Aries Spears Movies

Byron Allen showcased numerous popular stand-up comedians as host of the program Comics Unleashed. This release compiles some of the best sets recorded on the show including routines by Dane Cook, Howie Mandel, Margaret Cho, Katt Williams, and Brad Garrett. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Comedian Damon Wayans was so determined to get his "no holds barred" sketch-comedy series The Underground on the air that he financed the pilot episode with $600,000 of his own money. Declaring that he'd felt hampered by censorship strictures imposed upon by his earlier Fox series In Living Color, Wayans promised that his new show would break completely free from the shackles of the over-the-air network "standard practices." Opening each episode with the disclaimer "WARNING: Seriously Funny Shit", the star offered wildly scattershot spoofs of other TV series ("Iraq's Funniest Home Videos") and various forms of popular culture ("The Real Vagina Monologues"), as well as pointed barbs at the urban-culture crowd who'd embraced his own work (one recurring character was "Hypocrip", a foul-mouthed rap artist who lived in the suburbs). The talented stock company--many of whom doubled as staff writers-- included Wayans' own son Damon Wayans Jr., standup comedienne/talk show emcee Gabrielle Dennis, and MAD TV alumnus Aries Spiers, while Wayans' brother Dwayne Wayans suppled the original music. Also known as D. Underground and The Wayans Underground, the series made its Showtime cable bow on September 14, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Combining drama, comedy, and romance, Jerry Maguire was a critical and commercial success built on an original script by writer/director Cameron Crowe and an Oscar-nominated performance by Tom Cruise. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is an agent with a major sports management firm. He's enthusiastic, successful, a great negotiator and people like him. But it begins to dawn on Jerry that there's something wrong with what he's doing, and not long after a troubling encounter with the son of an injured athlete he represents, Jerry has a serious crisis of conscience. In the midst of a sleepless night, Jerry writes a memo calling on himself and his colleagues to think more about the long-term welfare of the clients they represent and less about immediate profits. While everyone around him applauds the sentiment, Jerry's superiors think his ideas are bad for business; Jerry is fired, and, rather than standing in solidarity with him, his "friends" in the firm scramble like sharks to claim Jerry's clients. At the end of his last day, the only people willing to join Jerry as he strikes out on his own are staff accountant Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), a single mother secretly in love with him, and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a football player whose pride and arrogance have gotten in the way of his reaching his potential. Jerry Maguire earned an Academy Award for Cuba Gooding Jr.'s performance as Tidwell and provided a breakthrough role for Renee Zellweger; it also made "Show me the money!" an unavoidable catchphrase for several months. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

At the request of the girl's father, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) allows her student Dashawn Curtis (Jonell Green) to stay at her house over the weekend. Appalled at Dashawn's tomboyish behavior, Whitley admonishes her to act more like a lady--resulting in chaos when Dashawn decides to play a few practical jokes. Meanwhile, Ron (Darryl M. Bell) and Freddie (Cree Summer) put together a dance marathon as a fundraiser for Amnesty International, which nearly degenerates into a riot thanks to Ron's money-grubbing tactics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide