Brian Doyle-Murray Movies
American actor/writer Brian Doyle-Murray began his professional performing career at Chicago's Second City comedy troupe. Once established, Brian was instrumental in bringing his younger brother Bill into Second City. While Bill Murray's star ascended, Brian stayed busy as a writer and comic character actor. He co-wrote the 1980 comedy hit Caddyshack and had choice supporting roles in such films as Modern Problems (1981), Club Paradise (1986) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). Brian has also appeared to excellent effect in several of his brother Bill's starring features, most recently in the hilarious role of the lugubrious mayor of Punxsutawney in Groundhog Day (1993). One of the staff writers of the earliest years of Saturday Night Live, Brian Doyle-Murray has remained active on television as a guest actor, as a regular on the 1991 sitcom Good Sports, and in such made for TV movies as Babe Ruth (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 2009
This satirical animated series from Bevis and Butthead and King of the Hill creator Mike Judge follows the misguided adventures of a politically correct family, whose deep-seeded need to remain as environmentally, politically, liberally perfect often leads to serious problems. In one episode, the failure to bring reusable bags to the store almost becomes an international incident, and in another, the family's vegan dog takes to eating other neighborhood pets. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Judge, Nancy Carell, (more)
A charming elderly Jewish writer who lives in a state of "permanent confusion" finds his vivid imagination becoming the bane of his existence in director Jan Schütte's adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer's richly textured short stories. Max Kohn (Otto Tausig) is an Australian émigré whose mind is constantly spinning. He's an accomplished author of short stories who lives in New York City and is so steeped in tradition that he still uses a typewriter. Despite the fact that confirmed bachelor Max has a virtual harem of female admirers, he spends the majority of his free time with worrisome kindred soul Reisele (Rhea Perlman). It's during a trip to speak in nearby Hanover that Max begins editing his latest story -- a mischievous tale of a Miami retiree who embarks on a series of misadventures. Of course, it doesn't take Max long to lose himself in his own creation, and before he knows it, he's mixed up in two feverish romances and an unsolved murder. Upon snapping back to reality, Max begins to feel as if his own written word has begun to manifest itself. A meeting with world-weary former student Rosalie (Barbara Hershey), with whom he shares a mutual attraction, follows, and later while heading to Springfield for yet another speaking engagement Max discovers that he has misplaced his prepared speech. In the aftermath of that and various other mix-ups, Max decides to start writing a new story based on his recent adventures and featuring a protagonist named Harry -- a thinly veiled stand-in for the author himself. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Tausig, Tovah Feldshuh, (more)
- 2005
Created by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally Cahill, the half-hour cartoon series My Gym Partner's a Monkey managed to wrap up its title and its premise in a single package. Thanks to a bureaucratic snafu, 12-year-old human youngster Adam Lyon was transferred to Charles Darwin Middle School, where the teachers and students were all anthropomorphic animals. Regarded as "slow" because he lacked jungle smarts, Adam quickly gained acceptance by virtue of his "book smarts," which were far above those of his fellow students. Adam's best friend and gym partner was class clown Jake Spidermonkey; his classmates included underachiever Slips Python, the shy and gangly Ingrid Giraffe, and school bully Virgil "Bull" Sharkowski, who spoke in an incongruously high-pitched and squeaky voice. Among the adult authority figures were Principal Pixiefrog, gym teacher Coach Gillis (who conducted classes while swimming in a fish bowl), and drama instructor Miss Chameleon. Previewed by Cartoon Network on December 26, 2005, My Gym Partner's a Monkey was slated to join the cable service's weekly lineup on February 24, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nika Futterman, Tom Kenny, (more)
- 2005
Although the concept of a children's cartoon series starring a cast of flying insects was hardly original to The Buzz on Maggie, this weekly, half-hour Disney Channel series set itself apart from such earlier endeavors as Honeybee Hutch and Maya the Bee by relying upon computer-generated imagery rather than traditional cel animation. The series was set in Stickyfeet, a city largely populated by flies. Heroine Maggie, who in "anime" tradition boasted an oversized head and enormous eyes (with lashes!), was fun-loving and adventurous. Her efforts to buck convention and explore the world beyond Maggie drove her friends and family crazy and often placed herself in jeopardy, but in general her strong, forceful attitude proved a positive role model for the kids at home. Other characters included Maggie's older brother Aldrin, her kid brother Pupert, Aldrin's girlfriend Dawn, and Maggie's best friend Rayna. After debuted over the Disney Channel on June 17, 2005, The Buzz on Maggie was picked up by sister network ABC in the fall of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Di Cicco, David Kaufman, (more)
On a baseball team not often cited for its great players, Ron Santo was a hero and a legend. As a third baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Santo played 14 seasons (1960 through 1974), made the All-Star team nine times, earned five Gold Gloves, and in 1965 became the team's youngest ever captain. While Santo was establishing himself as one of the Cub's greatest players, he was also hiding a secret -- in 1958, the same year Ron signed with the Cubs organization, he was diagnosed with diabetes, but refused to tell his fellow players or the team's physicians for fear of being bumped from the team. In 1971, as the Cubs celebrated Ron Santo Day at Wrigley Field, the baseball great finally went public with his condition, becoming a leading Midwest spokesman and fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In 1990, Santo renewed his association with the Chicago Cubs as a commentator for the team's home games on radio station WGN, and in 2003, he became one of only three Cubs players to have their number officially retired. This Old Cub is a documentary about Ron Santo's remarkable life and career, not only examining his years as a player and broadcaster, but his longtime struggle with the disease that has cost him a leg but has failed to break his spirit, and the crusade by fans and admirers to see Santo inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Noted Cubs enthusiasts Bill Murray, Dennis Franz, and Gary Sinese, and baseball legends Ernie Banks, Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, and Tommy Lasorda are interviewed onscreen; actor Joe Mantegna narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2003
In the conclusion of a two-part story, an evil alien spirit continues to wage war against mankind via the Black Heart, a powerful lunar gemstone. The stone has cast its sinister spell on virtually every member of the Justice League, transforming them from heroes to villains. Only The Flash has managed to escape the Black Heart's influence -- and it is up to him to set things right before the alien baddie can create a solar eclipse that will destroy both the sun and the Earth. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Walter, Enrico Colantoni, (more)
- 2003
In the first episode of a two-part story, peacekeepers in the Middle East unearth "The Black Heart," a lunar gemstone with awesome powers. It turns out that the stone is possessed by an evil alien spirit, bent on destroying everyone on earth. The Justice League is drawn into the story when Wonder Woman accidentally lays hands upon the Black Heart -- and immediately transforms from virtuous heroine to sinister villainess! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Walter, Enrico Colantoni, (more)
- 2003
Tony Markes' second film, Getting Hal, was funded by auctioning off acting jobs and the executive-producer credit. Dixie (Delicia Lanza) wants revenge on her boyfriend Hal (Brad Rowe), who has stolen from her money she planned on using to buy a roller skating rink. She strikes a deal with a detective (Brian Doyle-Murray), who uses her case as a teaching tool for his detective-class students. Many of the students were winners of the auction. Getting Hal was screened at the 2003 Santa Monica Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Doyle-Murray, Delicia Lanza, (more)
- 2002
Comedian and rabid golf-a-holic Bill Murray teamed with his three real-life brothers for this hilarious weekly exercise in sibling rivalry on the golf links. Each half-hour episode found Murray on the road with Bryan Doyle-Murray (who wrote most of the episodes), John Murray (who directed), and Joel Murray, journeying to the most challenging and glamorous golf courses in the world, including Jamaica's Twin Palms, the Slammer and Squire at St. Augustine, FL, the Palm Springs Resort, and Wisconsin's Grand Geneva Resort. Competing for the coveted "Braggart's Cup," the Murray brothers frequently shared green space with guest stars like Ryan Stiles and Tim Meadows. Audiences quickly learned to expect the unexpected, from an 18-hole foursome played in Halloween costumes to an uncredited appearance by Ponce de Leon. The Sweet Spot debuted April 2, 2002 on the Comedy Central cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
It's Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox, so Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) decides to keep the kids out of school and take them to Fenway. He calls in sick to work, telling Mr. Weed (voice of Carlos Alazraqui), "I was in a terrible plane crash. My entire family was killed and I am a vegetable. See you tomorrow." Later, he runs into Mr. Weed at the ballpark, and expects to be fired, but the next day, the El Dorado Cigarette Company buys out the toy company, and Weed loses his job. The cigarette guys turn out to be poodle-shooting evil madmen who are using toys to get children addicted to their cigarettes. When Peter brings home a "Baby Smokes-A-Lot," Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) expresses her disapproval. When Peter confronts his new bosses, they make him president of the company to keep him quiet. Peter gets an executive parking space and his own personal yes man. The company hires an ugly girl to hang out with Meg (voice of Mila Kunis) at school, so she'll look prettier by comparison. They even hire Martha Stewart to help Lois out around the house. Lois is so enamored of all the perks that she forgets about her moral qualms. When an anti-smoking bill comes before Congress, a tobacco exec suggests, "They're all idiots in Washington. Instead of a smart guy, we should send a moron they can relate to." Thus, Peter becomes a tobacco industry lobbyist. Alyssa Milano makes an appearance in this episode, with the episode's writer, Ricky Blitt, playing her attorney. There's also a parody of the theme from That Girl, and Jack Sheldon, who worked on the original Schoolhouse Rock shorts, plays the bill. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Since he lost his job, Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) has gained a lot of weight from sitting on the couch watching television. After a walk on the pier with Brian (MacFarlane), he decides to become a fisherman. "That's how a real New England man makes his living," he reasons. He buys a boat at a police auction for 50,000 dollars, only to learn that its previous owner, Salty, died while chasing after "Daggermouth," the man-eating bluefish. Peter then goes to "Jim's Bank" for a loan so he can pay for his boat. He soon runs into conflict with Henessey, a veteran fisherman who resents the newcomer. Peter's having a hard time earning a living, and to make matters worse, he failed to read the loan papers he signed, and the bank is repossessing everything the family owns. Meanwhile, Meg (voice of Mila Kunis) is distraught about missing out on spring break. In an effort to placate her, Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) takes her to a fancy spa. When that doesn't do the trick, Lois drives Meg to spring break. Meg is embarrassed to be seen there with her mother, and it only gets worse when Lois parties her way to popularity among Meg's peers, neglecting her daughter in the process. While Lois and Meg negotiate their bacchanal, Peter is desperate to come up with the money to keep their home from being taken by the bank. When he learns that there's a 50,000-dollar bounty on Daggermouth, he and his friends set out to capture the dreaded beast. This episode features the vocal talents of Michael Chiklis and Brian Doyle Murray. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
A boy learns more than he expects when he tries to improve his golf game in this drama. Timmy Price (Mason Gamble) is a 12-year-old boy who has begun to display a precocious talent for golf. Hoping to hone his son's interest in the game, Timmy's father, Mr. Price (Dylan Baker), arranges for his son to have a summer job as a caddy at a nearby country club. Timmy gets a crash course in the nature of class when he becomes aware of the sharp divide between the wealthy people who patronize the club and the working-class men and women who are there to quietly fulfill their desires. Charlie Logan (Philip Baker Hall) is one of the leading members of the club who is very much impressed when he sees Timmy practicing, and suggests to Mr. Price that Timmy would do well to study with an accomplished player. Mr. Price arranges for Timmy to train with Foster Pearse (Gary Sinise), a local golfer who once displayed tremendous promise, but dropped out of the professional circuit after winning his first tournament. As Timmy gets to know Foster, he learns a lot about golf, but even more about life, and discovers there's a secret behind Foster's decision to leave to pro tour. A Gentleman's Game was the first directorial credit for producer J. Mills Goodloe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mason Gamble, Gary Sinise, (more)
- 1999
Premiering in the Midnight Movie section of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, Kill the Man poses the question: "What would you do if you won $100,000 during a half-time basketball free-throw contest?" Stanley Luke Wilson and Bob Josh Malina decide to open a small copy center. The problem is that a large-chain copy store is right across the street, taking the lion's share of the business. So with absurd determination, they decide to declare their own comic brand of war on big business. Persuading his girlfriend Vicki to join in, Stanley must choose between his life of wreaking havoc on corporate America or taking a job from Vicki's dad Michael McKean. The answer may lie somewhere in the middle, as suddenly Stanley is in jeopardy of losing his own shop if he can't come up with the rent. Directors Tom Booker and Jon Kean use wacky characters and slapstick to cook up a David-and-Goliath story about the big guy versus the little guy, with a little rule-breaking irreverence on the side. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Joshua Malina, (more)
- 1998
In the concluding half of Seinfeld's controversial series finale, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) find themselves stranded in Latham, MA -- and even worse, they are facing arrest for violating the town's new Good Samaritan law (it seems there was this mugging...). Hoping to beat the rap -- and make it to California in time for Jerry to sell his proposed sitcom "about nothing" -- the gang engages the services of flamboyant lawyer Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris). Alas, the prosecution has managed to round up a daunting array of witnesses to bolster their case against the foursome, including Sidra (Teri Hatcher) of "they're real and they're spectacular" fame, the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas), Marla the Virgin (Jane Leeves), and the Bubble Boy (Jon Hayman) -- while the sour-faced judge (Stanley Anderson) with the familiar-sounding name fumes, and a vengeful Newman (Wayne Knight) chuckles from the sidelines. As for the now-legendary final scene...haven't we had this conversation before? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
A rehearsal tape shows Bob Odenkirk and David Cross being whipped and forced into cages by their trainer, Lane (John Ennis). This segues into an episode of "Those Amazing Actors," with Lane explaining the rigors of getting actors to perform. He's shown slathering peanut butter on the faces of two soap opera actors, in order to get them to kiss convincingly. "There's a reason for the expression, 'As dumb as an actor,'" Lane explains, as guest star Vince Vaughn is shown chasing sheep. In a later skit, a bloody accident victim manages to dial her cell phone, calling "The Emergency Psychic Hotline." Manning the phones are psychic Mystique (Becky Thyres), J.D. Path (Jill Talley), and Maple Syrup (David), an obese, Jheri-curled soul singer. When someone calls in to say his baby fell in the pool and isn't breathing, Mystique tells him, "I'm receiving a color image -- sort of an aquamarine?" "Oh, my God," the caller responds, amazed, "She's turning blue!" In the unusually lengthy sketch that closes out the show, Bob plays suburban teen Dougy, who is chosen as the 18th incarnation of the Dalai Lama. While Dougy is adjusting to life as a Buddhist monk in Tibet, his friend Derek (David) writes him from America. "Did you see the Video Awards? Halen won!" "It is good news about Van Halen," the spiritually awakened Dougy writes back, "Like the lotus, they bloom for you again and again." But when Derek shows up in Tibet looking for a job, their friendship is tested. The monks learn to deal with Derek's propensity for juvenile pranks, just in time for them to compete in the "Summer Olympican" against "those rich snobs from the fat kids camp." This Meatballs-style parody features cameos from Brian Doyle-Murray and Jon Cryer as Ducky. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
In the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, producer/ director/ star Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts is a satire disguised as a documentary. Robbins plays the titular Roberts, a wealthy, well-connected young man running for a senatorial seat in Pennsylvania. On the surface, Roberts is an ingratiating glad-hander, a sincere believer in the restoration of such intangibles as national pride, family values, etc. But the longer Roberts is followed about by documentary filmmaker Brian Murray, the more we become aware that the candidate is a textbook case of cynicism and contempt. Only Giancarlo Esposito, a reporter for an underground newspaper, is willing to dig beneath Roberts' veneer--a habit that leads to the film's ironic conclusion. Several well-known actors make cameo appearances as TV commentators, notably Tim Robbins' longtime partner Susan Sarandon. Bob Roberts started out as a Tim Robbins-directed short subject for the TV series Saturday Night Live, then was expanded into a $4 million feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1992
In this sequel to the much-loved "Frosty the Snowman" cartoon special, Frosty reappears to befriend a girl named Holly and help save Christmas from the invention of an evil snow-exterminating chemical. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Peggy (Katey Sagal) despairs when her daughter Kelly breaks the Wanker Women family tradition by getting a job (actually, Kelly has had several jobs in the past few seasons, by why let a little thing like continuity get in the way of the story?) Landing a position as a waitress, Kelly finds that she gets bigger tips the more she dishes out philosophy. Series regular Amanda Bearse, who directed this episode, does not appear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
For many years, Joe's high-school baseball pitching record has been unbroken. All this may change, however, as a talented young student named Ty Warner (a pre-Party of Five Matthew Fox) comes ever closer to surpassing the number of strikeouts toted up by Joe (Tim Daly). In anticipation of this momentous event, Joe's former coach (Brian Doyle-Murray) invites him to fly out to the school and attend the crucial game -- arguing that if he doesn't, Ty Warner will miss his big opportunity completely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Babe Ruth is a made-for-TV biopic about the titular baseball legend, here played by Stephen Lang. The film covers the events of Babe's life from his orphanage childhood to his retirement from baseball in 1935. Recounted are Babe's two marriages, the first to the benighted Helen Woodford (Yvonne Suhor) and the second to down-to-earth showgirl Claire Hodgson (Lisa Zane); Babe's frequent tiltings with Col. Ruppert (Donald Moffat), autocratic owner of the New York Yankees; Babe's periodic slumps and suspensions; his "wine, women, and more women" lifestyle; his unrealized dream of becoming a team manager; his record-breaking 60th home run in 1927; and his last-stand "three-homer" game for the Boston Braves in his valedictory 1935 season. Too rushed and surfacy to be totally successful, Babe Ruth is nonetheless closer to truth than the sentimentalized John Goodman feature film The Babe (1992), and infinitely superior to William Bendix's atrocious The Babe Ruth Story (1948). As a bonus, real-life baseball great Pete Rose shows up in a one-minute cameo as Ty Cobb. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Weitz, Lisa Zane, (more)
- 1991
Season two of the blithely surrealistic Fox sitcom Get a Life begins as over-aged paperboy Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) celebrates his 31st birthday by moving out of the apartment over his parents' garage -- and moving into the apartment over the garage of his grumpy neighbor, police officer Gus Borden (Brian Doyle-Murray). The defection of series regular Sam Robards is amusingly addressed in the next episode, wherein Robards' character, Chris' best friend Larry Potter, runs out on his wife, forcing Chris to launch a search...for a new best friend. As for Larry's wife Sharon (Robin Riker), her hatred of Chris reaches epic proportions in the episode which finds them both trapped in a meat locker. In other episodes, Chris becomes a food inspector after finding a dead rat in a milk carton, belatedly has his tonsils removed, is held hostage by his prison inmate pen pal (A crisis that does not seem to faze Chris' parents -- played by Bob Elliott and Elinor Donahue -- in the least!), becomes a male escort to meet rich and sexy young girls (only to end up with a poor and elderly old bag), "stalks" an attractive doctor (Emma Samms) while simultaneously being stalked by a love-starved drugstore clerk (Amy Yasbeck), becomes a genius when exposed to toxic waste, misguidedly tries to adopt an obnoxious space alien named Spewey, and screws up the time-space continuum while attempting to save Gus' job. Just the sort of mishaps that could happen to anyone, right? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1983
Fashion designer Linda Dobbins (Karen Valentine) smells a rat when her salesman husband dies in a highly suspicous airplane explosion during a European business trip. To get some answers, Linda retraces her husband's sales route, only to discover that there was a lot she didn't know about her late spouse's activities. As if that revelation wasn't enough, her life is now in danger as well. Clearly inspired by the theatrical feature Charade (not to mention every other woman-in-jeopardy yarn ever filmed), the made-for-TV Illusions was first aired by CBS on January 18, 1983. (Incidentally, if France looks a lot like Quebec in the film, there's a good reason for it.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
