Kristen Schaal Movies

When an evil oil man discovers black gold beneath Muppet Theater, Kermit recruits a Muppet super-fan and his two best friends to help gather up the gang for a telethon that will save the venue from being razed and replaced with a giant oil pump. Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) never met an oil field he couldn't suck dry. So when Tex discovers a bountiful reservoir right underneath Muppet Theater, he begins drawing up plans to claim the land and start drilling. Little does Tex realize that devoted Muppets fan Walter is currently in Los Angeles with his best friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams), and that he's not about to let one man's greed spoil a good thing for everyone. With Kermit by their side, Walter, Gary, and Mary hatch a plan to put on a big telethon that will help them raise the ten million dollars needed to keep Muppet Theater standing. But rounding up the gang won't be easy, because these days Miss Piggy's got a posh job at Vogue Paris; Fozzie has landed a gig at a Reno casino; Gonzo has become the owner of a successful plumbing company; and Animal is dealing with anger management issues in a Santa Barbara clinic. With the drilling deadline fast drawing near and Tex wringing his hands in anticipation, the gang races to put on the performance of a lifetime and save Muppet Theater from certain destruction. Directed by James Bobin and written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller, The Muppets Movie features cameos by Zach Galifianakis, Billy Crystal, Jack Black, Alan Arkin, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, among others. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An ambitious young record company executive attempts to transport an unpredictable rock star to L.A.'s Greek Theatre in time for his hotly anticipated comeback performance in this spin-off of the comedy hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) has just landed his dream job in the record industry, and he's eager to prove his worth. His first assignment: travel to London and escort British rock god Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) to the show that will re-ignite his career. Before he departs, Aaron is warned by his boss Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) to never let Aldous out of his sight, and never underestimate his capacity for mayhem. Immensely talented yet deeply tortured, Aldous hit the bottle hard after his popularity began to wane and his girl walked out on him. Aldous is locked in the midst of an existential crisis, and rues the thought of being accompanied across the pond by an insincere sycophant. Though it seems like sex is the only thing Aldous ever thinks about, his thoughts turn to romance when he discovers that gorgeous model/pop singer Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) will be in Los Angeles at the time of his concert, too. Jackie Q is the love of Aldous' life, and he'll do anything and everything to win her heart. With the concert fast approaching and Aaron's fledgling career on the line, the race is on to get Aldous to the Greek, and ensure the big show goes off without a hitch. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An ambitious executive accepts an invitation from his boss to attend a dinner party where high-powered professionals make fun of unsuspecting dimwits in this remake of Francis Veber's 1998 comedy The Dinner Game. Upwardly mobile executive Tim (Paul Rudd) has just landed his company an extremely wealthy Swiss client when his boss, Lance (Bruce Greenwood), invites him to an exclusive, yet unusually mean-spirited dinner party where each of the high-powered executives brings a guest to make fun of. Recognizing that his long-awaited promotion is finally within reach, Tim begins to have second thoughts about participating in the elaborate charade when his longtime girlfriend, Julie (Stephanie Szostak), the successful curator at a local art gallery, voices intense disdain for the idea. The following day, Tim is looking for a way out of the dinner when fate throws the perfect guest right in front of his luxury car. Barry (Steve Carell) is a sweet but dim-witted IRS agent with an unusual hobby: he creates elaborate dioramas featuring stuffed mice. His latest project is "The Last Supper," and he's just put the finishing touches on a tiny mouse Jesus to set at the center of the table. Tim knows that Barry is his ticket to a big corner office on the seventh floor, but the closer the party looms, the more he realizes that his bumbling new acquaintance isn't just an idiot, but also is a magnet for chaos. ~ Rovi

Gary Marshall's ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's Day follows nearly two dozen people as they find and lose love in all its many forms over the course of the title holiday. The numerous characters include a very busy florist (Ashton Kutcher) and his schoolteacher best friend (Jennifer Garner). She's having an affair with a married doctor (Patrick Dempsey). Meanwhile, a businessman (Bradley Cooper) and a military captain (Julia Roberts) on leave share a long conversation during an international flight. There's also an elderly couple (Hector Elizondo and Shirley MacLaine) who are caring for their elementary school-age grandson, who is pining for a classmate and missing his mother. The huge cast also includes Jamie Foxx as a local TV personality, Topher Grace, Queen Latifah, and Anne Hathaway. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Disillusioned with romance during her whirlwind trip to Rome, an ambitious New Yorker defiantly swipes a few magic coins from a "foolish" wishing fountain, inadvertently igniting the passions of a motley crew of suitors as she's pursued by a handsome reporter with charm to spare. Beth (Kristen Bell) is at a point in her life where love seems like a luxury she just can't afford. Years of waiting for that perfect romance has made Beth bitter, and one day, while vacationing in Rome, she cynically plucks a handful of coins from a local fountain of love. Almost immediately thereafter, Beth finds herself fending off the advances of a diminutive sausage magnate (Danny DeVito), a lanky street magician (Jon Heder), a doting painter (Will Arnett), and a narcissistic male model (Dax Shepard). Meanwhile, a smitten reporter (Josh Duhamel) does his best to convince Beth that true love isn't just a topic of fairy tales and romance novels. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In their sophomore season, the guitar-playing Kiwis continue their quest to make it big in the Big Apple. Among the highlights: With Murray (Rhys Darby) preoccupied by another band, Bret (Bret McKenzie) and Jemaine (Jemaine Clement) take advantage of his absence and pen a commercial jingle; in the episode A New Cup, an impulse purchase sets off a tempest in a teacup that inspires the Roxanne spoof "You Don't Have to Be a Prostitute"; Dave (Arj Barker) and other unlikely gangbangers watch Bret's back after he disparages A-list rappers (watch for the 'Chords to bust some rhymes about "Hurt Feelings"); and the band, unable to pay the rent, moves in with Mel (Kristen Schaal) and Doug (David Costabile). Season 2 guest stars include Lucy Lawless, Art Garfunkel, Greg Proops, Jim Gaffigan, Kristen Wiig, and Patton Oswalt. ~ Kathy LeSage, Rovi

This rollicking HBO offering chronicled the misadventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man "digi-folk" band from New Zealand. It could do nothing less -- starring in the half-hour series was Flight of the Conchords, a genuine two-man digi-folk band from New Zealand consisting of comedians Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who created the property in concert (no pun intended) with James Bobin. The two protagonists, cleverly named Jemaine and Bret, had come all the way from their mother country to hit it big in New York City. There were only two things keeping them from skyrocketing to stardom: they never seemed to get any decent bookings, and they were bloody awful. Doing rather less than his best to make household names out of Jemaine (the one with the glasses) and Bret (the one with the beard) was their agent-manager Murray (Rhys Darby), whose day job as a cultural aide at the New Zealand Consulate's tourism division gave him plenty of free time -- if not plenty of money -- to arrange such gigs as a retro rock video in which the boys were dressed in ill-fitting cardboard robot suits, and an outdoor concert in Central Park (the wrong Central Park in the wrong city, worse luck). Evidently, Murray was one of only three people in Manhattan who even acknowledged the existence of Flight of the Conchords. The other two were the president -- and only member -- of the band's fan club, an overaged groupie named Mel (Kristen Schaal), who obsessively and lustfully dogged the boys' path, usually chauffeured by her unbelievably unflappable husband; and Dave (Arj Barker), who owned the pawnshop where Jemaine and Bret's instruments were habitually in hock. The series' semi-improvised dialogue and surrealistic storylines were counterpointed by fantasy musical sequences, which gaudily spoofed the music-videos of the past three decades; these vignettes were invariably better than Flight of the Conchords' actual performances, though not by much. Though probably best appreciated by "insiders" in the music business, Flight of the Conchords was broad enough in appeal to tickle the fancy of any comedy fan, while retaining just enough deadpan subtlety to induce quiet chuckles along with the belly laughs. The series debuted June 17, 2007. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker James Mangold follows his Oscar-winning drama Girl, Interrupted (1999) with this whimsical fantasy. Meg Ryan stars as Kate McKay, a modern female executive in New York City whose drive to succeed in the cutthroat corporate world has left little time for romance. When her genius ex-boyfriend Stuart (Liev Schreiber) opens a portal in time, the experiment transports Leopold (Hugh Jackman) from 1867 to the present day. A charming bachelor and the royal "Third Duke of Albany" in his own time, Leopold is fascinated by the 21st century. As the courtly Leopold and the decidedly liberated Kate tour the town, a mutual attraction develops into something deeper, a relationship that's threatened by Leopold's temporary chronological status. Kate & Leopold (2001) was originally developed by co-screenwriter Steve Rogers as a project for star/producer Sandra Bullock, who had a hit with his film Hope Floats (1998). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi