Bruce McCulloch Movies
The "Shame Based Man" behind some of the most memorable characterizations in the annals of the now legendary Kids in the Hall comedy troupe, Bruce McCulloch was, along with fellow Kid Mark McKinney, one of the founding members of the Canadian quintet. Discovered by Saturday Night Live founder Lorne Michaels in the late '80s and borrowing their name from a quip by golden-age comedian Jack Benny (as a reference to the writers who frequently pitched jokes while hanging around outside his office), The Kids in the Hall launched a successful five-year-run as a comic skit program on HBO in 1989, remaining active well after the cancellation of the show by means of film and live performances. Born in Edmonton, Canada, in 1961 and raised in Calgary, McCulloch studied journalism at Mount Royal College before taking classes with Calgary-based TheaterSports and meeting McKinney at the Loose Moose Theater Company. Forming a comedy troupe bearing the moniker the Audience early on, the pair crossed paths with future Kids Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald (who had been working together with Luciano Casamiri under the name the Kids in the Hall) in 1984, marking the formal birth of the troupe as they are known today. Scott Thompson came on board as the fifth and final member soon thereafter (hounding them at live performances until they eventually caved in and accepted him as a member) and following a short period in which they pursued separate interests (McCulloch actually served a brief stint as an SNL writer before the troupe regrouped and shot to fame), The Kids in the Hall debuted as an HBO pilot in 1988. With a distinctly edgy and frequently surreal style, The Kids in the Hall slowly gained a loyal fan base. McCulloch's quirky monologues and oddball characterizations such as the chauvinist Cabbage Head and happy-go-lucky Flying Pig served as the very definition of the bizarre antics that separated the Kids' unique comedy style from the rest of the pack. Following their cancellation in 1994, the troupe would receive mixed reviews with an attempt to translate their humor to the big screen with The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, and find success touring the U.S. and Canada as a live stage act. McCulloch's bizarre 1995 debut album Shame Based Man received critical success and struck a solid chord with dedicated fans, and McCulloch continued to find success as the director of such films as Dog Park (1998) and the SNL character feature Superstar the following year. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2007
Created by Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall fame, the ABC sitcom Carpoolers chronicled the zany misadventures of four male suburbanites who, twice each working day, drove to and from the jobs in the same carpool. The unofficial leader of the quartet was Gracen Brooker (Fred Goss), a professional mediator who was self-conscious over the fact that his real-estate agent wife Leila (Faith Ford) and his 22-year-old "onliner" son Marmaduke (T.J. Miller) both had higher incomes than he did. Gracen's best friend and fellow carpooler was dentist Laird (Jerry O'Connell), who was in the middle of a divorce from his spouse Joannifer (played on a recurring basis by O'Connell's real-life wife Rebecca Romjin). The third member of the foursome was Aubrey (Jerry Minor), who eagerly looked forward to his daily 90-minute round trip as a brief respite from his lazy, overbearing wife and his seven repulsive children. The youngest and least jaded of the carpoolers was Dougie (Tim Peper), recently married to sweet Cindy (Allison Munn) and the father of an adorable baby son named Reggie. An agreeable if not hilarious harkback to the "ensemble" sitcoms of old, Carpoolers debuted October 2, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred Goss, Jerry Minor, (more)
A handful of kids stranded without their parents is determined to make the most of a bad situation in this comedy. It's Christmas Eve, and Oliver Porter (Lewis Black), the passenger relations manager at a busy airport in the Midwest, is looking forward to spending Christmas in Hawaii with his wife after 15 years in a row working on the busy Yuletide holiday. However, fate conspires against him when a massive snowstorm sweeps in and all flights are canceled. Porter suddenly has to deal with a number of stranded passengers, including six tween-age kids who are each flying unaccompanied from one divorced parent to another -- spoiled little rich girl Grace (Gina Mantegna), geeky but likable Spencer (Dyllan Christopher), his pesky little sister Katy (Dominique Saldana), plus-size comic book fan Beef (Brett Kelly), grumpy tomboy Donna (Quinn Shephard), and bright but mischievous Charlie (Tyler James Williams). With his hands full and determined to make his way to the islands, Porter puts his assistant Zach Van Bourke (Wilmer Valderrama) in charge of the kids. Zach doesn't care for this assignment and the kids don't care for him, and before long they've escaped from the basement conference room where he's stashed them and turned the airport into their playground. Unaccompanied Minors also features Paget Brewster, Rob Corddry and Teri Garr. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, (more)
Bruce McCulloch's buddy comedy Comeback Season stars Ray Liotta and Shaun Sipos as a pair of unlikely friends. Liotta plays Walter Pearce, a man who ends up without a place to stay after a fight with his wife of 24 years. Walter ends up in jail after an incident with another man, and in the cell meets up with Skylar Eckerman (Sipos), a promising football player who has landed in the clink after a drinking binge. Eckerman worries for his future as he has recently suffered a severe injury. Although Eckerman and Pearce share an uncomfortable history, the two bury the hatchet and soon are able to depend on each other. Comeback Season had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Glenne Headly, (more)
- 2004
Paris (Liza Weil) launches a romance with the much older professor Fleming (Michael York), a fact that may adversely affect her future at the Yale Daily News; and later, the paper's editor Doyle (Danny Strong) goes ballistic without explanation. Back in Stars Hollow, Lorelai receives more information than she cares to deal with when she spends an evening with Jason (Christopher Eigeman) at his apartment. Luke (Scott Patterson) books Lane (Keiko Agena) and her band for a gig. And disaster reigns supreme when the imperious Michel (Yanic Truesdale) babysits for Sookie's son, Davey. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2003
As Lorelai (Lauren Graham) repairs the fire damage at the Inn, daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) begins planning her mom's 35th birthday party by commissioning the world's largest pizza (well, almost the largest, anyway). Meanwhile, Luke (Scott Patterson) agrees to meet the family of current amour Nicole (Tricia O'Kelley) -- a major blunder, as it turns out; the web of lies spun by Jess finally catches up with him; and Paris (Liza Weil) returns to school with a mysterious bandage on her nose. Also, Richard (Edward Herrmann) continues trying to get back in daughter Lorelai's good graces -- but buying her affections has never worked in the past, and probably won't work now. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2002
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The Kids in the Hall: Tour of Duty is a live performance video recorded during the sold-out finale tour of the Canadian sketch comedy group. This performance was recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, B.C., filmed with 11 cameras in a widescreen aspect ratio. Starring Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson, and Kevin McDonald. Craig Northey from the Odds provides the musical accompaniment. Includes the beloved character creations of the Chicken Lady, Buddy Cole, Sir Simon Milligan, Hecubus, Gavin, and more. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
Two buddies find themselves doing some very wrong things for perfectly right reasons in this broad comedy. John (Jason Lee) is a nice guy who is responsible and hardworking; his best friend Duff (Tom Green), however, is his polar opposite, a layabout who is constantly getting in some sort of trouble. John is very much in love with his longtime girlfriend Elaine (Leslie Mann), and wants to marry her, but true to form, he has pledged not to make the walk down the aisle until he has saved up to 30,000 dollars so they'll be able to afford a down payment on the house they've always wanted. After years of saving, John has finally put 30 grand in the bank, and has set the date with Elaine. However, as John's big day approaches, he gets word from his sister Patty (Megan Mullally) that her daughter Noreen (Tammy Blanchard) has been accepted into Harvard University -- and years ago, John promised her if she got into the prestigious college, he'd pay the tuition. Making good on John's pledge to his niece would leave him with a mere 121 dollars in the bank, but he doesn't have the heart to say no to Noreen, or tell Elaine of his dilemma. John does tell Duff about his problem, who comes up with a typically hare-brained solution -- turning to a life of crime for the next two weeks in order to steal another 30,000 dollars. Stealing Harvard costars Dennis Farina and Chris Penn; Bruce McCulloch, a member of the comedy series The Kids in the Hall, served as director. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Armistead Maupin's colorful saga of life in San Francisco in the 1970s continues in this miniseries, the third following the characters of his serialized novel Tales of the City, which follows the story into 1981. After his relationship with Jon Fielding (Bill Campbell) comes to an end, Michael Tolliver (Paul Hopkins) throws himself back into dating, while Prue Giroux (Mary Kay Place) finds herself in a similar situation after her divorce. Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney) finds that moving ahead in her career in local television is an uphill battle, while her boyfriend Brian Hawkins (Whip Hubley) is feeling the strain of adjusting to his new job while staying faithful to Mary Ann. And DeDe (Barbara Garrick) has some startling news for Mary Ann that could have a major impact on her life. Produced for the Showtime premium cable network, Further Tales of the City also stars Olympia Dukakis, Bruce McCulloch, Henry Czerny, Sandra Oh, Parker Posey, Scott Thompson, and Joel Grey. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, Paul Hopkins, (more)
- 2000
In 2000, the acclaimed comedy troupe of The Kids in the Hall series reunited for a live performance tour, six years after their groundbreaking television series went off the air, and four years after the release of their movie The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy. A camera crew followed the Kids -- Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson -- as they traveled across the United States and Canada. The Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, New Dresses captures highlights of their hilarious on-stage performances, as well the sometimes prickly working relationship of five talented men who each have their own ideas about comedy. Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter also make cameo appearances as Dave Foley and Mark McKinney visit O'Brien's television show (to the consternation of Thompson, who canceled an appearance on the same show at the last minute). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1999
- PG13
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The mystery of the 18-minute-gap in Richard Nixon's White House tapes -- and how it connects to the previously undocumented involvement of two teenage girls in the Watergate scandal -- is the subject of this political comedy. Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlene Lorenzo (Michelle Williams) are high school students and best friends living in Washington D.C. in 1972. Betsy is pretty and popular, while Arlene is cute but a bit awkward. Arlene is obsessed with singing star Bobby Sherman, but that comes to a halt when she and Betsy get lost during a school field trip to the White House. A chance encounter with Checkers the dog leads to the girls meeting President Richard M. Nixon himself (Dan Hedaya). In Nixon, Arlene sees a strong, caring man who loves his dog, and she soon develops a furious crush on the president; Betsy is puzzled but remains supportive. Arlene's devotion to the president is rewarded when she and Betsy are named official White House dog walkers; however, when Arlene and Betsy discover that Nixon has a foul mouth and a short temper and, worst of all, kicks his dog, they realize that the President is not all he appears to be. And when they overhear Nixon ranting about Bob Woodward (Will Ferrell) and Carl Bernstein (Bruce McCulloch), a pair of reporters from The Washington Post looking for dirt on the President, Arlene and Betsy decide that they're happy to help. Dick also features Dave Foley as Bob Haldeman, Harry Shearer as G. Gordon Liddy, and Ana Gasteyer as Rosemary Woods. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, (more)
Molly Shannon brings her Saturday Night Live character Mary Katherine Gallagher to the silver screen. A mildly hyperactive Catholic school student convinced that she smells bad, Mary Catherine has a dream: she wants a boy to kiss her. Not just any old sloppy teenage make-out party kind of smooch, but the sort of kiss that will make her tingle with joy from head to toe. The trouble is, boys aren't all that interested in Mary Catherine, especially not Sky (Will Ferrell), the boy she'd most like to be kissed by. So Mary Catherine has a goal: if she wants to be kissed the way boys kiss girls in the movies, then she must become a movie star. Not a bad idea, but how does one bring this about? Superstar co-stars Elaine Hendrix and former Kids in the Hall cast member Mark McKinney, while another Kids in the Hall alumnus, Bruce McCulloch, directed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, (more)
Former Kids In The Hall member Bruce McCulloch wrote and directed this comedy about the romantic tribulations of a group of Toronto twenty-somethings whose relationships with their dogs are more stable and long-lasting than their romances with people. Nice guy Andy (Luke Wilson) gets dumped by his girlfriend Cheryl (Kathleen Robertson) when she meets another man (Gordon Currie); worst of all, Cheryl also ends up with custody of Andy's dog. On the rebound, Andy meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge), the host of a children's TV show, but she's too obsessed with her dog Peanut to pay Andy much mind. Keiran (Kristin Lehman), on the other hand, is a bit too enthusiastic for Andy, leading to yet another short-lived relationship. Cheryl ends up taking her dog (formerly Andy's dog) to a pet psychiatrist (Mark McKinney) who thinks that her promiscuity may be traumatizing the pooch. Meanwhile, Bruce McCulloch and Janeane Garofalo are cast against type as Jeff and Jeri, Andy's cheerful and annoyingly romantic friends. Although it was completed in 1998, Dog Park's U.S. release was delayed until September 1999 due to the film's sale to New Line Cinema; as a result, Bruce McCulloch's directorial debut hit theaters only a month before the scheduled release of his second film, Superstar. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Natasha Henstridge, Luke Wilson, (more)
The Canadian sketch-comedy masters hit the big screen with Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, their send-up of psychopharmacology and its social ramifications. Each "kid" plays a plethora of roles; in fact, nearly every character in the film is played by one of the five "kids". When Roritor Pharmaceuticals finds itself on the verge of bankruptcy, research chemist Chris Cooper (Kevin McDonald) finds himself pressured to push his latest development to market without adequate testing at the risk of losing his job. The product -- Gleemonex, an anti-depressant bearing more than a slight resemblance to Prozac -- seems at first to be a wonder drug; users find themselves in a perpetual state of bliss as they relive their fondest memories time and again. Success goes awry, however, when a fatal side-effect surfaces -- users become catatonics. The craze has caught on, however, and the entire world seems to be taking Gleemonex, forcing Dr. Cooper to fight his employers and warn the masses before disaster strikes. The plot is really just an excuse for a series of funny, hallucinogenic sketches involving the memories and fantasies of its users; the funniest include a grandmother's all-too brief holiday visit with her family, and a married man's homoerotic experiences in the military. Another winning scene: a brooding grunge-rock idol (Bruce McCulloch) who's taken the drug unexpectedly changes his tune at a concert to the bewilderment of his angst-hungry fans. Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy is hit-or-miss satire, but much of the humor finds its mark in this humble, surprisingly intelligent film. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, (more)
- 1993
Upon taking to the airwaves, the Lorne Michaels-produced series The Kids in the Hall quickly joined the likes of Monty Python's Flying Circus as one of the edgiest and funny sketch comedy shows on television. Featuring five Canadian men in the majority of the roles, the program aired on HBO and CBC from 1989 to 1995. This collection from Columbia/Tristar Video features Mark McKinney, Dave Foley, Scott Thompson, Bruce McCulloch, and Kevin McDonald in two complete episodes, portraying such popular characters as The Chicken Lady, The Head Crusher, and Buddy Cole. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- 1989
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Eagerly-anticipated and long unavailable on video, this pilot episode of the famous Canadian sketch comedy series Kids in the Hall prompted a half-decade run for the SNL and Flying Circus-inspired program. Sketches include: 'Buddy Cole,' Cabbage Head,' 'Brian's Bombshell,' 'Hey You Millionaires!,' 'Guys on a Break,' 'Crying Guy,' and 'Crush Your Head' Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, (more)
- 1987
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An Emmy-winning adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel by the same name, this is a Canadian TV production which follows the life of a feisty young girl who is adopted by a bachelor farmer and his sister who have decided to adopt a boy and have several surprises due them when Anne arrives. Part of a series that goes through her winning a place in their hearts and home, it continues on through her youth and the blossoming of young love. This particular episodes deals with her first tentative encroachments into social functions and dealing with the loss of a loved one. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Megan Follows
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