Lonny Ross Movies
Best known as Josh, the less-than-brilliant "house impressionist" of "The Girlie Show" (and definitive off-camera schemer) on NBC's smash-hit sitcom 30 Rock -- the slightly goofy-looking and hangdog-faced character actor Lonny Ross established a distinctive comedic presence when he emerged in the mid- to late 2000s. Rock represented Ross' big break; he then parlayed his small-screen triumph into movies, with small supporting roles in the Jessica Alba/Dane Cook romantic comedy Good Luck Chuck (2007) and the Paul Soter-directed farce Watching the Detectives (2007). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
The lauded laugher's inaugural season introduces the offbeat staffers at "The Girlie Show," a TV variety program produced at venerable Rockefeller Center in New York City. Presiding over the show is TV scribe Liz Lemon (series creator and writer Tina Fey). But trouble looms upon the arrival of brash new honcho Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), the head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming. Jack incessantly meddles with the series, hiring edgy but wildly erratic star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and changing the show's name to the desperately hip "TGS With Tracy Jordan." All this exasperates Lemon and pushes the show's horrified starlet, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), to the sidelines. Not only does Jack creep into the writers' room and even appear as a sketch performer (only to plug products), but he referees Lemon's sour romantic life. He sets her up on a blind date (with a woman); interferes with her bumpy reunion with her boorish ex-boyfriend Dennis (Dean Winters); and intervenes as her love blooms for affable paramour Floyd (Jason Sudeikis). Love is on the horizon for Jack, too. He dates a Bush administration official; tangles with his ex-wife (Isabella Rossellini); and woos an auctioneer (Emily Mortimer). But Jack still has time for territorial warfare against his gravelly voiced archnemesis Devin Banks (Will Arnett), a Left Coast network exec who callously eyes Jack's job. Always an omnipresent figure is naive man-child Kenneth the Page (Jack McBrayer), whose misadventures include switching roles with bigwig Jack, scoring a prime spot in Tracy's posse and trying to help the pampered Tracy reach spiritual self-actualization. Alas, Kenneth's bright-eyed idealism prevails even while working for this cast of ego-fueled eccentrics. ~ Dean Maurer, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, (more)
A film freak has his life turned upside down when he starts dating a real-life femme fatale in this comedy. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan who runs a video store, "Gumshoe Video," specializing in classic film noir and offbeat cult items. Neil spends nearly every evening on the couch, soaking up classic movies from the blue glow of his television; Neil's lack of a social life has not been good for his relationships with women, and his latest girlfriend walked out on him after he declared he wanted her to be more like Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But then Neil meets Violet (Lucy Liu), a sexy and adventurous woman who is immediately taken with him. However, Neil soon decides Violet may be a bit too adventurous -- while he's content to get his excitement from watching movies, she would rather throw herself into thrilling situations rather than observe them from a distance, and her appetite for danger proves to be far more than he bargained for. Watching the Detectives was the first directorial effort from Paul Soter, who as a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe helped write the films Super Troopers and Beerfest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cillian Murphy, Lucy Liu, (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)
Relive the second season of the Primetime Emmy Award-winning comedy 30 Rock, the show that the guy who writes stuff on DVD boxes calls "my current assignment" and that Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly has named "simply the best TV." Created by Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Tina Fey, 30 Rock features Fey (as TV writer Liz Lemon), Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Alec Baldwin (as corporate executive Jack Donaghy), Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski (as Lemon's unpredictable stars, Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney) and Jack McBrayer (as the naive NBC page Kenneth Parcell). Co-workers and friends, they are all trying to balance work and life, with the inevitable result of failed relationships, disastrous parties, at-work drunkenness, hard-core coffee addiction, world-class sandwich eating and occasional attempts to chop down Christmas trees. Join in the behind-the-scenes fun with lots of exclusive content and all fifteen episodes of the acclaimed second season of 30 Rock from executive producer Lorne Michaels.
- Starring:
- Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, (more)
A high-school student (Raven Symone) with noble dreams of becoming a public defender sets out to visit potential universities in the unwanted company of her father (Martin Lawrence) -- an overprotective cop -- in this road trip comedy produced by Andrew Gunn and directed by Roger Kumble. Melanie (Symone) is about to graduate high school, and she's ready to take her first step toward adulthood by hitting the road to explore her college prospects with a few close female friends. But despite the fact that this trip is strictly "girls only," Melanie's father isn't comfortable with the prospect of his little princess hitting the road without an adult chaperone -- and what better guardian to have while you're out on the open road than the chief of police himself? Of course, while Melanie's father only has the best of intentions, his presence on a trip that was designed to mark his little girl's emergence as a young adult leads to an endless series of comic complications. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Raven Symone, (more)
