Michael Rapaport Movies

Actor Michael Rapaport turns documentary filmmaker with this look at the turbulent career of progressive New York hip-hop outfit A Tribe Called Quest. Interviews with such fans and contemporaries as the Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Ludacris, Kanye West, and Common reveal how the group helped steer collective hip-hop consciousness in an exciting new direction by combining divergent styles and penning positive lyrics before deciding to call it quits back in 1998. Additional interviews with members Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip, and Phife Dawg during their 2008 reunion tour offer added insight into their glory days as hip-hop pioneers, and life after A Tribe Called Quest. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A parking garage attendant and lifelong New York Giants fan finds his life spinning out of control following an altercation with his favorite football player in this darkly comic drama starring Patton Oswalt. For 35-year-old Staten Island native Paul Aufiero (Oswalt), sports are a religion. Paul still lives with his mother, he's the self-proclaimed "world's biggest New York Giants fan," and he spends most of his spare time calling in to the local sports radio station 760 "The Zone," where he can frequently be heard bickering with his contentious on-air nemesis Philadelphia Phil (Michael Rapaport), a fervent Eagles fan. Berated by his family for his obsessive love of sports, Paul retorts that they simply cannot appreciate the responsibility that goes with being the New York Giants' number one fan. One night, Paul and his best friend, Sal (Kevin Corrigan), spot Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) at a local gas station and impulsively follow his SUV to a Manhattan strip club. Once inside, the two friends bask quietly in the presence of football greatness before cautiously approaching their idol. When things don't go as planned and Paul winds up in the hospital, the resulting media frenzy finds him questioning everything he believes in just as his beloved team begins preparing for a late-season showdown with the Eagles. Former Onion scribe and Wrestler screenwriter Robert D. Siegel makes his feature directorial debut with this film, which he also scripted. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A pimp in search of some serious payback prowls the streets in search of Memphis Slim in this gritty urban drama starring Mack 10, Clifton Powell, Michael Rapaport, and Kat Williams. Mack is a pimp of rare distinction: born the son of a certified hustler and a street-smart prostitute, he was honing his game from the moment he left the womb. As a child Mack learned to walk the fine line between life and death early on, a skill that made him virtually fearless when it came to working the streets. Now, as the summer heats up and his thirst for revenge grows, Mack prepares to confront the one player who isn't afraid to face him head on. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz directs and stars in this hip-hop musical about a gangster who becomes caught up in a bloody war between two feuding crime families while struggling to leave the streets behind. When Black's family raids one of Stick's drug houses and kills two of his men, Stick is forced to choose between leaving it all behind or seeking revenge and feeding the cycle of violence. It's a difficult decision that's made even more arduous when Stick's girlfriend reveals that she's pregnant. Word on the street is that Black has just put out a contract on Stick, and now a pair of detectives is hot on his trail. Desperate, Stick decides to flee the country with his girlfriend and start over. Just as they're about to board their flight, a gunfight erupts at the airport and all hell breaks loose. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Created by Rob Lotterstein, the Fox network sitcom The War at Home tackles a problem faced by millions of parents of the early 21st century: how can one who was raised in the "anything goes" 1970s and 1980s, with no barriers, boundaries, or taboos, suddenly be expected to discipline their own children and set down ground rules without coming off as a hypocrite? This was the dilemma of Dave (Michael Rapaport) and Vicki (Anita Barone), who despite the many wild oats sown in their own teen years felt obliged to go through the motions of tough-love parenthood with their three hormone-driven kids: 15-year-old Larry (Kyle Sullivan), who may or may not be gay; 16-year-old Hillary (Kaylee DeFer), just entering the dating scene; and 13-year-old Mike (Dean Collins), obsessively dedicated to his violent video games and precious little else. One critic cited the series as an amalgam of amusing leftovers from All in the Family, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Arrested Development. The War at Home debuted September 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An unremarkable parking-enforcement officer living a low-key existence of solitary lunches in the park, lonely dinners at home, and superhero comics that at least afford him the quiet release of fantasy enrolls into a clinical trial for antidepressant pills, only to find that it has some decidedly unexpected side effects, in directors Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore's quirky comic-book superhero comedy. Les Franken (Michael Rappaport) leads an unassuming life that rarely deviates from a strict regiment of working, eating, sleeping, and comic book reading. His only two friends are a pair of stoners who own a local comic shop, so Les determines to shake things up a bit by volunteering as a test subject for an experimental drug designed to curb depression. When the drug appears to give Les special powers, the doctor in charge of the clinical controlled test insists that Les is simply experiencing an unanticipated psychological reaction to the medication. But Les is convinced that his powers are genuine, and as he ditches his work uniform in favor of more superhero-appropriate threads, he is about to find out once and for all whether he truly is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, or his depression, combined with the strange side-effects of the drug, has somehow propelled his superhero fantasies to the forefront of his damaged psyche. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A young man leaves his home and family in search of himself in this independent drama. America Brown (Ryan Kwanten) -- called "Ricky" by most of his friends -- was born and raised in a West Texas town where football is treated more like a religion than a game. Raised by a single mother (Karen Black), America's primary male role model has been his older brother Daniel (Michael Rapaport), who has drilled it into Ricky's head that it's his destiny to be a football star. But America has come to hate football, and especially loathes Bo (Leo Burmester), the manipulative coach of his high-school team. Desperate to get away from it all, America runs away to New York City, where he seeks refuge with John Cross (Hill Harper), a one-time football legend from West Texas who gave up the game to become a Catholic priest. As America looks to find a new life, he finds in Cross a man who is still haunted by his past and smitten with a woman in his congregation, Rosie (Élodie Bouchez). America, meanwhile, develops an infatuation of his own with Vera (Natasha Lyonne), a pretty but streetwise girl who waits tables at a neighborhood diner. America Brown was the first feature film from writer and director Paul Black; it was screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A slice-of-life view of modern morality filtered through the eyes of a young and down-to-earth porn star, writer/director Ash's character-driven drama offers a unique perspective of the adult film industry. Moon (Juliette Marquis) is one of the most popular adult film stars around, and she finds no fault in using her sexuality as a means of profit. As she continues the process of renewing her contract, Moon's personal life remains a delicate issue due to her father's (James Woods) degeneration due to Parkinson's disease and a blind date (Kip Pardue) who remains hesitant to get close to Moon after learning of her profession. Although she makes a healthy living and sees nothing in particular wrong with her profession, Moon must ultimately reevaluate her life in order to understand what is best for both her and the people she cares most about. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This crime comedy from director Craig Singer is the filmmaker's third independent feature and his second outing with screenwriter Robert Dean Klein and star Gary Stretch, who had contributed to 2001's Dead Dogs Lie, Singer's sophomore effort. Stretch plays Ronnie, a hitman who, three years prior, vouched for his pal and fellow contract killer, August, played by Michael Rapaport (Zebrahead, Mighty Aphrodite). Unfortunately for Ronnie, over the years, August has gotten himself into some trouble and made a few enemies. Now, over the course of one day, Ronnie has to somehow clean up all of August's messes or both men will be facing the consequences of their unhappy bosses. In addition to Frank Whaley and Seymour Cassel, the supporting cast boasts a bevy of 1980s artifacts including Ralph Macchio, Robin Givens, Deborah Harry, and Ally Sheedy. A Cold Day in August screened at Robert De Niro's 2003 Tribeca Film Festival under the title A Good Night to Die. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

In a sleepy small town there are two vibrant comic books stores that are rival universes unto themselves. Events spiral absurdly, violently out of control when the owners of the two shops -- nerdy hipster Ray (Donal Logue) and the nebbishy husband and wife team of Norman and Judy (Michael Rapaport and Natasha Lyonne) -- compete for a priceless collection of books left by the dead son of elderly Mrs. Cresswell (Eileen Brennan). Ray's friend, Archie (D.J. Qualls), tries to stop Ray from hiring a sleazy thief (Cary Elwes), but to no avail. Things get very ugly indeed. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

John Bradshaw's crime comedy Triggermen begins when a pair of professional killers (Michael Rapaport and Donnie Wahlberg) are hired to execute one of the major figures in organized crime (Pete Postlethwaite). Soon the pair are mistaken with a pair of British conmen (Neil Morrissey and Adrian Dunbar). When the money they were promised for completing the task turns up missing, the duo has a remarkably difficult time tracking it down. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi