Lisa Kudrow Movies
Lisa Kudrow first made her name playing Phoebe, the ditzy, New Age member of the titular close-knit pals on NBC's highly successful sitcom Friends. Since then, she has bridged the gap between television and film with undeniable success, winning particular acclaim for her role as an uptight school teacher in Don Roos' The Opposite of Sex (1998).Born in Encino, California on July 30, 1963, Kudrow earned a degree in biology from Vassar College before beginning her acting career. After college, she joined the Los Angeles improvisational group, The Groundlings, at the urging of family friend Jon Lovitz. Improv paved the way for more work, and Kudrow was soon appearing in bit roles in a number of films. Her first real break didn't come until 1993, when she began appearing on the TV sitcom Mad About You as Ursula, the waitress from hell. Real fame came in 1994, when the actress was cast as Phoebe on Friends; the enormous success of the show gave her both wide recognition and a steady day job.
Kudrow's first leading role on the big screen was as one of the titular heroines (alongside Mira Sorvino) of the 1997 comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion; unfortunately, her character was little more than a film version of Phoebe. Fortunately, Kudrow got to widen her range a little further that same year with a starring role in the independent drama Clockwatchers, portraying a struggling actress alongside the likes of Toni Collette and Parker Posey. The following year, Kudrow won raves and critical respect for her turn in The Opposite of Sex, a scathing black comedy in which she gave a comic and poignant performance as an embittered woman coping with the death of her brother, the presence of her best friend's malicious little sister (Christina Ricci), and the romantic attentions of Lyle Lovett. The acclaim she received for her portrayal was complemented the same year with an Emmy Award for her work on Friends. In 1999, Kudrow shared the screen with Robert DeNiro in the comedy Analyze This, and later that year she starred with Diane Keaton and Meg Ryan as three sisters dealing with the imminent death of their irritating father (Walter Matthau) in the comedy Hanging Up, directed by Keaton and written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron.
~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Lisa Kudrow plays a dual role as Phoebe and her twin sister, Ursula. When the sisters' grandmother dies, Phoebe is upset, but Ursula seems oblivious to the tragedy. A further trauma awaits Phoebe when, at the memorial service, she finally meets her father (Bob Balaban). Meanwhile, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) gives Joey (Matt LeBlanc) a shoulder bag from Bloomingdale's which may sabotage his chances for landing an audition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As Friends enters its sixth season, Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) are husband and wife -- the end result of a drunken spree in Las Vegas. It doesn't take long for the couple to realize that their impulsive marriage was a mistake, however, and soon they're divorced. This whole unfortunate episode has caused Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) to put their own tentative wedding plans in cold storage, though they do move in together upon returning to New York. In later romantic developments, Rachel panics when it looks as though Ross is going to hit it off with her sister Jill (Reese Witherspoon), and is no less concerned when Ross begins getting serious with another girl -- one of his students -- named Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden); meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) has a brief fling with a lass by the name of Janine (Elle MacPherson). In the season finale, Chandler reconsiders marrying Monica, and is about to pop the question when her old flame Richard (Tom Selleck) shows up declaring his own love for her. Were it not for ER and the thrice-weekly Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Friends would have been the number one network program in America, instead of merely number four; still, the series remained the nation's most popular sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
Season five of Friends opens just a few moments after the wedding of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Emily (Helen Baxendale), in which Ross all but sealed the doom for the union by invoking the name of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) during the exchange of vows. It is also a scant few hours after Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox) have slept together for the first time. The latter couple tries to keep their romance a secret, but by mid-season everyone knows the truth. In later plot developments, the newly divorced Ross briefly moves in with Chandler and Joey; and surrogate mother Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) gives birth to triplets. In the now-famous season-five finale, Joey heads to Las Vegas for a juicy film role, and is eventually joined by the rest of his friends. Caught up in the glamour and glitter of Sin City, Monica and Chandler briefly consider a quickie Vegas marriage...only to find out that two of the other "friends" have beaten them to it! Friends wrapped up its fifth season on the air as the second most popular network program in America -- not to mention its post-Seinfeld status as the country's top-rated sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
Screenwriter Don Roos made his directorial debut with this oddball sex comedy. The tale is narrated by 16-year-old Louisiana tramp Dedee Truitt (Christina Ricci), who buries her stepfather and then heads for Indiana to visit her homosexual half-brother Bill (Martin Donovan). Recovering from the AIDS death of longtime companion Tom, schoolteacher Bill has linked up with a new partner, handsome Matt (Ivan Sergei). After Dedee seduces Matt and claims she's pregnant by him, the couple steals $10,000 from Bill's safety deposit box and heads for L.A. Alarmed by Matt's seeming disappearance and hoping to blackmail Bill into disclosing Matt's whereabouts, Bill's former student (also Matt's former beau) Jason (Johnny Galecki) accuses Bill of molestation four years previous, a charge that jeopardizes Bill's job as a schoolteacher. To clear his name, Bill, and Tom's sister Lucia (Lisa Kudrow), leave for L.A. to locate Matt and Dedee. Lucia is a repressed old maid who flinches from even the thought of sex, but even so, weird Sheriff Tippett (Lyle Lovett) takes a fancy to her. Meanwhile, questions are raised about the true father of Dedee's baby, and the film comes to a climax with a shooting, a cross-county chase, and the inevitable showdown between the quirky characters. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, (more)
- 1998
Once again (and for the last time), Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) preside over an eventful Thanksgiving dinner. This time, the guest list includes not only the couple's families and friends, but also Jamie's boss Henry Vincent (Fred Willard), baby Mabel's pediatrician Dr. Lee (Steve Park), and airheaded waitress Ursula Buffay (Lisa Kudrow, taking time out from her Friends duties). Trouble ensues when little Mabel shows signs of developing an allergy -- and the source may be one of the guests. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1998
Lisa Kudrow and Fred Willard reprise their Mad About You roles as Ursula Buffay and Henry Vincent. Trouble begins smoldering when Joan (Suzie Plakson), the life partner of Paul's sister, Debbie (Robin Bartlett), is asked to pose for a "20 Most Eligible Bachelorettes in New York" magazine article. Paul (Paul Reiser) adds fuel to the flames by encouraging his wife, Jamie (Helen Hunt), to quit her job with James Carville. And Paul's cousin Ira (John Pankow) is steaming because Riff's Restaurant has slighted him. With such an incindiary situation, is it any surprise when a real fire breaks out at Riff's, permitting Ira to play the hero while Paul is stuck in the bathroom? ~ All Movie Guide
Resolving the cliffhanging finale of season three, the fourth season of Friends opens with Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) learning the true identity of her biological mother (played by Teri Garr). Elsewhere, Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) have a major falling out when both roommates fall in love with the same girl; Phoebe's half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), asks her to be the surrogate mother to his children; and, trying to uphold their new "just friends, lovers no more" relationship, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) agree to start dating other people. Rachel's choice, albeit temporary, is Joshua (played by actress Aniston's real-life boyfriend at the time, Tate Donovan), whom she meets in her capacity as a department-store buyer, while Ross begins squiring a dour Englishwoman named Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale). Ultimately, Ross and Emily decide to get married, clearing the stage for the season's riotous two-part finale, set in England. As the wedding ceremony approaches, Chandler and Monica (Courteney Cox) stop beating around the bush about their mutual attraction and end up sleeping together; and while taking the marriage vows in church, Ross lets slip that he's still obsessed with Rachel! Friends continued to reap healthy profits and ratings throughout its fourth season, closing out the year as America's fourth most-watched program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
- 1997
After several unworthy candidates, new parents Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) believe they've found the perfect babysitter in the form of a lass named Arley (Lili Taylor). Now the Buchmans are secure enough to take their first evening out in months. Unfortunately, fate intervenes in the form of a pair of pants and an errant scoop of ice cream. Friends regular Lisa Kudrow briefly reprises her Mad About You role as Ursula Buffay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Just in case of emergency, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) decide to line up a guardian for their unborn baby. Alas, no one seems to want the job -- not even the people whom Paul and Jamie don't want for the job. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Bobby Rubenfield (Seth Green) develops a hopeless crush on Jamie. Friends regular Lisa Kudrow makes a return appearance as Ursula Buffay, and the name of a long-forgotten first season regular is unexpectedly invoked ("Please don't call him!"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- R
- Add Romy and Michele's High School Reunion to QueueAdd Romy and Michele's High School Reunion to top of Queue
Two dimwitted pals attempt to fib their way through their high school reunion with disastrous results in this bubbly comedy from David Mirkin, frequent director of the cult TV sitcom Get a Life!. Los Angeles dim-bulbs Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michelle (Lisa Kudrow) have been best friends since childhood. Their shared passions include shopping, club-hopping, and creating their own candy-colored fashions. When their tenth high school reunion looms, the friends realize that their lives are not impressive enough to cow the popular crowd that tormented them in their teen years. So Romy borrows a Jaguar, and the duo concocts a story about how they became top corporate executives by creating Post-It Notes. Once they are at the reunion, however, Romy and Michelle's scheme unravels. Saturnine classmate Heather (Janeane Garofalo), who really did make a fortune as an inventor, exposes their fraud, and the girls find themselves mocked again, by everyone except Sandy Frink (Alan Cumming), a nerd millionaire with a lingering crush on Michelle. Kudrow reprised the role of Michelle from her late 1980s stage performance in the play Ladies' Room by Robin Schiff, who expanded both the play and the part of Michelle for the feature film version. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, (more)
Four women reflect on their lowly place in the corporate caste system in this dryly satiric comedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is a college graduate who hasn't decided what she wants to do with her life, except that she doesn't want the job her father has lined up for her at a frozen food company. While pretending to look for other work, she signs on with a temp agency, which sends her out to do office work for Global Credit, a particularly faceless corporation where the permanent employees go out of their way to avoid the temps. Iris is very much aware that she's at the bottom rung at Global, and she bonds with three other women in the temp pool. Paula (Lisa Kudrow) talks about her career as an actress and insists that she will only temp until one of her auditions pans out. Jane (Alanna Ubach) prattles on about her wealthy fiancé, although her friends are convinced that he's cheating on her. And Margaret (Parker Posey) is at once the rebel of the group, regarding her job and general office procedure with a barely disguised contempt, and the one who most desperately wants a "real" job with Global. When office supplies and various personal items start to disappear, all signs point to one of the temp workers (most likely Margaret), though none will own up to any wrongdoing. Clockwatchers was the directorial debut for filmmaker Jill Sprecher, who co-wrote the screenplay with her sister Karen Sprecher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Collette, Parker Posey, (more)
As Friends enters its third season, the series' romantic intrigues intensify. Monica (Courteney Cox) breaks up with Dr. Richard Burke (played during season two by Tom Selleck); Chandler (Matthew Perry) gets serious with his new girlfriend, Janice (Maggie Wheeler), but she can't bear to part with her former husband; and the relationship between Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) abruptly ends. And so it goes right up to the final episode of the season, in which, during a day at the beach, Ross and Rachel realize that they're still in love, Chandler begins mulling over the option of dating Monica, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) learns a shocking fact about her long-lost parents. Evidently, the viewers of America couldn't get enough of these plot entanglements; Friends closed out its third season as the fourth highest-rated program on network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
A man tries to figure out why his best friend isn't his mother in this comedy written and directed by Albert Brooks. John Henderson (Brooks) is a neurotic, self-obsessed writer whose relationships with women have been almost uniformly disastrous. Middle-aged and single, John decides that he must come to terms with his problems with women, and he decides to start with the first significant female relationship of his life -- his mother, Beatrice (Debbie Reynolds). John arrives at Beatrice's house and announces that he's moving back into his old room until he can resolve his issues with her. Beatrice politely plays along, but she is more puzzled by John's behavior than anything else. John and Beatrice soon find that they spend less time trying to resolve their differences than arguing if salads can be frozen or if you can really tell the difference between premium ice cream and the supermarket's store brand. Rob Morrow plays John's brother, and Lisa Kudrow plays one of John's less compatible blind dates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds, (more)
- 1996
This 1996 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Lisa Kudrow and features musical guest Sheryl Crow. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Kudrow, Sheryl Crow, (more)
When an ex-con manages to schmooze her way into being a high-priced nanny for a rich family, she promptly tries to control the family's two adorable moppets. Unfortunately for her, the kids are none too keen on starting an early career in a sweat shop, and with Home Alone-like aplomb, they manage to thwart her intentions. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Looking for the perfect third-anniversary gift causes Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) to lose confidence in their relationship. In the course of events, Jamie receives a cryptic message: "This note entitles the bearer to one magical night." Truer words were never written. Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's third season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Looking for the perfect third-anniversary gift causes Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) to lose confidence in their relationship. In a rare "alternate reality" situation, the Buchmans are permitted to experience what might have happened had they never met. Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's third season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Friends inaugurates its second season as Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) digests the news that Ross (David Schwimmer) has a crush on her -- only to spot Ross with his new girlfriend, Julie (Lauren Tom). Forced to choose between the two women in his life, Ross goes with Rachel, and not long afterward the couple consummate their romance -- smack dab in the museum where Ross works. Meanwhile, Ross' lesbian ex-wife, Carol (Jane Sibbett), who has recently given birth to son Ben, "marries" her female lover, (Jessica Hecht). In other affairs of the heart, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) is reunited with her husband, Duncan (Steve Zahn), a gay Canadian who'd wed her to get a green card (needless to say, the marriage is quickly dispensed with); and Ross' sister, Monica (Courteney Cox), begins dating an old family friend, Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck). In a similar medical vein, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) thinks he's finally got his big showbiz break when he is cast as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives; alas, just as he has gotten used to his affluent new lifestyle, "Dr. Ramoray" is abruptly killed off. Joey also moves out of his apartment, whereupon his roommate, Chandler (Matthew Perry), takes in a new tenant, a truly bizarre character named Eddie (Adam Goldberg), who when Joey moves back in, steadfastly refuses to go away. Friends wrapped up its sophomore season as the third highest-rated program on American TV, outflanked only by ER and Seinfeld. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, (more)
- 1995
Jamie (Helen Hunt) decides to test husband Paul's (Paul Reiser) tape-recorded theories of dating do's and don'ts (Find 'Em, Meet 'Em Make 'Em Yours). Meanwhile, Paul's cousin Ira (John Pankow) doesn't seem to need any advice -- at least, not with Jamie's friend Susannah Gould (played by Anne Bobby in her first Mad About You appearance). This episode has been brought to you courtesy of the "Jodie Foster-Daniel Day-Lewis Look." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Hoping to return a copy of Robocop 3 to Video Village, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) inadvertently send back a sexy "homemade video." As if this weren't embarrassing enough, the Buchmans' recorded bedroom shenanigans end up being delivered to the Family Cable Network in place of Paul's G-rated zoo documentary. Ryan Stiles makes his second appearance as an unnamed video guy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
As a recording of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" wafts through the Rockefeller Center skating rink, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) prepare to celebrate Valentine's Day. This segues into an extended flashback to 1991, when bachelor Paul and bachelorette Jamie decide to move in together. Alas, Paul can't seem to make a lasting commitment -- and a pair of ice skates is a poor substitute for an engagement ring. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Despite the objections of her husband, Paul (Paul Reiser), Jamie (Helen Hunt) and her friend Fran (Leila Kenzle) are determined to hook up the Buchmans' bedroom TV with "stolen" cable service. The ladies' combined efforts result in a citywide power blackout of 1965 dimensions. Will Tom Brokaw ever get out of that stalled elevator? "Pandora's Box" was original one of three sitcom episodes telecast on the same Thursday evening over the same network (NBC), all of them built around a special "Blackout Thursday" promotion (the other two series involved in this stunt were Friends and Madman of the People). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
On the eve of the Buchmans' second anniversary, Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) loses his wedding ring. As if this wasn't vexing enough, Paul is forced to ingest three lunches held in honor of his wife, Jamie (Helen Hunt). Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's second season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The second wedding anniversary of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) is fraught with peril, beginning when Paul loses his wedding ring. Things come to a head when a meeting with Paul's nephew Noah (Andrew J. Ferchland) prompts Jamie to reconsider motherhood. Originally telecast as the hour-long finale of Mad About You's second season, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Season three of Mad About You opens with an intolerable heat wave bearing down on New York. Escaping to the relatively temperate climate of the Jersey shore, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) conduct a lengthy and largely fruitless search for their all-time favorite fried clam restaurant. Though the Buchmans have commandeered the car owned by Jamie's business partner, Fran (Leila Kenzle), it is Murray the dog who ends up getting towed away (sort of). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
