Wallace Langham Movies
HBO enthusiasts will invariably remember character actor Wallace Langham for his winning multi-season portrayal of Phil, the conceited head writer of Larry Sanders' late-night talk show, on the Garry Shandling-headlined sitcom The Larry Sanders Show. Langham (who first received billing in projects as Wally Ward) grew up in Los Angeles; his parents divorced at an early age and his mother, Sunni, designed costumes for the musical variety series Donny and Marie. Langham was, by all accounts, drawn magnetically to showbusiness; he enrolled in acting classes, signed with an agent, and landed a string of television commercials beginning at age 16 (in 1981). After high school, Langham enrolled briefly in Cal State Northridge, but dropped out after snagging a bit part in John Hughes' teenage sci-fi comedy Weird Science (1985).Scattered appearances on such series as Murder, She Wrote and Star Trek: Voyager followed -- as well as the recurring role of Josh, smart-alecky assistant to lingerie proprietor Veronica on the Kirstie Alley sitcom Veronica's Closet. It was the Shandling turn, however, that put Langham on top of his game. He made occasional feature appearances in such pictures as the Nora Ephron comedy-fantasy Michael (1996) opposite John Travolta, the Eddie Murphy vehicle Daddy Day Care (2003), and the ensemble comedy drama Little Miss Sunshine (2006), but -- outside of Larry Sanders -- he is probably best known for his fine work on the series drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. On that program, Langham sustained a multi-season portrayal as lab technician David Hodges. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2004
- Add Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels to QueueAdd Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels to top of Queue
The true story behind one of the most popular television shows of the 1970s is dramatized in this made-for-TV comedy drama. In 1975, television producer Aaron Spelling (Dan Castellaneta) was looking for a new hit, and he thought he might have one in a script about three beautiful female police officers who become private detectives working for a mysterious man named Charlie. While the show began life as The Alley Cats, in time Spelling and his crew changed it to Charlie's Angels, and once they cast Farrah Fawcett-Majors (Tricia Helfer), Kate Jackson (Lauren Stamile), and Jaclyn Smith (Christina Chambers), they soon had a show that would give birth to a new genre -- "jiggle television" -- and become a worldwide phenomenon. Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels also features Ben Browder as Lee Majors, Dan Lauria as ABC head Fred Silverman, and Chelsea Watson as Cheryl Ladd. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tricia Helfer, Lauren Stamile, (more)
- 2003
In the tradition of the previous "backstage" TV movies about such iconic series as Batman, The Partridge Family, Gilligan's Island, and The Brady Bunch, this NBC effort promised to give the lowdown on the long-running (1977-1984) ABC sitcom Three's Company. In truth, there is little in this film that was not already common knowledge when it first aired on May 12, 2003, but it's still fun to see a cast of attractive actors portraying another cast of attractive actors. In case anyone needs reminding, Three's Company was the popular tickle-and-tease comedy series based upon the British Man About the House, in which a virile young heterosexual man was forced to pose as a homosexual so that he could remain the roommate of two sexy young ladies. It was perhaps the quintessential "jiggle" sitcom, thanks primarily to its well-endowed co-star Suzanne Somers (here played by Judy Tylor). Because of its risqué (but basically inoffensive) content, Three's Company was turned down by both NBC and CBS before ambitious ABC CEO Fred Silverman (played by Brian Dennehy) decided to take a chance on the property. The rest, as they say, is history, with Three's Company not only setting ratings records but also establishing a whole new threshold for what was and wasn't acceptable in network prime time. Inevitably, the show collapsed under its own weight, especially after the revolving-door cast changes which followed in the wake of the acrimonious defection of Suzanne Somers, but it was fun while it lasted. For the record, the other Three's Company stars were the multi-talented John Ritter (played by Bret Anthony) and the underrated Joyce DeWitt (Melanie Deane-Moore). The actual Joyce DeWitt also appears as herself in this movie, serving as narrator and sidelines commentator. Though the film often pulls its punches regarding the original series' backstage intrigues and legal entanglements, there is enough authentic detail remaining to satisfy the casual sitcom buff. Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company was filmed under the title Three's Company Revisited. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joyce DeWitt, Brian Dennehy, (more)
- 2003
Dentist Gus Sugarman is stabbed in the back of the head by a screwdriver while sitting in a crowded movie theater. Grissom (William L. Petersen) and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) follow up two possibilities: that the killing was committed by an elusive red-headed woman and that Sugarman was not the intended victim. Elsewhere, the other CSI agents are stymied by the reams of contradictory evidence attending the death of teenager Timmy McCallum, whose badly beaten and bullet-ridden body was found in a warehouse where 100 rounds of ammunition were fired from every conceivable angle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Hank Peddigrew (Christopher Wiehl), the paramedic boyfriend of the CSI's Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), is among those injured when an old woman (Sandra Gimpel) crashes her Jaguar into a bar-restaurant during a crowded "happy hour." Was it a random accident, or a deliberately mapped-out murder? As she investigates, Sara is unnerved when she finds out why Hank was at the bar in the first place. Meanwhile, Grissom (William L. Petersen) and Nick (George Eads) probe the death of a woman who succumbed to a gas leak in her home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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
- 2003
The press box at a small high-school football field yields the strangled body of Nebraska woman Alison Carpenter. The CSI's investigation reveals that Alison died an hour before her corpse was found, and that she may have perished during a session of rough consensual sex. Among the suspects are meth addict Jason Kent (Max Martini) and a pair of ex-convicts (Luis Antonio Ramos and Raymond Cruz) who were in the same street gang. On a more personal note, the entire CSI team works overtime to find out the source of an explosion in their own DNA lab, in which a technician was badly injured. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
In the slaughterhouse of the Meteor Meat Company, the arm of a murdered victim is found in a meat grinder. In the course of their investigation, Grissom (William L. Petersen) and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) end up at the trendy restaurant where the victim had worked as a chef. Elsewhere, Warrick (Gary Dourdan) and Sara (Jorja Fox) try to determine if a disturbed young woman named Jill Damon slit her wrists in a suicide attempt -- or if she was murdered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
In what may be the series finale, Louis Lewis (Bill Saluga) awakens from his coma, and refuses to give Richard (Richard Lewis) one of his kidneys, leaving Larry (Larry David) as Richard's best hope for survival. Omar Jones (Mekhi Phifer) calls Larry to tell him that he was, in fact, adopted. Larry goes to Arizona to visit his birth parents, the Cones (Hansford Rowe and June Squibb) and is shocked to learn that he is not actually Jewish. After an inspirational visit to the Cones' church, Larry has a change of heart, and races back to Los Angeles to donate his kidney to Richard. On the way into the operating room, he learns that there's been a terrible mistake. Larry also pays a brief but illuminating visit to the afterlife, where he gets into an argument with his guardian angels (Dustin Hoffman and Sacha Baron Cohen of Da Ali G Show) over his system for making sure he doesn't misplace his DVD cases. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Two fathers get a crash course in caring for kids other than their own in this family-friendly comedy. Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) is an advertising executive whose job monopolizes his time, making it difficult for him to stay in touch with his young son, Ben (Khamani Griffin). However, after Charlie and his partner, Phil (Jeff Garlin), are given their pink slips in the wake of a disastrous campaign for a new breakfast cereal, Charlie's wife, Kim (Regina King), goes back to work, and with the family budget tighter than before, Charlie becomes a stay-at-home dad. After pulling Ben out of an expensive and exclusive daycare center run by the humorless Gwyneth Harridan (Anjelica Huston), Charlie comes up with a brainstorm -- since he and Phil watch their own children every day, how much harder could it be to watch a few more kids and open their own day care center? Charlie and Phil discover there's much more to running a daycare center than they ever imagined, but after a very rough start, with the help of likable slacker Marvin (Steve Zahn) their new business becomes a success -- so much so that Harridan finds herself losing customers to the upstart fathers, and she starts searching for a way to shut them down. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, (more)
- 2000
- Add Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story to QueueAdd Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story to top of Queue
The true story of how two former child actors and a pair of struggling musicians got hired to appear on a TV series -- and became one of the biggest rock groups of the 1960s in the process -- is recounted in this made-for-cable feature. When a TV producer got the idea of taking the premise of A Hard Day's Night and turning it into a situation comedy, he hired Mickey Dolenz (Aaron Lohr), Davy Jones (George Stanchev), Mike Nesmith (Jeff Geddis), and Peter Tork (L.B. Fisher) to play the non-existent pop group The Monkees. When the TV show became an overnight smash, the "band" found themselves touring behind a string of hit singles. Soon the band found themselves in a battle with producers and TV executives to play their own music and control their own creative destiny. Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story also features Wallace Langham as music industry mogul (and later TV show host) Don Kirschner. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Langham
- 1996
In the opening episode of ER's third season, Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) get the results of their HIV tests, forcing Jeanie to make a difficult decision. Carter's inaugural assignment as a first-year intern is to temporarily replace Benton as ER surgical consultant; Carter (Noah Wyle) also finds time to befriend another first-year man, Dr. Dennis Gant (Omar Epps). Having been promoted to full-time attending physician (and, incidentally, full-time ER regular), Weaver (Laura Innes) is more insufferable than ever. And in two separate Fourth of July festivities, a couple of the other main characters experience uncomfortable reunions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An unhinged city dweller becomes a vigilante as he tries to protect a troubled teenager. The fellow is Ernest, who came to LA in search of his fortune and who ends up addicted to coke and managing a pornographic video store. When he makes an awkward play for the boss's daughter, he loses his job. Unable to deal with it, he becomes really unstable. He murders his drug dealer and then becomes friends with the teen Christiane who is trying to cope with a stepfather who molests her and a mother who doesn't care. Ernest takes Christiane away from home and then helps her try to find her long-lost sister. Along the way he makes sure that anyone who ever harmed her is made to pay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
The home-schooled son of loving, marijuana-growing hippies discovers the twisted values of the suburban status quo in this comedy featuring Rosanna Arquette and Rachel Blanchard. Quinn Dawson (Staven Yaffee) may be your average teenager, though his parents are far from your typical, white-picket fence homemakers. They've recently relocated to the suburbs, where sheltered Quinn meets the girl of his dreams. Trouble is, the object of Quinn's obsession has enrolled in the local high school, where she's sure to fall for the star football player - or anyone else whose parents aren't committed criminals. Later, as Quinn begins to embrace his own independence and explore the world his parents so despise, he comes to realize they may be the sanest people in the entire town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Yaffee, Rachel Blanchard, (more)
- 2006
- Add I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With to QueueAdd I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With to top of Queue
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
- Starring:
- Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman, (more)
When a pudgy, bespectacled seven-year-old, Olive (Abigail Breslin), voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown at an upcoming beauty pageant, her wildly dysfunctional family sets out on an interstate road trip to ensure her a clear shot at realizing her dreams in former music video directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' quirky feature debut, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette. Despite early career success as an outspoken motivational speaker, family patriarch Richard (Kinnear) continues to cling to his "Refuse to Lose" philosophy, much to the chagrin of his increasingly annoyed spouse, Sheryl (Collette). Add into the mix a Nietzsche-reading teenage son (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence until he finds his fate as a fighter pilot; a horny, heroin-happy grandfather (Alan Arkin) with a penchant for creative profanity; and a suicidal genius (Carell) and Proust scholar still reeling about losing both his male lover and his MacArthur Foundation genius grant -- and the stage is set for a road trip in which sanity is sure to take the back seat. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, (more)
There are angels among us, and they like lots of sugar in their coffee, in writer-director Nora Ephron's comic fantasy Michael. Vartan Malt (Bob Hoskins) is the editor of a tabloid called the National Mirror that specializes in unlikely stories about celebrities and frankly unbelievable tales about ordinary folks. When Malt gets word that a woman is supposedly harboring an angel in a small town in Iowa, he figures that this might be right up the Mirror's alley, so he sends out three people to get the story -- Frank Quinlan (William Hurt), a reporter whose career has hit the skids; Huey Discoll (Robert Pastorelli), a photographer on the verge of losing his job (even though he owns the Mirror's mascot, Sparky The Wonder Dog); and Dorothy Winters (Andie MacDowell), a self-styled "angel expert." They arrive at the rooming house of Patsy Millband (Jean Stapleton), who informs them that she does indeed have an angel for a tenant, and introduces them to Michael (John Travolta). Michael has wings like an angel, but the resemblance ends there; Michael loves cigarettes, has an uncontrollable sweet tooth (and a pot belly to match), tends to use a large number of non-angelic phrases, is not much on personal hygiene, and likes to hang out with the ladies. Michael informs his visitors that in Heaven, an angel is allowed a certain number of "vacations" on Earth, and he's in the midst of one now; trouble is, this is the last one he's entitled to, and he wants to make the most of it. Frank and Huey then stumble on a great story idea -- if Michael wants to have some fun, why not take him to Chicago, where he can really kick up his heels? Michael was written in part by Jim Quinlan, himself a one-time reporter, though with a much more respectable tabloid than the Mirror -- he wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, (more)
- 1993
Molly Hagan is cast as Dana Ballard, a former research assistant of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury)--and a pathological liar. When Dana's current employer is killed and she is accused of the crime, she begs Jessica to clear her name. But Jessica can't help wondering if Dana is merely weaving another web of lies...and that, in direct opposition to the standard Murder, She Wrote formula, she is guilty after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Contrary to expectations, the journalism school mentioned in the title of this episode is NOT the creation of our gal Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen). Instead, she has given permission for her name to be used for a school created by her journalistic mentor, retired high school teacher Ken Hamilton (William Schallert). At first flattered by the honor, Murphy changes her mind when the "Murphy Brown School of Broadcasting" morphs into the office joke, and she herself is nominated for (to quote TV Guide) "Most Likely to Be Embarrassed." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The world of competitive figure skating takes a pratfall in this satiric comedy. Professor Robinson (Chris Hogan) is a documentary filmmaker whose latest project presents an in-depth look at three figure skaters hoping to someday rise from the lowest rungs of amateur competition into the ranks of the U.S. Olympic Team. Robinson's subjects are Veda Tilman (Barret Swatek), a high-strung young woman who suffers from an eating disorder; J.C. Cain (A.J. Langer), a chain-smoking trailer-park refugee with more than her share of attitude; and Wendy Wodinski (Marissa Winokur), whose rotund build would make her seem like an unlikely contender for a skating championship. As Veda, J.C., and Wendy train for their next match, seen-it-all Zamboni driver Phil (Jason Alexander) offers his perspective on the action. On Edge features cameos from noted comic actors Kathy Griffin, Michael McKean, and Wendie Malick, as well as appearances by real-life skating champions Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tai Babilonia, Randy Gardner, Steven Cousins, and Peter Carruthers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Alexander, John Glover, (more)
Diane Keaton stars in this adaptation of Christopher Durang's popular one-act play Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You as Sister Mary, a nun who teaches at a parochial school and has very firmly held ideas about sin, forgiveness, and the importance of church doctrine. As Sister Mary delivers a lecture on sin and its consequences, she's interrupted by several of her former students, who have little positive to say about how a Catholic education has impacted their lives. Sister Mary Explains It All also stars Brian Benben, Jennifer Tilly, and Wallace Langham; it was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it first aired in May 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Keaton, Brian Benben, (more)
