John Goodman Movies
With a talent as large as his girth, John Goodman proved himself both a distinguished character actor and engaging leading man. A native of St. Louis, MO, Goodman went to Southwest Missouri State University on a football scholarship, but an injury compelled him to seek out a less strenuous major. He chose the university Drama Department, attending classes with such stars-to-be as Tess Harper and Kathleen Turner. Moving to New York in 1975, he supported himself by performing in children's and dinner theater, appearing in television commercials, and working as a bouncer.Goodman made his off-Broadway debut in a 1978 staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and, a year later, graduated to Broadway in Loose Ends. His best Broadway showing was as the drunken, brutish Pap in Big River, Roger Miller's 1985 musical adaptation of Huckleberry Finn. Goodman has occasionally played out and out villains or louts (The Big Easy, Barton Fink), but his essential likeability endeared him to audiences even when his onscreen behavior was at its least sympathetic. He contributed topnotch supporting appearances to such films as Everybody's All-American (1988), Sea of Love (1989), Stella (1989), and Arachnophobia (1990), and starred in such films as King Ralph (1991), The Babe (1992, as Babe Ruth), Born Yesterday (1993), and The Flintstones (1994, as Fred Flintstone). Goodman did some of his best work in Matinee (1992), in which he starred as William Castle-esque horror flick entrepreneur Lawrence Woolsey, and topped himself in The Big Lebowski (1998), playing a quirky security-store owner. He was seen the following year with Nicolas Cage and Ving Rhames in Martin Scorsese's Bringing out the Dead as an ambulance driver.
Between 1988 and 1996, Goodman appeared as blue-collar patriarch Dan Conner on the hit TV sitcom Roseanne, a role that earned him four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe award; his additional TV credits included two 1995 made-for-cable movies: the title role in Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long and Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he earned another Emmy nomination. Announcing that the 1996-1997 season of Roseanne would be his last, Goodman limited himself to infrequent appearances on the series, his absences explained away as a by-product of a heart attack suffered by his character at the end of the previous season.
After making his 10th appearance on Saturday Night Live (2000), Goodman could be seen playing a red-faced bible salesman in director Joel Coen's award winning O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), and participated in Garry Shandling's film debut What Planet Are You From? (2000). He could be spotted playing an Oklahoma cop in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000), while Coyote Ugly (2000) and Storytelling (2001) found Goodman stepping back into the role of over-protective father. Interestingly enough, he donned hippie-gear to play a goth-chick's Leelee Sobieski dad in 2001's My First Mister.
Though Goodman's status as an amiable big guy was well established by the early 2000's, he didn't actually appear on-screen for two of his most beloved roles. In The Emperor's New Groove (2000), Goodman lent his vocal talents for the part of Pacha, a poor farmer who taught a spoiled prince (David Spade) some valuable lessons about life, love, and the meaning of societal standing. Any film-going youngster will recognize Goodman's voice as Monsters, Inc.'s kind-hearted Sully, the furry blue monster who risked life and limb to return a little girl to her home; and who other than Goodman would have been appropriate to voice the part of Baloo, The Jungle Book 2's (2003) freewheeling bear?
2001's ill received One Night at McCool's features Goodman as one of three men lusting after Liv Tyler's character, while 2002's Dirty Deeds took John to Australia, where he played an American mafia-goon thoroughly ill suited to the intricacies of culture down under. Though 2003's Masked and Anonymous was skewered by fans and critics alike, it did give Goodman the chance to work with industry bigwigs Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, Penélope Cruz, and legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. In 2004, Goodman got even more involved in the realm of family friendly movies and TV, lending his voice to the character of Larry on the animated show Father of the Pride. The next few years in his career would include many more such titles, like Cars, Evan Almighty, and Bee Movie, and in 2008, he played Pops Racer in the candy-colored big screen adaptation of the popular cartoon Speed Racer. By this time, Goodman had become a go-to guy for PG fare, and signed on next to provide the voice of Big Daddy for the jazz-age animated film The Princess and the Frog.
He earned good reviews for his work in the made-for-HBO biopic of Jack Kervorkian You Don't Know Jack in 2010. The next year he appeared in The Artist, the Best Picture Oscar winner, as the head of a Hollywood studio, and in another of the Best Picture nominees playing the doorman in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once summarized the moral of his novel Mother Night like so: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." In Keith Gordon's film adaptation of Vonnegut's book, Nick Nolte stars as Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American playwright living in Germany shortly before the U.S. entered World War II. Campbell is essentially apolitical; if he sometimes hobnobs with Nazi leaders, it's only because they're VIPs in his time, place, and social circle, and he cares for little besides his writing and his beloved wife Helga (Sheryl Lee). One day, Campbell is approached by Frank Wirtenan (John Goodman), an American intelligence agent who offers Campbell an unusual assignment -- a position as a radio commentator beaming Nazi propaganda broadcasts to U.S. troops across Europe, which in fact feature coded information that will aid the American war effort. Campbell agrees, but succeeds all too well -- he makes such a convincing Nazi sympathizer that at the end of the war, he finds it impossible to convince people he wasn't really a Nazi, and even those inclined to believe him feel he aided Germany as much as the Allies. After 15 years as a recluse in New York City, a racist tabloid prints a story about Campbell, and in 1961 he discovers himself behind bars, awaiting trial as a war criminal. Besides Nick Nolte, who gives an outstanding performance, the supporting cast also includes Alan Arkin, Frankie Faison, and Kirsten Dunst; Kurt Vonnegut Jr. also makes a cameo appearance. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, (more)
- 1987
Murder Ordained is the true story of a crime of passion in Emporia, Kansas. Terry Kinney plays the reverend Tom Bird, whose wife Sandy (Annabella Price) was found dead in 1983. At first, it seems as though Sandy was killed in a car accident. But highway patrolman John Rule (Keith Carradine) has a different theory: Rule believes that Bird murdered his wife out of love for his mistress (JoBeth Williams). A second killing in another Kansas county serves to confirm Rule's hypothesis. Filmed on location, the two-part Murder Ordained was originally telecast May 3 and 5, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, JoBeth Williams, (more)
A first feature from acclaimed actress Christine Lahti (who won an Academy Award for her short film Lieberman in Love in 1995), My First Mister explores the delicate relationship between two unlikely individuals who bring each other out of their protective shells. Jennifer (Leelee Sobieski), the film's narrator, is a Goth-obsessed, tattooed 17-year old who absorbs herself in death-laden music and poetry. Just graduating from school and immersed in a dysfunctional relationship with her out-there mother (Carol Kane), she finds a job at a local clothing store as a clerk. Her boss, Randall Harris (Albert Brooks), is a rigid, middle-aged type, who becomes uncomfortable when Jennifer begins to spy on him and follow his moves. She then cleans up her act a bit and lands a position as a stockperson, and Randall begins to take an interest in her. After a few outings where they attempt to relate their lives to each other, they begin to become close friends, effectively building confidence and bridging their considerable age gap. Also included in the cast are Desmond Harrington, Mary Kay Place, and John Goodman as Jennifer's hippie father. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi
- Starring:
- Albert Brooks, Leelee Sobieski, (more)
The writing, directing, and producing team of Joel Coen and Ethan Coen created this picaresque comedy (inspired in part by Homer's The Odyssey) set in the Deep South during the Depression. Suave and fancy-talking Everett Ulysses McGill (George Clooney), dim-witted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), and easily-excitable Pete (John Turturro) are serving time together on a prison chain gang. Everett knows where $1.2 million is hidden that's theirs for the taking, and the three manage to escape; however, a stranger soon warns them that they'll find treasure, but not the sort they're looking for. As Everett and his partners hit the road, they happen upon a gluttonous bible salesman, Big Dan Teague (John Goodman); meet up with Baby Face Nelson (Michael Badalucco) as he robs a bank; encounter three Sirens doing their washing; run into Everett's estranged wife Penny (Holly Hunter), who has told everyone her husband was killed in a train wreck; find themselves in the middle of a heated campaign between political boss Pappy O'Daniel (Charles Durning), and reformist candidate Homer Stokes (Wayne Duvall); and even find time to make a hit record as The Soggy Bottom Boys. Noted songwriter T-Bone Burnett helped compile the songs (combining vintage country blues tunes with originals in the same style), while Carter Burwell composed the background score. Incidentally, the title O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reference to the classic Preston Sturges comedy Sullivan's Travels, in which a director plans to make a serious "message picture" with that name. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Clooney, John Turturro, (more)
- 2011
This documentary about the history of LSU football discusses everything from the beginning, starting in 1893. Narrated by John Goodman, the film includes over 80 interviews, and follows the BCS trophy from where it's made, in Waterford, Ireland, on to a modern Saturday Night in Detroit's Tiger Stadium. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- 2001
First seen over the Showtime cable network on June 29, 2001, On the Edge is a compendium of three short science-fiction films, each with a decidedly feminist slant. The first segment, directed by Helen Mirren, is "Happy Birthday," in which a straight-A student (Sidney Tamilia Poitier) seeks recourse after she is "quota'd out" of graduate school. Next up is "The Other Side," directed by Mary Stuart Masterson, wherein a scientific genius (Anthony LaPaglia) clones himself upon learning that he has inoperable cancer -- only to find himself and his clone as two points in a romantic triangle. Closing out the program is writer/director Anne Heche's "Reaching Normal," the tale of a bored housewife (Andie McDowell) and her "telepathic twin," an eccentric college professor (Paul Rudd). The best of the batch is "Happy Birthday"; the other two stories are distressingly predictable. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andie MacDowell, Paul Rudd, (more)
The debut project from co-star Michael Douglas' production company Further Films, this comic crime caper uses the narrative devices of multiple points of view and flashbacks, à la Rashomon (1951) and that classic film's many imitators. A late-night slaying at a bar called McCool's is the point of departure as Detective Dehling (John Goodman), bartender Randy (Matt Dillon), and Randy's lawyer-cousin Carl (Paul Reiser) project their fantasies onto the sexy Jewel (Liv Tyler), whose boyfriend (Andrew Dice Clay) is the corpse in question. As each man spills his guts -- Dehling to his priest, Randy to an aging hit man (Douglas), and Carl to his therapist (Reba McEntire) -- it becomes clear that the femme fatale Jewel has been manipulating the smitten men for her own purposes, namely a house full of cutting-edge electronic gadgets. One Night at McCool's is the debut American film from Norwegian commercial and music video director Harald Zwart. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, (more)
Writer/director Chris Butler puts his experience working on Coraline and Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride to good use in this charmingly morbid tale of an eccentric young hero facing supernatural forces that would make most grown-ups cower in fear. Eleven-year-old Norman Babcock (voice of Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a young misfit with a remarkable gift: He sees dead people. Although Norman's clairvoyance allows him the unique opportunity to enjoy the company of his beloved grandmother (Elaine Stritch) long after she has ceased to be, it also drives his frustrated father Perry (Jeff Garlin) and popularity-obsessed sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick) up the wall at home and makes him the target of dim-witted bully Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) at school. His only friend is portly Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), who isn't exactly a beacon of coolness. When Norman's deceased uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman), a local pariah, warns the young boy that he must save their small town of Blithe Hollow from a witch's curse that has plagued the area for centuries, the young creature-feature addict isn't entirely sure how to respond -- that is, until the sky turns red, the clouds start to swirl, and the dead rise up from their graves. Now, as a terrified mob takes to the streets with torches in hand, it's up to Norman, Courtney, Alvin, Neil, and Neil's older brother Mitch (Casey Affleck) to put things right, even if it means confronting the 300-year-old curse that has haunted Blithe Hollow ever since the notorious witch hunts of the 18th century. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, (more)
This comedy chronicles the romantic exploits of a rather stodgy young man with a traffic fetish. Even as a child Charlie Dunlap was totally fixated by freeway traffic. Charlie's biggest idol is Alan Davenport, a radio traffic reporter. As a young man, Charlie falls in love with the lively, free-spirited Amy and they become lovers the night before she leaves for college. Their relationship disintegrates during her absence and Charlie ends up moving to LA to be near the great freeways. Even his rundown apartment overlooks the freeway. Single-minded Charlie is determined to get a job working for Alan Davenport, but his efforts to get hired at Metro Traffic are thwarted by an officious employee. He goes to a neighboring cafe and there discovers Amy working as a waitress. When not working, she performs with an experimental dance troupe that stages its productions at toxic-waste dump sites. Though he wants to start up their relationship again, she tells him she has found another. Charlie ends up having a passionate affair with his landlady. Later he meets Davenport and manages to achieve his dream and become his assistant. Through it all he still longs for Amy and in the end the two do indeed come together. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Josh Charles, Anne Heche, (more)
- 2009
Johanna Wokalek, John Goodman, and David Wenham star in director Sönke Wortmann's adaptation of author Donna Woolfolk Cross' novel about a woman who dared to live like no other woman in history, and found herself at the center of a treacherous political conspiracy. The daughter of a 9th Century European priest, Johanna (Wokalek) defies dogmatic doctrine by learning to read and write. Later, after Johanna's secret gets out, she receives special permission to parochial school in Dorstadt. The only female in the school, she is placed in the care of Gerold (David Wenham), a brave knight with whom she falls deeply in love. But their romance is shattered when the Normans attack, prompting Johanna to assume the persona of a man and take flight to a Fulda monastery. Ordained in the practice of healing, Johanna later becomes the private doctor of Pope Sergius (Goodman) in Rome. Her fate takes an extraordinary turn, however, when Bishop Anastasius poisons Pope Sergius in an attempt to claim his title, and Johanna ascends to the throne instead. Though at first no one suspects that the new pope is in fact a female, Johanna's secret soon threatens to become known after she discovers that she is pregnant with Gerold's child. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johanna Wokalek, John Goodman, (more)
Sally Field goes the Roseanne route in Punchline. Field plays a housewife and mother who suddenly develops the urge to be a comedienne. Her comic instincts are on target, but her timing and delivery stinks. Tom Hanks, a stand-up comic with a few years' experience under his belt, offers to teach Field the ropes. As they get to know each other, Hanks and Field begin to pick up on each other's shortcomings; though Hanks has far more talent than Field, for example, he has a positively ruinous habit of expressing his deep-down dislike of everyone else in the world, and this frequently alienates his audience. Writer-director David Seltzer times Punchline like a good joke; he continually sets up for the expected, then pulls a last-minute fast one, keeping the film lively and unpredictable throughout. The supporting cast, coincidentally including future Roseanne star John Goodman, is uniformly superb. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Tom Hanks, (more)
Combining influences from Tex Avery cartoons to Sam Raimi horror movies to 1940s B-movies, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen followed up the stylish film noir of their debut, Blood Simple (1984), with this frantic screwball comedy. H.I. "Hi" McDonnough (Nicholas Cage) is a philosophical but slightly dim career criminal who has been arrested so often that he gets to know "Ed," short for Edwina (Holly Hunter), the officer who takes his mug shots. Hi takes a shine to Ed and promises to go straight if she marries him. She accepts, and they move to the Arizona desert, where Hi holds down a factory job and blissfully watches the sunsets with Ed. Their serenity is shattered when the couple decides that they want a child and discover that, as Hi puts it, "Ed's womb was a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." (One of the film's many delights is Hi's unexpectedly flowery dime-novel narration.) Ed goes into a severe depression until she sees an item in the news. Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson), owner of a chain of unpainted furniture stores, has become the father of quintuplets, and he and his wife joke that they now have more children than they know what to do with. In what seems like a perfect "helps you, helps me" situation, Hi and Ed kidnap one of the Arizona infants, figuring that they'll have a baby and the Arizonas will have less of a burden. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, (more)
Kevin Smith steps his foot into horror territory with this politically tinged fright flick starring Michael Parks (From Dusk Till Dawn, Grindhouse) as a controversial Fred Phelps-ish reverend who brings his own brand of zealotry to a wayward group of teens. Smith directs from his own long-in-development script. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, (more)
Revenge of the Nerds is the juvenile sex comedy perhaps most synonymous with the 1980s, alternating gags and scantily clad women with a power to the underdogs mentality that prompted three sequels. The handsome jocks of Alpha Beta, led by Stan (Ted McGinley), run Adams College, which means that when they burn down their house after a stunt involving grain alcohol and an open flame, they kick a bunch of socially inept freshman out of their dorm and into the gymnasium. But sleeping on cots is only the beginning of their worries, as the so-called nerds soon become the target of pranks by Alpha Beta, assisted by Betty (Julie Montgomery) and the gorgeous gals of Pi Delta Pi. Instead of taking the abuse sitting down, the displaced freshman, led by Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Robert Carradine), buy a ramshackle house, affiliate themselves with the only national chapter who will take them (the all-black Lambda Lambda Lambda), and use their superior intellect to launch a counterstrike. The bespectacled but loveable geeks set up surveillance cameras in the Pi bathroom and put liquid heat in the athletes' jock straps, then draft a sister sorority of misfits (Omega Mu) to strengthen their resources. The frats quickly become bitter rivals, and the goal is to win the annual fraternity decathlon, which involves such feats as a burping contest and a go-cart race, with bragging rights (and perhaps peace of mind) at stake. Look for John Goodman and future thirtysomething cast member Timothy Busfield in small roles, and expect a torrent of nasal laughter. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, (more)
The first season of Roseanne served as an introduction to the working-class Conner family and their humorous struggles to get through the day in Lanford, IL. Roseanne is presented as the sarcastic head of the household, snapping rude comments to everyone and working full time at Wellman Plastics. Dan (John Goodman) is a freelance building contractor, but his salesman father (Ned Beatty) thinks that he should be doing more with his life. Frequently shouting back at her mother's comments, Becky's (Lecy Goranson) interests lie mostly in boys; during this season, she prefers the tougher Johnny (Tony Crane) to the wealthier Chip (Jared Rushton). Darlene (Sara Gilbert) is a tomboy who shares her mother's caustic wit and constantly fights with her little brother, D.J. (Michael Fishman ). Darlene approaches getting her first period with serious dread, and she appears to have developed a high propensity for manipulation. Neurotic Jackie (Laurie Metcalf ) works at the plastics factory and dates the manager, Booker (George Clooney). In the season finale, Roseanne finally quits her factory job. This season went through several writers, including Roseanne's first husband, Bill Pentland. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
The second season of Roseanne allowed for a lot less financial stability in the lives of the Conners, beginning with Roseanne's unemployment. She tries out several jobs this season, including telephone sales, computers, Chicken Divine, the Lobo Lounge, and the beauty salon. Dan's (John Goodman) future bike shop is foreshadowed when old friend Ziggy (Jay O. Sanders) rides into town on his motorcycle. The reoccurring character of Arnie is introduced, played by Tom Arnold, Roseanne's future husband and also one of the show's writers. Becky (Lecy Goranson) starts getting more defiant against her mother, while Darlene (Sara Gilbert) shows some signs of a talent for poetry, even though she desperately conceals it under a thick layer of cynicism. Jackie's (Laurie Metcalf) various couplings rage on, with one guy actually proposing to her. But the big deal for Jackie this season is her acceptance into the police academy. This leads to one of her many fights with her mother, featured in the same Thanksgiving episode in which Dan's father first puts the moves on widowed Crystal (Natalie West). The season ends with Dan building Roseanne an office to pursue her interest in writing. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
Season three of Roseanne opened following the media frenzy surrounding the infamous baseball game where Roseanne slaughtered the National Anthem on television. Married to Roseanne in 1990, Tom Arnold makes a few guest appearances and starts writing episodes as well. The Conner family's problems with money escalate in this season, when Dan (John Goodman) gives Arnie (Tom Arnold) a loan right before he finds himself in debt. Dan also gets injured at work and Roseanne starts working at the coffee shop. Becky's (Lecy Goranson) behavioral problems escalate significantly as she gets sent to the principal's office, runs away from home, throws a party, and steals Dan's motorcycle with her boyfriend, marking the first appearance of Mark Healy (Glenn Quinn). Darlene (Sara Gilbert) goes to her first school dance and develops an interest in boys, but she still would rather play baseball than wear a dress. Dan's father, Ed (Ned Beatty), proposes to their family friend, Crystal (Natalie West), who is pregnant with his child. Also, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) becomes a full-fledged police officer and breaks up with her boyfriend, Gary (Brian Kerwin). The season ends with Ziggy's (Jay O. Sanders) return to Lanford and the birth of the motorcycle shop. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
Season four of Roseanne starts with the opening up of Lanford Custom Cycle, Dan's (John Goodman) new bike shop, while Roseanne gets a job as a waitress at Rodbell's diner, with co-worker Bonnie (Bonnie Sheridan) and boss Leon (Martin Mull). Becky (Lecy Goranson) has an on-again/off-again relationship with greaser guy Mark (Glenn Quinn), much to her parents' disapproval. However, Roseanne lets her go on birth control, and Dan lets Mark work as a mechanic at his bike shop. Darlene (Sara Gilbert) starts dressing in black and meets Mark's brother, the low-key David (Johnny Galecki), who is her perfect foil. D.J. gets upset when his next-door neighbor friend, Todd Bowman (Troy Davidson), moves away, but at least he does well in school. In Jackie's (Laurie Metcalf) life, she starts seeing a therapist, accidentally sleeps with Arnie (Tom Arnold), and runs into Booker (George Clooney) for the last time. She also makes friends with Nancy (Sandra Bernhard), who is introduced in the two-part Las Vegas episode. The first of many pregnancies to come on the show kicks off with the birth of Crystal's (Natalie West) child. By the season finale, the Conners are back in financial instability when Rodbell's diner closes and the bike shop goes out of business. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
Season five of Roseanne contains some of the best-remembered episodes of the show, and marked the first of many Emmy awards (Laurie Metcalf won for Best Supporting Actress in a comedy series in 1992). The season started in the usual dire financial straits, with the bike shop out of business and Roseanne out of work. Her mother, Bev (Estelle Parsons) moves into a retirement home in Lanford and helps to finance the sandwich shop, the Lanford Lunch Box. In the two-part season opener, Mark (Glenn Quinn) and Becky (Lecy Goranson) elope and move to Minneapolis. Right after they leave, Darlene turns 16 and quickly advances her relationship with David (Johnny Galecki), who ends up moving in with the Conners. Darlene dyes her hair black, stages an animal rights protest at the Lanford Lunch Box, and goes to the Daisy Chainsaw concert with new next-door neighbor Molly Tilden (Danielle Harris).This season contained some pretty heavy episodes, like when Roseanne and Jackie's father died or the two-part episode where Jackie left her abusive boyfriend, Fisher (Matt Roth). Also significant is the episode where Nancy (Sandra Bernhard) reveals that she's gay and introduces her lover, Marla (Morgan Fairchild). Other guest stars that appeared this season include Joan Collins, Loretta Lynn, Ed Begley Jr., and Red Buttons. The season ends when a business opportunity gets messed up by shady partner Roger (Tim Curry), and Darlene has to decide between staying with David in Lanford or going to art school in Chicago. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
In season six of Roseanne, Darlene moves away to art school in Chicago leaving David (Johnny Galecki) behind. However, David and Darlene try secretly living together for a few episodes, but Dan and Roseanne eventually find out and it causes a big uproar. The biggest change this season is actress Lecy Goranson leaving the series to attend college, and Sarah Chalke taking over as the new Becky in the episode "Homecoming." In keeping with this kind of soap opera tradition, a few of this season's guest stars played their characters from the soaps One Life to Live and General Hospital. This season features two of the most memorable episodes of the series: "A Stash From the Past," where Dan and Roseanne find an old bag of pot, and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," where Roseanne goes out to the gay bar and gets kissed by Mariel Hemingway. Also, Jackie gets pregnant with Fred's (Michael O'Keefe) baby, goes into labor, and then accepts his marriage proposal for the season finale. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
Season seven opens with Roseanne announcing her pregnancy, which later becomes medically complicated. Darlene and David break up and Roseanne tells Darlene she can't go back to school. Meanwhile, David still lives in the Conner family house, causing increasing tensions between him and Mark, which leads to an even bigger fight between Darlene and Becky. Eventually, Mark and Becky move out of the house and into a trailer. Darlene gets a new boyfriend (Danny Masterson), and David shows an interest in a couple of girls (Lisa Rieffel, Traci Lords). However, they get back together toward the end of the season when Darlene reluctantly confesses her true feelings to him on the front porch. This season contains two really memorable episodes: "All About Rosey" is the hour-long clip show featuring classic sitcom moms and the season finale, "Sherwood Schwartz," is a hilarious tribute to the legendary television writer/producer and his magical creation Gilligan's Island. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
Season eight of Roseanne is the last regular season, leading into the crazy departure of season nine. A lot of soap opera situations occur, with the birth of Roseanne's baby, the engagement of Leon and Scott, Darlene's pregnancy announcement, Darlene and David's wedding, and then Dan's heart attack. As usual, the Conners divert to several side jobs and business propositions, leading to an unexpected check and subsequent trip to Disney World. One of the highlights of season eight is the black-and-white "Fifties Show" episode and legend Tony Curtis appearing as the ballroom dance instructor in "Ballroom Blitz." The season ends with Dan's heart attack at Darlene's wedding reception that leads to a big domestic dispute with Roseanne. According to the entire series finale episode "Into That Good Night" aired on May 20, 1997, Dan was supposed to die during the heart attack. Apparently, the character of Roseanne was fantasizing the wildly unbelievable pattern of events that comprise season nine. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
- 1997
Season nine of Roseanne begins with the Conners winning one hundred million dollars in the lottery, and the rest of the season maintains the same sort of unbelievability. A prince falls for Jackie, the Conners party with rich people, and Roseanne battles terrorists just in the first few episodes. Dan almost has an affair in California and Roseanne almost has an affair with her old boss' son (James Brolin). D.J. grows up and gets a girlfriend (Heather Matarazzo), and Bev comes out of the closet and gets a girlfriend, Joyce (Ruta Lee). Finally, Dan's mentally unstable mother, Audrey (Debbie Reynolds), pays a strange visit, and Darlene's baby is born premature. The admittedly bizarre series of events in season nine are dealt with in the conclusion episode, "Into That Good Night," where Roseanne delivers a monologue. Apparently, Dan was supposed to die during his heart attack at the end of season eight, and season nine was all in the imagination of the character of Roseanne. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roseanne, John Goodman, (more)
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