Lyle Lovett Movies

Produced, staged and directed as a tribute to The Alamo - the famous mission of San Antonio, Texas where a group of militant rebels wrought Texas's independence from Mexico - the music release Remember the Alamo Concert finds such performers as The Gipsy Kings, Lyle Lovett and Los Lobos delivering a set before an enthusiastic audience, with added onstage support from comedian Paul Rodriguez. The film also incorporates a prologue with archival footage of The Duke himself, John Wayne. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The man they call "The Red-Headed Stranger", Willie Nelson performs his several songs along with an eclectic lineup of musical guests in this concert release from Universal Music. Willie Nelson and Friends: Live and Kickin' features "Homeward Bound" with Paul Simon, "Me and Bobby McGee" with Sheryl Crow and Kris Kristofferson, "I'll Never Smoke Weed with Willie Again" with Toby Keith and Scott Emerick, and many others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Directed by Steve Goldmann, Our Country chronicles the development of country music from its origins in the last century all the way up to modern times. This IMAX feature is packed with footage of country musicians, and includes music ranging from Jimmie Rodgers to Lyle Lovett and Dolly Parton. Proving that country music is not just a phenomenon of the south, 100 years worth of classic hits are performed in locations as diverse as the Appalachian mountains, the California deserts, and the canyons of Utah, as well as the legendary Grand Ole Opry. Other noted musicians in Our Country include Loretta Lynn, Earl Scruggs, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, Crystal Gayle, Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson, and the Dixie Chicks. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

One of British television's biggest hits of the 2002-2003 season, this four-part miniseries closely follows the chronology set down by Colin Escott's bestseller, The Story of Country Music. Episode one, "Down From the Mountain," recounts the emigration of the country sound from the hills of Kentucky and Tennessee into the radios and phonographs of America during the 1920s and '30s. Episode two, "The Road to Nashville," recounts that city's rise to predominance in the country & western world and the cultivation of "crossover" stars who appealed to all musical tastes. Episode three, "Beyond Nashville," discusses the country & western movements in the American Southwest, Hollywood, and Canada. And the concluding episode, "Sweethearts of the Rodeo," is a paean to female country & western stars, from Patsy Montana to the Dixie Chicks. Though essentially impartial, it is clear that the message of the miniseries is disdainful of the "packaged" country stars of the 1990s and of the homogenization of the genre, in which corporate rather than individual decisions dictated the progress of the country & western industry. Among those represented by archival footage and contemporary interviews include the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves, Earl Scruggs, Dwight Yoakam, Bill Anderson, Patsy Cline, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Buck Owens, and Shania Twain. First telecast by BBC1 beginning February 22, 2003, Lost Highway: The History of American Country was seen on the American Trio cable network starting July 5 of that same year; this American version is narrated by Lyle Lovett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Robert Altman reteams with Cookie's Fortune scribe Anne Rapp for this tale of a Dallas gynecologist and the parade of anxious patients, haggard family members, and potential love interests who come his way. Richard Gere plays the titular role of Dr. Sullivan Travis, a calm, successful, and much sought-after ob-gyn who witnesses his normally stable life come apart over the course of one rainy autumn. As the film opens, Dr. T and his wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett) are preparing for the wedding of their Dallas Cowboys cheerleader daughter Dee Dee (Kate Hudson). Their other daughter -- the Kennedy-assassination conspiracy theorist Connie (Tara Reid) -- has her doubts about the impending nuptials, but Dr. T chalks them up to routine sibling jealousy. Meanwhile, escaping a messy divorce, boozy sister-in-law Peggy (Laura Dern) moves into the Travis household with her three toddler daughters in tow. For release, Dr. T finds solace target shooting and golfing (occasionally at the same time) with his buddies, and at his country club, he meets a beguiling golf pro, Bree (Helen Hunt). When the childlike Kate loses her grip on reality during a flatware shopping spree, Bree offers to give the kindly doctor some lessons in his swing -- both on and off the fairways. Dr. T had its North American Premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Fest. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Part one of Mad About You's series finale is set approximately 22 years in the future. Mabel Buchman (Janeane Garafolo), grown-up daughter of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt), follows in her dad's footsteps by producing a documentary film about her family. The starting point is the startling revelation that, thanks to a genealogical snafu, Paul and Jamie were never really married. Originally telecast as an hour-long special, this episode has since been divided into two half hours for syndication. ~ All Movie Guide

Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King) directed this colorful, stylized, pseudo-psychedelic $21-million adaptation of the 1971 Hunter S. Thompson classic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream, about stoned sportswriter Raoul Duke, Thompson's alter ego, on a wild drug-crazed road trip, a paranoid plummet into the belly of the beast, with his pal, lawyer Oscar Zeta Acosta. Originally serialized in Rolling Stone (November 1971), the book catapulted Thompson headfirst toward the Kerouac-Mailer-Capote pantheon and jump-started the entire movement of "gonzo journalism." Carrying a suitcase of drugs, Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp with shaved pate) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) drive a red convertible across the Mojave from L.A. to Vegas, where Duke has an assignment to cover the Mint 400 desert motorcycle race. As the drugs kick in, Duke ventures into voiceover, filling in the blank spots and narrative gaps. "This is not a good town for psychedelic drugs," says Duke, but even so, they consume vast quantities, eventually escalating to ether. Duke notes that with ether "you can actually watch yourself behaving this terrible way, but you can't control it." The two trash their hotel room, and Gonzo goes back to L.A. Thinking the hotel room holocaust will lead to an arrest, Duke begins a drive back to L.A., but after an odd encounter with a highway patrolman (Gary Busey) and a telephone conversation with Gonzo, he returns to Vegas to cover the District Attorney Convention on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the glitzy Flamingo Hotel. This time the drugged-out duo trash their Flamingo room. The crazed carnival atmosphere segues into a carney casino, Bazooko's Circus, where a barker (Penn Jillette) spiels amid aerialists, clowns, and a rotating carousel bar. Gonzo worries over runaway teen Lucy (Christina Ricci), who paints portraits of Barbra Streisand. Soon the hallucinations begin: Duke sees Gonzo transmogrify into a demon with breasts on its back, and an acid vision of a Vegas bar features large legit lounge lizards (courtesy of monster makeup man Rob Bottin). Flashbacks depicting Duke's intro to the drug scene jump back to love-Haight relationships in San Francisco's Summer of Love. Cameos and guest stars include Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Flea, Lyle Lovett, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin, Tobey Maguire, and Hunter S. Thompson himself. The film features a Geffen Records soundtrack mixing rock of the period with Vegas lounge tunes. Over the years, various script adaptations came and went as did numerous talents; people connected with past efforts to film Thompson's book include Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and writer-director Alex Cox. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This "very special" episode goes back in time to recount the hectic three months leading up to the wedding of Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt). Last minute complications include a call from Aunt Selma, a tiff over Incan gifts, and a detour to a manhole. And wait till you see who performs the ceremony (hint: Julia Roberts is not among the guests). Originally telecast in a single hour-long time slot, this episode has since been divided into two half-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This large, sprawling comedy directed by Robert Altman concerns a variety of romantic and personal intrigues that intersect against the backdrop of Paris's annual "Pret-a-Porter" fashion extravaganza. With 31 principal characters and a number of cameos from well known models, designers, actors and actresses, there's far too much going on to describe the film in a limited space, but Julia Roberts and Tim Robbins get stuck in a hotel room together, Danny Aiello wears a dress, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni reignite their old passion (or at least try to), Stephen Rea humiliates a number of female journalists, Kim Basinger often looks dumbfounded, and Lyle Lovett plays a Texan (talk about imaginative casting!). Originally called Pret-a-Porter, this underwent a last-minute title change when the distributor discovered very few Americans understood what the French phrase means, with the English translation taking its place. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

For his 60th birthday, country legend Willie Nelson decided to throw a party and invite a few of his closest friends to help him celebrate. Among others appearing are Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Neil Young, B.B. King, Paul Simon, and Waylon Jennings -- most joining Nelson on stage for a series of inspired duets. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide

Robert Altman takes a scalpel to Hollywood ethics in the 1990s (or the lack thereof) in his acidic satire The Player, adapted from Michael Tolkin's novel. (Tolkin also wrote the screenplay.) The film concerns a sleek and smooth Hollywood studio executive who starts receiving death threats from a disgruntled writer because he has committed the ultimate Hollywood sin -- he promised the writer he would call him back and he never did. This is particularly ironic because the studio executive, Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), is considered "writer-friendly," spending his days listening to pitches from such noted screenwriters as Buck Henry, who is pushing "The Graduate, Part II" and Alan Rudolph, who is hawking a Bruce Willis action film described as "Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate." But The Player finds Griffin's comfortable life style in danger of collapse. He is trying to find a way to unload his girlfriend (Cynthia Stevenson) whose independence and intelligence make her a poor candidate for a trophy wife. More importantly, it seems that Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher), a slippery executive from Twentieth Century Fox, is angling for his job. And then there are those nasty postcards and faxes from a screenwriter threatening to kill him. Altman cast over 65 stars in cameo roles as texture for his scabrous tale. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide