loving but slightly crazy grandmother (voice of Lily Tomlin) is convinced space aliens are casing out the neighborhood. To make matters worse, the local bully has found Lucas and is making his life miserable, so the boy looks for someone he can push around -- and he soon finds a large colony of ants in his yard. Lucas takes out his frustrations by stomping, drowning, and burying the bugs, little realizing the ants see him as a threat to their safety and aren't about take his attacks lying down. Zoc (voice of Nicolas Cage) is a "wizard ant" who creates a formula that shrinks Lucas to the size of an insect, and the tiny boy is brought before the leader of the Ant Council (voice of Ricardo Montalban) and the Queen of the Colony (voice of Meryl Streep) to answer for his crimes against the ants. Showing compassion, the queen sentences Lucas not to death, but to live among them and see how difficult their circumstances can be. Nurse Ant Hova (voice of Julia Roberts) is put in charge of looking after Lucas, and with the help of Scout Fugax (voice of Bruce Campbell) and Forager Kreela (voice of Regina King), Lucas gets an eye-opening picture of how the other half lives -- just in time for Lucas to help the ants in an all-out battle against Stan (voice of Paul Giamatti), a pest-control man brought in to get rid of the bugs. Produced by Tom Hanks, The Ant Bully was written and directed by John A. Davis, who handled the same chores on the film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, (more)
- 2004
- Add Goodnight, We Love You: The Life and Legend of Phyllis Diller to QueueAdd Goodnight, We Love You: The Life and Legend of Phyllis Diller to top of Queue
The comedienne who shot to stardom as "the world's worst housewife" offers an intimate look at her life and career on the eve of her farewell stand-up performance. Phyllis Diller has been keeping her fans in stitches for nearly half-a-century. A gleefully self-depreciating comic whose outlandish sense of style always set her apart from the pack, Diller not only recollects her rise to stardom, but also allows viewers into her home to show just what life is like behind the scenes. A press conference leading up to her final performance showcases the quick-witted Diller at her unscripted best, with additional rehearsal and dressing room footage showing just what an incredible impact she has had on the world of show-business. Additional appearances by Rip Taylor, Don Rickles, Roseanne Barr, Red Buttons, and Lily Tomlin offer a chance for some of Diller's best known fans to reflect on their fondest memories of the star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller
Five years after achieving commercial and critical success with his film Three Kings, director and screenwriter David O. Russell returns to the more idiosyncratic territory of his earlier work with this intelligent and offbeat comedy. Bernard and Vivian Jaffe (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) are a married couple who run an existential detective agency where they sift through the lives of their clients in order to discover the source of their angst. The Jaffes' latest client is Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman), an environmental activist who has a very large rock and a great deal on his mind; their study of Albert's problems lead Bernard and Vivian to Brad Stand (Jude Law), a public relations executive with a chain of successful variety stores, Huckabees. While publicly allying himself with Albert's environmental initiatives, behind the scenes Brad is running roughshod over responsible land management with little care for the consequences. When Brad learns he's being watched by the Jaffes, he hopes to co-opt them by hiring them himself; however, the plan has unexpected consequences when their questioning leads Brad's girlfriend, well-scrubbed model Dawn (Naomi Watts), into reassessing her life and relationships. Meanwhile, Albert finds himself joining forces with Tommy (Mark Wahlberg), a firefighter and fellow environmentalist who has been having second thoughts about Bernard and Vivian's ideas and methods after a long-term investigation and has since fallen under the spell of nihilist poet and philosopher Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Schwartzman, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
- 2004
Directed by Craig B. Highberger and narrated by Lily Tomlin, Superstar in a Housedress offers a unique retrospective of the late avant-garde actor and female impersonator Jackie Curtis, who was discovered in the 1960s by experimental filmmaker Andy Warhol. In addition to rare clips of Curtis in various underground stage productions, the documentary is supplemented by a surprising amount of never-before-seen archival footage, scenes from Women in Revolt and Flesh, and candid stories about Curtis from those who knew her best in her heyday. Among the interviewees are Joe Dallesandro, Paul Morrissey, Holly Woodlawn, and Penny Arcade. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lily Tomlin, Jackie Curtis, (more)
- 2003
Organized by New York's Museum of Television and Radio, this impressively assembled tribute to the funny women boasts a stellar all-female cast, drawn from half a century's worth of video entertainment. Hosted by Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), the special uses rare film clips and interviews to pay homage to such iconic figures as Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Bea Arthur, and especially the woman who started it all, Lucille Ball. A number of veteran comediennes are in attendance, along with the newer crop of "girls." Amidst the hilarity, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Seinfeld) offers a poignant paean to the late Gilda Radner. Great Women of Television and Comedy was originally broadcast by NBC -- which may explain the preponderance of guest stars from that network's then-current sitcom manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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
- Starring:
- Colin Hanks, Jack Black, (more)
If you could talk to the child that you used to be, what advice would you give him? That question forms the basis of this comic fantasy. Forty-year-old Russ Duritz (Bruce Willis) is a wealthy and powerful "image consultant" who has made a career out of telling people how to present themselves. But while he's a success in business, he's a failure in life; he's vain, mean-spirited, and hasn't been able to hold onto a marriage (or even a pet dog). One day, Russ is startled to meet Rusty (Spencer Breslin), a stocky kid whom he soon realizes is himself at the age of eight, having passed through a wrinkle in time. Young Rusty doesn't seem much happier than the grown-up Russ, so the older man takes his younger self under his wing and tries to teach him how to avoid the mistakes he's made, while Rusty encourages Russ to be a more caring human being. Along the way, Russ and Rusty become friends, and realize how much they can learn from each other. Disney's The Kid also stars Jean Smart as one of Russ' clients, Lily Tomlin as his assistant, and Daniel Von Bargen as his father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin, (more)
This is a documentary portrait of a Hollywood comedy writer cited by many of entertainment's biggest stars as their comedic "secret weapon." Bruce Vilanch is a rotund, hirsute New Jersey native who left a job at a Chicago newspaper in the 1970s to become a gag writer for singer and actress Bette Midler. After toiling for several years in the dying genre of television variety shows and celebrity roasts, Vilanch became a staple of awards shows, scripting one-liners and song parodies at the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys, for such luminaries as Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg. All three of those stars, and many others, are interviewed about Vilanch's contributions to their work. Of particular note is a national controversy sparked by Vilanch's "off-color" racial remarks written for Ted Danson and Goldberg at a Friar's Club event, and his memorable riffs for emcee Crystal on the one-armed push-ups of Jack Palance at an Oscar telecast. Get Bruce! made Vilanch a more recognizable figure to mainstream audiences, and he became a regular on the TV game show revival of Hollywood Squares. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Vilanch, Bette Midler, (more)
Based in part on his autobiography, director Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini is a drama with comic accents about a group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit to Italy in 1935, when, as one character puts it, "Mussolini was just a man who made the trains run on time." Luca (played by Charlie Lucas) is a boy living in Florence whose family situation is precarious at best; his mother has died and his father has little time for him. Fortunately, he's a welcome guest with Mary (Joan Plowright), a English woman visiting Italy to soak up European culture. Mary and her friends -- high-toned Lady Hester (Maggie Smith), pretentious Arabella (Judi Dench), American art collector Elsa (Cher) and cheerful lesbian Georgie (Lily Tomlin) -- enjoy the cultured, creative atmosphere of life in Italy, and their initial response to the rise of fascism is to arrange a polite meeting with Mussolini to make sure he and his soldiers mean well. After some time, Luca's father becomes concerned that the boy is soaking up too much British influence and enrolls him in a boarding school in Austria; by the time 1940 rolls around, situations have changed radically for everyone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cher, Judi Dench, (more)
Todd Holland directed this Charlie Peters adaptation of Frank Parkin's novel. Respected anthropologist James Krippendorf (Richard Dreyfuss) and his wife, Jennifer (Barbara Williams), bring their three children along during their failed search in New Guinea for a lost tribe. After Jennifer's death, James reaches a zero point back in the U.S., having spent all his foundation grant money raising the kids as a single parent. Scheduled to lecture at a college and fearful he could be charged with misuse of grant funds, James concocts an imaginary tribe, the Shelmikedmu, and fakes a 16 mm "documentary" film, casting his children as tribe members and editing in footage of a legit New Guinea tribe. Anthropologist Veronica Micelli (Jenna Elfman) contacts cable-TV producer Henry Spivey (David Ogden Stiers), forcing James to continue creating fraudulent footage as the rival Ruth Allen (Lily Tomlin) gets suspicious. It seems a shame this racially insensitive film was made, while the once-announced plans to film anthropologist Kenneth Good's nonfiction Into the Heart (Simon & Schuster, 1991) never led to a production. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Jenna Elfman, (more)
- 1997
The tenth and final season of Murphy Brown resolves the previous season's cliffhanger finale, as TV reporter Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) bids farewell to her co-workers on the Washington-based newsmagazine "FYI," in preparation of starting her new job as a White House correspondent. Not surprisingly, the tactlessly outspoken Murphy loses her White House gig in a record 45 minutes, forcing her to beg for her old job back. But these intrigues pale in significance compared to the central crisis of season ten, wherein Murphy is diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite the seriousness of the situation and the gloominess of its ramifications -- notably Murphy's efforts to break the news to her son, Avery (played this season by a pre-Sixth Sense Haley Joel Osment) -- the series still manages to deliver plenty of laughs amidst the tears. The humor level remains constant even during a potentially depressing subplot, as the second marriage of Murphy's co-worker Corky (Faith Ford) proves to be no more successful than the first. As the series winds down, Murphy is reunited with her former lover (and journalistic rival) Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas) for what would be their last romantic rendezvous. The series concludes with a surrealistic two-parter, in which Murphy has a pointed conversation with God (played by Alan King) while she is anesthetized for an exploratory operation. Without giving away the ending, it can be noted that the final tally of secretaries hired and fired by Murphy Brown throughout the series' ten-year run is an astronomical 93 (and you'll never guess who the last one is!). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Candice Bergen, Charles Kimbrough, (more)
- 1996
While traveling to Harrisburg, PN, to extradite suspected murderer Rose Halligan (Lily Tomlin), Baltimore homicide detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) bide their time and relax as much as possible. Their lethargy proves to be their undoing when Halligan slips through the cops' fingers while they make a pit stop at a popular diner. Meanwhile, an important piece of evidence turns up missing from Brodie's (Max Perlich) surveillance tapes, and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) misses out on a major promotion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1996
With the defection of series regular Grant Shaud at the end of Murphy Brown's eighth season, it was necessary to eliminate the actor's character Miles Silverberg, executive producer of "FYI," the Washington-based TV newsmagazine on which Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) is star reporter. Miles' immediately replacement is snotty Andrew Lansing (Paul Reubens), nephew of the network's president -- a promotion that prompts the entire "FYI" staff to resign in protest. As it turns out, Andrew was a saint compared to his replacement, a contentious former game-show producer named Kay Carter-Shepley (new series regular Lily Tomlin). Clearly in over her head on "FYI," Kay hides her ineptitude with her overbearing behavior and her fondness for playing nasty mind games with the staff. Clearly, Murphy and Kay are going to be at each other's throats for the remainder of the season...and only one of them may come out alive. In other developments, Murphy and her co-workers purchase their favorite neighborhood bar when its owner, Phil (Pat Corley), who has functioned as a sort of house philosopher and father confessor for the past eight seasons, suddenly dies (or does he?). And in the series' most outrageously self-referential episode, Murphy discovers that the dozens of secretaries whom she has fired in seasons past have formed their own support group -- with branches on both the East and West coasts! The season-ending cliffhanger finds Kay being fired for an on-the-air gaffe perpetrated by Murphy -- who, as it happens, may be on her way out as well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Candice Bergen, Charles Kimbrough, (more)
In this satirical comedy, Mel Coplin (Ben Stiller) has a beautiful wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette), and a four-month old son, and on the surface his life is good. But something's been troubling him: Mel knows he was adopted, and he can't resolve his issues with the mother who gave him away years ago, much to the annoyance of his adoptive parents (George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore). Mel decides it's time he met his birth parents and resolved his feelings once and for all, and Tina (Tea Leoni), a psychology student, has offered to tag along to capture the event on video for a research project. But after a few minutes with Mel's "real" mother, they discover that a mistake has been made and they've been directed to the wrong person. A second meeting, this time with Mel's supposed dad, also turns out to be a mistake, and it's quite some time before Mel, Nancy, and Tina are finally face to face with Mel's biological parents -- a pair of burned-out hippies (played by Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin) who support themselves by dealing blotter acid daubed onto pictures of Ronald Reagan. It doesn't help that Mel finds himself attracted to the very leggy Tina, or that Nancy's head is turned by a bisexual ATF agent (Josh Brolin). Writer/director David O. Russell previously made a splash with his independent debut feature, 1994's Spanking the Monkey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, (more)
Director Wayne Wang and screenwriter Paul Auster had enough storylines and characters left over from their charming comedy Smoke to make another film, so they shot Blue In The Face immediately after Smoke was completed. The film once again centers on the Brooklyn Cigar Store and manager Auggie (Harvey Keitel), although most of the other characters are different. The store owner's frustrated wife Dot (Roseanne) is one of them, and one of the plotlines follows her attempts to seduce Auggie. Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, and Lou Reed (as himself) also put in appearances. Blue In The Face was shot without a complete script and presents a unique combination of distinctive performances, oddball characters, improvisations, and raffish scenes. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, (more)
A well-meaning man discovers the downside of taking the law into your own hands in this black comedy. Jack Lambert (Dan Aykroyd) is a college ethics professor who lives next door to a kindly old man of German descent named Max Mueller (Jack Lemmon); Jack is also in love with an attractive doctor named Gail (Bonnie Hunt), whom he plans to marry. One day, an FBI agent approaches Jack with some rather surprising news -- Max is actually Karl Luger, an escaped Nazi war criminal known as the Beast of Burkau and responsible for the deaths of thousands of people during World War II. However, Max has avoided prosecution on a legal technicality, which deeply offends Jack's sense of justice. Outraged, Jack poisons the apples on the tree in Max's yard, and before long Max has succumbed to the tainted fruit. However, Jack then learns that the FBI agents had the wrong man, and Max wasn't really the Beast of Burkau after all. Wracked with guilt, Jack wants to do something to make amends, so he calls off his engagement with Gail and instead begins to court Inga (Lily Tomlin), Max's frumpy and socially inept daughter. Getting Away with Murder was the final project for veteran writer and director Harvey Miller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
Based on Vito Russo's groundbreaking 1981 work of film history, The Celluloid Closet gathers clips from dozens of mainstream Hollywood films to illustrate how the movies have dealt explicitly -- and more importantly, implicitly -- with gay and lesbian themes. Layered between the clips are interviews with filmmakers whose works have touched on that subject. The popular films of the Golden Age could only hint at homosexuality and often portrayed gays as simpering characters, objects of scorn or merriment, or insidious villains. With the strictures of the old Production Code loosening, bolder presentations were possible, but often over the objections of studio executives who feared a public backlash against a film that dealt with a long taboo subject. Among the films discussed are Philadelphia, The Children's Hour, Making Love, Rope, and Spartacus. Gore Vidal, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, and director John Schlesinger are among the film's strongest interview subjects. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Writer/director Gus Van Sant's early bid for big-time commercial success -- a success he didn't manage to achieve until Good Will Hunting -- is based on Tom Robbins' 1976 feminist bestseller. Uma Thurman plays Sissy Hankshaw, a woman born with very large thumbs. After her parents (Grace Zabriskie and Ken Kesey) take her to a doctor (Buck Henry), who offers her parents no remedy for their daughter's condition, the film races ahead to the 1970s. Sissy is now a popular feminine hygiene spray model for a product called Yoni Yum, the product of a company owned by The Countess (John Hurt in drag). Sissy travels to the Rubber Rose beauty ranch, also owned by The Countess, to shoot a Yoni Yum commercial. At the ranch, she makes the acquaintance of the inscrutable Chink (Pat Morita) and Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix). But under the nose of The Countess, the cowgirls on the ranch are talking mutiny, with the women trying to liberate the Rubber Rose Ranch from the chains of patriarchal oppression. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, John Hurt, (more)
- 1994
Based on the popular books by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, this television series combines fantasy with science education. Via her magical transforming school bus, Ms. Frizzle takes her curious and often doubting class "into" the natural and scientific worlds. Through their many science lessons, Arnold, Ralphie, Wanda, and the rest of the class travel to outer space, under the sea, and even go through Ralphie's digestive system. Lily Tomlin marvelously captures the energy and mystery of Ms. Frizzle as she was characterized in the Magic School Bus books. The Magic School Bus appeals to children of various ages, as the colorful animation and silly antics of Liz and the bus entertain preschoolers, whilst older children enjoy learning how things work from the inside out. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This 30-minute video features Ms. Frizzle and the curious kids in her classroom studying ant colonies for their science fair. When the class shrinks down and enters an anthill, they are able to see how well ants communicate and cooperate to help one another live. They learn that every ant is important. This video is taken from the Emmy award-winning animated series previously seen on PBS and is recommended for ages five to eight. ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide
