Paul Gross Movies
Multi-talented actor/writer Paul Gross stayed true to his Canadian roots and became famous as the crime-busting Royal Canadian Mountie in the TV series Due South. Born in Calgary, Army brat Gross was inspired by his high school drama teacher to become an actor, and he entered the University of Alberta in Edmonton to study the craft. Leaving school early to forge a dual career as an actor and writer, Gross appeared in several TV productions and wrote the screenplay for Atom Egoyan's TV movie In This Corner (1985). By the late '80s and early '90s, he began to score more prominent roles in Canadian and American films, including the Canadian TV movies Getting Married at Buffalo Jump (1989) and Cold Comfort (1990), the well-received TV adaptation of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (1993), the marital dramedy Married to It (1993), and the skiing drama Aspen Extreme (1993). Gross also worked again with Egoyan as the screenwriter for Egoyan's 1993 TV movie Gross Misconduct. After appearing in the Canadian features Paint Cans (1994) and Whale Music (1994), Gross became a primetime regular when his TV movie Due South (1994), about a Mountie who heads to Chicago to track a killer, became a series. Running from 1994 to 1998, Due South's hunky fish-out-of-water hero earned Gross an avid following on both sides of the Canadian border. After Due South went off the air, Gross continued to stick with Canadian TV, starring in the telefilm Murder Most Likely (1999). Gross has been married since 1987 and has two children. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide- 1994
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Fraser (Paul Gross) continues to search Chicago for Christina Nichols (Lisa Jakub), the runaway teenage daughter of a Canadian diplomat. Christina is in possession of a dead mobster's contact list, and thus has been targetted for extermination by criminal boss Eddie Beets (Stephen Shellen). In his efforts to catch up with the headstrong lass, Fraser finds himself at an after-hours bondage club, on a runaway escalator, and sliding down a garbage chute. Somehow he hopes that these and other experiences will ultimately teach Christina to act more responsibly--if she manages to live through the night, that is. Alfred Hitchcock fans will get a kick out of the character names of the hotel maid played by Beth Amos and the janitor played by Marvin Ishmael. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
In this first episode of a two-part story, Fraser (Paul Gross) is assigned to act as bodyguard and baby-sitter to Christina Nichols (Lisa Jakub), the spoiled teenage daughter of a visiting Canadian diplomat. Slipping away from Fraser, the impulsive Christina runs into a tough customer named Janice De Luca (Stacey Haiduk). Before she quite knows what has happened, Christina is in possession of a dead mobster's contact list--something that criminal Eddie Beets (Stephen Shellen) would dearly like to get his hands on, and never mind whom he has to kill to do so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Fraser (Paul Gross smells a rat when his neighbor Charlie (Brendan Kelly)) suffers from one too many "accidents." Promising Charlie's daughter Lucy (Azura Bates) that he'll investigate her dad's streak of bad luck, Fraser discovers that Charlie is the unwilling fall guy for an insurance scam. In his efforts to help Charlie out, Fraser runs afoul of investigative reporter Mackenzie King (Madolyn Smith-Osborne), who thinks that the displaced Mountie is a part of the scam. Meanwhile, Fraser's still-unlicensed pet wolf Diefenbaker runs afoul of the local dog catcher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Newly moved to Chicago to take on his duties as Deputy Liason Officer at the Canadian Consulate, RCMP constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) leaps right into his erstwhile partnership with Chi-town police detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) when the two of them appoint themselves protectors of 12-year-old purse snatcher Willie Lambert (Chris Babers). Having witnessed an armed robbery, Willie now knows too much to stay alive--or at least that's his story. By the time Fraser and Vecchio have confirmed to their satisfaction that the habitual-liar Willie is telling the truth this time out, the crooks are in hot pursuit, leading to a climactic chase through the streets of Chicago in a horse-drawn carriage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
When a youngster falls victim to food poisoning, Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) traces the source of the tainted meat ingested by the child. The trail ultimately leads to a gang of crooks trafficking in illegal horse meat. Along the way, Fraser makes the acquaintance of gorgeous horsewoman Stephanie Cabot (Teri Polo), but this pleasant diversion is forgotten when he and his partner Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) find themselves trapped in a meat locker. While the freezing cold has a devastating effect on city-boy Ray, the Canadian-born Fraser is less perturbed--and it is the resourceful Fraser who hits upon a unique but effective way of staying warm until help arrives. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Leslie Nielsen guest stars as Sgt. Buck Frobisher, a legendary Canadian mountie who is idolized by our hero Benton Fraser (Paul Gross). Frobisher's daughter Julie (Cali Timmins) solicits Fraser's help when Buck disappears from view, one week shy of retirement. Resurfacing in Chicago, an uncharacteristically frightened-looking Frobisher reveals that he is being pursued by an old enemy, escaped criminal Harold Geiger (William Smith). It is up to Fraser to rescue Frobisher and to restore the old trooper's self-respect. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Accompanied by his trusty pet wolf Diefenbaker, RCMP constable Benton Fraser doggedly pursues the murderer of his Mountie father (whose death has been officially deemed an "accident") from the snowy environs of the Yukon to the urban sprawl of Chicago. Once in the Windy City, Fraser meets wisecracking local police detective Ray Vecchio, whose career has likewise been motivated by the death of his father. Forming a tentative friendship, Fraser and Ray become an unofficial team, determined to track down miscreants by combining their separate but equally effective police methods. Along the way, our heroes discover that Fraser's father was killed while investigating a large-scale coverup involving a hydroelectric dam project. This two-hour pilot episode of the weekly seriocomic cop series Due South has since been divided into two hour-long episodes for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Fraser (Paul Gross) and Ray (David Marciano) become temporary daddies when someone leaves a baby in the back of Ray's car. Following the trail of clues, the two lawmen determine that the child has been sold to a black-market adoption racket. Though he is all for turning the kid over to the proper authorities, Ray allows Fraser six hours to track down the infant's birth parents--and to try to talk some sense into their heads. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
Just before Christmas, Fraser (Paul Gross) and Ray (David Marciano) are put in charge of young Del Porter (Ryan Philippe), who claims to have witness a bank heist. In truth, Del is trying to shield his father William (James Purcell), the wheelman for a gang of bank robbers disguised as sidewalk Santas. The two lawmen take it upon themselves to straighten out the situation and to persuade William from further disillusioning his loyal son. This Yuletide episode includes an altogether appropriate reference to O. Henry, author of "Gift of the Magi." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1994
This Canadian comedy spoofs the government film fund and provides valuable insight to those interested in learning the lingo of bureaucracy. Wick Burns is a government official with all the self-motivation and personality of a robot. His newest project is to find funding for a small art film, "Paint Cans." It was directed by his former film school classmate Vittorio Russo and produced by the oily tongued Neville Lewis. Everyone at the film fund hates this film, but simply saying no is not the bureaucratic way. Instead they try to get other agencies to fund the film. The story also introduces elements of Burn's personal life including his relationship with his disapproving father, and a fledgling romance with Arundel, a journalist he meets in Cannes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chas Lawther, Robyn Stevan, (more)
- 1993
- PG
Members of Canada's groundbreaking improvisational comedy troupe CODCO helped create this broad black comedy about a small Canadian community's unique bid to become a world power. Solomon Gundy is a small island off the Atlantic Coast of Canada whose economy is built around fishing. A government researcher determines that Canada's fish production needs to be cut by four percent -- and since Solomon Gundy produces four percent of the nation's catch, the government simply decides to suspend all fishing licenses for the Island. Needless to say, this decision is wildly unpopular with the locals, and Dexter (Maury Chaykin), the Federal official who has to break the bad news to the town, nearly gets lynched for his troubles. Augustus (Paul Gross), who acts as Solomon Gundy's mayor when he isn't busy officiating at the local church or running the miniature golf course, decides to take the bull by the horns and rallies the townspeople to declare their independence from Canada. As fate would have it, a group of Russian sailors gone AWOL happen by the Island, and Augustus is able to buy their submarine from the sole crewman left on board (Tommy Sexton). Augustus soon discovers the sub still has a cache of tactical missiles on board, making the newly independent Solomon Gundy a nuclear superpower. Also released as Northern Extremes, Burried on Sunday proved to be the final film role for founding CODCO member Tommy Sexton, who died of AIDS-related illnesses in 1993. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, Denise Virieux, (more)
Author Armistead Maupin's serialized tale of sexual infidelity and identity in 1970s San Francisco becomes a sprawling comic melodrama in this much-acclaimed miniseries. Produced by PBS and Britain's Channel 4, Tales of the City covers in its five hours the interlocking stories of more than a dozen main characters, many of whom reside at 28 Barbary Lane, a quaint multi-apartment house overseen by the open-minded but enigmatic Mrs. Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis). Among her stable of residents are the acerbic, unlucky-in-love Mona Ramsey (Chloe Webb) and her occasional roommate Michael Tolliver (Marcus D'Amico), who's her constant companion -- that is, when he's not shacked up with one of an endless series of short-term boyfriends. Mrs. Madrigal's newest charge is the apple-cheeked Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), a naïve young woman from the Midwest who's come to San Francisco to visit her friend Connie (Parker Posey), but ends up staying, in search of both a career and a husband. It isn't long before she finds the former; unfortunately, along with it comes the unwanted advances of her boss Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson), a philandering executive unhappily married to his boss Edgar's daughter, DeDe (Barbara Garrick). Meanwhile, the regal Edgar (Donald Moffat) happens to be conducting an affair of his own with none other than Mrs. Madrigal. Also starring Bill Campbell and Paul Gross, Tales of the City was first aired on Channel 4 in the spring of 1993 and made its PBS premiere in the winter of 1994, when it garnered some of the network's highest ratings ever, amidst vocal protest of the show's risqué content. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
Arthur Hiller directed this comedy/drama concerning three couples, thrown together by fate, who become friendly and help each other through their marriage difficulties. Claire (Cybill Shepherd) and Leo (Ron Silver) are a wealthy couple having trouble with a daughter from a previous marriage. John (Beau Bridges) and Iris (Stockard Channing) are a couple from the '60s who have weathered a relationship involving sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Chuck (Robert Sean Leonard), a securities analyst, and Nina (Mary Stuart Masterson), a child psychologist, are newlyweds needing guidance through the pitfalls of married life. The couples meet on a committee formed at a PTA meeting. They find they like each other and invite each other to dinner parties. As they meet and talk with one another, they reveal their problems and help each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Stockard Channing, (more)
T.J. (Paul Gross) and Dex (Peter Berg) leave Detroit to wax up their skis and find an adventurous new life on the slopes of Aspen in this skiing drama. The two become instructors and take up residence in a mobile home, at first fulfilling their ultimate bachelor fantasy. But T.J. becomes torn between two women: a sugar mama who appeals to his materialistic side (Finola Hughes) and a local disc jockey closer to his own age, whom he actually loves (Teri Polo). Meanwhile, Dex's writing is not taking off like he'd hoped, and he becomes jealous of T.J.'s luck with women and effortless entrance into the glittery Aspen social network. Dex loses his job and tries to sell drugs to help make ends meet. The two sort out their various problems and their own fractious relationship against the backdrop of preparing for the big race, which provides Aspen Extreme its requisite quantity of skiing footage. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, Peter Berg, (more)
- 1990
Cold Comfort is an award-winning Canadian-made psychodrama about a psychotic father who kidnaps a man to keep his teen-aged daughter company. Stephen (Paul Gross), a handsome traveling salesman, is Floyd's (Maury Chaykin) birthday gift to his daughter Dolores (Margaret Langrick). Dolores and Stephen become increasingly attached and Stephen agrees to help Dolores escape from her father, to whom she is emotionally bound. When Dolores and Stephen try to escape, Floyd catches them and chains Stephen to a wall. Only Dolores can rescue him. Cold Comfort is grim, slow, and certainly not for everyone, but for those who appreciate intricate psychodrama, Cold Comfort is well worth viewing. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maury Chaykin, Margaret Langrick, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
This Canadian made-for-TV film stars Wendy Crewson as a Toronto woman who inherits the family ranch in Alberta. Ignoring the pleas of her mother (Malan Gilsenan) to sell the rundown place, Wendy opts for the life of a rancher. She soon finds herself over her head financially, and turns to an old friend, Alex (Paul Gross), to help her manage her land holdings. Alex proposes to Wendy for business reasons, thus launching a rocky relationship that ends inevitably in genuine love. Originally telecast over the CBC Network in 1990, Getting Married in Buffalo Jump was released directly to video in the States, where its title was pared down to Buffalo Jump. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Crewson, Paul Gross, (more)
