Tony Cox Movies

Master chef Wolfgang Puck appears as himself in this episode, wherein Niles (David Hyde Pierce) busily prepares for the big moment when he will propose to Daphne (Jane Leeves). Leaving nothing to chance, Niles has planned an all-out assault on Daphne's heart, complete with a stirring speech, an expensive ring, a string quartet, a trumpet player, and a choir. As a final touch, he has arranged for Daphne's intrusive mom (Millicent Martin) to be far, far away. Unfortunately, he has overlooked one minor item...Daphne herself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After suffering a bump on the head, Al (Ed O'Neill) sees six little green space aliens stealing his socks. Or at least that's what he thinks he sees--and try getting anyone else to believe him. The punch line of the episode is provided via a "Star Wars"-type scroll, which not proves that Al is telling the truth, but also that he's let another golden opportunity to advance himself slip right through his grubby fingers. And remember: the secret word is "Mizzoozoo." This episode received a 1991 Emny nomination for outstanding achievement in costuming. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This expensively wrought TV movie was the sequel to the 1984 offering Ewok Adventure, which in turn was inspired by those furry little extraterrestrials introduced in the 1983 theatrical feature Return of the Jedi. On the forest moon of Endor, a little girl (Aubree Miller) is protected by the Ewoks -- and by human hermit Noa (Wilfred Brimley) -- against such enemies as space-witch Charal (Sian Phillips). Like all previous chapters in the "Ewok" saga, The Battle for Endor was executive-produced by George Lucas. And, like Ewok Adventure, the film copped an Emmy nomination. First telecast November 24, 1985, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor was preceded two months earlier by the animated Saturday-morning series The Ewoks, which later evolved into The Ewoks and Star Wars Droids Adventure Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The classic tale of a kind-hearted princess stalked by a jealous stepmother is brought to life in this early episode of Faerie Tale Theatre. Elizabeth McGovern is Snow White, the princess whose stepmother, the queen, banishes her because she is jealous of the girl's beauty. She takes up residence with a septet of friendly dwarfs in the woods, but eventually falls victim to a poisoned apple delivered by the queen in disguise. Only a kiss from a prince (Rex Smith) will awaken her. Veteran actress Vanessa Redgrave portrays the insanely wicked queen, and Vincent Price lends his incomparable voice and screen presence to the film as the queen's omnipresent magic mirror. ~ Carrie Downes, Rovi

A young man meets his dream woman (and isn't the least bit troubled that she's a washed-up porn actress 30 years his senior) in this independent coming-of-age comedy. Tobe Hulbert (Dustin Ingram) is a 17-year-old high school graduate who is the working definition of a loser -- he's nerdy and socially inept, he lives with his eccentric grandfather (Brian Dennehy), his closest friend, Kenny (Daniel Yelsky), is only 12 years old, and he drives a beat-up hot-dog wagon with a giant frankfurter bolted to the roof. Among his other obsessions, Tobe is fascinated with adult movies of the 1970s and '80s, and his favorite actress is Monica Velour (Kim Cattrall), who in her heyday was the hottest star in porn. When Tobe discovers there's a collector living in Indiana (Keith David) who is willing to buy his wagon for a good price and Monica Velour will be appearing at a gentleman's club nearby, he decides fate is smiling on him and hits the road. However, the "gentleman's club" turns out to be a sleazy dive and time hasn't been kind to Monica; when several patrons begin shouting insults at her, Tobe defends her honor and gets beat up for his trouble. Monica gratefully befriends Tobe and lets him stay at the trailer park she calls home; he begins to imagine he might have a chance with the woman of his dreams, but while she sees Tobe as a kindred spirit, she has bigger things to deal with, including a career that's going nowhere, an ugly relationship with her ex-husband, and a contentious battle to win back custody of her daughter. The first feature film from writer and director Keith Bearden, Meet Monica Velour received its world premiere at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there's one flaw to this plan -- Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn't care for kids, and it's all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall's manager (John Ritter, in his last film appearance) is certain something's wrong with the Santa he's hired, so he asks the mall's chief of security (Bernie Mac) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas sprit along the way. Bad Santa was directed by Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed previous success with Crumb and Ghost World. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Six years after Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey reunited with Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly for this anarchic comedy with a hint of romance. Charlie (Carrey) is a good-natured Rhode Island state trooper who likes helping people. But years of internalizing his frustrations about his work and his family have caused Charlie to develop an alter ego: Hank, an abusive, violent, sexually compulsive police officer. Charlie can keep Hank at bay with medication, but just barely. When Irene (Renee Zellweger) finds herself in legal trouble through a series of misunderstandings involving her ex-boyfriend, Charlie must escort her on a long drive to New York for questioning. After Charlie loses his medication, he and Hank wind up vying for her affections: Charlie wants Irene to marry him, while Hank has more brutal intentions. Me, Myself, and Irene also features Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, and Jessica Harper, as well as Anthony Anderson, Mongo Brownlee, and Jerod Mixon as Charlie's rotund, African-American sons. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the tradition of Mel Brooks, this Italian comedy offers an episodic parody of classic thrillers and horror movies. Film includes cameos from several stars including Mel Brooks, John Astin, Larry Storch, Phyllis Diller, John Carpenter, and John Landis. The story begins as director Ezio Greggio is being stabbed ala Psycho in his shower. Before he dies he recaps the events leading to his death. The scene was L.A. and FBI rookie Jo Dee Fostar has been assigned to interview psycho inmate Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza. Meanwhile Fostar's girlfriend swipes $400,000 bucks from her boss and ends up hiding in the Cemetery Hotel, run by Antonio Motel. Inspector Balsam investigates cases of dead hotel victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Friends star Jennifer Aniston made her film debut in this horror story about a psychotic, six-centuries-old leprechaun on a murder spree throughout North Dakota. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Keenen Ivory Wayans wrote, directed, and starred in this hilarious parody of blaxploitation films in the comedy I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Jack Spade (Wayans) returns home from a hitch in the army to find his brother Junebug has died from an overdose of gold chains, leaving his widow Cheryl (Dawnn Lewis) and mother Ma Bell (Ja'net DuBois) alone to fend for themselves. Ma throws two inept thugs (Damon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison) sent by the evil white guy Mr. Big (John Vernon) down a flight of stairs. Junebug owes $5,000 to Mr. Big for his gold-chain addiction and tries to force Cheryl into prostitution to pay off the debt. Jack recruits his old friend to go after Mr. Big to seek revenge. John Slade (Bernie Casey), Hammer (Isaac Hayes), Slammer (Jim Brown) Kung Fu Joe (Steve James) and the former Pimp Of The Year Flyguy (Antonio Fargas) join up with Jack to avenge his brother' death. Chris Rock makes a brief appearance as the annoying customer who risks his life by irking rib joint owner Hammer. Funny and fast paced, the writing, acting, sight gags and cameos by Robert Townsend, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, Eve Plumb (Jan from The Brady Bunch), Kim Wayans, and Gary Owens makes this a must-see for any comedy fan. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, "Bird" is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the "descent" into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie "Bird" Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this sex comedy, the hope of landing a profitable contract sets two rival valet services, the Fraternity Parkers and the Valet Girls, into competition with each other. In an attempt to outsell their competition, both services offer special bonuses and incentives to their lucky customers. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi