Barry Katz Movies
- 2008
- Add Frank Caliendo: All Over the Place to QueueAdd Frank Caliendo: All Over the Place to top of Queue
Comedian Frank Caliendo has become a popular name in comedy for his spot-on impressions, spoofing everyone from Dr. Phil to George W. Bush. In All Over the Place, Caliendo provides samples from every area of his comedic repertoire, with a collection of bits to both delight fans and hook newcomers. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Caliendo
- 2008
- Add Jeffrey Ross: No Offense - Live from New Jersey to QueueAdd Jeffrey Ross: No Offense - Live from New Jersey to top of Queue
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
- 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
- Add Kyle Cease: Weirder. Blacker. Dimpler. to QueueAdd Kyle Cease: Weirder. Blacker. Dimpler. to top of Queue
Kyle Cease: Weirder Blacker Dimpler captures the quick-witted stand-up comic during a performance in Seattle. As is typically the case with him, Cease flits wildly between topics making unexpected segues and comparisons. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle Cease
- 2006
- Add Dane Cook's Tourgasm [TV Series] to QueueAdd Dane Cook's Tourgasm [TV Series] to top of Queue
As indicated by its title, this weekly, half-hour documentary series was the handiwork of standup comedian Dane Cook, whose bestselling CD albums poked merciless and highly profane fun at contemporary youth culture. In Tourgasm, Cook joined three young aspiring comics on a 30-day bus tour of America, performing 20 club dates along the way. Cook's official designation was "The Leader"; the others included Robert Kelly, "The Instigator"; Gary Gulman, "The Conflicted"; and Jay Davis, "The Newbie." In between performing to packed houses, the four funmakers were seen bickering, badgering, jockeying for position, and generally behaving in as obnoxious a manner as possible (some found the quartet's offstage shenanigans to be funnier than their on-stage performances). Though supposedly off-the-cuff and improvised, much of what occurred on the series was clearly cannibalized from star Cook's familiar material -- and not surprisingly, he came off as the funniest of the batch. Dane Cook's Tourgasm got under way via the HBO cable network on June 11, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook
- 2003
The popular "reality/contest" genre of the early 21st century was extended to the rarefied world of standup comedy in this weekly NBC series (which was also seen at the same time on cable's Comedy Central). Hosted by Jay Mohr, who also created and co-produced the project, the series opened with a two-hour competition at the famous Caroline's Comedy Club in L.A., where some 100 hopefuls were whittled down to 25 contestants with the help of celebrity judges Joy Behar, Caroline Rhea, and Colin Quinn. These 25 were then installed in a luxury penthouse to await the results of further eliminations, until the ten finalists were allowed to strut their stuff in a Las Vegas comedy concert. At the end of the eight-week series, the winning comedian was awarded with an NBC talent contract and a Comedy Central special. Last Comic Standing: A Search for the Funniest Person in America premiered June 10, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, and Alec Baldwin star in this romantic comedy about a man (Cook) who makes his living convincing women to run back into the arms of the men they have recently dumped by taking them on the worst possible dates imaginable. The nightmare lothario's lucrative scheme hits an unexpected hitch, however, when he is hired by his best friend (Jason Biggs) to take out the beauty he longs to win back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, (more)
A serial dater afflicted with a lifelong curse of loneliness attempts to win the love of a clumsy but beautiful penguin expert in the one romantic comedy that proves true love never comes easy. As a ten-year-old boy, Charlie (Dane Cook), breaks the cardinal rule of spin-the-bottle by refusing to kiss a demented goth girl. Crushed by the disheartening snub and determined to ensure that Charlie never finds true love, the vengeful brooder places a hex on the cowardly rule breaker that follows him well into his adult life. Flash-forward 20 years, and Charlie is a successful dentist who just can't seem to maintain a stable relationship. Sure he's had his fair share of one-night stands, but these days Charlie is just looking to find a nice girl he can settle down with. One day, while attending an ex-girlfriend's wedding, Charlie realizes that every girl he has ever dated has proceeded to find true love with the very next man they've met. When word gets out that Charlie is something of a lucky charm for women looking to tie the knot, every women within a 100-mile radius comes calling for a one-night stand; and while taking a bevy of beauties to bed is fun for the time being, it doesn't take long for Charlie to realize just how empty sex can be without true love. Upon meeting hard-to-get aquatic bird specialist Cam (Jessica Alba), Charlie begins to suspect that he has found the woman of his dreams. Cam is the kind of woman whom Charlie would be happy to grow old with, but what will come of their relationship if Charlie and Cam sleep together? Now, in order to ensure that Cam doesn't end up with the next guy she meets, Charlie will finally attempt to break the curse that has plagued him since childhood. Perhaps with a little help from smooth-talking ladies' man and sympathetic best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), Charlie will finally be able to experience true happiness. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, (more)
When a pair of ultra-competitive clerks at a discount super store discovers that a beautiful, newly-transferred cashier has a reputation for only dating employees who have won the coveted Employee of the Month award, their desperate efforts to earn the title and get the girl lead to a hilarious war of one-upmanship in this winner-takes-all comedy starring Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, and Dax Shepard. Zack Bradley (Cook) and Vince Downey (Shepard) have been working at the cavernous Super Club for ten years and counting, but while the ambitious Vince has advanced to the position of head cashier and landed 17 consecutive "E of M" awards, laid-back Zack is content to simply sit back and enjoy the company of his fellow box boys. Longtime rivals whose conflicting attitudes as to what constitutes success has led to more than a few conflicts, Vince and Zack find their bitter battle for Super Club supremacy coming to a head when attractive new employee Amy (Simpson) transfers over from another store. When word quickly spreads that Amy only has eyes for the cream of the crop, slacker Zack attempts to clean up his act and break free from his box boy roots while uptight Vince tries to impress by maintaining his top dog position and keep cool in the face of competition. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, (more)
