Jeff Filgo Movies
- 2010
Hotel for Dogs' director Thor Freudenthal helms the adaptation of Jeff Kinney's acclaimed Diary of a Wimpy Kid comics with this Fox 2000 production. Zachary Gordon starring as the titular character, with Steve Zahn, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, and Devon Bostick filling out the rest of the cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Topher Grace and Anna Faris star in It's All Gone Pete Tong screenwriter/director Michael Dowse's coming of age comedy drama concerning a rowdy group of recent college graduates who venture out for one last night of fun before accepting the responsibilities of adulthood. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, (more)
- 2006
More "twentysomething sexual angst" in the tradition of Friends, the Fox sitcom Happy Hour also borrowed elements from The Odd Couple. The focus was on a pair of mismatched male roommates, described by the network publicity flacks thusly: "one disappointed by love, one blinded by love." The "disappointed" one was Henry Beckman (John Sloan), who after breaking up with girlfriend Heather (Brooke D'Orsay) moved in with his party-animal buddy Larry Cone (Lex Medlin). Having just lost a roommate named Brad (Nat Faxon), who defected in favor of marriage, Larry welcomed Henry as "The New Brad," assuming that both shared the same viewpoint about the opposite sex; they didn't, of course, and therein lay the series' comic contrast. Other cast members included Beth Lacke as Larry's main squeeze Amanda, and Jamie Denbo as the roommates' somewhat deranged next-door neighbor Tina. Happy Hour debuted on September 7, 2006, in tandem with another new Fox comedy series, 'Til Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Medlin, John Sloan, (more)
- 1999
WWE star "The Rock" (aka Dwayne Johnson) plays his own father, famed wrestler Rocky Johnson, in this episode. Insisting that Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Eric (Topher Grace) "bond" as fathers and sons are supposed to, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) looks on with pride as her two men head to Kenosha to attend a pro-wrestling event with the rest of the gang. Elsewhere, Bob (Don Stark) bemoans the fact that wife Midge (Tanya Roberts) is seeing a therapist, convinced that group therapy will turn into "grope" therapy at any moment. Watch for legendary wrestling ref Gene LeBell as (presumably) himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
After several months' worth of reruns, That '70s Show suddenly returned with five new episodes in the summer of 1999 to close out the series' first season. In this outing, the guys climb up on the town's water tower to paint a huge marijuana leaf. Dissatisfied with the results, Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) scrambles up the tower again, only to plunge painfully to earth. Rather than take Kelso to a hospital, Eric (Topher Grace) reasons that his mom, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), a nurse, is in closer proximity. Rushing headlong into his house, Eric finds his mom and dad in the throes of passion. Shocked by the spectacle, Eric lapses into some very strange behavior. Listen for a familiar voice during one of Eric's tortured fantasies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Jackie (Mila Kunis) invites the whole gang for a weekend at her parents' ski cabin. Well, almost the whole gang: Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) has been uninvited by Jackie because he has been unfaithful to her. As Jackie wallows in misery and Kelso tries to figure out how to make amends (and has an interesting experience with an unusually friendly trucker in the process), both Donna (Laura Prepon) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) are also having "heart trouble." This is the episode in which a drunken Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) celebrates the snow and cold without the encumbrance of clothing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly) brings her new friend Kate (Jenny Maguire) to Thanksgiving at the Forman household. Kate immediately makes herself at home -- by putting the moves on Laurie's far-from-resistant brother Eric (Topher Grace). As Donna (Laura Prepon) simmers over the situation, Eric's mom, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), all but bursts into flames over a mix-up involving her troublesome mother-in-law. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The first season of That '70s Show largely took place in 1976, though references to Saturday Night Fever and Star Wars in the course of the season's 25 episodes indicated that there had been some incursion into 1977 territory (the series also quietly moved from a Sunday- to a Monday-night slot in mid-season). The action occurred in Point Place, WI, not far from Green Bay. The plots revolved around the exploits of a group of high-school juniors, led by the impulsive Eric Forman (Topher Grace). Usually found hanging out in the Forman basement, Eric's cohorts included his next-door-neighbor, childhood friend, and latterly sweetheart, foxy redhead Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon); his best buds Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), the archetypal "dumb hunk," and Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson), conspiracy theorist supreme; Kelso's spoiled-brat girlfriend, Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis); and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), a naïve and extremely pliable foreign-exchange student. There was also a full complement of grown-ups, foremost among them Eric's dad, Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith), who had a very low opinion of his son's friends and lifestyle, and Eric's mom, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), who wasn't quite as ditzy as she seemed (no one could be!). Both of the Formans worked: Red had a factory job which was downsized early in the season, while Kitty was a nurse. Next door to the Formans were Donna's parents, Bob and Midge Pinciotti (Don Stark, Tanya Roberts). Bob owned an appliance store where the semi-laid-off Red was occasionally employed as a clerk, while Midge was a stay-at-home wife and mother who was bored out of her gourd. Seen on a recurring basis was another "older" character, Eric's sister, Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly), a freshman at the University of Wisconsin. As the season progressed, Bob and Midge Pinciotti drifted toward separation and divorce; Hyde's single mom (played in one episode by Katey Sagal) deserted him, prompting the boy to move in with Eric; and Laurie flunked out of school, came home, and tentatively began a sexual relationship with doltish Kelso. Although That '70s Show did not crack the Top 20 ratings-wise during its maiden season, the series was one of the most popular offerings of the Fox network. It also earned an Outstanding Costume Design Emmy award for the entry titled "That Disco Episode." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, (more)
