Tracy Morgan Movies

The lauded laugher's inaugural season introduces the offbeat staffers at "The Girlie Show," a TV variety program produced at venerable Rockefeller Center in New York City. Presiding over the show is TV scribe Liz Lemon (series creator and writer Tina Fey). But trouble looms upon the arrival of brash new honcho Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), the head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. Jack incessantly meddles with the series, hiring edgy but wildly erratic star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and changing the show's name to the desperately hip "TGS With Tracy Jordan." All this exasperates Lemon and pushes the show's horrified starlet, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), to the sidelines. Not only does Jack creep into the writers' room and even appear as a sketch performer (only to plug products), but he referees Lemon's sour romantic life. He sets her up on a blind date (with a woman); interferes with her bumpy reunion with her boorish ex-boyfriend Dennis (Dean Winters); and intervenes as her love blooms for affable paramour Floyd (Jason Sudeikis). Love is on the horizon for Jack, too. He dates a Bush administration official; tangles with his ex-wife (Isabella Rossellini); and woos an auctioneer (Emily Mortimer). But Jack still has time for territorial warfare against his gravelly voiced archnemesis Devin Banks (Will Arnett), a Left Coast network exec who callously eyes Jack's job. Always an omnipresent figure is naive man-child Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer), whose misadventures include switching roles with bigwig Jack, scoring a prime spot in Tracy's posse and trying to help the pampered Tracy reach spiritual self-actualization. Alas, Kenneth's bright-eyed idealism prevails even while working for this cast of ego-fueled eccentrics. ~ Dean Maurer, All Movie Guide

After Season 2 concluded with GE exec Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) accepting a post with the Bush administration, Season 3 kicks off with his return to the company and swift climb back to his old post. At "The Girlie Show," hapless head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) continues to wrangle her two biggest stars: Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), who makes contract negotiations -- and pretty much everything else -- more difficult for Liz, and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), who has shifted all her focus to preparing for a knockoff Janis Joplin biopic. Jack, meanwhile, is distracted by family issues throughout the season. In a parody of Mamma Mia!, paternity tests lead Jack to his long-lost father-liberal professor Milton Greene (Alan Alda), who just happens to be in need of a kidney transplant. And Jack's controlling mother, Colleen (Elaine Stritch), becomes even more of a burden after he "accidentally" backs over her with his car. The incident results in Jack's latest romance, as he falls for his mother's live-in nurse, the passionate Elisa (Salma Hayek), whose deep Catholic faith and devotion to her large Puerto Rican family frequently prove trying. Unlucky-in-love Liz thinks she's finally found the perfect man in handsome pediatrician Drew Baird (Jon Hamm). But she soon discovers Drew has been "living in the bubble," thinking the world revolves around him because he can always get by on his looks. Season 3 features the series' usual parade of guest stars, including Steve Martin as an eccentric businessman who woos Liz; Jennifer Aniston as Liz's college roommate, who develops a romantic obsession with Jack; and Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charlie Robinson, playing themselves in a Night Court reunion organized by Tracy to cheer up NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer). ~ Todd Thatcher, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Martin Lawrence billed this comic drama as his own version of the film Fatal Attraction (1987). Lawrence stars as Darnell, a hopeless male chauvinist. Darnell is a crude-but-smooth talker and lady's man who doesn't take no for an answer. He works for a nightclub called Chocolate City and aspires to be its owner. He trades VIP privileges at the club for favors from women. Though he is an expert at conning women, he sometimes worries about what his childhood sweetheart Mia (Regina King), who is engaged to marry him, thinks of his adventures. When the classy, elegant Brandi (Lynn Whitfield) steps out of a limousine to enter the club, Darnell feels that he's met his ultimate prize. She rejects his come-ons, which only fuels his appetite. He pursues her, showing up with flowers at her real estate office. He finally wins over Brandi, but she becomes obsessed with him, even taking all four wheels off his sports car to ground him from his rounds. Cutting off his engagement to Mia is not enough to satisfy Brandi, who finally administers Darnell's punishment for his misogyny. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Hosted by Saturday Night Live veteran Tracy Morgan, the cable-TV series Comic Groove was described by its producers as an "urban showcase." Taped before a live audience, each episode featured four standup performances by well-known ethnic comedians. To fully invoke the "get down, get funky" ambience, a professional DJ was on hand to provide recorded musical entertainment and a steady stream of patter between acts. Comic Groove first aired on September 2, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second season of Crank Yankers perpetrates twice as many telephonic outrages as season one, in that there are twice as many episodes. As before, the semi-sitcom series is comprised of actual prank calls made to innocent bystanders by a coterie of talented comedians (headed by Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla), then recorded and lip-synched by a menagerie of ugly cloth puppets. In the opener, ill-tempered army vet Birchum (voice supplied by Adam Carolla) calls up a real-life security office demanding a job -- and of course throwing in all sorts of conditions and "what-ifs" calculated to drive the poor person on the other end of the line crazy. In later episodes, guest star Wanda Sykes, who as Gladys Murphy phones a video store to complain about an embarrassing tape mix-up; Snoop Dogg rings up the unsuspecting counterperson at a record store; Gilbert Gottfried, posing as George Zucco (the name of an actual horror-movie star of the 1940s), kvetches to the representative of a nutrition center; Bob Goldthwait pretends to be one Steven Goldstein, who is looking for an agent to represent his very peculiar talents; radio personality Dr. Drew Pinsky plays fast and loose with his image by calling some of his listeners; Jeff Goldblum uses the alias Professor Fermstein to reach out and touch a pretty coed; and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane dictates a telegram. Will somebody stop these guys before they dial again! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Albino Alligator screenwriter Christian Forte pulls double duty as writer and director of this fantasy comedy concerning two friends who enter a mysterious video booth and find themselves suddenly transported to an alternate dimension in which the entire world has taken on the traits of an adult film. Chris Pratt and Brendan Hines star in a film featuring Denise Richards, Scott Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Chris McDonald. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

HBO's series Def Comedy Jam provided a showcase for some of the best and brightest new performers on the urban comedy scene, and this home video presents highlights from the show, with Tracy Morgan, Bill Bellamy, and host Martin Lawrence presenting cutting edge comedy that's definitely too rough for prime time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Animal Planet aesthetics get infused with blush-inducing blue-humor sensibilities as director Bob Saget teams with an all-star cast of comics including Lewis Black, Tracy Morgan, Jason Alexander, Dane Cook, and Whoopi Goldberg to prove that sometimes penguins aren't as sweet as they appear to be on the silver screen. Film star Samuel L. Jackson narrates as actual footage of penguins going about their business in nature is backed by the kind of twisted voice-over work that could only come from the biggest names in comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A young man (TJ Miller) drunkenly responds to an online ad that most would consider to be spam, but ends up being a real offer from a prince (Tracy Morgan) looking to cash in on his African fortune. John Mulaney and Nick Kroll provide the screenplay for the Paramount Pictures comedy. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Can a high-attitude African-American politician who says what he thinks stand a chance in a presidential campaign? Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is a straight-talking alderman representing a inner-city neighborhood in Washington, D.C. In the midst of a hard-fought race for the White House, the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates are killed in an airline crash, and with little time to prepare a new campaign, the Republican candidate, Vice President Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy), seems all but guaranteed to win. With practically nothing to loose, party head Martin Geller (Dylan Baker) approaches Gilliam and asks him to stand as the Democrat's presidential candidate. While Gilliam is dubious at first, before long his streetwise style and willingness to face the issues head-on earns him surprising figures in the polls, especially after he persuades his short-fused older brother, Mitch Gilliam (Bernie Mac), to join the ticket as vice presidential candidate -- a big jump for a bail bondsman. Gilliam's love life also becomes more complicated as his ex-girlfriend Kim (Robin Givens) decides she wants him back now that he has a shot at the White House, even though Gilliam only has eyes for Lisa (Tamala Jones). Head of State marked the directorial debut for comic and actor Chris Rock, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Fate brings a childless couple a bundle of joy -- who happens to have a criminal record -- in this comedy directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. Calvin Simms (Marlon Wayans) is a master criminal who with the help of his friend and sidekick, Percy (Tracy Morgan), plans a daring robbery of a museum where one of the world's largest diamonds is on display. One of reasons Calvin is able to get inside secure areas is his size -- Calvin is dwarf who stands less than two feet tall, and can slip in unnoticed where more conventionally sized people would not. While Calvin is able to get the diamond, he's nearly caught by the police while making his getaway, and stashes the jewel in a bag carried by a passerby. Eager to recover the diamond from the unwitting accomplice, Calvin and Percy figure out a way to get into his house -- they dress Calvin up as a baby, and leave him on the doorstep of the passerby's home. As it happens, the couple who live there (Shawn Wayans and Kerry Washington) have been wanting to have a baby, and they eagerly take the new arrival under their wing, embracing the joys of parenthood while ignoring some of the toddler's unusual behavior. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After seven seasons of laughs on television's Saturday Night Live, funnyman Tracy Morgan keeps the chuckles coming with a hilarious, sixty-minute stand-up performance that proves the mastermind behind Astronaut Jones still has what it takes to crack up a crowd. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide