Ken Finkleman Movies
- 2005
Originally telecast on CBC during the 2004-2005 season, the six episodes comprising The Newsroom's third season were technically filmed for the satirical series' fourth season, inasmuch as Season One (first broadcast in 1996 and 1997) was actually made up of two mini-seasons. You got all that? Good. Let's proceed. Series creator-writer Ken Finkleman continues to wear a third creative hat in the starring role of sharkish Canadian TV news director George Findlay, a man who would probably sell his grandmother to get higher ratings if he'd had a grandmother (there is some argument as to whether George ever had a mother). Newcomers to the cast this season include newsroom intern Nora (Kristin Booth), segment producer Jason (Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall), and the latest in a long line of ineffectual bosses for George Findley, Susan Murdoch (Sarah Strange). Whereas the series' previous seasons were deliciously dark in tone, this season exhibits a jauntier, more surreal touch, beginning with an opening episode which skewers media coverage of the war in Iraq. Later on, George and his staff anxiously seek out the "one dumb idea" that will enable them to strike it rich with a TV sitcom; George delivers a college lecture and acquires an underaged groupie; the possibility arises that someone in the staff is gay (not that there's anything wrong etc. etc.); and George's day is ruined by a gristly steak. The season ends with a remarkable essay on the End of the World, with the series regulars rendered in animated form! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Finkleman, Peter Keleghan, (more)
- 2001
This six-part Canadian TV anthology (actually telecast in three parts) was founded on the theme of human frailty. The stories, largely based on famous literary works, were linked together by the activities of documentary filmmaker George (Ken Finkelman, who also wrote and directed the series). Individual episode included "The Body", a saga of public embarrassment based on a story by Italo Calvino; "Disasters", based on an Orhan Pamuk story about the public's fascination with spectacular tragedies; "Evil", inspired by Maggie O'Kane's article on the war in Kosovo; "Celebrity", a fable wherein Jesus returned in the 21st century; and "Chaos and Order", in which a modern-day film crew found itself in the middle of an ancient Japanese legend. The series concluded with "The Award", a self-revelatory piece about hero George's own neuroses. Foreign Objects was originally seen from September 24 to 26, 2001. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Finkleman, Colm Feore, (more)
The 12-episode revival of the satirical Canadian series The Newsroom after a seven-year absence was originally heralded by the 2002 special Escape from the Newsroom, in which creator-writer-star Ken Finkleman makes no effort to hide his scorn for those rabid fans who insisted that he resurrect the series despite his (apparent) decision to kill it for good and all back in 1997. Though he seemed to be dead as a doornail at the end of the original series, dimwitted Toronto TV news anchor Jim Walcott (Peter Keleghan) awakens from a two-year coma and makes his way back to his former newsroom, where paranoid, backstabbing, ratings-obsessed news director George Findlay (Finkleman) still rules with an iron fist. When he's not making sarcastic comments about the Canadian TV industry or his viewers, George is running scared over the possibility that his fiefdom will be toppled by a nearby film crew shooting a movie with Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman (and no, those two do NOT appear). Once the series' third season begins in earnest, we're introduced to several new regulars, among them news-segment producers Matt (Matt Watts) and Allen (Doug Bell), the latter suffering from an advanced case of self-loathing (just the sort of person that George Findlay loves to have around). The predominant theme this season is "Death"; George panics when a woman dies of food poisoning at the TV studio; an employee croaks while George wrestles with a labyrinthine job evaluation; an unknown sniper picks off a goodly portion of the Newsroom's viewing audience; and Allen is diagnosed with a tumor, making him more annoying than usual. In other episodes, George's not-so-well-hidden streak of racism rears up and bites him in the butt; Jim Walcott writes a book, astonishing those who thought he couldn't even read; segment producer Karen (Karen Hines "dumbs down" in exchange for a roll in the hay; and George comes to grief in his efforts to avoid jury duty on a controversial animal-rights case. The series' usual offbeat mix of guest stars this season include actor Colm Feore, director Atom Egoyan, Ugandan playwright George Seremba, and former Bush Administration speechwriter David Frum. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Finkleman, Peter Keleghan, (more)
The first thirteen episodes of the satirical Canadian series The Newsroom were originally telecast as two separate "seasons" on CBC, with the last seven half-hours comprising Season Two (they have since been released on DVD as "The Complete First Season"). TV news director George Findlay (played by series creator-writer Ken Finkleman) continues resorting to the sleaziest methods possible to advance himself professionally and obtain high ratings during his second season on the air. Offering token opposition to George's cutthroat tactics are his new boss Nancy Trimbell (Nancy Beatty), and regional programming head Gillian Soros (Elisa Moolecherry), whose tireless efforts to find a "Canadian" angle on each and every news story that crosses her desk reaches hitherto unscaled heights of absurdity. Also added to the cast is Karen Hines as Karen Mitchell, the latest in a long line of beleaguered news-segment producers, and Pamela Sinha as on-air reporter Rani Sandhu. In the first of the seven new episodes, George exhibits more paranoia than usual after being besieged by bizarre voice mails, and being left couch-less by an unknown furniture thief. Shortly thereafter, the series is plunged into a three-part story arc wherein a nearby nuclear meltdown throws George's staff into a panic--and keeps our "hero" up nights trying to figure out how to make a nuclear expert seem interesting on TV. Elsewhere, thickheaded news anchor Jim Walcott (Peter Keleghan) runs for political office, an ambition all but thwarted by his so-called campaign manager George before being stopped literally dead in its tracks by a totally unanticipated act of violence. The Canadian-based guest stars this season are certainly an eclectic mix, including movie director David Cronenberg, newspaper columnists Linda McQuaig and Jeffrey Simpson, Conservative commentator Hugh Segal, hockey player Eddie Shack, novelist John Haslett Cuff, and TV producer Pamela Wallin ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Finkleman, Peter Keleghan, (more)
The first trial season of the satirical Canadian comedy series The Newsroom consists of six episodes, firmly establishing Toronto TV news director George Findlay (Ken Finkleman) as the top fly on the broadcast dungheap--a man who will do literally anything to get high ratings. In the opener, George auditions several hopefuls to be his personal assistant, with a girl named Kris (Lisa Ryder) emerging as the winner--or at least that's what she thinks until she spends a little time with her new boss. In subsequent weeks, dunderheaded news anchor Jim Walcott (Peter Keleghan) becomes fiercely protective of his turf when George hires a co-anchor; after promising to defend his coworkers against network budget cuts, George characteristically stabs everyone in the back to save his own hide; a movie writer attempts suicide, whereupon George manages to convert the tragedy into a 5-part news special; and a not-so-harmless remark aimed at a female talk show guest threatens to cost George his job. In the last of the six episodes, George not only insults actress Cynthia Dale, but also turns the newsroom inside out in his obsessive quest for the perfect bran muffin. Also appearing on The Newsroom this season are Jeremy Hotz as news-segment producer Jeremy, David Huband as weatherman Bruce Moffatt, and Julie Kahner as Sydney Dernhoff, the first in a long line of nominal bosses who try but fail to keep George in line. And in addition to the aforementioned Cynthia Dale, several other prominent Canada-based media personalities show up in cameo roles, among them actor Daniel Richter, columnist Linda McQuaig and Conservative pundit Hugh Segal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Finkleman, Peter Keleghan, (more)
- 1996
Described by some viewers as the Canadian equivalent to Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm or the British series The Office, The Newsroom was the brainchild of satirist Ken Finkelman, who also starred as George Findlay, the head of a newsroom in a fictional Toronto TV station. The sort of bottom-feeding shark that gives other bottom-feeding sharks a bad name, Findlay would do literally anything and stoop to any depth imaginable to achieve high ratings and hold on to his cushy job. George's co-workers included the station's terminally stupid anchorman, Jim Walcott (Peter Keleghan), and the disreputable-looking (and acting) trainee Audrey (Tanya Allen), not to mention a variety of neurotic news-segment producers and an ever-changing array of nominal bosses with whom George endlessly argued, and against whom he endlessly conspired. Also, the series featured a number of well-known Canadian personalities, ranging from newspaper columnists to hockey players, appearing as themselves (usually in a less-than-flattering light). Originally planned as a six-part miniseries and filmed in quasi-documentary fashion, the 30-minute The Newsroom made its CBC debut on October 21, 1996. An additional seven episodes were commissioned, the last of which aired on March 31, 1997 (these two "trial" seasons have since been telecast in the U.S. as a single 13-episode season by PBS). At that point, the restless Ken Finkelman moved on to three other series projects, in which the George Findlay character made sporadic appearances. Bowing to public demand in 2002, Finkelman somewhat reluctantly revived The Newsroom in the form of a devastatingly hilarious one-shot special. On January 12, 2004, The Newsroom returned on a weekly basis, with Finkelman and Peter Keleghan repeating their original roles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1994
This satiric comedy concerns a documentary filmmaker (Ken Finkleman) who has brought a camera crew into the home of a typical couple (Robert Cait and Karen Hines) to record the drama of their daily lives. However, the filmmaker soon discovers their daily lives aren't especially interesting, and soon he finds himself deliberately throwing chaos into their path in hopes of making for a more exciting movie. Married Life: The Movie was originally produced as a weekly television series, with four episodes re-edited into this feature; the show's director and star, Ken Finkleman, later went on to create the award-winning Canadian sitcom The Newsroom. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Cait, Mark Farrell, (more)
Rob Lowe stars in this screwball comedy as Richard Dice, the college dropout who comes back home to St. Augustine, Florida to get his act together. He is selected for jury duty and falls for the defendant Molly Gilbert (Colleen Camp), a young woman he later recognizes as his grade-school sweetheart. Richard tries to gather the evidence that will lead to her acquittal. He is not alone in his pursuit of an elusive audiotape that recorded the murder for which Molly is on trial. Jessica James plays Richard's mother, who is courted by Freddie Boneflecker (Rick Jason). Johnny Cash sings some tunes co-written with director Peter Bogdanovich. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Colleen Camp, (more)
A year after appearing in the box-office sleeper Shanghai Surprise, pop superstar Madonna starred in the screwball comedy Who's That Girl? She plays Nikki Finn, who is being released from prison after serving a four-year sentence for a murder she didn't commit. Meanwhile, wealthy lawyer Loudon (Griffin Dunne) is about to get married that afternoon to the snobby Wendy (Haviland Morris), the daughter of Simon Worthington (John McMartin). Worthington does not approve of the wedding and he wants Nikki out of town as soon as possible, so he sends Loudon to collect Nikki and take her to the bus station. Instead, the flamboyant Nikki seeks her revenge while trying to find out what happened to her friend Johnny, which causes Loudon a lot of trouble. Naturally, wild action ensues -- some of it involving an escaped Cougar belonging to Loudon's boss, the millionaire animal collector Montgomery Bell (John Mills) -- and Loudon having to choose between the prim Wendy and the unpredictable Nikki. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Madonna, Griffin Dunne, (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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Judge Reinhold, Eddie Albert, (more)
With the Jerry Zucker-Jim Abrahams-David Zucker team absent, this sequel to the cash-cow 1980 spoof Airplane once again finds garrulous man-with-a-past Ted Striker (Robert Hays) compelled to take over the controls of crippled aircraft, all the while trying to patch up his relationship with stewardess Elaine (Julie Hagerty). This time, the first passenger space shuttle is launched into orbit -- and takes off for the moon - but the on-board computer malfunctions and sends the craft hurtling toward the sun, threatening the lives of everyone on board. Lloyd Bridges and Peter Graves return from the first Airplane, while William Shatner, Chad Everett, Sonny Bono, Raymond Burr and Chuck Conners join the cast, as they too lampoon their established images. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, (more)
Given the runaway success of Grease, which became the biggest-grossing movie musical of all time, it was all but inevitable that there would be a sequel, and four years later this follow-up brought a new group of kids back to Rydell High. It's 1961, and Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the tough leader of the Pink Ladies, while Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) is a clean-cut British exchange student. Michael likes Stephanie, but the Pink Ladies' by-laws prevent her from dating guys who aren't members of the T-Birds, their affiliated male gang. However, when a Zorro-like masked avenger on a motorcycle rescues Stephanie from a gang of ill-mannered toughs, she's eager to get to know the hero with the cool wheels. Any guesses as to who he might be? Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, and Dody Goodman return from the first film as members of the Rydell High faculty, while actual '50s teen icons Tab Hunter and Connie Stevens are on board as new members of the staff; Didi Conn as Frenchy is the only one of the students to appear in both movies. Patricia Birch, who served as choreographer on Grease, made her debut as a director on Grease 2; while she's remained active as a choreographer, she hasn't directed again since. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
- 1976
Best known to international audiences for his irreverent "historical" sitcom Up Pompeii, British comedian Frankie Howerd headlined a number of other equally chucklesome TV efforts. One of these was The Frankie Howerd Show, which aired not in England but was beamed out to Canadian audiences by the CBC. The premise: Frankie played "himself," an unemployed immigrant who moved into a Canadian boarding house. Constantly seeking the quickest and easiest means to improve his lot, and incidentally making "ad-libbed" comments to the TV audience all along the way, Howerd had to contend with such wacky fellow boarders as Wally Wheeler (Jack Duffy) -- who lived in the house's basement to escape from his ex-wife -- and buxom model Denise (Peggy Mahon), whom Frankie ogled at every opportunity. Also known as Oooh, Canada, The Frankie Howerd Show was telecast from February 26 to June 5, 1976, as a brief 13-week replacement for the long-running King of Kensington. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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