Harland Williams Movies
An unpredictable comic whose talents as an artist and writer of children's books frequently goes unnoticed in favor of such antics as appearing on the Late Show With David Letterman in peanut butter-covered boots, Harland Williams set the tone for his cinematic career as a urine-chugging state trooper in the Farrelly brothers' sophomoric smash Dumb and Dumber (1994).Born in Toronto, Ontario, the artistically inclined Williams aimed to refine his passion for drawing and painting at Canada's prestigious Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. Childlike curiosity combined with his love of art drove Williams to create a series of popular children's books in which a similarly curious young dinosaur named Lickety Split embarks on a series of amazing adventures and learns important life lessons in the process. Finding a creative outlet in poetry and painting while working as a forest ranger for five years after dropping out of Sheridan College, Williams set his goals to leave the forest as a standup comic and actor, soon moving to L.A. to pursue his newfound calling.
After his memorable debut in Dumb and Dumber, Williams appeared briefly in the television series Simon before attempting a starring vehicle with Disney's Rocketman in 1997. Trashed by critics and largely ignored by audiences, Rocketman may not have launched Williams' career into the stratosphere, but it did result in a number of memorably comedic roles in such popular comedies as Half-Baked (1998) and There's Something About Mary (1998). The new millennium also proved to be a busy year for Williams in both his career as a standup and an actor: serving as host of Comedy Central's Premium Blend, appearing in the Geena Davis Show, The Whole Nine Yards, and as an abrasive tyrant television star who learns the true value of love in Becoming Dick. In 2001, Williams appeared as the compound-fractured friend of a spastic Tom Green in Freddy Got Fingered. The following year found Williams as a gender-bending college student alongside co-stars Barry Watson and Michael Rosenbaum in Sorority Boys. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Returning from a food run, kindly kindergarten teacher Kenny (Harland Williams) makes the mistake of feeding a massive amount of junk food to a tired-looking, diabetic NYPD horse, which drops dead. Tossed in jail, Kenny relies on his totally stoned roommates (Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, Jim Breuer) to devise a way to raise the 100,000-dollar bail. Their solution? Sell marijuana stolen from a government research lab. Cameos in this comedy include Stephen Wright, Janeane Garofalo, Stephen Baldwin, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Willie Nelson, and Jon Stewart. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, (more)
Former Kids In The Hall member Bruce McCulloch wrote and directed this comedy about the romantic tribulations of a group of Toronto twenty-somethings whose relationships with their dogs are more stable and long-lasting than their romances with people. Nice guy Andy (Luke Wilson) gets dumped by his girlfriend Cheryl (Kathleen Robertson) when she meets another man (Gordon Currie); worst of all, Cheryl also ends up with custody of Andy's dog. On the rebound, Andy meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge), the host of a children's TV show, but she's too obsessed with her dog Peanut to pay Andy much mind. Keiran (Kristin Lehman), on the other hand, is a bit too enthusiastic for Andy, leading to yet another short-lived relationship. Cheryl ends up taking her dog (formerly Andy's dog) to a pet psychiatrist (Mark McKinney) who thinks that her promiscuity may be traumatizing the pooch. Meanwhile, Bruce McCulloch and Janeane Garofalo are cast against type as Jeff and Jeri, Andy's cheerful and annoyingly romantic friends. Although it was completed in 1998, Dog Park's U.S. release was delayed until September 1999 due to the film's sale to New Line Cinema; as a result, Bruce McCulloch's directorial debut hit theaters only a month before the scheduled release of his second film, Superstar. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Henstridge, Luke Wilson, (more)
- 1998
Harland Williams stars in this comedy as a confidence man who is trying to outrun the bill collectors. Posing as a woman, he gets a job as the headmistress at an exclusive private girl's school, but now he has a whole new set of problems -- namely, fooling everyone into thinking he's a woman for the next several months, and dealing with Harriet Magnum (Katey Sagal), the no-nonsense assistant headmistress known around the school as "Dirty Harriet." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harland Williams, Katey Sagal, (more)
The Farrelly Brothers set this romantic comedy in their home state of Rhode Island. In 1985, when teen-nerd Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) challenges a high-schooler who's bullying retarded Warren Jenson (W. Earl Brown), his concern prompts Warren's sister, the dazzling and desirable Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz) to choose Ted as her senior prom date, a fact Ted's pals find hard to believe. However, on prom night, Ted gets his penis caught in his zipper, so the much-desired date never happens. Living in Providence and waxing nostalgic 13 years later, Ted hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to locate Mary, and the creepy private investigator finds her in Miami, where she lives with her tan-shriveled roommate Magda (Lin Shaye). After Pat develops a stalker-style fixation on the lovely, unattached Mary, he lies to Ted, telling him that she's now an overweight mother confined to a wheelchair. Employing professional eavesdropping equipment, Pat gathers a dossier on Mary's life and future plans, information that forms the basis for more lies when Pat begins dating her. Sure enough, Mary falls for Pat, although her friend Tucker (Lee Evans) is very suspicious of Pat's claim to be a Harvard-educated architect. Meanwhile, Ted learns the truth but continues to encounter offbeat obstacles as he accelerates to Miami in hopes of finding happiness with his true love. Former Modern Lovers singer Jonathan Richman vocalizes a narrative ballad of onscreen commentary in the Cat Ballou (1965) tradition. Most of the cast sings and frolics to Build Me Up, Buttercup by The Foundations during the closing credits. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, (more)
- 1997
- PG
During training, a member of the first manned mission to Mars is injured, and NASA chooses a replacement, spaced-out spacecraft designer Fred Z. Randall (Canadian stand-up comic Harland Williams), to team with cocky crew captain William "Wild Bill" Overbeck (William Sadler), efficient mission specialist Julie Ford (Jessica Lundy), and trained chimp Ulysses (Raven). Mission controller Bud Nesbitt (Beau Bridges) backs Fred, but flight-director Paul Wick (Jeffrey DeMunn) has doubts. En route to Mars, Fred's frenetic antics become a threat, but he wins respect with his navigational savvy. Filmed at Houston locations, including the Johnson Space Center, under the working title, Space Cadet. Shelley Duvall is seen in an uncredited cameo as Fred's mother. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, (more)
Vulgar, slapstick comedy abounds in this feature film debut for television sitcom star Kelsey Grammer. Almost everyone else thinks of Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge is a class "A" goof who messes up every task he is assigned, but Adm. Dean Winslow thinks otherwise and decides to give Dodge one last chance by assigning him to helm an outmoded, diesel powered, rusty in a series of wargames. Dodge's sub is to be the enemy and must somehow outsmart their high tech opponents. Though ostensibly only games, Admiral Yancy Graham, who considers Dodge an embarrassment to the Navy, decides to do everything he can to scuttle Dodge and his ragtag crew's mission. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, (more)
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play the title roles (though viewers may find themselves debating which is which) in this genially low-brow comedy. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are two intellectually-challenged best friends who share an apartment so messy that gangsters aren't sure how to trash the place; the guys also have a certain problem (not difficult to understand) holding on to jobs. Lloyd is working as a limo driver in Rhode Island when he picks up a beautiful and wealthy woman named Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) who is being taken to the airport. Lloyd immediately falls head over heels in love with Mary, and when she leaves a briefcase at the airport, he's determined to return it in hopes of impressing her. Lloyd isn't able to get aboard Mary's flight (though not for lack of trying). Harry has a van decorated to look like a dog (to promote his failing dog-grooming business), and the pair hop in the Poochmobile to find Mary in Aspen. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the briefcase is full of money, which Mary deliberately left at the airport as a ransom payment to save the life of her kidnapped husband. Incidentally, Lloyd's chipped front tooth happens to be real; while Jim Carrey had the injured tooth capped many years ago, he thought a broken smile would suit Lloyd's character and had the cap removed for the duration of filming. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, (more)
