David Schwimmer Movies

Director Jean-Baptiste Andrea's wicked, jet-black comic thriller Big Nothing stars Friends mainstay David Schwimmer as Charlie Wood, a onetime American professor now married to a policewoman, Penelope (Natascha McElhone) and living in Oregon. As the story opens, Charlie takes a job as a telephone operator at an Information Technology call support center, but is promptly fired for making offensive comments to a customer. One of Charlie's shadier co-workers, Gus Dickinson (Simon Pegg) wheedles him into his plan to blackmail a priest, Rev. Smalls (Mitchell Mullen) by using "inside" information from the company that demonstrates the minister's obsession with internet porn. Thus begins an endless series of Mametian twists and turns involving double-cross, mistaken identity, forced drownings, poisonings, infidelities and cold-blooded mariticide, as the men attempt to collect on the money but run head-first into one outrageous conflict after another. Alice Eve, Mimi Rogers and Jon Polito co-star; Andrea and William Asher co-authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

With the official announcement that the tenth season of Friends would be its last, the series' fans loyally rallied around each episode, ensuring that the program would go out in a blaze of ratings glory. There was also little doubt that the many romantic intrigues that had evolved during previous seasons would finally be resolved -- happily or otherwise. Season ten begins with Ross (David Schwimmer), the father of Rachel's child, being upset over the burgeoning relationship between Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) -- who, truth to tell, also feel awkward and uncomfortable about the situation. Meanwhile, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), having learned that they cannot have children, find a mother-to-be named Erica (Anna Faris) from whom to adopt a child; they also decide to move out of Manhattan and into a "real" home in Westchester. As for the eternally unlucky-in-love Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), she is on the brink of a happily-ever-after denouement with her marriage to a nice fellow named Mike (Paul Rudd). The series' now-famous climactic episodes find Rachel deciding to give up both Joey and Ross by moving to Paris, and Joey preparing to go to L.A. in pursuit of movie work (thereby establishing the premise of Matt LeBlanc's new spin-off series, Joey); and Erica gives birth to twins, named Erica (after herself) and Jack (after Chandler's dad). As the last scene of the last episode approaches its final fadeout, it looks as though Ross will be left all alone...but there's still one more surprise in store. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With season eight of Friends concluding on a lively note as Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) gave birth to Ross' baby, season nine gets off to an equally lively start as Joey (Matt LeBlanc) "accidentally" proposes to Rachel, and Rachel "accidentally" accepts. This leaves Ross (David Schwimmer) out of the picture, and he puts up a brave front about it, while the rest of the "friends" (except Joey, of course) try to bring Ross and Rachel back together. Elsewhere, former Married...With Children co-star Christina Applegate shows up in the role of Rachel's sister Amy; and as newlyweds Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) try to adjust to Chandler's new job, which will require him to commute back and forth between New York and Tulsa, word comes that the couple may never be able to have any children. The season ends with a jaunt to Barbados, a confession, and the long-awaited, long-delayed "Joey and Rachel kiss." Although its status as America's top-rated series was upset by the emergence of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Friends remained the country's most-watched network sitcom during its penultimate year on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chandler (Matthew Perry) is dismayed to learn that Monica's bachelorette party featured a male stripper. To make amends, Monica (Courteney Cox) hires a female stripper for Chandler's belated bachelor bash -- but this stripper turns out to be a somewhat different variety of "working girl." Meanwhile, Rachel's belligerent dad (Ron Leibman) is surprisingly cool about his daughter's pregnancy. He is less cool about the fact that Rachel and Ross (David Schwimmer) have no intention of getting married -- and he's red hot when he finds Ross canoodling with Mona (Bonnie Somerville). ~ All Movie Guide

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for HBO, Band of Brothers is a ten-part miniseries based on the book Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose. The series dramatically re-creates the path of Easy Company, an elite paratrooper unit, from their basic training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia in 1942, to D-Day, to their critical involvement in the Battle of the Bulge, through their triumph at the close of the war. The unit was one of the best trained and most productive in American military history, but it also suffered immense casualties. The series is an ensemble piece, involving dozens of characters, and cast with relative unknowns. To the extent that there is a central character, it is Dick Winters (Damian Lewis), who went to Toccoa as a lieutenant and was promoted, over the course of the war, to battalion commander. Each episode includes brief excerpts from present-day interviews with some of the surviving members of the company. While the series is not a hagiography, Winters is depicted as a brave, resourceful, and humane leader. It's clear that the men revered him, and that he genuinely respected and cared about them. There are a few other members of the unit that make a strong impression. Sobel (David Schwimmer of Friends), their C.O. at Toccoa, is depicted as a petty tyrant whose men bond together in their hatred of him. Nixon (Ron Livingston of Office Space) is Winters' fellow officer and best friend, and an alcoholic. Carwood Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) is a decent, hard-working man, and a tremendous soldier who earns a battlefield commission for his exemplary leadership. Bill Guarnere (Frank John Hughes) fears nothing, and is known for his wise-guy attitude and hot temper. The series dramatizes the courage and fortitude of many others, but it's clear that Winters sets the tone for his men, and plays a pivotal role in the unit's success. The project involved several screenwriters, including Graham Yost (Speed) and E. Max Frye (Something Wild). Eight different directors were called upon for the ten installments, including Hanks, David Frankel (Miami Rhapsody), Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain), and Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams). Still, the tone and style of the series remains fairly consistent. While the story of Easy Company has been condensed and altered in some minor ways for dramatic purposes, and much of the dialogue was, by necessity, invented, the producers placed a strong emphasis on accurately depicting the conditions under which these men lived, fought, and died. Several survivors from the company consulted on the project, and an enormous amount of money was spent on sets, costumes, and special effects in order to re-create their experience. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

As expected, the eighth season of Friends picked up exactly where season seven left off -- that is, a few minutes after the wedding of Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox), with Joey (in a WWI uniform for his role in an upcoming movie) serving as best man. Also as expected, the mystery surrounding the pregnancy of one of the female Friends regulars is solved, with Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) turning out to be the one in the family way. It would take a few additional episodes, though, for Ross (David Schwimmer) to step forward as the father of Rachel's child. This plot development, however, did not lead to another wedding. Though Ross and Rachel were about to become parents, they did not see the need to become husband and wife, and in fact, both of them dated other people throughout the rest of the season, with Bonnie Somerville becoming a quasi-regular in the role of Ross' steady date Mona. In the course of season eight, Joey found himself falling in love with the pregnant Rachel, an affection culminating in a proposal at the tail end of the season -- just after Rachel had delivered a healthy baby girl, named Emma. Whether or not this would lead to a lasting relationship between Joey and Rachel was something that would have to be resolved during the next season. Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) had quite an eventful romantic life of her own, briefly pairing with guest stars Sean Penn (uncharacteristically cast as a nice guy) and Alec Baldwin (more characteristically cast as a well-meaning doofus whose overbearing enthusiasm drove everybody crazy). In keeping with this "celebrity guest" kick, Brad Pitt, husband of series regular Jennifer Aniston, showed up in one episode as one of Monica's high-school acquaintances. Though Pitt received no onscreen billing, his appearance was lavishly publicized throughout the civilized world, and was even deemed worthy of that loftiest of honors -- a TV Guide cover. Two Emmy awards were presented to Friends during its eighth season: the show itself received a statuette, as did Jennifer Aniston for Outstanding Lead Actress. Despite the formidable competition of CBS' Survivor, Friends remained the top-rated program on network television, posting a 15.0 in the Nielsens. ~ All Movie Guide

Jon Favreau and Famke Janssen star in this slick indie film about love, romance, and jealousy. Kate (Janssen) almost gets fired from her posh magazine job when she submits an overly graphic, overly personal article on oral sex. As she rewrites her piece, she reminisces on her past flames, particularly on her most serious relationship -- with Adam (Favreau), a fast-talking, very neurotic painter. The film traces their romance from their initial heady meeting, to moving in together, to an unexpected pregnancy, and the inevitable breakup because Adam felt trapped. Devastated by Adam's sudden defection, Kate goes on a dating spree and manages to drive him crazy by going out with handsome yet shallow video star Joey Santino (Josh Hopkins). Meanwhile, Adam grows increasingly obsessed with Kate's private life. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Still harboring what she thinks is a harmless crush on her personal assistant Tag (Eddie Cahill), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) writes a capricious work evaluation for him -- which ends up being delivered to the human relations department. In other developments, the friends make Phoebe's dream come true by buying her a bike, unaware that Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) wouldn't know how to ride the vehicle to save her life. And Monica (Courteney Cox) learns how to make candy...but not how to make new friends. ~ All Movie Guide

Ross (David Schwimmer) is honored to learn that his thesis has been put in the NYU library. But his happiness is soured when he finds out that the section in which the thesis is squirreled away has been adopted as a student "passion pit." Elsewhere, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) hadn't intended for his recent one-night stand to be chosen as the girl for him by Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow); and Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) are put on the spot when the troublesome Janice (Maggie Wheeler) is accidentally invited to their upcoming wedding. ~ All Movie Guide

As Friends enters its sixth season, Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) are husband and wife -- the end result of a drunken spree in Las Vegas. It doesn't take long for the couple to realize that their impulsive marriage was a mistake, however, and soon they're divorced. This whole unfortunate episode has caused Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) to put their own tentative wedding plans in cold storage, though they do move in together upon returning to New York. In later romantic developments, Rachel panics when it looks as though Ross is going to hit it off with her sister Jill (Reese Witherspoon), and is no less concerned when Ross begins getting serious with another girl -- one of his students -- named Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden); meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) has a brief fling with a lass by the name of Janine (Elle MacPherson). In the season finale, Chandler reconsiders marrying Monica, and is about to pop the question when her old flame Richard (Tom Selleck) shows up declaring his own love for her. Were it not for ER and the thrice-weekly Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Friends would have been the number one network program in America, instead of merely number four; still, the series remained the nation's most popular sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season five of Friends opens just a few moments after the wedding of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Emily (Helen Baxendale), in which Ross all but sealed the doom for the union by invoking the name of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) during the exchange of vows. It is also a scant few hours after Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox) have slept together for the first time. The latter couple tries to keep their romance a secret, but by mid-season everyone knows the truth. In later plot developments, the newly divorced Ross briefly moves in with Chandler and Joey; and surrogate mother Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) gives birth to triplets. In the now-famous season-five finale, Joey heads to Las Vegas for a juicy film role, and is eventually joined by the rest of his friends. Caught up in the glamour and glitter of Sin City, Monica and Chandler briefly consider a quickie Vegas marriage...only to find out that two of the other "friends" have beaten them to it! Friends wrapped up its fifth season on the air as the second most popular network program in America -- not to mention its post-Seinfeld status as the country's top-rated sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As Friends enters its third season, the series' romantic intrigues intensify. Monica (Courteney Cox) breaks up with Dr. Richard Burke (played during season two by Tom Selleck); Chandler (Matthew Perry) gets serious with his new girlfriend, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), but she can't bear to part with her former husband; and the relationship between Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) abruptly ends. And so it goes right up to the final episode of the season, in which, during a day at the beach, Ross and Rachel realize that they're still in love, Chandler begins mulling over the option of dating Monica, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) learns a shocking fact about her long-lost parents. Evidently, the viewers of America couldn't get enough of these plot entanglements; Friends closed out its third season as the fourth highest-rated program on network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1995 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by David Schwimmer and features musical guest Natalie Merchant. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide