Ryan Stiles Movies
A master of improvisational comedy, tall, rangy, and rubber-faced, Ryan Stiles is best known for playing comic Drew Carey's best friend in the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Born in Seattle, Stiles entered the entertainment industry as a standup comedian in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was not the career his parents had hoped he would choose, but Stiles managed to make a living for a few years. In the mid-'80s, Stiles switched gears and joined the Second City comedy group in Toronto, renowned for its highly topical and fast-paced sketches. There, Stiles grew adept at improvising; in 1990, he transferred to the Los Angeles Second City troupe and, before long, the six-foot, five-inch redhead was working on television and in feature films. He made his film debut in Rainbow War (1986). Stiles' early television credits include guest-starring roles on Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Mad About You. Outside of The Drew Carey Show, he had his greatest success as a regular on the British improvisational series Whose Line Is It, Anyway?, which found an American audience on the Comedy Central cable network. During the show's run (1988-1993), it won four CableACE awards. The show was revised and updated, as a replacement series on ABC, in the summer of 1998. The show was hosted by Drew Carey. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- PG
- Add Astro Boy to Queue
A young robot with incredible powers, super strength, and the purest spirit on the planet discovers the joys of being human while embarking on a worldwide journey to discover his true potential in this animated update of Osamu Tezuka's classic anime story. Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is a young robot from futuristic Metro City. Created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage), and powered by pure positive "blue" energy that gives him such abilities as x-ray vision, inhuman speed, and flight, the wide-eyed android longs to find his true place in the world. He sets out on an epic journey that brings him face to face with an underworld army of robots and some of the strangest creatures ever to walk the Earth, and along the way learns to experience human feelings and emotions. Astro Boy's remarkable mission of discovery is suddenly cut short, however, when he learns that his friends and family back in Metro City are in grave danger. As Astro Boy prepares to face off against his greatest adversary in order to save everything he cares most about, he realizes that only through victory will he finally discover what it takes to be a hero. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, (more)
- 2004
The ninth and final season of The Drew Carey Show was what is known in show business as a "burnoff". Though contractually committed to keep the series on the air until the Summer of 2004 and to approve a budget of $3 million per episode, ABC was unable to justify these conditions as the series' ratings continued to fall. Thus, Season Nine began not in the fall of 2003 as was customary, but instead snuck onto the scene on June 2, 2004, traditionally one of the lowest-rated playdates. The season's 28 episodes were subsequently seen on a two-per-week basis for the next fourteen weeks, until ABC was finally allowed to pull the plug on September 9. As a result, while the final season lost money for the network, it lost far less than would have happened had ABC scuttled the season entirely or left the remaining episodes on the shelf. (Don't you just love "inside baseball" talk like this?) The season was supposed to have begun just after the breakup of the extremely brief marriage between Drew Carey (playing himself) and his Southern-fried bride Lily, an emotional setback compounded by the death of Drew's dad George (Stanley Anderson) in a freak accident, and further exacerbated by George's disastrous military-style funeral. However, ABC chose to run the season's episodes out of sequence, confusing one and all. Even so, viewers quickly glommed to the fact that a romance had developed between Drew and his lifelong friend Kellie (Cynthia Watros), who subsequenlty announces her pregnancy, leading to the anticpated story complications and the introduction of Kellie's obnoxious parents Don (Michael Gross) and Annette (Susan Sullivan). At the same time, Drew has become surrogate father to his nephew Gus (who has miraculously reached the age of five after only three years, and is now played by Matthew Josten), thanks to the fact that Drew's brother Steve has deserted his wife Mimi (Kathy Kinney) and skeedaddled to Sri Lanka. Though Steve would make an unexpected reappearance in the form of onetime series regular John Carroll Lynch, Mimi would ultimately find lasting happiness from a wholly unanticipated source! The series ends as "NeverendingStore", the dot.com where Drew works, goes bankrupt, whereupon Drew attempts to revive his former place of employment, Winfred-Louder, with himself in charge. To this end, Drew seeks the help of his ex-boss Mr. Wick (welcome back, Craig Ferguson), now fabulously wealthy thanks to his marriage to the daughter of a Christian-broadcasting mogul. Though these plans typically go nowhere, there's a happy ending of sorts as Drew and Kellie prepare to get married--as quickly as possible, inasmuch as Kellie has already gone into labor! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 2003
On the cusp of stardom, standup comic Maija DiGiorgio suffered an emotional breakdown while performing before a room packed with a number of the comedy industry's head honchos -- whom were on the receiving end of DiGiorgio's obscenity-laced outburst -- at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Subsequently faced with a nearly industry-wide blacklisting as a result, the comic (and film school graduate) came upon the idea of creating a film journal to document her struggles within the industry, as well as within her own psyche. The result is Bitter Jester, DiGiorgio's 2003 film that started as a document of self-examination and evolved into an examination of success and achievement within the standup circuit. Greatly assisted by the contacts and prestige of executive producer Richard Belzer -- a friend and former employer of DiGiorgio's boyfriend and co-conspirator Kenny Simmons -- DiGiorgio proceeds to gain access to a surprising berth of comedy legends, including Chevy Chase, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, and George Carlin, all of whom dispense insightful and sometimes surprising opinions about their individual achievements. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
An aspiring filmmaker learns that success in Hollywood doesn't come as easy as she suspected as she attempts to discover the formula to success in this satirical comedy from director William Tannen. When the guidance of her helpful has-been uncle (Michael Lerner) fails to pave the way, Sarah Wilder (Alannah Ubach) must seek the advice of such Hollywood heavies as Mike Meyers, Ben Stiller, and Fred Willard -- only to discover that the old adage is true and Nobody Knows Anything about how to succeed in the cutthroat world of Los Angeles. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alanna Ubach, Michael Lerner, (more)
- 2002
Although by prior agreement ABC was required to retain The Drew Carey Show on its prime time schedule through 2004 at a cost of $3,000,000 per episode, by the fall of 2002 it was obvious that the series' plummeting ratings no longer justified such a long-term commitment. Thus, only 15 of the 27 episodes filmed for the series' eighth season were broadcast before the network yanked the show from its lineup in January of 2003. At this point, ABC had two options: shelve the remaining episodes (and the subsequent ninth season, then in its early production stages) and take a huge financial bath, or "burn off" the 12 leftover episodes during the Summer of 2003, with two episodes shown back-to-back each week for a six-week period. The latter option was exercised, then repeated for the ninth and final season of The Drew Carey Show in the Summer of 2004. Those few viewers tuning into Season Eight had some treats in store for them, most notably the guest appearances of a different A-list musical group at the beginning and end of each episode. Also, there was an influx of new characters, precipitated by the bankruptcy of Winfred-Louder, the Cleveland department store which employed series protagonist Drew Carey (playing himself) and Drew's mortal enemy (and now sister-in-law!) Mimi Bombeck (Kathy Kinney. The store's new owners are a pair of oafish young techno-nerds named Scott (Jonathan Mangum) and Evan (Kyle Howard), who transform the place into a dot.com called "NeverendingStore." At first intending to fire everybody, Scott and Evan keep Drew on because they're amused by "the old man", and also relent and rehire Mimi (Kathy Kinney)--who immediately develops an intense hatred for newly installed keyboard operator Traylor (Kaitlin Olson), who proves so odious that Mimi ends up trying to murder the girl by stuffing her in a paper shredder! Leaving the series this season is longtime regular Christa Miller), whose character, Kate O'Brien, heads to Guam with her new husband, fighter pilot Kirk (Cameron Mathison). Replacing Kate as one of the "gang"--consisting of Drew, Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles)--is another of Drew's former school pals, Kellie Newmark, played by Cynthia Watros. Though his marriage to Kate has fallen through, Drew stubbornly books a chapel for his wedding--then spends the rest of the season searching for an appropriate bride, with the help of former coworoker and now professional matchmaker Larry Almada (Ian Gomez). After a tentative romance with Kellie comes acropper, Drew settles upon a ditzy Southern belle named Lily (Tammy Lauren), with whom he ultimately marches down the aisle...and then... Although billed as regulars this season, John Carroll Lynch as Drew's brother and Mimi's husband Steve and Craig Ferguson as Drew's ex-boss Mr. Wick appear only sporadically. The reason for Wick's non-appearances are fairly obvious (why should he hang around a place where he's been canned); as for Steve, he abruptly vanishes from view after Mimi catches him in an extramarital affair, one that forces poor Drew to act as surrogate father for his nephew Gus for the duration of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 2001
The cast and crew of The Drew Carey Show entered its seventh season with more security and hubris than ever before. Thanks to the series' past excellent ratings performance, the producers and ABC had entered into an agreement whereby the show was "locked" into the network's schedule until the fall of 2004, with a lofty $3,000,000 budget alotted to each episode. Understandably emboldened by this, Drew Carey opens Season Seven with a radical departure from the show's usual format: "Drew's Back-to-School Rock 'n' Roll Comedy Hour", a special filled to overflowing with quickie comedy sketches and rockin' and rollin' musical numbers, featuring guest appearances by the likes of Jenny McCarthy, SHeDAISY, Smash Mouth, Uncle Cracker, Sugar Ray and Peter Frampton. The rest of the series was relatively conventional (at least by Drew Carey Show standards), with the episode "Married to a Mob" making a major technicological breakthrough as the series' first installment filmed in HDTV. Major developments this season include Drew's "graduation" from a mental institute, whereupon he ends up a reluctant bigamist--not only simultaneously wed to both Kate (Christa Miller) and Nicki (Kate Walsh), but also still legally committed to a "gay" union with his boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson), who in the previous season needed to get married in a hurry lest he be deported to England. Extricating himself from this marital melange by the skin of his teeth, Drew launches a new romance with sharp-tongued efficiency expert Christine Watson (Wanda Sykes). Elsewhere, Drew's brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch) and his worst enemy Mimi (Kathy Kinney), now husband and wife, hunker down to the responsibilities of parenting their baby son Gus; Drew's pals Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) blithely ignore all manner of municipal ordinances by building their "dream" house in the middle of a city park; and Mr. Wick goes into alcholic rehab, leaving the Winfred-Louder store in the less-than-capable hands of 19-year-old Milan Mercer (Jessica Cauffiel), the irresponsible daughter of new store owner Lord Mercer (Jim Piddock). Though there is no "What's Wrong With This Episode?" this season, viewers are treated to the wildest "Drew Live" episode thus far, with Drew caught in the middle of sinister scheme concocted by John Ratzenberger and Blue Man Group to take over The Drew Carey Show by force! No less breathtaking is the episode "Curse of the Mummy", with Richard Chamberlain showing up in drag as Mr. Wick's mother--a role he'd repeat in a special "Mother's Day" episode wherein the cast's various mommies and grandmommies are portrayed by such TV icons as Marion Ross, Adrienne Barbeau, June Lockhart and Phyllis Diller. Other Season Eight guest stars include baseball greats Bobby Bonds and Jay Johnstone, and longtime TV favorites Henry Winkler, Adam West and Max Gail--the latter two cast as gay lovers! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 2000
Season Six of The Drew Carey Show opens with the title character (played, naturally, by Drew Carey losing his job at Cleveland's Winfred-Louder department store and ending up slinging hash at his former high school's cafeteria--and despite this enormous setback, our hero is bound and determined to propose marriage to his longtime friend Kate (Christa Miller). Unfortunately, Drew is sidetracked into a sham "gay" marriage with his Winfred-Louder boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson), who must be hitched in a hurry lest he be deported to his native England. Despite his marital status, Drew still finds time to date a vegetarian activist named Rachel (Ileana Douglas)--whom is promplty "corrupted" by Drew's friends Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and transformed into a meat addict! Former recurring player John Carroll Lynch is promoted to full-scale regular in the role of Drew's transvestite brother Steve, now also the husband of Drew's mortal enemy (and reluctant next-door neighbor) Mimi (Kathy Kinney), who in the course of events becomes pregnant. This plot development figures prominently in a bizarre three-part story arc wherein Drew, rendered comatose in an accident and hovering between life and death, finds he prefers the Next World to This One--and while trekking Heavenward, he profoundly alters the future of Mimi's yet-unborn baby Gus. As a postscript, Drew returns to life only to discover that he's been declared legally dead, inspiring him to re-invent himself as a "born to be wild" cycle freak named Kyle! Upholding the tradition of past years, Season Six offers the second "Drew Live" episode (originally telecast live by ABC, in three different versions for the three main timezones) and the fourth and final error-ridden "What's Wrong With This Episode". And in a wacko plot twist that would not be resolved until the following Autumn, Season Six concludes as Mimi literally drives Drew insane and into a mental institution! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 2000
When Kate (Christa Miller) complains that Drew (Drew Carey) is spoiling his dog Speedy, the mutt responds by turning hostile towards Kate--and by biting Oswald's supervisor on the eve of a job evaluation. Dr. Kelly (Bari Hochwald), DrugCo's resident animal psychologist, declares that Drew has triggered an emotional tug of war between Speedy and Kate. It soon develops that only way Drew can keep both his dog and his girlfriend under control is by arming himself with a squirt gun! Meanwhile, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) and Steve (John Carroll Lynch) go to great and ridiculous lengths to have a baby. This episode was directed by series regular Ryan Stiles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
All prior vestiges of "real life" on The Drew Carey Show have been ravaged, murdered and buried by the time Season Five rolls around. Typically surrealistic entries this season find Drew (Drew Carey) on trial for trying to murder his longtime bete noire Mimi (Kathy Kinney), and later hosting a "webcam" show from his own home on behalf of his bosses at Winfred-Louder--a show that, in true "life imitates art" fashion, was simultaneously broadcast on the ABC network and streamed on www.abc.com. Plus, we are treated to an exercise in pure fantasy when an ailing Drew has a terse conference with his own stomach (played by Max Wright. Also featured in Season Five is the first of the series' "Drew Live" offerings, originally networkcast live by ABC, with three different versions beamed out to the three major time zones--and, of course, the third annual edition of "What's Wrong With This Episode?", permitting the home viewers to compete for huge cash prizes by spotting the 50 or so deliberate mistakes scattered throughout the episode. In the course of the year's events, Kate (Christa Miller) finally realizes that she is in love with her lifelong friend Drew--just as he is being advised to avoid dating women by the office psychologist. By the time the couple begins dating, a new crimp is put in their relationship when Drew sprains his Most Vital Organ. Elswehere, Winfred-Louder undergoes the first in a long line of corporate takeovers when Mr. Soulard (Mark Curry) assumes command of the store; Mimi is plagued by a new "number one fan", a hero-worshipping little person named Doreen (Debbie Lee Carrington), who subsequently becomes romantically involved with the geekish Lewis (Ryan Stiles); and on a (comparatively!) less creepy note, Mimi is finally married to Drew's transvestite older brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch. Fifth-season highlights include jabs at such contemporary events as the "Y2K" panic and the "second coming" of Drew's beloved Cleveland Browns. And let us not forget the season finale, in which Drew and the rest of the cast, dropping character, vow to grab a surefire Emmy Award by staging the "Very Special Episode" to end all Very Special Episodes--a shameless spectacular replete with disease, death and an Ellen DeGeneres "coming out" moment! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
Whatever connection The Drew Carey Show ever had with "real life" during its first three seasons is utterly scattered to the winds in Season Four with the bizarre, surrealistic episode "High Road to China"--which, incidentally, was also the first American sitcom episode ever to be filmed in Mainland China (that's the actual "Great Wall" upon which a befuddled Drew Carey [playing himself] awakens in the opening scene!) Almost as wacked out is the episode "DrugCo", a vivid Apocalypse Now lampoon featuring a giant talking cockroach and a mutant "monkopotamus". In comparison, the season's second annual "What's Wrong With This Episode?" entry, wherein viewers were invited to spot the nearly fifty deliberate errors spotted throughout the proceedings, is an exercise in normality! This is the season in which Drew and his pals Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles0 briefly ascend the heights of rock-music stardom by reorganizing their high school band "The Horndogs", with a little help from their new friends Joe Walsh, Jimmy Fox and Dale Peters of The James Gang--and with some unsual input from Drew's self-appointed "groupie" Darcy (Pauley Perrette). This is the season in which Drew launches a May-December romance with a 61-year-old woman named Celia (Shirley Jones), just before entering into a "menage a quartre" with Oswald, Drew and sexy sci-fi freak Tracy (Diane Farr)--which in turn leads to the Pirandellian episode "Tracy Bowl, with sportscasters Bob Costas, Lynn Swann and Kenny Mayne providing play-by-play coverage of the four-way romance. This is the season in which Drew's house is neatly cut in half by crooked realtors, and in which he begins his ardent pursuit of gorgeous handywoman Sharon (Jenica Bergere). This is the season in which Oswald, still smarting from being jilted at the altar by Kate (Christa Miller) picks up some extra cash by acting as guinea pig for DrugCo's new "man boobs". And this is the season in which the series' resident "cosmetic nightmare" Mimi (Kathy Kinney becomes engaged to Drew's transvestite older brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch. Guest stars this season include pro wrestler Triple-H, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Hal Linden, the latter a key players in the series' elaborate "Brotherhood of Man" season finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 1998
Drew Carey hosts this improvisational comedy TV game-show featuring cast members (Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Wayne Brady) from the original British series in a variety of different theater games and skits introduced by Carey. In one set-up on the pilot, strange hats led to impromptu video dating-service tapes. In other situations, they must compose song lyrics while they sing, impersonate people, imitate animals, and fabricate dialogue in the styles of various plays and films. Carey scores points in an equally spontaneous manner according to his own whims, and as he phrases it -- "nobody wins anything." The basic premise of this type of comedy are the theater games invented in the late '30s and early '40s by author-teacher Viola Spolin (1906-1994), who can be seen as "Mother" in Paul Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland (1970), evidently her only film role. Her behind-the-scenes workshops with the Second City improv group influenced satirical TV comedy (Saturday Night Live), and she led similar workshops for the casts of '70s sitcoms (Rhoda, Friends and Lovers). Whose Line Is It Anyway began as a British radio-comedy series over a decade ago on Radio 4, jumping to Channel 4 television a year later, followed by a 1988-1994 run in the U.S. on Comedy Central. Over 11 seasons, the British series won four CableACE Awards and an International Emmy. Taped in Hollywood, the Drew Carey-hosted version premiered to strong ratings August 5,1998 on ABC. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The Drew Carey Show continues to abandon reality in favor of surrealism through the series' third season, beginning with a story arc wherein the obstreperous Mimi (Kathy Kinney), eternal enemy of series hero Drew Carey (playing himself), goes into full "Steven King" mode, holding her traumatized boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson) prisoner after a tornado rips through Cleveland and nearly destroys the Winfred-Louder department store. Likewise far removed from "real life" is the first of the series' "What's Wrong with This Episode?" entries, in which the fans at home were offered huge cash prizes to spot the many deliberate errors sprinkled throughout the episode's thirty minutes. And on a less elaborate but no less unrealistic note, Winfred-Louder's barracudalike owner Mrs. Louder (Nan Martin inexplicably changes her first name from Dottie to Fran--which, come to think of it, is no less inexplicable than her torrid affair with the store's most incompetent employee, Larry Almada Ian Gomez, who makes his own distinctive mark on the proceedings by causing the entire cast to be arrested on drug charges! And then there's the oddball romance between Drew's lifelong friends Oswald Harvey (Diedrich Bader and Kate O'Brien (Christa Miller). . . New cast additions this season include John Carroll Lynch as Steve Carey, Drew's transvestite older brother; Kate Walsh as Drew's real-estate-agent girlfriend (and, briefly, fiancee) Nicki Fifer, she of the fluctuating weight and dangerous mood swings; Adrienne Barbeau as Kim Harvey, the mother of Drew's uber-neurotic best friend Oswald; and Ashley Gardner, a professional "guinea pig" at DrugCo and erstwhile sweetheart of the company's janitor Lewis Kiniski (Ryan Stiles). Among those making guest appearances are Rush Limbaugh, Dionne Warwick, Tim Conway, the rock band The Reverend Horton Heat, and the cast of the British film hit The Full Monty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 1997
- NR
A single girl steps up her dating endeavors in hopes of finding true love before she turns 30. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much time left. Her longtime friend Nick decides to make a documentary chronicling her search for the perfect mate. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Gould, Eliza Coyle, (more)
- 1997
Murphy (Candice Bergen) desperately seeks an ally at the network when Kay (Lily Tomlin) presumptively decides to move the entire "FYI" staff to California. The situation prompts Murphy to join forces with Mr. Lansing's weaselly nephew Andrew (Paul Reubens), now ensconsed in a Buddhist monastery. Unfortunately, Andrew proves to be an even greater threat to "FYI" than Kay, whereupon Murphy comes up with "Plan B" (or is it "Plan C"). Watch for a hilarious cameo by Drew Carey Show regulars Diedrich Bader and Ryan Stiles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Season Two of The Drew Carey Show finds most of the Season One regulars still in place, with one significant addition: Craig Ferguson as the unspeakable, diabolically impulsive Nigel Wick, Drew's new boss at Cleveland's Winfred-Louder department store. Also introduced this season is the series' propensity for elaborate musical production numbers, the first of which, "Five O'Clock World", will be used ever after as the show's opening-credits theme song. Carried over from Season One is the ongoing war between Winfred-Louder assistant personal director Drew Carey (playing "himself") and his sworn enemy, secretary Mimi Bombeck (Kathy Kinney), as well as Drew's efforts to make a go of his "Buzz Beer" microbrewery in partnership with lifelong pals Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles). Also, Drew continues looking for love in all the wrong places, ignoring his childhood chum Kate (Christa Miller) who is similarly occupied with outside romances. Among the women loved and lost by our hero this season are fellow store employee Lisa (Katey Silverstone), who moves in with Drew and just as quickly moves out; Bonnie (Caroline Rhea), a pretty zoning inspector who happens to already be married; and, most disastrously, Las Vegas waitress Diane (Nicole Sullivan), who becomes the first of five soulmates to become Mrs. Drew Carey in the course of the series' nine seasons! Incidentally, Diane appears in a "Viva Las Vegas Night" episode which crosses over into several other popular ABC sitcoms of the era, casually eroding the series' already tenuous grasp on reality. Further carrying The Drew Carey Show into the realm of fantasy is the unforgettable "backyard bash" episode, featuring musical performances by Little Richard and Joe Walsh and cameo appearances by Dick Clark, Flip Wilson, former NFL great Bernie Kosar and Cleveland's mayor Michael R. White. Other luminaries making guest stopovers in Season Two include Marion Ross, making her first appearance as Drew's mom Beulah; ex-evangelist Tammy Faye Messner, as Mimi's equally cosmetically-challenged mother Tammy; Nicholas Turturro, seen in his familiar NYPD Blue guise as Detective Martinez; and, as themselves, Donald Trump, Carol Channing. . .and "H.R. Pufnstuf"!!! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
Cleveland's favorite son Drew Carey stars as Cleveland's favorite son Drew Carey in the first season of the popular ABC sitcom bearing his name. Of course, Carey does not really play "himself", a successful standup comedian: The TV version of Drew Carey is the long-suffering, overworked and underpaid assistant personnel director at Cleveland's fictional Winfred-Louder department store. Given the choice, Drew would rather spend all his time at home or at the Warsaw Tavern with his lifelong best friends: hoydenish, perennially unemployed Kate O'Brien (Christa Miller), geekish DrugCo janitor and sci-fi aficionado Lewis Kiniski (Ryan Stiles), and erstwhile deejay Oswald Harvey (Diedrich Bader), who in the course of the first season launches a lengthy if unrewarding job at Global Parcel Service. These are the "regulars" in the first episode, soon to be joined by Kathy Kinney as Drew's mortal enemy, the garishly outfitted and cosmetically challenged Mimi Bombeck. Originally, Mimi was to have been a one-shot character, but proved so popular with test audiences that she was signed for a permanent post as a secretary at Winfred-Louder, giving her ample opportunity to make Drew's life Hell. Contributing to Drew's woes is his never-seen boss Mr. Bell (voiced by Kevin Pollak), whose sojourn at Winfred-Louder will last only until the season finale, thanks to the whims of the store founder's barracudalike widow Mrs. Louder (Nan Martin), whose first name is "Dottie" herein but will later be "Fran". Other prominent Season One contributors are Katey Selverstone as store employee Lisa Robbins, with whom Drew has a covert romance; Jane Morris as Nora O'Dougherty, another of Drew's coworkers, whose lawsuit against Drew for creating a "hostile workplace" (translation: for having a typically male sense of humor) provides the show with its first significant story arc; Robert Torti as Drew's old pal Jay Clemens, who has a fling with Kate; Ian Gomez as Larry Almada, Winfred-Louder's laziest employee and Mrs. Louder's current boy-toy; Stanley Anderson) as Drew's irksome dad George; and Susan Saint James as Kate's hyperjudgmental mom Lynn. Generally avoiding the surrealism prevalent in later years, Season One still has a tenuous connection with what passes for "real life", though there are glimmers of the zaniness to come in the season finale, wherein Drew, Oswald and Lewis establish their own micro-brewery for the purposes of creative a coffee-flavored beer, naming their product "Buzz" (what else?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, (more)
- 1994
Hoping to return a copy of Robocop 3 to Video Village, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) inadvertently send back a sexy "homemade video." As if this weren't embarrassing enough, the Buchmans' recorded bedroom shenanigans end up being delivered to the Family Cable Network in place of Paul's G-rated zoo documentary. Ryan Stiles makes his second appearance as an unnamed video guy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Movie references, sight gags, silly puns, and double entendres abound in Hot Shots! Part Deux, Jim Abrahams' sequel to Hot Shots -- only now the object of the skewering is the Stallone Rambo movies instead of Top Gun. Charlie Sheen returns as the lunk-headed Topper Harley, who has retreated to a Buddhist monastery after being dumped by Ramada Rodham Hayman (Valerie Golino). In this far-off retreat, the monks have "taken a vow of celibacy, just like their fathers and their fathers before them." But Topper bulks up and goes back into action when his superior officer, Colonel Denton Walters (Richard Crenna) is captured by a Saddam Hussein look-alike, missing somewhere between "Iraq and a Hard Place." Topper charges into Iraq (after barreling through a Beverly Hills barbecue) along with sexy CIA operative Michelle Rodham Huddleston (Brenda Bakke) in tow, his guns ablazing. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, (more)
From director Jim Abrahams, one of the minds behind the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, comes another parody. This time around, Abrahams has his sights set on the action-adventure genre, specifically Top Gun. Charlie Sheen stars as Topper Harley, a maverick air force pilot who constantly lives in the shadow of his father's legacy. Unable to handle the pressure, Harley has left the Air Force to live among a tribe of Native Americans. But when the United States seeks to destroy some Iraqi nuclear facilities, there's only one man for the job. After being coaxed back into service, Harley soon realizes that in addition to Saddam Hussein, he'll have to contend with a rival pilot, played by Cary Elwes, and a devious aerospace executive. Among the many films lampooned are Dances With Wolves, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Gone With the Wind. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, (more)
