Ashley Gardner Movies

Season nine of the animated redneck comedy series King of the Hill begins as Peggy Hill briefly leaves Arlen, TX and returns to her Montana hometown when her mother is threatened with losing her land as the result of an influx of Hollywood movie stars -- including Henry Winkler, heard as himself. Another Happy Days alumnae, Marion Ross, can be heard as the title character in the next episode, "Ms. Wakefield." In later episodes, Hank Hill is outraged when Peggy buys a lawn gnome; the world of conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble collapses when he becomes convinced that the Warrren Commission has been right all along; Bobby Hill tries to unlock the Fox network on the family TV (so that he can watch his own show?); the Hills' niece Luanne begins dating a good ol' boy named Lucky (voiced by Tom Petty); Native American John Redcorn tries to open up his own gambling casino; the "Smoking Bandit" strikes when all tobacco consumption is banned in Arlen's restaurants; and Bobby thrills his macho dad Hank when he makes the school track team -- but not for the right reasons. In the season's final episode, Hank and his pals try to save their barber buddy Bill when his obsession with his hobbies threatens his job. In addition to the celebrity voices mentioned above, the ninth season of King of the Hill also boasts the vocal talents of Jason Bateman, Trace Adkins, Mac Davis, Tone-Loc, Henry Gibson, and Brendan Fraser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Don Cheadle makes his first series appearance as Paul Nathan, an overaged med student who chose to enter school only after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. During his first shift, Nathan plunges in to help the other staffers treat the victims of a Halloween party fire -- whereupon his colleagues notice that he doesn't react all that well to intense pressure. In other developments, Corday (Alex Kingston) and Romano (Paul McCrane) battle over a patient who may be facing an amputation; despite her recent erratic behavior, Weaver (Laura Innes) tries to save a baby who was all but killed in a home birth gone awry; and the romance between Chuny (Laura Ceron) and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) is sabotaged by his insatiable addiction to sex. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season six of the animated redneck sitcom King of the Hill begins as 13-year-old Bobby Hill, unable to enroll in the Arlen YMCA's boxing class, takes the next available slot in a women's self-defense class, convincing his macho dad Hank all the more that Bobby "ain't right." In other episodes, Hank's substitute-teacher-spouse Peggy takes her students on a field trip to Mexico and ends up being arrested for kidnapping; a carpenter with the initials J.C. performs a miracle during the Christmas episode; the incomprehensible Boomhauer gives Bobby advice on how to handle women, but proves even more tongue-tied than usual when he himself falls in love for the first time in his life; Peggy foments a feminist rebellion at a Renaissance fair; Hank wins the privilege of carrying the Olympic torch through his neighborhood; military-post barber Bill Dauterive steals a tank when he finds out the Army has been using him for a guinea pig; still unaware that Native American John Redcorn is the real father of his son Joseph, conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble becomes convinced that Joseph is actually a space alien; Hank becomes the token white at an all-Asian country club; and the Hills' niece Luanne joins a Stepford-like sorority. In the season's two-part finale, the Hills head to Japan so that Hank's war veteran dad Cotton can make amends to the wife of a soldier that he killed -- and Hank discovers that he has a Japanese half-brother! Guest voices heard during King of the Hill's sixth season include Gary Busey, Bruce Jenner, Laura Dern, Alan Rickman, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Jeff Goldblum, Ed Asner, Megan Mullally, Laura Linney, and Keith Carradine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season three of King of the Hill had ended with the fate of Peggy Hill literally up in the air when, while skydiving, her chute failed to open. Season four begins with Peggy in a full body cast -- and it will be several episodes before she will make a full recovery. (Who knew that cartoon characters could sustain serious injuries?) Also on the docket this season: Hank Hill's obnoxious dad Cotton becomes the proud papa of a baby boy courtesy of his young trophy wife DeeDee -- a baby whom Cotton contemptuously names "Good Hank." Taking over his recuperating wife's substitute teacher duties, Hank runs afoul of Tom Landry Middle School's zero-tolerance policy. The Hill family's Thanksgiving trip is "fowled up" when airport security mistakes a frozen turkey for a bomb. Hank and Peggy's son Bobby accidentally sees his cousin Luanne "nekkid," and later launches a standup comedy career. Confirmed conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble goes "oh-wow" on psychedelic mushrooms, while Dale's wife Nancy tries to end her affair with John Redcorn. (An infidelity which everybody in town but Dale knows about!) The Y2K computer-crash scare hits Arlen. Barber Bill Dauterive "borrows" an American flag from the Army base where he works. Peggy finally comes to terms with her big feet when they become the "stars" of an Internet fetish site. And in a two-part story, Hank is promoted to manager of Strickland Propane, only to be implicated in the mysterious death of his sexy co-worker Debbie. Guest voices heard during King of the Hill's fourth season include Randy Travis, Clint Black, Lisa Hartman, Martina McBride, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels, Wynonna Judd, Mac Davis, Meryl Streep, Don Meredith, Drew Carey, Heather Locklear, Kathleen Turner, Reese Witherspoon, Andy Dick, Maura Tierney, Tony Danza, Teri Garr, and Sydney Pollack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Drew (Drew Carey) doesn't like the fact that his old friends Kate (Christa Miller) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) are now living together. Oswald n turn accuses Drew of carrying a torch for Kate--and as much as Drew denies this, he finds it impossible to hide his true feelings. The upshot of all this is a Valentine's-Day "compatability competition", with Kate and Oswald on one side, Drew and Nicki (Kate Walsh) on the other, and a startling outcome at episode's end. Meanwhile, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) is coached by a psychologist (Eugene Levy) in order to pass a lie-detector test as part of her trumped-up lawsuit against the store; and DrugCo's pet guinea pig Pinky (Ashley Gardner) has gone "catty" in more ways than one! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When his beloved refrigerator finally expires, Drew (Drew Carey) tries to win a new one in Winfred-Louder's annual employee olympics. Trouble is, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) has always been able to beat Drew, so he and Nicki (Kate Walsh) have to rely upon Larry's athletically gifted girlfriend Pinky (Ashley Gardner) to achieve victory on their behalf. Alas, DrugCo is currently using Pinky as a guinea pig for an highly unstable "competition" drug which causes her to utterly destroy Drew's chances without even trying. This is the episode with the sublimely surrealistic "refrigerator dance!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season three of King of the Hill begins by resolving the cliffhanger ending of season two; specifically, did anyone survive the propane explosion at the Mega Lo Mart? The good news is that practically everyone emerged intact, although Luanne, niece of series protagonists Hank and Peggy Hill, has lost her hair and eyebrows (inspiring her to become "the second Sinead O'Connor"). The bad news is that Luanne's store manager boyfriend Buckley has been killed, though he will ultimately return in ghostly form to advise Luanne to give up beauty school and enroll in junior college. In other developments this season, the Hills' son Bobby begins dating "an older woman" (he's 12, she's 14); Peggy Hill finds out about the clandestine relationship between Native American masseuse John Redcorn and Nancy Gribble, the wife of Hank's pal Dale Gribble (Who, despite seeing sinister conspiracies at every turn, fails to notice his own wife's peccadillos!); the men of the neighborhood attend a "lawn mower focus group"; Hank's inability to get Peggy pregnant proves doubly embarrassing when Hank's obstreperous dad Cotton announces that his trophy bride DeeDee is expecting; mooning over his divorce (for the past three years), Bill Dauterive begins taking on the personality -- and the wardrobe -- of his ex-wife Lenore; substitute teacher Peg is fired for spanking one of her students, and later finds out that one of her former charges is on death row; and Bobby may be forced to marry Luanne. Closing out the season is Peggy's ill-fated decision to do something daring and unexpected on the occasion of her 20th anniversary -- namely, take up skydiving. Guest voices heard during King of the Hill's third season include Sarah Michelle Gellar, William H. Macy, Erik Estrada, Mary Kay Place, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Matthew McConaughey, and Mary Tyler Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Those tuning in as the animated redneck sitcom King of the Hill began its second season may have noticed that the characters have been slightly redesigned; made to appear more appealing and less grotesque. The season opener is "How to Fire a Rifle Without Really Trying," one of several installments in which macho Hank Hill is publicly embarrassed by his "not quite right" son Bobby. Other episodes include the Halloween entry, wherein a character who's even more conservative than Hank has everyone believing that the holiday is the Devil's work and that Hank is a Satanist for setting up a haunted house; a touching half hour in which Bobby's self-esteem shoots up when he is hired as a photographer's model (for overweight children's clothes); and Hank's loss of an important propane contract when he and his family don't measure up to a client's image of "the typical Texan." Ultimately, Hank loses his job with Strickland Propane, forcing him into the humiliating position of working for motorcycle bum Buckley at the local Mega Lo Mart. Also: Hank and Peg Hill's niece Luanne inaugurates a Christian TV puppet show, "The Manger Babies"; Peg learns several years after the fact how her hubby Hank really got mono back in high school; Hank's obnoxious father Cotton plots to steal the leg of General Santa Ana; Luanne's homicidal mom Leanne is released from prison; and the intensely inarticulate Boomhauer aspires to drive in the NASCAR race. The season literally ends with a bang when the Mega Lo Mart is destroyed in a propane explosion -- and viewers won't find out who survives the disaster until the beginning of season three. Guest voices heard during season two of King of the Hill include Wallace Shawn, James Carville, John Ritter, Burt Reynolds, Stockard Channing, Carl Reiner, Tammy Wynette (as Hank's mom Tilly), Troy Aikman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Rodriguez, and John Amos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Condominium residents are terrified when they learn that two of their neighbors have been brutally raped and that the culprit may be living in their midst. A police manhunt ensues. One officer, who actually lives in the complex, is particularly troubled, for not only do the incidents cause his wife to admit that she was a victim of date rape, he is also the one who had a chance to kill the rapist and didn't. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tom DiCillo directed this surrealistic black comedy starring Brad Pitt as Johnny Suede, a young man with an attitude and an immense pompadour, who wants to be a rock n' roll star like his idol Ricky Nelson. He has all the stylistic accouterments, except a pair of black suede shoes. And one night, after leaving a nightclub, like manna from heaven, a pair of black suede shoes falls at his feet. Soon afterwards, the recently completed Johnny meets Darlette (Alison Moir), a sultry bohemian whom he beds down for the night. In spite of Darlette's abusive boyfriend with a gun, Johnny begins to see Darlette everyday. But when Johnny is forced to pawn his guitar for rent money, Darlette mysteriously leaves him. Johnny's pal Deke (Calvin Levels) fronts him the money to get his guitar out of hock, and the two form a band. Depressed about Darlette's desertion, he wanders aimlessly, and he meets Yvonne (Catherine Keener), a woman much wiser than Johnny who teaches him that there are things in life much more important than a pair of black suede shoes. DiCillo based his independent comedy Living in Oblivion upon his experiences working with Brad Pitt on this film. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Set at a Southern college during the 1950s, three co-eds (Ally Sheedy, Virginia Madsen and Phoebe Cates) re-assess their values in light of the burgeoning civil rights movement. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide