Troy Gentile Movies
Audiences were charmed by Troy Gentile from the very beginning, when he played the younger version of Jack Black in the 2005 comedy Nacho Libre. The young star would also appear in a remake of The Bad News Bears that same year, and would collaborate with Black again the next year, appearing in Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. In 2008, the actor continued to carve out his niche as a pint-sized source of outrageous comedy with a role in the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor. Then in 2009, he made a more family-friendly appearances in Hotel for Dogs. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
A washed-up ballplayer is put in charge of a pack of kids scarcely more mature than himself in this remake of the 1976 comedy hit. Morris Buttermaker (Billy Bob Thornton) is a former major league baseball player whose career and life has hit the skids thanks to his overwhelming fondness for booze and women. Needing a break, his lawyer (Marcia Gay Harden) arranges for Buttermaker to take on coaching responsibilities for the Bears, a Little League baseball team comprised of a handful of hapless losers. As Buttermaker tries to groom his young charges into a winning team, he also gives them a glimpse of his hard-living lifestyle while they gear up to take on perennial rivals the Yankees and their arrogant Coach Bullock (Greg Kinnear. The 2005 version of The Bad News Bears was written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who previously scripted another Billy Bob Thornton vehicle, Bad Santa. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, (more)
Jared Hess (of Napoleon Dynamite fame) directs this bizarre comedy starring Jack Black as Nacho, a young man who works as a cook in the Mexican monastery where he was raised. When the institution faces a financial crisis, Nacho decides that he must come to the aid of the house of God (as well as the beautiful young nun who has recently joined the order) by competing in the local Lucha Libre tournament. Donning a spandex outfit, mask, and cape, Nacho becomes a hero for the ages -- but can he win the heart of a woman of the cloth? ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Black, Héctor Jimenez, (more)
- 2006
- R
- Add Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny to QueueAdd Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny to top of Queue
In this musical comedy-adventure starring self-proclaimed greatest band in the world Tenacious D, a pair of aspiring rock superstars attempt to convince the world of their true talents as they embark on a daring quest to acquire the supernaturally powered guitar pick that will finally allow them to fully realize their vast rock & roll potential. JB (Jack Black) is a naïve Midwesterner whose strict Christian parents view his burning passion for heavy metal as a mortal sin. After his dad tears down every poster in his bedroom except for a Ronnie James Dio poster on the back of the door, the former Black Sabbath frontman instructs the aspiring young rocker to seek out his fortune no matter what the cost. Subsequently setting his sights on Hollywood and hellbent to take the world of rock music by storm, JB sneaks out his bedroom window and makes his way to Venice Beach, where he soon meets guitar-strumming slacker KG (Kyle Gass). With a future of rock & roll superstardom now well within their reach, JB and KG harness the power of Satan to form hellfire hard rock duo Tenacious D and set out on a quest to achieve musical immortality by stealing the mythical guitar pick said to instill its owner with unprecedented musical prowess. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Black, Kyle Gass, (more)
A serial dater afflicted with a lifelong curse of loneliness attempts to win the love of a clumsy but beautiful penguin expert in the one romantic comedy that proves true love never comes easy. As a ten-year-old boy, Charlie (Dane Cook), breaks the cardinal rule of spin-the-bottle by refusing to kiss a demented goth girl. Crushed by the disheartening snub and determined to ensure that Charlie never finds true love, the vengeful brooder places a hex on the cowardly rule breaker that follows him well into his adult life. Flash-forward 20 years, and Charlie is a successful dentist who just can't seem to maintain a stable relationship. Sure he's had his fair share of one-night stands, but these days Charlie is just looking to find a nice girl he can settle down with. One day, while attending an ex-girlfriend's wedding, Charlie realizes that every girl he has ever dated has proceeded to find true love with the very next man they've met. When word gets out that Charlie is something of a lucky charm for women looking to tie the knot, every women within a 100-mile radius comes calling for a one-night stand; and while taking a bevy of beauties to bed is fun for the time being, it doesn't take long for Charlie to realize just how empty sex can be without true love. Upon meeting hard-to-get aquatic bird specialist Cam (Jessica Alba), Charlie begins to suspect that he has found the woman of his dreams. Cam is the kind of woman whom Charlie would be happy to grow old with, but what will come of their relationship if Charlie and Cam sleep together? Now, in order to ensure that Cam doesn't end up with the next guy she meets, Charlie will finally attempt to break the curse that has plagued him since childhood. Perhaps with a little help from smooth-talking ladies' man and sympathetic best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), Charlie will finally be able to experience true happiness. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, (more)
Determined not to spend their entire high-school career being tormented by the local bully, three freshmen place an ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine seeking an experienced combat veteran to protect them in this comedy produced by Judd Apatow, penned by Seth Rogen and Kristofor Brown, and starring Owen Wilson. It's their first day of high school, and best friends Ryan (Troy Gentile), Wade (Nate Hartley), and Emmit (David Dorfman) are determined to make the most out of the next four years. Trouble soon arises, however, in the form of sadistic hallway hooligan Filkins (Alex Frost) -- an unrelenting bully who makes it his mission to ensure that these three friends suffer all the way through to their senior year. Desperate to find protection by any means possible, Ryan, Wade, and Emmit place an ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine. While most of the responses they get come from men who are either too experienced or too expensive, one down-on-his-luck mercenary named Drillbit Taylor (Wilson) is right in their price range and eager to help out. Drillbit may be homeless (or, as he likes to call it, "home free"), but he's more than willing to offer these three brave souls the mental and physical training needed to fend off Filkins and get on with their lives. Trouble is, Drillbit isn't quite the fearless freelance soldier he has made himself out to be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, (more)
Adapted from author Lois Duncan's 1971 children's book of the same name, director Thor Freudenthal's Hotel for Dogs follows two mischievous orphans as they attempt to hide dozens of stray dogs in an abandoned hotel. Disheartened by their new guardians' announcement that pets are strictly forbidden, 16-year-old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother, Bruce (Jake T. Austin), race to find a home for their loyal dog Friday. Fortunately for Friday, there's an abandoned hotel just around the corner, and Bruce possesses just the kind of mechanical smarts needed to transform the rundown inn into a four-star retreat for canines. For a while, Friday and his friends have it made, but when the neighbors start to get suspicious, Andi and Bruce resort to every trick in the book in order to prevent their secret from being discovered. Don Cheadle, Emma Roberts, and Lisa Kudrow star in a family-friendly film penned by screenwriter Jeff Lowell. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, (more)
