Paula Poundstone Movies
The documentary When Stand Up Stood Out charts the stand-up comedy boom and then decline that took place in Boston during the late seventies and eighties. Consisting of both vintage footage from the era and interviews with the people who were a part of the scene, the film showcases how this fertile comedic territory produced such famous names as Steven Wright, enis Leary, Bobcat Goldthwait, Colin Quinn, and Paula Pundstone. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- NR
The weekly, half-hour animated sitcom Home Movies was originally produced in the "Squigglevision" process created by Tom Snyder (Dr. Katz), in which eight frames of squiggly, zigzagged lines were "looped" over and over to simulate the character's mouth movements. This enabled Snyder and co-producer Brendon Small to produce the series at a rock-bottom price, and to allow the voice actors to adlib and improvise to their hearts' content, without worrying about matching the lip action on screen. Debuting April 26, 1999, on UPN, Home Movies was the story of an eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker who happened to be named Brendon Small (the series' aforementioned co-creator, who also supplied the character's voice). Inspired by the behavior of his high-strung mother Paula (voiced by comedienne Paula Poundstone) and his myopic kid sister Josie, and disgusted by the adult world in general, the nerdish, asthmatic Brendon vented his spleen by producing short autobiographical movies with the minicam that he carried with him at all times. Brendon's filmic collaborators included his best friend Melissa and his erstwhile enemy Jason. Although 13 episodes of Home Movies were filmed, only five were seen on UPN before the network yanked the series on June 7, 1999. The remaining eight installments would not be seen until the series was picked up by cable's Cartoon Network on September 2, 2001. Response to the series was positive enough to warrant a renewal in the fall of 2002, but several changes were made. For one, Paula Poundstone was replaced by Jennifer DiTullio in the role of Paula Small; for another, Tom Snyder had abandoned the Squigglevision in favor of a more attractive computerized flash-animation process (the dialogue was still largely improvised, however; precise lip-movement synchronization was never the series' strong suit). The Cartoon Network version of Home Movies remained in active production for three years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paula Poundstone, Brendon Small, (more)
The first season of Home Movies is animated in the "Squigglevision" process popularized by cartoon producer Tom Snyder on such earlier programs as Dr. Katz and Science Court. Series co-creator Brendon Small is heard as the voice of the series' 8-year-old protagonist, who happens to be named Brendon Small. Viewing the adult world with a combination of desperation and contempt, there is nothing for Brendon to do but artistically express his outrage with a series of autobiographical video movies, produced in collaboration with his friend Melissa and his not-friend Jason. Home Movies' first five episodes were telecast by UPN in the spring of 1999; highlights include a guest-voice appearance by Emo Phillips as a knuckle-dragging school bully, and a pair of treacherous encounters with a rabid cat and a group of Russian exchange students. Upon its cancellation by UPN, the rest of Home Movies' inaugural season was shelved until the property was picked up by Cartoon Network in the fall of 2001. Thus, Home Movies is one of the few programs in TV history, animated or otherwise, which began its opening season on one network and ended it on another -- with a two-year hiatus in between! While the remaining eight Home Movies installments are still rendered in "Squigglevision," there's been at least one cosmetic change during the prolonged switchover from UPN to Cartoon Network; Paula Poundstone has been replaced by Jennifer DiTullio in the voice-role of Brendon's mother Paula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This concert and interview documentary features the racy wit of Canada and the U.S.'s most popular female comedians, including Jenny Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Phyllis Diller, Ellen DeGeneres, and Paula Poundstone. In addition to screening their stand-up gigs and providing interviews with these funny ladies, the documentary provides some historical perspective about the origins of present-day feminine humor using clips of performances by Eve Arden, Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 1990
This parody of Star Wars was made long before it was actually released. Making its debut in LA at a 3-D film festival; the reason for its languishment becomes more than apparent. The tale: billed in the title crawl as "Episode IV: The Last Resort," begins as the villainous Buckethead orders his diminutive blue, hooded minions to capture the rebel leader Princess Serina and take from her the radio transmission she swiped. The minions shove their ship into hyperspace drive and race off. Unfortunately they miscalculated their destination and end up in a backwater southern town in the United States filled with rednecks. The would be dominators of the universe encounter further problems when one of the soldiers accidentally gets locked in the back of an exterminator truck. The others, apparently not realizing that they are not where they should be, continue their quest for the transmissions and begin taking hostages. By this time the townies figure out that their visitors are from space and so call in a goofy UFO specialist to investigate. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
