Chris Elliott

Comedian Chris Rock stars in this scattershot satire of rap music in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap. This film within a film begins with A. White (Chris Elliot) screening a rough cut of a documentary he has made of the notorious CB4 rap group -- consisting of group leader Albert, also know as MC Gusto (Chris Rock); Otis, also known as Stab Master Arson (Deezer D); and Euripides, also know as Dead Mike (Allen Payne). White charts the course of CB4's success, their superstar status a result of the fact that they are the only gangsta rap group who are, in fact, actual gangsters, coming direct from rap sheets to rap music. They are considered so bad that they even give rapper Ice-T pause: "I thought I was hardcore. But these guys are serious! What am I supposed to do now?" Unfortunately, at the height of their fame, their gangster pose is revealed to be a sham. Albert, Otis, and Euripides turn out to be a bunch of middle-class blacks striking a gangsta facade to look cool. But now they are in trouble. The real Gusto (Charlie Murphy), a neighborhood thug who went to prison on a drug bust, has broken out of jail and is coming for CB4. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

TV addicts of the 1980s and 1990s know Chris Elliot as the "man behind the chair" on Late Night With David Letterman. Sitcom buffs will remember Elliot as star of the quirky Fox series Get a Life, while moviegoers may have caught him in his theatrical-feature vehicle Cabin Boy. If you'd like to see this second-generation laughspinner (he's the son of Bob Elliot) at his very best, check out this two-tier video. In "FDR, A One Man Show" Elliot wickedly spoofs such theatrical presentations as Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight! and James Whitmore's Give 'Em Hell, Harry. And in "Action Family", Elliot sets his satirical sights on formula TV situation comedies. Marv Albert, a man not known for his comic gifts, appears in support of the puckish Elliot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1990, the upstart Fox network took a chance on a chubby, balding thirty-ish kid with a big dream, and began airing Get a Life, Late Night with David Letterman regular Chris Elliott's absurdist sitcom about a chubby, balding thirty-ish kid who lives with his parents and works as a paperboy. Actually, as Chris Peterson (Elliott) would point out, he's "head paperboy." David Mirkin, who had worked on Newhart and The Simpsons, was the executive producer, and former Late Night scribe Adam Resnick was the co-producer. Both would later go on to HBO's groundbreaking The Larry Sanders Show, as would Get a Life's writing supervisor, Bob Odenkirk, also of The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who would later write the script for Being John Malkovich, got his start writing two of the more memorable episodes of Get a Life, "Prisoner of Love" and "1977 2000." The show was also perfectly cast, with Elliott's own father, Bob Elliott, of the beloved "Bob and Ray" comedy team, cast as Chris Peterson's cantankerous father, Fred, and the lovely Elinor Donahue, who starred in the classic sitcoms Father Knows Best and The Andy Griffith Show, playing Gladys, Chris' sweet but bluntly honest mom. The first season cast was rounded out with Sam Robards as Chris' slow-witted and naïve best friend, Larry Potter, and Robin Riker as Larry's caustic wife and Chris' nemesis, Sharon. Riker was the only one of these cast members to move on to the second season. Brian Doyle-Murray was added to the cast in season two, playing Chris' perennially grumpy landlord, Gus Borden. With such an assemblage of comedic talent, and Elliott's own modest following from his hilarious Late Night appearances as "The Guy Under the Seats" and other characters, the show was predicted by some to be a hit and run for years. It even had a hit show for its lead-in (although one with, arguably, a very different target audience demographic), the urban sketch comedy show, In Living Color. But when Get a Life failed to garner an immediate following (in part due to the relative weakness of the first episode, "Terror on the Hell Loop 2000"), the fledgling network began moving it all over the Sunday night schedule. Loyal viewers, and there were some, never knew at what time the show would air from week to week. This doomed the bizarre, innovative, and very funny sitcom to even worse ratings than it would otherwise have had. It was an unusual program. Chris was a loser of epic proportions, but eternally optimistic about his prospects. He seemed to believe he could accomplish anything, whether it was becoming a male model despite his flabbiness and baldness ("The Prettiest Week of My Life"), or traveling through time to 1977 to save a friend's job ("1977 2000"). The humor was hyper-ironic, as many of Late Night's sketches had been. Get a Life was a meta-sitcom. It was rife with non-sequiturs and amusing pop culture references. The story lines ranged from outrageous parodies of ancient sitcom plots (Chris gets trapped in a meat locker with Sharon, his least favorite person) to absurd and ridiculous original stories (Chris becomes a spelling bee champion after being exposed to toxic waste). Chris also had a number of sitcom-style quirks, such as his obsession with the song "Alley Cat," and his unnoticed but seemingly supernatural ability to take a full glass of whatever beverage he wants from the refrigerator without ever opening a container or pouring. He also suffered a violent death at the end of many episodes, but it never seemed to get him down. The show was a flop and ran for only two seasons, even though it was on a network that seemed desperate for content, but it developed a passionate and loyal cult following. It has since been sporadically syndicated, and several episodes have been released on DVD. Cabin Boy, a feature film starring Elliott and featuring many of the same creative personnel, was released in 1994 to similar widespread public apathy but cult interest. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Will Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) find true love with Charleene (Blair Tefkin)? Not if Charleene's sister, Sharon Potter (Robin Riker), can help it. Sharon is married to Larry (Sam Robards), Chris' best friend, and she's always despised Chris. The trouble starts for her when she has Charleene and some friends over for a dinner party. Chris naturally crashes, and proceeds to describe a dream to the assembled guests, in which he was chased by a frozen turkey through a Brazilian supermarket. This long, demented story drives away the other guests, and Chris, over Sharon's strenuous objections, ends up making a date with Charleene. The date is going well until Chris, confused by the fact that they're watching a French film, starts to complain loudly about how everyone in the movie is speaking "baby talk." He's eventually dragged from his seat and beaten by angry ushers. After the big date, Larry reassures Sharon that Charleene has probably lost interest in Chris. But to Sharon's horror, she finds the couple naked in her and Larry's bed. Chris is ecstatic, and Charleene seems fairly content, but Sharon quickly leaves the room, explaining, "I'm going to wash my eyes out with soap." When Chris starts talking about spending holidays with the Potter family, Sharon decides she's had enough, and hatches a plan to end the two lovebirds' happiness. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) tries to teach a group of thugs how to behave, and learns a valuable lesson himself in "Bored Straight." Chris accidentally wanders into the "bad part" of Greenville, where a group of leather-jacketed hoodlums cruelly call him "Beardie," and one punches him in the stomach. Chris later complains about the deterioration of the town to his parents, Fred (Bob Elliott) and Gladys (Elinor Donahue), and vows that he's going to take back the streets. "In my heart, I know your right," Fred responds thoughtfully, "but my perfectly functioning brain says you're a horse's ass." Chris is undeterred and reaches out to the mixed-up kids, who respond by coming to his room for a "rap session." He gets them to open up by telling them about his own traumatic experience, involving his ten-year inability to shower in the nude. Unfortunately, Chris has no idea how to solve any of their problems, and quickly changes the subject. He takes the gang to a local supermarket, where, to the strains of "To Sir, With Love," they experience the life-altering joys of fresh produce. Just when Chris thinks he's had a breakthrough, he finds that the punks have tied up Fred and Gladys, stolen nearly everything of value in their house, and spray-painted the walls with vile epithets like "REAR END." Chris is still willing to give the kids the benefit of the doubt, until he discovers they've also made off with his fudgesicles. He doggedly tracks them down and makes one final effort to win over their hearts and minds. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) wakes up one morning and tells his beloved landlord, Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray), that he's going to get a job with the local escort service. The main appeal of the job for Chris is going to free plays. After noting that Chris has "a certain, goony, misshapen quality," the agency hires him and sends him out on his first job. When he realizes that the elderly Margaret (Dena Dietrich) is his date, he freaks out. Things get off to a bad start, and he tells his disgruntled client, "I'm sorry if I've been remiss in my duties, but your excessive age really knocked my ass out of whack for a second." After Chris makes his halfhearted apologies, the two are off to the theater to see a production of Equus starring Max Baer Jr. After the play, Chris is ready to go home, but Margaret has other plans, especially after she sees him do his famous "Alley Cat" dance. Despite Chris' offer to refund her money, and even clean her bathroom, Margaret has her way with him. Then she takes him on trips around the world and buys him expensive gifts. But one night, in the middle of Chris' own brand of love talk, an unexpected visitor arrives and threatens to destroy Chris' new life. This episode is notable for an unusually high number (even for this show) of pop culture references, including Horshack, Robert Conrad, Barry White, Chuck Connors, Red Dawn, Amazing Discoveries, and The Benny Hill Show. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Season two of the bizarrely hilarious TV series Get a Life begins with Chris (Chris Elliott) walking into the kitchen of his parents, Fred (Bob Elliott) and Gladys (Elinor Donahue), and performing his "I have a big announcement to make" dance, which entails dancing around in a circle and waving his arm over his head while shouting, "I have a big announcement to make," in a high-pitched voice. Chris lets his parents know that, as he has reached the age of 31, he is "officially, unequivocally, irreversibly, and pooky-pockily [sic] moving out" of the room above their garage. Chris soon finds himself at the home of Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray), a retired cop with a mean temper. At first, Gus mistakes Chris for a "slobbering brain-dead derelict," but Chris quickly dispenses any question of his social status by pointing out that he is wearing Jordache designer pants. Gus doesn't actually have a room for rent, but when he learns that Chris has 150 dollars to spend each month, he convinces Chris to move into his garage. Actually, he almost convinces Chris that his garage is a spare room, designed with a "garage motif." Chris assesses his new situation astutely, telling Gus, "As Bogart said at the end of Casablanca, this looks like the beginning of two guys who kind of tolerate each other." But Chris soon discovers that spending the night alone in a strange place can be a frightening experience. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

It's time for the Peterson family reunion, and Fred (Bob Elliott) is stuck hosting the event this year. Fred and Gladys (Elinor Donahue) don't want to be there because Fred's relatives are mostly obnoxious buffoons like Uncle Sid (Bill Cort), who shows up with a bullhorn every year. Chris dreads the event even more than his parents, because he'll have to listen to all the accolades of his more successful cousin, Donald (former child star Jackie Earle Haley of The Bad News Bears and Breaking Away) who owns a thriving melon stand and a late model used car. Chris is distraught about Donald's impending arrival. He flashes back to the 1968 Peterson reunion, when Fred gave Donald a trophy and savings bond for being "the Peterson with the most wit, charisma, and intelligence." Fred also presented Chris with a stick he found lying on the ground, and said of his own son, "He'll make a great rodeo clown someday." When Donald finally arrives, he and Chris engage in some verbal sparring, before Donald silences Chris by whipping out his bankbook, showing a 900 dollar balance. Chris flies into a jealous rage and decides to vandalize Donald's car. After hiding a few tuna balls in the glove compartment, Chris has a temper tantrum, and accidentally uncovers an incriminating document that he thinks will show the Peterson clan that their "precious little Donald" is not so impressive after all. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

"Clip Show" opens with Chris (Chris Elliott) sitting on an airplane, in mid-flight, excited about his journey to Iraq, which his father has convinced him is "the Disneyland of the Middle East." Chris gets up to use the men's room. "Too many free Sprites," he explains. Thinking it's the bathroom door, he inadvertently opens the exit to the plane, and begins a long plummet to his probable death. He quickly grows tired of screaming -- he'd hate to die with a sore throat -- and his life begins to flash before his eyes. "For some reason," he says, "I can only remember things that happened about a year and a half ago." His memories take the form of clips from Get a Life's first two (well, as it turned out, only two) seasons. "Sometimes the production values of my life simply amaze me," Chris exalts after a clip of "Zoo Animals on Wheels." The highlight of this wonderful trip down short-term memory lane is a long montage of the times Chris was punched, slapped, beaten, bludgeoned, strangled, stabbed, shot, run over, beheaded, and crushed by a boulder. The last thing Chris remembers is a delightful clip of him inadvertently walking out of the airplane. "How did I get out of that one?" he wonders. The show has added poignancy in hindsight, with the knowledge that it was the last original episode of the series ever to air. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

When Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) sees the new waitress at the diner, he's instantly smitten. Jane (Anastasia Barzee, who also played reporter May Evans in season two's "The Big City") resists the thirtysomething paperboy at first. Jane relents, but when Chris tells her "You are gonna look mighty fine on the handlebars of my bike," she balks again, so he pretends he has a driver's license. He asks his friend, Larry (Sam Robards), to teach him to drive, but he quickly grows bored with Larry's obsessive safety tips. "You don't have to teach me how to drive," Chris tells him, "I've been watching people drive for years -- Mannix, Barnaby Jones, The Dukes of Hazzard." So Chris rushes out to take his road test. After experiencing Chris' own brand of defensive driving ("Old ladies and fire trucks -- they think they own the road!"), the state trooper flunks him. Despite his failure, Chris decides to "borrow" his parents' car and take Jane out for a drive. Things take a nutty turn when Chris' dad, Fred (Bob Elliott) mistakenly reports the car stolen, and Chris' big date is enlivened by a thrilling high-speed police chase. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Chris (Chris Elliott) gets a job as a health inspector and ends up testifying before a senate subcommittee in this shocking episode. Chris is sitting down to a nice healthy breakfast with Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray) when a dead rat plops down out of the milk carton and into his cereal bowl. Chris decides right then and there that he wants to be a food inspector. Gus makes some phone calls on Chris' behalf, and soon thereafter, Chris shows up for his on-the-job training. The first restaurant kitchen he inspects is filthy. Among other violations, there's a litter of puppies in an open sack of flour and a bug zapper positioned directly over a pot of soup. Chris is shocked when his trainer, Rob (Thom Sharp), takes a stack of money from the restaurant owner and gives the place a clean bill of health. "I simply cannot condone a system that allows insects to go careening through our small intestine as though it were a really cool waterslide," Chris tells him indignantly. But he changes his tune when Rob hands him a five-dollar bill. When a secretive government agent shows up in Chris' garage, asking him to testify, Chris tells him, "So you want me to sing, huh? Like a little rat bastard canary, huh? Chewing on its own cuttlebone in a cage made by your own gilded saliva!" "Peterson, pretending to be a yammering half-wit isn't going to help you in prison," the agent responds. Chris still isn't ready to give up his "perks," until his parents find a sweat sock on top of a delivered pizza. "My dear parents could have choked a woolly death on this evil stink-hose," he laments. But things take an ugly turn when Rob shows up at the senate hearing, holding Gus at gunpoint. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Funnyman Bob Odenkirk (later to star on HBO's Mr. Show) wrote this episode of Get a Life, in which Larry (Sam Robards) runs away from home. The trouble begins when Chris visits the Potter home, where Larry is doing household chores while his wife, Sharon (Robin Riker), supervises. Chris mocks Larry's servility, and brags about his own carefree life living in a garage. "I'm all alone, carefree, happy," he tells Larry, "plus I finally have a place to practice my nude robot dancing." Larry has an epiphany and runs off, leaving a goodbye note. Chris is concerned that Larry may have been kidnapped by "some South American goon squad," and suggests a visit to the American embassy. His mother (Elinor Donahue) has to point out, "This is America. We don't have American embassies here." A disappointed Chris takes matters into his own hands, going on an exhaustive search which mostly involves standing in the middle of the street and calling Larry's name. Eventually, Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray) agrees to help Chris, first taking him to the morgue, where Chris mistakes a slab of barbecued ribs for the remains of his friend. Gus then tries grabbing a random passerby (played by the show's director, David Mirkin) and pumping him for info. That doesn't work either, and eventually Chris gives up, and goes out to look for a new best friend. His efforts to find someone to play jacks with at the local biker bar end in disaster, as he later tells Gus: "I think those jacks are giving me indigestion." Gus asks, "They made you eat jacks?" to which Chris responds, "No...but they're in me." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

An adventure on the brink of death brings Chris (Chris Elliott) and his dad, Fred (Bob Elliott), closer together in the memorable Get a Life episode, "Neptune 2000." The show begins in 1971, when Young Chris (Brandon Crane) decides to take a newspaper job to pay for the $19.95 two-man submarine he wants to order from the back of a comic book. When the submarine finally arrives 20 years later, Chris complains, "You'd think the postal service would have improved after we sold it to the Japanese," adding for good measure, "Lousy krauts." His mom, Gladys (Elinor Donahue), points out that the ad says delivery will take four to 600 weeks. At first, Chris can't convince Fred to help him assemble the sub. "There's only so many hours in the day," Fred explains, "I can't spend time with you and drink coffee." Chris tries to build it on his own, naming his sub, "Tony," after Tony the Tiger, he explains, "because there's no sub-stitute for breakfast." When Chris' dry run results in dangerous sparks and flame, Fred relents and helps him rebuild "Tony." Chris then convinces his dad to join him, testing the sub in his bathtub, which he has sealed off for the occasion. To Fred's horror, he and Chris end up trapped in the sub, with only 20 minutes worth of air. Even worse, he has to endure Chris' imitations of Jacques Cousteau and Quinn, the Robert Shaw character from Jaws. With their doom all but sealed, Chris asks Fred to finally open up to him. Fred responds, "The only thing I can think about is that this is going to be the most embarrassing obituary ever to hit the papers." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide