Tom Arnold Movies
Brash, bullyish American comic actor Tom Arnold held down a number of "Joe" jobs after college--meat packer, box stacker, bartender, bouncer--before giving stand-up comedy at try. He was very funny in a blunt sort of way, but did not really make it big until his notorious union with comedienne Roseanne Barr in 1990. At the behest of his powerful spouse, who featured him as a semi-regular on her smash hit ABC sitcom Roseanne and made him a producer, Tom starred in two expensive network sitcoms, playing an obnoxious TV comedy star in one (The Jackie Thomas Show) and a standard-issue "lovable dad" in the other (Tom). Despite the strenuous efforts of Roseanne's production staff, neither program clicked with the public, though Arnold proved in both instances that he had the talent to stand on his own without the input of his wife.The Roseanne/Tom marriage went down in flames in 1993, with scorching and libelous incriminations from both parties. Industry pundits predicted that Tom Arnold was washed up, but he confounded his enemies with a well-received performance as a gregarious secret agent in the blockbuster Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle True Lies (1994). He then did a memorable turn in the Hugh Grant vehicle Nine Months (1995). Subsequently, Arnold has steadily worked in a number of decidedly mediocre films including the roundly panned McHales Navy (1997) in which he played the role created by Ernest Borgnine for his mid-1960s television series of the same name.
Over the next several years, Arnold's film roles primarily consisted of straight-to-video comedies like National Lampoon's Golf Punks and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th, but in 2001 he became one of the hosts of Fox Sports' The Best Damn Sports Show Period. The talk-show became one of the network's most popular series with Arnold remaining on full-time for four years and continuing to make guest appearances thereafter.
After leaving The Best Damn Sports Show, Arnold tried his hand at screenwriting with the 2005 comedy The Kid & I, which he also produced and starred in. The film failed to excite critics or audiences, but that same year, Arnold turned in an impressive and rare dramatic performance in the indie dramedy Happy Endings.
In 2007, Arnold could be seen in supporting roles in two sports dramas, Pride and The Final Season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Tom Arnold and Owen Benjamin star in this original web series about a professional heckler from Montana University, and his lifelong quest to badger his way to infamy. Chance Stevens (Benjamin) exceeds at shouting insults during sporting events, and rightly so, since he's been taught by the best. A bartender who's detractive barking is the stuff of legend, Chance's uncle Lou (Tom Arnold) has a tongue like a razor blade; he can cut a man in half just by opening his mouth. In each episode of Heckle U, Chance and his uncle Lou sit down with sexy reporter Amanda Marsh (Katie Cleary) to offer thoughtful lessons in heckling, and discuss the finer points of being a professional heckler. From the power of the well-placed jibe to methods of overcoming Heckler's Block, and the road to the championship game, no topic is off limits as Chance and Lou reflect back on their favorite moments in heckling history. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Owen Benjamin, (more)
Writer/producer/director Chris Angel examines the paranoia of life in the age of terrorism with this drama about a Los Angeles man who attempts to prepare for the worst after becoming convinced that his city has been targeted for a nuclear attack. Carl (Hill Harper) and Vivian Ashby (Robinne Lee) are a young couple just getting started in life. They're attempting to conceive a child, and as Carl spends his days mentoring inner-city teens, Viv goes to work for a progressive candidate for city council. Their ideal life is shattered when Carl begins experiencing a recurring dream in which he fails to save Viv after terrorists set off a nuclear bomb in the city. Upon seeing a news report alerting citizens to a heightened terrorist threat in Los Angeles, Carl finally decides to conquer his fears by becoming more proactive. It's during a seminar hosted by terrorism expert Robert Forte (Eddie Cahill) that Carl first encounters comedian Tom Arnold (playing himself). Arnold, too, is concerned about nuclear terrorism, and hires Carl to design a fallout shelter for his Malibu home. When Carl decides to build his own fallout shelter, Viv begins to think that his paranoia has finally gotten the best of him, and refers him to one of her co-workers, LAPD officer Rick Smyth (Gordon Currie). But Rick has an ulterior motive in talking to Carl, and purposefully gives him bad advice in hopes of driving he and Viv further apart. Though Carl hatches a plan to sidestep the disaster by moving to Canada, Viv's candidate wins the election and refuses to leave Los Angeles. Later, when Carl arrives at Santa Monica Airport determined to get out of the city while he still can, the civil defense warning system goes off, forcing him to decide between making a quick escape, or venturing back into the city to be with the woman he loves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hill Harper, Tom Arnold, (more)
Four college freshman who have returned home for Thanksgiving break find that the old adage about absence making the heart grow fonder rings true in director Brad Leong's nostalgic comedy drama. Back home for the first time since they set out for college, a small group of lifelong friends realize just how much their small hometown really means to them as they reminisce about the days gone by, and make a few more memories before heading back to school. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Ben Savage, (more)
- 2007
Detroit Rock City's Adam Rifkin writes, directs, and stars in National Lampoon's Homo Erectus, a prehistoric comedy surrounding a caveman and his plight to find love while leading his clan. Ali Larter plays the love interest, with David Carradine and Talia Shire portraying Rifkin's parents. Cameos are supplied by Tom Arnold and Gary Busey. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Rifkin, Ali Larter, (more)
If Damon Runyon, the author of the story on which The Three Wise Guys was based, were to summarize it, it might sound something like this: One December day around Christmastime I am in the city of Las Vegas talking to Harry the Horse about this and that, when I hear this yarn about a citizen by the name of Murray Crown (Tom Arnold), who runs a clip joint which he prefers to call a casino. It seems that this Murray Crown not only has the John Laws breathing down his neck, but it is also a fact that he is married to this doll called Shirley (Katey Sagal), who is known far and wide as the green-eyed type. In addition, it seems that there is another doll by the name of Mary Ann Davidson (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who has gotten herself in the family way courtesy of Murray, and who has taken a powder into the desert holding a computer disk containing the low-down on Murray's operation. These being the conditions that prevail, sweet Mary could very well send Murray up the river for a more than somewhat long semester. So Murray hires these three torpedoes called Joey (Eddie McClintock), George (Judd Nelson), and Vincent (Nick Turturro) to chase after Mary and button the doll's lip on a permanent basis....By the time this made-for-TV opus has galloped into the home stretch, it is a probable twelve to seven that Mary will have wrapped the three torpedoes around her little finger, and that a Merry Christmas will be had by all. Mooched from a story by Runyon from which an earlier theatrical feature had been sired way back in 1936, Three Wise Guys first showed up on the USA network menu on the evening of December 8, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie McClintock, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, (more)
- 2003
Perhaps the most thorough (and least hokey) of the many TV Three Stooges retrospectives, this NBC special not only concentrates on the most popular members of the comic trio -- Jerry "Curly" Howard, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine -- but also provides generous and laudatory screen time to Curly's successors, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe DeRita. As the title indicates, the special covers the years from the Stooges' apprenticeship with comedian Ted Healy, their 25-year tenure with the Columbia Pictures short-subject department, their spectacular comeback in the late '50s thanks to TV exposure of their old films, and their "first love," performing before live audiences all over the world. The film clips shown herein are in pristine condition, and many have not been shown publicly for decades, notably the Stooges' guest appearance on the 1955 syndicated TV series The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre and Jack Linkletter's interview with Moe Howard and his family on a 1960 episode of the CBS early-morning program On the Go. Also included are interviews with such dyed-in-the-wool Stooge fans as the Farrelly brothers, Saturday Night Live's Tracy Morgan, and Michael Chiklis, who played Curly Howard in 2000 TV biopic. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, The Three Stooges' 75 Anniversary Special was originally slated to air in November 2002, but for obscure reasons was withheld from view for nearly six months; rest assured, however, that it was well worth waiting for. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add Laughing Out Loud: America's Funniest Comedians, Vol. 4 to QueueAdd Laughing Out Loud: America's Funniest Comedians, Vol. 4 to top of Queue
Like its predecessors, this installment to the popular Laughing Out Loud series offers viewers the experience of a standup comedy club from the comfort of home. This production features a variety of comedians performing some of their funniest bits; among those included are Bobby Collins, John Mulfooney, Laura Kightlinger, Tom Arnold, Marty Putz, Dennis Wolfberg, Bob Zany, Jenny Jones, and Drew Carey. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
This irreverent comedy focuses on a group of nine single people in their thirties who've gotten into the habit of hitting the same three bars in Los Angeles every weekend; most of them are looking for love, but that's the last thing any of them are likely to find. The cast includes Tom Arnold, Scott Baio, Kelly Preston, Sally Kellerman, and Charlene Tilton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A sixth grader discovers the joys and sorrows of first love -- as if he doesn't already have enough problems -- in this comedy. Eleven-year-old Lloyd (Todd Bosley) is short, skinny, awkward, and wears thick round glasses; in most any American school, these qualities are enough to make you the target of every bully within shouting distance, and Lloyd has gotten accustomed to his status as the butt of his classmates' jokes. Lloyd has also started to notice girls, which makes for even greater humiliation at home, as his eight-year-old brother Nathan (Sammy Elliott) has already mastered the fine art of sweet-talking the opposite sex. Lloyd has one close friend, the significantly less geeky Troy (Brendon Ryan Barrett), but their friendship begins to show signs of strain when Lloyd falls in love with Tracy (Kirsten Parker), a cute girl in his class. To Lloyd's annoyance, Tracy only has eyes for Storm (Patrick Higgins), a charismatically sullen junior high student; can Lloyd's mastery of magic tricks and way with a joke win him the girl of his dreams? Lloyd also features cameo appearances from Tom Arnold and Taylor Negron. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Todd Bosley
Actor-turned-director Steve Buscemi follows up on his restrained 1996 directorial debut Trees Lounge (1996) with this gritty, understated prison drama. Twenty-one-year-old suburban kid Ron (Edward Furlong) got busted for dealing drugs and slapped with an especially severe jail sentence. Though he tries to keep a low profile at prison, he soon attracts unsavory attention of various sex-starved goons. Fearing rape, he appeals directly to Earl (Willem Dafoe), a fellow prisoner who runs the place like it was his own fiefdom. Though Ron's request is strictly against this rarified culture's baroque rules, Earl takes him under his wing, and soon he is a part of Earl's inner circle. Slowly Ron learns the breadth of Earl's power, ranging from the easy procurement of drugs to the violent dispatching of a prisoner who gets out of line. As Ron grows increasingly indebted to Earl, he wonders how he is expected to repay him. Yet Earl, who shows his fondness for the lad with fatherly tenderness counterbalanced with repressed yearning, never pushes his advantage. Other members of the cast include Tom Arnold as a salivating hill-billy and an almost unrecognizable Mickey Rourke as a cross-dressing prison queen. This film was highly praised at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, (more)
A teenager finds himself torn between his loyalty to his friends and possibly destroying his own future in this drama. Danny (Peter Facinelli) is a high school senior who has been offered a chance to play football for a college scholarship; while the offer is tempting, at the same time he doesn't want to leave his girlfriend behind. However, all the bets in his life are off when one of his best friends shoots his father, who had a history of violence. Danny and his friends know their buddy would not survive in prison, so they steal the body and try to hide all the evidence before the police get wise. Their plan proves to be neither as simple or as effective as they hoped. End of Innocence features a strong supporting cast, including Amy Irving, Chris Isaak, and Tom Arnold. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Facinelli, Rodney Eastman, (more)
- 1996
This 1996 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Tom Arnold and features musical guest Tupac Shakur. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Tupac Shakur, (more)
"The Coneheads" were a sketch on the Saturday Night Live television show of the late '70s which were expanded to feature-length proportions with this film. The story concerns Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymaat (Jane Curtin), who leave the planet Remulak to prepare for an invasion of Planet Earth. But due to a malfunction, they find themselves plunged into the Hudson River and forced to take up residence in Paramus, New Jersey where Beldar gets work as an appliance salesman and makes a deal for a phony social security card. Before long, all thoughts of invading Earth are left behind as Beldar and Prymaat quickly adapt to suburban life -- except for their coneheads and metallic-sounding voices, they become a typical middle-class suburban family. The Coneheads have a child, Connie (Michelle Burke) and Beldar becomes a New York cab driver and starts up his own driving school. Connie grows into a teenager and a neighborhood boy, Ronnie (Chris Farley), develops a crush on her because he likes to rub her conehead. But a nefarious INS agent, Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean), and his toady assistant, Turnbull (David Spade), are hot on The Coneheads' trail because of Beldar's false social security card. Not only that, but the Remulakian Highmaster (Dave Thomas) is beginning to wonder what ever happened to Beldar's invasion of the third rock from the sun. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, (more)
- 1993
Performance art certainly isn't for everyone, as Larry (Garry Shandling) quickly finds out in this installment of The Larry Sanders Show. Worried that the show has become too routine, Larry books a controversial performance artist on the show. Despite his initial enthusiasm, however, our gracious host gets cold feet and cancels the appearance after getting a taste of the act. Guest stars include Maureen Mueller, John Riggi, Roseanne, Tom Arnold, Jay Leno, Tim Miller, and George Segal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The Conners and the Tildens go on a trip to Los Angeles, CA, in a motor home. Roseanne wants to go to Hollywood to watch The Jackie Thomas Show (starring her then-husband Tom Arnold). Dan thinks about adding to the family. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Horror virtuoso John Carpenter hosts this goofy horror anthology, originally produced for Showtime as a gory stepchild of HBO's Tales from the Crypt series. Playing an emaciated, eye-rolling "coroner," John introduces the audience to a triptych of creepy vignettes in the EC horror-comics mode while paddling about in the guts of assorted cadavers and cracking jokes more gag-inducing than anything oozing on the slab. Two of the stories are directed by Carpenter himself: "The Gas Station" is a retread (pun intended) of Halloween-style scare tactics as a pretty gas-station attendant watches various oddballs pass by her window after hearing that an escaped killer is on the loose; "Hair" is a morbid, hilarious look at man's obsession with his own virility in which Stacy Keach turns to a bizarre hair-growth clinic (run by David Warner & Debbie Harry) which promises instant results, but at a horrific price. The third segment, directed by Tobe Hooper, involves a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who receives an eye transplant after a car accident and soon begins having optical flashbacks revealing (you guessed it) the identity and tendencies of the eye's former owner -- a serial killer. The second segment is by far the most entertaining, featuring a wonderfully neurotic performance by Keach, but the first and last chapters are too derivative to offer much for the discriminating horror buff, although the same fans will enjoy several cute cameos from other genre directors, including Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and Roger Corman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Tom Arnold and features musical guest Neil Young. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Neil Young, (more)
- 1992
This 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Roseanne Arnold and Tom Arnold and features musical guest Red Hot Chili Peppers. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roseanne, Tom Arnold, (more)
- 1992
After going out once with Crystal (Natalie West), Roseanne gets hooked on bingo and can't seem to stop. Edie McClurg and Mitzi McCall guest star as the bingo-crazed ladies Harriet and Peg, respectively. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Dan and Arnie's (Tom Arnold) bowling team is in last place. Meanwhile, Jackie and Nancy (Sandra Bernhard) develop a friendship that excludes Roseanne. First appearance of Mark's (Glenn Quinn) brother, played by Johnny Galecki. Originally named Kevin Healy, his character name was permanently changed to David for the rest of the series. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Roseanne and Jackie tell stories from their childhood about sneaking out to frat parties when they make a final visit to the house they grew up in. Meanwhile, Darlene and David (Johnny Galecki) skip school to go to a comic book convention in Chicago, leaving Roseanne with the task of thinking up a punishment. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Roseanne is convinced that Jackie should date tax accountant Art (Dan Butler), even though she's not attracted to him at all. Then Roseanne accompanies Jackie on a session with her therapist (Rondi Reed). Meanwhile, Darlene has problems with a bully at school. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
