Molly Shannon Movies
Another Saturday Night Live cast member who has taken her act to the big screen, Molly Shannon is probably best known to TV and film audiences as Mary Katherine Gallagher, the hapless, armpit-sniffing Catholic school girl she originated on SNL and then brought to multiplexes everywhere as the heroine of Superstar.Born in Shaker Heights, a posh suburb of Cleveland, on September 16, 1964, Shannon developed a proclivity for performing at an early age and dreamt of being famous. After receiving a Catholic school education, she earned a B.F.A. in drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Circle in the Square Studio. Armed with her diploma, she headed West to L.A., where she proceeded to struggle in relative poverty and almost complete obscurity for the next nine years. Although she occasionally found bit parts in film and on such TV series as Seinfeld, Shannon mainly supported herself with odd jobs and waitressing. Finally, in 1994, she got her big break when she won a spot on Saturday Night Live. After making her debut during the 1995 season, Shannon became exceedingly popular with audiences, thanks to her impersonations of the likes of Monica Lewinsky, and Courtney Love.
In 1998, Shannon joined fellow SNL cast members Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan to appear in the disastrous A Night at the Roxbury; the following year, she brought her own alter ego to the screen in Superstar. The film earned drastically mixed reviews, although it did fare somewhat better than any number of other SNL film adaptations. Also in 1999, Shannon played Drew Barrymore's newsroom colleague in Never Been Kissed and had a supporting role alongside Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, and Lisa Kudrow in Analyze This. She subsequently starred alongside Jim Carrey in Ron Howard's 2000 screen adaptation of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
This American version of the highly acclaimed Australian comedy series stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as a wild mother and daughter Kath and Kim. Kath is a saucy lady who doesn't believe in any of the common beliefs about middle age - or motherhood. Kim is her daughter, a narcissistic brat with an attitude that only her mother can handle. Together, they bring a whole new hilarious meaning to the word "dysfunctional." ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Selma Blair, (more)
The Air Bud saga continues with this, the seventh installment in the Disney series. This time around, the cute and cuddly puppies from Air Buddies find themselves in the icy terrain of Alaska, where they'll meet some new friends, compete in a sled race, and try to find their way home. Richard Karn and Cynthia Stevenson are among the two-legged cast members. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
This 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Molly Shannon and features musical guest Linkin Park. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Linkin Park, (more)
An artifact that will allow anyone who possesses it to threaten all life on Earth has been stolen by the most dangerous criminal known to man, and now it's up to President Abraham Lincoln's top spy - a disembodied head known only as The Screw-On Head - to retrieve it in Hellboy creator Mike Mignola's hilarious send-up of Lovecraftian horror and steampunk insanity. The dreaded Emperor Zombie (David Hyde Pierce) is threatening to unleash the greatest horror that mankind has ever known, and the only one who can stop him is Screw-On Head (Paul Giamatti). Now, with time running out for all of humanity, Screw-On Head enlists the aid of loyal manservant Mr. Groin and talking canine Mr. Dog in retrieving the priceless artifact and saving the world from a grim and violent fate. As the ultimate confrontation draws near, Screw-On Head searches high and low for a body powerful enough to fight and overcome the horrible powers that have been unleashed by Emperor Zombie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Giamatti, David Hyde Pierce, (more)

- 2005
- Add Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie to QueueAdd Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie to top of Queue
Christopher Lloyd, Roger Moore, and Molly Shannon lend their voices to this animated adventure inspired by the beloved television classic. Years after losing the position of Easter Bunny to Peter Cottontail, envious Irontail teams with chilly villain Jackie Frost to usher in an era of endless winter. When a cold breeze blasts across the land, Peter Cottontail's son Junior calls on "flight-challenged" bird Flutter and their good friend Munch, a tiny mouse with an enormous appetite, to help stave off another ice age. Now, as Junior, Flutter, and Munch travel to the edge of the Earth on the adventure of a lifetime, friendships will be tested and the secret of the Clocks of the Season will finally be revealed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Kenny
A money-minded modern day Scrooge with no time for family is given twelve days to discover the true meaning of Christmas in this holiday comedy from director Martha Coolidge. Calvin Carter (Steven Weber) is strictly business. The owner of a popular discount store chain whose lowbrow business ethics has earned him the fear of his employees and isolated his family, Calvin spend Christmas Eve tending to business instead of celebrating the holiday with his wife and children. When Calvin's car is hit by a falling sign on his way home from work and he awakens in a hospital, the no-nonsense nurse on duty gives him twelve days to discover the true meaning of Christmas, or risk dire consequences by continuing to place the value of a dollar over the value of his family. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Weber, Molly Shannon, (more)

- 2003
- Add Saturday Night Live: The Best of Molly Shannon to QueueAdd Saturday Night Live: The Best of Molly Shannon to top of Queue
Comic actress Molly Shannon became a favorite with audiences during her five years on the sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, and this home-video release compiles some of her funniest moments featuring her best-known characters. Saturday Night Live: The Best of Molly Shannon features Shannon as socially inept schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher, "licensed joyologist" Helen Madden, and fiftysomething showgirl Sally O'Malley, as well as Shannon's satirical impressions of Anna Nicole Smith, Courtney Love, Elizabeth Taylor, and more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon
A hit Broadway musical in 1957 and an equally successful Hollywood film in 1962, Meredith Willson's The Music Man was again brought before the cameras in this lavish made-for-TV adaptation. Standing in for the original's Robert Preston is Matthew Broderick as "Professor" Harold Hill, a glib traveling salesman who descends upon the town of River City, IA, in the weeks just prior to the Fourth of July celebration of 1912. Persuading the populace that the youth of River City is in great danger of being corrupted by the presence of a new pool table, Hill convinces them that their only hope for salvation is the organization of a boy's band, with himself as a leader. Naturally, this will require the parents to shell out good money for band instruments and uniforms, and in exchange, Hill promises to teach the kids how to make music by utilizing his revolutionary "Think System." There's only one problem: Harold Hill is an out-and-out con artist, who doesn't know one note from another. Even so, he manages to win over everybody in town except local librarian/music teacher Marian Paroo (Kristin Chenoweth) and thick-eared Mayor Shinn (Victor Garber). Ultimately, however, Marian joins Hill's camp -- mainly because he has brought her sullen brother, Winthrop (Cameron Monaghan), out of his shell -- but as July Fourth approaches, Hill faces exposure and arrest thanks to a vengeful anvil salesman named Charlie Cowell (Patrick McKenna). A meticulously faithful rendition of the Broadway original, The Music Man happily includes all of the show's wonderful songs, among them "Ya Got Trouble," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "The Sadder-But-Wiser Girl," "Lida Rose," "Marian the Librarian," "Pickalittle," "Til There Was You," and "My White Knight" (which was not used in the 1962 movie adaptation). Though some critics found Matthew Broderick a bit too lightweight and Jeff Bleckner's direction a tad gimmicky, no one could fault the full-bodied vocal renditions, nor the consistently inventive choreography of Kathleen Marshall. Produced by the same team responsible for the 2003 movie smash Chicago, The Music Man debuted February 16, 2003, as an "expanded" episode of ABC's Wonderful World of Disney anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Kristin Chenoweth, (more)
A joint effort of the VH1 cable network and TV Guide magazine, this five-part series offered a countdown of the 100 greatest musical moments ever telecast. Each episode offered 20 of those moments on a descending scale (i.e. 100-81, 80-61, etc.). Among the highlights, represented via film and video excerpts and eyewitness recollections, were the creation of MTV, Michael Jackson's "Moonwalk," Britney Spears' first appearance on Star Search, the debuts of such musically oriented series as The Monkees and The Sonny and Cher Show, and even such celebrated disasters as Mariah Carey's "strip meltdown" on Total Request Live. The same list appeared both on VH1 and in the pages of TV Guide, though there were a few discrepancies in the rankings. For example, while VH1 had once rated the Beatles' American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show as the number one TV musical event of all time, TV Guide superseded this with Bill Clinton's saxophone solo on The Arsenio Hall Show. The VH1 version of 100 Moments That Rocked TV ran for five consecutive evenings, beginning January 13, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Lisa Bernhard, (more)
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Christopher McDonald, (more)

- 2002
- Add It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie to QueueAdd It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie to top of Queue
What would life amongst the Muppets have been without their unofficial leader Kermit the Frog? That's the question posed by this made-for-TV confection, which not only spoofs the Yuletide classic It's a Wonderful Life, but also takes satirical aim at such pop cultural phenomena as Moulin Rouge and Fear Factor. The plot is set in motion when typically evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) forecloses on the Muppets' famous variety theater, with the intention of building a gaudy nightclub. But Bitterman's machinations take a back seat when apprentice guardian angel, Daniel (David Arquette), shows Kermit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) what conditions would have been had Kermit never existed. Without going into full detail, suffice to say that a Kermit-less world would have found Miss Piggy (voiced by Frank Oz) running a fraudulent psychic hot line, Fozzie Bear as a homeless derelict, and Sam the Eagle as a caged dancer at a rave. Decked out with cameo appearances by everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to the cast of the TV series Scrubs, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie debuted over NBC on November 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, (more)
- Starring:
- Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, (more)
- Starring:
- Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, (more)
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, (more)
Joseph Slotnick, Paula Devicq, and Brigitte Bako star in this romantic comedy about a woman who gives her fiancé his walking papers when she finds out he's still been seeing his ex-girlfriend. Saturday Night Live star Molly Shannon also appears in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Slotnick, Paula Devicq, (more)
In the closing episode of Seinfeld's eighth season, George (Jason Alexander) decides to take the summer off after getting his severance package from the Yankees. Kramer (Michael Richards) lands a job as a seat-filler at the Tony Awards, leading to a potentially nasty situation with an angry Raquel Welch. As it turns out, however, it is Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who bears the full brunt of Raquel's wrath. And Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) is about to collapse from exhaustion, thanks to his girlfriend (and no, it's not what you think). Season eight ends as it began, in the hospital. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, (more)
- Starring:
- Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, (more)
- Starring:
- Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, (more)
- Starring:
- Morwenna Banks, Ellen Cleghorne, (more)
A period comedy set in the 1980s, Jonathan Glatzer's What Goes Up tells the poignant story of a morally challenged New York reporter who connects with a group of high school outcasts while in New Hampshire covering the story of Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian astronaut. Arriving in McAullife's hometown, reporter Campbell Babbitt (Steve Coogan) is distraught to learn that an old college friend has recently committed suicide. Meanwhile, as Babbitt attempts to craft an unsung hero story about his old friend by gravitating toward the teacher's misfit students, local teacher (Molly Shannon) scrambles to cover up a looming scandal. When Babbitt discovers that the motley crew of teens is comprised of a self-absorbed seductress (Hilary Duff), a timid voyeur (Josh Peck), and a manipulative pregnant teen (Olivia Thirlby), he becomes obsessed with our need to create heroes where none exist. Over time, the roles are reversed and Babbitt learns that the traits he is currently projecting onto his fallen friend's students may in fact be traits possessed by he and other adults. Increasingly at ease around the students as he relates to them on their own terms, Babbitt gradually begins to form a fixation on the very student rumored to have had an affair with his deceased friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, (more)




















