Darrell Hammond Movies
With a barrage of spot-on celebrity impressions to keep audiences laughing, Saturday Night Live cast member Darrell Hammond has memorably harassed Alex Trebek (or at least Will Ferrell doing an easily angered caricature of Trebek) and skewered former president Bill Clinton on the late-night television staple with equal aplomb.Finely tuning his impressions from the time of his childhood in Melbourne, FL, Hammond decided to pursue his niche after graduating from the University of Florida at Gainesville. Following his schooling Hammond relocated to New York to appear in off-Broadway plays, though he would soon return to Florida to sharpen his comedy skills in radio. After joining the SNL cast in September of 1995, Hammond also turned up on television in 3rd Rock From the Sun and performed stand-up for Comedy Central's Premium Blend. The versatile comic also followed the lead of numerous SNL cast members before him in shooting for the big screen in such efforts as Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) and with voice work in The King and I (1999). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Scary Movie screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer join forces to parody the "biggest" movies ever to hit the silver screen in this comedy that gives such popular box-office hits as Pirates of the Caribbean and Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe the same treatment that Scary Movie gave to the slasher subgenre. A virtual smorgasbord of spoof, Epic Movie tells the tale of four fully grown orphans: one the victim of snakes that attacked her plane, another raised by a kindly Louvre curator, the third a Mexican "libre" wrestling refuge, and the last an average mutant from an "X"-community. When the curious quartet visits a sprawling chocolate factory, they stumble across a magical wardrobe which transports them to the enchanted land of Gnarnia. It seems that the wondrous fantasy land has recently fallen under the spell of the evil White Bitch (Jennifer Coolidge), and in order to bring peace back to Gnarnia these four bumbling mortals will have to join forces with a charismatic pirate, a painfully sincere group of aspiring wizards, and one particularly libidinous lion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, (more)
- 2007
- Add Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 to QueueAdd Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 to top of Queue
Saturday Night Live: The Best of '06/'07 collects some of the most well-known moments from that season of the sketch comedy program. Highlights include the award-winning music video "D*** in a Box," Amy Poehler and Mya Rudolph as Bronx housewives who host a local TV talk show, and the cross-dressing monologue by Jake Gyllenhaal. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, (more)
Keenan Thompson, Fran Kranz, and Zachary Levi star in this comedy about three teens to embark on a cross-country road trip to seek vengeance against the hypocritical television "doctor" who humiliated them in front of the entire country. Joel (Kranz) has wandered into the crosshairs of national television sensation Dr. Dwayne (Darrell Hammond), and when the hot-winded talk-show host humiliates him on live TV, he sinks into a serious depression. Hoping to lift their best pal out of his current funk, Joel's best friends Wyatt (Thompson) and Ben (Levi) gas up Wyatt's homemade wiener-mobile and set their sights on Dr. Wayne's studio. Along the way, the trio hands out complimentary hot dogs to everyone they meet, all the while encountering an impressive array of misfits, weirdoes, and rejects. Perhaps if they can dodge the spit of some unusually angry hippies and stop staring at the hottest sixth grade teacher they've ever encountered (Jenny McCarthy), these three friends can finally give Dr. Dwane a taste of his own bitter medicine. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenan Thompson, Darrell Hammond, (more)
Love at first sight has some interesting repercussions a few months down the line in this offbeat romantic comedy. Ira Black (Chris Messina) is a wildly neurotic thirtysomething who can't get his life in gear -- the son of a pair of therapists, Arlene (Judith Light) and Seymour (Robert Klein), Ira still hasn't finished his grad school dissertation, he's been in therapy for 12 years, and can't bring himself to settle down with his longtime girlfriend Lea (Maddie Corman). When both Lea and his analyst inform Ira that they don't want to see him anymore, he decides he needs to make some changes. Ira joins a health club, where he meets Abby Willoughby (Jennifer Westfeldt), who is supposed to sell memberships to the gym but is much better at listening to people's problems. The two discover they have a strong and immediate rapport, and Ira asks Abby to marry him only a few hours later. Abby says yes, and soon the couple are wed. However, it isn't until after they've been married for a few weeks that Ira discovers Abby has been divorced twice already, and it makes him very uneasy about their relationship. Despite more therapy, Ira asks Abby for a divorce, and it sends shock waves through their families -- Arlene begins having an affair with Michael (Fred Willard), Abby's free-spirited father, while Seymour commiserates with Abby's mother Lynne (Frances Conroy), and eventually parents and children are all meeting together in group therapy for couples. Ira and Abby was written by leading lady Jennifer Westfeldt, who was also screenwriter and star for the independent hit Kissing Jessica Stein. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Messina, Jennifer Westfeldt, (more)
Two hapless stoners who have grown tired rehab become willingly locked into a dangerous scheme to rip off the city's most feared criminal kingpin in this smoked-out comedy starring Danny Masterson and Mekhi Phifer, and rolled in the red-eyed tradition of such Cheech and Chong classics as Up in Smoke. In the world of pot-heads Larry (Masterson) and Rico (Ronnie Warner), the name Mr. Big is a name to be both feared and respected. Thrills are hard to come by these days though, and when Larry and Rico decide to ditch rehab for a shot at the big time, they quickly discover that you don't get a big reputation without playing a big game. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
William Tyler Smith's Kiss Me Again concerns the emotional fallout that occurs when a couple who fancies themselves progressive and liberated attempts to have a sexually open marriage. Jeremy London plays Julian, a professor who is happily married to Chalice (Katheryn Winnick). When a mutual attraction develops between Julian and his student Elena (Mirelly Taylor), Julian begins to question his marriage vows. After the couple sees their neighbor engaged in a threesome, Julian broaches the topic of bringing another person into their marital bed. Once the physical feelings have been sated, everyone is left wit the emotional ramifications. Kiss Me Again made its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy London, Katheryn Winnick, (more)
Marking their first theatrical-release feature since 1995's It Takes Two, the Olsen twins bring their adventures back to the big screen with New York Minute. Billed as a sort of Ferris Bueller's Day Off for tweens, the plot involves the escapades of two enterprising Long Island girls, Roxy (Mary-Kate Olsen) and Jane (Ashley Olsen), as they decide to dupe their parents and spend a day on the island of Manhattan. It seems the high-minded Jane has a speech to give to a scholarship committee, while the punky Roxy wants to meet her favorite rock band. When Jane's planner gets swiped, however, the girls find themselves embroiled in a political scandal involving a high-powered senator (Andrea Martin), as their high school's truant officer (Eugene Levy) doggedly pursues them. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, (more)
A teen learns that all the gadgets in the world can't help him overcome his awkwardness around the opposite sex in this big-budget family entertainment. In Agent Cody Banks, Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz plays a young man plucked from suburban obscurity to be trained as a CIA super-agent. His mission? Get friendly with his classmate Natalie (played by another teen TV star, Lizzie McGuire's Hilary Duff) so that he can uncover her father's diabolical scheme to create indestructible robots. To compound his problems, Cody also has to deal with the same stresses as any adolescent: nagging parents, insufferable classwork, and a fragile sense of self-esteem. Agent Cody Banks was produced by MGM, not coincidentally the studio responsible for another popular spy franchise, the venerable James Bond series. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Muniz, Hilary Duff, (more)
While star Anna Faris returns for the third film in the Scary Movie series, the power behind the camera has shifted from the Wayans brothers to one of the Zucker brothers. The Zucker in question is David Zucker, and he's brought along his partner in movie-parody crime, Leslie Nielsen. This time around, aim is taken at such horror blockbusters as Signs and The Ring, while films of other genres, including Independence Day, 8 Mile, and The Matrix, are also lampooned. The plot finds Cindy (Faris) trying to help the president (Nielsen) thwart an alien attack while also facing crop circles and a mysterious video tape. In the spirit of the two Matrix sequels, Scary Movie 3 was shot back-to-back with Scary Movie 4. Queen Latifah, Charlie Sheen, and Eddie Griffin also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Faris, Anthony Anderson, (more)
- 1999
- Add Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Laughs to QueueAdd Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Laughs to top of Queue
Like it or not, for 25 years, Saturday Night Live has graced our living rooms on Saturday nights. The show has gone through changes and ups and downs in its 25 year run and has become a breeding ground for many talented comics who use its stage as a trampoline to stardom. This side-achingly funny retrospective features its most brilliant alumni and the skits that helped launch their careers. Includes sketches featuring Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, and Dana Carvey. ~ Laura Mahnken, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darrell Hammond
In this animated adaptation of the popular musical, British widow Anna Leonowens (voiced by Miranda Richardson, with singing by Christiane Noll) and her ten-year-old son Louis (Adam Wylie) travel from London to Siam in 1863. The King of Siam (Martin Vidnovic) has requested a proper English governess to teach his Royal children about the western world, from which he feels his nation can no longer remain isolated. While the King is an absolute monarch bound to uphold the traditions of his country, he is also a man of science. Uncertain about change, he realizes he must lead Siam to find its place in the world, but there are many roadblocks ahead. Anna begins to teach not just the children but also the King. The two strong-willed individuals immediately clash, but Anna soon proves an able advisor, convincing the King not to fight the approaching British emissaries, but to throw them a grand ball instead. There he will convince the world he is the modern monarch of a civilized country. Kralahome (Ian Richardson), the Prime Minister of Siam, has other ideas. As the Royal Astrologer, Kralahome possesses the ability to create powerful and horrific illusions to prey on the fears of his enemies, and he has his own plans for the country. He seeks to rule the nation but he must first get rid of the King. He plans to show the British that the King is a barbarian who should be removed from office, and only a man of Kralahome's sophistication can properly lead the people. With his bumbling assistant, Master Little (Darrell Hammond), the Prime Minister hatches a plot to dethrone the King. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miranda Richardson, Christiane Noll, (more)
Dan Aykroyd and John Landis teamed to script this sequel to The Blues Brothers (1980), which they also co-scripted. With Landis once again at the helm as director, Aykroyd re-creates his role of rhythm-and-blues man Elwood Blues, and the film's numerous R&B performances and production numbers include Aretha Franklin singing her classic "Respect". Released from prison after serving 18 years for the havoc depicted in the first film, Elwood learns that while he was serving time, his pal Jake Blues (John Belushi) has died, as did their hi-de-ho music mentor Curtis (Cab Calloway). Times have changed, but the blues beat goes on. Elwood visits Mother Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman), who runs the orphanage where Elwood and Jake were raised, and she puts 10-year-old Buster (J. Evan Bonifant) in Elwood's care. Seeking a loan, Elwood visits Curtis' son, Cabel Chamberlain (Joe Morton), and Buster picks Cabel's pocket. Now, 18 years after the original "mission from God," Elwood attempts to reorganize the Blues Brothers Band, beginning with bartender Mighty Mack McTeer (John Goodman) as a replacement for Jake. With the Russian Mafia in hot pursuit, Elwood, Mack, and Buster head cross-country, locating band members as they travel pell-mell toward a scheduled battle of the bands in Louisiana where the Blues Brothers Band competes with the Lousiana Gator Boys Band (Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, Travis Tritt, Steve Winwood, Clarence Clemmons, Isaac Hayes). Filmed in Toronto and Chicago, this movie reunited Aykroyd and Goodman, who were seen previously in the 1996 video, The Return of the Blues Brothers, a performance taped January 24, 1995 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Elsewhere, the Blues Brothers are kept alive in a half-dozen or so websites, such as the House of Blues, and live stage productions. In England, the stage show A Tribute to the Blues Brothers began in 1991. At the request of Aykroyd and Judy Belushi, the title of that production was changed to The Official Tribute to the Blues Brothers. With various cast members in the roles of Jake and Elwood (Con O'Neill, Warwick Evans, Brad Henshaw, Simon Foster), the show toured Britain throughout the 1990s. The "original Blues Brother" (who coached John Belushi and originated some of the blues raps used by Belushi) is Curtis Salgado (of the Robert Cray Band). One cast member of Blues Brothers 2000, bluesman Junior Wells, the last of the great Chicago harmonica players, died in January 1998, only days before the film was released. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, (more)
