David Cross Movies

As Arrested Development leaps into its first season, hard-working Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is on the brink of starting a new life in Arizona with son George Michael (Michael Cera) when he is dragged kicking and screaming back to California, there to take charge of his family's business when his light-fingered father, George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), is jailed for fraud and the company's assets frozen. Though he had fondly assumed he'd seen the last of his vituperrious mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), and his lazy, self-indulgent siblings, he was forced to hunker down and teach them how to behave (and spend!) more responsibly. As Michael's airheaded would-be-activist twin sister, Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), her sexually confused ex-doctor hubby, Tobias (David Cross), and their out-of-control daughter, Maeby (Alia Shawkat), move in with Michael, older brother Gob (Will Arnett), a spectacularly unsuccessful and untalented magician, must face the prospect of actually getting a real job, while the "baby" of the family, Michael's feckless kid brother, Buster (Tony Hale), remains sequestered in his mommy's Balboa Bay condo. Michael's well-ordered world doesn't take very long to unravel; by the second episode, his darling son George Michael has set fire to the Bluths' frozen-banana stand in Newport Beach, and has developed a borderline-incestuous crush on cousin Maeby. A few weeks later, Lucille Bluth's neurotic social rival Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli) has entered into an affair with the much, much, much younger Buster, an act that will eventually move Buster's mom to spitefully adopt a Korean orphan named Annyong (Justin Lee). Meanwhile, Michael finds it next to impossible to break up the doomed romance between brother Gob and his girlfriend, Marta (Patricia Velasquez), and to fire such millstones around the Bluths' necks as hopelessly inept family lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler) and blackmailing company secretary Kitty Sanchez (Judy Greer).

Among the supporting actors entering into the lunacy are Rocky co-star Carl Weathers, who makes the first of several self-deprecating appearances as himself in the episode wherein George Michael is forced to hire a public relations service to gain entrance to a private school; Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton as the warden in the prison where George Sr. is wasting away, so to speak; Seinfeld veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the sight-challenged attorney Maggie Lizer, who plays up to Michael while trying to dig up more damaging dirt on his family's business practices; and series regular David Cross' longtime Mr. Show cohort Bob Odenkirk as a marriage counselor who tries to patch up the differences between Lindsay and Tobias (chief among them the fact that the "never-nude" Tobias will not undress in front of his spouse); and Amy Poehler, real-life wife of regular Will Arnett, as the "where the hell did she come from?" new wife of the gormless Gob. The season finale finds George Sr. staging a heart attack for the purpose of busting out jail, Maeby finally tumbling to George Michael's unspoken love for her, an unintentionally gay-themed book written years ago by Tobias embarrassingly hitting the best-seller charts, and the rivalry between Buster and Annyong coming to a head -- and threatening to bust both of their heads. Although season one of Arrested Development posted lukewarm ratings, the series earned a renewal from the Fox network largely on the strength of its five surprise Emmy Award wins (Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, and Outstanding Writing). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

American independent filmmaker Lawrence Blume makes his feature debut with the absurd dark comedy Martin & Orloff, starring a lot of the folks from the Upright Citizens Brigade. Martin Flam (Ian Roberts) designs mascot costumes for a corporate chain of Chinese restaurants. After a failed suicide attempt, he goes to see the incompetent therapist Dr. Eric Orloff (Matt Walsh). Under the guise of conducting therapy sessions, the quack doctor then drags Martin on a series of seemingly random adventures about town. Dr. Orloff then recruits a gang of oddballs and malcontents (played by Katie Roberts, Sal Graziano, David Cross, and H. Jon Benjamin) to help Martin face his fears. The film also includes cameos from comedians Janeane Garofalo, Tina Fey, Andy Richter, and Amy Poehler. Martin & Orloff was screened at the 2002 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This sequel to a box-office sleeper hit that spoofed teen slasher flicks takes its cues from haunted house and possession films, particularly The Haunting (1999) and The Exorcist (1973). Although many of the first film's main characters were homicide victims, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Anna Faris return anyway to "re-possess" their roles for this follow-up in which four students are invited by their professor (Tim Curry) to his haunted mansion, Hell House, for a weekend sleep-deprivation study. Providing the sleep deprivation, however, is a series of murderous, supernatural goings-on. Scary Movie 2 co-stars Tori Spelling, Andy Richter, Christopher Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, James Woods, Chris Elliott, and Natasha Lyonne. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this independent comedy, a man finds stolen treasure cannot change his bad luck. A luckless barber (Steve Zahn), despondent over his life's downhill slide, is considering suicide when he comes across a stash of rare and valuable coins. But the coins turn out to be stolen, and before long, an increasing number of strange people are after him, the coins, and each other, including hired thief Avnet (Jeff Goldblum). The barber's confusion isn't helped when he finds himself falling for Sgt. Meredith Kolko (Salma Hayek), a centerfold-turned-police detective who is investigating the theft. The film's supporting cast includes Orlando Jones, Michael Rapaport, David Hyde Pierce, and Claudia Schiffer. Shot under the title Shiny New Enemies, Chain of Fools is the first feature directed by Pontus Löwenhielm and Patrick Von Krusenstjerna, members of the Swedish filmmaking collective Traktor, best known for their innovative television commercials, including the Miller Beer "Presented By Dick" campaign. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this mock documentary, a filmmaker who has received a grant to make a feature about fatally ill homeless people decides at the last minute to instead turn his camera on Susan (Sarah Silverman), a stand-up comic who has decided to make the big move from New York to Los Angeles in hopes of breaking into television. However, she waits until the last minute to tell her boyfriend Max (Sam Seder) about this little change in her life. Max is surprised, but decides to tag along in an attempt to be supportive, even though once they get to California he finds they won't be living together as he expected. Susan dives into the Hollywood audition circuit head first, while Max stays with his friend Earl (David Waterman), who has a deal for a TV pilot, and gripes cynically about how superficial Hollywood can be. But while Susan finds she can't get a part to save her life, Max is suddenly the toast of the Hollywood hipster set, and suddenly everyone in town wants to offer him a deal for a pilot. Who's The Caboose? features a number of noted stand-up comics and TV personalities in supporting roles, including Andy Dick, Kathy Griffin and David Waterman; the film was screened as part of the 1999 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

David Cross returns as Earl, the homicidal stalker introduced in the first-season episode "Drew and the Unstable Element". Now released from jail, Earl assures Drew (Drew Carey) that he never really planned to kill him, but this doesn't mollify the nervous Drew when Earl moves into the house next door. However, our hero changes his mind--and in fact is rather flattered--when Earl claims that Drew is his role model. Unfortunately, this leads to a situation right out of Single White Female, as Earl strives to literally "become" Drew--meaning that the "original" will have to be eliminated! A barely relevant subplot, wherein Mimi (Kathy Kinney) discovers that she has inherited the title of "Duchess of Krakow", has been removed from the syndicated version of this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The city of Blaine, Missouri is celebrating its sesquicentennial, and what better reason could there be to put on a show? Corky St. Claire (Christopher Guest), current leader of Blaine's community theater group and creator of a stage musical version of Backdraft that led to the unfortunate destruction of the theater, has been commissioned to put together a musical about the city's noble history, "Red, White and Blaine," which stars a variety of the town's theatrical talent. Corky's cast includes Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara), a pair of married travel agents that Corky calls "the Lunts of Blaine;" Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy), a dentist who insists that he wasn't the class clown in high school but did sit next to him; Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey), a sweet young thing who lives for her job at the Dairy Queen; and Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette), an "Old Blainian" who makes gun racks from deer hooves. Somehow, Corky has persuaded a major theatrical producer in New York to send a representative to look at the show -- is it possible that "Red, White and Blaine" could be headed to Broadway? Christopher Guest directed and co-wrote this very funny mock-documentary, in addition to playing the flamboyant Corky; Guests's partners from This Is Spinal Tap, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, helped write the memorable songs for "Red, White and Blaine." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this updated and gender-reversed variation on Cyrano de Bergerac, Janeane Garofalo stars as Abby, the host of a radio talk show for people who have problems with pets. One day, she gets a call from Brian (Ben Chaplin) who is having trouble with his Great Dane (who enjoys roller skating). After a few minutes on the phone, Brian is immediately taken with Abby, and she's certainly interested in him. However, while Abby is not unattractive, she's terribly self-conscious about her appearance. When he asks her for a description, instead of telling him she's a diminutive brunette with big brown eyes, she describes her neighbor Noelle (Uma Thurman), a tall, rail-thin, blue eyed blonde. When Ben sets up a date, Abby is frantic and convinces Noelle to take her place. However, while Abby sounds smart, witty and charming over the radio (or the telephone), Noelle speaks like -- well, I think the phrase dumb blonde is called for here. Brian becomes puzzled -- why is it Abby is so great on the phone but so inarticulate in person? And what's the story with her friend, the cute brunette who sounds so smart? Noelle is even more confused; she wants to help her friend, but she's finding herself falling for Brian as well. The Truth About Cats and Dogs gave Ben Chaplin his first role in an American film and Janeane Garofalo's first starring turn after several notable supporting performances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Originally planned as a silly vehicle for Chris Farley, in the hands of director Ben Stiller and star Jim Carrey, The Cable Guy became an opportunity for Carrey to flex some of his darker comedic muscles as stalker Chip Douglas. Matthew Broderick plays Steven, an average Joe who is forlorn over his recent breakup with girlfriend Robin (Leslie Mann). When he moves into a new apartment, Steven comes in contact with Chip, who shows up to hook up the cable. Before he knows it, and whether he likes it or not, Steven has a new best-friend in the obnoxious and clingy Chip. However, Steven soon learns that obnoxious is a walk in the park compared to Chip's behavior when Steven tells him he doesn't want to be his pal anymore. What's worse, no one -- including Robin or his family -- believes Steven when he accuses the seemingly harmless Chip of being a malevolent menace. George Segal and Jack Black also star along with Stiller, who plays twins loosely-based on the Menendez brothers. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide