Jack Esformes Movies
- 2000
The fifth season of The Drew Carey Show ends on a zany self-referential note, as Drew Carey and his costars drop character long enough to complain that their show has never won an Emmy Award. Drew concludes that only way to even be nominated for an Emmy is to stage the "Very Special Episode" to end all "Very Special Episodes." What follows is a merry, maniacal melange of "disease of the week" infirmities befalling the cast--Oswald (Diedrich Bader) becomes a kleptomaniac, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) develops bulimia, Drew reveals that he never learned to read, etc.etc. etc.--with homeless unwed mothers, latchkey kids, impassioned speeches, tearful confessions, sudden epiphanies, incurable illnesses, miracle births and tragic deaths thrown in for good measure. Just when it seems that nothing else can possibly be jammed into the proceedings, up pops a little girl (Caitlin Alderton) addicted to pain killers--and an outrageous "Ellen" moment wherein Kate (Christa Miller) simultaneously returns from the grave and comes out of the closet! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Visiting a pizza place he used to frequent in years gone by, George (Jason Alexander) goes into full obsessive mode over his extremely high score in the old "Frogger" video game. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) has trouble with his new "sentence-finisher" date Lisi (Julia Campbell). Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) tries to cut out all socializing, only to find herself addicted to the four o'clock sugar rush. And Kramer (Michael Richards) has bad news: the most recent victim of a serial killer who is plaguing Riverside Park looked a lot like Jerry (can it be a vendetta?). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
After innumerable false alarms, it looks as though Jamie (Helen Hunt) is going to have her baby. This expected blessed event coincides with the unexpected film-festival triumph of Jamie's husband, Paul (Paul Reiser) -- who'da thunk that "Buchman" would win an award over a Michael Moore project? Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's fifth season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
After innumerable false alarms, it looks as though Jamie (Helen Hunt) is going to have her baby. But before this blessed event can take place, Jamie is unexpectedly reunited with old flame Alan (Eric Stoltz), while her husband, Paul (Paul Reiser), is given a guided hospital tour by a very big movie star. Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's fifth season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comedy (which claims a strong pedigree -- it was written by John Sayles and directed by Bill Forsyth), Burt Reynolds plays Ernie, an aging career burglar who knows just about everything there is to know about breaking and entering. One night, Ernie has stealthily slipped into a home only to discover someone else is already there -- Mike (Casey Siemaszko), a guy in his early 20's who likes to sneak into other people's houses so he can raid their refrigerators and watch their televisions. Ernie is taken aback by Mike's recklessness, but is impressed by his skills; he's convinced the kids has the makings of a first-class thief, and offers to make him his protege. Mike agrees, and soon the two are working together, with Ernie trying to explain the importance of playing it as safe as possible while Casey follows every youthful impulse to make some fast money and throw it away just as quickly. Breaking In marked a change-of-pace role for Burt Reynolds, in which he acknowledged his age and played a character role instead of an action hero; the results garnered him some of the best notices of his career. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, (more)
- 1988
- PG
Two teens just out of high school are the computer experts who run across a Soviet plot to steal the plans of a high-tech helicopter in this routine spy thriller. The Russians monitor the NASA launching pad from an offshore trawler. They recruit one of the local students to infiltrate the computers and monitor the top secret plans. Stock footage of rocket launches and military planes are included in this feature directed by Monte Markham, who also plays Colonel Mark Denton. Mostly the feature shows people at the computer and lacks the excitement of other films of the genre. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Oliver, Susan Ursitti, (more)
