David Arquette
- 2008
- R
- AddHamlet 2to Queue
Steve Coogan stars in the comedy Hamlet 2, which follows a drama teacher who tries to put together a production of "Hamlet 2" to rescue his high-school theater department. Catherine Keener co-stars in the Andrew Fleming-helmed production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, (more)
- 2007
David Arquette (star Patricia Arquette's brother) directed this episode, in which Allison's brother (Ryan Hurst), a phone-hotline psychic, helps a troubled customer whose husband was killed. ~ Dean Maurer, All Movie Guide
Actor-turned-director David Arquette co-scripted and directed this political horror feature concerning a group of friends who are stalked by a psychotic killer with a Ronald Reagan fixation during an outdoor music festival. Lukas Haas, Thomas Jane, Jason Mewes, Paul Reubens, Balthazar Getty, and Jamie King star in a film that was co-written by Darkness Falls screenwriter Joe Harris. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richmond Arquette, Paz de la Huerta, (more)
- 2007
A radically cast-against-type Courteney Cox was the star of the wickedly satirical FX drama series Dirt. Cox was cast as Lucy Spiller, the ruthless, conniving editor of the tell-all tabloid magazines "Dirt" and "Now." Dedicated to the proposition that absolutely nothing was sacred in the world of celebrity journalism, Lucy mercilessly drove her minions -- and herself -- to dredge up as many negative and injurious facts as possible about the rich and famous of the entertainment industry, deploying bribery, arm-twisting, blackmail, and any other nasty means at her disposal. Lucy's chief partner in grime was the magazine's "functional schizophrenic" ace photographer Don Konkey (Ian Hart), whose many bizarre personality quirks included a lengthy romance with a dead woman. As if to tweak the noses of the real-life "tabs" who'd made life hell for former Friends leading lady Courteney Cox and her film-star husband, David Arquette (with whom she co-produced the series), Dirt included a subplot involving the relentless hounding of actor Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart) and his sitcom-star girlfriend Julia Mallory (Laura Allen) -- who, in a perverse comic twist, were depicted in a decidedly unsympathetic and unflattering light. Others in the cast were Timothy Bottoms as megalomanic magazine owner Gibson Home and Jeffrey Nordling as soulless publisher Brent Barrow. Debuting January 2, 2007, Dirt was, amazingly enough, put together by a subsidiary of Disney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2007
If one were in a whimsical mood, one might describe the ABC sitcom In Case of Emergency as a warm-hearted comedy about a lovable gang of serious disturbed mental patients. All of the main characters had been friends since high school, and all had found it well nigh impossible to cope with the pressures and exigencies of adulthood. Jason Ventress (David Arquette) was a financial genius who, after, being sucked into an illegal corporate scam, proved to be a spectacular failure as a would-be suicide. Harry Kennison (Jonathan Silverman) was a divorced greeting-card writer who went ballistic upon discovering that his high school's ex-valedictorian Kelly Lee (Kelly Hu) was unhappily employed in a massage parlor. And Sherman Yablonsky (Greg Germann) was a diet guru who went on a disastrous eating binge after his wife walked out on him with everything they owned. Landing in the same mental-health facility at L.A. Westside Hospital, the five protagonists proved to be quite a challenge to overworked therapist Dr. Joanna Lupone (Lori Loughlin). Acting as something of a conduit to the outside world was Harry Kennison's son, Dylan, played by Jackson Bond. Incredibly, the series was inspired by the real-life experiences of co-creator Howard J. Morris and his lifelong friend Emile Levisetti. In Case of Emergency premiered January 3, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a San Francisco homicide detective with a keen eye for criminal profiling is fired for botching the arrest of a notorious serial killer, his subsequent effort to reinvent himself as an insurance claims case-investigator leads him to study a series of perplexing wrongful deaths in this comedy starring Joseph Fiennes, Winona Ryder, Tim Blake Nelson, and Wilmer Valderrama. Michael Burrows (Fiennes) isn't your typical detective. Though Detective Burrows is a paranoid obsessive-compulsive who faints at the sight of blood, his remarkable insight into the criminal mindset has nevertheless made him a valuable asset to the San Francisco Police Department. When Detective Burrows' idiosyncrasies allow the feared "North Beach Killer" to elude capture, however, he is fired by his superiors. Upon offering his unique skills to a doubting insurance company, Burrows is given 30 days in which to prove he can sort out the legitimate claims from the false ones. Now, as Burrows makes for the Midwest in the company of hard-nosed field agent Siri Tyler (Ryder), the film student (Valderrama) who has been following the former detective for his thesis follows the pair as they investigate a series of forehead-slapping deaths, including that of a powerful executive who attempts to prove that his high-rise window is unbreakable and a pair of English tourists who fatally misinterpret the "cruise control" function on their rented RV. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Fiennes, Winona Ryder, (more)
- 2005
Gangly, redheaded British comedian Daisy Donovan, who skyrocketed to fame with her satirical news reports and interviews on her own country's The 11 O'Clock Show, was the star of this American quasi-reality series. In each episode, Donovan popped up in a different corner of the United States, in search of eccentric locals and regional curiosities. The premise was that Daisy was soaking up research in her quest to become "The All American Girl." Co-produced by actors David Arquette and Courteney Cox Arquette, the series was given the go-ahead for nine half-hour trial episodes when it was optioned by the TBS Superstation. Daisy Does America was okayed for a weekly TBS slot beginning in December 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daisy Donovan
A regular guy adds some much-needed drama to his life in this comedy. Peter Rooker (Marcus Thomas) is a man who has come to a crossroads in his life -- he's just been given his walking papers by his girlfriend, has lost interest in his job, and is looking for something new in his life. Filled with ennui, one evening Peter walks into a small theater where a community drama company is holding auditions for a production of Cyrano de Bergerac. While Peter has no acting experience and stumbles through his impromptu audition, director Edwina (Clare Higgins) thinks there's a great Cyrano lurking inside him, and gives him the title role. Before long, Peter has gained a new circle of friends, dominated by eccentric small-time actors Michael (John Corbett) and Grace (Amy Smart), who are playing Christian and Roxanne, and a new enthusiasm for life. But as it happens, both Peter and Michael have become infatuated with Grace, and as Peter tries to find a way to win her attention, Edwina begins to wonder if casting Peter was such a good idea after all. Bigger Than the Sky was the first dramatic feature from actor-turned-director Al Corley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcus Thomas, John Corbett, (more)
Taylor (Balthazar Getty) and Ashley (David Arquette) have been best friends since they were boys. They've grown older and stuck together, making a meager living, drifting across the country running low-level cons. They end up in Fairfield, CT, where Ashley thinks they can scam rich lonely housewives. At a children's hockey game, Taylor chats up Karen (Julianna Margulies), who seems to fit their victim profile to a T. She's depressed and unsatisfied in her second marriage. Her teenage daughter from her first marriage, April (Thora Birch), is away at college, and her neglectful, philandering husband is rarely around. Ashley wants Taylor to spend some time with Karen, gain her trust, and case her house for valuables, but the situation gets complicated when Taylor begins to develop genuine feelings for her. Karen soon realizes that Taylor does not offer the solution she seeks to her problems, and ends their affair. Taylor pines for her until he accidentally runs into April. As Taylor and April begin to develop a relationship, the unstable Ashley grows distraught over the state of his partnership with Taylor. Slingshot was written by director Jay Alaimo, producing partner Matt Fiorello, and Matthew Martin (who also has story credit). The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Thora Birch, (more)
- 2005
- PG
- AddThe Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girlto QueueAddThe Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girlto top of Queue
Writer and director Robert Rodriguez returns to the family-friendly adventure of his Spy Kids movies with this three-dimensional action opus. Max (Cayden Boyd) is a ten-year-old boy who doesn't get along with his peers and is constantly bullied at school. But Max has an active imagination, and he has a pair of very special imaginary playmates -- Shark Boy (Taylor Lautner), a human-shark half-breed cared for by a pack of great whites, and Lava Girl (Taylor Dooley), a girl with superpowers who can conjure heat and fire at will. Max may be a creative boy, but what he doesn't know is that Shark Boy and Lava Girl really do exist, and he is recruited to help them as they do battle against Mr. Electricity, a super-villain determined to deprive children of their sleep. Shot and originally released in the 3-D format, The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl also stars David Arquette and Kristin Davis as Max's parents, and George Lopez as a schoolteacher; writer and director Rodriguez wrote the film's story in collaboration with his then seven-year-old son, Racer Rodriguez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley, (more)
From a script from first-time scribe James Gibson comes this filmed adaptation of ex-gangster Donald Goines' 1974 novel Never Die Alone. Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (Juice, Bones), the films stars David Arquette as Paul Pawlowski, a reporter who takes an interest in gang kingpin King David, played by rapper/actor DMX. When King David is killed, Pawlowski happens upon the criminal's journal and envelops himself in his story. From there, the rise and fall of King David is covered in flashbacks as Pawlowski makes his way through the diary. Aisha Tyler and Jennifer Sky co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- DMX, David Arquette, (more)
A young man who has flirted with death is forced to come to terms with mortality in this tale of terror based on a story by Stephen King. Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson) is a college student studying art at the University of Maine in 1969. Cursed with an over-active imagination, Alan constantly obsesses over the worst outcome of any situation, and when he begins to suspect his girlfriend, Jessica (Erika Christensen), is thinking of leaving him, it drives him to the brink of suicide. Shortly after this brush with death, Alan receives word that his mother, Jean (Barbara Hershey), has suffered a severe stroke and may not pull through. Alan grabs his jacket and hits the road, hoping to hitchhike the one hundred miles to the hospital. As it happens, Alan is trying to catch a ride on Halloween night, and after he's picked up by one George Staub (David Arquette), he realizes that he's riding the highway with a creature not of this Earth. Riding the Bullet was directed by Mick Garris, marking the fourth time the filmmaker has brought one of King's stories to the cinema or television screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Jackson, David Arquette, (more)
In this throwback monster movie from producer Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Godzilla), David Arquette plays the son of a deceased mine owner, returning home to the economically depressed hamlet of Prosperity, AZ, after a long absence. His arrival coincides with a toxic waste accident in the local water supply, the result of a barrel jostled loose from the back of a passing truck. Unfortunately, said water source abuts the region's least-popular attraction: an exotic spider farm. The farm's owner (Tom Noonan) becomes the first victim when the spiders, already possessed of keen predatory abilities, grow to the size of small automobiles. Laying in wait underground, they begin picking off the town's pet and ostrich population, and soon it's all the local sheriff (Kari Wuhrer) can do to raise the alarm before the siege begins. Eight Legged Freaks was produced under the working title "Arac Attack," but the politically conscious producers, concerned the title sounded too much like "Iraq Attack," went with Arquette's brainstorm as a safer alternative. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, (more)
Drawn into a menacing underground world of the New Orleans elite while searching for her missing sister, Muriel (Shalom Harlow), Amelia (Liane Balaban) is aided in her investigation by ex-CIA agent Bill (Clarence Williams III) in this effort from Nadja director Michael Almereyda. Soon discovering mysterious webcam footage on Muriel's laptop computer that will seemingly aid them in finding Amelia's sister, the duo is confronted with shifting identities in a scene where no one is quite who they appear to be on the surface. An obscure and disturbing study in the nature of avatars in the age of technological isolation, Almereyda's haunting drama soon leads Amelia and Bill into a complex web buried deep in the underground of a mysterious and sometimes menacing city. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Geary, Shalom Harlow, (more)
Based on actual events, this crime comedy from Adventures of Pluto Nash director Ron Underwood details the farcical kidnapping of legendary singer Frank Sinatra's eldest son (played by Thomas Ian Nicholas). Desperate to gather the money needed to get their fledgling business off the ground, three bumbling criminals hatch a scheme to abduct the hapless Sinatra offspring and use the ransom money to fund their startup. Though they've rented a house in Los Angeles for the big event and every detail seems to be in place, the plan quickly devolves into an unbelievable fiasco that's too strange for fiction. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Two men look for a wife -- just one will do, thank you -- in this offbeat comedy. Jake (Tim Blake Nelson) and Josh (David Arquette) are two brothers who live and work in a vegetable farm somewhere in the Midwest, where they're looked after by their Ma (Lois Smith), who cooks, cleans, and keeps the guys company. When Ma dies, Jake and Josh find they're a bit lonely all by their lonesome, and more importantly, they're not much good at everyday domestic activities, so they decide to do the sensible thing -- one of them will get married so they'll have someone else to talk to and handle things in the kitchen and the laundry room. Woefully naïve, socially clumsy, and less interested in romance than day-to-day practicalities, Jake and Josh decide to head out on a matchmaking tour to St. Petersburg, Russia, where they're promised introductions to hundreds of women over the space of two weeks, in hopes that they'll find an understanding, old-fashioned wife who doesn't mind having a third wheel around at all times. A Foreign Affair was shot on location in St. Petersburg in the former Soviet Union, and in Chihuahua, Mexico, which stood in for the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Blake Nelson, David Arquette, (more)
- 2002
- AddIt's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movieto QueueAddIt's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movieto top of Queue
What would life amongst the Muppets have been without their unofficial leader Kermit the Frog? That's the question posed by this made-for-TV confection, which not only spoofs the Yuletide classic It's a Wonderful Life, but also takes satirical aim at such pop cultural phenomena as Moulin Rouge and Fear Factor. The plot is set in motion when typically evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) forecloses on the Muppets' famous variety theater, with the intention of building a gaudy nightclub. But Bitterman's machinations take a back seat when apprentice guardian angel, Daniel (David Arquette), shows Kermit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) what conditions would have been had Kermit never existed. Without going into full detail, suffice to say that a Kermit-less world would have found Miss Piggy (voiced by Frank Oz) running a fraudulent psychic hot line, Fozzie Bear as a homeless derelict, and Sam the Eagle as a caged dancer at a rave. Decked out with cameo appearances by everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to the cast of the TV series Scrubs, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie debuted over NBC on November 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, (more)
Actor, writer, and director Tim Blake Nelson adapts this grim look at the Holocaust from his own play, based on Miklós Nyiszli's book, Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account. The film centers on the Sonderkommando: Jewish concentration camp prisoners whose job was to herd their fellow Jews into the gas chamber, and to dispose of the bodies following the execution. In return, these prisoners received food and a little more time before their own executions. As the members of the sonderkommando struggle to orchestrate what would be the only armed insurrection in Auschwitz, a group of them discover a 14-year-old girl who somehow survived the gas chamber. The girl becomes a symbol for their own spiritual salvation and they become obsessed with keeping the girl alive, even if it endangers the uprising that could save thousands. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Daniel Benzali, (more)
A police dog finds himself pitted in a battle of wits against an accident-prone mailman and a gang of crooks (and it looks like the dog has the edge in the brains department) in this broad comedy. Agent 11 (Bob) is a bulldog trained by the FBI agent Murdoch (Michael Clarke Duncan) to sniff out drugs, and the dog's keen nose ferrets out the storage facility of Mafia kingpin Sonny (Paul Sorvino); Agent 11 has also been taught to show no mercy with criminals, and he gives Sonny a serious bite in a rather personal place. Needless to say, Sonny is not amused, and wants revenge against the pooch, so Agent 11 is put into the animal equivalent of the witness protection program. However, unlikely circumstances set the dog loose, where he soon pairs up with Gordon (David Arquette), a stunningly inept letter carrier with a long history of fending off ill-tempered pets. Gordon is attempting to impress Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), an attractive single mother, by helping to look after her son James (Angus T. Jones), and when he comes across Agent 11, he adopts the dog and names him Spot, feeling certain he can smooth out the critter's often cranky relationship with people. But Gordon doesn't know that Sonny and his henchmen are hot on Agent 11's trail and that his new best friend will lead a gang of ruthless gangsters into Stephanie and James' home. See Spot Run was originally announced as a vehicle for comedy star Martin Lawrence, but when changes in Lawrence's schedule prevented him from taking on the project, it was retooled for the talents of David Arquette. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan, (more)
Richard Benjamin directs the straight-to-video romantic comedy The Shrink Is In. Courteney Cox plays Samantha Crumb, a travel writer who suffers from a long list of phobias and disorders. When her psychiatrist, Dr. Louise Rosenberg (Carol Kane), suffers a mental breakdown, Samantha gets an idea to catch herself a man. She sets out to pose as a psychiatrist in order to win over the affections of her neighbor Michael (David James Elliott). Meanwhile, she inevitably meets and falls in love with shy Henry Popopolis (her real-life husband David Arquette). The Shrink Is In also stars Kimberley Davies and Viola Davis. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Courteney Cox Arquette, David Arquette, (more)
After squaring off in 1995 with competing movie biographies of frontier lawman Wyatt Earp, actors Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner co-star in this action crime caper as former cronies engaged in a series of double-crosses over some stolen loot. Michael Zane (Russell) and Thomas Murphy (Costner) are the leaders of a gang of ex-convict thieves using an Elvis Presley impersonator convention to pull off a daring heist in a Las Vegas casino. The gang also includes Gus (David Arquette), Hanson (Bokeem Woodbine), and Franklin (Christian Slater). Although they manage to retrieve the money, the crooks turn on each other in bloody fashion and Murphy (who believes he's actually the illegitimate son of Elvis) makes off with the illegal funds. In hot pursuit are the police and Michael, who's encumbered by his girlfriend Cybil (Courtney Cox-Arquette) and her young son Jesse James. Written and directed by music video creator Demian Lichtenstein, 3000 Miles to Graceland also stars Kevin Pollak, Ice-T, and Howie Long. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, (more)
Directors: Wes Craven profiles the acclaimed horror movie director best-known for A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream series. The mind behind cult classics The Hills Have Eyes and Swamp Thing, young Craven had an impressive knack for turning low-budget scripts into entertaining films with some artistic merit. Today, he is the most commercially successful scary movie director in Hollywood. The American Film Institute documentary features interviews with Wes Craven, Bill Pullman, Neve Campbell, Robert Englund, Mitch Pileggi, Meryl Streep, and Kristy Swanson. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Pelswick is an animated comedy series for children with a very unusual lead character -- Pelswick Eggert (voice of Robert Tinkler), a 13-year-old boy who is confined to a wheelchair. Despite being paralyzed from the waist down, Pelswick still has his sense of humor (he describes his condition as "permanently seated") and an adventurous streak. As Pelswick and his pals Goon (voice of Peter Oldring) and Ace (voice of Phil Guerrero) deal with the typical trials and tribulations of being a kid, Pelswick is often daunted by the fact that he lives in San Francisco, whose hills make life tricky when you have to roll from place to place. Fortunately, Pelswick has a guardian angel, Mr. Jimmy (voice of David Arquette), who happens to look a bit like the late lead guitarist of a certain popular San Francisco-based rock band. Pelswick was created by John Callahan, a cartoonist whose work often casts a darkly satiric eye at the issues of the handicapped (Callahan himself is paralyzed from the shoulders down). The series debuted on the Nickelodeon cable network on October 24, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Robert Tinkler, (more)
A pair of sewage-truck drivers attempt to rescue the tarnished reputation of their favorite pro wrestler in this comedy from Varsity Blues director Brian Robbins. Gordie Boggs (David Arquette) and Sean Dawkins (Scott Caan) live vicariously through superstar grappler Jimmy King (Oliver Platt). But when King's manager (Joe Pantoliano), in a fit of ego, arranges to have his client dethroned to make way for the next hot property, the guys hatch a plan to force a rematch. The only problem is, their no-good hero has sunk into a black hole of self-pity and liquor. Enlisting the help of old-time trainer Sal (Martin Landau) to whip "The King" into shape, Gordie and Sean run afoul of Gordie's father, who wants his son to settle down and become a cop like him. Meanwhile, curvaceous Sasha (Rose McGowan) moves in on Gordie, but has ulterior motives. So does The King's son (Tait Smith), who's willing to put his girth to good use in order to exact revenge on his dad for abandoning him. Ready to Rumble features a large cast of real-life WCW wrestlers portraying themselves. McGowan and Arquette previously appeared together in Wes Craven's Scream. Lewis Arquette, the star's father, also appears alongside his son as he did in Scream 2. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Oliver Platt, (more)
Wes Craven's Scream (1996) was a half-parody/half-tribute to the first wave of slasher films of the 1970s and 1980s, and since most of them spawned a large number of sequels, it's only appropriate that Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson produced a third installment of their Scream franchise. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), traumatized by the brutal murders of her friends, has left her hometown of Woodsboro and is working in California as a crisis intervention counselor. Meanwhile, "Stab," the novel by Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox Arquette), is spawning a series of successful horror films, and as Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro is being filmed in Los Angeles, a lunatic has gotten his hands on a copy of the script, and is murdering the characters in the same order that they die in the movie. But predicting who will die next is not as simple as it might seem, since the producers have circulated three different screenplays, with different endings. In addition to Campbell and Cox-Arquette, David Arquette returns from the first two films as less-than-bright "Dewey" Riley; new members of the cast include Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, and Jenny McCarthy. Kevin Williamson wrote the original story, but the screenplay was penned by Ehren Kruger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Neve Campbell, (more)
