DeRay Davis
- 2009
- PG
- AddNowhereLandto Queue
A powerful financial executive whose career was sent spiraling down the drain due to sudden lack of confidence finds the answers to his inexplicable setback in an imaginary world dreamt up by his young daughter in a fantasy comedy starring Eddie Murphy and co-scripted by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson (the writing duo behind Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, (more)
The American Basketball Association is on the verge of collapse, and when a former NBA benchwarmer returns to his hometown of Flint, MI, to whip his former team into shape for the playoffs, redemption is just a free throw away in this period sports comedy starring Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson. Penned by Old School scribe Scot Armstrong, Semi-Pro tells the tale of a 1970s-era basketball player who doesn't have much luck in the NBA, but vows to leave his mark on the sport by coaching the Flint Tropics. When the upstart ABA league agrees to be absorbed by the NBA, only four teams will be allowed in. Jackie Moon (Ferrell) must orchestrate a successful season both on the court, and financially off the court with the help of many odd promotional events, in order to remain in the sport he loves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, (more)
An aspiring medical student whose drug-addicted sister has recently died and who may be forced to relocate from her posh private school to the crime-infested neighborhood in which she was raised enters a step-dancing competition in hope of securing the funds needed to continue her education. Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private-school education, ambitious teen Raya returns to her family home in the city and is reluctantly forced to reevaluate her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is 50,000 dollars, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's predominately male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical-school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutina Wesley, Tracey 'Tre' Armstrong, (more)
An engaged young couple finds their lifetime of happiness unexpectedly compromised by a pushy minister who insists they successfully complete his comprehensive marriage-prep course before exchanging wedding vows in a matrimonial comedy starring John Krasinski, Mandy Moore, and Robin Williams. Sadie Jones (Moore) has always longed to marry the man of her dreams in her family church. Though she found her lifetime companion in Ben Murphy (Krasinski), Sadie is distressed to learn that St. Augustine's has only one wedding slot available over the next two years. While Sadie and Ben do qualify for the slot, charismatic St. Augustine's minister Reverend Frank (Williams) won't wed the couple until they agree to attend his two-week prenuptial course. Now, as their wedding date draws near, Sadie and Ben must attend every one of Reverend Frank's exhausting classes and complete a series of rigorous homework assignments designed specifically to test their dedication to one another and ensure that their union will have a sound foundation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, (more)
A man who has lost his memory has a new and dangerous life thrust upon him in this comedy thriller. Jake (Cedric the Entertainer) is a janitor who finds himself stricken with a crippling case of amnesia. While Jake struggles to regain his memory and identity, he becomes convinced that he's an undercover spy who is trying to ferret out a ring of underground arms dealers wanted by the FBI and the CIA. As Jake is thrown into the world of international intrigue, he gains an unlikely ally in Gina (Lucy Liu), an actual U.S. intelligence agent who is tracking the same bad guys and develops a liking for the janitor. The Cleaner also stars Nicollette Sheridan, DeRay Davis, and Callum Keith Rennie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, (more)
Old School director Todd Phillips takes the reins for an updated remake of the 1960 comedy, this time starring Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder as Roger, a lovelorn meter reader who enrolls in a confidence-building class in order to win the love of his dream girl, and Billy Bob Thornton as Dr. P, the scheming, egomaniacal teacher who has designs of his own for the attractive young female. The rivalry soon spins out of control, as pranks and insults fly fast and furiously in a battle to determine the ultimate "guy's guy." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, (more)
John Carpenter's well-remembered thriller gets an update in this remake from director Rupert Wainwright. Nick Castle (Tom Welling) is a charter-boat captain in the small coastal town of Antonio Bay. Castle's ancestors helped to found Antonio Bay, but while the city's mayor (Kenneth Welsh) and the head of the local historical society (Sara Botsford) are spearheading an effort to raise money for a statue that would honor the city fathers, Castle is more interested in seeing the town's rickety docks and aging sea wall replaced. However, Castle has been too distracted with personal matters to wage a campaign of his own -- he's been having an affair with Stevie Wayne (Selma Blair), a single mom who runs a combination radio station and lighthouse, while his former flame Elizabeth Williams (Maggie Grace) has returned to town to mend fences with her mother and finds herself renewing her romance with Castle. One night, Castle and his first mate, Brett Spooner (DeRay Davis), discover an antique ship's bag filled with treasure, not knowing the salvage came from a ship that sank over a hundred years before. As it happens, there's a terrible secret behind the ship's disastrous fate, and now that Castle and Davis have unwittingly awakened the watery grave, the souls of the ship's crew and passengers have come back to claim their revenge in the form of a thick and impenetrable fog. The remake of The Fog proved to be one of the last projects for producer Debra Hill, who also worked on the original film; Hill was fighting cancer when work began on the film, and she died shortly before filming commenced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, (more)
Family Matters and Camp Cucamonga mainstay Jaleel White headlines the rollicking, direct-to-video urban comedy Who Made the Potatoe Salad?, helmed by Damon 'Coke' Daniels and co-starring Clifton Davis (television's Amen), Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) and Deray Davis (Barbershop 2: Back in Business). White stars as Michael, a San Diego police officer who travels to the L.A. home of his intended, Angela (Jennia Frederique), to meet her outrageous, eccentric family and officially announce their wedding plans. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaleel White, Jennia Fredrique, (more)
The world's most obnoxious celebrity talk-show host demonstrates how he rose to mediocrity in this pungent show business satire. Jiminy Glick (Martin Short) is a corpulent entertainment reporter who is looking to kick his career into high gear. Hoping to snag some celebrity interviews, Jiminy and his wife, Dixie (Jan Hooks), head north of the border to Canada, where Jiminy will attend the Toronto Film Festival. At first, Glick's attempts to ingratiate himself with stars and semi-stars are little short of disastrous, but after the easily star-struck reporter allows egocentric filmmaker Ben DiCarlo (Corey Pearson) to shamelessly self-promote his latest project on air, word gets around that Glick is an "easy interview," and his star begins to rise. However, Jiminy's good fortune is tempered by his unwitting involvement in a murder plot centered around booze-addled actress Miranda Coolidge (Elizabeth Perkins) and her wildly pretentious husband, Andre Devine (John Michael Higgins). Somewhere along the way, filmmaker David Lynch (played by Short) happens along, offering his theories on the controversial murder of Lana Turner's paramour Johnny Stompanato. A large number of Hollywood celebrities make cameo appearances in Jiminy Glick in La La Wood, including Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Forest Whitaker, Kiefer Sutherland, and Sharon Stone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Jan Hooks, (more)
The romantic comedy The Seat Filler stars Duane Martin as a law student working very hard to keep his head above water financially. He takes a job as a seat filler at a big awards function where he meets a famous singer (Kelly Rowland). She believes he works in show business and he does nothing to disabuse her of this notion. That leads to him having to go to larger and larger measures to keep his lie going when their relationship continues. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly Rowland, Duane Martin, (more)
Kevin Rodney Sullivan steps in to direct the urban comedy sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business. The whole gang -- Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), Jimmy James (Sean Patrick Thomas), Terri (Eve), Isaac (Troy Garity), Ricky (Michael Ealy), and Dinka (Leonard Earl Howze) -- are still there in the same old barbershop in the south side of Chicago. Owner Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) tries to keep his family business alive in order to pass it on to his own son one day. However, the beloved neighborhood barber shop is threatened by a hair salon franchise called Nappy Cuts. This time around, the old friends are joined by Gina (Queen Latifah) from the beauty shop next door. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, (more)
Comedian Cedric the Entertainer serves as both producer and star of this comedy about a family who discovers just how much can go wrong en route to a family get-together. When Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer) is invited to a big family reunion in Missouri, he sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with his estranged wife and growing children, as well as a chance to show up his wealthier know-it-all brother, Mack (Steve Harvey). Nate takes delivery on an expensive new SUV, persuades his recently separated wife, Dorothy (Vanessa L. Williams), to tag along, and packs up his three kids -- nubile teenager Nikki (Solange Knowles), under-age wannabe rapper D.J. (Bow Wow), and precocious seven-year-old Destiny (Gabby Soleil) -- for what he imagines will be a leisurely drive from Los Angeles to St. Louis. However, between his wary wife, arguing kids, angry police officers, bizarre hitchhikers, bad diner food, and an unfortunate run-in with a cement mixer, getting from point A to point B proves to be just short of a nightmare. Johnson Family Vacation was the first feature film for director Christopher Erskin, who previously distinguished himself directing music videos for the likes of Missy Elliot, TLC, and Boyz II Men. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, (more)
Calvin (Ice Cube) never wanted to take over the family business, a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Disgusted with the shop's crime-ridden neighborhood, and caught up in his moneymaking schemes, one morning Calvin decides to sell the shop to the shady Lester (Keith David). Chastised by his pregnant wife, Jennifer (Jazsmin Lewis), for his rash decision, Calvin spends the day cutting heads at the shop, and starts to understand the importance of the legacy his grandfather and father have left to him. The bickering barbers include Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), the old-timer with his own unique perspective on black life; Terri (rapper Eve in her film debut), a hot-tempered woman with a trifling boyfriend; Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), a college educated snob; Ricky (Michael Ealy) a reformed criminal; Isaac (Troy Garity, the son of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden), a white B-Boy, whom no one is ready to let cut their hair; and Dinka (Leonard Howze), a recent African immigrant who's too shy to express his feelings for Terri. Calvin learns to appreciate them all, and discovers that the place where they work is more than just a place to get a haircut -- it's a meeting place for the neighborhood, a place where folks can speak their minds and find out what's happening. Calvin gradually changes his mind about selling the shop, but it may be too late. Meanwhile, a bumbling thief, J.D. (Anthony Anderson) spends a painful day trying to crack open the ATM he's stolen from the grocery store across the street. Barbershop was directed by Tim Story and produced by George Tillman Jr. and Robert Teitel, the producers of Soul Food. Barbershop had its world premiere at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, (more)
