Paul Flaherty Movies
The world's most obnoxious celebrity talk-show host demonstrates how he rose to mediocrity in this pungent show business satire. Jiminy Glick (Martin Short) is a corpulent entertainment reporter who is looking to kick his career into high gear. Hoping to snag some celebrity interviews, Jiminy and his wife, Dixie (Jan Hooks), head north of the border to Canada, where Jiminy will attend the Toronto Film Festival. At first, Glick's attempts to ingratiate himself with stars and semi-stars are little short of disastrous, but after the easily star-struck reporter allows egocentric filmmaker Ben DiCarlo (Corey Pearson) to shamelessly self-promote his latest project on air, word gets around that Glick is an "easy interview," and his star begins to rise. However, Jiminy's good fortune is tempered by his unwitting involvement in a murder plot centered around booze-addled actress Miranda Coolidge (Elizabeth Perkins) and her wildly pretentious husband, Andre Devine (John Michael Higgins). Somewhere along the way, filmmaker David Lynch (played by Short) happens along, offering his theories on the controversial murder of Lana Turner's paramour Johnny Stompanato. A large number of Hollywood celebrities make cameo appearances in Jiminy Glick in La La Wood, including Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Forest Whitaker, Kiefer Sutherland, and Sharon Stone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Jan Hooks, (more)
Versatile Canadian comedian Martin Short plays a 10-year old boy in this comedy aimed at younger audiences. The tale is told in flashback to another little boy. Clifford is a manipulative brat. Clifford really wants to visit Dinosaur World in Los Angeles. Clifford wants to go so badly that he manages to force the Hawaii bound plane he and his parents are on to land in L.A. His parents need to attend a convention in Hawaii so they leave him with his Uncle Martin who despises children. Martin's fiance adores kids, so he pretends to be ecstatic about Clifford's visit. He must also pretend that Clifford is the angel child he isn't. Because Martin reneges on a promise to take him to Dinosaur World, Clifford begins an elaborate plot for revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1994
Comic actor Paul Reiser headlines Showtime's Comedy Superstars series, 3 1/2 Blocks from Home, which he also wrote and produced. The Emmy-nominated star of television's Mad About You uses stand-up to tackle a variety of topics, including marriage, children, and fatherhood. ~ Scott Albright, All Movie Guide
- 1993
A vacation is never truly a vacation for some, as Larry (Garry Shandling) discovers in this episode of HBO' s The Larry Sanders Show. Despite the fact that Larry is physically away from the show, the specter of discontent follows him as Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) begins alienating a series of co-hosts. It turns out that some of Hank's unusually grating behavior may be due to his nervous anticipation as he awaits the opening of his new restaurant. Guest stars include Martin Mull, Jerry Seinfeld, John Riggi, Burt Reynolds, and Pauly Shore. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Actor and commedian Billy Crystal visits the land of his ancestors and learns to laugh about it in this comedy special (produced for HBO) which features Crystal performing before a live audience at Moscow's famed Puskin Theater. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
John Candy's popularity from his appearances on the Canadian television series Second City TV did not translate into film success until he made the John Hughes comedy Uncle Buck. Who's Harry Crumb? was released just before the more well-known film, and some SCTV regulars make cameo appearances. In this farcical comedy, Candy plays bumbling Harry Crumb, scion of a family of great detectives, who works as a trainee in the agency his legendary grandparents founded. His slimey boss Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones) assigns the inept young detective to find the kidnapped daughter of a multi-millionaire. The plot twist is that Draisen doesn't want the kidnappers found, for reasons of his own. While Crumb blithely bumbles along through various mishaps, Draisen tries to put the moves on the millionaire's wife (Annie Potts). Fans of Candy will probably enjoy this film, which he dominates with his comedic talents and (literally) large presence. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, (more)
On his 81st birthday, grandpa George Burns, bemoans the fact that he's wasted his life, and wishes he had it to do all over again. He gets his wish when he and his 18-year-old grandson Charles Schlatter are involved in an auto accident. When he awakens, Burns' personality has been transferred to Schlatter's body, and vice versa! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, Charlie Schlatter, (more)
- 1984
Stiff-necked newsmen Troy Soren (Martin Short) and Joel Weiss (Eugene Levy) co-host the eco-friendly "4th Annual Save the World Parade." The popular game show "Half Wits" reaches the championship rounds, with host Alex Trebel (Levy) again being driven up the wall by the amiable stupidity of the contestants. And this week's Monster Chiller Horror Theater is straight from the video store: "Halloween Always Falls on Friday the 13th Part 1." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Flaherty
- 1984
Brock Linehan (Martin Short) goes behind the scenes of feminist talk show host Libby Wolson (Andrea Martin)'s movie "L'Insignificant: Diary of a Female Person." (It's the film's 13th showing on SCTV, but Libby hasn't finished re-editing yet.) Unable to book Mars Needs Women on Monster Chiller Horror Theater, Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty) is forced to show Modern Problems...in 2-D (though The Count continues hawking special glasses). After tonight's chapter of the Western serial "Six Gun Justice" ("A Date with Tojo"), besotted kiddie show host Happy Marsden (James Hemphill) relates the tragic life story of the serial's star Don Mills, as set down in "Hollywood Gomorroh." All this, plus a compelling public service announcement: "Stop Julio Iglesias." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Flaherty, Mike Short, (more)
- 1983
This final episode of SCTV: Network 90 features such classic sketches as "Whatever Happened to Baby Ed," with Ed Grimley (Martin Short) suffering torment at the hands of his brother Skip (John Candy); and the 3-D Firing Line production of "Midnight Cowboy II," hosted by Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty), starring Woody Tobias Jr. (Eugene Levy) as Ratzo Rizzo and Dr. Tongue (Candy) as Joe Buck -- and mercilessly skewered by critic Pauline Kael (Mary Charlotte Wilcox). Also, musical guest Joe Walsh and his band perform "I Can Play That Rock 'N' Roll All Night" on "The Fishin' Magician." Billy Sol (Candy) and Big Jim (Flaherty) goad Neil Sedaka (Levy) into blowin' up real good. "Mel's Rock Pile" offers a tribute to punk, featuring The Queenhaters' big hit "I Hate the Bloody Queen." And, at long last, it's the 12th and last episode of "Days of the Week" -- with a truly surprising cameo appearance. (A "real" one, not an imitation this time!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Walsh, Mary Charlotte Wilcox, (more)
- 1983
After wrapping production on the weekly, 90-minute NBC comedy-variety series SCTV Network, six members of the Canadian "Second City TV" comedy troupe reassembled for this cable-TV effort, which premiered November 22, 1983 on Cinemax. Seen in a weekly 45-minute slot, SCTV Channel proved an excellent workout for the comic skills of SCTV "veterans" Andrea Martin, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, and Martin Short, as well as comparative newcomers Mary Charlotte Wilcox and Jim Hemphill. Although the absence of former SCTVers John Candy, Dave Thomas, and Catherine O'Hara was sorely felt, all three of these performers were adequately represented via guest appearances.
No longer obliged to use musical guest stars as they had during the NBC run, the producers of SCTV Channel were able to focus exclusively on comedy. As in its previous incarnations, the show specialized in devastatingly on-target satires of contemporary television programs and genres, with each episode representing a "typical" broadcast day at Channel 109, the SCTV network's flagship station in Melonville. Many of the recurring characters had already been established in SCTV's previous syndicated and network shows, notably crooked station owner Guy Caballero (Flaherty), obnoxious station manager Edith Prickley (Martin), burned-out horror show host Count Floyd (Flaherty), pompous news anchor Earl Camembert (Levy), nerdish SCTV janitor Ed Grimley (Short), oily talk show MC Sammy Maudlin (Flaherty), unfunny funnyman Bobby Bittman (Levy), and smarmy Australian superstar Jackie Rogers Jr. (Short), among others. The one significant "new" character was created by Jim Hemphill; lachrymose, heavy-drinking kiddie show host Happy Marsden, who presided over his daily TV series from his favorite tavern, and who featured highlights (?) from the interminable black-and-white movie serial Six Gun Justice. As for Mary Charlotte Wilcox, her main character of note was fatuous "famous for being famous" local celebrity Idella Voudry. Although at its best SCTV Channel was every bit as good as the late, lamented SCTV and SCTV: Network 90, the series' writers tended to stretch and attenuate its material at times; also, the show seemed to run out of gas toward the end, as witnessed by its heavy reliance upon "coming attractions" consisting of vintage clips from earlier SCTV efforts. Even so, the 18-episode SCTV Channel was a worthy swan song for one of the most consistently funny and inventive sketch series in television history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
No longer obliged to use musical guest stars as they had during the NBC run, the producers of SCTV Channel were able to focus exclusively on comedy. As in its previous incarnations, the show specialized in devastatingly on-target satires of contemporary television programs and genres, with each episode representing a "typical" broadcast day at Channel 109, the SCTV network's flagship station in Melonville. Many of the recurring characters had already been established in SCTV's previous syndicated and network shows, notably crooked station owner Guy Caballero (Flaherty), obnoxious station manager Edith Prickley (Martin), burned-out horror show host Count Floyd (Flaherty), pompous news anchor Earl Camembert (Levy), nerdish SCTV janitor Ed Grimley (Short), oily talk show MC Sammy Maudlin (Flaherty), unfunny funnyman Bobby Bittman (Levy), and smarmy Australian superstar Jackie Rogers Jr. (Short), among others. The one significant "new" character was created by Jim Hemphill; lachrymose, heavy-drinking kiddie show host Happy Marsden, who presided over his daily TV series from his favorite tavern, and who featured highlights (?) from the interminable black-and-white movie serial Six Gun Justice. As for Mary Charlotte Wilcox, her main character of note was fatuous "famous for being famous" local celebrity Idella Voudry. Although at its best SCTV Channel was every bit as good as the late, lamented SCTV and SCTV: Network 90, the series' writers tended to stretch and attenuate its material at times; also, the show seemed to run out of gas toward the end, as witnessed by its heavy reliance upon "coming attractions" consisting of vintage clips from earlier SCTV efforts. Even so, the 18-episode SCTV Channel was a worthy swan song for one of the most consistently funny and inventive sketch series in television history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, (more)
- 1982
The second and final season of NBC's 90-minute comedy-variety series SCTV Network finds the show's familiar acting troupe short of three members: Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, and Catherine O'Hara. Fortunately, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, and Andrea Martin are still on hand, as is relative newcomer Martin Short, who this season introduces a fresh new batch of brilliant comic characterizations, among them the ultra-geeky Ed Grimley and vainglorious Australian pop star Jackie Rogers Jr. And beginning with the sixth episode, Mary Charlotte Wilcox, heretofore seen in minor roles, is elevated to full regular status. Wilcox would remain with the troupe for their next TV venture, SCTV Channel -- which also featured Jim Hemphill, who appears sporadically throughout SCTV Network's second season. The second season's 12 episodes contain some of SCTV Network's all-time best material. Highlights include "Sammy Maudlin's 23rd Anniversary," which also incorporates dead-on spoofs of the hidebound, outdated programming typical of Canadian network television; "Bowery Boys in the Band," spotlighting guest star Robin Williams as an incongruously light-in-the-loafers Slip Mahoney; a takeoff of the Streisand-Kristofferson version of A Star Is Born, featuring musical guest Crystal Gayle; the benighted efforts by perennial talk show second banana William B. (Candy) to launch his own starring series; and best of all, the Emmy-winning episode "Sweeps Week," at once a devastating lampoon of pointless all-star TV variety specials and an affectionate bouquet to the golden days of black-and-white TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Joe Flaherty, (more)
- 1982
Tonight's wraparound sketch is a fundraiser for SCTV series "Pre-Teen World"; unfortunately, none of the show's adolescent hosts are able to stay awake for the entire telethon. Also featured this evening is the uproarious "Rat Pack" spoof "Maudlin's Eleven," a hip and with-it movie caper starring talk show host Sammy Maudlin (Joe Flaherty), his toadying co-host William B. (John Candy), editorialist Bill Needle (Dave Thomas), funnymen Bobby and Skip Bittman (Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis), and musical guest stars Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang. Other highlights: Edith Prickley (Andrea Martin) stars in "Prickley Heat," the story of "the woman too hot to touch"; the new sitcom "The Adventures of Shake 'N' Bake," starring William Shakespeare (Thomas) and Francis Bacon (Moranis); and "Nightline Melonville"'s round-the-clock coverage of the kidnapping of Mayor Shanks (John Candy)'s son, which is abruptly cut short when the kid returns home ahead of schedule. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Blasucci, Paul Flaherty, (more)
- 1981
Expanding from 30 to 90 minutes per week in the process of "graduating" from Canada's Global Television Network to America's NBC, the popular sketch comedy series SCTV also boasts an expanded title -- SCTV: Network 90 -- as it launches its first NBC season. The "new" series' format is primarily the same as the "old" one, with each episode chronicling a typical broadcast day on SCTV's flagship station, Channel 109 in Melonville. Returning from the earlier series are John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and Rick Moranis; beginning with the 25th episode of season one, Martin Short joins the cast, adding his own unique comedy characterizations to the cast of "regulars" already established by his colleagues.
Among the recurring segments introduced during the shakedown season of SCTV: Network 90 are "Farm Film Report," with bucolic emcees Billy Sol (John Candy) and Jim Bob (Joe Flaherty) exhorting various ersatz celebrities to "blow up reeeal good"; "The Happy Wanderers," featuring Leutonian polka kings Stan and Yosh Schmenge (John Candy, Eugene Levy); "One on the Town," a fatuous investigative reporting series hosted by news anchor Earl Camembert (Levy); "Street Beef," the cheesy man-on-the-street interview show to which SCTV personality Johnny LaRue (Candy) is exiled after the failure of his first starring movie "Polynesiantown"; and "The Gerry Todd Show," a lampoonish music video disc jockey program that predated the debut of MTV by four months! Many of the sketches seen during SCTV: Network 90's first season are reruns, culled from three seasons' worth of the original SCTV (some of these, however, had not previously been seen on U.S. television). Of the new sketches, several are standouts, including "CCCP1," in which the SCTV satellite is hijacked by the Soviet Union; "Zontar," an extended parody of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; "The People's Golden Choice Awards," arguably the single most crooked awards show in TV history; and the hilariously self-explanatory "PBS Battle of the Network Stars." On orders from NBC, SCTV: Network 90 was obliged to accommodate musical guest stars, but for the most part these performers were smoothly integrated into the comic action. This season's crop of guests includes Levon Helm, Dr. John, Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau, The Tubes, Tony Bennett, Talking Heads, Roy Orbison, and even classical violinist Eugene Fodor and Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang. Mention should also be made of non-musical guest Bill Murray, who -- to no one's surprise -- melded beautifully with the series' general zaniness. (DVD alert: Most of the aforementioned guest star turns have been removed from the half-hour syndicated versions of the individual SCTV Network episodes.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Among the recurring segments introduced during the shakedown season of SCTV: Network 90 are "Farm Film Report," with bucolic emcees Billy Sol (John Candy) and Jim Bob (Joe Flaherty) exhorting various ersatz celebrities to "blow up reeeal good"; "The Happy Wanderers," featuring Leutonian polka kings Stan and Yosh Schmenge (John Candy, Eugene Levy); "One on the Town," a fatuous investigative reporting series hosted by news anchor Earl Camembert (Levy); "Street Beef," the cheesy man-on-the-street interview show to which SCTV personality Johnny LaRue (Candy) is exiled after the failure of his first starring movie "Polynesiantown"; and "The Gerry Todd Show," a lampoonish music video disc jockey program that predated the debut of MTV by four months! Many of the sketches seen during SCTV: Network 90's first season are reruns, culled from three seasons' worth of the original SCTV (some of these, however, had not previously been seen on U.S. television). Of the new sketches, several are standouts, including "CCCP1," in which the SCTV satellite is hijacked by the Soviet Union; "Zontar," an extended parody of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; "The People's Golden Choice Awards," arguably the single most crooked awards show in TV history; and the hilariously self-explanatory "PBS Battle of the Network Stars." On orders from NBC, SCTV: Network 90 was obliged to accommodate musical guest stars, but for the most part these performers were smoothly integrated into the comic action. This season's crop of guests includes Levon Helm, Dr. John, Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau, The Tubes, Tony Bennett, Talking Heads, Roy Orbison, and even classical violinist Eugene Fodor and Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang. Mention should also be made of non-musical guest Bill Murray, who -- to no one's surprise -- melded beautifully with the series' general zaniness. (DVD alert: Most of the aforementioned guest star turns have been removed from the half-hour syndicated versions of the individual SCTV Network episodes.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Joe Flaherty, (more)
- 1981
Virtually every character created by the SCTV cast makes a guest appearance in this episode, which is given coherence by an ongoing (and seemingly never-ending) staff party. Among the highlights: John Candy recreates Orson Welles' famously profane commercial-outtake tape, as part of "Liberace's Musical Tribute to the Holidays." Raunchy entertainer Dusty Towne (Catherine O'Hara) duets with Divine (John Candy) on her own "Sexy Holiday Special." And SCTV Cable and Ugazzo Home Vision combine forces to present "Neil Simon's Nutcracker Suite," starring a lachrymose Marsha Mason (Andrea Martin), an intrusive Richard Dreyfuss (Rick Moranis), a wisecracking Judd Hirsch (Eugene Levy), and Alan Alda (Joe Flaherty) as The Nutcracker Prince. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Flaherty, Dick Blasucci, (more)
- 1981
Talk show host Libby Wolfson (Andrea Martin) and her dear friend Sue Bopper (Catherine O'Hara) stage their new feminist musical at a dingy dinner theater. It hardly needs saying that the show is a fiasco, with male co-star Seth Dick III (Joe Flaherty), cast in the pivotal role of "Sexist Pig," getting all the best reviews. Other classic bits: The Plasmatics sing and show footage of the most recent safari into the treacherous Melonville forest on "The Fishin' Magician"; the deathless Canadian hockey movie "Power Play" ("On the ice -- no one can hear you scream!"), featuring William Shatner (Dave Thomas), Helen Shaver (Catherine O'Hara), and (with his customary special billing) Al Waxman (Rick Moranis); potty-mouthed female comic Dusty Towne (O'Hara) -- a takeoff of "party record" favorite Rusty Warren -- performs at Lucifer's Arena, and Michael Caine (Dave Thomas) screams and shouts his way through the psychological thriller "My Bloody Hand." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- The Plasmatics, Paul Flaherty, (more)
- 1980
This episode features SCTV's new "hip, relevant" comedy show "Thursday Night Live," broadcast direct from glamorous Edmonton and guest-hosted by news anchor Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy). Alas, Doug McKenzie (Dave Thomas) misses the show because he's wearing earmuffs, as he explains ruefully to brother Bob (Rick Moranis) on "Kanadian Korner." Other episode highlights: "Bittman Does Dallas," spotlighting funnyman Bobby Bittman (Levy); Harvey K-Tel (Thomas) hosts a two-minute "fast talking" adaptation of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with K-Tel himself as George, Barbara Streisand (Andrea Martin) as Martha, Broderick Crawford (Joe Flaherty) as Nick and Sandy Duncan (actually Robin Duke) as Honey; and Joyce DeHalfwit (Martin) pitches for Half Legs Hosiery. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Blasucci, Paul Flaherty, (more)
- 1980
Although former stalwarts John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, and Harold Ramis are no longer part of the action, the third season of SCTV still boasts some of the Canadian-based sketch comedy series' best material. For starters, the season opener offers a special presentation of My Fair Lady...that is, a special presentation of the promotional trailer for My Fair Lady. This is just a warm-up for the first appearance of the beer-guzzling McKenzie Brothers (Dave Thomas and new series regular Rick Moranis), fulfilling Canadian broadcast requirements by hosting the free-form chat fest "Great White North" ("How's it going, eh, you hoser?"). With several minutes still to go in the opener, we're treated to "The Lee Iacocca Rock Concert." In later season three offerings, Harvey K-Tel presents a "fast talking" version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (But wait! There's more!); Molly Earle (Robin Duke) revises her celebrated series "Crazy Crafts" after a 15-year absence, by no popular demand whatsoever; Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) emcees a live production of Death of a Salesman starring Ricardo Montalban (Eugene Levy) , Margaret Hamilton (Andrea Martin), George Carlin (Rick Moranis), and DeForest Kelley (Dave Thomas); "Monster Chiller Horror Theater" presents "Death Motel" with Woody Tobias Jr. (Eugene Levy) and plenty of scary 3-D effects; and "The Lone Ranger Show" finds the masked man (Rick Moranis) and Tonto (Joe Flaherty) welcoming Wishbone from Rawhide and arresting Kip Addotta for violating the Code of the West by doing a bad standup routine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, (more)
