Wallace Shawn Movies
The son of an editor for the New Yorker, the diminutive comedic actor Wallace Shawn speaks with a recognizable lisp that is appropriate for his frequent portrayals of little irate men. A graduate of both Harvard and Oxford University, he has taught several courses in English and struggled as a playwright in the early '70s; in 1977 he translated Machiavelli's The Mandrake. Shawn broke into films soon after, building a successful career as a supporting actor to help fund his playwriting. He debuted in two of the best films of 1979: Woody Allen's Manhattan and Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. In 1981, he co-wrote the semi-autobiographical My Dinner With André, a talky comedy starring himself and theater director André Gregory in a dinner conversation, directed by Louis Malle. The movie was acclaimed by critics, but many audiences grew tired during its two-hour running time. After this personal project, Shawn would build a career out of playing brief but surprisingly memorable roles in a long list of movies. One of his most warmly remembered appearances was in 1987 as Vizzini, the inept leader of a misfit criminal gang, in The Princess Bride. The same year, he supplied the heroic voice for the Masked Avenger in Woody Allen's Radio Days. Taking the next step to straight voice acting, he lent his distinctive speech to the animated features The Goofy Movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and both installments of Toy Story. He also continued to work with Woody Allen throughout the next decade in the films Shadows and Fog and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Taking his quirky persona to the small screen, Shawn had several guest-star appearances on TV shows like Taxi, Murphy Brown, and The Cosby Show, but he didn't have his own reoccurring character until he reprised his feature-film role of Mr. Hall for the ABC sitcom version of Clueless. He quickly followed that with the role of Zek on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Throughout his acting career, Shawn has managed to continue writing successful plays, and eventually adapted one of them, The Designated Mourner, for a feature film in 1997. After a few brief appearances in some forgettable films in the late '90s, he gained some larger roles in TV movies and miniseries. In 2002, he played the publishing boss Mr. Gelb for the "Greta" story in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity: Three Portraits. He then joined a large cast of other comedians for Danny DeVito's crime comedy Duplex in 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
This animated Disney feature is based on a popular afternoon television show. The story centers on Goofy's teenage son, Max, who is terrified that he will grow up to be as dorky a dog as his daffy daddy. Just as shy Max has screwed up enough courage to ask his dreamgirl, Roxanne, on a date, Goofy stumbles in and announces that they need to spend some quality time together, and then drags Max off on a vacation. Just before they leave, Max tells Roxanne that he will be in the audience at the next Powerline concert, which is to be televised. As Goofy heads for the forest for some huntin' and some fishin', "hyuk," Max schemes to get them to LA where he hopes they will be able to sneak backstage after the concert and fulfill his promise to Roxanne. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, (more)
In this feature comedy, a womanizer (Tim Matheson) marries his live-in girlfriend (Kate Capshaw) only to quickly resume his wicked ways. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Kate Capshaw, (more)
- 1999
Several noted American actors dot this autobiographical feature from Hungarian filmmaker Gabe Von Dettre (also know as Gabor Dettre) about the difficulty of getting a break in the movie industry. Brad Dourif plays a filmmaker who often talks to the audience about the main question on his mind -- why can't he get a project financed when so many people with less talent and fewer credentials are working steadily? This film (which was many years in production, as evidenced by the presence of several actors who are no longer living) was shown as part of the 1999 Hungarian Film Week Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Dourif, Kathleen Gati, (more)
It's a litter of good, clean canine fun as Air Bud plays proud papa to five adorable puppies with a most unusual secret in this installment of the long-running film series starring Michael Clark Duncan, Richard Karn, and Don Knotts. When young pups B-Dawg, Bud-Dha, RoseBud, MudBud, and Budderball learn that their parents are in danger, they leap into action with tails wagging to rescue mom and dad and reunite the family. Of course everyone knows about their talented father, but when these precious pups with the gift of gab come together to save the family, viewers of all ages will delight at the opportunity to finally discover just what goes on in the mind of man's best friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Cranshaw, Richard Karn, (more)
In this tuneful animated sequel, that angelic ol' dog Charlie Barkin returns to create chaos in heaven and on earth. The trouble begins when Charlie gets bored with the peaceful bliss of life in doggy heaven and begins dreaming of returning to Earth. Even the arrival of his former best pal Itchy does little to cheer him up. Then the wicked Carface steals Gabriel's horn and in the struggle it falls into San Francisco. Charlie and Itchy jump at the chance to retrieve the holy horn. Once back on Earth, the two have many adventures and get entangled with a sexy Irish setter a kindly boy and a wicked cat with a nefarious scheme. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Sheena Easton, (more)
"It's showtime!" In this part film à clef, part musical phantasmagoria, director/choreographer Bob Fosse takes a Felliniesque look at the life of a driven entertainer. Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider, channeling Fosse) is the ultimate work (and pleasure)-aholic, as he knocks back a daily dose of amphetamines to juggle a new Broadway production while editing his new movie, not to mention ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer), steady girlfriend Kate (Ann Reinking), a young daughter, and various conquests. Joe cannot, however, avoid intimations of mortality from white-clad vision Angelique (Jessica Lange) that lead him to look back at his life as he heads for a near-inevitable coronary and his departure from this mortal coil with the appropriate razzle-dazzle. Taking his cue from Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (1963), Fosse moves from realistic dance numbers to extravagant flights of cinematic fancy, as Joe meditates on his life, his women, and his death. Following a similarly dark revisionist vein as Martin Scorsese's New York, New York (1977), Fosse shows the stiff price that entertaining exacts on entertainers (among other things, he intercuts graphic footage of open-heart surgery with a song and dance), mercilessly reversing the feel-good mood of classical movie musicals. Critics praised Fosse's daring even as they damned his self-indulgence, while Scheider was lauded for giving the best performance of his career. Though not a disastrous failure, All That Jazz came nowhere near the popularity of 1978's Grease, as late '70s audiences increasingly turned away from "difficult" movies. For all its excesses, Fosse's fiercely personal approach turned All That Jazz into another striking work from one of the few directors able to make, and experiment with, movie musicals after the 1960s. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, (more)
Burt Lancaster stars as Lou, an aging mob flunkey, barely making a living in Atlantic City. Susan Sarandon plays Sally, a casino croupier whose husband Dave (Robert Joy) steals a large supply of drugs from the mob. When he is killed, the narcotics pass to the unwilling Sally. Lou, in the midst of longtime affair with middle-aged gangster's widow Grace (Kate Reid), falls for the much younger Sally, becoming her savior by killing the mob thugs sent to shut her up. The killings serve a therapeutic value for Lou, proving that he hasn't lost his old panache. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, (more)
The remarkable life and tragic death of Marilyn Monroe has fascinated film fans for decades, but this two-part TV miniseries, based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, takes an unusual approach, using dramatic license (the film announces itself as a work of fiction using the names of real people) to look inside the minds of Monroe and those around her to ponder the circumstances of her rise and fall. Young Norma Jeane Baker (Skye McCole Bartusiak) is raised by single mother Gladys (Patricia Richardson), who is unstable, uncaring, and poorly equipped to deal with the responsibilities of parenthood. As Norma Jeane grows up without a father and with little affection from her mother, she suffers from a poor self-image and craves attention; when she grows into a beautiful young woman who is unusually attractive to men, she falls into a number of romances and a short-lived marriage in search of the approval she needs so desperately. When Norma Jeane (now played by Poppy Montgomery) turns 20, she meets a photographer, Otto (Eric Bogosian), who sees star potential in her beauty. Otto's cheesecake pictures catch the eye of I.E. Shinn (Wallace Shawn), an agent who in turned introduces her to Mr. R (Richard Roxburgh), the head of a movie studio, who offers to make Norma Jeane a star -- if she would be willing to have sex with him. Norma Jeane unenthusiastically agrees, and Mr. R proves good to his word; renamed Marilyn, she becomes an major film star and an international sex symbol. But the adulation proves to be a poor substitute for the love she craves, and as she falls into relationships with any man who treats her with a modicum of respect -- including a famous baseball player (Titus Welliver) and an acclaimed author (Griffin Dunne) -- her life begins to spiral out of control. Blonde also stars Ann-Margret, Kirstie Alley, and Patrick Dempsey; the series first aired May 13 and May 16, 2001, on the CBS television network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Poppy Montgomery, Patricia Richardson, (more)
In Michael Moore's political satire, the U.S. president (Alan Alda) decides to wage a cold war against Canada in an attempt to reverse his slipping popularity, and, as a result, he drives a small group of incensed Canadians to take matters into their own hands. Alda is the first president in years not to lead his country into war, which naturally means that his approval rating is dangerously low. The sure-fire way to boost his popularity is to start a war and demonstrate American superiority. Unfortunately, as his advisors point out, the U.S. has run out of enemies. That is, until Alda's National Security Advisor Stuart Smiley (Kevin Pollak) happens to catch a segment on the news about a brawl at a Canadian hockey game that began when local American sheriff Bud Boomer (John Candy) made a remark about Canadian beer. This incident gives Smiley the notion to make the public believe that Canada is their new enemy. Determined to demonstrate the mighty power of America to the Canadians, Boomer gets a group of equally angry fellow Americans together to cross the border and perform the most serious of all Canadian crimes -- littering. However, the invasion is foiled and Boomer's numerous blunders threaten to turn a fabricated war into a real one. Written, directed, and produced by Michael Moore, Canadian Bacon takes lighthearted jabs at the differences between the U.S. and Canada, while also satirizing America's obsession with its military strength. The film features John Candy in his last complete screen performance. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, John Candy, (more)
- 1980
- R
Marred by prejudice and derogatory stereoptypes of gays and Hispanics, this subpar drama by Ken Annakin does not treat women or men well either. Bill (Mac Davis) is a detective who has just been hired by a tough lawyer, K.D. Locke (Tovah Feldshuh) to check up on some deadbeat ex-spouses who are ignoring their alimony payements. Soon Bill is caught in two complicated investigations, one focuses on a storekeeper, and the other on a sex doctor who just happens to be Locke's husband. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mac Davis, Tovah Feldshuh, (more)
An old fable gets a high-tech update in this computer-animated comedy from Walt Disney Pictures. Chicken Little (voice of Zach Braff) is an earnest young fowl living in the town of Oakley Oaks who one day starts a panic when a falling acorn drops on his head, and he warns everyone that the sky has started to collapse. Chicken Little was wrong, of course, much to the embarrassment of his father, Buck Cluck (voice of Garry Marshall), and now the young chicken is struggling to live down the incident. While his best friends Abby Mallard (voice of Joan Cusack), Runt of the Litter (voice of Steve Zahn), and Fish out of Water stand by him, the school's star athlete Foxy Loxy (voice of Amy Sedaris) never passes up an opportunity to make fun of the diminutive chicken. As a result, Chicken Little tends to keep his more recent discoveries to himself, but what's a bird to do when he uncovers pseudo-scientific evidence that suggests the sky really is starting to fall, in large hexagonal chunks? Chicken Little was directed by Mark Dindal, who previously helmed The Emperor's New Groove for Disney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Braff, Steve Zahn, (more)
Jane Austen might never have imagined that her 1816 novel Emma could be turned into a fresh and satirical look at ultra-rich teenagers in a Beverly Hills high school. Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and Dionne (Stacey Dash), both named after "great singers of the past that now do infomercials," are pampered upper-class girls who care less about getting good grades than wearing the right clothes and being as popular as possible. But Cher, who lives with her tough yet warm-hearted lawyer dad (Dan Hedaya) and hunky, sensitive stepbrother (Paul Rudd), also has an innate urge to help those less fortunate -- like the two introverted teachers she brings together ("negotiating" herself improved grades in the process) and new friend Tai (Brittany Murphy), who starts out a geek and ends up a Cher prodigy. Cher also possesses her own sensitive side, and she is looking for the perfect boyfriend, whom she ends up finding where she least expected. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, (more)
- 1984
- PG
A remake of Pigeon by Mario Monicelli, but set on the streets of San Francisco in a contemporary America instead of Italy in the '50s, this comedy about a conspiratorial heist of a greedy pawnbroker has excellent acting and good light fun but not much in the way of character motivation. Weslake (Donald Sutherland) is unemployed and has reason to frequent the pawnshop of his money-hungry friend Garvey (Jack Warden). People come and go around the shop (almost the only setting for the action): an aspiring musician of sorts (Sean Penn), the eccentric meter-maid Maxine (Christine Baranski), a safe-cracker (Irwin Corey), and others. Then one day Weslake gets the idea to break into Garvey's safe and make off with a few valuables just for the fun of it. Everyone agrees, and the plot goes on unhindered by motivation or ethics. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Jack Warden, (more)
Sidney Lumet filmed this hospital satire at a Canadian studio. Alcoholic Dr. Butz (Albert Brooks in old-age makeup) advises younger Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) to only treat patients with much insurance. "When the lawyers start crawling all over you," says Butz, "that's when you know you're a doctor." Ernst, a second-year resident working in the ICU with head nurse Stella (Helen Mirren), winds up in the middle of a dispute between two sisters (Kyra Sedgwick and Margo Martindale). One wants to pull the plug on their wealthy father; the other demands that he remain alive (at a cost of $112,800 a month). Soon events swivel from the money-mad medical mire to equally murky legalistics. Steven Schwartz's screenplay was adapted from the novel by Richard Dooling. Shown at the 1997 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Spader, Kyra Sedgwick, (more)
The humor in this Chevy Chase comedy lies solely in the eyes of the beholder. The comic plays Eddie Muntz, an arms dealer looking to make a big sale of war planes to a South American dictator. In order to do so, his girlfriend (Sigourney Weaver) has to sleep with the dictator and his friend (Gregory Hines) has to be convinced to do one more killing. Eddie's archenemy is Stryker (Vince Edwards) who wants to make that deal himself and will stop at nothing to obtain his ends. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, (more)
Just how far would you go to have the home of your dreams all to yourself? A couple start asking themselves that very question in this dark comedy directed by Danny DeVito. Alex (Ben Stiller) and Nancy (Drew Barrymore) are a young couple who are happy and successful, but lack one thing that they truly want -- the perfect home in Manhattan. Alex and Nancy think they may have found just the place they've been looking for when they discover the bottom half of a beautiful old duplex has opened up. While the couple are delighted with their new flat, they discover it has one major disadvantage they hadn't counted on -- their upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel), an elderly woman who soon makes their lives a living hell. Persuading Mrs. Connelly to move is fruitless, since she has a long term rent-controlled lease, and as things become more and more difficult, Alex and Nancy begin to wonder if she won't go away on her own, perhaps a more drastic (and permanent) solution may be in order. Duplex also stars Harvey Fierstein, Justin Theroux, James Remar, and Swoosie Kurtz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore, (more)
- 2001
Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) learns that her sister Carol (voice of Carol Kane) is having a baby and that her husband has left her. Lois and Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) go to visit Carol, asking Quagmire (MacFarlane) to baby-sit. When Carol anxiously tells Peter that she's gone into labor, Peter warns her, "You let the kid start calling the shots now and you're screwed." Peter stops at the drive-thru on the way to the hospital. When Lois reminds him that Carol is having a baby, he adds a Kid's Meal to his order. At the hospital, the doctor injures himself, and Peter is called upon to deliver the baby. The experience leaves Peter yearning to experience fatherhood again, and he and Lois decide to have another child. When Stewie (MacFarlane) learns of their plan, he's horrified. He remembers "what happened to Bobby when they added Cousin Oliver to The Brady Bunch." "As God is my witness," he vows, "from this day forward, Peter and Lois shall not conceive." Stewie sets about thwarting his parents' intimacy by crawling into their bed at night. When he attempts to frame Peter by using Lois' lipstick to stain his shirt collars, he gets distracted by his reflection in the mirror and gets busted. "All this time spent trying to keep people from having sex!" he cries. "Now I know how the Catholic Church feels." Eventually, Stewie shrinks himself and his laser gun-equipped "spaceship" to near-microscopic size, and enters Peter with the intention of making all-out war on his sperm. But he's surprised to find a formidable opponent (voice of Wallace Shawn) in one of Peter's seed. This episode features the voice of frequent contributor Gary Cole as Mike Brady. Cole also played Brady in Brady Bunch feature films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Cinderella's wicked stepmother has tipped the balance of power toward the dark side in Fairy Tale Land, and now it's up to the put-upon princess to restore order and ensure that good triumphs in an animated adventure featuring the voices of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sigourney Weaver, and George Carlin. For years, the Wise Wizard has worked hard to ensure that the scales of good and evil were always well-balanced, but as with any hard worker the Wise Wizard needs a relaxing vacation every once in a while. When the Wise Wizard goes on holiday, his faithful assistants Munk and Mambo make the crucial mistake of allowing Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Frieda, come into possession of their master's magical staff. With time fast running out before Frieda casts a shadow of darkness and sorrow over Fairy Tale Land, Cinderella must now awaken from her romantic dreams to take on her fearsome stepmother with a little help from her best friend, Rick, and a virtual army of heroic dwarves and fairies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., (more)
With a script that is too anemic for the red-blooded actors featured here, this anorexic comedy moves slowly up and down the corporate ladder with the fortunes and misfortunes of several company men. Jack Issel (Judge Reinhold) gets a VIP position at INC in the PR department (business-speak). Suddenly the corporation's shady activities come to the fore -- especially when a U.S. plant is set to close for a move south of the border where labor is almost free. Enmeshed in these tangles, Jack is hardly prepared to fall in love with the leading activist against the plant closing -- but he does. Meanwhile, a lot of other subplots quickly dispose of potentially budding villains like Stedman (Danny DeVito) the inside trader -- too bad. DeVito and Don King (appearing as himself) would have made a great team. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judge Reinhold, Eddie Albert, (more)
Charles Purpura scribed this semi-autobiographical tale about his experiences in a Brooklyn Catholic school of 1965. The film focuses on several Catholic school boys who get into ever increasing amounts of trouble with the presiding priests of the Catholic school, St. Basil's. Andrew McCarthy plays Michael Dunn, a newly arrived student who latches onto the class egghead Caesar (Malcolm Danare), who is constantly picked on by the class bully Rooney (Kevin Dillon). Rooney intimidates Michael and Caesar to become his erstwhile chums and, along with a few other quiet students, they receive corporal punishment for minor infractions, disrupting communion and confession and, ultimately, their antics inspire changes in the strict school hierarchy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, John Heard, (more)
- 1999
A woman is found dead at the bottom of a cliff the day before her wedding. It is up to Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) to determine if the woman killed herself, or if she was murdered. In another investigation, Sheppard (Michael Michele) and Mike (Giancarlo Esposioto) find themselves with no shortage of suspects when a loud and obnoxious film fan is murdered in a movie theater. And on the domestic front, Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) learns that he is about to become a grandfather. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
Grover Reindorf (Kyle Howard) is a kid with a problem, which is how to keep his parents from divorcing. He hits on a solution that makes sense to him. Why not lock them up in the basement, and keep them there until they reconcile? He and his younger sister Stacey (Amy Sakasitz) agree to do just that, and they successfully lure their parents into the basement and lock them in. When their junior-high-school friends find out what they've done, they decide that their own misbehaving parents need exactly the same treatment. One after another, all are tricked into entering into the Reindorf's basement. Meanwhile, upstairs, the youngsters have a very mild good time, as they can't even bring themselves to swallow the champagne they try. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Pollak, (more)
- 1984
A bravura performance from Wallace Shawn highlights the made-for-TV children's comedy How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days. Ilan Mitchell-Smith plays a woebegone grade schooler who can't seem to do anything right. Under the tutelage of wigged-out Dr. Silverfish (Shawn), Ilan takes a course in "perfectology." The boy soon learns that he's better off just being himself. How to Be a Perfect Person first aired October 8, 1984, as the second presentation of PBS' Wonderworks series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
