Bret Harrison Movies
Portland-born American actor Bret Harrison traveled the hard road as an up-and-comer. With experience under his belt as a child actor in regional theatrical productions, and a burning desire to be the next Tom Hanks, Harrison graduated from high school ahead of schedule and made a beeline from Oregon to Los Angeles, where reportedly within several months he secured representation and started landing appearances in Hollywood A-list features and prime-time series. Initially, several of Harrison's roles cast him as a somewhat geeky type -- notably, his evocation of Brad O'Keefe, the dweebish adolescent in love with Lynsey Bartilson's Lily Finnerty (and forced to compete for her affections with the über-hip Dean Peramotti [Mike Vogel]) on the sitcom Grounded for Life, and his performance as the (marvelously named) Lonny Munsack in the Jake Kasdan teen comedy Orange County (2002), starring Jack Black and Colin Hanks.Harrison secured his first lead role in Robert Hall's evocative drama Lightning Bug, as Green, a young man torn violently between his desire to escape from his abusive stepfather on the tails of his own ability as a movie makeup artist, and the love for his girl that encourages him to stay put. Unfortunately for Harrison, the picture found extremely limited distribution but did receive a handful of enthusiastic critical responses. After Grounded for Life folded in 2005, he played Charlie in several episodes of the sitcom That '70s Show, but his character was killed off when he fell off the town's water tower. The actor was soon back to more prominent status, however, when he signed for the lead in the sitcom The Loop (2006-2007). In that program, Harrison starred opposite Mimi Rogers and Philip Baker Hall as the youngest suit on the corporate end of an airline. That series ran for two seasons, after which, Harrison receiving second billing opposite legendary Burt Reynolds in the feature gambling drama Deal (2008) -- as a collegiate poker player who turns and takes on his mentor in the World Series of Poker.
Despite his steady employment and several lead roles, Harrison hadn't found a part that truly broke him through to mainstream success until he was cast on the unusual fantasy-comedy-drama Reaper in 2007. On the series, he played the lead character, Sam Oliver, whose slacker existence is rocked by the revelation on his 21st birthday that his parents sold his soul to the Devil (Ray Wise) before he was even born. Having come of age, Sam is put to work collecting fugitive evil souls who have escaped from Hell. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
For three college guys, it's senior year and the co-ed experience has left them high and dry. Their solution: A road trip to Mardi Gras, where beautiful babes are happy to lift their shirts and open containers are always welcome. But after dressing in drag, breaking into Carmen Electra's hotel room, starring in a scandalous sex show and accidentally exploding a feces bomb in a swank hotel lobby, will the Mardi Gras magic kick in and their wildest fantasies come true?
- Starring:
- Nicholas D'Agosto, Bret Harrison, (more)
- 2008
- PG13
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A hot-shot college card player and a retired poker legend team up to take Sin City for all its worth, only to find themselves going toe to toe in the ultra-high-stakes World Poker Tour. Alex Stillman (Bret Harrison) is a Yale senior with a knack for Texas Hold 'Em. But while Alex dreams of the day he'll be able to dominate the tables out in Las Vegas, he hasn't mastered the art of the cards just yet. Alex's luck begins to change, however, after a chance encounter with legendary poker player Tommy Vinson (Burt Reynolds). Tommy gave up gambling 20 years ago in hopes that he could save his family. He recognizes the potential in Alex, and he's beginning to regain his confidence after two decades of maintaining a low profile. Alex agrees to become Tommy's protégé, and together the pair wins every tournament they enter. But Alex's attraction to beautiful Las Vegas call girl Michelle (Shannon Elizabeth) has caused his attention shift away from the tables, and that distraction has opened up a deep chasm between the emerging talent and the undisputed master. Later, after Alex and Tommy call off their partnership, they find themselves on opposite sides of the table at the prestigious World Poker Tour. Who will take the top prize? Will it be the old pro who promised he would never gamble again or the newcomer who learned all of his tricks from the true master of the trade? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison, (more)
- 2007
Fanboys director Kyle Newman helms this remake of the classic 1984 comedy that was produced by Charlie's Angels director McG and penned by Adam Goldberg, Andrew Jacobson, and Adam J. Epstein. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A man having trouble with women suddenly finds himself surrounded by them in this independent comedy drama. Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is a successful writer who has fallen into an emotional tailspin after his girlfriend, well-known actress Sophia (Elena Anaya), breaks up with him. When Carter learns that his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) is in failing health, he decides to leave California and return to his hometown of Detroit to help take care of her and beginning work on his long-planned novel. As Carter spends time with his grandmother, he becomes friendly with her neighbors -- mom Sarah Hardwicke (Meg Ryan) and her two daughters, angst-ridden teen Lucy (Kristen Stewart) and precocious 11-year-old Paige (Makenzie Vega). As Sarah attempts to deal with a pressing personal crisis and Carter begins sorting out his relationship issues, he discovers that sometimes what feels like the end is actually just a new beginning. In the Land of Women was the first directorial project for actor and screenwriter Jon Kasdan, the son of writer and director Lawrence Kasdan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adam Brody, Kristen Stewart, (more)
- 2007
In an era distinguished by popular TV series in which the heroes are the villains (The Sopranos, The Shield), it should surprise no one that the most charming and likeable character in the CW comedy-drama series Reaper was the Devil Himself. The story got under way when 20-year-old slacker Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), one of the least stellar employees at his local Work Bench home-improvement store, finally found out why his parents (Allison Hossack, Andrew Arlie) had always allowed him to goof off and drift aimlessly through life while simultaneously demanding so much from his overachieving kid brother Keith (Kyle Switzer). It turned out that Mom and Dad felt guilty about selling Sam's soul to the Devil (Ray Wise), before the boy had even been born. Once Sam turned 21, up popped the Devil again, demanding that our hero immediately go to work for him--or else. Sam's new job was as a Satanic "bounty hunter", tracking down and recapturing souls who'd managed to escape from Hell. Since the people whom Sam hunted down richly deserved eternal damnation, and since the immacuately-dressed Devil was such a warm, personable guy, Sam found his new assignment a lot more stimulating than his customary duties at the Work Bench. He even managed to enlist his best friends and coworkers Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) as his helpers, and to persuade Sock's ex-girlfriend, paralegal Josie (Valarie Rae Miller), to do the necessary research work on each "fallen demon". At the same time, Sam had to keep his "mission" a secret from his earthly boss Ted (Donovan Stinson) and his erstwhile girlfriend Andi (Missy Peregrym). Making its CW debut on September 25, 2007, Reaper played like an unholy alliance between Faust and Clerks--hardly surprising, since the series was coproduced by Clerks creator Kevin Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bret Harrison, Tyler Labine, (more)
Robert Hall's drama Lightning Bug concerns a young man trapped in a small southern town with an abusive stepfather. The young man has developed a remarkable facility at creating make-up effects for horror films, and he hopes these skills will get him out of the town were his work is unappreciated by the religious zealots in the town. However his relationship with a pretty girl who wants to stay right where she is may be the one thing to keep him from following his dream. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bret Harrison, Laura Prepon, (more)
- 2004
Is Jimmy (Tate Donovan) ready and able to reopen the Lighthouse restaurant with Sandy (Peter Gallagher) as his partner -- or is there a hidden problem that may end this business enterprise before it begins? Meanwhile, Summer's (Rachel Bilson) new relationship with another "funny" guy, Danny (Bret Harrison), gets Seth (Adam Brody) riled up; and Julie (Melinda Clarke) has found work as a designer -- and a potential enemy in the form of Kirsten (Kelly Rowan). As for Ryan (Ben McKenzie), he is prepared to risk everything in his life that he holds dear, if only to expose Oliver Trask (Taylor Handley) as a phony. ~ Rovi
High school girl Angela (Lizzy Caplan) returns from summer vacation with a dilemma: Should she or should she not surrender her virginity to her boyfriend, Travis (Bret Harrison)? Upon her return, Angela discovers that her high school has just instituted a trendy new sexual-education program -- consisting solely of "Just Say No." Despite increasing pressure from friends and faculty alike, Angela refuses to sign a circulating abstinence pledge, citing the undeniable fact that most of supporters of "Just Say No" have no idea what they're talking about. Her stance is contrasted with that of her hypocritical, apple-polishing classmate, Caroline (Brooke D'Orsay), who zealously goes along with the new program (and strong-arms others into doing so) only to curry favor with her teachers. As the story rolls on, it is clear that the "Just Say No" credo is a farce -- to everyone except, perhaps, the one person who openly treated it as a farce in the first place. Made for the VH1 cable service, Everybody's Doing It premiered December 22, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Some cast and crew from NBC's highly acclaimed, little-seen series Freaks and Geeks reunite for this teen comedy that also marks the first starring role for Tom Hanks' son, Colin. The younger Hanks plays Shaun Brumder, a high schooler eager to propel himself out of the land of surf bums and ranch homes to which the film's title refers. He's had his sights set on Stanford ever since he read the works of professor Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline), and his transcript is stellar enough to gain him admission. Shaun is understandably furious, then, when he receives a rejection letter in the mail; after some detective work on his part, he realizes that his flaky counselor (Lily Tomlin) mistakenly sent the university the wrong papers. It's up to him to get to Stanford within 24 hours to set the record straight -- literally -- and he enlists the help of his slacker brother Lance (Jack Black) to do so. Orange County co-stars Catharine O'Hara and John Lithgow as Shaun and Lance's slightly unhinged parents; the film was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Mike White, both of whom contributed to several episodes of Freaks and Geeks. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin Hanks, Jack Black, (more)
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