Andy Borowitz
Devastated after being fired by director Woody Allen, actress Annabelle Gurwitch sets out on a soul-searching journey to discover whether getting the axe was the best or worst thing ever to happen in her professional career. Anyone who has been in the workforce for an extended amount of time has likely been there -- one minute you've got a good-paying job that you love, and the next minute you're standing in the unemployment line. When Annabelle Gurwitch got fired by the legendary director of such classics as Annie Hall and The Purple Rose of Cairo, she thought her career was over. Upon turning to her many showbiz pals for advice, however, Gurwitch quickly discovered that she was not alone. In this documentary, Gurwitch enlists the aid of filmmakers Chris Bradley and Kyle La Brache in traveling the country to interview such celebrities as Tim Allen, David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Jeff Garlin to find out exactly how they dealt with the heavy hand of rejection. Additional interviews with GM workers in Lansing, MI, who were handed their pink slips offer some tales that are tragically comedic and others that seems to reinforce the old adage about one door closing and another door opening, while a visit to job fairs and "outplacement services" show just what the jobless endure on a day-to-day basis. Conversations with the downsizers as well as the downsized offer viewers a chance to explore the topic from both sides as host Gurwitch reminds viewers that sometimes the greatest success stories are born of failure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Andy Borowitz, (more)
While Woody Allen has long fused comedy and drama in his films, he embraces the two styles in a new and unusual way in this feature. Sy (Wallace Shawn) is enjoying dinner with some friends when they begin debating the nature of the tragic and the humorous. Sy, observing that a very fine line separates the two, decides to demonstrate this notion by showing how the same essential story can be either funny or sad depending on the way certain elements are handled; for the rest of the film, we jump back and forth between two versions of the story of Melinda (Radha Mitchell), a young woman with some serious problems in her life. In the tragic version, Melinda crashes a dinner party thrown by old friends Laurel (Chloë Sevigny) and Lee (Jonny Lee Miller). When she arrives, Melinda is distraught and under the influence of pills and alcohol, much to the annoyance of Lee, an actor hoping to impress a producer who is one of his guests. After a bad breakup with her husband, Melinda lost custody of her children and came to New York City, where she became involved with Ellis Moonsong (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a handsome and well-mannered composer whose promises to her proved to be worthless. Meanwhile, on the funny side of town, Melinda shows up dazed and confused at the home of Susan (Amanda Peet) and Hobie (Will Ferrell), who are in the midst of a dinner party. Learning about the sad state of Melinda's love life after divorcing her husband and losing custody of her children, Susan decides to play Cupid and fix her friend up with a well-to-do dentist. However, neither Susan nor Melinda are aware that there is another man deeply interested in the troubled divorcée -- Hobie. Melinda and Melinda also features Josh Brolin, Vinessa Shaw, and noted theatrical director Gene Saks. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, (more)
- 2003
Tom Cairns directs the psychological comedy drama Marie and Bruce, adapted from the play by Wallace Shawn. Set over a period of 24 hours, the black comedy involves the troubled marriage of neurotic New Yorkers Marie (Julianne Moore) and Bruce (Matthew Broderick). What follows is a bleak psychological study of the breakdown of a modern relationship. Also starring Griffin Dunne and Campbell Scott. Musical score by Mark de Gli Antoni of Soul Coughing. Marie and Bruce was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julianne Moore, Matthew Broderick, (more)
Gary Ross, Oscar nominated for his Dave and Big screenplays, made his directorial debut with this comedy. The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon). She wants to watch MTV just when a Pleasantville marathon is about to begin. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange TV repairman (Don Knotts) supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David and Jennifer inside Pleasantville, where their new sitcom parents are businessman George Parker (William H. Macy) and wife Betty (Joan Allen). As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words, bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good Life." David revels in Pleasantville's Prozac-styled peacefulness. He fits right in, but Jennifer's 1990s attitude upsets the blandness balance, painting parts of Pleasantville in "living color." Repressed desires surface, cracks appear in the '50s lifestyles, and the Pleasantville populace finds their lives changing in strange, wonderful ways. It's liberating -- but there's also a darker side. This film breaks an all-time record with more than 1700 special effects shots. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, (more)
- 1990
African American entertainer Will Smith graduated from rap-music stardom to TV sitcom superstardom in the long-running NBC series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Co-produced by Quincy Jones, the series starred the twentysomething Smith as streetwise West Philadelphia teenager Will Smith (they must have stayed up nights thinking of that character name!), whose mother sends him to the West Coast to live with rich relatives in the cloistered California community of Bel-Air (mom felt that things were getting too dangerous for Will in his own neighborhood). The breezy, jive-talking Will proved to be quite a contrast to his upper-class relations, but despite obvious cultural and attitudinal difference, everyone got along quite well. Among Will's fellow occupants in the Bel-Air mansion were his uncle Philip Banks (James Avery), a prosperous attorney; Philip's wife Vivian (played first by Janet Hubert-Whitten, then by Daphne Maxwell Reid), a likeable lady who could simultaneously puncture Philip's pompousness and curb Will's ghetto-bred capriciousness; the couple's prissy, preppy son Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), whose attempts to emulate Will's freewheeling behavior always landed him in hot water; Carlton's sisters, the spoiled and somewhat airheaded Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and the lovably sardonic Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali); and the Banks' haughty butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell), who generally got all the best "put-down" punchlines. During the series' third season, Aunt Vivian gave birth to another child named Nicky (who, through the miracle of TV sitcom scriptwriting, became five years old within two years [played by Ross Bagley]). And in season four, Will and Carlton matriculated from high school to the University of Los Angeles, moving out of the mansion and into the pool house (all of a few yards away!). Making recurring appearances were Will Smith's musical partner Jeff Townes (aka "Jazzy Jeff") as Will's onscreen pal Jazz; Tyra Banks as Will's girlfriend Jackie Ames, who also hailed from West Philly; and Will's later sweetheart Lisa (Nia Long). Debuting September 10, 1990, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air lasted six seasons, becoming the nation's 16th most popular series during season three. The series ended on September 9, 1996. In the final episode, the Banks moved out of the mansion, though Will fully intended to remain a permanent Bel-Air resident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The Banks family learns a sobering lesson about racial profiling when Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) are caught "driving while black" in the car owned by Philip's white law partner Mr. Furth (John Petlock). Though the guys were driving with the owner's permission, they are thrown in jail because they fit the descriptions of two car thieves. Worried that they'll never get out of the holding tank, Will "confesses" to being a thief in front of a TV camera crew in order to alert Uncle Philip (James Avery) to his plight. Upon arriving at the police station to spring Will and Carlton, Philip is subjected to a barrage of insults and insinuations by the racist desk sergeant (Dan Desmond)--but when Mr. Furth shows up to explain the situation, it's a different story! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In the debut episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, it's difficult to say who is more upset when South Philly teenager Will Smith (played by rap artist Will Smith!) is uprooted from his old neighborhood and shipped off to his wealthy Los Angeles relatives by his concerned mother Vy. Will himself didn't ask to be moved, and has a lot of trouble warming up to his pampered cousins Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali}); meanwhile, his Uncle Philip (James Avery), a prominent attorney, is convinced that Will is a bad influence on his kids--especially after Ashley performs some impromptu rap lyrics in front of Phillip's astonished law partners. It is up to Will's Aunt Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten), Vy's sister, to act as mediator--and to convince both Will and Phillip that they've got a lot to learn about patience and tolerance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
