Thomas Lennon Movies
One of the few members of the New York-based MTV comedy troupe "The State" to hail from the Midwest, Chicagoan comedian Thomas Lennon is also an accomplished screenwriter.Born in Oak Park, IL, on August 9, 1970, Lennon attended New York University as an undergraduate in the late '80s, at a point when Todd Holoubek -- a member of the campus sketch comedy team "Sterile Yak" -- abandoned that earlier group in favor of forming an alternative improvisational ensemble, christened "The New Group." Comprised largely of freshmen, the team blended film, video, and live performance in its live audience shows. Lennon joined the ensemble, as did fellow coeds Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Ben Garant, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. Following a series of original shows (which began with "I'm Rubber, You're Glue"), The New Group landed its first gig as the opening act for Dennis Miller during one of the comedian's appearances at NYU, circa 1990. He paid them 1,000 dollars total.
In the early '90s, Lennon made several short films, including The Waiters, which ran on the Bravo network; meanwhile, after MTV formally rejected the ensemble's pitch for a weekly series, Wain worked with the others to shoot demos for the MTV series You Wrote It, You Watch It, which catalyzed the network's interest. At that point, The New Group changed its name to "The State: Full Frontal Comedy." They landed an official series on MTV in 1993, boosted by an appearance on The Jon Stewart Show, in which they completely demolished the comedian's set. Over the course of the first two years, ratings skyrocketed, carrying the series through several seasons. It wrapped in 1997.
During the series' run, Lennon wrote much of the material, including the popular "Monkey Torture" sketch. After the show ended, he joined cast members Kerri Kenney and Michael Ian Black to create the Comedy Central variety show spoof Viva Variety, based on an old sketch from The State. Lennon transitioned to features by voicing the documentarian character in the hit comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous, the feature-film debut of State director Michael Patrick Jann. Lennon also appeared in the feature films Memento, Out Cold, and Boat Trip, as well as TV commercials for various candy items and video-game platforms.
Returning to the television series format, Lennon sustained a recurring role in the short-lived ABC medical drama MDs. He then reunited with Kenney and other State members to create the reality cop show spoof Reno 911!, starring himself as pretty-boy Lieutenant Jim Dangle. Directed by Jann, the show became a hit on Comedy Central in 2003.
Lennon maintained a busy schedule in 2004, with supporting roles in the A-list romantic comedies A Guy Thing, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Le Divorce. That same year, he also did screenwriting work (alongside many others) on Todd Phillips's Starsky & Hutch (2004), and the terribly received action comedy Taxi, starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon. While Reno 911! continued through 2005, Lennon contributed to the scripts of such mainstream releases as Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), The Pacifier (2005), Night at the Museum (2006), and Let's Go to Prison!
2007 saw the young comedian and scenarist involved in his most ambitious project to date. He posed a triple threat as cast member, executive producer, and screenwriter of that year's Balls of Fury, directed by fellow "Stater" Ben Garant, one of the major forces behind Reno 911! The picture stars Dan Fogler as Randy Daytona, a Ping-Pong champion recruited by an FBI agent and drawn into an underground Ping-Pong league. Fogler's mission is to hone in on the vile Feng (Christopher Walken), a Ping-Pong pro who rules over the illicit games, and hand him over to the authorities. Spyglass Entertainment and Rogue Films slated the picture for a January 27, 2007 release.
Lennon lives with his wife, Jenny Robertson, in Los Angeles. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
A former high school basketball star gets a second shot at life when he's miraculously transformed into a teenager and offered the opportunity to redefine his future. Back in 1989, Mike O' Donnell (Matthew Perry) had it all; not only was the 17-year-old senior the king of the basketball court, but college scouts were circling as well. But just as Mike's future began to glow brighter than ever before, he sacrificed everything in order to stay by his expectant girlfriend, Scarlet, and be a good father. Nearly 20 years later, Mike has just been passed over for a big promotion at work, his marriage is failing, and his teenage kids can't stand him. His dreams long gone and his family falling apart, Mike takes to staying with his best friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon), a former high school geek-turned-techno billionaire. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Mike is transported back into his teenage body and given the given the unique opportunity to relive his salad days. But while Mike may look 17 again, his thirtysomething outlook at life puts him hopelessly at odds with the class of 2009. When Mike discovers that by attempting to recapture his best years he could risk losing all the best things he ever experienced in life, the time comes to make a decision that could have a drastic impact on both his past and his future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, (more)
A man trying to save his relationship with the woman he loves finds himself sinking into a quicksand of small lies and half-truths in this comedy. Paul (Jason Lee) is a regular guy who is engaged to marry Karen (Selma Blair); while Paul loves Karen, he's more than a bit nervous around her family, even though her father (James Brolin) has already given him a job in the family business. Shortly before the wedding, Paul's friends throw him a bachelor party, complete with a boatload of liquor and a squadron of grass-skirt-clad tiki dancers. Paul strikes up a conversation with one of the dancers, the cheerful if inept Becky (Julia Stiles), and the next morning, he wakes up bleary-eyed with a massive hangover -- and Becky in bed next to him. Paul soon receives a phone call from Karen saying she's stopping by for a visit, and Paul scrambles to get Becky out of his apartment. Paul attempts to explain some incriminating evidence with a few white lies, but a messy situation gets messier when Paul runs into Becky at a pre-wedding family get-together...and discovers she's Karen's cousin. A Guy Thing also features Shawn Hatosy, Lochlyn Munro, and Julie Hagerty. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Stiles, Jason Lee, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, (more)
Two guys looking for a respite from their bumpy romantic lives find themselves in the midst of a very confusing situation in this broad comedy. Jerry (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a guy who thinks he's found the love of his life in Felicia (Vivica A. Fox), his beautiful longtime girlfriend. Jerry decides to propose to Felicia, and arranges for a hot-air balloon ride in order to create the ideal setting to pop the question. However, Felicia not only turns him down, she announces that she's leaving him for another man. Jerry sinks into a deep depression, until his best friend Nick (Horatio Sanz), who has been having his own romantic problems, suggests they take a vacation cruise on an ocean liner, forgetting their troubles while they make time with bikini-clad babes. Jerry is game, but after an angry misunderstanding with a travel agent, Nick and Jerry discover they've been booked on a tour specifically for gay men. Jerry and Nick are forced to pose as lovers to ward off the indefatigable advances of aging playboy Lloyd (Roger Moore), which cramps their style when the ship's captain rescues a boatload of buxom Swedish swimsuit models. Jerry's spirits rise when he meets Gabriella (Roselyn Sanchez), a beautiful dancer who is part of the ship's entertainment staff. Jerry, however, now has to walk a fine line between maintaining his cover and convincing Gabriella that despite outward appearances, he's not gay. Boat Trip was the first feature film from director Mort Nathan, best known for his work as a writer for television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cuba Gooding, Jr., Horatio Sanz, (more)
- 2005
- R
- Add Conversations With Other Women to QueueAdd Conversations With Other Women to top of Queue
An encounter between two people with a shared past and conflicting futures is played out on a split-image screen in this offbeat drama. An unnamed man (Aaron Eckhart) and woman (Helena Bonham Carter) are enjoying drinks and cigarettes in a hotel room after attending a wedding reception. At first, the two seem to be playing a flirtatious game, as he cheerfully but confidently advances toward her, and she seems at once attracted and put off by his bravado. Their pas de deux is shot and edited in split screen, with his image appearing in one half of the divided frame and hers appearing in the other. As time wears on, the man and woman begin crossing their appointed boundaries, and in some sequences one half of the frame represents the present while the other shows us events in the past. We learn that the man and woman had a tempestuous affair when they were in their late teens, and both are now committed to other people -- she has a husband, while he has a steady girl. How will the experiences of their past affect their present, and are they willing to betray their lovers for an evening's pleasure? Conversations With Other Women was the first feature film from director Hans Canosa. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
So how far would you go to win a beauty pageant? That's the burning question of Drop Dead Gorgeous, in which the citizens of Mount Rose, Minnesota gear up for the year's biggest event, the Sarah Rose Miss Teen Princess America Pageant, in which Becky Leeman (Denise Richards) and Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst) are the contestants to beat. Becky's mother Gladys (Kirstie Alley), a former beauty queen herself, has instilled in her daughter a drive to succeed at any cost. And Gladys will do anything to help Becky's chances of success. Amber's mother Annette (Ellen Barkin) is devoted to her daughter but drinks, smokes, and swears like a sailor. And while Amber is ambitious and a skilled beautician (a talent that she uses in her part-time job at the local mortuary), her view of the pageant is pragmatic: while boys can get sports scholarships, this pageant may be her only ticket out of town. However, Amber and the other contestants may have underestimated just how badly Becky wants to win -- or just how good she is with a gun. Drop Dead Gorgeous was directed by Michael Patrick Jann, a founding member of the sketch comedy group The State (who had their own series on MTV), and written by Lorna Williams, a veteran of the beauty pageant circuit who claims that nearly everything in the film is based on an actual incident. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, (more)
- 2008
Thomas Lennon, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Stephnie Weir star in first-time feature producer/screenwriter/director Paul Leuer's romantic comedy drama about a washed-up baseball player who dreams of escaping the trailer park and moving to Australia to live the American Dream. Shroeder Duncan (Lennon) is a former all-star baseball player whose life has taken a sharp detour into dissatisfaction. It's his thirtieth birthday, and Shroeder longs for a more meaningful existence than the one he shares in the Eden Court trailer park with his devoted wife Bonnie (Williams-Paisley). Trouble is, Shroeder's promising athletic career had been cut short by a fateful injury, leaving his choices in life severely limited. While his job as the groundkeeper at a local minor league baseball park at least gives Shroeder the chance to get out on the field and mingle with the players again, it pains him to see them moving on to achieve the kind of success that he always longed for. One night, depressed and sitting in font the television, it dawns on Shroeder that he could leave his old life behind in order to seek out his own American Dream in Australia. But staring over in life isn't always an easy task, especially when your wife, family, and friends vow not to let go without a fight. Ultimately, it's up to Shroeder to choose between living a life of freedom alone, or accepting his little slice of trailer park paradise in Eden Court. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Lennon, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, (more)
A hard-drinking lush finds himself thrust into superhero mode in director Peter Berg's unconventional look at the private life of a crime-fighter. Will Smith stars as the embittered do-gooder whose lifestyle is more akin to a rock star than a role model, and who has grown as disillusioned with his once-admiring public as they have of him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Charlize Theron, (more)
A handful of New Yorkers find their paths crossing in ways that force them to examine their lives in this contemporary drama produced by Ismail Merchant. Isabel (Elizabeth Banks) is a twentysomething photographer who is supposed to marry her boyfriend, Jonathan (James Marsden), in a month. But Isabel has found herself wondering if marriage is the right thing for her. Meanwhile, her mother, Diana (Glenn Close), a well-known film actress, has learned her husband has been seeing another woman, and while they have an open relationship, Diana finds this hurtful. Over the course of the day, Diana meets Alec (Jesse Bradford), a handsome young actor, and Isabel is introduced to Peter (John Light), a journalist, and both women begin to question their current relationships. The first feature for director Chris Terrio, Heights also stars Michael Murphy, Eric Bogosian, Thomas Lennon, and Rufus Wainwright. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, (more)
The world's wackiest Volkswagen is back in action in this action comedy. Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) is the 18-year-old daughter of Ray Peyton Sr. (Michael Keaton), a once-successful stock car driver whose career is not what it once was. Maggie loves racing and is in line for a job covering NASCAR for ESPN, but in her heart she'd rather be behind the wheel, even though her father strictly forbids this. For Maggie's birthday, Ray takes her out looking for a used car, and she finds herself strangely drawn to a wrecked 1963 Volkswagen in a salvage yard. Against Ray's better judgment, Maggie gets the car, and a note in the glove box tells her the rust bucket is named "Herbie," and he can help her solve her problems. To her surprise, the message turns out to be true -- with a little TLC, Herbie is running like new, and after showing his stuff in a street race, Maggie persuades her naysayer dad to take her and her VW on as part of his racing team. Herbie: Fully Loaded also stars Matt Dillon as rival racer Trip Murphy, Breckin Meyer as Maggie's brother (and fellow struggling driver) Ray Jr., and Justin Long as Maggie's friend Kevin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, (more)
Two New Yorkers fight the battle of the sexes to a standstill (without entirely realizing it) in this romantic comedy. Andie (Kate Hudson) is a young journalist who longs to cover political stories, but in the meantime she finds herself writing for a women's magazine called Composure, where her editor Lana Jong (Bebe Neuwirth) has her writing a fluffy advice column. After hearing of the latest dating laments of her relationship-challenged friend Michelle (Kathryn Hahn), Andie sells Lana on the idea of writing a piece on the things women do to alienate the men they love, which she'll demonstrate by winning and then driving away a man in a mere ten days. Meanwhile, Ben (Matthew McConaughey) is an advertising man who wants to land a prestige diamond account at his firm. Ben is competing with his pals, Spears (Michael Michele) and Green (Shalom Harlow), for the assignment, so Ben tells his boss Phillip Warren (Robert Klein) that he's the man for the job because he understands the fair sex so well he can make any woman fall for him in less than two weeks. As fate would have it, Andie and Ben end up choosing one another for their mutual assignments, with neither knowing about each other's secret agenda as Ben strives to hold on to Andie while she does everything in her power to annoy him. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was loosely based on the self-help book of the same name (subtitled The Universal Don't of Dating) written by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, (more)
Engaged to the woman of his dreams yet uncomfortable with the prospect of not having a best man for his upcoming wedding, a successful real estate agent with no male friends schedules a series of "man dates" in hopes of finding a suitable candidate for the big day. Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is just like most other guys, only when it comes to making friends he's always been a bit withdrawn. After proposing to his girlfriend, Zooey (Rashida Jones), however, Peter quickly realizes that he doesn't even have any friends close enough to qualify for the role of best man. And what better method to find the perfect best man than to spend some time getting to know the most qualified candidate for the position? While most of Peter's "man dates" are incredibly awkward from the very beginning, the desperate bridegroom is surprised to hit it off with Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) on their very first meeting. Sydney is charming, personable, and opinionated, and before long he and Peter have become inseparable. But this isn't exactly what Zooey had in mind, because the closer that Peter grows to his new "bro," the further he drifts from the woman who will soon be his wife. Now, with the wedding closing in and the drama heating up, Peter begins to ponder a means of staying good friends with Sydney while still remaining true to the woman he loves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, (more)
Based on the 1997 National Book Award-nominated novel of the same name by Diane Johnson (co-writer of the script for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining), Le Divorce is a romantic comedy from director James Ivory. Revisiting the "Americans in France" theme that Ivory explored in 1998's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, the film stars Kate Hudson as Isabel Walker. When she receives word that her pregnant poetess sister Roxy (Naomi Watts) has been left by her philandering French husband, artist Charles-Henri de Persand (Melvil Poupaud), Isabel offers her help and moral support. As the depressive Roxy struggles with the separation proceedings -- which include the rights to ownership of a work of art that's a family heirloom -- Isabel takes a job with author Olivia Pace and has a fling with the bohemian Yves (Romain Duris). But things get complicated when the younger, more impudent sister decides instead to pursue Charles' uncle, the snooty, married diplomat Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), and when a mysterious man (Matthew Modine) starts stalking Roxy. Eventually, the rest of the plucky Walker clan has to come to the aid of the siblings. Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, (more)
A man is determined to find justice after the loss of a loved one, even though he is incapable of fully remembering the crime, in this offbeat thriller. Leonard (Guy Pearce) is a man who is struggling to put his life back together after the brutal rape and murder of his wife. But Leonard's problems are different from those of most people in his situation; he was beaten severely by the same man who killed his wife. The most significant manifestation of Leonard's injuries is that his short-term memory has been destroyed; he is incapable of retaining any new information, and must resort to copious note-taking and Polaroid photographs in order to keep track of what happens to him over the course of a day (he's even tattooed himself with a few crucial bits of information he can't get along without). Leonard retains awareness that his wife was brutally murdered, however, and he's convinced that the culprit still walks the streets. Leonard is obsessed with the notion of taking revenge against the man who has ruined his life, and he sets out to find him, getting help from Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), who appears to be a sympathetic barmaid, and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano), who claims to be Leonard's friend, even though Leonard senses that he cannot be trusted. Writer/director Christopher Nolan adapted Memento from a short story by his brother Jonathan Nolan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, (more)
The new night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History finds that the job comes with more responsibility than he ever dreamed in this wild fantasy comedy directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke. Larry Daley (Stiller) is a kind-hearted dreamer who always knew that he was destined for greatness, he just never quite knew how. None of his ideas or inventions has panned out, so with a heavy heart, he takes a regular job as a lowly graveyard-shift security guard at the Museum of Natural History in order to provide a more stable life for himself and his ten-year-old son. His first night on the job, however, he finds that guardianship of the museum is far from stable -- at nightfall, an Egyptian spell brings the artifacts and wax figures to life! With Attila the Hun charging to war through the hallways, the diorama miniatures embroiled in a deadly feud, and a two-ton Tyrannosaurus Rex nagging to play fetch, Larry has half a mind to turn tail and run. On top of cleaning up after two million years of historical chaos every night, he also has to make sure that not a single museum piece leaves the building -- from the bratty Capuchin monkey in the African exhibit, to the life-sized Neanderthal in the prehistoric display -- because if morning light falls on an escaped artifact, it will turn to dust. Larry turns to a wax replica of President Roosevelt (Williams) for a little advice on keeping things in tact, but Teddy seems to think that a man of Larry's greatness needs little help. Larry isn't sure if the former commander in chief is right; this is hardly what he signed up for, but he can't pass up the chance to care for a museum where history really does come to life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, (more)
- 2009
- PG
- Add Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian to QueueAdd Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian to top of Queue
Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, the unfortunate night watchman who continues to encounter living and breathing museum exhibits in Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian, 20th Century Fox's tent-pole sequel from director Shawn Levy. Scott Frank, Robert Ben Garant, and Thomas Lennon provide the script, with Chris Columbus returning to handle producing duties. Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Hank Azaria join the returning cast of Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, and Owen Wilson in the 1492 and 21 Laps Entertainment co-production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, (more)
Four wacky guys take on a pack of rich stuffed shirts (does this premise sound at all familiar?) in this broad comedy. Rick (Jason London) is a slobby but good-natured snowboarder who is mending a broken heart after splitting up with Anna (Caroline Dhavernas), a girl he met while on vacation in Mexico. Rick has headed back to Bull Mountain, AK, where he and his buddies Luke (Zach Galifianakis), Anthony (Flex Alexander), and Pig Pen (Derek Hamilton) spend their days riding the slopes and their nights partying hard. Rick and his pals hope to someday open a hangout for fellow boarders, but after Papa Muntz, the city's founder and largest landowner, passes on, his son Ted (Willie Garson) sells most of his property to John Majors (Lee Majors), a wealthy but pompous developer who wants to convert Bull Mountain into Snownook, an upscale ski resort catering to yuppies. Determined to keep Bull Mountain safe for like-minded burnouts and radical skiers, Rick and the gang declare war against Majors and his associates, though Rick feels a bit conflicted by the fact that John is Anna's father -- and his daughter is tagging along with her father as he relocates to Alaska. Anna, however, has a rival for Rick's attention, as Jenny (A.J. Cook), a cute ski bum, has shown her interest in him. Out Cold was the first feature film from sibling directorial team Brendan Malloy and Emmett Malloy, who previously worked in television commercials and created several snowboarding videos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason London, Lee Majors, (more)
- 2003
A group of talented improv players were seen on this Comedy Central weekly, which mercilessly spoofed such reality series as Cops. Heading the Washoe County Sheriff's Department in Reno, NV, was Lt. Jim Dangle (played by Thomas Lennon, who also co-produced), a sexually ambivalent lawman who preferred to show up at a crime scene wearing the shortest of shorts. Dangle's team included the silent but deadly Travis Junior (Robert Ben Garant, another co-producer); the nerdish, heavily medicated Trudy Weigel (Keri Kenney, likewise a member of the production team); flamboyantly streetwise Williams (Niecy Nash); and sexpot Clementine Johnson (Wendi McLendon-Covey). On the off chance that anyone would take the lampoonish hand-held photography and ad-libbed dialogue seriously, the producers served up such nonsensical episodes as the opener, in which the squad went after a pervert who molested department-store mannequins. Assembled by the same gang responsible for the Latino variety-series satire Viva Variety!, Reno 911! debuted July 23, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The bumbling cops of Comedy Central's hit television series take a trip to Miami Beach for a national police convention. After the trip there turns out to be much more difficult than anticipated, the bumbling crew must leap into action when the convention center becomes the target of a biological terrorist attack. Lieutenant Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon) must keep together his motley and inept crew in order to save everyone from the disaster, and keep peace on the streets of the popular Florida city. The film features the same cast from the popular Comedy Central series of the same name. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lennie Loftin, Danny DeVito, (more)
The cinema vérité police documentary parody Reno 911! dispenses law and disorder during its first season on Comedy Central. The season's unscripted, totally improvised episodes follow various members of the Washoe County Sheriff's Department going about their duties, under the guidance of Lt. Jim Dangle (Tom Lennon). It doesn't take long before the shorts-wearing Dangle is revealed as a closeted homosexual, nor to discover that former magician's assistant Deputy Clementine Johnson (Wendi Mclendon-Covey) may still not be totally weaned from her exhibitionist tendencies. In the series opener, Lt. Dangle's new "zero-tolerance" policy backfires when he becomes the first person to be arrested in a fender bender. Later on, Detective Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui) wins a scavenger hunt by bringing in an inordinately tall, tattooed Jewish crack addict; Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) learns, to his surprise, that there are consequences to being racially oversensitive; conversely, Deputy Trudi Wiegel (Kerri Kenney) discovers the advantages of attempting suicide; the department falls over itself trying to impress the FBI, who've come to Reno to investigate a homicide; and an impending terrorist attack makes everyone paranoid, but not for the usual reasons. Season one ends with a cliffhanger, sparked by the Halloween eve death of Deputy Jones and his bizarre videotaped legacy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, (more)
The whole police reality show genre is savagely raked over the coals as Reno 911! enters its second season. The men and women of the Washoe County Sheriff's Department continue to allow cameras to follow them everywhere, though why they do it is anybody's guess, since the resulting videotapes succeed only in showing everyone off in the worst possible light. (Come to think of it, would there be any laughs if they were seen in the best possible light?) The season begins as department leader Lt. Dangle (Tom Lennon) announces his retirement and schedules his own testimonial dinner -- which may be very sparsely attended thanks to a sold-out sports event. Later on, the deputies ponder the possibility that Deputy Trudy Weigel's new boyfriend may be a serial killer (she never has had much luck in affairs of the heart). In other episodes, a British inspector (Tom Bolster) shows up to compare the department's methods with those of Scotland Yard (gee, no contest there); a jailed televangelist uses his cell as a studio for his weekly "Half Hour of Power" telecast; a bitter turf war develops when the policeman's ball and the fireman's pancake dinner are scheduled on the same night; and for some obscure reason, Kenny Rogers makes not one but two guest appearances -- along with his real-life assistant Patton Oswalt. Season two comes to a riotous conclusion as Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) -- who apparently didn't die at the end of Season one -- and Deputy Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui) are accused of murdering the infamous Milkshake Man, whereupon the series' cast is replaced by a veritable battalion of celebrities (if it makes sense in context, we'll be very surprised). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, (more)
Buckle up for another ride with the officers of Reno Nevadaâs Sheriffâs Department in this third season DVD of the hit Comedy Central Series. From a stint in prison to an accidental cat killing to close encounters of the S.A.R.S. kind, you can expect nothing but foolish choices and utter mediocrity from these hapless law enforcers!
- Starring:
- Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, (more)
The officers of the Reno, Nevada Sheriff's department are back with a fourth season of Reno 911! that's full of murder intrigue, and a disturbingly (and mysteriously) pregnant Officer Wiegel. From committing election fraud to donning hot pink uniforms and blowing up various large items, the officers give their all in every episode after gloriously inept episode.
- Starring:
- Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, (more)
The officers of Reno 911! are back in their most ridiculous season yet, with 16 episodes that'll make you very glad these aren't your local cops. In this fifth season (which aired on Comedy Central in 2008), Wiegel (Kerri Kenney) meets her real daddy, the department hires a former sex slave, and the team takes on a badass bounty hunter. With their failed stings and constant drinking problems, they prove that they have exactly what it takes to be police officers: badges. Bonus material includes over 40 minutes of extended scenes, audio commentary from the cast on select episodes, and featurettes.
- Starring:
- Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, (more)
