Louis Zorich Movies

An educator and the school where he works are both on the verge of collapse in this hard-hitting drama from director Tony Kaye. Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) is a gifted teacher whose psyche has been taking a beating -- he still bears emotional scars from his mother's drunken tirades while he was a child, and he's been forced to look after his grandfather (Louis Zorich) as he dies a slow, painful death. Henry has become a substitute teacher rather than fully commit himself to his students, but his latest assignment takes him to a high school where the building is in sad shape and the staff are faring no better. The principal, Carol Dearden (Marcia Gay Harden), is dealing with an unsupportive school board and a hostile husband (Bryan Cranston), Mr. Wiatt (Tim Blake Nelson) is being driven to the edge of a nervous breakdown, Mr. Seaboldt (James Caan) is too cynical to care about his work anymore, and guidance counselor Dr. Parker (Lucy Liu) spends more time insulting the students than helping them. As Barthes struggles to find a reason to continue, two troubled kids break through his wall of ennui -- Meredith (Betty Kaye), an overweight student who is a target for bullies among the students and staff, and Erica (Sami Gayle), a 15-year-old who has sex for money and is used as a punching bag by those around her. Detachment received its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A Hole in One is set in 1950s America. Anna (Michelle Williams), a passive young woman living in a small town, where she is betrothed to a powerful local hoodlum, Billy (Meat Loaf Aday), is searching for a key to her unhappiness. Her younger brother came home from the World War II a different man, and was subjected to shock treatments in a mental hospital before his untimely death. Dr. Harold Ashton (Bill Raymond) has been selling his new book, intended to advance the cause of a new scientific "advancement" in psychiatric care, the transorbital lobotomy. Ashton promotes this procedure, done with an ice pick that he keeps tucked in his vest, as a cure for all kinds of mental illness, major and minor. After witnessing Billy commit a brutal murder, Anna reads a Life Magazine article on lobotomies, and soon decides that the procedure is right for her. She asks Billy for his permission. Billy, concerned about Anna's ability to function, convinces Tom (Tim Guinee), one of his employees, to pose as a doctor so he can tell Anna that she doesn't need a lobotomy. But when the two meet, they quickly find that they have a connection that will put their lives in imminent danger. A Hole in One marks the feature debut of writer/director Richard Ledes. The film had its world premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) vow to assure their respective families that, with all their faults, they still love them. Things don't go quite as planned when Paul accidentally runs over his mother-in-law, Theresa (Carol Burnett), with his car. On the other hand, Theresa's hospital stay does bring her estranged hubby, Gus (Carroll O'Connor), back into the family fold. ~ Rovi

Though they're still working overtime to bring the magic back into their marriage, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) discover that it is more beneficial to sleep apart. Meanwhile, Ira (John Pankow) tries to turn his timorous employee Marvin (Jeff Garlin) into a pro wrestler. And yes, that's "Macho Man" Randy Savage, in the flesh and then some. ~ Rovi

After nearly two months of pre-emptions, Mad About You returned on April 26, 1999. with a brace of first-run episodes. In "Murray at the Dog Show," the Buchmans' pet pooch remains traumatized by the "Puma in the Kitchen" incident earlier in the seventh season. On a potentially happier note, therapist Sheila Kleinman (Mo Gaffney) declares that Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) are cured -- but Jamie doesn't buy this diagnosis. And how does Billy Joel figure into all this? ~ Rovi

This final episode of Mad About You is set approximately 22 years in the future. Mabel Buchman (Janeane Garafolo), grown-up daughter of Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt), follows in her dad's footsteps by producing a documentary film about her family. Several former series regulars and guest stars make cameo appearances as Mabel tries to trace the progress of her parents' marriage after a startling discovery made by Paul's sister Debbie (Robin Bartlett). Series star Helen Hunt directed this one-hour closer, which since its original network telecast has been divided into two half-hour episodes for syndication. ~ Rovi

This episode is a belated follow-up to the second-season installment "Virtual Reality." A VR device originally bankrolled by Paul (Paul Reiser) and Ira (John Pankow) guarantees imaginary visits from the owner's favorite celebrities. While the Buchmans consider re-investing in the device, Jamie (Helen Hunt) finds herself sharing a "virtual" bed with home-run champ Mark McGwire (playing himself). ~ Rovi

Still intent upon re-igniting the spark in their marriage, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) go off on their long-delayed honeymoon. In their absence, pediatrician Dr. Lee (Steve Park) makes certain that baby Mabel is well cared for. Whether or not Murray the dog is safe in the hands of Jamie's mercurial sister, Lisa (Anne Elizabeth Ramsay), is another matter entirely. And then there's that cooing married couple whom Jamie "fixed up".... ~ Rovi

Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) agree to tend the rooftop garden maintained by building superintendent Mr. Wicker (Jerry Adler). And if that doesn't turn out to be a source of discord, there is always the toy belonging to a neighbor's child which is dearly coveted by baby Mabel. Or, perhaps, the central conflict in this episode is Jamie's dismissive reaction to Paul's latest film project. ~ Rovi

Therapist Sheila Kleinman (Mo Gaffney) finally realizes that having Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt) talk out their marital problems isn't working. Thus, Sheila suggests that the Buchmans might communicate better if they agreed to spend an entire day not talking at all. This experiment in silence coincides with an impromptu -- and extremely noisy -- rehearsal by the ensemble percussion group Stomp (playing themselves). ~ Rovi

The title of this episode refers to the comedian's basic definition of comedy -- and also, indirectly, to the unexpected demise of Alan Tofsky (Eric Stoltz), former flame of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt). In a videotaped will, Alan leaves all his worldly goods to Jamie -- and, much to the dismay of her husband, Paul (Paul Reiser), the decedent declares his eternal love for his ex-sweetie. Equally unhappy is Paul's "outed" sister, Debbie (Robin Bartlett), whose impending marriage to her partner, Joan (Suzie Plakson), may not come off as planned. ~ Rovi

This appropriately titled episode served as the opener of Mad About You's seventh and final season. The manhood of Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) becomes embarrassingly evident when he experiments with Viagra. Meanwhile, Paul's wife, Jamie (Helen Hunt), stumbles out of a health club and into the streets of New York, clad only in a towel. A certain recently unemployed sitcom star makes a cameo appearance as himself. ~ Rovi

Ellen DeGeneres guest stars as Nancy Bloom, a former caterer whom Paul (Paul Reiser) had indirectly fired from the set of his "Making of Titanic" documentary. Through a twist of fate, Nancy is now the Buchmans' nanny -- but is she responsible for the brief "misplacement" of baby Mabel? Titanic director James Cameron makes a cameo appearance in this, the final episode of Mad About You's sixth season. ~ Rovi