Howie Mandel Movies
He may have gotten his start in standup comedy by a fluke, but don't be fooled by his early good fortune -- funnyman Howie Mandel is certainly the real deal. From the stage to the screen, and virtually every medium in between, Mandel has not only proven adept at playing the clown, but with his enduring role on the popular 1980s television drama St. Elsewhere, straight and affecting drama as well. It was during a business trip to Los Angeles in 1979 that the Toronto native, goaded on by friends while watching the comics at The Comedy Store's amateur night, first took the stage to surprising effect. The wild card that evening turned out to be a producer who just happened to be in the crowd, and Mandel was immediately hired for an appearance on the popular comedy game show Make Me Laugh. He subsequently performed on television talk shows and opened for such luminaries as Diana Ross, and it wasn't long before he was approached to appear on the fledgling television drama St. Elsewhere. Cast as dedicated Dr. Wayne Fiscus, Mandel remained with the show that launched his career for the entire duration of its six-season run, gaining legions of fans and even a few Emmy nominations.Though Mandel remained loyal to St. Elsewhere for the entirety of its television run, a series of side jobs provided his career with the momentum to succeed after the series was canceled in 1988. Mandel permanently ingrained himself in the pop-culture lexicon as the voice of Gizmo in the 1984 hit Gremlins and as a multitude of characters on the popular cartoon Muppet Babies. He cracked up audiences with a rollicking appearance on Comic Relief in 1986, and he could frequently be spotted on-stage sporting a blown up rubber glove over the top half of his head and slaying audiences with his hilarious baby voice. Although Mandel would try his hand at features with both Walk Like a Man (1987) and Little Monsters (1989), neither film proved the powerhouse hit needed to launch a feature career, and he returned to television to great success in the early '90s.
Mandel's love of children dictated most of his career choices in the 1990s, and in the first year of the decade he utilized his popular series of voices for the enduring children's television series Bobby's World (which ultimately went off of the air in 1998). In 1992, Mandel headlined the short-lived small-screen series Howie, and after a series of appearances in both features and made-for-television movies, he hosted both Howie Mandel's Sunny Skies and The Howie Mandel Show. Though none of his personal shows proved quite as successful or endearing as Bobby's World, Mandel remained in the public eye as both a popular comic and as the creator of a series of children's CD-ROMs that aimed to both educate and entertain.
In the year 2000, Mandel once again turned his attention to features, and appearances in Tribulation (2000), Hansel & Gretel (2002), and Pinocchio 3000 (2003) proved that the popular funnyman had lost none of his onscreen talent. Outside of his work in the entertainment industry, the color-blind verminophobic spends much of his time with his wife and three children.
Over the coming decade, Mandel would enjoy hosting duties of extremely successful shows like Deal or No Deal and America's Got Talent. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2008
- Add Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest to Queue Add Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest to top of Queue
Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest features a number of performances by some of the most talented comics of their day performing for a charity that collects money for the homeless. Among the performers who appear on this release are Sarah Silverman, Lewis Black, Jon Stewart, and David Cross. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 2008
- Add The Best of Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen to Queue Add The Best of Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen to top of Queue
Byron Allen showcased numerous popular stand-up comedians as host of the program Comics Unleashed. This release compiles some of the best sets recorded on the show including routines by Dane Cook, Howie Mandel, Margaret Cho, Katt Williams, and Brad Garrett. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Brenner, Margaret Cho, (more)
- 2006
This interactive version of the popular game show Deal or No Deal allows the viewer to select briefcases with such great skill that they can break the banker in the comfort of their very own home. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
"A family walks into a talent agent's office..." So begins "The Aristocrats," a joke kept mostly secret by stand-up comedians for decades. An intentionally "bad" joke, the laughs in The Aristocrats aren't in the punch-line (one of the only elements that's the same every time), but in the set-up, made unique by each comedian who tells it in an attempt to fashion the world's dirtiest joke. The cat was finally let out of the bag by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, the seasoned funnymen who gathered together a hundred people to tell a hundred different renditions of the bit. Among those presenting their personal take on The Aristocrats in this film of the same name are Jason Alexander, Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried, Jon Stewart, Emo Philips, and Chris Rock. The Aristocrats premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Racial tensions between Hasidic Jews and African-Americans come to a boil in the Crown Heights section of Queens in this powder-keg drama based on real-life events that took place in the summer of 1991. Over the course of three days, the tensions between the borough's racially divided citizens would result in a tragic explosion of murder, riots, and chaos. Only through the aid of two devoted community leaders determined to put their differences aside and bring peace back to the streets will this neighborhood be able to begin to heal the deep-rooted wounds of a summer that will forever haunt the citizens of Crown Heights. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, Howie Mandel, (more)
Daniel Robichaud's P3K: Pinocchio 3000 takes the famous fairy tale and sets it in the future. The childless Gepetto build a robot that looks like a boy. Gepetto has invented a special device that allows the robot to feel human emotion. The mayor of the town Gepetto lives in rules the city in a cruel and unforgiving way. When the mayor opens a play area for children in the town, Gepetto senses that the mayor has selfish motivations and sabotages the opening. The mayor seeks out his revenge by using Pinocchio for his own nefarious purposes. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carlos Latre, Lucrecia, (more)
One of The Brothers Grimm's best loved fairy tales gets an overhaul using the latest in visual effects technology in this comedy-drama for the whole family. A little girl (Dakota Fanning) has a hard time getting to sleep, so her father (Daniel Roebuck) dusts off a book of children's stories and reads her one of his favorites. Hansel (Jacob Smith) and Gretel (Taylor Momsen) are two children who are being raised by their loving father (Gerald McRaney) and his shrewish second wife (Delta Burke) after the unfortunate death of their mother. When Father is forced to leave home to find work in the city, Stepmother decides this would be the perfect time to get rid of the children, and she manages to "lose" Hansel and Gretel in an enchanted forest. While the children make a valuable and magical friend in The Sandman (Howie Mandel), they also encounter a mysterious woman with a gingerbread house (Lynn Redgrave), who takes them in; however, it isn't long before they learn she's actually a witch, and has made some unorthodox dinner plans involving her young guests. Hansel & Gretel also features the voice talents of Sinbad, Bobcat Goldthwaite, and Tom Arnold as, respectively, a talking raven, a troll, and the Bogeyman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Taylor Momsen, Jacob Smith, (more)
- 2001
In her first major project following her exit from the daily talk show Live With Regis and Kathie Lee, Kathie Lee Gifford makes a courageous effort to utterly demolish her established "nice lady" image. Spinning Out of Control! stars Gifford as a spoiled, temperamental TV sitcom actress named Amanda Berkeley. As she runs roughshod over her coworkers and fights a losing battle with drug and alcohol addition, Amanda proves to be an exceedingly painful thorn in the side of her faithful press agent Marty (Howie Mandel), who manfully tries to maintain "spin control" with the press and public. Since this film is essentially a comedy, Amanda will eventually experience an epiphany -- but not before accidentally torching her own home. Made for television, Spinning Out of Control! was first broadcast by the E! Entertainment cable channel on March 18, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kathie Lee Gifford, Howie Mandel, (more)
- 2000
- Add Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas to Queue Add Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas to top of Queue
Jenna Elfman, Trisha Yearwood, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and other luminaries contribute vocals to this animated children's holiday special featuring the inimitable Tangerine Bear. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
A cop used to chasing bad guys finds himself up against the ultimate villain of all time in this Christian-themed thriller. Tom Canburo (Gary Busey) is a police detective whose work doesn't leave him with much room in his life for the intangibles of faith. Tom's sister, Eileen (Margot Kidder), however, is a born-again Christian who often attempts to engage her brother in discussions of spiritual matters, while his brother-in-law, Jason (Howie Mandel), embraces a puzzling melange of New Age teachings. One night, Tom's life seems to take a left turn into the unknown; he gets a call from Eileen, saying that Jason has tried to kill her, calling her a "hater," while in the course of an investigation, Tom uncovers a bizarre underground cult with supernatural powers. As Tom tries to escape, he gets in a severe auto accident and drifts into a coma. Several years later, he comes to and finds himself in a strange new world. Franco Macalousso (Nick Mancuso), a New Age philosopher who spoke of bringing peace to the world, is now the most powerful man on Earth, and under his leadership everyone must have their right hand marked with the number "666" -- those who refuse have their hand cut off. Christians are also persecuted as "haters," and Helen Hannah (Leigh Lewis), the leader of a Christian resistance group, has become Public Enemy Number One. Also released as Apocalypse III: Tribulation, Tribulation was the third film from screenwriters Paul Lalonde and Peter Lalonde inspired by modern-day interpretations of biblical prophesy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Soul diva Jackie Washington is determined to hit the comeback trail but seems to be having trouble finding the on-ramp in the mock-documentary comedy Jackie's Back. Jackie (played by Jenifer Lewis) was a Rhythm and Blues singer who had a few late '60's and early 70's hits, including "Yield" and the memorable "Look At Me (My Love For You Has Only Made Me Love Me More)," but she's spent much of the 80's and 90's playing the "Where Are They Now?" circuit. However, Jackie has organized what she hopes will be a gala comeback concert, and filmmaker Edward Whatsett St. John (Tim Curry) is on hand to film the event, and discusses the high and (frequent) low points of Jackie's career with such friends and well-wishers as Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Penny Marshall, Jackie Collins and Dolomite himself, Rudy Ray Moore. Meanwhile, Jackie's big gig is not going quite the way she planned. Directed by Robert Townsend, Jackie's Back was produced for the Lifetime Cable Network and originally aired June 14, 1999. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jenifer Lewis, Tim Curry, (more)
- 1998
Comedian Howie Mandel joined the ranks of talkshow hosts in the summer of 1998 with a syndicated daytime yakfest. During his daytime debut, Mandel did his opening monologue from a sitting position, fired off several salvos of gags, banter and bits, introduced Steve Goldstein and the Studio One Band ("I never had a band! I only had a CD player!"), was welcomed into the chat-circle by famed talkshow hosts (Arsenio Hall, Jay Leno), received a gift from guest Jennifer Aniston, and performed a bit as a parking attendant telling people that their cars had been driven elsewhere during their absence. Later shows featured Clint Black, Jacqueline Obradors, the Pasadena Cake Museum's curator, R&B performer Usher, Yogi Rameesh, Paul Reiser, Ted Danson, Dennis Miller, and Tyra Banks. Mandel prepared for his debut with a guest-host gig last year on Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Taped in Burbank, The Howie Mandel Show premiered June 22, 1998 in 170+ markets spanning 95% of U.S. TV households. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Howie Mandel
- 1995
As Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) investigate the killing of a 14-year-old boy, the mother of the victim has an unexpected meeting with the mother of the killer. The plans drawn up by Bayliss, Munch (Richard Belzer), and Lewis (Clark Johnson) to renovate their new bar are stymied by a bureaucratic glitch -- not to mention an unwelcome visit from the IRS. And Felton (Daniel Baldwin) gets a line on the location where his estranged wife has taken their kids. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1995
- R
Sean Astin stars as the title character in this creepy made-for-cable adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut classic. Set in a future America, where a small, elite group controls the masses, teen Harrison Bergeron is chosen to lead a movement that promotes mediocrity. Christopher Plummer stars as John Klaxon, the mastermind behind the attempt to uniformly dumb-down Americans. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
This is a children's video about the life and work of the author commonly known around the world as Dr. Seuss. The video also contains original musical productions based on Dr. Seuss' books, including Oh, The Places You'll Go, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Cat in the Hat. On this video, you will see Dr. Seuss characters featured in original animated and live-action tales and fun games for fans of the author's books. Some of the participants featured in this video are Kathy Najimy, Robin Williams, Christopher Lloyd, David Paymer, Patrick Stewart, Eileen Brennan, Billy Crystal, and Howie Mandel, among others. ~ Cecilia Cygnar, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kathy Najimy
Jessica Tandy made one of her final screen appearances in this comic road movie. Freda (Bridget Fonda) is a would-be singer and songwriter who would like a career as a performer but lacks the courage; it doesn't help that her husband Vincent (Elias Koteas), a graphic artist, keeps insisting that her interest in music is merely a hobby. Hoping to put some spark back into their marriage, Freda and Vincent take a vacation to Georgia, where they meet Camilla (Jessica Tandy), who lives in the main house near their cottage. Freda discovers that Camilla was once a musician; she claims to have enjoyed a stellar career as a concert violinist in her native Canada, and she knew only the best people (although Freda isn't sure that she believes all Camilla's stories, especially Ghandi's fondness for enemas). While Vincent gets involved in a business deal with Camilla's son Harold (Maury Chaykin), who produces sleazy exploitation films, Camilla regales Freda with stories about her greatest triumph, performing the Brahms Violin Concerto at Toronto's Winter Garden Theater. When Camilla discovers that the Brahms concerto is to be performed soon at the Winter Garden, Camilla and Freda decide that this is something they should see, and the pair hits the road to the Great White North, meeting a remarkable variety of people along the way. Tandy's husband and frequent co-star Hume Cronyn has a supporting role as one of Camilla's former beaus; it was their last picture together. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, (more)
- 1992
A co-production of the CBC and Alliance Atlantis, this off-and-on Canadian variety series was a showcase for versatile comedian Howie Mandel. Though light on guest-star names, the four episodes contained plenty of Mr. Mandel, who of course essayed an astonishing array of recurring characters. Reportedly, the series was packaged for both Canadian and American viewers, but only above-the-border TV fans got to see it. Howie originally aired in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Howie Mandel
Where the original Gremlins was a horror film spiked with comedy, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is essentially a black comedy, with a couple of horrifying touches. As the film starts, the fantastical trinket shop in Chinatown, which sold the Mogwai in the first film, is demolished by a crazed multi-media businessman called Daniel Clamp (John Glover). The heroes from the first movie, Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates), happen to work for Clamp in his huge high-rise. They find the Mogwai within Clamp's building, but not before he has accidentally spawned legions of mischievous, lizard-like Gremlins. Soon, the Gremlins are wreaking havoc throughout the building. In the original film, their misdeeds were violent, but here they're also goofy and satirical. Director Joe Dante has filled the film with quick verbal and visual jokes, which, for many, makes Gremlins 2: The New Batch a satire and inversion of the typical horror film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, (more)
- 1990
An all-star cast is included on this children's adventure that follows a search for Mother Goose by her son (Dan Gilroy) and Little Bo Peep (Shelley Duvall). ~ John Bush, Rovi
- 1989
This comedy performance features some of the best routines from this Hawaiian program. Was originally aired on cable. ~ Rovi
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