Richard Kind Movies

Filmmaking duo Joel and Ethan Coen write, produce, and direct this period black comedy set in 1967 concerning a Midwestern physics professor whose staid and stable life slowly begins to unravel after his wife announces that she's leaving him. As if the failure of his longtime marriage wasn't enough for Larry Gopnik (Tony-nominated Michael Stuhlbarg) to contend with, now his socially inept brother refuses to move out of the house as well. Larry is a modest man of science. Up to this point, his life has been uneventful at best, but things are about to get interesting. When his wife, Judith, announces that she is leaving him to move in with his smug colleague Sy Ableman, Larry does his best to contend with his failed marriage while barely tolerating his unemployable brother, Arthur, who appears to have grown roots on Larry's couch. Meanwhile, Larry's son, Danny, is getting into trouble at Hebrew school, and his daughter, Sarah, is stealthily snatching money from his wallet so she can afford a nose job. As Judith and Sy merrily begin making plans for their new life of domestic bliss together, Larry begins receiving a series of anonymous letters from someone who seems intent on sabotaging his chance for tenure at the university. To further complicate matters, a graduate student with failing grades is attempting to bribe the professor while simultaneously threatening him with a defamation lawsuit. Larry is in some serious need of equilibrium, though it's hard to focus on getting your life in order when your beautiful neighbor insists on sunbathing in the nude just outside your window. Perhaps by seeking the advice of three trusted rabbis, Larry can finally learn to cope with his afflictions and become a genuine mensch. A Serious Man is the second in a two-picture deal that the siblings made with Focus Features and Working Title. The first film in the deal, entitled Burn After Reading and starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Frances McDormand, was released nationwide in September 2008. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Nora Ephron directed and co-wrote this updated adaptation of a classic situation comedy that also casts a satirical eye on the entertainment industry. Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) is a movie star whose career has been going into a slow and steady decline. Desperate for a project that will give his reputation a jump start, Jack agrees to star in a film version of the once-popular television series Bewitched as hapless hubby Darrin Stephens, under the condition that an unknown actress be cast as the female lead so he won't be upstaged. After auditioning dozens of women who fail to make the grade, Jack meets lovely and charming Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman), and is immediately certain she's the perfect choice to play witch-turned-housewife Samantha. However, there's one thing neither Jack nor the producers of the film know -- Isabel really is a witch, and while she's been trying to get along without her powers to better fit in among mortals, she will use her special talents when need be. The film also stars Michael Caine as Isabel's father, Nigel, Shirley MacLaine as Iris Smythson (the actress hired to play Endora), and Jason Schwartzman as Jack's agent. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

On the cusp of stardom, standup comic Maija DiGiorgio suffered an emotional breakdown while performing before a room packed with a number of the comedy industry's head honchos -- whom were on the receiving end of DiGiorgio's obscenity-laced outburst -- at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Subsequently faced with a nearly industry-wide blacklisting as a result, the comic (and film school graduate) came upon the idea of creating a film journal to document her struggles within the industry, as well as within her own psyche. The result is Bitter Jester, DiGiorgio's 2003 film that started as a document of self-examination and evolved into an examination of success and achievement within the standup circuit. Greatly assisted by the contacts and prestige of executive producer Richard Belzer -- a friend and former employer of DiGiorgio's boyfriend and co-conspirator Kenny Simmons -- DiGiorgio proceeds to gain access to a surprising berth of comedy legends, including Chevy Chase, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, and George Carlin, all of whom dispense insightful and sometimes surprising opinions about their individual achievements. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Versatile Canadian comedian Martin Short plays a 10-year old boy in this comedy aimed at younger audiences. The tale is told in flashback to another little boy. Clifford is a manipulative brat. Clifford really wants to visit Dinosaur World in Los Angeles. Clifford wants to go so badly that he manages to force the Hawaii bound plane he and his parents are on to land in L.A. His parents need to attend a convention in Hawaii so they leave him with his Uncle Martin who despises children. Martin's fiance adores kids, so he pretends to be ecstatic about Clifford's visit. He must also pretend that Clifford is the angel child he isn't. Because Martin reneges on a promise to take him to Dinosaur World, Clifford begins an elaborate plot for revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Chuck Barris is best known to most Americans as the guy who used to host The Gong Show. He was also the creator and producer of The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and a handful of other successful game shows in the 1960s and 1970s. But was he also a hired killer working with the CIA? That's the take-it-or-leave-it premise of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the memoir of the same name by Chuck Barris. Barris (Sam Rockwell) grows up dreaming of success in show biz and winning the hearts of beautiful women, but early on, he meets with plenty of resistance from both women and the television industry, despite writing the hit tune "Palisades Park" and scoring a job with Dick Clark on American Bandstand. The 1960s proves more fortunate for Barris; he meets the love of his life, Penny (Drew Barrymore), and sells ABC on the idea of The Dating Game. However, after the show has made him wealthy and successful, Barris is approached by the mysterious Jim Byrd (George Clooney), a CIA agent who wants to recruit Barris as a covert operative. Barris finds the notion of playing spy games intriguing and agrees, but soon discovers what Byrd and his partners really want is for Barris to assassinate uncooperative figures around the world. Soon, Barris finds that his life has been all but taken over by Byrd and another CIA agent, the mysterious and sexy Patricia (Julia Roberts). As he hops the globe, killing people in the name of American security (using his status as a Dating Game chaperone as a cover), Barris learns that the KGB has discovered his not-so-little secret and that his own life is in great danger. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind marked the directorial debut of actor George Clooney, working from a screenplay adapted by Charlie Kaufman from Barris' book. Dick Clark, Dating Game host Jim Lange, frequent Gong Show panelist Jaye P. Morgan, and Gene Gene Patton appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young baseball fan sets out on a cross-country quest to recover Babe Ruth's stolen bat and restore his father's good name in a computer animated family adventure that shows you're never too young to be a hero. Yankee Irving (voice of Jake T. Austin) may not be the best base-runner in his neighborhood, but his love of the game is about to lead him on the adventure of a lifetime when a legendary baseball bat is stolen from Yankee stadium on his father's watch. Now determined to get back the bat from the crooked security guard who swiped it (voice of William H. Macy) and place it back in the grip of the best hitter in baseball history, young Yankee is about to find out just what it's really like to walk out on the diamond to the sounds of a thousand cheering fans. Filmed under the title Yankee Irving and originally slated to be directed by the late Christopher Reeve, Everyone's Hero was completed by directors Colin Brady and Dan St. Pierre when Reeve passed away as the result of a heart attack in 2004, and features additional voice work by actors Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Patinkin, Raven, the late Dana Reeve, Rob Reiner, and Brian Dennehy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Mockumentary mastermind Christopher Guest turns his satirical eye away from dog shows, small-town theater, and folk music to offer a hilarious take on Hollywood award season in this comedy focusing on trio of actors whose lives are turned upside down when they discover that their performances in an independent film are generating a sizable buzz in the entertainment industry. Jay Berman (Guest) is in the process of directing his first feature film -- an intimate family drama set in the 1940s and detailing the tempestuous reunion of an estranged Jewish family that is reluctantly drawn together to celebrate Purim at the behest of their dying matriarch. The cast soon comes down with an infectious case of award fever when rumors on the Internet claim that "Purim" stars Marilyn Hack (Catherine O' Hara), Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), and Callie Webb (Parker Posey) may be delivering Oscar-caliber performances. When "Hollywood Now" co-anchors Chuck Porter (Fred Willard) and Cindy Martin (Jane Lynch) perpetuate the buzz on national television, the entire film crew starts to see stars in their eyes. Subsequently convinced that they have a sleeper hit on their hands, unit publicist Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins), talent agent Morley Orfkin (Eugene Levy), and producer Whitney Taylor Brown (Jennifer Coolidge) immediately cave to requests from Sunfish Classics president Martin Gibb (Ricky Gervais) to alter the film so that it may appeal to a larger audience. Now, while "Purim" screenwriters Lane Iverson (Michael McKean) and Philip Koontz (Bob Balaban) are forced to watch helplessly as their original screenplay is plundered in order to cash in on the positive buzz, awards season draws near and the production takes a most unexpected turn. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jeff Garlin, best known for his role as Larry David's manager on Curb Your Enthusiasm, has directed standup comedy specials for Jon Stewart and Denis Leary, and makes his feature-film debut with his own adaptation of his one-man stage show, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. Garlin stars as James, an overweight, depressed actor who does improv at Second City. James lives with his mother (Mina Kolb) and constantly cheats on his diet. His life seems to be in a downward spiral. He quits his acting job on a sleazy prank show, his girlfriend (Rebecca Sage Allen) breaks up with him, and his agent (Richard Kind) dumps him. When he visits his friend's daughter's elementary school for Career Day, he embarrasses himself in front of the attractive teacher (Bonnie Hunt) by rambling inappropriately about his personal problems in front of the kids. He hears about a Chicago-based remake of Paddy Chayefsky's Marty, one of his favorite movies, and the role he seemingly was born to play, but he can't even get an audition. One day, after giving up on Compulsive Eaters Anonymous, he seeks solace in an ice cream parlor, where he meets Beth (Sarah Silverman), who quickly wins his heart by offering him free ice cream, and asking him a sexually provocative question. But his attraction to the sexually aggressive and somewhat demented Beth may bring James more problems than it solves. The film, which features appearances by Amy Sedaris, Dan Castellaneta, Wallace Langham, Roger Bart, Paul Mazursky, David Pasquesi, and Joey Slotnick, had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Comedian Paul Reiser has always insisted that his long-running NBC sitcom Mad About You (co-created by Reiser and Danny Jacobson) was inspired by events in his own life. Naturally, a bit of dramatic license was practiced: Reiser's TV character Paul Buchman was not a comic, but instead a New York-based documentary filmmaker. Nonetheless, the character's personality was virtually "all Reiser," just as Paul Buchman's TV wife, public relations executive Jamie Buchman (played by Helen Hunt), was basically a carbon copy of the real-life Mrs. Reiser.

Debuting Wednesday, September 23, 1992, Mad About You set up its premise, setting, and characters with admirable speed and efficiency. Married five months at the beginning of the series, Paul and Jamie are already safely ensconced in their Manhattan high-rise apartment, already conversing in a naturalistic, non-jokey (but hilarious) manner about the little, apparently inconsequential events that made them who they were and shaped their outlook on the world. (Reiser's oft-quoted assessment of the series was, "The feeling of the show should be like a couple's ride home after a party, when you can finally say what you've been thinking all night.") Also already in place is the series' colorful array of supporting characters, including Jamie's unlucky-in-love sister, Lisa Stemple (Anne Ramsay), gynecologist Mark Devanow (Richard Kind) and his dissatisfied wife, Fran (Leila Kenzle) -- still married at the start of season one, but headed for divorce by the 22nd episode -- and, for the first half of the season at least, Paul's disheveled bachelor pal Jay Selby (Tommy Hinkley), with whom Lisa has a brief fling. The exit of Jay after the 12th episode permitted the producers to bring in a new character, Paul's ever-competitive cousin Ira Buchman (John Pankow).

Recurring characters making their first appearances during Mad About You's shakedown season include the Devanow's precocious son, Ryan (Spencer Klein); the Buchman's insufferable upper-crust British neighbors, Maggie and Hal Conway (played by Judy Geeson and, initially, Paxton Whitehead); Paul's father, Burt Buchman (Louis Zorich); Jamie's parents, Theresa and Gus Stemple (originally played by Nancy Dussault and Paul Dooley); apartment doorman Eddie (Lou Cutell); and various members of Paul's production staff, among them film editor Ike (Art Evans), phlegmatic photographer Warren (Stephen Wright), and production assistants Stacey (Kerri Green) and Connie (Meagen Fay). And oh, yes, the series' obligatory non-human character, the Buchman's blasé pet dog, Murray (played by Maui), was conspicuous by his presence. The series' celebrated habit of featuring pop-icon "guest stars," which would manifest itself in such notables as John Astin, Carl Reiner, Yoko Ono, and the cast of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in later years, was tantalizingly previewed with the first-season appearances of Barbara Feldon (spoofing her Get Smart persona) and Regis Philbin. Although Mad About You did not crack the Top 25 series during its inaugural season, the program managed to accumulate a following that would remain loyal and steadfast for the next seven years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Already a bona fide hit, though not a huge hit, Mad About You received a major shot in the arm ratings-wise when, upon entering its third season, the series was moved to Thursday evenings, just before Friends, as part of NBC's "Must See TV" lineup. By the end of the season, the series was posting its best numbers ever, and was a shoo-in for fall renewal. Though there were no cast changes amongst the series' regulars, there were several new faces in the recurring-character department. Jim Piddock replaced Paxton Whitehead as Hal Conway, the insufferable upper-crust British neighbor of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt), while the roles of Jamie's parents, Gus and Teresa Stemple, filled by Paul Dooley and Nancy Dussault during season one, were now essayed by John Karlen and Penny Fuller. New to the cast were George O. Petrie as Paul's editor, Sid, Eric Stoltz as Jamie's ex-beau Alan, Anne Bobby as Jamie's former classmate Susannah Gould, and Meg Wyllie as the ubiquitous Aunt Lolly (though exactly whose aunt she was really remained a bit of a mystery). Season highlights included "My Boyfriend's Back!," wherein the series' characters were redefined in animated-cartoon form; "The Alan Brady Show," for which Carl Reiner, recreating the obnoxious TV comedian he'd originally played on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which won an Emmy award; and "Money Changes Everything," which likewise earned an Emmy for its guest star, Cyndi Lauper. A third Emmy was claimed by the Mad About You sound-mixing staff, headed by Peter Damski. The series closed out its third season with arguably its most bizarre episode, the hour-long "Up in Smoke," which emulated It's a Wonderful Life by showing Paul and Jamie what might have happened had they never met. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Comedian Billy Crystal made his directorial debut with this biography of fictional comedian Buddy Young Jr. (portrayed by Crystal himself), whose self-destructive tendencies prevent him from rising to top of the show business ladder during his five-decade career. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

An aspiring filmmaker learns that success in Hollywood doesn't come as easy as she suspected as she attempts to discover the formula to success in this satirical comedy from director William Tannen. When the guidance of her helpful has-been uncle (Michael Lerner) fails to pave the way, Sarah Wilder (Alannah Ubach) must seek the advice of such Hollywood heavies as Mike Meyers, Ben Stiller, and Fred Willard -- only to discover that the old adage is true and Nobody Knows Anything about how to succeed in the cutthroat world of Los Angeles. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide