Paul Dooley Movies
Paul Dooley is fondly remembered by fans of '80s cinema as the forgetful but well-intending father of a disgruntled Molly Ringwald in the John Hughes teen classic Sixteen Candles (1984). The longtime character actor's droopy, distinctive features and endearing onscreen warmth have kept him a familiar figure in both film and television. A Parkersurg, WV, native who originally aspired to become a cartoonist, Dooley drew comic strips for a local newspaper before entering the navy. Upon discharge, the future actor entered college, where he discovered his passion for the stage. A move to New York found the aspiring actor landing frequent stage work, and after discovering a previously untapped ability for comedy, Dooley tried his hand at standup for about five years. Always looking to expand his skills, he made his film debut in the 1970 comedy The Out-of-Towners. From 1971 to 1972, Dooley was also head writer for the popular children's television series The Electric Company.After showing promise in such late-'70s efforts as Slap Shot (1977) and A Wedding (1978), Dooley made a big impression with his supporting role as the lead character's worrisome father in Breaking Away (1979). Though he was overlooked at Oscar time, he was nominated for a New York Film Critics Circle award and won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actor. He kicked off the most successful decade of his film career with a performance as Wimpy in the much-maligned Robert Altman musical comedy Popeye (1980). Besides his memorable turn in Sixteen Candles, Dooley also delivered hilarious performances in the 1980s films Strange Brew (1983) and John Cassavetes' Big Trouble (1985). Fans of the extraterrestrial comedy series ALF will also remember him as the curiously named Whizzer Deaver.
Though his feature roles through the 1990s largely consisted of such B-grade fare as My Boyfriend's Back (1993) and Error in Judgment (1998), Dooley managed to stay on top thanks to parts in such popular television series as Mad About You, Dream On, Grace Under Fire, and The Practice. He also took on occasional roles in more notable films, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Clockwatchers (1997), Happy, Texas (1999), and Runaway Bride (also 1999), which served to remind movie buffs just how funny the talented comic actor could be when given the opportunity. Dooley's performances in such later efforts as Insomnia (2002) hinted at a darker side rarely explored by the usually jovial actor. In 2003, after re-teaming with Waiting for Guffman cohort Christopher Guest to blow A Mighty Wind, he took a supporting role in former MTV beauty queen Jenny McCarthy's comedy Dirty Love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
A man who has spent much of his life wandering through a haze of liquor and drugs learns that clearing his mind isn't an easy process in this independent comedy-drama. Truman (J.R. Bourne) is a hard-drinking cab driver who lives and works in Fairbanks, Alaska, driving home boozers and tourists who can't find their way in the frozen winter nights. While Truman is intrigued by a rough-edged stripper named Eleanor (Emily Wagner) who is a regular fare, for several years he's been dating Emily (Stacy Edwards), an aspiring novelist, and when she leaves him for another man, he takes the news hard. After a long night's bender of booze and LSD, Truman attempts suicide, and wakes up in a metal hospital where he dries out and tries to put his life back together with the help of a good natured psychiatrist (Garry Marshall). While attending group therapy, Truman notices a familiar face -- Eleanor, who is dealing with demons of her own and is willing to let Truman into her life. Truman falls in love with Eleanor, but once he is settled back in Fairbanks and tries to restart his life, he falls prey to the bad habits and poor choices that have dogged him for years. Also featuring Paul Dooley, Jeffrey Scott Jensen and Dan Butler, Chronic Town was the first feature film from director Tom Hines. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- J.R. Bourne, Emily Wagner, (more)
- 2004
Preparations are in full swing for Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) and Larry (Larry David) to renew their marriage vows for their tenth anniversary. After Anna (Gina Gershon), the sexy Chasidic woman who runs the Laundromat, flirts with Larry, he visits his rabbi (Barry Gordon) and expresses his qualms about taking Cheryl up on her offer to let him sleep with another woman as her tenth anniversary present. The rabbi finds a biblical parallel, and suggests that Larry accept the generous gift. He also asks Larry if he can invite a "survivor" to their rehearsal dinner. Larry assents, and then decides to invite Solly (Allan Rich), a friend of his father's (Shelley Berman) who survived the Holocaust. But the rabbi's friend turns out to be Colby Donaldson, from TV's Survivor, leading to an embarrassing argument at the dinner table about who the "real" survivor is. Cheryl and Larry get into a tiff about their vows when Larry learns that Cheryl expects them to spend eternity together. He had expected to be single again, what with the whole "Till death do us part," thing. "This is continuing into the afterlife?" he asks her, dismayed. On a more upbeat note, Anna agrees to meet Larry at a motel for an extramarital tryst to fulfill Cheryl's gift, but Larry is confused when Jeff (Jeff Garlin) suggests he bring a sheet with him. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Unlike her earlier comedy series and specials, in which she "took on" dozens of vivid and distinct characterizations, Tracey Ullman focuses herein on only three of her famous alter egos. First and foremost is faded glamour gal Ruby Romaine, veteran Hollywood cosmetician and shameless dispenser of libelous gossip. In her efforts to gain re-entry into Local 706 of the Hair and Makeup Guild, the heavily wrinkled Ruby crosses paths with two other Ullman creations, Russian émigré Svetlana and actress Pepper Kane, a black woman trying to pass as white (not surprisingly, both ladies are prime targets for Ruby's unending stream of ethnic slurs). Somehow or other, Ruby's return to her days of glory also brings her in contact with such real-life popular culture icons as Debbie Reynolds, Barbara Bain, Cheech Marin, Rose Marie, Jane Kaczmarek, and former Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In producer George Schlatter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Ullman
A workaholic advertising executive discovers that there may just be more to life than the daily grind in this warmhearted Christmas comedy from director Maggie Greenwald. Jane (Nancy McKeon) is a type-A go-getter who has little time to think about such things as family and the holiday spirit, but when a minor traffic mishap sends her reeling into a strange parallel universe, Jane's hectic schedule is turned inside out. Awakening from the accident to discover that she is suddenly a stay-at-home mother of two and happily married to kindly charity worker Sam (Steven Eckholdt), Jane desperately attempts to sort out her disorienting dilemma while simultaneously preparing Christmas dinner for the family. Could it be that Jane has finally discovered what has been missing from her life for all these years? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nancy McKeon, Steven Eckholdt, (more)
The directorial debut of actor/writer Mitch Rouse (Comedy Central's Strangers With Candy), Employee of the Month stars Matt Dillon as David Wells, a hapless guy whose day seems to be getting more and more out of control. After getting his life straightened out with a job he loves at a bank and beautiful fiancée (Christina Applegate), David is convinced he's got it made. Unfortunately, things take a distinct turn for the worse when he is dumped and fired all in the same day. Enter David's best friend, Jack (Steve Zahn), an oddball who makes his living stealing from corpses. Jack is determined to help cheer up David, but when a bank robbery and a large sum of cash enter the picture, it begins to become apparent that the disastrous and madcap events have only just begun. Employee of the Month premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, (more)
- 2001
An ambitious, fussbudgety TV reporter finds romance with her polar opposite, a downwardly mobile waiter living with his father, in this romantic comedy set in New York City. Former MTV staple Jenny McCarthy plays Whitney, a short-fused young woman whose career takes her to the Big Apple to compete for an on-air position for one of the biggest networks in the nation. On the way to the interview, she asks directions from a sardonic Gothamite named Jimmy (Christopher Eigeman); when the two cross paths again later in the day, Whitney's harsh demeanor leads Jimmy to mistakenly believe that she's a prostitute. The two go on a series of dates with other suitors, but their chance encounters become more and more frequent, and both Jimmy and Whitney find out that the other may be a more appropriate mate than he or she first thought. The Perfect You toured a series of film festivals including the Los Angeles Film Festival before appearing on the Oxygen network in 2003. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenny McCarthy, Christopher Eigeman, (more)
Happy, Texas is a fish-out-of-water comedy about two con men who escape from prison, then pose as gay lovers to hide out in a small Texas town. Mistaken for consultants to the Little Miss Fresh Squeezed Beauty Pageant, Harry (Jeremy Northam) and Wayne (Steve Zahn) go along with the ruse so they can stake out the local bank, owned by Josephine "Joe" McClintock (Ally Walker). The story kicks into high gear as Harry starts falling in love with Joe but cannot let on about his feelings. Also complicating matters is that gay Sheriff Dent (William H. Macy) has the hots for Harry, and Harry must pretend he's interested to keep the cops off his back. Meanwhile, Wayne is getting in touch with his feminine side as he tries his best to teach dance steps and flaming baton twirling to the little girls; he's also lusting after the girls' teacher, Ms. Schaefer (Ileana Douglas). Everything leads up to the big beauty pageant, where the cops are finally on Harry and Wayne's tail. First-time director Mark Illsley received wide media attention for this commercial piece, which sold to Miramax after a very public and intense bidding war. Steve Zahn's performance won him a special acting award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where the film premiered in dramatic competition . ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, (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)
In this youth-oriented comedy, a grieving football player and his losing team receives a little help from above in order to become champions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lloyd, Matthew Lawrence, (more)
- 1997
The mysterious reasoning of women who protect men who hurt them is explored in this psychological drama. Hedda (Robin Wright-Penn) was once involved with a man who had a long history of violence against women (played by Anthony Lucero). Even though Hedda broke up with him after a violent incident that caused her to fall out of a window, she hasn't been able to get him out of her mind, and her sorrow over ending the affair has led her to attempt suicide on more than one occasion. After the man's most recent girlfriend died as an indirect result of his abuse, District Attorney K.D. Dietrickson (William Hurt) has decided to file charges of negligent homicide against him, and he wants Hedda to testify in court to help establish a pattern of abuse. However, for whatever reason, Hedda still loves him, and in her mind she has turned the incident into a situation in which she was at fault. Despite the urgings of Hedda's concerned parents (Joanna Cassidy and Paul Dooley) and her sister, a tough lawyer named Brett (Amy Madigan), Hedda seems unmovable, which makes it all the more difficult for Dietrickson to stop the abuser before he can hurt someone else. Sean Penn, who happens to be Robin Wright-Penn's husband, served as co-producer and has a showy cameo role early in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Wright Penn, William Hurt, (more)
- 1997
Though Garak (Andrew J. Robinson) insists that a mysterious Cardassian-sounding message is insignificant, his subsequent behavior indicates otherwise. Sisko soon learns the truth: the Dominion is mounting yet another attack on the Federation. As Sisko makes preparations to close the wormhole, Garak and Worf are captured by the Jem'Hadar. The episode ends with a cliffhanger, not to be resolved until the following week's installment "By Inferno's Light." Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe and Ira Steven Behr, "In Purgatory's Shadow" first aired February 10, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Four women reflect on their lowly place in the corporate caste system in this dryly satiric comedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is a college graduate who hasn't decided what she wants to do with her life, except that she doesn't want the job her father has lined up for her at a frozen food company. While pretending to look for other work, she signs on with a temp agency, which sends her out to do office work for Global Credit, a particularly faceless corporation where the permanent employees go out of their way to avoid the temps. Iris is very much aware that she's at the bottom rung at Global, and she bonds with three other women in the temp pool. Paula (Lisa Kudrow) talks about her career as an actress and insists that she will only temp until one of her auditions pans out. Jane (Alanna Ubach) prattles on about her wealthy fiancé, although her friends are convinced that he's cheating on her. And Margaret (Parker Posey) is at once the rebel of the group, regarding her job and general office procedure with a barely disguised contempt, and the one who most desperately wants a "real" job with Global. When office supplies and various personal items start to disappear, all signs point to one of the temp workers (most likely Margaret), though none will own up to any wrongdoing. Clockwatchers was the directorial debut for filmmaker Jill Sprecher, who co-wrote the screenplay with her sister Karen Sprecher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Collette, Parker Posey, (more)
- 1996
Benton (Eriq La Salle) is removed from a round of surgery because no one on that shift wants to work with him. In other developments, Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and her sister, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite), lock horns over custody of little Suzy; Ross (George Clooney) treats eight-year-old Jeremy (Kevin Duran), who has been traumatized by witnessing his mother's murder; and Carter (Noah Wyle) spitefully prevents Dale Edson (Matthew Glave), the college friend and ex-lover of Harper Tracy (Christine Elise), from performing an appendectomy. On a happier note, Greene (Anthony Edwards) successfully re-enters the dating pool. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An unhinged city dweller becomes a vigilante as he tries to protect a troubled teenager. The fellow is Ernest, who came to LA in search of his fortune and who ends up addicted to coke and managing a pornographic video store. When he makes an awkward play for the boss's daughter, he loses his job. Unable to deal with it, he becomes really unstable. He murders his drug dealer and then becomes friends with the teen Christiane who is trying to cope with a stepfather who molests her and a mother who doesn't care. Ernest takes Christiane away from home and then helps her try to find her long-lost sister. Along the way he makes sure that anyone who ever harmed her is made to pay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Unable to cope with the pressures of surrogate motherhood, Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) considers giving up her sister Chloe's baby, Suzy, for adoption. Back at the ER, Ross (George Clooney) and Greene (Anthony Edwards) quarrel over subjecting four-year-old AIDS victim Chia-Chia (Joshua Hoon Cho) to a very painful medical procedure. And Benton (Eriq La Salle) takes a personal interest in his patient Vicky Mazovick (Jennifer Tighe), a victim of abuse at the hands of her police-officer husband (Thom Mathews). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Though Ross (George Clooney) has been redeemed in the eyes of his superiors thanks to his heroic rescue of a 12-year-old trapped in a flooded culvert, he still gets into a violent argument with Greene (Anthony Edwards), who, it is learned, is suffering from problems above and beyond professional pressures. Elsewhere, Carol Hathaway (Julianna Marguiles), who the previous year had attempted suicide, forms a close bond with a 17-year-girl (Miriam Reichmeister) who has likewise tried to end her life -- and in the process, a serious wedge is driven between Carol and Shep (Ron Eldard). Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) discovers that the woman (Angela Paton) she is considering as Suzy's babysitter is suffering from a terminal blood disease. And Benton (Eriq La Salle) finds out that Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) has not quite divorced her husband, Al. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Kirk Cameron stars in this made-for-television remake of the 1970 movie. Cameron stars as Dexter Riley, an under-average college student whose brain gets filled with the information from a super computer. He uses his newly found wisdom to sweep some college quiz tournaments, much to the chagrin of his suspicious competitors. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Cameron, Larry Miller, (more)
A teenager wins an interactive robot that plays shooting games. Soon it starts loading with real ammo and hunting down other kids. This film is a stupid thriller but still manages to be occasionally fun. ~ Sean D. MacLaggan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
An "accidental" explosion turns out to have been an attempt on the life of Cardassian Garak (Andrew Robinson). Launching an investigation of the incident, Odo uncovers a conspiracy of epic proportions. What he does about it will not be fully revealed until the following week's episode, "The Die Is Cast." Originally telecast April 24, 1995, "Improbable Cause" was scripted by Rene Echevarria from a story by Robert Lederman and David R. Long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Originally telecast May 1, 1995, this episode was the conclusion of a two-part adventure which began the previous week under the title "Improbable Cause." Investigating an attempt on the life of Cardassian Garak (Andrew Robinson), Odo uncovers a sinister and far-reaching Cardassian/Romulan conspiracy. As for Garak, he finds his loyalties severely tested when he is ordered to extract vital information from Odo, even if he must resort to torture. "The Die Is Cast" was written by Ronald D. Moore from an (uncredited) story by Robert Lederman and David R. Long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Bashir's Cardassian friend Garak (Andrew Robinson) is slowly and painfully dying from an apparent brain tumor. It is soon revealed that the source of Garak's agony is actually a brain implant, the handiwork of the Cardassian intelligence agency Enabran Tran. Bashir's efforts to save his friend are stymied by Garak himself, who has become addicted to the implant and becomes violent whenever anyone approaches him. Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, "The Wire" originally aired May 7, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Set in a busy inner-city emergency room, this made-for-cable television drama follows the struggles of a world-weary surgeon who takes on the hospital administrators whose budget-cutting is affecting his ability to adequately care for his patients. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Mantegna, Lynn Whitfield, (more)
- 1993
This gentle baseball fantasy centers on a former ball player who has spent thirty years bitterly brooding over the fact that he has been overlooked by the Baseball Hall of Fame. He finally decides to take action when his long-lost best friend returns from the dead to talk to him. Just before he died, the friend was inducted into the famous museum. The rest of the story is comprised of touching and sometimes funny vignettes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Paul Dooley and Nancy Dussault guest star as Jamie's parents, Gus and Theresa Stemple. When a short visit by Mom and Dad threatens to extend into the next millennium, Jamie freaks out. The solution? Bribing Lisa (Anne Ramsey) to take Jamie's parents off her hands and out of the Buchman abode. All this, and the diatribe on "Canada's Best" in the bargain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
