John Carroll Lynch Movies

A neurosurgeon (Dana Delany) can't operate after a car-crash injury, and instead becomes a medical examiner. ~ Fred Mitchell, Rovi

The directorial debut of Brandon Camp concerns a widower (Aaron Eckhart) who makes a living as an expert on grieving. During the course of teaching a seminar, he meets and begins to fall for a floral designer (Jennifer Aniston), a discovery that leads him to face up to the fact he has not fully reconciled the loss of his wife. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The Fox cop drama K-Ville was set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, hence its title (the designation "K-Ville" was among the graffiti found scrawled on the walls left standing in the wake of the disaster). The focus was on the activities of the NOPD's Felony Action Squad, led by short-tempered Capt. James Embry (John Carroll Lynch). Heading the cast was Anthony Anderson as police detective Marlin Boulet, who, assigned to keep the peace in his old, now devastated Ninth-Ward neighborhood, played by his own rules, never dodged a confrontation with either criminals or colleagues, and swigged bourbon with cavalier abandon. He was also a compassionate family man, though he found it very difficult to carry on a long-distance relationship with his wife Ayana (Elise Neal) and daughter Tawni (Jiya Fowler), who'd been evacuated to Atlanta. Boulet's new partner was the mysterious Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser), a "loose-cannon" veteran of the Afghan War whose previous criminal record had been fortuitously washed away in the hurricane, a secret that Boulet was willing to keep from the higher-ups so long as Cobb stayed "on task." The rest of the Felony Action Squad ran the usual TV-stereotype gamut, including resident jokester "Glue Boy" Gooden (Blake Shields) and sole female member "Love Tap" LeBeau. Essentially a standard buddy-cop series laced with contemporary cynicism, the location-filmed K-Ville debuted September 17, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A woman who lost her husband in a random act of violence and a heroin addict who was a lifelong friend of the dearly departed discover that the beloved husband and friend's unfortunate passing is actually a blessing in disguise in Open Hearts director Susanne Bier's Dogme-style drama. When her husband (David Duchovny) was killed, Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) didn't think she would be able to summon the strength to carry on. Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro) is a heroin addict who was one of the recently deceased's oldest friends in life, but as a result of his addiction Jerry has lost everything that ever mattered to him. When Audrey discovers that Jerry is the one man who could help her move beyond the dire cycle of grieving that she has fallen into, her offer for him to move in with the family provides the addict with just the incentive he needed to finally get his life back in order. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The emotional dysfunctions of two people suffering from an autistic disorder known as Asperger's syndrome threaten to derail the pair's emerging romance in director Petter Næss' affectionate tale of love among the mentally afflicted. For friendly taxi-driver Donald (Josh Hartnett), patterns and routines are of the utmost importance. In addition to his love for birds and his uncanny ability to process numbers, Donald does his best to give back to fellow Asperger's sufferers by leading an autism support group. When the lovely but intensely complicated Isabelle (Radha Mitchell) shows up at one of Donald's meetings, the good-natured cabbie finds that love can be as painful as it is elating. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Comic and filmmaker Albert Brooks serves his country while struggling to get some laughs in this offbeat satiric comedy. Brooks plays himself, a comedic filmmaker whose most recent success was providing the voice of a fish for an animated feature and who has just been passed by as director for a remake of Harvey. As Brooks wonders what's going to happen next with his career, his wife (Amy Ryan), and his daughter, he's approached by government representatives who want him for a special assignment. The State Department, eager to better understand the cultural gap between the United States and the Middle East, have been directed by the president to make a study of what makes Muslims laugh. Brooks is asked to fly to India and Pakistan and bring back a 500-page report on Muslim humor; told the Medal of Freedom may be his if he comes through, Brooks accepts. With a pair of State Department officials in tow, Stuart (John Carroll Lynch) and Mark (Jon Tenney), and some help from a local assistant, Maya (Sheetal Sheth), Brooks sets out to find the funny bone of India's and Pakistan's Muslim communities, though it doesn't take long to find out what they don't find funny -- his standup act. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World was originally set for release in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics, but when they became nervous over the film's title, they dropped the project and it was picked up for distribution by Warner Independent Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman is taken on a voyage to the other side of sanity in this moody thriller. Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is a clinical psychologist who works alongside her husband, Dr. Doug Grey (Charles S. Dutton), in the mental ward of a top security prison, where Miranda has been devoting much of her attention to a clever but deeply disturbed murderer named Chloe (Penélope Cruz), who shares gruesome tales of torture and violence that may or may not be based in fact. One night, Miranda has a hideous nightmare in which a chance meeting with a strange young girl leads to a terrifying journey into madness. Once she wakes, however, Miranda discovers that the real horror has just begun -- Doug has been brutally murdered, and the evidence points to Miranda as the prime suspect. She soon finds herself a patient in the same facility where she once treated others, and finds that her claims of innocence and sanity do little to convince Dr. Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.), the psychologist assigned to her case. Gothika marked the American debut of acclaimed and controversial French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Although by prior agreement ABC was required to retain The Drew Carey Show on its prime time schedule through 2004 at a cost of $3,000,000 per episode, by the fall of 2002 it was obvious that the series' plummeting ratings no longer justified such a long-term commitment. Thus, only 15 of the 27 episodes filmed for the series' eighth season were broadcast before the network yanked the show from its lineup in January of 2003. At this point, ABC had two options: shelve the remaining episodes (and the subsequent ninth season, then in its early production stages) and take a huge financial bath, or "burn off" the 12 leftover episodes during the Summer of 2003, with two episodes shown back-to-back each week for a six-week period. The latter option was exercised, then repeated for the ninth and final season of The Drew Carey Show in the Summer of 2004. Those few viewers tuning into Season Eight had some treats in store for them, most notably the guest appearances of a different A-list musical group at the beginning and end of each episode. Also, there was an influx of new characters, precipitated by the bankruptcy of Winfred-Louder, the Cleveland department store which employed series protagonist Drew Carey (playing himself) and Drew's mortal enemy (and now sister-in-law!) Mimi Bombeck (Kathy Kinney. The store's new owners are a pair of oafish young techno-nerds named Scott (Jonathan Mangum) and Evan (Kyle Howard), who transform the place into a dot.com called "NeverendingStore." At first intending to fire everybody, Scott and Evan keep Drew on because they're amused by "the old man", and also relent and rehire Mimi (Kathy Kinney)--who immediately develops an intense hatred for newly installed keyboard operator Traylor (Kaitlin Olson), who proves so odious that Mimi ends up trying to murder the girl by stuffing her in a paper shredder! Leaving the series this season is longtime regular Christa Miller), whose character, Kate O'Brien, heads to Guam with her new husband, fighter pilot Kirk (Cameron Mathison). Replacing Kate as one of the "gang"--consisting of Drew, Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles)--is another of Drew's former school pals, Kellie Newmark, played by Cynthia Watros. Though his marriage to Kate has fallen through, Drew stubbornly books a chapel for his wedding--then spends the rest of the season searching for an appropriate bride, with the help of former coworoker and now professional matchmaker Larry Almada (Ian Gomez). After a tentative romance with Kellie comes acropper, Drew settles upon a ditzy Southern belle named Lily (Tammy Lauren), with whom he ultimately marches down the aisle...and then... Although billed as regulars this season, John Carroll Lynch as Drew's brother and Mimi's husband Steve and Craig Ferguson as Drew's ex-boss Mr. Wick appear only sporadically. The reason for Wick's non-appearances are fairly obvious (why should he hang around a place where he's been canned); as for Steve, he abruptly vanishes from view after Mimi catches him in an extramarital affair, one that forces poor Drew to act as surrogate father for his nephew Gus for the duration of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White, who had previously collaborated on Chuck and Buck, turn an eye toward suburban boredom with the quirky comedy The Good Girl. Jennifer Aniston stars as Justine, a woman who is feeling constrained by her life. Her husband, Phil (John C. Reilly), is a house painter who spends the majority of his time smoking marijuana with his friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). Longing for something more in her life, Justine becomes involved with a younger co-worker named Tom (Jake Gyllenhall), but because of his fascination with The Catcher in the Rye, he likes to be called Holden. Her new sense of freedom and release are threatened when a co-worker dies, and when Bubba learns of her infidelity. This film was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The cast and crew of The Drew Carey Show entered its seventh season with more security and hubris than ever before. Thanks to the series' past excellent ratings performance, the producers and ABC had entered into an agreement whereby the show was "locked" into the network's schedule until the fall of 2004, with a lofty $3,000,000 budget alotted to each episode. Understandably emboldened by this, Drew Carey opens Season Seven with a radical departure from the show's usual format: "Drew's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour", a special filled to overflowing with quickie comedy sketches and rockin' and rollin' musical numbers, featuring guest appearances by the likes of Jenny McCarthy, SHeDAISY, Smash Mouth, Uncle Cracker, Sugar Ray and Peter Frampton. The rest of the series was relatively conventional (at least by Drew Carey Show standards), with the episode "Married to a Mob" making a major technicological breakthrough as the series' first installment filmed in HDTV. Major developments this season include Drew's "graduation" from a mental institute, whereupon he ends up a reluctant bigamist--not only simultaneously wed to both Kate (Christa Miller) and Nicki (Kate Walsh), but also still legally committed to a "gay" union with his boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson), who in the previous season needed to get married in a hurry lest he be deported to England. Extricating himself from this marital melange by the skin of his teeth, Drew launches a new romance with sharp-tongued efficiency expert Christine Watson (Wanda Sykes). Elsewhere, Drew's brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch) and his worst enemy Mimi (Kathy Kinney), now husband and wife, hunker down to the responsibilities of parenting their baby son Gus; Drew's pals Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) blithely ignore all manner of municipal ordinances by building their "dream" house in the middle of a city park; and Mr. Wick goes into alcholic rehab, leaving the Winfred-Louder store in the less-than-capable hands of 19-year-old Milan Mercer (Jessica Cauffiel), the irresponsible daughter of new store owner Lord Mercer (Jim Piddock). Though there is no "What's Wrong With This Episode?" this season, viewers are treated to the wildest "Drew Live" episode thus far, with Drew caught in the middle of sinister scheme concocted by John Ratzenberger and Blue Man Group to take over The Drew Carey Show by force! No less breathtaking is the episode "Curse of the Mummy", with Richard Chamberlain showing up in drag as Mr. Wick's mother--a role he'd repeat in a special "Mother's Day" episode wherein the cast's various mommies and grandmommies are portrayed by such TV icons as Marion Ross, Adrienne Barbeau, June Lockhart and Phyllis Diller. Other Season Eight guest stars include baseball greats Bobby Bonds and Jay Johnstone, and longtime TV favorites Henry Winkler, Adam West and Max Gail--the latter two cast as gay lovers! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Drew's sprained--uh--organ has completely healed, so now the time has finally come for Drew (Drew Carey) and Kate (Christa Miller) to have sex. Just before the Main Event, Kate stumbles onto a meeting of the "Been Dumped by Kate Club", a support group consisting of all her ex-boyfriends. Worried that she'll "ruin" Drew as she has so many other lovers, Kate calls the Big Night off--but won't give him the real reason why. In another development, Drew is forced to drive Mimi (Kathy Kinney) to a fertility clinic when Steve is called out of town. No one should be surprised that this episode concludes with a splashy (and Emmy-nominated!) production number--not to mention a startling plot twist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season Six of The Drew Carey Show opens with the title character (played, naturally, by Drew Carey losing his job at Cleveland's Winfred-Louder department store and ending up slinging hash at his former high school's cafeteria--and despite this enormous setback, our hero is bound and determined to propose marriage to his longtime friend Kate (Christa Miller). Unfortunately, Drew is sidetracked into a sham "gay" marriage with his Winfred-Louder boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson), who must be hitched in a hurry lest he be deported to his native England. Despite his marital status, Drew still finds time to date a vegetarian activist named Rachel (Ileana Douglas)--whom is promplty "corrupted" by Drew's friends Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and transformed into a meat addict! Former recurring player John Carroll Lynch is promoted to full-scale regular in the role of Drew's transvestite brother Steve, now also the husband of Drew's mortal enemy (and reluctant next-door neighbor) Mimi (Kathy Kinney), who in the course of events becomes pregnant. This plot development figures prominently in a bizarre three-part story arc wherein Drew, rendered comatose in an accident and hovering between life and death, finds he prefers the Next World to This One--and while trekking Heavenward, he profoundly alters the future of Mimi's yet-unborn baby Gus. As a postscript, Drew returns to life only to discover that he's been declared legally dead, inspiring him to re-invent himself as a "born to be wild" cycle freak named Kyle! Upholding the tradition of past years, Season Six offers the second "Drew Live" episode (originally telecast live by ABC, in three different versions for the three main timezones) and the fourth and final error-ridden "What's Wrong With This Episode". And in a wacko plot twist that would not be resolved until the following Autumn, Season Six concludes as Mimi literally drives Drew insane and into a mental institution! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi