David Alan Grier Movies
David Alan Grier may be best known as a dexterous TV comedy star, but he is also a multi-talented veteran of musicals, plays, and numerous films. Born in Detroit, Grier graduated with a B.A. in radio, TV, and film from the University of Michigan. Shortly after earning his master's degree at the Yale School of Drama, Grier made his Tony award-nominated Broadway debut in 1981, starring in the musical The First. Along with a stint in the hit musical Dreamgirls, Grier also did Shakespeare and acted in the off-Broadway drama A Soldier's Play. Moving to film, Grier earned the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor prize for his first feature, Robert Altman's Streamers (1983). Grier was subsequently one of several cast members to make the transition from stage to screen when A Soldier's Play was adapted into the critically lauded, Best Picture nominee A Soldier's Story (1984). Grier moved to lighter cinematic fare with a starring role in the advertising parody Beer (1985) and appeared in a series of undistinguished films, including From the Hip (1986) and Almost an Angel (1990).Grier's brief role in Keenen Ivory Wayans' dead-on blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988), however, turned into an even more fruitful collaboration when Wayans cast Grier in his comedy sketch show In Living Color. Throughout In Living Color's 1990-1994 run, Grier created some of the show's most memorable characters, including flamboyant, circle-snapping critic Antoine Merriweather of "Men On. . ." Grier maintained his film career by appearing as himself in Altman's Hollywood satire The Player (1992) and co-starring in the Eddie Murphy vehicle Boomerang (1992), as well as Damon Wayans' superhero spoof Blankman (1994). After the show ended, Grier continued to alternate between TV and films, executive producing and starring in the short-lived series The Preston Chronicles (1995), as well as appearing in the Robin Williams hit Jumanji (1995). Grier re-teamed with his "Men On" cohort Damon Wayans for the latter's 1998 sitcom Damon, but it failed to match In Living Color's popularity. Grier notched a ratings hit, and got to display his dramatic chops with his performance as a Black Panther in the miniseries The 60s (1999). After appearing in the lackluster Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) and Return to Me (2000), Grier took another shot at sitcom success as the title Secret Serviceman in DAG (2000). He subsequently tried starring in a number of sitcoms that failed to take off, but always found consistent supporting work, with recurring roles on Life with Bonnie, Crank Yankers, and in several feature films.
Grier also returned to the stage in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and in 2008, he was given his own show, a no-holds-barred mock-news program in the style of the Daily Show called Chocolate News, which presented both real and fictional news stories from an African American perspective. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
A baseball player stuck in a losing streak gets some heavenly help in the second sequel to Disney's 1994 hit Angels in the Outfield. Eddie Everett (Patrick Warburton) is a pitcher with the Anaheim Angels who has been in a slump ever since a bungled play helped his team lose the pennant a year ago. Depressed, Eddie has lost confidence in his abilities; his marriage to Claire (Rebecca Jenkins) is on the rocks, and when Claire decides to move on, she leaves it to Eddie to watch over their 13-year-old daughter Laurel (Brittney Irvin). Laurel loves her father, but they're all but strangers to each other, and she isn't sure what she can do to help him. One night, Laurel prays for help for her dad, and her prayer is answered in the form of a guardian angel, Bob "Bungler" Bugler (David Alan Grier). Bob was a singularly unimpressive ball player who died ten years earlier, and has been trying to earn his wings ever since; Bob hopes that by helping Laurel, he can prove his worth to St. Peter, and by helping Eddie, he might get one last change to play in the big leagues. Angels in the Infield also features Kurt Fuller as Simon, Eddie's agent, and Colin Fox as The Devil, who has plans of his own regarding Eddie's career. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Warburton, Brittney Irvin, (more)
- 2000
The title of this NBC sitcom refers to its protagonist, Secret Service agent Jerome "Dag" Daggett (by an amazing coincidence, the letters in the title also form the initials of the series' star, David Allen Grier). During an assassination attempt on the president of the United States (David Rasche), Dag's efforts to protect his charge, though eminently successful, serve to make him look like a fool (he dodges right instead of left ). Quickly reassigned to a detail where he won't be able to do any harm, Dag is placed in charge of protecting Hillary-like first lady Judith Whitman (elta Burke) and her troublesome teenage daughter Camilla (Lea Moreno Young). As Dag dreams of restoring his former prestige in the Service, he is forced to content himself with walking the First Lady's dog and purchasing her groceries. Gradually, Dag realizes that he will never escape his exile: Despite their initial protestations, Judith and Camilla decide that they enjoy his company and, funnily enough, he enjoys theirs. Originally scheduled for an October 31, 2000, debut, DAG was delayed until November 14 due to some last-minute format-tinkering. The series' production staff included Andrew Gordon, Eileen Conn, and Jack Burdett, all veterans of the popular sitcom Just Shoot Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Alan Grier, Delta Burke, (more)
Originally aired as a two-part miniseries on NBC, The 60's follows two families whose lives mirror much of the political and social tumult of that decade. The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian (Jerry O'Connell) joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam, Michael (Josh Hamilton) becomes involved in the civil rights movement and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy becomes involved in radical politics, and Katie (Julia Stiles) gets pregnant, moves to San Francisco and joins a hippie commune. Meanwhile, the Taylors are an African-American family living in the deep South. When Willie Taylor (Charles S. Dutton), a minister and civil rights organizer, is shot to death, his son Emmet (Leonard Roberts) moves to the city and eventually joins the Black Panthers, serving as a bodyguard for Fred Hampton (David Alan Grier). The 60's incorporates much newsreel footage from the era in an attempt to give the proceedings a greater realism, as well as a soundtrack of many popular songs of the era, including a new recording of Bob Dylan's Chimes Of Freedom by Dylan and Joan Osborne. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hamilton, Julia Stiles, (more)
A Saintly Switch is a fantasy comedy about a football player switching bodies with his pregnant wife as a result of a magic trick gone bad. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1999
- R
Despite the efforts of her sleazy attorney, Mr. Butz (David Alan Grier), teen drug dealer/car thief Crystal (Natasha Lyonne) is sentenced to a 25-year prison term, the first segment of which will be served in a youth correctional facility where she will be treated for her rampant bulimia. There, in-between binge/purge marathons with her fellow eating-disordered inmates and relentless harassment of the hapless authorities, she fends off the lesbian advances of her psychotic cellmate, Cyclona (Maria Celedonio), a serial killer who's just received a life sentence. The two escape together and embark on a cross-country road trip in search of Sister Gomez (Vincent Gallo), the beneficent nun who protected Cyclona from the sexual predations of her family during her troubled childhood south of the border. Where writer/director Matthew Bright's original Freeway was a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway 2 riffs on Hansel and Gretel; it borrows only the trailer-park trappings of the earlier film, making the titular allusion to automobiles somewhat tenuous. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Lyonne, Maria Celedonio, (more)
E.B. White's classic children's story is brought to the screen in this fantasy, which combines computer-animated characters with a cast of live actors. Mrs. Little (Geena Davis), Mr. Little (Hugh Laurie), and their son George (Jonathan Lipnicki) live in a brownstone near New York's Central Park. The Littles have decided to adopt a younger brother for George, and while they're meeting the children at an orphanage, they are greeted by a mouse named Stuart (voice of Michael J. Fox), who can talk, walk upright, wear clothes, and do nearly anything a human child can do. The Littles are so taken with Stuart that they decide to adopt him, and soon the rest of the family is just as charmed by Stuart -- with the possible exception of Snowbell (voice of Nathan Lane), their house cat. The cast of humans includes Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby, and Dabney Coleman; animal voices are contributed by Chazz Palminteri and Steve Zahn, Jim Doughan, and David Alan Grier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, (more)
It's musical fun with the Sesame Street Muppets as they're joined by some of their friends for this collection of favorite songs from the long-running children's series. Guests include Jimmy Buffett, Gloria Estefan, The Fugees, En Vogue, Rosie O'Donnell and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Stewart, Shawn Colvin, (more)
The most disorganized crew in the Navy returns in this updated adaptation of the once-popular TV sitcom. Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale (Tom Arnold) has retired from the U.S. Navy and is living on the old PT boat he used to command. He spends his days making the rounds of the Caribbean Island of San Moreno, where he was stationed at the end of his career and now peddles pin-up calendars and booze to sailors. However, McHale's idyllic surroundings are soon spoiled when Vladikov (Tim Curry), tired of being known as the "second-best terrorist in the world," decides to stage a bid for world domination and targets San Moreno first. Desperate to fend off Vladikov, Capt. Binghampton (Dean Stockwell) calls McHale back to active duty. McHale is once again saddled with a crew of misfits and losers, including the easily frightened Ensign Parker (David Alan Grier), straight-laced Lt. Carpenter (Debra Messing), good-natured Happy (French Stewart), and Virgil (Bruce Campbell). Ernest Borgnine, star of the original TV series, appears in a small role as a high-ranking Pentagon official who turns out to be McHale's father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Tim Curry, (more)
- 1997
This 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by David Alan Grier and features musical guest Snoop Doggy Dogg. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Alan Grier, Snoop Dogg, (more)
- 1995
This 1995 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by David Alan Grier and features musical guest Silverchair. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Alan Grier, Silverchair, (more)
Boyz N the Hood meets Tales from the Crypt in this alternately horrific, funny, and socially conscious anthology film. The four grim vignettes are framed by the tale of three street hoods who break into Mr. Simm's inner-city funeral home to find a stash of drugs. The mortician puts them off, by telling them a few eerie stories about his "patrons." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clarence Williams III, Joe Torry, (more)
Jumanji is a visually elaborate fantasy about an enchanted board game that opens a magical portal to a jungle universe. Two young children, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce), discover the game in an abandoned home and suddenly are greeted by Alan (Robin Williams), an adult who has spent his life trapped inside the game since playing it at age 12. Alan's only hope for freedom involves finishing the game, but this proves rather dangerous, as Judy, Peter, and Alan find themselves running for their lives from huge rhinoceroses, evil monkeys, vicious lions, and other terrifying jungle beasts. Director Joe Johnston, whose special-effects background previously came to good use in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, used groundbreaking computer imagery to simulate the thrills. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, (more)
Comedian Pauly Shore goes to boot camp in this comedy adventure set in Chad. It was filmed on location in the California and Arizona deserts. Shore is cast as Bones, a dreamer who wants to open his own stereo shop with his best friend Jack. To earn the cash, Bones talks Jack into joining the Army reserves. In boot camp, they are trained as water purifiers. While in camp, they meet the feisty Christine who takes no guff from men and Fred who is afraid of everything. The foursome are called to active duty and positioned in the deserts of Chad. Through a great mix up, they find themselves driving a water tanker behind Libyan enemy lines. There they must extricate themselves and eventually save the day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauly Shore, Andy Dick, (more)
Are you ready for a new kind of superhero -- a thirty-something virgin in long underwear? Darryl Walker (Damon Wayans) is a bright but socially inept man with a gift for inventing things but little skill for functioning in the real world. His brother Kevin (David Alan Grier) works on a low-class tabloid news show featuring beautiful anchorwoman Kimberley Jonz (Robin Givens), whom he secretly loves. The Walkers live in Metro City, Illinois, a city that's been hit with a massive crime wave after the mayor is kidnapped by gangsters. After his grandmother is killed, Darryl builds a collection of crime-fighting robots from household junk, invents bullet-proof long underwear (made from his grandmother's old housecoat), and becomes Metro City's newest crime fighter, Blankman. Blankman's escapades put fear into the heart of mob boss Michael Minelli (Jon Polito), and when Kevin turns out to have an inside track on Blankman's activities, it brings him closer to Kimberley. But how long can a superhero with no superpowers last against the forces of organized crime? Damon Wayans wrote the original story for Blankman as well as co-writing the screenplay and playing the title role, which was based in part on his "Handi-Man" character from the TV comedy series In Living Color. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, (more)
Worried that Fox's overexposure of existing In Living Color episodes would weaken the series' appeal in rerun syndication, creator Keenen Ivory Wayans exited the show halfway through Season Four, followed in rapid succession by his brothers Damon, Shawn and Kim Wayans. Though sibling Marlon Wayans would continue to appear during season five, by mid-season none of the Wayans were left -- leaving Jim Carrey as the top-billed star of the property, and Jamie Foxx (whose main recurring character by this time was oversexed and spectacularly ugly Wanda Wayne) as the principal supporting comic. Amidst all this turnover, season five ushered in several talented new regulars, among them Chris Rock, Anne-Marie Johnson, Jay Leggett, Carol Rosenthal, Marc Wilmore, and Reggie McFadden. Among the best individual sketches seen during In Living Color's fifth and final season are "Russell Simmons Def Strawberry Jam," "Ike Turner and Hootch," "Anorexic Sumo Wrestler," "Circus of the Stars," "Sam Kinison: Live From Hell," "Wile E. Coyote on Trial," "Mary Tyler Mo," "East Hollywood Squares," "66th Annual Infomercial Awards," and "Prison Cable Network." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Wayans, Jim Carrey, (more)
The fourth season of the Wayans Brothers' cutting-edge comedy sketch series In Living Color marks the first appearance of Marlon Wayans, holding his own with siblings Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans,Kim Wayans, and Shawn Wayans just as though he'd been a "regular" all along. Also making their series debuts this season are new regulars Alexandra Wentworth and Twist (aka Leroy Casey), while Steve Park has left the series for new career opportunities. And though Damon Wayans is no longer appearing regularly, he can still be seen making guest appearances in such familiar guises as Anton the Wino. While much of the series is the mixture as before, there is one significant format change, one that had been test-marketed during season three. From now on, each episode begins with a devastating spoof of a popular music video, with the regulars cutting up as faux celebrities. Longtime In Living Color fans should get a pretty good idea of what's in store for them this season by merely perusing the titles of the sketches, including "Rodney King and Reginald Denny Speak Out", "Basic Instank", "Head Detective," "Homey D Clown Meets His Son," "The Dysfunctional Home Christmas Show," "Boyz 2 Wimps," "Straight Pride Parade," and "Thema and Louise Jefferson." Also, mention must be made of the ever-increasing appearances by series regular Jamie Foxx in the recurring role of ugly, libidinous good-time girl Wanda Wayne, a character he would carry over with great success into his popular standup routine. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
Eddie Murphy plays Marcus Graham, a hotshot ad exec who's also an insatiable womanizer. He is thus hardly prepared for his new boss, Jacqueline, played by Robin Givens. In terms of things romantic, Jacqueline is nothing more or less than a female version of Marcus -- and now, for the first time, he's getting the runaround. Boomerang boasts supporting-cast contributions from Halle Berry, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, Geoffrey Holder, and Melvin Van Peebles. Watch closely and you'll see director Reginald Hudlin in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, (more)
Robert Altman takes a scalpel to Hollywood ethics in the 1990s (or the lack thereof) in his acidic satire The Player, adapted from Michael Tolkin's novel. (Tolkin also wrote the screenplay.) The film concerns a sleek and smooth Hollywood studio executive who starts receiving death threats from a disgruntled writer because he has committed the ultimate Hollywood sin -- he promised the writer he would call him back and he never did. This is particularly ironic because the studio executive, Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), is considered "writer-friendly," spending his days listening to pitches from such noted screenwriters as Buck Henry, who is pushing "The Graduate, Part II" and Alan Rudolph, who is hawking a Bruce Willis action film described as "Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate." But The Player finds Griffin's comfortable life style in danger of collapse. He is trying to find a way to unload his girlfriend (Cynthia Stevenson) whose independence and intelligence make her a poor candidate for a trophy wife. More importantly, it seems that Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher), a slippery executive from Twentieth Century Fox, is angling for his job. And then there are those nasty postcards and faxes from a screenwriter threatening to kill him. Altman cast over 65 stars in cameo roles as texture for his scabrous tale. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, (more)
Season three of the Wayans brothers' cutting-edge comedy variety series In Living Color features most of the familiar regulars along with two newcomers: Steve Park and future Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. This year's crop of guest stars include Ray Combs, Debbie Lee Carrington, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas -- not to mention all those celebrities who appear "by proxy" in the comedy sketches (Pee-Wee Herman, Al Sharpton, Clarence Thomas, Jesse Jackson, Paula Abdul, Mike Tyson, Jimmy Swaggart, Michael Jackson, Connie Chung, Sally Struthers, George Bush the First, Hammer, and Michael Bolton). And, of course, such recurring characters as Homey D. Clown, Fire Marshal Bill, Handi-Man, gay movie critics Antoine and Blaine, and Anton the Wino show up in the series' various sketches, which during the 1991-1992 season bear titles like "The Fist That Rocks the Cradle," "Hour of Power Preachers on Trial," "Crazy Polident," "Rescue Whenever," and "Wilt Chamberlain Wall." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
- 1991
Actor, director, writer, and producer Robert Townsend presents this second volume of his classic HBO variety show Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime. Originally aired in 1991, the show helped launch the careers of comedians Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. This collection of comedy sketches features his Western parody "How the West Was Won" and his soap-opera parody "The Bold, the Black, and the Beautiful." Also stars Sinbad, David Allen Grier, John Witherspoon, and Paul Mooney. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Townsend, Paul Mooney, (more)
The Wayans Brothers -- Keenen Ivory, Damon, Kim, and Shawn -- continue to dominate the proceedings on the cutting-edge comedy variety series In Living Color as the show begins its second season on Fox. Still, the series' other regulars -- Jim Carrey (this year introducing the character of hideously disfigured "Fire Marshal Bill"), David Alan Grier, Kelly Coffield et. al. -- are given plenty of elbow room in the many savagely satirical sketches and musical numbers. Plus, season two serves up a full complement of guest stars, including Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Billy Dee Williams, Nikki D, Leeza Gibbons, John Tesh, Ice Cube, and Public Enemy. Among the season's best individual sketches are "Homey the Clown: When Homey Met Sally," "Tag Team Evangelists," "Miss Black Person USA," "Vera DeMilo: Buffed, Beautiful, and Bitchin';" "Amazing Grace - Rocky VI;" "Handi-Man: The Justice Legion of America" (featuring a handicapped superhero); "Vanilla Ice: White, White Baby," "Anton in the Burbs," a showcase for the series' "pet wino;" "Andrew Dice Clay on Love Connection;" "Arsenio Hall of Justice;" "Fashion Tampons;" and "Clear Conscience Fur Farm and Outlet Store." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
- 1990
The brainchild of comic actor Keenen Ivory Wayans, the Fox comedy variety series In Living Color has been described variously as the "black Laugh-In" and the "black Saturday Night Live." Whatever the case, the series garnered big laughs and bigger ratings by applying a hip, cutting-edge, Afrocentric slant on modern American culture, with freewheeling spoofs and satires of popular films, TV shows, commercials and music -- especially music. During In Living Color's first years on the air, the proceedings were dominated by Keenen Ivory Wayans and his multi-talented brothers, Damon Wayans, Kim Wayans, Shawn Wayans and (beginning with season four) Marlon Wayans. Also featured in the series' rotating repertory company were such brilliant black entertainers as David Alan Grier, T'Keyah "Crystal" Kehmah, Jamie Foxx, and Chris Rock, along with the show's "token white guy" Jim Carrey. Music was provided by some of the top R&B and rap artists in the country (Queen Latifah, Flavor Flav, and Heavy D to name but three of the many) with backup provided by the scantily-clad "Fly Girls" (one of whom was a young Jennifer Lopez). Merrily exploiting and skewering a variety of ethnic stereotypes, the series' recurring sketches and characters included "Men on Film," featuring a pair of flamboyantly gay movie critics, Blaine and Antoine ("Two snaps up"); Homey D. Clown, a dour urban kiddie entertainer ("Homey don't play that!"); SW-1 and Twist (Shawn Wayans, Leroy Casey), the show's exuberant veejays; "The Home Boys," a couple of streetwise scam artists named Wiz and Ice ("Mo' money!"), "Hey Mon," the ongoing saga of a West Indian family named the Hedleys; "The Buttmans," who looked exactly as you would expect them to look; Handi-Man, a multiple-handicapped superhero; Fire Marshall Bill (Jim Carrey), a hideously disfigured safety expert; and Wanda Wayne (played by Jamie Foxx), the ugliest, horniest gal in the 'hood. Also represented via impersonation and caricature were a number of A-list celebrities both black and white: Arsenio Hall, Oprah Winfrey, Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Della Reese, Ray Charles, and many others. By the time In Living Color had entered its fifth season, all but one of the Wayans Brothers had left the show, following the lead of Keenen Ivory Wayans, who was unhappy with Fox's policy of censoring certain sketches and of overexposing existing episodes, thereby hurting their future profitability in syndication. Debuting April 15, 1990, In Living Color ran until August 25, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
Australian star Paul Hogan just couldn't seem to come up with a hit comparable to his 1986 international hit Crocodile Dundee. Hogan's Almost an Angel was a nice try, but no cigar. The star plays a lifelong thief who suffers a potentially fatal accident. While "in limbo", Hogan is visited by God (amusingly played by Charlton Heston-well, why not Charlton Heston?). When he recovers, Hogan is convinced that he'd been returned to the land of the living in order to do God's work. He turns over a new leaf, coming to the assistance of wheelchair-bound Elias Koteas and his pretty sister Linda Kozlowski (the real-life Mrs. Hogan). At first suspicious of Hogan, Kozlowski is finally won over by his new-found sincerity. So lightweight that it threatens to float away at any moment, Almost an Angel is held together exclusively by Paul Hogan's star appeal. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to insure a box-office success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Hogan, Elias Koteas, (more)
Loose Cannons may be a wacky buddy-cop comedy, but it starts with a chilling premise. It seems that a film is discovered that depicts the final moments of Adolf Hitler's life. The climax features young German officer Von Metz, who is seen putting Hitler to death. Von Metz (Robert Prosky) is now running for chancellor of West Germany. If this film gets out, his political career is finished, so Von Metz has arranged for the murder of anyone who has seen the film. The killings have taken place in the Washington area and Mac (Gene Hackman) and Ellis (Dan Aykroyd) are sent to investigate the crimes. Mac is a middle-aged veteran of the force, a professional who gets things done. But Ellis is a different ball of wax. Suffering from a multiple personality disorder, he has spent two years in a Benedictine monastery to recover from his problems. But he is far from cured -- as Mac discovers, whenever Ellis is confronted by violence, he blacks out and begins to assume the characters of popular culture icons like Popeye, Captain Kirk, and the Road Runner. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
- 1989
A mugshot for a criminal who looks just like Willie (Max Wright) is briefly flashed on a TV "crimestoppers" program. Since a huge reward has been posted for the lookalike, ALF appoints himself Willie's protector--and, accordingly, his blamed when the cops arrest Willie, even though next-door-neighbor Trevor (John LaMotta is to blame. A young David Alan Grier appears as an FBI agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
