Amy Poehler Movies
Getting her start in a comedy team called "My Mother's Fleabag" while studying at Boston College, the frantically energized Amy Poehler has become an improv queen of sorts on the comedy circuit. After graduation, Poehler got involved with Second City and ImprovOlympic in Chicago, where she worked with improv guru Del Close and began touring. After joining up with the sketch comedy group The Upright Citizens Brigade, she moved to New York City with them in 1996. The group had a show on Comedy Central for three seasons and opened their own theater in New York. Her big mainstream breakthrough came in January 2002, when she was promoted from featured player to member of the repertory cast of Saturday Night Live. Two of her most well-known SNL characters have been the one-legged dating show contestant and the combative trailer-park wife. Her other television appearances included reoccurring characters on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and Undeclared. On the big screen, she seemed to make an impression despite her small roles. In Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, she played a Tourette's Syndrome sufferer, and in Wet Hot American Summer she was a snobby drama club leader. After appearing in the feature Martin & Orloff with the other members of the Upright Citizens Brigade, she would star with Jack Black and Ben Stiller in Envy in 2004, the same year that she memorably portrayed a wannabe hip mom in the Tina Fey-penned comedy Mean Girls.The following few years found Poehler skillfully balancing her small-screen career with her feature aspirations, and whether she was sitting at the "Weekend Update" desk, playing the wife of real-life husband Will Arnett on Arrested Development, or waiting tables in Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, the increasingly busy actress/comedian could always be counted on for a few hearty laughs. Additional appearances in both the kiddie-friendly Spongebob Squarepants and the terrifyingly hilarious Wonder Showzen during this period in her career would offer hilarious proof of Poehler's crafty ability to alternate between subversive adult material and harmless kid cartoons with an ease that no doubt helped to make her a hit with audiences young and old alike. Despite substantial appearances in (Donnie Darko director) Richard Kelly's eagerly anticipated sophomore feature Southland Tales and Alec Baldwin's remake Shortcut to Happiness going largely unseen when both films languished without a release date for far longer than anyone would have anticipated, fans in need of a Poehler feature fix would find little cause to complain as the actress turned up in The Ex, Blades of Glory -- again opposite husband Arnett -- and Shrek the Third in 2007. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
American independent filmmaker Lawrence Blume makes his feature debut with the absurd dark comedy Martin & Orloff, starring a lot of the folks from the Upright Citizens Brigade. Martin Flam (Ian Roberts) designs mascot costumes for a corporate chain of Chinese restaurants. After a failed suicide attempt, he goes to see the incompetent therapist Dr. Eric Orloff (Matt Walsh). Under the guise of conducting therapy sessions, the quack doctor then drags Martin on a series of seemingly random adventures about town. Dr. Orloff then recruits a gang of oddballs and malcontents (played by Katie Roberts, Sal Graziano, David Cross, and H. Jon Benjamin) to help Martin face his fears. The film also includes cameos from comedians Janeane Garofalo, Tina Fey, Andy Richter, and Amy Poehler. Martin & Orloff was screened at the 2002 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, (more)
1980s teen comedies finally get the parody they so richly deserve with Wet Hot American Summer, the first feature film from writer/director David Wain and co-screenwriter Michael Showalter, formerly of the sketch comedy troupe the State. It's the last day of the summer season at Camp Firewood, and as camp director Beth (Janeane Garofalo) prepares to wrap things up, the staff of teenage counselors realize this is their last chance to do something about the summer romances that have been brewing for the past three months. Sweet but shy Coop (Michael Showalter) is crazy about pretty Katie (Marguerite Moreau), but there's the problem of her severely moody boyfriend Andy (Paul Rudd). Meanwhile, Victor (Ken Marino) is trying to score with sexy Abby (Marisa Ryan), who is known to make friends easily, and McKinley (Michael Ian Black) and Ben (Bradley Cooper) attempt to keep their hot and heavy relationship a secret. Meanwhile, arts and crafts teacher Gail (Molly Shannon) turns to her students for comfort as her marriage falls apart, drama coach Susie (Amy Poehler) tries to whip the talent show into shape with Ben's help, and camp chef Gene (Christopher Meloni) deals with his unique sexual quirks with the help of a talking can of vegetables (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin). Beth even finds time for romance with socially inept astrophysicist Henry (David Hyde Pierce), but first Henry has to save Camp Firewood from a large piece of space junk about to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Like Wain and Showalter, Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black, and Joe Lo Truglio (who appears in a small role) were also members of the State; fellow State alumnus Kerri Kenney was cast in a supporting role in the film, but her character didn't appear in the final cut. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, (more)
Yet another Saturday Night Live alumnus makes his bid for big-screen success as Rob Schneider, best remembered as the "Making copies!" guy, tackles his first leading role in this broad comedy. Deuce (Rob Schneider) earns a meager living as a professional fish tank cleaner until he's asked to housesit for a gigolo. Deuce mistakenly answers the gigolo's business phone and finds himself having sex with a woman he's never met and getting paid for it (not a bad deal, since women generally avoid Deuce like the Ebola virus). It's not long before Deuce learns that there's more to selling your body than one might expect: for example, being re-styled by your pimp or having to explain your new source of income when the owner of the house gets home. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo was the first feature film produced by Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison; Sandler himself makes a cameo appearance, while Oded Fehr, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Marlo Thomas highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, (more)
