Diedrich Bader Movies
An actor whose tall, rangy build and boyish good looks have made him a natural for comic roles, Diedrich Bader was born in Alexandria, VA, on Christmas Eve 1966; his father, William Bader, was Chief of Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the Carter administration, and his mother, Gretta Bader, was a sculptor of note. When Bader was two, he and his family moved to Paris, France, where the boy was exposed to a steady diet of classic American comedies; young Bader was especially fond of Charlie Chaplin, and appeared on-stage for the first time at the age of four, imitating the Little Tramp at a revival theater during an unexpected intermission after a rare Chaplin film jammed in the projector. Bader and his family returned to the United States in time for him to enter high school, and he later attended the North Carolina School for the Arts. While vacationing in Santa Fe, NM, during spring break, Bader met a casting agent who lined up an audition for a small role in a television pilot. Bader ended up winning the leading role instead, and while the pilot never sold, it did prompt Bader to relocate to Los Angeles and begin pursuing an acting career full-time. He began landing guest spots on episodic television shows, including Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 1993, Bader was cast as the Searcher on the television series Danger Theater, a short-lived spoof of action-adventure programs. Penelope Spheeris, who directed the Danger Theater episodes, remembered Bader when casting for her film The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), based on the popular sitcom of the '60s and '70s. Bader won the role of cheerful but slow-witted Jethro Bodine, and his performance was one of the comic highlights of the film. The movie significantly raised Bader's visibility, and in 1995 he was cast as the logically challenged Oswald on The Drew Carey Show. Bader's success on The Drew Carey Show led to notable supporting roles in motion pictures, such as Office Space and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; he also began doing voice work for a number of animated television projects, including Pepper Ann, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Kim Possible. In his private life, Bader married actress Dulcy Rogers in 1998.As his run on The Drew Carey Show continued, he also appeared regularly in feature film such as The Country Bears, Napoleon Dynamite, Eurotrip, and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, as well as animated films like Ice Age and Bolt. In 2010 he landed a recurring role on the short-lived NBC sitcom Outsourced.
~ Rovi
An American manager at a novelties company heads up a call center in India. While he takes steps to adapt to his new home, his employees also learn about American culture through the products they're selling. ~ Brie Hearn, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Rappaport, Diedrich Bader, (more)
An unathletic junior college student works to realize his dream of playing for the MLB while courting a pretty volleyball player who displays the athletic prowess that he so sorely lacks. Calvin Marshall (Alex Frost) is a good kid with big dreams. Despite knowing that the young player will never make it to the big leagues, his coach, Doug (Steve Zahn), recognizes Calvin's dedication to the game, and decides to keep him around as a morale-boosting bench warmer. Meanwhile, likeable Calvin strikes up a tentative romance with Tori (Michelle Lombardo), a statuesque volleyball star with a quick smile and a warm heart. But just as Calvin and Tori are getting to know one another, the bumbling baseball player tells an innocent lie that threatens to destroy any chance for a meaningful relationship. Despite the many setbacks Calvin faces both romantically and professionally, he struggles with the realization that his only hope for getting the absolute most out of life is to accept the little disappointments along the way, and turn his failures into learning opportunities. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alex Frost, Steve Zahn, (more)
A pack of inquisitive golden retrievers take a trip to the moon, only to realize that there's truly no place like home in this installment of Disney's popular talking dog series. The Buddies are back, and this time they're joined by four-legged friends Spudnick and Gravity. Their mission: Launch plans for a moon landing, then make their way back to planet Earth. Blasting through space and dodging asteroids left and right, this furry team of astronauts realize that the only way to accomplish their mission is through friendship and teamwork. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes Bolt, the tale of a superstar TV pup (voiced by John Travolta) who gets plopped in the middle of America with seemingly no way back to the glam and glitz of Hollywood. Thanks to his starring role on a hit television show, Bolt the pooch has become a household name. But Bolt has bought into his own heroic image, now believing that he really possesses the super-canine powers of his fictional television series. When he's accidentally shipped from Hollywood to New York City, he must rely on the help from his two newfound friends -- an abandoned house cat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman) and a television-addicted hamster named Rhino (voice of Mark Walton) -- as he embarks on a cross-country quest to get back to his owner (and co-star), Penny (voice of Miley Cyrus). ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, (more)
From the creators of Scary Movie and Date Movie comes this tongue-in-cheek parody of the sword-and-sandal epics, dubbed Meet the Spartans. The 20th Century Fox production was written and directed by the filmmaking team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Sure, Leonidas may have nothing more than a cape and some leather underwear to protect him from the razor-sharp swords of his Persian enemies, but that won't stop the brave leader and his team of 13 warriors from defending their beloved homeland against a powerful invading force that includes the likes of a mutant Paris Hilton, the Transformers, the Ghost Rider, and Rocky Balboa. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, (more)
- 2007
Despite his lifelong phobia regarding naked people, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) agrees to investigate a murder at a nudist beach. His discomfort amongst the "au naturel" crowd almost leads Monk to align himself with the chief suspect, software billionaire Peter Magneri (Alfred Molina), who has been trying to rezone the beach and kick the nudists out. As the story rolls on, Monk ends up hotly pursuing the wrong suspect, Chance Singer (Diedrich Bader), a mistake which may prove fatal unless the detective can get back on the right track by tracing the root cause of his "nude-o-phobia." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A disgraced former ping pong champion is drawn back into the world of high-stakes table tennis to carry out a top-secret mission in the feature directorial debut of Reno 911! writer/director Ben Garant. Far removed from the rigidly regulated world of professional sports, clandestine ping pong tournaments offer thrilling competition where only the strong survive. There was a time when the mere mention of the name Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) was enough to make even those most hardened ping pong player cower in fear, but these days Randy has fallen out of favor with ping-pong fans. The former champ soon receives a much-needed shot at redemption, however, when he is recruited by a determined FBI agent named Rodriguez (George Lopez) to win a coveted spot in the upcoming underground table tennis tournament and ferret out the nefarious Feng (Christopher Walken), whose thriving criminal empire has transformed him into a true menace to society. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, (more)
A surfing penguin currently riding the wave of success enters his first professional competition in this computer-animated family-oriented comedy from directors Chris Buck and Ash Brannon. Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) may be a relative amateur when it comes to hanging ten, but he's sure he has what it takes to surf his way to superstardom. With a little help from his cantankerous King Penguin mentor, ex-surfing legend Big Z (Jeff Bridges), and a little encouragement from star Pen Gu Island lifeguard Lani (Zooey Deschanel), there may be hope for this tuxedo-clad wave twister after all. James Woods, Jane Krakowski, Michael McKean, Jon Heder, Mario Cantone, and Brian Benben all lend their voices to this inspirational tale that proves anything is possible when you put your heart and mind to it. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, (more)
- 2006
- R
- Add National Lampoon Presents Cattle Call to Queue Add National Lampoon Presents Cattle Call to top of Queue
A group of disgruntled actresses plot revenge after learning that a high profile casting call was actually a scam cooked up by three lonely losers just looking to get laid. Sherman and Glen just wanted a little action, but romantic Richie Ray was looking for his dream girl. At first their seedy scam seemed to be working brilliantly, and then the truth came out. When these ambitious actresses realize they've been had, it doesn't take long for them to throw together their own diabolical plan. Nicole Eggert, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Diedrich Bader star in a sexy comedy featuring special appearances by Paul Mazursky and Jonathan Winters. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2005
- PG13
- Add Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous to Queue Add Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous to top of Queue
FBI agent-turned-reluctant beauty queen Gracie Hart (played by Sandra Bullock) is taking on both bad guys and high glamour again in this sequel to the comedy smash Miss Congeniality. After her undercover mission at the Miss United States pageant becomes public knowledge, Gracie becomes something of a celebrity, and the FBI uses her notoriety to generate positive PR for the bureau; however, Gracie would like to get back to some solid police work, especially after scuffling with fellow female agent "Sam" Fuller (Regina King), who isn't impressed with Gracie. Despite their differences, the two find themselves working side by side when two of Gracie's pals from the pageant -- contest winner Cheryl Frasier (Heather Burns) and master of ceremonies Stan Fields (William Shatner) -- fall victim to kidnappers. As she did on the first film, Sandra Bullock served as both producer and star for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, while director John Pasquin's credits include several episodes of the situation comedy George Lopez, also produced by Bullock. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Regina King, (more)
- 2004
The ninth and final season of The Drew Carey Show was what is known in show business as a "burnoff". Though contractually committed to keep the series on the air until the Summer of 2004 and to approve a budget of $3 million per episode, ABC was unable to justify these conditions as the series' ratings continued to fall. Thus, Season Nine began not in the fall of 2003 as was customary, but instead snuck onto the scene on June 2, 2004, traditionally one of the lowest-rated playdates. The season's 28 episodes were subsequently seen on a two-per-week basis for the next fourteen weeks, until ABC was finally allowed to pull the plug on September 9. As a result, while the final season lost money for the network, it lost far less than would have happened had ABC scuttled the season entirely or left the remaining episodes on the shelf. (Don't you just love "inside baseball" talk like this?) The season was supposed to have begun just after the breakup of the extremely brief marriage between Drew Carey (playing himself) and his Southern-fried bride Lily, an emotional setback compounded by the death of Drew's dad George (Stanley Anderson) in a freak accident, and further exacerbated by George's disastrous military-style funeral. However, ABC chose to run the season's episodes out of sequence, confusing one and all. Even so, viewers quickly glommed to the fact that a romance had developed between Drew and his lifelong friend Kellie (Cynthia Watros), who subsequenlty announces her pregnancy, leading to the anticpated story complications and the introduction of Kellie's obnoxious parents Don (Michael Gross) and Annette (Susan Sullivan). At the same time, Drew has become surrogate father to his nephew Gus (who has miraculously reached the age of five after only three years, and is now played by Matthew Josten), thanks to the fact that Drew's brother Steve has deserted his wife Mimi (Kathy Kinney) and skeedaddled to Sri Lanka. Though Steve would make an unexpected reappearance in the form of onetime series regular John Carroll Lynch, Mimi would ultimately find lasting happiness from a wholly unanticipated source! The series ends as "NeverendingStore", the dot.com where Drew works, goes bankrupt, whereupon Drew attempts to revive his former place of employment, Winfred-Louder, with himself in charge. To this end, Drew seeks the help of his ex-boss Mr. Wick (welcome back, Craig Ferguson), now fabulously wealthy thanks to his marriage to the daughter of a Christian-broadcasting mogul. Though these plans typically go nowhere, there's a happy ending of sorts as Drew and Kellie prepare to get married--as quickly as possible, inasmuch as Kellie has already gone into labor! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
The directorial debut of filmmaker Jared Hess, who also co-wrote the screenplay, Napoleon Dynamite is a quirky, offbeat comedy set in the small Idaho town of Preston. Jon Heder stars in the titular role, a carrot-topped oddball with a decidedly eccentric family that includes his llama-loving, dune-buggy enthusiast grandmother. The story centers on the local high school's race for class president. Using some nontraditional means, Napoleon is determined to help his pal Pedro (Efrem Ramirez) run a winning campaign and defeat popular girl Summer (Haylie Duff). Also starring The Drew Carey Show's Diedrich Bader, Napoleon Dynamite premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Written and directed by Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer, Eurotrip is a teen comedy from the Montecito Picture Company (makers of similar movies Old School and Road Trip). Mainstream teenager Scott (Scott Mechlowicz) forms an online friendship with German student Mieke in order to get a passing grade in his high school German class. When he finds out Mieke is a buxom blonde girl (Jessica Böhrs), he travels to meet her with his pals Cooper (Jacob Pitts), Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg), and Jamie (Travis Wester). The group of randy teens head to Berlin by way of London, Paris, and Amsterdam. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, (more)
A road trip rolls through a small town where the line between the dead and the living has become a bit problematic in this horror parody. A handful of twentysomethings are driving to Galveston, TX, in an RV to attend the wedding of a close friend. After a long day on the road, the travelers find themselves in a tiny town called Lovelock, where the only available accommodations are at a bed and breakfast run by the eccentric Mr. Wise (David Carradine). One of the kids, Johnny (Oz Perkins), notices that Mr. Wise is carefully looking after a small box; curious about its contents, Johnny opens it, only to unleash a torrent of evil spirits who turn the local rednecks into bloodthirsty creatures hovering somewhere between life and death. Dead & Breakfast features supporting performances by Portia de Rossi, Diedrich Bader, Jeremy Sisto, and David Carradine's daughter Ever Carradine; co-star Oz Perkins is also the offspring of a well-known actor, Anthony Perkins. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ever Carradine, Brent David Fraser, (more)
- 2004
Pregnant Kellie (Cynthia Watros) fumes when Drew (Drew Carey) misses their first sonogram to go out bowling and drinking with the boys. That's right: Their kid hasn't even been born yet, and already the couple is quarrelling over every single solitary aspect of parenthood. All this arguing proves to have a deleterious effect on the "sea monkey" in Kellie's womb, who expresses his dismay in a voice that sounds suspiciously like series regular Diedrich Bader. This episode originally aired in tandem with "Michigan J. Gus". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
Although by prior agreement ABC was required to retain The Drew Carey Show on its prime time schedule through 2004 at a cost of $3,000,000 per episode, by the fall of 2002 it was obvious that the series' plummeting ratings no longer justified such a long-term commitment. Thus, only 15 of the 27 episodes filmed for the series' eighth season were broadcast before the network yanked the show from its lineup in January of 2003. At this point, ABC had two options: shelve the remaining episodes (and the subsequent ninth season, then in its early production stages) and take a huge financial bath, or "burn off" the 12 leftover episodes during the Summer of 2003, with two episodes shown back-to-back each week for a six-week period. The latter option was exercised, then repeated for the ninth and final season of The Drew Carey Show in the Summer of 2004. Those few viewers tuning into Season Eight had some treats in store for them, most notably the guest appearances of a different A-list musical group at the beginning and end of each episode. Also, there was an influx of new characters, precipitated by the bankruptcy of Winfred-Louder, the Cleveland department store which employed series protagonist Drew Carey (playing himself) and Drew's mortal enemy (and now sister-in-law!) Mimi Bombeck (Kathy Kinney. The store's new owners are a pair of oafish young techno-nerds named Scott (Jonathan Mangum) and Evan (Kyle Howard), who transform the place into a dot.com called "NeverendingStore." At first intending to fire everybody, Scott and Evan keep Drew on because they're amused by "the old man", and also relent and rehire Mimi (Kathy Kinney)--who immediately develops an intense hatred for newly installed keyboard operator Traylor (Kaitlin Olson), who proves so odious that Mimi ends up trying to murder the girl by stuffing her in a paper shredder! Leaving the series this season is longtime regular Christa Miller), whose character, Kate O'Brien, heads to Guam with her new husband, fighter pilot Kirk (Cameron Mathison). Replacing Kate as one of the "gang"--consisting of Drew, Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles)--is another of Drew's former school pals, Kellie Newmark, played by Cynthia Watros. Though his marriage to Kate has fallen through, Drew stubbornly books a chapel for his wedding--then spends the rest of the season searching for an appropriate bride, with the help of former coworoker and now professional matchmaker Larry Almada (Ian Gomez). After a tentative romance with Kellie comes acropper, Drew settles upon a ditzy Southern belle named Lily (Tammy Lauren), with whom he ultimately marches down the aisle...and then... Although billed as regulars this season, John Carroll Lynch as Drew's brother and Mimi's husband Steve and Craig Ferguson as Drew's ex-boss Mr. Wick appear only sporadically. The reason for Wick's non-appearances are fairly obvious (why should he hang around a place where he's been canned); as for Steve, he abruptly vanishes from view after Mimi catches him in an extramarital affair, one that forces poor Drew to act as surrogate father for his nephew Gus for the duration of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
A team of "sub-zero heroes" band together to save a human infant in this digitally animated feature from Oscar-winning director Chris Wedge, whose unique lighting software (called "Ray Tracing") sets his visual style apart from earlier CGI efforts. Twenty thousand years ago, the Earth is overrun by freezing temperatures in an Ice Age that is sending all manner of critters scattering in the path of encroaching glaciers. When a lost human infant is discovered, an unlikely quartet of misfits forms to return it to its mother: Manny, a depressed woolly mammoth (Ray Romano); Sid, a fast-talking sloth (John Leguizamo); an acorn-crazed squirrel named Scrat (Wedge); and the devilish saber-toothed tiger named Diego (Denis Leary). Before they can complete their mission, the reluctant compatriots will brave pits of boiling lava, dangerous caverns of ice, and even a traitorous plot within their midst. Ice Age (2002) also features the voices of Jack Black, Jane Krakowski, and Goran Visnjic. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, (more)
Tori Spelling, Drew Carey Show stalwart Diedrich Bader, and SNL alum Chris Parnell team up for this wacky takeoff on B-movies, written and directed by Bill and Ted co-creator Chris Matheson. True to its title, Evil Alien Conquerors involves the efforts of Matheson and Parnell's bickering characters to eliminate every member of the human race, out of fear that they themselves will be annihilated by The Croker, a giant monster intent on intergalactic domination. Evil Alien Conquerors played various festivals before its video release. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
This family musical enjoys the dubious distinction of being the first film ever based on a theme park attraction, the "Country Bears Jamboree" at Disneyworld. Beary Barrington (voice of Haley Joel Osment) is an adolescent bruin raised by a human family after he was found by a park ranger, abandoned in the forest. Curious about his biological roots, Beary travels to Tennessee to seek out his birth parents while attempting to locate the members of his favorite musical group -- a defunct country music act called the Country Bears -- along the way. Country Bear Hall, the famed venue where the band was launched, is facing imminent destruction at the hands of greedy banker Reed Thimple (Christopher Walken), but young Beary has a plan to save the hall by staging a reunion benefit concert. Beary's path takes him through a guitar duel, a vintage coffee house, and a car wash, as he's pursued by a pair of bumbling cops (Diedrich Bader and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell) trying to reunite him with his adoptive parents. Meanwhile, a panoply of musical legends including Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, and Queen Latifah appear Behind the Music-style to comment on the Country Bears' alleged artistic influence on their work. The Country Bears, the first in a pair of planned Disney projects based on the company's theme park rides (the second is slated to be based on "Pirates of the Caribbean"), co-stars Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Garrett, Alex Rocco, and Stephen Root. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, Stephen Tobolowsky, (more)
The keeper of one of the most distinctive voices in modern jazz, enigmatic singer Jimmy Scott has overcome remarkable adversity to become one of the most respected jazz vocalists of his generation. Now viewers can accompany Scott on his remarkable life journey in this revealing and personal documentary that traces his lifelong quest to break the chains of exploitation, bring his family together, and achieve a sense of closure through his undeniable talent behind the microphone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2001
- R
- Add Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back to Queue Add Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back to top of Queue
The frequently recurring title characters, employed by writer and director Kevin Smith as supporting players in several of his films, are put to rest with this comedy that focuses on them exclusively. Jay (Jason Mews) and Silent Bob (Smith) are a pair of stoned New Jersey slackers who have long been used as the templates for a pair of popular comic book heroes, Bluntman and Chronic. When they learn that their alter egos are to be turned into a major motion picture without their consent or compensation, the pair sets off for Hollywood to sabotage the production. Along the way, they encounter an ape, a nun (Carrie Fisher), the cast of Scooby-Doo, a Charlie's Angels-style band of sexy women who use them as stool pigeons in a diamond heist, and an unhinged wildlife ranger (Will Ferrell). They also meet up with some regulars from the Smith canon, including Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jason Lee as Banky Edwards, Alanis Morissette as God, and actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in dual roles as themselves and two other familiar characters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back co-stars numerous other recognizable performers in roles of various sizes, including Shannen Doherty, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Shannon Elizabeth, Tracy Morgan, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and George Carlin, among others. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, (more)
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