Paul Reiser Movies

Writer-director Barry Levinson's autobiographical first feature fondly remembers his Baltimore youth. It's late 1959, and six guys in their early twenties are stumbling into adulthood, alternating responsibility with carefree time at their local diner. The story centers on the return from college of Billy (Tim Daly) to serve as best man at the wedding of his pal Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). Billy is consumed by a confusing relationship with a close female friend, while Eddie still lives at home, preparing a football trivia test for his fiancée and vowing to cancel the wedding if she fails. Other characters woven into the narrative include Boogie (Mickey Rourke), a womanizer with a gambling problem, and Shrevie (Daniel Stern), a music addict with a troubled marriage. Diner became known for its bittersweet comic screenplay and its remarkable cast, which also included Paul Reiser, Kevin Bacon, and Ellen Barkin. In order to capture the loose, laid-back dialogue of the diner scenes, Levinson directed them last, so that the actors would be more comfortable with each other. Diner was the first part of Levinson's "Baltimore Trilogy," followed by Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990). ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide

What's that wisecracking young black guy (Eddie Murphy) in that beat-up Chevy Nova doing in lily-white Beverly Hills? He's Axel Foley, a Detroit detective who's been sent on involuntary vacation because he refuses to drop his intention of avenging his friend's murder. Warned by Beverly Hills police chief Ronny Cox to stay out of trouble, Foley nonetheless dogs the trail of above-the-law Steven Berkoff, the British crime czar who was responsible for the murder of Foley's friend. With the help of sympathetic local cops Judge Reinhold and John Ashton and lady friend Lisa Eilbacher, Foley attempts to corner Berkoff in his mansion, which leads to a wild slapsticky shootout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for television, From Here to Maternity is an hour-long satire on 1980s self-involvement. The three ladies who are "with child" in the story have mixed feeling about their pregnant state. Part of the problem lies in their husbands and/or boyfriends, who aren't prepared for the responsibilities of fatherhood. Carrie Fisher, Arleen Sorkin and Lauren Hutton are the women in question. Among the clueless male characters are the ever-reliable Griffin Dunne and TV-star-to-be Paul Reiser. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) has seemingly smoothed out his differences with his Beverly Hills superior Bogomil (Ronny Cox), but there's trouble ahead for both men, not to mention two other holdovers from the first Cop film, officers Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton). The "untouchable" heavy this time out is masterminding a series of violent robberies, committed by leather-freak hoods Dean Stockwell and Brigitte Nielsen. Unaccumstomed to this nastiness, Bogomil entreats street-smart Foley to help find the miscreants. But mean-spirited chief of police Lutz (Allen Garfield) will brook no interference from outsiders-especially the profanely insouciant Mr. Foley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This video documents the third annual Comic Relief live benefit for America's homeless. Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Billy Crystal return as hosts of Comic Relief in this 1989 event. Directed by Walter C. Miller (who helmed many of TV's All in the Family episodes), this program includes routines from such renowned comedy stars as Bob Newhart, Bob Saget, Steven Wright, and Bobcat Goldthwait. Director Miller also includes portraits of people in need, and of those who have already benefited from these performers' generosity. The organization Comic Relief has gone on to raise and distribute nearly 50 million dollars, providing direct health care services to homeless men, women, and children throughout the United States. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide

Dudley Moore stars as Emory Lesson, an advertising genius whose finds himself committed to an insane asylum in Tony Bill's Crazy People. Emory becomes tired with creating phony ad campaigns and decides to create his own campaigns that tell the brutal truth. Since sex sells, Emory designs an explicit ad campaign consisting of unadorned sexuality. The campaign is so offensive that his colleagues have Emory put in a mental institution. At first Emory resists, but under the tutelage of a concerned psychiatrist, Dr. Liz Baylor (Mercedes Ruehl) and the tender love of Kathy (Daryl Hannah) a beautiful patient, Emory begins to like it in the mental home. Befriending the cute and lovable patients in the mental ward, Emory discovers that the crazy people are natural-born advertising geniuses and Emory utilizes their genius for a new ad campaign. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Comedian Paul Reiser has always insisted that his long-running NBC sitcom Mad About You (co-created by Reiser and Danny Jacobson) was inspired by events in his own life. Naturally, a bit of dramatic license was practiced: Reiser's TV character Paul Buchman was not a comic, but instead a New York-based documentary filmmaker. Nonetheless, the character's personality was virtually "all Reiser," just as Paul Buchman's TV wife, public relations executive Jamie Buchman (played by Helen Hunt), was basically a carbon copy of the real-life Mrs. Reiser.

Debuting Wednesday, September 23, 1992, Mad About You set up its premise, setting, and characters with admirable speed and efficiency. Married five months at the beginning of the series, Paul and Jamie are already safely ensconced in their Manhattan high-rise apartment, already conversing in a naturalistic, non-jokey (but hilarious) manner about the little, apparently inconsequential events that made them who they were and shaped their outlook on the world. (Reiser's oft-quoted assessment of the series was, "The feeling of the show should be like a couple's ride home after a party, when you can finally say what you've been thinking all night.") Also already in place is the series' colorful array of supporting characters, including Jamie's unlucky-in-love sister, Lisa Stemple (Anne Ramsay), gynecologist Mark Devanow (Richard Kind) and his dissatisfied wife, Fran (Leila Kenzle) -- still married at the start of season one, but headed for divorce by the 22nd episode -- and, for the first half of the season at least, Paul's disheveled bachelor pal Jay Selby (Tommy Hinkley), with whom Lisa has a brief fling. The exit of Jay after the 12th episode permitted the producers to bring in a new character, Paul's ever-competitive cousin Ira Buchman (John Pankow).

Recurring characters making their first appearances during Mad About You's shakedown season include the Devanow's precocious son, Ryan (Spencer Klein); the Buchman's insufferable upper-crust British neighbors, Maggie and Hal Conway (played by Judy Geeson and, initially, Paxton Whitehead); Paul's father, Burt Buchman (Louis Zorich); Jamie's parents, Theresa and Gus Stemple (originally played by Nancy Dussault and Paul Dooley); apartment doorman Eddie (Lou Cutell); and various members of Paul's production staff, among them film editor Ike (Art Evans), phlegmatic photographer Warren (Stephen Wright), and production assistants Stacey (Kerri Green) and Connie (Meagen Fay). And oh, yes, the series' obligatory non-human character, the Buchman's blasé pet dog, Murray (played by Maui), was conspicuous by his presence. The series' celebrated habit of featuring pop-icon "guest stars," which would manifest itself in such notables as John Astin, Carl Reiner, Yoko Ono, and the cast of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in later years, was tantalizingly previewed with the first-season appearances of Barbara Feldon (spoofing her Get Smart persona) and Regis Philbin. Although Mad About You did not crack the Top 25 series during its inaugural season, the program managed to accumulate a following that would remain loyal and steadfast for the next seven years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Comedian Paul Reiser has always insisted that his long-running NBC sitcom Mad About You (co-created by Reiser and Danny Jacobson) was inspired by events in his own life. Naturally, a bit of dramatic license was practiced: Reiser's TV character Paul Buchman was not a comic, but instead a New York-based documentary filmmaker. Nonetheless, the character's personality was virtually "all Reiser," just as Paul Buchman's TV wife, public relations executive Jamie Buchman (played by Helen Hunt), was basically a carbon copy of the real-life Mrs. Reiser. Debuting Wednesday, September 23, 1992, Mad About You set up its premise, setting, and characters with admirable speed and efficiency. Married five months at the beginning of the series, Paul and Jamie are already safely ensconced in their Manhattan high-rise apartment, already conversing in a naturalistic, non-jokey (but hilarious) manner about the little, apparently inconsequential events that made them who they were and shaped their outlook on the world (Reiser's oft-quoted assessment of the series: "The feeling of the show should be like a couple's ride home after a party, when you can finally say what you've been thinking all night"). Also already in place is the series' colorful array of supporting characters, including Jamie's unlucky-in-love sister Lisa Stemple (Anne Ramsay), gynecologist Mark Devanow (Richard Kind) and his dissatisfied wife Fran (Leila Kenzle) -- still married at the start of Season One, but headed for divorce by the 22nd episode -- and, for the first half of the season at least, Paul's disheveled bachelor pal Jay Selby (Tommy Hinkley), with whom Lisa has a brief fling. The exit of Jay after the 12th episode permitted the producers to bring in a new character, Paul's ever-competitive cousin Ira Buchman (John Pankow). Recurring characters making their first appearances during Mad About You's shakedown season include the Devanow's precocious son Ryan (Spencer Klein), the Buchmans' insufferable upper-crust British neighbors Maggie and Hal Conway (played by Judy Geeson and, initially, Paxton Whitehead), Paul's father Burt Buchman (Louis Zorich), Jamie's parents Theresa and Gus Stemple (originally played by Nancy Dussault and Paul Dooley), apartment doorman Eddie (Lou Cutell), and various members of Paul's production staff, among them film editor Ike (Art Evans), phlegmatic photographer Warren (Steven Wright), and production assistants Stacey (Kerri Green) and Connie (Meagen Fay). And, of course, there was the series' obligatory non-human character, the Buchmans' blasé pet dog Murray ("Maui" the dog), who was conspicuous with his presence. The series' celebrated habit of featuring pop-icon guest stars, which would manifest itself in such notables as John Astin, Carl Reiner, Yoko Ono, and the cast of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in later years, was tantalizingly previewed with the first-season appearances of Barbara Feldon (spoofing her Get Smart persona) and Regis Philbin. Although Mad About You did not crack the Top 25 series during its inaugural season, the program managed to accumulate a following that would remain loyal and steadfast for the next seven years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in 1969 Los Angeles, this movie aims at nostalgia but really is more a depiction of the tragedy of a dysfunctional family. Young Andrew, a 13-year-old male on the brink of manhood, is saddled with a Father who is a compulsive gambler and a Mother who is immersed in constant battle with him because of it. Often desperate for money, their dependence on Andrew's older sister for money is one more cause of tension and anxiety in an already unhappy household. As Andrew cares for himself and his younger sister, the symbol of his coming of age--his approaching bar-mitzvah--comes to symbolize more than just a rite of passage. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Beginning its second season in the fall of 1993, the NBC sitcom Mad About You continued in its low-key, unspectacular fashion, never quite accumulating enough ratings to crack the coveted Top 25 series list, but still enjoying a faithful fan following. Most of the series' cast remained intact, with co-creator Paul Reiser continuing in the role of documentary filmmaker Paul Buchman and Helen Hunt as his PR executive wife, Jamie Buchman, though Jamie would lose her job during the second season, prompting her to re-enter college. Paul's cousin Ira (John Pankow) pursued a romance with newly divorced Fran Devanow (Leila Kenzle), while Jamie's sister, Lisa (Anne Ramsay), persisted in looking for love in all the wrong places. Newcomers to the cast included such recurring characters as Paul's mother, Sylvia Buchman (Cynthia Harris); Paul's obstreperous new producer, Lou Bonaparte (Larry Miller); building superintendent Mr. Wicker (Jerry Adler); and, best of all, airheaded waitress Ursula Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow -- a role that she would continue essaying even after joining the cast of Friends in 1994. Nominated for several Emmy awards during the 1993-1994 season, Friends managed to cop the gold statuette in the Outstanding Sound Mixing category. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several weeks of nonstop work, Paul (Paul Reiser) is finally able to enjoy a romantic evening alone with wife Jamie (Helen Hunt). Alas, the couple's cozy tête-à-tête is repeatedly interrupted by intrusive neighbors and a jangling telephone -- not to mention the Buchman's stupid dog, Murray, who is in hot pursuit of an "invisible" mouse. Though not much lovin' gets done, the Buchmans do manage to carry on non sequitur conversations about everything from Ralph Kramden to the Portuguese fur trade. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide