Phil Leirness Movies

Can a gay character actor find happiness with a disgraced Republican powerbroker? The actor seems to think so, even if no one else does, in this satiric mockumentary. Dan Butler is an actor who becomes the subject of a documentary by Phil Leirness, who's eager to look into the career of one of America's best supporting actors. During an interview, Butler explains to Leirness that he's become fascinated with the career of Republican political strategist Karl Rove, as he's a "supporting player" in the George W. Bush White House but is also one of the most important figures in the administration. Butler decides to create and stage a one-man-show about Rove, but since he knows next to nothing about him, Butler's first step is to start doing some research. The more Butler learns about Rove, the more fascinated he becomes, until he's developed a head-over-heels infatuation with the former presidential advisor, which begins taking both his show and his life down an increasingly strange path, with Leirness along for the ride. Karl Rove, I Love You was conceived, co-written and co-directed by Dan Butler, who cut his teeth as a director helming episodes of the television comedy series Frasier, where he was a regular cast member. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A would-be filmmaker comes up with an exciting new way to finance his first feature film -- kidnapping -- in The Party Crashers, an independent black comedy. The writer (Phil Leirness, who wrote and directed this film) keeps getting rejection slips for his latest screenplay, but rather than compromise his creative vision, he and two of his friends -- his bisexual lover, who is an aspiring actor (Burt Bulos), and a mutual friend (Josh Randall) -- hatch a scheme to crash a party being thrown by some upscale Hollywood types and stage a robbery. By the time the three get to the bash, the plan has gotten more ambitious; they grab Carolyn (Shawnee Smith), knowing her parents are wealthy, and tell them they're holding her hostage, demanding $5 million for her safe return. However, most of the guests at the party hardly pay any attention to the uninvited guests, the ones that do are too ineffectual to do much about them, and Carolyn seems more amused than upset at the prospect of being kidnapped -- not to mention that she doesn't get along well with her family, so they're in no hurry to pay up. The supporting cast includes B-movie stalwart (and one-time U.S. Ambassador to Mexico) John Saxon as Carolyn's father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide