Gary Weis Movies

TV addicts of the 1980s and 1990s know Chris Elliot as the "man behind the chair" on Late Night With David Letterman. Sitcom buffs will remember Elliot as star of the quirky Fox series Get a Life, while moviegoers may have caught him in his theatrical-feature vehicle Cabin Boy. If you'd like to see this second-generation laughspinner (he's the son of Bob Elliot) at his very best, check out this two-tier video. In "FDR, A One Man Show" Elliot wickedly spoofs such theatrical presentations as Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight! and James Whitmore's Give 'Em Hell, Harry. And in "Action Family", Elliot sets his satirical sights on formula TV situation comedies. Marv Albert, a man not known for his comic gifts, appears in support of the puckish Elliot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The eponymous young comic is Richard Lewis, Mr. Jewish Angst himself. Lewis agonizes over moving from his native New York to Los Angeles. No matter how successful he becomes, he is never satisfied. Fortunately, he is able to channel his inner demons into his morbidly hilarious nightclub act. Cowritten by Lewis and Bennett Trainer, Diary of a Young Comic was directed by Gary Weis, whose short films were once a mainstay of TV's Saturday Night Live. In fact, Young Comic was first offered to the world as a one-shot replacement for SNL in 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

On the heels of Annie Hall, the Oscar-winning romantic comedy that rocketed Woody Allen to the front ranks of American filmmakers, Manhattan continued Allen's romantic obsessions in a slightly darker, more pessimistic vein. Allen stars as Isaac Davis, a TV comedy writer sick of the pap he is forced to churn out and harboring dreams of being the great American novelist. His love life is in barbed-wire territory: he is tormented by his second ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep), a lesbian who has written a tell-all book about their marriage, and he is dating teenager Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), to whom he refuses to commit, and keeps hinting that a breakup may be imminent. Isaac's disillusioned (and married) best friend Yale (Michael Murphy) has begun an affair with the cerebral writer Mary Wilke (Diane Keaton). While Isaac makes a last minute, sink-or-swim decision to quit his job and devote all of his time to book writing, and neurotically moans about what the lack of a full time job will do to him ("My parents won't have as good of a seat in the synagogue," he moans. "They'll be far away from God... away from the action") Yale is crippled by his lack of resolve, as indicated by his inability to leave his wife Emily (Anne Byrne). Meanwhile, Isaac and Mary begin to fall for one another. Tracy then tells Isaac the basic truth that none of his hung-up friends and past lovers fully realizes: "You have to have a little more faith in people." Manhattan is both a seriocomic dissection of perpetually dissatisfied New Yorkers and an ode to the city itself, filmed in glorious black-and-white by ace cinematographer Gordon Willis, and set to a score of rhapsodic George Gershwin music. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A mockumentary of a Beatles-like singing group called the Rutles, The Rutles is a collaboration between Monty Python alumnus Eric Idle and Saturday Night Live filmmaker Gary Weis. The members of the "pre-Fab Four" are Nasty, Barry, Stig, and Dirk. There really isn't any plot, just a series of vignettes, unctuously narrated by Idle, which mercilessly skewer the Beatles mythology. Under the guidance of agent Leggy Mountbatten (before he tragically takes a teaching post in Australia), the Rutles rise to the top with such hit songs as "Please Please Let Me Hold Your Hand" and "I Am the Waitress." Mention is made of the Rutles' film successes: "A Hard Day's Rut," "Ouch!," "Tragical History Tour," "Yellow Submarine Sandwich," and "Let It Rot." We also see such career highlights as Nasty's declaration that the Rutles are more popular than God (he meant "Rod," as in Rod Stewart), the rumor that Dirk is dead (whereupon Stiggy starts his own rumor that he is dead), and Nasty's unfortunate liaison with a Yoko Ono counterpart (depicted as a Neo-Nazi dominatrix). The Rutles gains an added veneer of verisimilitude through the participation of such rock stars as Paul Simon, Mick Jagger, and Ron Wood, as well as George Harrison himself, who shows up as a BBC commentator. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This documentary video features the life of Jimi Hendrix. Includes interview with Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend and footage from his appearance at Woodstock. ~ All Movie Guide