Luke Wilson Movies
Although he made his film debut in the acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, actor Luke Wilson initially got more recognition for his real-life role as Drew Barrymore's boyfriend than for his acting. Fortunately for Wilson, his onscreen talents outlasted his relationship with Barrymore, and he has enjoyed steady employment and increasing visibility through substantial roles in a number of films.A native Texan, Wilson was born in Dallas in 1971. The son of an advertising executive and a photographer, he was raised with two brothers, Owen and Andrew. The three would all go on to make their careers in film, with Wilson discovering his love of acting while a student at Occidental College. In 1993, the brothers Wilson collaborated with Wes Anderson to make Bottle Rocket, which was initially a 15-minute short. The gleefully optimistic story of three Texans who aspire to become successful thieves, Bottle Rocket premiered at the 1993 Sundance Festival, where it attracted the attention of director James L. Brooks. With Brooks' help, the short became a full-length feature film released in 1996. That same year, Wilson also appeared in the coming-of-age drama Telling Lies in America.
After large roles in three 1998 comedies, Bongwater, Home Fries, and Best Men (the latter two co-starring Barrymore), Wilson went on to star in another three comedies the following year. The first, Dog Park, was a Canadian film directed by Kids in the Hall alum Bruce McCulloch and featured Wilson as one of a group of twenty-somethings undergoing the trials and tribulations of love. Blue Streak starred the actor as the sidekick of robber-turned-policeman Martin Lawrence, while Kill the Man (which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Festival) cast him as the owner of a small copy center competing with a large chain store across the street.
Though he would stick closely to comedy through 2001 with roles in Charlie's Angels (2000) and Legally Blonde (2001), Wilson took a turn for the sinister in the thrillers Preston Tylk and Soul Survivors (both 2001), before reteaming with his brother Owen and Wes Anderson to give one of his most memorable performances as Richie, the suicidal tennis pro in The Royal Tenenbaums.
In 2003, Wilson reprised two past roles, appearing in both Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde. That same year, he also scored a hit as one of the stars of Todd Phillips' Old School. 2004 saw Wilson embark on The Wendell Baker Story, a film he stars in, co-directs with brother Andrew Wilson, and co-writes with brother Owen Wilson. Laced with supporting roles and cameos from such iconic friends as Harry Dean Stanton, Kris Kristofferson, and Eddie Griffin, this quirky low-budgeter made the festival rounds in 2005-6 and the responses were encouragingly supportive; Variety's Joe Leydon observed, "The co-directing Wilson siblings smartly refrain from pushing anything too hard or too often, making the unpredictable eruptions of straight-faced absurdity all the more effective. Luke Wilson is extremely engaging in lead role." Many praised the Wilson brothers' directorial and scriptwriting intuition and their willingness to take risky-yet-triumphant gambles onscreen.
Wilson joined the cast of early 2006's box-office sleeper hit The Family Stone, a family drama with an ensemble that includes Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson and Sarah Jessica Parker; the remainder of the year sees Wilson appearing in a string of supporting roles in light and dark comedies. In a minor performance in May 2006's Hoot, Wilson plays Officer David Delinsky, who attempts to sabotage a plot by local children to blow up a pancake house. His appearance in July 2006's My Super Ex-Girlfriend marks director Ivan Reitman's return to the big screen since 2001's box-office disappointment Evolution; it stars Uma Thurman as a superhero who gets even with her ex-beau (Wilson) after he casts her aside. He also highlights summer 2006's Mini's First Time, a black comedy about an incestuous daughter and stepfather who have the mother committed to a mental hosiptal; co-stars include Jeff Goldblum and Carrie-Anne Moss. Idiocracy, directed by cult fave (and Beavis and Butthead creator) Mike Judge, has Wilson as a moron hurled a thousand years into the future by the U.S. Government, only to discover he is the most intelligent person on the planet.
In the tradition of 8mm, 2007's jet-black paranoid thriller Vacancy will co-star Wilson and Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker as husband-and-wife who check into a hotel and unwittingly become the targets of a snuff film, while, in that same year's semi-spoof Dallas (2007) (adapted from the early-eighties TV sensation and directed by Gurinder Chadha) Wilson will tentatively co-star as Bobby Ewing, alongside Jennifer Lopez as Sue Ellen, Shirley MacLaine as Miss Ellie, and John Travolta as the infamous J.R.. Wilson's additional film roles throughout 2007 include Barry Munday (an indie pic helmed by Chris d'Arienzo and adapted from Frank Hollon's novel Life is A Strange Place, about a chauvinist who wakes up and discovers his own emasculation); and Last Seduction helmer John Dahl's mafioso comedy You Kill Me. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
A bright, optimistic caper comedy from first-time director Wes Anderson, Bottle Rocket focuses on a group of young Texans aspiring to become master thieves. Their leader is Dignan (Owen C. Wilson, who also co-wrote the screenplay), an upbeat if naive charmer who convinces his friends Anthony (Wilson's brother Luke Wilson) and Bob Mapplethorpe (Robert Musgrave) to enter the crime business. After their first heist, a bizarrely-executed robbery of a local bookstore, the trio goes on the lam, taking up residence in a border hotel where Anthony falls in love with a maid played by Lumi Cavazos. When the three buddies decide that they need to return to the real world, they hook up with a master con-man (James Caan) who sends them on a daring -- if ill-concieved -- mission. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, (more)
Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro) was born in Hungary and immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1960s where he felt adrift in a strange sea of American culture. Jonas tries to fit in at the Catholic high school he attends but finds himself a laughing stock. At home, his stern father (Maximilian Schell) insists that he adhere to traditional Hungarian ways. Karchy's only respite is the rock & roll music he adores. A year before he arrived, flashy, failed disc jockey Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon) rolled into town, found a job at WHK and became the host of the High School Hall of Fame contest, something that Karchy decides he must win so he too can be cool and therefore impress his lovely classmate Diney (Calista Flockhart). Eventually, he does win and before long has made friends with Billy. The DJ proves to be a real pal and pays Karchy a C-note a week to run a few errands and do odd jobs for him. Some of those tasks involve taking money from promoters. When not working, Billy is introducing Karchy to life's wild side. But despite such fun times, there is much the naive youth is destined to learn the hard way about his new buddy Billy. The film's story comes from screenwriter Joe Eszterhas' (Basic Instinct) script, penned around 1982. Himself a Hungarian immigrant, Eszterhas added a few autobiographical touches to the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Brad Renfro, (more)
Dean Parisot, who won a live-action short Oscar, made his feature directorial debut with this black comedy from a producer team that included Barry Levinson and Lawrence Kasdan. A philandering stepdad is the victim of vengeful Mrs. Lever (Catherine O'Hara), who sends her sons out to scare him to death. Cobra helicopter pilots Dorian (Luke Wilson) and Angus (Jake Busey) accomplish this by strafing the forest at night as the stepdad runs in terror. No one knows that pregnant Burger-Matic cashier Sally (Drew Barrymore) was the stepdad's mistress. However, since Burger-Matic and Cobra headsets share the same radio frequency, the notion surfaces that maybe Burger-Matic workers overheard something; Angus suggests that Dorian take a job at the fast-food joint in order to determine just who knows what. Once on the job, however, the situation gets twisted after Dorian falls hard for Sally. The chain-smoking Mrs. Jackson (Shelley Duvall), Sally's trailer-trash mother, turns up, as does her redneck father, Red (Lanny Flaherty). In an inside film reference, Angus mentions the classic "Lamb to the Slaughter" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Barrymore, Luke Wilson, (more)
Former music-video director Tamra Davis (Guncrazy) created strong characters in this bank-robbery tale, a crime/comedy/drama somewhat reminiscent of the anti-establishment attitudes seen in early '70s films. After three years in a California prison, Jesse (Luke Wilson) is ready to marry his girlfriend Hope (Drew Barrymore) in the town of Independence (the original working title of this film). Joining Jesse is a odd assortment -- the buzzcut ex-Green-Beret Buzz (Dean Cain); ex-lawyer Sol (Mitchell Whitfield); geeky Teddy (Andy Dick); and Shakespeare-quoting Billy (Sean Patrick Flanery), aka Hamlet on the FBI's most-wanted list. Then they're off to the wedding. Billy, however, asks to be dropped off at a nearby bank, and after it's evident that Billy is pulling off another Hamlet heist, the others join him inside. Billy's father, Sheriff Phillips (Fred Ward), up for re-election, begins hostage negotiations, but the media arrives, along with psycho FBI agent Hoover (Raymond J. Barry) and his partner Carter (Art Edler Brown). Wearing her wedding dress, Hope goes inside the bank. Soon various friends and locals gather outside to offer support as the hostages take the side of their captors. In addition to portraying agent Carter, Art Edler Brown is the film's co-producer and co-scripter. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Oregon pot dealer David (Luke Wilson) is perfectly happy with his uninspired artwork and sonambulstic slacker life. Along wih his layabout gay friends -- Tony (Andy Dick) and Robert (Jeremy Sisto) -- David seems to have no worries as long as the marijuana crop keeps coming in. But a social hitchhiker named Serena (Alicia Witt) finds her way into David's life and a relationship staggers to full blossom. As David gets more serious about his art, thanks to Serena's encouragement, Serena leaves to try out the rock 'n' roll life of New York City. David numbs his feelings for Serena with meaningless sex with her friend Mary (Brittany Murphy) and a wild mushroom-induced adventure in the woods with Jennifer (Amy Locane) and a zany drug guru Devlin (Jack Black). Meanwhile, Serena gets a brutal wakeup call about life in the big city and returns home to David. But is that the best thing for both of them? ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Alicia Witt, (more)
Former Kids In The Hall member Bruce McCulloch wrote and directed this comedy about the romantic tribulations of a group of Toronto twenty-somethings whose relationships with their dogs are more stable and long-lasting than their romances with people. Nice guy Andy (Luke Wilson) gets dumped by his girlfriend Cheryl (Kathleen Robertson) when she meets another man (Gordon Currie); worst of all, Cheryl also ends up with custody of Andy's dog. On the rebound, Andy meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge), the host of a children's TV show, but she's too obsessed with her dog Peanut to pay Andy much mind. Keiran (Kristin Lehman), on the other hand, is a bit too enthusiastic for Andy, leading to yet another short-lived relationship. Cheryl ends up taking her dog (formerly Andy's dog) to a pet psychiatrist (Mark McKinney) who thinks that her promiscuity may be traumatizing the pooch. Meanwhile, Bruce McCulloch and Janeane Garofalo are cast against type as Jeff and Jeri, Andy's cheerful and annoyingly romantic friends. Although it was completed in 1998, Dog Park's U.S. release was delayed until September 1999 due to the film's sale to New Line Cinema; as a result, Bruce McCulloch's directorial debut hit theaters only a month before the scheduled release of his second film, Superstar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Henstridge, Luke Wilson, (more)
After the highly acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, director Wes Anderson followed up with a quirky Touchstone Studios film entitled Rushmore. Written by Anderson and friend Owen Wilson (an actor in Armageddon and Anaconda), they created the story of Max Fischer, a highly eccentric 15-year-old boy who attends the tenth grade at Rushmore Academy. Played by Jason Schwartzman (Talia Shire's son and Francis Ford Coppola's nephew), Max is a poor student with big dreams and a love of extracurricular activities. Max is editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, president of the chess, astronomy, French, and German clubs, captain of the fencing team, and director of the school play. Max is also a compulsive liar, telling everyone that his barber father (Seymour Cassel) is really a brain surgeon. Suddenly Max falls in love with Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), a first-grade teacher at the school. He also makes a new friend in business tycoon Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), an eccentric millionaire who also loves Miss Cross. The love triangle heats up as Max refuses to believe that his age has anything to do with Miss Cross refusing his romantic advances. Also Max's scheme to erect an aquarium on the school baseball diamond gets him booted out of Rushmore Academy. As his life crumbles around him, he is forced to grow up and accept the consequences of his actions and his lies. He throws himself more into his extracurricular activities, hoping to redeem himself by staging the most ambitious school play ever attempted. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, (more)
- 1998
A string of deaths has occurred in rural Texas, with the victims drained of all their blood. Investigating this killing spree, Mulder and Scully come up with two different, contradictory versions of the events surrounding the murders. Both versions reach the same grisly conclusion: Mulder is responsible for the death of local teenager Ronnie Strickland (Patrick Renna) -- a death that may have been entirely unnecessary. First broadcast February 22, 1998, "Bad Blood" was written by Vince Gilligan, and features Luke Wilson in a supporting role as the town's sheriff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Can a crook go straight without really trying? Jewel thief Miles Logan (Martin Lawrence) was being chased by the police after a robbery when he was forced to hide a cache of diamonds, worth $20 million, at a construction site. Despite his caution, Miles ended up behind bars anyway; after serving his time, he goes back to retrieve the stones only to discover what was being built: a police station. Miles needs to spend some time at the station to figure out what happened to his nest egg, so he sneaks in, posing as a police detective. Trouble is, he's so convincing that the cops assign him a rookie partner, Carlson (Luke Wilson), to put through training. To his surprise, Miles turns out to be a good cop, and the more he tries to find the missing diamonds, the higher he's promoted through the department, until he finds himself in line for a top spot in the detective's division. Supporting Lawrence and Wilson in Blue Streak are Dave Chappelle, William Forsythe, and Nicole Parker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, (more)
- 1999
Premiering in the Midnight Movie section of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, Kill the Man poses the question: "What would you do if you won $100,000 during a half-time basketball free-throw contest?" Stanley Luke Wilson and Bob Josh Malina decide to open a small copy center. The problem is that a large-chain copy store is right across the street, taking the lion's share of the business. So with absurd determination, they decide to declare their own comic brand of war on big business. Persuading his girlfriend Vicki to join in, Stanley must choose between his life of wreaking havoc on corporate America or taking a job from Vicki's dad Michael McKean. The answer may lie somewhere in the middle, as suddenly Stanley is in jeopardy of losing his own shop if he can't come up with the rent. Directors Tom Booker and Jon Kean use wacky characters and slapstick to cook up a David-and-Goliath story about the big guy versus the little guy, with a little rule-breaking irreverence on the side. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Joshua Malina, (more)
- 2000
- R
- Add Committed to Queue
Heather Graham stars in this indie exploration of love and marital commitment directed by Lisa Krueger. A hardcore believer in the sanctity of marriage, plucky Joline (Graham) is stunned when her husband Carl (Luke Wilson) abruptly dumps her, leaving only a vaguely-worded note to explain himself. Undaunted, Joline leaves New York to look for her man and discovers him in the wild west of El Paso, Texas, after meeting a bevy of ne'er-do-wells and weirdos along the way. She discovers that Carl is shacked up with a beautiful Hispanic woman named Carmen (Patricia Velasquez). Meanwhile, Joline's flirtatious brother Jay (Casey Affleck) shows up from the Big Apple to look after his sister. Later, two men enter Joline's life. One is Neil (Goran Visnjic), Carl's hunky, beguiling neighbor, who increasingly becomes the object of Joline's affection, and Grampy (Alfonso Arau), an aging Mexican medicine man who becomes Joline's spiritual guide. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Graham, Casey Affleck, (more)
The popular memoir by Pulitzer prize-winning author Willie Morris became this family comedy-drama about a boy and his dog. Young Willie Morris (Frankie Muniz) is a shy eight-year-old in 1942 Yazoo, MS, who is more comfortable reading than playing sports. A target for local bullies, Willie's only real pal is his older next-door neighbor Dink Jenkins (Luke Wilson), once the town's living sports legend and a big brother figure to Willie, an only child. When Dink is shipped overseas for service in World War II, Willie's mother Ellen (Diane Lane) finally forces his gruff father Jack (Kevin Bacon) to allow into the family a pet dog, a Jack Russell terrier named Skip. The smart and playful Skip gets his owner into a series of adventures on the baseball field and with a band of moonshiners, quickly turning Willie into a popular, accepted kid who even wins the affections of the school's prettiest girl, Rivers Applewhite (Caitlin Wachs). In the meantime, Dink returns from war branded a coward for an incident that occurred in combat but finds an unexpected ally in the normally taciturn Jack, a fellow veteran. Harry Connick Jr. narrated as the adult Willie; the role of Skip was played in later scenes by Moose, the pooch star of television's Frasier. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, (more)
They're beautiful, they're brilliant, and they can kick your butt -- the most glamorous private eyes in the world are back in action in this big-screen adaptation of the popular '70s television series. Natalie (Cameron Diaz) is the smart but silly one, Dylan (Drew Barrymore) is the tough but fun-loving one, and Alex (Lucy Liu) is the classy but hard-as-nails one, and they work for a man named Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), who never meets his employees face to face. Along with their helper Bosley (Bill Murray), the Angels are sent into action when electronics genius Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) is kidnapped, with the nefarious Roger Corwin (Tim Curry) as the prime suspect. But they soon learn even bigger danger is afoot -- the kidnappers have gotten their hands on Knox's latest invention, a system that can monitor voice communication from anywhere in the world, virtually ending the notion of private conversation. Charlie's Angels also stars Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, Kelly Lynch, and Tom Green. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 2000
Preston Tylk (Luke Wilson) is an ordinary guy living in Seattle. When he discovers that his wife, Emily (Mili Avital), whom he adores, is having an affair, he is devastated. Storming out of the house, he returns later to find her brutally murdered. With Emily's lover as the prime suspect, Preston traces the lout to his home, but once he makes it inside, a man attacks him. During the course of their ensuing fight, Preston kills him, only to realize that he killed the wrong guy. Meanwhile, Emily's lover Jonathan (Norman Reedus) begins chasing Preston, and soon both are running from each other and the law. A desperate Preston turns to Dick (Dennis Farina), an aptly named private eye, for help, and together the two try to bring the dastardly Jonathan to justice. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Norman Reedus, (more)
Director Wes Anderson and his longtime friend and writing partner Owen Wilson follow up Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998) with this similarly offbeat comedy about a dysfunctional family reunion. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful attorney who had three children with his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), an archaeologist. Each of the Tenenbaum kids was a precocious genius: Chas (Ben Stiller) made a killing as a child investor. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior tennis champ and three-time U.S. Nationals winner. The adopted Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright who won a 50,000-dollar Braverman Grant in the ninth grade. When Royal abruptly left his family, however, it was the beginning of two decades of betrayal and failure that would scar the Tenenbaums for life. Their past resentments are bitterly held against Royal when he suddenly reappears, claiming to have six weeks to live and a desire to reconnect with his family. Typically, Royal's story is a sham, but his presence and sincere desire for absolution soon have a profound effect on the Tenenbaums, who are each dealing with thwarted desires and relationships. Among them are Richie's lifelong love for Margot, who's unhappily married to Raleigh St.Clair (Bill Murray) and Etheline's eccentric engagement to Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), who wishes to marry her. The Royal Tenenbaums also co-stars Owen Wilson and features narration provided by Alec Baldwin. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, (more)
This entry in the perennially popular teen horror genre is from writer/director Steve Carpenter and the producers of I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Urban Legend (1998). Melissa Sagemiller stars as Cassie, a college freshman trying to get over the death of her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) in an auto accident. Making matters worse is that ever since the car crash, which also nearly claimed her own life, Cassie has seemed to hover in a netherworld between the living and the dead, where she believes she's hallucinating some spooky, emotional visitations from Sean. In the meantime, she's also coming under the sway of her mysterious friends Matt (Wes Bentley) and Annabel (Eliza Dushku) as well as an androgynous acquaintance (Angela Featherstone) of theirs. Unsure whom she can trust, Cassie turns for aid to an enigmatic young priest, Father Jude (Luke Wilson), but the ultimate truth about her condition and state of mind may come as a shocking revelation. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Sagemiller, Casey Affleck, (more)
- 2001
- R
In rainy Tacoma, WA, Preston Tylk (Luke Wilson) learns that his beautiful wife Emily (Mili Avital) has been unfaithful with a man named Jonathan (Norman Reedus). Preston goes for a walk to consider his future, and when he returns, he discovers Emily's body - she's been strangled to death. After the funeral, Preston figures out who Jonathan is and goes to his house to confront him, where he is attacked by a man who he then bludgeons to death in self-defense. But it's not Jonathan; it's his mentally challenged brother, and the murder was taped on a security camera - which Jonathan now possesses and is using to convict Preston in both slayings. With the help of a private eye named Dick (Dennis Farina), and on the run from the law, Preston tries to recover the tape and clear his name. Meanwhile the enraged Jonathan, innocent of Emily's death after all, chases Preston through the Pacific Northwest to kill him for both slayings. If Preston and Jonathan didn't kill Emily, who did?
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Norman Reedus, (more)
Reese Witherspoon stars in this romantic comedy, the feature film debut of award-winning Australian director Robert Luketic. As a ravishing Miss Hawaiian Tropic, sorority president, and calendar girl, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is a big hit on the campus of her sun-drenched Los Angeles college. She's also got the perfect boyfriend in Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), a wealthy East Coast blue blood. Fearing that his snooty friends and family will never accept the bubble-headed Elle, however, Warner dumps her before heading off to graduate law school at Harvard University. Determined to win back her man, Elle enrolls in the same imposing institution, quickly becoming an object of scorn and ridicule, especially to Warner's old prep school flame (Selma Blair). Despite her penchant for malls, makeup, and tanning, Elle is no dummy and is soon showing elite Ivy League snobs a thing or two about class, self-confidence, and courtroom victory. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, (more)
An unlucky-in-love bachelor lands his dream date, but finds that getting through the evening will be a difficult challenge indeed in this romantic comedy. The Third Wheel stars Luke Wilson as Stanley, a woefully inept young man who -- with the aid of his roommate Mike (Ben Affleck) -- works up the nerve to ask out his alluring co-worker Diana (Denise Richards). Diana agrees, but before the two can even be seated at a restaurant, they literally run into a homeless con man named Phil (Jay Lacopo). Currying pity from the hapless Stanley, Phil proceeds to disrupt the evening in every way imaginable. One of the first films from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's production company, The Third Wheel languished on the shelf for more than three years; a similar, if less-severe, fate befell Wakin' Up in Reno, another Miramax-distributed comedy also directed by Jordan Brady. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Denise Richards, (more)
Three men relive their carefree college years by killing off as many brain cells as possible in this over-the-top comedy. Mitch (Luke Wilson) returns home from a less-than-pleasant business trip one evening to discover his wife, Heidi (Juliette Lewis), involved in a ménage à trois with two blindfolded strangers. Feeling less than welcome at home after this, Mitch rents a house near the campus of a nearby college; two of Mitch's old college buddies, Beanie (Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Ferrell), stop by to cheer him up. They soon become regular guests at Mitch's place, despite the fact that Frank only recently wed Marissa (Perrey Reeves), while Beanie and his wife, Lara (Leah Remini), are busy with two kids. Beanie decides to throw a housewarming party for Mitch, and since Beanie sells audio equipment for a living, he's able to trick out the big bash with a massive PA system and an appearance by Snoop Dogg. Mitch soon finds he's the not-entirely-willing proprietor of the school's leading party spot, which raises the ire of Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), a dean at the college who was the target of Mitch, Frank, and Beanie's abuse when they were all students. Pritchard arranges to have Mitch's neighborhood zoned into a student housing district, but Beanie and Frank respond by forming a fraternity and making Mitch's home their headquarters. Mitch, however, is not enthusiastic about the idea, especially as he's trying to impress Nicole (Ellen Pompeo), a beautiful divorcee who is less than enchanted with Frank and Beanie's "party hearty" lifestyle. Old School director Todd Phillips knows more than a bit about the seamy side of fraternity life as director of the infamous unreleased documentary Frat House. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, (more)
Enigmatic rock legend Bob Dylan stars as an enigmatic rock legend (talk about a casting coup!) in this purposefully eccentric satiric comedy. Uncle Sweetheart (John Goodman) is an unscrupulous concert promoter who has figured out a way to cash in on the feelings of doubt and uncertainty that plague his nation, which is being torn apart by civil war and political revolution. Sweetheart has decided he will stage a massive benefit concert, though the unnamed charity would appear to be his checking account. Sweetheart hires television producer Nina Veronica (Jessica Lange) to help promote the show and sell it as a nation-wide cable-cast event, while Sweetheart pulls a few strings to arrange for the perfect headliner -- Jack Fate (Bob Dylan), a legendary songwriter who is currently serving a term in prison. With Fate out from behind bars, Sweetheart and Veronica set out to sell their grand spectacle to the world, though one determined investigative journalist (Jeff Bridges) has set out to throw a spenner into the works of Uncle Sweetheart and his epic fundraiser. Marking the directorial debut of comedy writer Larry Charles, Masked and Anonymous also features Penelope Cruz and Luke Wilson; the film was shown in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, (more)
Rob Reiner directs Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson in Alex & Emma, a romantic comedy about an author and his secretary. Gangsters will kill Alex (Wilson) in 30 days if he doesn't pay back his gambling debts. The only way he can do that is to finish his new novel. He hires sassy court stenographer Emma (Hudson) to transcribe his dictation. The film intercuts between the two of them writing the story, and the story within the story. Hudson plays three roles in the film, and Wilson plays two. Sophie Marceau and David Paymer round out the cast. The premise is (very) loosely based on a series of events that befell Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Hudson, Luke Wilson, (more)
- 2003
- PG13
- Add Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle to QueueAdd Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle to top of Queue
The three most glamorous and butt-kicking private detectives in the business are back and ready to take on bad guys in this sequel to the 2000 blockbuster screen adaptation of the once-popular television series. Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy Liu) are once again summoned to the office of their boss Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), where they're introduced to his new right-hand man Jimmy Bosley (Bernie Mac) and given their latest assignment. It seems a pair of rings have gone missing and need to be recovered, but this was no ordinary jewel heist -- the rings have been coded with special information that can be used to access a list of every person in the FBI's Witness Protection Program, and when a handful of protected informants are murdered, the Angels are brought in to help crack the case. As the women search for the culprits, they encounter Madison Lee (Demi Moore), one of Charlie's former agents who decided that the wrong side of the law pays better, and Seamus (Justin Theroux), who once dated Dylan and wants revenge for her decision to turn him over to the police. Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc return as (respectively) Natalie and Alex's love interests, as does Crispin Glover as the Thin Man; John Cleese, Robert Forster, and Eric Bogosian also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 2003
- PG13
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Taking home a paycheck that nearly rivals the budget of the first film, Reese Witherspoon reprises the role of Elle Woods in this sequel to 2001's surprise blockbuster Legally Blonde. When she's fired from her job at an upscale law firm for voicing her stance against the testing of cosmetics on animals, Elle heads to Capitol Hill to fight for her cause before Congress, leaving her boyfriend, Emmett (Luke Wilson, reprising his role from the film's predecessor), behind. Once there, she runs into plenty of adversity and red-tape and can't seem to find anyone who will listen to her proposals. While staying at the Watergate hotel though, she meets and befriends an elderly bellman (Bob Newhart in his first theatrical role since 1997's In & Out) who's been around politicians long enough to know the ins and outs of the political machine. With his help, Elle attempts to convince disillusioned U.S. Representative Rudd (Sally Field) to help her get her voice heard in front of the stodgy old coots of the legislative branch. Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld hot off the success of his critically acclaimed indie comedy Kissing Jessica Stein, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde boasts a supporting cast led by Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show, American Pie) and Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Daddy Day Care). ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, (more)
- 2004
Vince's agreement to appear on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show touches a nerve with Drama (Kevin Dillon); Eric says good-bye to Kristen (Monica Keena); Ari works overtime to land a new client. Luke Wilson, Sarah Silverman and Sara Foster have cameos. ~ Joe Friedrich, All Movie Guide
