Rob Schneider Movies
Another Saturday Night Live alumnus to make a bid for big screen stardom, Rob Schneider got his first chance to carry a film with Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (2000), a mistaken identity comedy that was as commercially popular as it was critically eviscerated. The diminutive Schneider, who was born to a Filipino mother and Jewish father in San Francisco on October 31, 1963, got his start in comedy in high school. He began writing sketches when he was 15 and also began appearing at local comedy venues. Inspired by such comics as Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Peter Sellars, and Monty Python, Schneider decided to try to make a career out of stand-up.Following high school graduation, the fledgling comedian set off for Europe, where he traveled for a few months until he was robbed in Paris. Scraping together enough cash to make it back to the U.S., Schneider returned to San Francisco and renewed his determination to make it as a comedian. He quickly became active on the comedy circuit, opening for such luminaries as Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, and Dana Carvey. Schneider got his big break in 1990, when he was discovered by SNL producer Lorne Michaels while performing on an HBO comedy special. He was hired on as a writer for SNL in 1991, but he soon began performing his own material as well as writing it. He earned great popularity and lasting fame for his characterizations of "Richard "the Richmeister" Laymer" and "The Sensitive Naked Man," as well as various celebrity impersonations. Schneider stayed with the show until the end of the 1993-1994 season, when he decided to quit in order to pursue his film career.
Following his departure from SNL, Schneider had a sizable supporting role in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Judge Dredd (1995), but his subsequent film work was limited almost solely to forgettable comedies. In 1996, the comedian returned to television as one of the stars of the short-lived sitcom Men Behaving Badly, but he continued to focus much of his energy on a film career. After appearing in The Waterboy (1998) and Big Daddy (1999), two wildly successful comedies starring fellow-SNL alum Adam Sandler, Schneider starred as the titular hero of Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, a fish tank cleaner who assumes the identity of a high-living gigolo. Panned by critics as immature and vulgar, Deuce Bigalow nevertheless did decent business in theaters and found a niche after it's subsequent release on home video, prompting Schneider to prepare a sophmore effort, The Animal. Co-starring Survivor contestant turned thespian Colleen Haskell, Schneider's tale of a car accident victim imbued with superhuman powers after being pieced back together with animal organs kept the low-brow rolling while marking his territory among the ranks of the more successful transitions from SNL player to big screen star. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG13
In the film adapted from a book by Frederic Brown, a music composer (Randy Quaid) receives an invitation to score an upcoming science-fiction film. When the piece is accidentally broadcast on the radio, it encourages a rather pedestrian invasion force from Mars. The legion of green men instead cause havoc around the globe just by having fun, and it is the composer's duty to send them packing. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, (more)
After a recruitment scandal, a struggling college football team is forced to turn to a rag-tag group of misfits in this sports comedy. It seems that Texas State University's football team has relied on some rather unorthodox -- and illegal -- methods to gain players, resulting in the disqualification of most of the team's stars. The desperate coach (Hector Elizondo) must rely on the school's actual students, a motley crew of unlikely characters that includes a female place kicker and a quarterback in his thirties. Unexpectedly, however, the coach discovers that the passer still has a heck of an arm, and suddenly the team again has a chance. The expected comic complications and obvious bits of slapstick follow as this band of eccentrics struggles to find a way to victory, resulting in a familiar reprise of a well-worn storyline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, (more)
In Randal Kleiser's entertaining adaptation of Jack London's classic novel White Fang, Ethan Hawke plays Jack Conroy, a young man who travels to Alaska with the intent of finding his father's lost gold mine. During the course of his travels, he's accompanied by a big white wolf that he rescued from a professional dog fight promoter. Conroy and the wolf, which he names White Fang, have a number of adventures and make a few enemies on their way to finding the gold mine. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ethan Hawke, (more)
- 1992
- PG
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John Hughes and Chris Columbus repeat their best-selling formula from the first Home Alone film with this sequel. Once again Kevin McCallister's (Macaulay Culkin) family leave him behind, only now he gets on a flight to New York instead of going with his family to Miami. Kevin manages to hail a cab and is delivered to the doorsteps of the Plaza Hotel, where, using his father's credit card, he rents out a suite and has the time of his life -- although a smarmy hotel clerk (Tim Curry) and bellboy (Rob Schneider) eye him with suspicion. But ingenious Kevin keeps them at bay, using the same tomfoolery he applied to his uncle in the first picture. He takes time out from his consumer debauch to chat with a friendly old toy-store magnate (Eddie Bracken) and pontificate to a homeless Pigeon Lady (Brenda Fricker) on the meaning of Christmas. But then he runs into his old enemies Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern).When he finds out that they plan on robbing the old man's toy store on Christmas Eve, he mans the battle stations once again, complete with electric prods, flames of fire, and sundry blunt instruments. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, (more)
Penelope Spheeris directed this compulsively faithful film adaptation of the popular 1960s television series. The familiar story 'bout a man named Jed Clampett (Jim Varney), a poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed, continues to follow the TV show's format. Jed discovers oil on his Arkansas property and overnight becomes a multi-millionaire. He moves his family to Beverly Hills, wanting to turn his daughter Ellie May (Erika Eleniak) into a sophisticated woman. At his new Beverly Hills mansion, he meets Mr. Drysdale (Dabney Coleman), a kow-towing banker, and Drysdale's assistant, the repressed crone Miss Hathaway (Lily Tomlin). Jed announces that he would like to re-marry, and that leaves the door open for Drysdale's scheming lackey Woodrow Tyler (Rob Schneider) and his fortune-hunting partner Laura Jackson (Lea Thompson) to make the moves on Jed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diedrich Bader, Dabney Coleman, (more)
Also known as Surf Warriors, this film is a low-budget, offbeat comedy aimed at the teen audience. Two young surfer dudes from southern California, Johnny (Ernie Reyes, Jr.) and Adam (Nicolas Cowen), have their lives changed when they discover that they are heirs to the crown of Patu San, an obscure South Pacific island nation. The country's throne has been taken over by an incompetent, evil warlord, Colonel Chi (Leslie Nielsen). As the two surfer heroes travel to Patu San to regain the throne, Colonel Chi sends mercenaries to stop them. Johnny and Adam find that they have been given magical powers to help them in their quest -- one of them becomes instantly skilled at kung fu, and the other has psychic powers. Rap music artist Tone Loc plays one of Colonel Chi's henchmen, Lieutenant Spence. Martial arts sequences dominate the fighting scenes, which evoke the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze of the era. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernie Reyes, Jr., Rob Schneider, (more)
The plot of this action film begins in 1996, with Los Angeles in a violence-crazed conflagration. One of the LAPD's most notorious cops, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), known as "the demolition man," is in hot pursuit of blonde-haired psychopath Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who is so nasty he even kills sometimes just because he feels cranky. John captures Simon, but not before Simon kills innocent hostages. John is blamed for the deaths of the hostages, and both he and Simon are cryogenically frozen to remove their brand of ultra-violence from a society that is simply just too violent. The film shifts to the future world of 2032, where Los Angeles has become a megalopolis called San Angeles. There is no poverty, Arnold Schwarzenegger was (at one time) president of the United States, and Taco Bell is the sole survivor of the Franchise Wars. Into this peaceful and bland society, Simon is summarily defrosted by reigning benevolent dictator Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) to have Simon murder Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), the leader of a group of underground rebels. But Cocteau bites off more than he can chew when the melted-down Simon proceeds to go on a murder-and-looting spree. Reluctantly, Cocteau defrosts John to hunt down his old adversary. As John adjusts to self-driving cars and having sex wearing helmets, he pairs up with Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a bored cop with a nostalgic fascination for 20th-century culture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, (more)
- 1995
- R
In this frankly bizarre fantasy story based on a novel by Austrian writer Robert Schneider, Elias Johannes Alder (Andre Eisermann) is born into a filthy, poverty-stricken village in the alps; his mother doesn't much care for him, and he later discovers he's the bastard son of the town's clergyman. As his mother is giving birth to his sister Elsbeth, Elias has an epiphany that causes his hearing to become unusually keen and his eyes to change color. He suddenly develops a tremendous talent for music, quickly mastering the church organ and performing and writing music with remarkable skill and passion. Once Elsbeth grows to maturity, Elias becomes obsessed with his sister and longs to be her lover; however, she breaks his heart by instead marrying Peter (Ben Becker), an old friend who is deeply moved by Elias' music. Driven to despair, Elias decides to commit suicide, but in a truly novel manner -- by giving up sleep. Director Joseph Vilsmaier also served as cinematographer; Schneider wrote the screenplay from his own novel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Vilsmaier, André Eisermann, (more)
A violent, effects-heavy science fiction adventure, Judge Dredd depicts a nightmarish future in which overcrowded cities are terrorized by brutal gun battles and policed by "Judges," law officers who act as judge, jury, and executioner. Sylvester Stallone stars as Judge Dredd, a punishing enforcer with an unswerving dedication to law and order. Little does Dredd know that a nasty villain (Armand Assante) and a corrupt Judge (Jurgen Prochnow) are plotting to take over the city and plan to frame Dredd for murder in order to prevent him from interfering. Dredd winds up in prison, but he fights back with the help of Judge Hershey (Diane Lane), his partner and romantic interest, and Fergie (Rob Schneider), his friend and comic relief, developing a plan to clear his name and stop the bad guys. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, (more)
- 1996
George's wedding to Susan (Heidi Swedberg) is delayed by three months -- and no one is more relieved than George (Jason Alexander). Hoping to gain admittance into the Friar's Club, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) borrows a jacket -- which he promptly loses to a band of gypsies, or at least that's what it looks like. In trying to replicate Leonardo da Vinci's sleeping habits, Kramer (Michael Richards) ends up at a restaurant which specializes in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is in for it when Peterman (John O'Hurley) hires a deaf employee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Unlike the more familiar animated Pinocchio by Disney, there are no song interludes here, and characters added to the story by Disney (such as Jiminy Cricket) are not included. Producer Francis Ford Coppola and director Steve Barron, (known for the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film) closely adhere to Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel and use the visually timeless setting of a Czechoslovakian village. Jim Henson's puppet studio skillfully brings this Pinocchio to life. Long ago, in his youth, Gepetto (Martin Landau) loved but did not court Leona (Genvieve Bujold), who married Gepetto's brother instead. In that earlier time, he carved her initials with his onto a tree. Now his brother is dead, and though he still feels for Leona, he is still too shy to woo her. Instead, the old puppet-maker goes into the forest and cuts down a tree in order to make a puppet just for himself. The tree is the same one he carved his initials into when he was younger, and it has the magic of his love in it. Soon after the puppet Pinocchio is made, he comes to life. Aside from being made of wood, he begins to live the life of a perfectly normal little boy. He even goes to school. Lorenzini, an evil magician who runs a children's puppet show, hears of Pinocchio and wants to use him in his show. Lorenzini lures children to his show, only to later turn them into donkeys. Donkeys are useful creatures, and Lorenzini makes a lot of money selling them. Through many trials and tribulations, the puppet-boy earns the right to become the human boy Pinocchio (Jonathan Taylor Thomas). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Landau, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, (more)
Vulgar, slapstick comedy abounds in this feature film debut for television sitcom star Kelsey Grammer. Almost everyone else thinks of Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge is a class "A" goof who messes up every task he is assigned, but Adm. Dean Winslow thinks otherwise and decides to give Dodge one last chance by assigning him to helm an outmoded, diesel powered, rusty in a series of wargames. Dodge's sub is to be the enemy and must somehow outsmart their high tech opponents. Though ostensibly only games, Admiral Yancy Graham, who considers Dodge an embarrassment to the Navy, decides to do everything he can to scuttle Dodge and his ragtag crew's mission. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, (more)
- 1997
Supermodels Naomi Campbell and Eva Herzigova are two of the several women featured in this video documenting the photo shoots that produced the images used to compile the 1997 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Several cameras accompany photagraphers, crew and models to various exotic locations throughout the Bahamas. The focus of the documentary drifts between Playboy-like sequences of the women posing and back stage footage of crew and models laughing and joking. Several of the models also grant interviews that detail life as a model and the conditions of the shoot. The footage is definitely more explicit than the images shown in the magazine, making the film less suitable for younger audiences. Several videos in this series have been released in both a safe for television format and a version that does contain some nudity. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Magicians Penn & Teller host this 16-episode Vegas variety series with a salmagundi of sleight of hand, showgirls, card tricks, music, acrobat acts, rock tunes, and an assortment of illusions, including off-color "sex-magic" and their creepy rats-in-the-cage bit. Guests for the debut hour included actor Rob Schneider, Drew Carey, and Lou Reed. Loaded with sleight of hand, the series kicked off August 10, 1998 on the FX network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teller, Penn Jillette, (more)
Hong Kong action genre craftsman Tsui Hark directed this martial arts tale, his second collaboration with actor Jean-Claude Van Damme after Double Team (1997). Van Damme stars as Marcus Ray, a Hong Kong fashion designer who specializes in "knock-offs," cheaply produced jeans and sneakers meant to look like major-label merchandise. With his new partner Tommy Hendricks (Rob Schneider), Marcus hopes to go legit and put his shady past behind him, but Tommy is really an undercover CIA agent investigating the smuggling of mini-bombs in Marcus' products. An unwitting pawn in a scheme concocted by the KGB and Tommy's CIA superior Johanson (Paul Sorvino), Marcus must clear his name and save his company. His quest to do so becomes even more complicated when local authorities link him to a murder and a vice-president, Karen (Lela Rochon), arrives from Marcus' parent company to investigate discrepancies in his bookkeeping. Knock Off is based on a script by Steven E. de Souza, author of 48 Hrs. (1982) and Die Hard (1988). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rob Schneider, (more)
- 1998
John Landis directed this comedy suspense-thriller about a woman plotting to murder her ex-husband for insurance money. When Susan (Nastassja Kinski) and insurance salesman Sam (Billy Zane) decide to kill her ex, Paul (Adrian Paul), Sam contacts Bill (Michael Biehn) and Steve (Rob Schneider) to do the deed, while Susan recruits her hairdresser, Betty (Lara Flynn Boyle), to set up the victim. Bill and Steve shoot three times at close range but miss. Betty distracts doctors, while biker Bob (Dan Aykroyd) goes into the intensive care room to smother Paul. When Sam's former wife Penny (Lisa Edelstein) learns what's going down, she demands sex plus money. Appearing in cameos are several film directors (Stuart Gordon, Randall Kleiser and Adam Rifkin). Shown at the 1998 AFI Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- 1998
It is hardly a mystery why the Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has become one of the most popular single issue magazines year in and year out. People's fascination with scantily clad women in exoctic locations is as close to a sure thing, in terms of sales, as you can get. And so it only makes sense for the magazine to back up its 1998 magazine release with a shot on location documentary. Filmed much like a Playboy Playmate video, the images range from behind the scenes shennigans, to wind wisped slow motion pans of the female body. Several of the scenes have voiced over interviews with photographers, camera crew and models Eva Herzigova, Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks accompanying the images. This video is definetly more risque than the magazine and may not be suitable for younger audiences. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide
As with his previous films, comedian Adam Sandler and writing partner Tim Herlihy have conceived a simple premise, character, and title, and peppered their creation with visual sight gags. The story concerns Bobby Boucher, a Louisiana-born-and-bred kid living in the swamps with his overbearing, alligator-eating mom (Kathy Bates). Bobby is a water boy for the local college football team, and a damn good one, even good at turning a deaf ear at the ridicule he gets from the players and coach (Jerry Reed). But when Bobby is fired from his job, he is forced to continue his water management skills at the rival college, a losing team with a washed-up coach (Happy Days' "The Fonz," Henry Winkler). It's here that the coach teaches Bobby to channel his anger, and he makes a surprising discovery. The water boy can tackle like no one he's ever seen. Forced to keep his football talents from his mom, Bobby soon joins the college as a student and learns that there's more to life than alligator stew. He even falls for a perky ex-con (Fairuza Balk) who teaches Bobby about the birds and the bees. As Bobby leads his team toward victory, they get an invitation to play in the annual Bourbon bowl against his old college rivals. Bobby must choose between the love of his ailing mother and the glory of the final game -- or maybe there's a way he can get both. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, (more)
This collection of classic sketches from the television variety series Saturday Night Live features some of the show's most outrageous performers at their envelope-pushing best. Highlights include Chris Rock as militant talk show host Nat X, Adam Sandler as Operaman, David Spade with the Hollywood Minute, Chris Farley interviewing Jeff Daniels on "The Chris Farley Show," and Rob Schneider as the Copy Guy. Mike Meyers, Phil Hartman, Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, and Steve Martin also make guest appearances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, David Spade, (more)
Yet another Saturday Night Live alumnus makes his bid for big-screen success as Rob Schneider, best remembered as the "Making copies!" guy, tackles his first leading role in this broad comedy. Deuce (Rob Schneider) earns a meager living as a professional fish tank cleaner until he's asked to housesit for a gigolo. Deuce mistakenly answers the gigolo's business phone and finds himself having sex with a woman he's never met and getting paid for it (not a bad deal, since women generally avoid Deuce like the Ebola virus). It's not long before Deuce learns that there's more to selling your body than one might expect: for example, being re-styled by your pimp or having to explain your new source of income when the owner of the house gets home. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo was the first feature film produced by Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison; Sandler himself makes a cameo appearance, while Oded Fehr, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Marlo Thomas highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, (more)
