Todd Barry Movies
His sense of identity fading into nothingness after the spotlights dim and he experiences a close brush with mortality, a retired wrestler begins to evaluate his life while considering the comeback that could very well kill him in director Darren Aronofsky's poignant portrait of an introspective former superstar in the twilight of his career. Back in his heyday, wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was an icon in the ring. His image immortalized in action figures and video games, he would headline arenas across the globe. Twenty years later, those glory days have passed, and Randy is forced to earn his keep by brawling before handfuls of fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. In the wake of a heart attack, the former icon attempts to earn a little extra cash while working in a deli and making an effort to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). Yet, despite Randy's continued attempts at convincing local stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) to settle down with him in his humble trailer, the ring still calls to him. Later, when the prospect of a high-profile rematch with his longtime nemesis presents itself, Randy is forced to weigh his mortality against his desire to hear the crowd roar one last time. The Wrestler snagged two Oscar nominations, one for Best Actor (Rourke) and one for Best Supporting Actress (Tomei). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, (more)
- 2007
A 15-minute component of Cartoon Network's cutting-edge "Adult Swim" weekend block, the CGI series Lucy, Daughter of the Devil was described as a "family show"--neglecting to mention whose family. Heroine Lucy was the 21-year-old daughter of Satan Himself, who had persuaded the girl's human mother to bear his child in exchange for a Datsun 280-XS. Since he was obliged to remain close to the "home office", Satan could only carry on a long-distance cell phone relationship with Lucy, who'd relocated to San Francisco. Rebelling against her heritage, Lucy--a normal human in every respect except for her horns--shocked her father by dating a radio DJ named Jesus. Satan's outrage was understandable, since this particular Jesus was the genuine, bonafide Son of God, and any romantic relationship with the Messiah and Lucy would spoil her chances of taking over the family business. Meanwhile, the Vatican had targetted Lucy for extinction, sending out a "hit squad" known as the Specical Clergy--consisting of two priests, Giuseppe and Benetti, and a nun named Mary, the deadliest member of the trio. Other characters included Satan's personal assistant Becky, aka The Devil's Advocate; Jesus' best friend and closest associate, the eternal yes-man Judas; and Bob Whitehead, a Satan-worshipping senator with presidential aspirations. The series was cocreated by Home Movies' Loren Bouchard, with several of Bouchard's longtime associates (H. Jon Benjamin, Sam Seder etc.) supplying the voices. Introduced as a one-shot segment on October 30, 2005, Lucy, Daughter of Satan officially joined the Adult Swim lineup on September 9, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H. Jon Benjamin, Melissa Bardin Galsky, (more)
An unemployed, alcoholic thirtysomething who still lives with his mother and can't seem to muster the motivation to turn his life around finds that all's fair in love and softball when his team is threatened with ejection from the league in a raunchy sports comedy starring Howard Stern Show regular Artie Lange. For the sluggers from Ed's Bar and Swill, the weekly trip to the local diamond is more about drinking and roughhousing than it is about such technicalities as hitting home runs and striking out the opposing team. When their favorite pastime is threatened by the ultra-competitive athleticism of the league's villainous perennial champions -- led by local gym owner and current mayoral candidate Manganelli (Anthony de Sando) -- this motley group of hard-drinking sportsmen must make one final push for the pennant and end their unprecedented losing streak if they hold out any hope of making it to another season. Ralph Macchio, Seymour Cassel, and Laurie Metcalf co-star, and longtime Saturday Night Live contributor Frank Sebastiano makes his directorial debut. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Artie Lange, Ralph Macchio, (more)
- 1999
Writer/director Mitch Hedberg makes his feature-film debut with this comedy about working stiffs in Minneapolis. Hedberg stars in Los Enchiladas! as Lee, a prep cook at a Mexican-style chain restaurant near a Twin Cities shopping mall. While Lee is something less than ambitious and doesn't take well to responsibility, he finds it thrust upon him when his shift manager takes a powder and the head chef decides it's time to leave the restaurant and pursue his dream -- writing menus for other people. Meanwhile, Lee has to deal with cranky co-workers and even crankier customers as the day wears on. Los Enchiladas! was shown at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mitch Hedberg, Jana Johnson, (more)
- 1997
Between Larry's (Garry Shandling) wining and dining of paramour Lori Loughlin, Hank's attempt to romance paralegal Michelle (Cecil Hoffman), and Phil's scheme to hold fake auditions in hopes of meeting an actress, it seems that nearly everyone involved with the show is feeling a bit lonely. Despite each desperate attempt at a little romance, however, strike one occurs when money turns up missing from Larry's wallet and the host hastily accuses Loughlin of theft. When Hank books Michelle's precocious son, Roger (Christopher Riccio), on the show in a desperate bid to impress, it's strike two when the plan backfires as the camera-shy boy freezes up on the air. When Phil is caught faking auditions by victim Jenette Robbins' manager, the jig is up, the inning is over, and any chance for romance is quickly dashed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Despite head writer Phil's (Wallace Langham) claims that female comics aren't funny, Artie (Rip Torn) and Larry (Garry Shandling) hire Wendy Traston (Sarah Silverman) on as a new writer. When Phil purposefully fails to submit Wendy's jokes for Larry's monologue, Beverly (Penny Johnson) takes it upon herself to get the jokes to Larry. Catching wind of the writers' conflict, Artie threatens to fire both Phil and Wendy if they don't resolve their differences and get Larry the monologue in a timely fashion. Meanwhile, Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) gets so suspicious that Kevin Nealon is trying to steal his position as sidekick that he begins displaying symptoms of a heart attack. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
