Chi McBride Movies
Pronounced "shy," like the colloquial term for his hometown of Chicago, Chi McBride didn't get into acting until he was 30 years old. He is probably most recognized for his role as principal Steven Harper on Fox's Boston Public. Before his first movie, he worked for a phone company, trained as a gospel singer, and joined the hip-hop band Covert. With McBride as a producer and vocalist, the band released their first and only album For Your Bootay Only in 1991. Not soon after, he started appearing as a guest star on Fox sitcoms, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His feature-length debut happened a year later in Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation. Billed as simply Chi, he then gained small roles for the Eddie Murphy movie The Distinguished Gentleman and the Tina Turner story What's Love Got to Do With It?In 1993, McBride found a spot for himself on NBC for The John Larroquette Show, playing the janitor Heavy Gene. Teaming up next with the Hudlin brothers, he then appeared in the HBO Twilight Zone-style trilogy Cosmic Slop, hosted by George Clinton. His next few diverse projects were supporting roles in Peter Jackson's horror comedy The Frighteners, Bill Duke's period crime flick Hoodlum, and the action thriller Mercury Rising.
McBride's first leading role came in the form of the short-lived and controversial UPN sitcom The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, playing the stuffy English title character who was mistakenly enslaved to Abraham Lincoln. After appearances in Gone in 60 Seconds and Disney's The Kid, he found his well-known spot on Boston Public. While gaining high marks for his role on the David E. Kelley drama, McBride parlayed his increased notoriety into a number of higher-profile big-screen roles.
2002 found McBride as a police captain in the intense cop-thriller Narc, and the over-the-top Chief in the comedy Undercover Brother. And while the following year saw Boston Public cancelled, the free-time afforded to McBride by the show's end only allowed him to sign on to roles in two of 2004's most anticipated films, the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks dramedy The Terminal and I, Robot, an action sci-fi flick starring Will Smith. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
A young man tries to tie up some loose ends before he goes to war in this independent drama from director Neil Abramson. Mike Holland (Nick Cannon) is nineteen years old and has just completed his basic training as a private in the United States Marine Corps. Mike has a four-day leave so he can visit his family for Thanksgiving, and then has orders for combat duty in Iraq. Mike wants to spend time with his family and friends before he ships out, but he doesn't want to tell anyone that he'll be stationed in Iraq. While taking the bus home to Bakersfield, California, Mike meets Cristina (Melonie Diaz), and it doesn't take long for him to realize he's infatuated with her. Mike makes a date to spend some time with Cristina, but he already has a busy schedule over the next four days. Mike catches up with his little sister (Erica Gluck), his doting mother (April Grace) and her taciturn new husband (Tom Sizemore), and sees his estranged father (Chi McBride) for the first time in years. Mike also hangs out with his best friend Jake (Matt O'Leary), but discovers he's begun taking a different path in life while Mike was in boot camp. And Mike happens to meet a disabled soldier back from Iraq (Jay Hernandez) who gives him an idea of what he can expect during his tour of duty. American Son was screened in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Cannon, Melonie Diaz, (more)
A poor but ambitious young man strives to make good in one of the most competitive institutions on Earth in this military drama. Jake Huard (James Franco) is a young man from a small Maryland town who grew up in a blue-collar family with few opportunities. Wanting to make something of himself after completing high school, Jake set his sights on attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he narrowly makes the cut and becomes one of the 1,200 applicants selected for the freshman class. Jake finds that life as a "plebe" is intellectually challenging and physically punishing, and he soon develops a powerful adversary in Midshipman Lt. Cole (Tyrese Gibson), his training commander, who pushes Jake to the limit to see if he has what it takes. Standing on the razor's edge of failing as both a student and a soldier, Jake makes a brave but dangerous gesture toward proving himself by entering the Brigade Championships, a Naval boxing competition where he'll go into the ring against the best fighters in the Navy -- including Lt. Cole. Jake soon has one person on his side when he strikes up a friendship with Ali (Jordana Brewster), a pretty young officer who believes Jake has what it takes to go the distance. Annapolis also stars Donnie Wahlberg, Chi McBride, and Vicellous Shannon; the film was directed by Justin Lin, who debuted with the acclaimed independent feature Better Luck Tomorrow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, (more)
- 2000
Produced by the prolific David E. Kelly, the Fox network comedy-drama series Boston Public is as quirky, volatile and overpopulated with colorful and eccentric characters as any other Kelly effort. Set within the walls of Boston Public High School, the series is told from the viewpoint of the dedicated but harried principal Steven Harper (Chi McBride). The challenges facing Harper include aging teacher Harvey Lipshultz (Fyvush Finkel), whose often nonsensical rambling indicates that senility is quickly settling in; ongoing clashes between faculty and the students' parents, who are convinced that not enough/too much is being done for/to their youngsters; various student cliques, ranging from a girls' group that rates the potential sexual prowess of the teachers to a bunch of bullying punks; and such one-day-at-a-time crises as the teacher who decides to counter potential student violence by bringing a gun to class and firing it over his charges' heads. In addition to McBride and Finkel, the huge ensemble cast includes Loretta Devine as Marla Hendricks, Jessalyn Gilsig as Lauren Davis, Anthony Heald as Scott Guber, Rashida Jones as Louisa, Nicky Katt as Harry Senate, Sharon Leal as Marilyn, Thomas McCarthy as Kevin Riley, Joey Slotnick as Milton Buttle, and Sarah Thompson as Dana Poole. Boston Public first aired on October 23, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessalyn Gilsig, Chi McBride, (more)
A thief and a lawman join forces to hunt down a common enemy in this action thriller. Tony Fait (DMX) is a master thief who, along with his crew (Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, and Drag-On), pulls off a major score when they steal a cache of highly valuable black diamonds. However, the hard-as-nails Tony has a soft spot for his young daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd), and Ling (Mark Dacascos), a former detective turned ruthless criminal, kidnaps Vanessa, demanding a ransom from Tony for her return -- the stash of black diamonds. The jewels have already been stolen, however, from Tony's fence Archie (Tom Arnold), and are now in the hands of a powerful underworld boss (Chi McBride). Determined to get back his daughter whatever the cost, Tony and his gang set out to find both Ling and the diamonds, but he soon gets some invaluable help from an unlikely corner -- Su (Jet Li), a government agent from Taiwan who was once Ling's partner, and has an old score to settle with him. Cradle 2 the Grave also features Kelly Hu and Roxana Brusso. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Reggie Rock Bythewood makes his directorial debut with this sharp comedy-drama about love, compromise, and TV. The film opens with the parallel childhoods of Tomasina "Tommy" Crawford (Nicole Ari Parker) and George Washington (Isaiah Washington). Both were utterly shaped by television -- watching Roots was one of the few times that Tommy's parents stopped fighting long enough to sit on the couch together, while George was traumatized by being banned from TV for a month after swiping some church donation cash. As adults, George is a programming executive at the WPX network where fledgling writer Tommy tries to pitch shows. On the strength of both her passion for her craft and her striking good looks, George decides to champion her show called "Just Us," a serio-comedy about a juvenile offender adopted by a judge. They shoot the pilot, the network greenlights the project, and eventually they fall in love. Even though Tommy longs to present her characters in an uncompromised, unvarnished manner, pressure from network execs and advertisers forces her to water down the plot. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Ari Parker, James Avery, (more)
If you could talk to the child that you used to be, what advice would you give him? That question forms the basis of this comic fantasy. Forty-year-old Russ Duritz (Bruce Willis) is a wealthy and powerful "image consultant" who has made a career out of telling people how to present themselves. But while he's a success in business, he's a failure in life; he's vain, mean-spirited, and hasn't been able to hold onto a marriage (or even a pet dog). One day, Russ is startled to meet Rusty (Spencer Breslin), a stocky kid whom he soon realizes is himself at the age of eight, having passed through a wrinkle in time. Young Rusty doesn't seem much happier than the grown-up Russ, so the older man takes his younger self under his wing and tries to teach him how to avoid the mistakes he's made, while Rusty encourages Russ to be a more caring human being. Along the way, Russ and Rusty become friends, and realize how much they can learn from each other. Disney's The Kid also stars Jean Smart as one of Russ' clients, Lily Tomlin as his assistant, and Daniel Von Bargen as his father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin, (more)
Gospel-minded playwright David E. Talbert produces, writes, and directs this urban crime comedy concerning a pair of criminals who take a group of church parishioners hostage while attempting to rob the holy house, only to find their captives slowly convincing them to repent and give up their lawless lifestyles. Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) are two best friends with a special knack for petty crime. Upset at discovering that his ex-girlfriend is planning to move out of state with the couple's young son, Durell knows that the only way to keep his fractured family in close proximity to one another is to raise the 17,000 dollars needed to pay off her growing debt. In order to get the money before his ex decides to make the big move, the desperate Durell enlists the aid of his scheming best buddy to rob their neighborhood church. But someone has beaten Durell and LeeJohn to the punch, and if they ever hope to get their hands on that quick cash, this bumbling pair will first have to spend an entire night in the presence of not just the almighty lord, but some of his most fervent followers as well. Katt Williams, Keith David, Regina Hall, and Chi Mcbride co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Katt Williams, (more)
In this action thriller, a master car thief has his skills pushed to the limit. Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) can steal practically any car that crosses his path. While he has done well in his life of crime, he knows that there's a short future in theft, and he wants to get out of the business. But his retirement plans are interrupted when his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in trouble with a dangerous crime boss. To get his brother out of harm's way, Randall agrees to a profitable but risky scheme to steal 50 luxury cars in one night, with the help of several other car thieves, including Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). A rival group of thieves is trying to pull the same stunt at the same time, and detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are trying to shut down both operations. Also starring Robert Duvall as Otto Halliwell, and Scott Caan as Tumbler, Gone in Sixty Seconds is a remake of the 1974 low-budget action hit of the same name, best remembered for a 40-minute chase scene in which 90 cars were destroyed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, (more)
The white-run Mafia and the black-run numbers game meet head on with explosive impact in this period crime thriller. Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Laurence Fishburne) is an African-American ex-con who, after a stay in prison, returns to Harlem at the height of its renaissance before World War II. Looking for work, Bumpy becomes a lieutenant for Stephanie St. Clair (Cicely Tyson), the queen of Harlem's numbers racket. Bumpy's old friend Illinois Gordon (Chi McBride) gently expresses his concern about Bumpy's life of crime, and social worker Francine Hughes (Vanessa L. Williams), who is attracted to Bumpy (and vice versa), suggests he should be doing something more positive with his life. But Bumpy contends that the numbers game is the only business in the community that blacks are able to control themselves. The numbers game is very profitable -- enough so that mob boss "Lucky" Luciano (Andy Garcia) wants in on the action. He assigns one of his key men, "Dutch" Schultz (Tim Roth), to try to strike a deal with Stephanie, but negotiation isn't Dutch's strong suit -- he finds that murder is a far more effective tactic in taking control of a business, and Dutch is not the sort of person who's bothered by violence. Hoodlum was director Bill Duke's second film set in the milieu of the Gangster days of the 1920s and 1930s, after his breakthrough picture A Rage in Harlem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, (more)
- 2005
Already irked by the resignation of Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), House (Hugh Laurie) must also endure the persecution of board chairman Vogler (Chi McBride), who demands that House be fired immediately or the clinic will lose his $100 million donation. At long last, Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) takes a stand against the tyrannical Vogler--but will she regret her rash behavior? Meanwhile, House and his team deal with such patients as a 39-year-old pregnant woman (Marin Hinkle) who must choose between choking to death or terminating a pregnant, and a low-weight baby whose strict vegan diet has prompted Social Services to file child-abuse charges against her parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Chi McBride makes his first series appearance as billionaire entrepreneur Edward Vogler, the new chairman of the board at Princeton-Plainsboro. Assuming that his position gives him license to call all the shots, Vogler wastes no time throwing his weight around--beginning with his promise to donate $100 million to the clinic on the condition that Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is fired immediately! Things don't get any better for House when he is forced to resort to subterfuge to provide proper treatment for 32-year-old cosmetics CEO Carly Fontano (Sarah Chalke), who for no apparent reason has suddenly become paralyzed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Vogler (Chi McBride) cuts a deal with Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), agreeing to postpone the dismissal of Dr. House (Hugh Laurie). But there's a price to pay for this concession: House must immediately fire one member of his team. As tension mounts among House's coworkers, they still find time to look into the case of an obese 10-year-old (Jennifer Simms) who has suffered a heart attack--but not because of her extra poundage. Another overweight patient (Lucille Hernandez) lies to both House and her husband regarding what may be a malignant tumor...or a unborn child. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
A typically truculent House (Hugh Laurie) is slapped with a court order instructing him to determine if mobster Joey Arnello (Joseph Lyle Taylor), who is slated to give testimony in Federal Court before entering the Witness Protection Program, is faking a serious illness. Joey's knuckle-busting brother Bill (Danny Nucci) warns House to lay off the case--but not for the (seemingly) obvious reasons. At the same time, Vogler (Chi McBride) puts extra pressure on Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) to fire House, or risk losing a $100 million donation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Faced with the choice of firing one of his team or losing his own job, House (Hugh Laurie) is given a way out by Vogler (Chi McBride). If he will give a speech on behalf of a new drug developed by Vogler's pharamaceutical firm, House will be completely off the hook. The upshot of all this only serves to deepen the animosity between House and Vogler--but in the meantime, the doctor must tend to the business at hand, including a senator (Joe Morton) with presidential aspirations who is diagnosed with AIDS, and a young woman (Missy Crider) who insists that she can't have suffered a miscarriage because she hasn't had sex in over a year. As expected, both of these patients will soon develop a whole set of confusing and contradictory symptoms...but no one expects the startling turn of events at episode's end! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) helmed this sci-fi thriller inspired by the stories in Isaac Asimov's nine-story anthology of the same name. In the future presented in the film, humans have become exceedingly dependent on robots in their everyday lives. Robots have become more and more advanced, but each one is preprogrammed to always obey humans and to, under no circumstances, ever harm a human. So, when a scientist turns up dead and a humanoid robot is the main suspect, the world is left to wonder if they are as safe around their electronic servants as previously thought. Will Smith stars as Del Spooner, the robot-hating Chicago cop assigned to the murder investigation. Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, and Chi McBride also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, (more)
- 2005
Created by CSI's Josh Berman, the tension-laden Fox detective series Killer Instinct chronicled the activities of San Francisco's Deviant Crime Unit, headed by the tough, flippant Lt. Matt Cavanaugh (Chi McBride). The unit's mission was to track down and eliminate the most vicious and heinous of serial killers and sex criminals, which may explain why this series received a lot of negative prerelease press; indeed, the acts of violence perpetrated on the victims of these deviants had to be seen to be believed (in the most notorious example, one nutcase rendered his female captives helpless by covering them with poisonous spiders!). Lt. Cavanaugh's top man was Det. Jack Hale (Johnny Messner), who had just come off a six-week leave of absence after the death of his female partner. Hale may or may not have spent several of those months in a mental institution; whatever the case, he was one seriously disturbed individual, and in some ways he was almost as unbalanced as the perpetrators he went after. Endeavoring to keep Hale "on program" was his new partner, Det. Danielle Carter (Kristin Lehman), a former forensic lab assistant. Executive-produced by Charles Craig (The X-Files) and Ed Zuckerman (Law & Order), the weekly, hour-long Killer Instinct debuted September 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Messner, Kristin Lehman, (more)
Bob Odenkirk's jail comedy Let's Go to Prison, stars Will Arnett as Nelson Biederman IV, the son of a judge who ends up being sentenced to serve time in Rossmore State Penitentiary. During one of his rare stints out of incarceration, career criminal John Lyshitski (Dax Shepard) learns of the conviction. John holds a grudge against Nelson's father and decides to get his revenge by going back to jail and making Nelson's stay there as horrible as possible. Chi McBride co-stars as a fellow inmate. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, (more)
- 1994
In order to win a radio contest staged by deejay Rick Dees (as himself), Peg (Katey Sagal) must persuade Al (Ed O'Neill) to come home from work early for a hot-and-heavy "nooner." While all this is going on, Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Bud (David Faustino) languish in a long line for B.B.R. concert tickets. Appearing as Dexter is Chi McBride of Boston Public and The Nine fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this action-suspense thriller, orphaned nine-year-old autistic savant Simon (Miko Hughes) deciphers a government code hidden in a puzzle magazine. Calling for his prize, Simon triggers an alarm at the National Security Agency: NSA chief Nicholas Kudrow (Alec Baldwin), who says the code protects covert American operatives all over the world, sends an assassin to do away with Simon. Simon's parents are killed, but Simon survives, hiding in a secret closet crawlspace where he's later discovered by maverick FBI agent Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis). Simon is emotionally unpredictable, complicating matters as Art drags him all over Chicago, eluding Kudrow's hitman in a variety of interesting locations (train tracks, street scenes, heliport, Wrigley building) and improbable situations. Based on the novel Simple Simon by Ryne Douglas Peardon, the film features Industrial Light & Magic special FX/animation. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, (more)
- 2006
San Francisco literally stinks to high heaven thanks to the longest garbage strike in the city's history. No one is more upset by the overpowering pungency than the germophobic Monk (Tony Shalhoub), who doubles his efforts to find out who murdered the union boss who called the strike in the first place. Growing progressively unhinged as the smell gets worse, Monk concludes that the guilty party was none other than San Francisco mayor Ray Nicholson (Chi McBride)--and when this proves not to be the case, Monk goes completely off the deep end, accusing rock star Alice Cooper of the dirty deed! Will Monk get his act together in time to find the real killer, or have his phobias finally destroyed his detective skills? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
It is just possible that the made-for-TV biopic Muhammad Ali: King of the World was hastily pieced together to capitalize on the popular theatrical documentary When We Were Kings and the publicity attending the upcoming Will Smith movie vehicle Ali. Actually, the title of the TV film was something of a misnomer, since the story covers the formative days of Ali's career and fame, when he was still fighting under his given name Cassius Clay. Played by Terrence DaShon Howard, the young Clay slugs his way from poverty-stricken obscurity to the 1960 Olympics, garners both positive and negative publicity with his incessant self-worship and improvised rhymes, and proves that he is more than just talk when he defeats Sonny Liston (Steve Harris) in 1964. It is in fact at this point that the film draws to a close, with a few hints of what is to come manifested in an early meeting between the impressionable Clay and Islamic activist Malcolm X (Gary Dourdan). Based on the bestselling 1998 biography by David Renwick, Muhammad Ali: King of the World debuted January 10, 2000, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terrence Howard, Gary Dourdan, (more)
Suspended from the police force following an undercover drug bust gone horribly awry, Detroit undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) is reluctantly goaded back into active duty in hopes that he can help to crack the case of a slain fellow officer. Promised reinstatement in the force in exchange for his efforts, Tellis is paired with the victim's volatile ex-partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) and soon begins to actively seek the killer in an increasingly complex case. A recent father whose wife fears for her husband's safety and begs him not to take back to the dangerous streets, Tellis struggles with his conscience as he navigates a twisting road of half-realized truths, shifting loyalties and questionable agendas. With every step closer to Tellis gets to solving the troubling murder, he grows farther away from his wife and newborn son, and edges ever closer to a resolution so complicated that it threatens to devour his soul and shatter every preconceived difference he has ever made between cop and criminal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, (more)
Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
