Jeffrey Ross Movies
When standup comic-turned-television personality Jeffrey Ross emerged as a celebrity during the early 2000s, he specialized almost exclusively in aggressive insult humor, prompting at least one periodical to term him "The Meanest Man in Comedy." Throughout, he exhibited tremendous influence by Don Rickles and others of the same ilk. In fact, Ross soon began to headline celebrity-themed "roasts" in the Rickles vein. A native of New Jersey, Ross attended Boston University as a film and broadcasting major and political minor. He spent his first decade on camera doing guest appearances on series programs including Greg the Bunny, Six Feet Under, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and in films such as Jeffrey (1995) and Celtic Pride (1996).Ross (who joined the New York Friars' Club in 1995) commenced his roasts with a live set devoted to skewering comic Drew Carey, and it attained such popularity that it led to follow-up roasts for the likes of Hugh Hefner, Pamela Anderson, Donald Trump, William Shatner, and others. In the interim, Ross turned into something of a fixture on the Comedy Central network (particularly on its Man Show), and on MTV, where he and SNL vet Tracy Morgan briefly enjoyed lead billing on an edgy animated series called Where My Dogs At? (The program, which depicted two crass dogs wandering around Hollywood and insulting celebrities, so offended some viewers that the network promptly pulled it.) In 2005, Ross debuted as a director by helming, scripting, and starring in the comedy concert film Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie -- a filmed record of his standup tour of Iraq during the U.S. occupation. That same year, he also delivered a memorably colorful monologue in Penn Jillette's standup documentary The Aristocrats. In the years to follow, Ross broke into reality television as a judge on ABC's popular summer series The Next Best Thing, and participated as a contestant in season seven of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Producers paired him up with professional dancer Edyta Sliwinska. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2008
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Respected stand-up and acknowledged roast master, Jeffrey Ross performs before an appreciative New Jersey crowd on this concert release. Highlights include a riff on the Newark airport, and a portion of the show where he gets musical accompaniment from two different audience members. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2008
- R
- Add National Lampoon Presents: One, Two, Many to QueueAdd National Lampoon Presents: One, Two, Many to top of Queue
John Melendez (The Howard Stern Show and The Tonight Show) serves as writer, producer, and star of this comedy detailing one man's quest to seek out a woman who will be willing to welcome another girl into their bedroom. Eventually it appears as if the libidinous bachelor has found the perfect woman, but will her endless list of "dos and don'ts" prove so stifling that the ménage à tois isn't even enjoyable when it finally happens? Jeffrey Ross and Bellamy Young co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Melendez, Bellamy Young, (more)
- 2007
The premise of this ABC reality/competition series was implicit in its title (as it was to a lesser extent in its working title, The Impostor). In each episode, a collection of celebrity impersonators--both professional and amateur--showed off their gifts for mimickry (or lack of same) while vying for a grand prize of $100,000. The contestants were judged on "The Look, The Voice, and The Performance", and as a byproduct of these qualifications the viewers were treated to a seemingly endless parade of imitation Elvises, Tina Turners, Barbra Streisands, Dolly Partons, Jay Lenos, Johnny Carsons, Gloria Estefans, Howard Sterns, Paris Hiltons, and even one ersatz Dr. Phil. Of course, the worse the impersonation, the funnier it was for the audience, but some of these folks weren't bad at all. Model Michelle Merkin served as host, while the panel of judges included Jeffrey Ross, Lisa Ann Walker and Elon Gold. The Next Best Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? launched its initial eight-week run on May 30, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2007
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Larry the Cable Guy's Christmas Spectacular features the redneck stand-up comic starring in an adaptation of the classic Dickens Christmas story that has been adapted to suit his particular comic persona. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry the Cable Guy
Animal Planet aesthetics get infused with blush-inducing blue-humor sensibilities as director Bob Saget teams with an all-star cast of comics including Lewis Black, Tracy Morgan, Jason Alexander, Dane Cook, and Whoopi Goldberg to prove that sometimes penguins aren't as sweet as they appear to be on the silver screen. Film star Samuel L. Jackson narrates as actual footage of penguins going about their business in nature is backed by the kind of twisted voice-over work that could only come from the biggest names in comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Bob Saget, (more)
Devastated after being fired by director Woody Allen, actress Annabelle Gurwitch sets out on a soul-searching journey to discover whether getting the axe was the best or worst thing ever to happen in her professional career. Anyone who has been in the workforce for an extended amount of time has likely been there -- one minute you've got a good-paying job that you love, and the next minute you're standing in the unemployment line. When Annabelle Gurwitch got fired by the legendary director of such classics as Annie Hall and The Purple Rose of Cairo, she thought her career was over. Upon turning to her many showbiz pals for advice, however, Gurwitch quickly discovered that she was not alone. In this documentary, Gurwitch enlists the aid of filmmakers Chris Bradley and Kyle La Brache in traveling the country to interview such celebrities as Tim Allen, David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Jeff Garlin to find out exactly how they dealt with the heavy hand of rejection. Additional interviews with GM workers in Lansing, MI, who were handed their pink slips offer some tales that are tragically comedic and others that seems to reinforce the old adage about one door closing and another door opening, while a visit to job fairs and "outplacement services" show just what the jobless endure on a day-to-day basis. Conversations with the downsizers as well as the downsized offer viewers a chance to explore the topic from both sides as host Gurwitch reminds viewers that sometimes the greatest success stories are born of failure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Andy Borowitz, (more)
- 2006
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Star Trek star William Shatner settles into the celebrity hot seat, opening the floodgates for a series of relentless barbs by eager friends and colleagues in this installment of the popular Comedy Central Roast series. The tranya flows, the band rocks, and the insults fly as a series of celebrities including Clint Howard, George Takei, Jason Alexander, Jeffrey Ross, Nichelle Nichols, Fred Willard, Betty White, and Kevin Pollak all line up to take a shot at the man who would boldly lead television viewers to realms where no man, or woman for that matter, had gone before. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Shatner
- 2005
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The tradition of delivering comic relief to the front lines continues as comedian Jeffrey Ross travels to Iraq to lift the spirits of U.S. forces fighting for freedom in this video documentary also featuring Drew Carey, Kathy Kinney, and Blake Clark. Armed with nothing more than a basic video camera and his cutting wit, Friar's Club Roast-master Ross offers an intimate look at his life-changing trip as he travels to the outer-edges of the Sunni Triangle and carries on the tradition started by Bob Hope to ensure that, even in the midst of war, the battle-weary troops always remember that they have the support of their fellow countrymen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2005
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The Playboy playmate turned Baywatch bombshell proves that beauty is not above ridicule as Comedy Central brings together a who's who of top comedic talents to roast Pamela Anderson in a rousing night of insulting insight featuring the talents of Jimmy Kimmell, Tommy Lee, Eddie Griffin, Nick DiPaolo, Andy Dick, Courtney Love-Cobain, and many more. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Anderson
"A family walks into a talent agent's office..." So begins "The Aristocrats," a joke kept mostly secret by stand-up comedians for decades. An intentionally "bad" joke, the laughs in The Aristocrats aren't in the punch-line (one of the only elements that's the same every time), but in the set-up, made unique by each comedian who tells it in an attempt to fashion the world's dirtiest joke. The cat was finally let out of the bag by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, the seasoned funnymen who gathered together a hundred people to tell a hundred different renditions of the bit. Among those presenting their personal take on The Aristocrats in this film of the same name are Jason Alexander, Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried, Jon Stewart, Emo Philips, and Chris Rock. The Aristocrats premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Screenwriter John Hamburg directs his second film (since his 1998 debut Safe Men) with the romantic comedy Along Came Polly. Ben Stiller plays Reuben Feffer, a professional risk assessor who never takes chances in any aspect of his life. When his new bride Lisa (Debra Messing) leaves him for a European scuba instructor named Claude (Hank Azaria), he finally decides to a risk of his own. At a party, he meets free-spirited Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), whom he remembers from his seventh-grade Model U.N. Unlike the control-freak Reuben, she's spent her life living on the edge. They reluctantly begin a romance and Polly introduces him to a new world of spicy food and suggestive dances. Along Came Polly also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Reuben's washed-up best friend Sandy Lyle and Alec Baldwin as the obnoxious insurance company boss Stan Indursky. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, (more)
- 2003
There's no shortage of suspects when much-hated standup comic Dougie Max (Jeffrey Ross) dies during his act after drinking what appears to be tainted water. The plot thickens for CSI investigators Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Grissom (William L. Petersen) when a 15-year-old is poisoned to death by the same water in a convenience store. And Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) orders the re-opening of a case when the husband of Shelley Stark, who ostensibly died accidentally, is seen throwing his money around in the company of a flashy young woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
