John Michael Higgins Movies
A character player who evinced a flair for comedic portrayals of Poindexterish middle-aged types, actor John Michael Higgins jump-started his career with a dead-on evocation of David Letterman in the made-for-cable comedy The Late Shift -- a picture about the cutthroat war between Letterman and Jay Leno to be crowned "King of Late Night Talk." Higgins followed this auspicious and covetable assignment with small roles in Barry Levinson's scathing political satire Wag the Dog (1997) and a guest appearance as one of Elaine's issue-ridden boyfriends on Seinfeld, but made his most substantial impression as an occasional character on Ally McBeal -- that of Steven Milter, an attorney who doubled as a psychoanalyst of Ally's.Beginning with Best in Show (2000), Higgins enjoyed a multi-film run on the big screen with Christopher Guest and his regular mockumentary collaborators that also included the farces A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006). He also had a recurring role as an attorney Wayne Jarvis on the critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development and supplied the voice of Mentok the Mindtaker for the animated comedy series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Back on the big screen, Higgins essayed two A-list supporting roles in 2007, in the Steve Carell-headlined farce Evan Almighty and the holiday-themed Vince Vaughn-starrer Fred Claus. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Based on the non-fiction best-seller, The Late Shift is an irreverent, behind-the-scenes look at the conflict over who would succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno or David Letterman. Beginning with Carson's retirement, the made-for-cable film follows the backstage manueverings of both camps. When NBC chooses, Letterman refuses to lose quietly. Hosting The Tonight Show has been his life-long dream, and he is willing to do whatever it takes, even hiring an agent, to get what he wants. Indeed, Letterman soon finds himself working with ultra-powerful Hollywood agent Mike Ovitz and receiving huge offers from competing networks. Meanwhile, NBC has more trouble with the Leno Tonight Show than expected, thanks to Leno's manager Helen Kushnick (Kathy Bates). Kushnick's acerbic, foul-mouthed manner and increasingly petty behavior infuriates the higher-ups at NBC -- so much so that some suggest they give the show to Letterman after all. A series of intense negotiations follows, under the shadow of ludicrously frenzied media attention. While the presentation of both Leno and Letterman (played by unknowns Daniel Roebuck and John Michael Higgins, respectively) is fairly sympathetic, the film is far-less charitable to Kushnick and NBC executives. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, John Michael Higgins, (more)
Ridley Scott directed this flawed but involving study of Lt. Jordan O'Neil (Demi Moore), a Navy topographic analyst who is chosen as a test case for the presence of women in combat. Aware that she is making history and knowing that 60% of all male trainees will fail the rigorous training, Lt. O'Neil struggles to prove herself physically and mentally worthy of becoming a Navy SEAL. What she doesn't know is that she is being sold out by hardbitten Texas senator Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft in an amusing turn), who is being blackmailed by the Defense Department with politically fatal base closings unless O'Neil fails the program. The complicated political subplot, however, only distracts from the film's real virtues -- the wonderfully staged scenes of CRT selection training -- and fizzles at its climactic moment. The training scenes are wonderful, however, as the central recruits are pushed to their physical limits by a grueling weeding-out process. Viggo Mortensen is outstanding as Master Chief John James Urgayle, a steely-eyed, tough-as-nails instructor who somehow finds time to quote D.H. Lawrence when he isn't making people eat garbage and beating O'Neil senseless as part of a training exercise. Mortensen and the believably-buffed Moore are terrific, and their scenes of confrontation are the film's high points. Unfortunately, the screenplay by David Twohy and Danielle Alexandra falls down every time it attempts to sidestep a cliche, and the climactic mission (involving a downed satellite in the Libyan desert) positively wallows in a predictable Top Gun muddle. Still, the characters are engaging and those looking for an enjoyable variant on the basic-training subgenre of high-octane modern action films should be pleased. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, (more)
- 1997
"Little Jerry Seinfeld" is the name Kramer (Michael Richards) has bestowed on his new pet rooster -- and though Kramer had really wanted a hen, Little Jerry proves to be a dynamite cockfighter. This may prove to be advantageous for Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), who has become a pariah for giving a bad check to vengeful store owner Marcelino (Miguel Sandoval). Meanwhile, on behalf of the Susan Ross Foundation, George visits a woman's prison and falls for an inmate named Celia (Andrea Bendewald). And as for Elaine, her current boyfriend, Kurt (John Michael Higgins), has this problem with his hair.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In a 29-day shoot, Barry Levinson filmed this $15 million political and media satire, adapted by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet from Larry Beinhart's novel, American Hero. Two weeks prior to re-election, the President (Michael Belson) is accused of cornering an underage girl in the Oval Office. To keep the media from learning of this, Presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) brings in political consultant and spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), a specialist in such salvage operations. Brean suggests fabricating denials of non-existent emergencies -- such as denials about the B-3 bomber. The denial, of course, is true, since no B-3 bomber exists. Brean visits the mansion of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) and gives him the assignment to create a patriotic campaign centered around a war in Albania. Motss assembles a creative team -- Liz Butsky (Andrea Martin), the trend-setter Fad King (Denis Leary), and songwriter Johnny Green (Willie Nelson). Treated like an ad campaign, the songs and symbols are transmitted directly from a Hollywood soundstage to CNN. The star of their campaign is a "rescued" pilot -- in reality, a psychotic military prisoner (Woody Harrelson), who's a ticking time bomb. The flag-waving song, "The American Dream" was written for the film by Tom Bahler (who co-wrote "We Are the World"). Beinhart's original novel involved a real President (Bush), a real war (the Gulf War), and the premise that George Bush and Saddam Hussein staged it. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, (more)
- 1998
The time has come for baby Mabel to choose between breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Her choice does not please Paul (Paul Reiser) or Jamie (Helen Hunt), by try to reason with an infant. Meanwhile, Jamie's flamboyant mother, Theresa (Carol Burnett), begins dating a much-younger member of the Lord of the Dance ensemble. ~ All Movie Guide
If a robot spends enough time around humans, can he learn to become one of them? The Martin family purchases a domestic android as a servant and names him Andrew (Robin Williams). Andrew comes to know the man of the house as Sir (Sam Neill), his wife as Ma'am Wendy Crewson, and their daughter as Portia (Embeth Davidtz); before long, the Martins suspect that they do not have an ordinary robot on their hands. Andrew seems capable of expressing emotion and generating original thoughts, and the longer he stays with the Martins, the more strongly these human traits manifest themselves. Over the next 200 years, Andrew becomes less a machine and more a member of the family, until a mechanic (Oliver Platt) tells Andrew that he might be able to turn him into a human being. Based on a short story by renowned science fiction author Isaac Asimov (surprisingly, it's only the second Asimov story to be brought to the screen), Bicentennial Man was directed by Chris Columbus, who previously worked with Robin Williams on Mrs. Doubtfire. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Sam Neill, (more)
After parodying the idiosyncrasies of community theater devotees in the mock documentary Waiting for Guffman, actor/director Christopher Guest returns with another semi-improvised comedy that casts a satirical gaze on the world of championship dog breeding and training. A television crew is on hand to document the prestigious Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, and competition is fierce among the canine devotees vying for top honors. Salesman Gerry Fleck (Eugene Levy), who is cursed with two left feet (literally), and his wife Cookie (Catherine O'Hara) have entered their Norwich terrier "Winky" in competition. Wealthy and neurotic Meg Swan (Parker Posey) and her husband Hamilton (Michael Hitchcock) are on hand with their Weimaraner "Beatrice," who they fear may have been traumatized by watching them have sex. Scott Donlan (John Michael Higgins) and his life partner Stefan Vanderhoof (Michael McKean) have brought their beloved Shih Tzu, "Miss Agnes." Trophy wife Sherri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge) and her close friend and trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch) are hoping for a repeat victory for Sheri's poodle, "Rhapsody In White." And Harlan Pepper (Guest), who operates a store specializing in fly-fishing gear, has decided to stack his bloodhound "Hubert" up against the competition. In addition to Guest, Levy, O'Hara, and Posey, several other veterans of the Waiting for Guffman cast also appear in Best in Show, including Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, and Lewis Arquette. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, (more)
- 2001
With their old beloved prep school teetering on the edge of foreclosure, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) begin seeking out donations from wealthy patron. One likely contributor is the very rich woman (Barbara Babcock) who is presently being squired by the brothers' dad Martin (John Mahoney). Only one problem: Martin is currently going out with more than one woman, and this fact may put a damper on the boys' fundraising efforts. Jane Leeves was on maternity leave during filming of this episode, and does not appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actor and comedian Harry Shearer makes his directorial debut with this mock documentary about the slightly sordid pastimes of some of America's wealthiest and most powerful men. Zambesi Glen is a private resort in Northern California whose highly exclusive membership rolls includes high-echelon politicians, leaders of America's military, owners of the nation's biggest corporations, renowned and respected political thinkers, and a handful of celebrity guests; the club's membership is overwhelmingly white and exclusively male. Once a year, Zambesi Glen holds a week-long retreat for its members, and while this gathering features the occasional group discussion of political and economic issues, most of the week is devoted to swilling booze, staging comic skits, performing odd rituals not out of place at a Boy Scout camp, doing business with the prostitutes imported for the festivities, and generally carousing like frat boys on a bender. However, not all is well in this playground for the power elite; feminist groups are protesting Zambesi Glen's "men only" membership policy, and far more embarrassing, a television reporter has found a way to smuggle cameras into the well-guarded resort, giving the world a less than flattering look at what America's leadership likes to do for a good time. The revelers at Zambesi Glen are played by a top-shelf comic cast, including Michael McKean, George Wendt, Henry Gibson, Kenneth Mars, Fred Willard, Howard Hessman, and Bob Einstein; among the female interlopers are Morgan Fairchild, Joyce Hyser, and Ming-Na. Teddy Bears' Picnic was inspired by Harry Shearer's visit as a guest to Bohemian Grove, the real-life men's-only retreat whose members are said to include George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Dick Cheney, Malcolm Forbes, David Rockefeller, Casper W. Weinberger, and William F. Buckley, though the film's opening credits humorously disavows any resemblance between Zambesi Glen and Bohemian Grove. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Based on a novel by Jack Schaefer (writer of Shane), and previously filmed theatrically in 1970, the made-for-cable Monte Walsh is the still-timely saga of a dying way of life. Monte Walsh (Tom Selleck) and his friends are cowboys and bronco busters, plying their trade in the Wyoming Territory of 1892. Alas, the advance of civilization has all but rendered Monte and his comrades obsolete -- and with the increasing corporate buy-ups of Wyoming land, these relics of the Old West have practically nowhere else to go. Should Monte continue as before, seeking out the last of the wide open spaces, or should he follow the advice of his sweetheart Martine (Isabella Rosselini) and settle down in a steady job -- say, as a trick rider-roper in the traveling Wild West Show owned by impresario Colonel Wilson (Wallace Shawn)? This elegiac drama debuted January 17, 2003, on the TNT network as part of the cable service's "100 Years of Westerns" celebration. The teleplay is partially credited to one of the scripters of the 1970 film, Lukas Heller, who died in 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Keith Carradine, (more)
The writing and directing team who created Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show turn their satiric eye toward the world of folk music in this sly mockumentary. Irving Steinbloom was one of the great behind-the-scenes figures of the folk music boom of the late '50s and early '60s, and helped to nurture the careers of three of the best known acts of the era. The Folksmen -- Mark Shubb (Harry Shearer), Alan Barrows (Christopher Guest), and Jerry Palter (Michael McKean) -- were an earnest folk trio who sang of America's noble past and the challenges of the future; they split up in the early '70s after a failed attempt to go electric. Mitch & Mickey were a duo in both music and life, comprised of Mitch Cohen (Eugene Levy) and Mickey Devlin (Catherine O'Hara). They sang soulful songs of love until the collapse of their relationship sent Mitch into a deep and incapacitating depression. And The Main Street Singers were a nine-piece vocal group -- a "neuftet," as they prefer it -- who offered energetic good-time music, cranking out nearly 30 albums in the course of a decade; their current incarnation, The New Main Street Singers (played by Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins, David Alan Blasucci, Steve Pandis, Christopher Moynihan, Paul Dooley and Patrick Sauber) is still on the road. When it is announced that the legendary Irving Steinbloom has died (the character never appears in the film), his son Jonathan (Bob Balaban) decides that the best way to memorialize his father is through music, and with the help of Mike LaFontaine (Fred Willard) of Hi-Class Management, they set out to bring The Folksmen, Mitch & Mickey, and The New Main Street Singers back together for a special concert at New York's Town Hall. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer -- who previously teamed up for This Is Spinal Tap -- not only perform together as The Folksmen in A Mighty Wind, but composed most of the songs performed onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, (more)
The world's most obnoxious celebrity talk-show host demonstrates how he rose to mediocrity in this pungent show business satire. Jiminy Glick (Martin Short) is a corpulent entertainment reporter who is looking to kick his career into high gear. Hoping to snag some celebrity interviews, Jiminy and his wife, Dixie (Jan Hooks), head north of the border to Canada, where Jiminy will attend the Toronto Film Festival. At first, Glick's attempts to ingratiate himself with stars and semi-stars are little short of disastrous, but after the easily star-struck reporter allows egocentric filmmaker Ben DiCarlo (Corey Pearson) to shamelessly self-promote his latest project on air, word gets around that Glick is an "easy interview," and his star begins to rise. However, Jiminy's good fortune is tempered by his unwitting involvement in a murder plot centered around booze-addled actress Miranda Coolidge (Elizabeth Perkins) and her wildly pretentious husband, Andre Devine (John Michael Higgins). Somewhere along the way, filmmaker David Lynch (played by Short) happens along, offering his theories on the controversial murder of Lana Turner's paramour Johnny Stompanato. A large number of Hollywood celebrities make cameo appearances in Jiminy Glick in La La Wood, including Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Forest Whitaker, Kiefer Sutherland, and Sharon Stone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Jan Hooks, (more)
