Dylan Baker Movies

After his 1995 breakthrough, Welcome to the Dollhouse, director Todd Solondz was courted by a number of studios to make a big-budget film with top stars. Instead, he chose to make this aggressively dark comedy-drama of perversions and twisted lives. Andy Kornbluth (Jon Lovitz) explodes with anger after rejection in a restaurant from Joy Jordan (Jane Adams), one of a trio of middle-class New Jersey sisters. Joy's sister Trish (Cynthia Stevenson), a housewife with three kids, is married to psychiatrist Bill (Dylan Baker), who counsels the lonely, overweight Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Allen is obsessed with Joy's other sister, the successful poet Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle), all the while ignoring the attentions of his seemingly sweet yet overweight neighbor Kristina (Camryn Manheim). Bill has fantasies of turning an assault rifle on families in a park, masturbates to teen magazine photos, and develops an unhealthy interest in a classmate of his 11-year-old son, Billy (Rufus Read). After a telephone sales job, Joy moves on to substitute teach at an adult education class, where she falls prey to the advances of an insensitive cabdriver, Vlad (Jared Harris). Allen's series of obscene phone calls to Helen come to an end when she challenges him to come next door and carry out his sexual threats. Meanwhile, the sisters' parents, Lenny and Mona Jordan (Ben Gazzara and Louise Lasser), find their marriage collapsing after 40 years. Lenny has sparked the interest of divorcée Diane Freed (Elizabeth Ashley), but he actually would prefer to be alone. The path to happiness, it seems, is littered with dreams, despair, and abnormalities. Winner of the International Critics' prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, Happiness met with much controversy both in pre-production and upon its release, as chronicled in producer Christine Vachon's book Shooting to Kill. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A blend of screwball farce and whodunit murder mystery, this madcap period piece was the brainchild of executive producer George Lucas. In 1939, Penny Henderson (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the harried general secretary and de facto manager of a new fourth radio network, WBN. On the night that the Chicago station goes live on the air, a mysterious voice interrupts, and a series of murders soon follows, each one described by the same sonorous phantom. While Penny and her staff desperately try to keep WBN's roster of shows afloat during the unfolding crisis, her estranged husband Roger (Brian Benben), a staff writer, becomes the chief suspect. Roger is forced to dodge a detective, Lieutenant Cross (Michael Lerner), find the real killer, win Penny back, and perform last-minute script rewrites for an unhappy sponsor. As the backstage hysteria reaches a fever pitch, the show goes on with real-life radio-era pros such as George Burns and Rosemary Clooney. Although never explicitly pointed out in the film, Radioland Murders (1994) was a pseudo-prequel to an earlier Lucas feature -- Roger and Penny are the future parents of Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) from American Graffiti (1973). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

John Candy plays Jack Gable, a soap-opera writer who finds himself trapped inside his own television program with a magic typewriter in this toothless comedy. Jack finds himself embroiled in protecting his beloved Laura (Emma Samms), an actress who plays Rachel Hedison in Jack's show -- "Beyond Our Dreams" -- from having her character being killed off by the program's producers, the Sherwoods (Jerry Orbach, Renee Taylor). Laura has recently broken off with her co-star and lover Dennis (David Rasche) and is heading off for a weekend with Jack. As Jack unloads Laura's luggage, he conks himself on the head and knocks himself out. He awakens in a town bearing a name similar to the town in his soap opera. Dennis is on hand, but as his character in the show -- Dr. Paul Kirkland. Jack realizes that he has found himself in an alternative world made up of his soap opera world -- particularly apparent when he is recognized as Jack Gates, "the Wolf of Wall Street." Jack then meets Laura, who, in this soap opera world, is actually Janet Dubois, the daughter of a late biochemist who invented a pill that allows anyone to eat whatever they want and not gain any weight. The unscrupulous Hedison family (Raymond Burr, Charles Rocket, Dylan Baker) want to steal the formula for the pill and make a fortune for their pharmaceutical company. Jack then discovers that he can exit and re-enter the show at will and can alter the narrative of the show however he wants by typing up new plot points on his typewriter. In order to save Laura's character from the Sherwoods, Jack re-writes the show to save Janet by having his own character come to her rescue at the last minute. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Your friendly neighborhood web-slinger is back, only this time his sunny outlook has become partially overcast in the third chapter of director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man saga. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco return to reprise their roles from the previous two installments, with Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, and Bryce Dallas Howard making their first appearances in the series as Flint Marko (aka Sandman), Eddie Brock (aka Venom), and Gwen Stacy, respectively. Peter Parker (Maguire) has finally leaned to walk the middle ground between being the superhero that his city needs and the man that Mary Jane (Dunst) loves. All is well in New York City until one night, as Peter and M.J. sit gazing at the stars, a falling comet streams across the sky and crashes into the ground close by. But this isn't any ordinary shooting star, and upon impact the mysterious space rock is split open to reveal a shape-shifting symbiote with the power to overtake anything that it comes into contact with. Later, as Harry Osborn (James Franco) acquires his late father's flying board, engineers a powerful new Goblin outfit, and takes to the sky to avenge dad's death, the mysterious space sludge infects both Peter's Spider-Man suit and ambitious street photographer Eddie Brock (Grace). Peter's strange new suit gives him a newfound sense of power as it gradually overpowers his personality, and he discovers that escaped convict Flint Marko was in fact the man responsible for the death of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). Unfortunately for Peter, Marko has recently acquired the power to morph at will and quickly completes his transformation into the dreaded Sandman. As the Sandman gives in to his darkest criminal instincts and the slithering space symbiote transforms Eddie Brock into the nightmarish fanged villain known as Venom, the citizens of New York City must once again call on Spider-Man to fend off destructive forces that are far too powerful for the likes of mortal man. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Stan Lee's all-too-human superhero returns to the screen in this highly anticipated sequel to 2002's blockbuster hit Spider-Man. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is attempting to juggle college classes and his job as a photographer with the Daily Bugle while maintaining his secret life as costumed crime-fighter Spider-Man. Parker is also struggling to hold on to his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who is beginning to enjoy success as a model and actress, and both Mary Jane and Peter have noticed he's beginning to buckle under the strain. Parker's friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is also beginning to fray due to Peter's seeming alliance with Spider-Man, whom Harry blames for the death of his father, the nefarious Norman Osborn. As Parker weighs his responsibilities to himself and those around him against the obligations that come with his special powers, Spider-Man is faced with a new nemesis -- Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a deranged scientist whose latest project has turned him into the near-invincible cyborg Doctor Octopus. Spider-Man 2 was directed by Sam Raimi, who helmed the first film, and much of the original cast has also reunited for this sequel, including Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, and Bruce Campbell. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi

An airy romance in the tradition of classic Hollywood comedies of the Depression Era, Simply Irresistible (1999) also presses into service the food-obsessed magical realism of Like Water for Chocolate (1992). Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Amanda Shelton, the chef at Southern Cross, a trendy Tribeca restaurant she inherited from her legendary mother. Not the most inspired of culinary artists, Amanda is running the establishment into the ground, until a cab-driving, Cupid-like guardian angel (playwright Christopher Durang) intervenes with a magical crab that puts Amanda in the path of slick spin master Tom Bartlett (Sean Patrick Flanery). Tom is opening a restaurant for his boss Jonathan Bendel (Dylan Baker), who wants to assure the eatery is no less than a four-star affair, but the temperamental French chef is giving fits to Bartlett and his secretary Lois (Patricia Clarkson). Enter Amanda, who falls head over heels for Tom, love suddenly bestowing upon her the gift of infusing her dishes with powerful amorous emotions that overwhelm diners with a rapturous ecstasy. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

When it comes to love, Paul Matthews and Diane Farrow, two highly educated and talented scientists don't know a thing. Looking at their geeky demeanor's it's easy to see why. Despite the fact that both are neighbors, share the same interests and both are psychobiologists who study primates, neither is really aware of the other romantically until Paul, who is terribly shy around women, goes to gypsy Madame Ruth in desperation and asks for help. She reads his palm and tells him that he needs a woman; she then hands him Love Potion No. 8 which will attract women like flies to honey. This romantic comedy chronicles what happens to him (and Diane) when, after experimenting on animals, they decide to try it on themselves. Though the changes only last four hours per dose, they are truly remarkable and the two agree to separate for three weeks and then come back together to compare results. The time passes quickly and wonderfully for them and when they finally reunite both have changed for the better. Just for fun, they decide to go out with each other. They do not drink the potion, but still have a wonderful and passionate night. This leads Paul to propose to Diane. Unfortunately, she thinks she loves another, a man who is really more interested in exploiting the potion for money than he is in her. He ends up buying up all of Madame Ruth's latest batch. Paul goes back to her and explains his problem and that is when Ruth hands him the potent Love Potion No. 9, which can manifest true love. Quickly, he takes it and sets off to find Diane before she makes a terrible mistake. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this film, based on the novel by John Nichols, young Wendall Olet (Lukas Haas) is sent to live with his Aunt Sybil (Lea Thompson) and Uncle John (Lance Guest) when is father is called on to fight in World War II. Lonely and unhappy, Wendall harbors the delusion that he possesses amazing powers and becomes involved in some family secrets. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Prolific director Bryan Singer takes a turn towards horror as the producer of this Halloween shocker directed by X2 and Superman Returns screenwriter Mike Dougherty. With four interwoven tales concerning a high-school principal who moonlights as a vicious serial killer, a college-age virgin who's saving herself for that special someone, a woman whose hatred of Halloween is only exceeded by her husband's love of the mischievous holiday, and a callous group of teens who carry out an unforgivably cruel prank, this fall frightener mixes Tarantino-style storytelling with the kind of chills that can only occur on the darkest day of the year. Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, and Leslie Bibb all star in a Halloween treat that's sure to deliver a few nasty tricks. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Kid Stays in the Picture director Brett Morgen turns his unique eye toward the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in this 2006 documentary. Using a star-studded voice cast along with a blend of archival footage and animation, Morgen tells the story of the eight demonstrators who were arrested and tried for conspiracy in the wake of the violent anti-war protests. Featuring the voices of Nick Nolte and Mark Ruffalo among others, Chicago 10 premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Bob Odenkirk's jail comedy Let's Go to Prison!, stars Will Arnett as Nelson Biederman IV, the son of a judge who ends up being sentenced to serve time in Rossmore State Penitentiary. During one of his rare stints out of incarceration, career criminal John Lyshitski (Dax Shepard) learns of the conviction. John holds a grudge against Nelson's father and decides to get his revenge by going back to jail and making Nelson's stay there as horrible as possible. Chi McBride co-stars as a fellow inmate. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A newly single father discovers his daughter is caught up in a web of evil in this thriller. David Callaway (Robert De Niro) has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily (Dakota Fanning), on his own after the unexpected death of his wife. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named "Charlie," but it isn't long before "Charlie" develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realization that "Charlie" isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination. Hide and Seek also stars Famke Janssen, Dylan Baker, and Amy Irving. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi