John Fortenberry Movies

This weekly, half-hour "slacker-com" began life as an independent project cooked up by three experienced Hollywood writers who were tired of scrounging around for jobs and decided to create their own opportunity. With little more than a single digital camera and a budget of 200 dollars, Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton taped the pilot episode for a series about three overaged slackers, friends since high school, who ran a spectacularly unprofitable Irish bar in Philadelphia. The trio then shopped their pilot around to various networks and cable outlets, finally landing a weekly, half-hour slot on the FX cable service. Most of the humor in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia arose from the inflated egos and low-watt IQs of the three male protagonists, Mac (McElhenney), Charlie (Day), and Dennis (Howerton), as they endeavored to maintain their blue-collar values and machismo in the face of such sociopolitical challenges as racism, homophobia, abortion, and feminism. Added to the cast for the series proper was Kaitlin Olson as Dennis' sister, Dee, the most sensible of the bunch, albeit perennially unlucky in matters of the heart. Original debuting over FX in tandem with another low-budget sitcom, Starved, on August 4, 2005, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was given a brief "over-the-air" tryout on FX's sister network Fox in June 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Another contemporary "dramedy" series from the star/creator of The Job, Rescue Me revolved around the activities of a group of professional firefighters operating Engine 62 in a post-9/11 New York City. Denis Leary headed the cast as senior firefighter Tommy Gavin, who had allowed the pressures of his job to botch up his home life, separating him from his wife, Janet (Andrea Roth), and their three children. Even more disturbing was the fact that Tommy was constantly haunted by the ghosts of his dead comrades, and regularly carried on conversations with his deceased cousin, firefighter Jimmy Keefe (James McCaffrey). Nor was Tommy the only member of the Engine 62 team battling personal demons. Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee) was a compulsive gambler; handsome Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale) was incapable of carrying on an intelligent conversation; and daredevil Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata) insisted upon living on the edge, both on and off the job, frequently with disastrous consequences. Meanwhile, Lt. Kenny "Lou" Shea (John Scurti) endeavored to channel his emotions and phobias into writing poems, and rookie Mike Silletti (Mike Lombardi) was kept busy trying to figure out what sort of practical joke would next be pulled on him by his sadistically prankish co-workers. The first season of Rescue Me was launched by the FX cable network on July 21, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An outgrowth of a series of "interstitial" segments seen between programs on cable TV's Independent Film Channel, the adult-oriented Fox Network sitcom Greg the Bunny was set in an alternate world where human beings peacefully coexisted with talking puppets. Among the "Fabricated Americans" in this bizarro setup was Greg the Bunny, an unemployed puppet who shared an apartment with human roomie Jimmy Bender (Seth Green). Thanks to Jimmy's dad, TV producer-director Gil Bender (Eugene Levy), Greg lands a job on the popular kiddie show Sweetknuckle Junction, where he falls prey to the petty jealousies of his fellow puppets and the sharkish behavior of cutthroat network executives. Created by Dan Milano, who also provided the voice for the title character, Greg the Bunny was first broadcast on March 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Never mind that every other TV sitcom about a talking baby had been virtually strangled in its crib: CBS boldly went forward with yet another variation on the theme, Baby Bob. The title character was a six-month-old infant, who, with the aid of voice-over artist Ken Hudson Campbell and Clutch Cargo-like special effects, was gifted not only with the power of speech, but also with the ability to crack wise and insult his elders. Baby Bob's mom Lizzy (Joely Fisher) would have loved to tell the world about her miracle infant, but dad Walter, a neurotic PR executive, was determined to keep Bob's loquaciousness a secret -- especially from his dour father Sam (Elliott Gould) and his flighty mother-in-law Madeline (Holland Taylor). Even so, Baby Bob regularly carried on spirited conversations with his babysitter Teala (Marissa Tait), who figured it was best not to tell anyone about her new "pal." Baby Bob first gurgled onto the airwaves on March 18, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this NBC sitcom refers to its protagonist, Secret Service agent Jerome "Dag" Daggett (by an amazing coincidence, the letters in the title also form the initials of the series' star, David Allen Grier). During an assassination attempt on the president of the United States (David Rasche), Dag's efforts to protect his charge, though eminently successful, serve to make him look like a fool (he dodges right instead of left ). Quickly reassigned to a detail where he won't be able to do any harm, Dag is placed in charge of protecting Hillary-like first lady Judith Whitman (elta Burke) and her troublesome teenage daughter Camilla (Lea Moreno Young). As Dag dreams of restoring his former prestige in the Service, he is forced to content himself with walking the First Lady's dog and purchasing her groceries. Gradually, Dag realizes that he will never escape his exile: Despite their initial protestations, Judith and Camilla decide that they enjoy his company and, funnily enough, he enjoys theirs. Originally scheduled for an October 31, 2000, debut, DAG was delayed until November 14 due to some last-minute format-tinkering. The series' production staff included Andrew Gordon, Eileen Conn, and Jack Burdett, all veterans of the popular sitcom Just Shoot Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With Ray (Ray Romano) displaying an acute amount of disinterest, it is up to Debra (Patricia Heaton) to handle the household budget. When she finds it next to impossible to balance the checkbook, Ray magnanimously offers to show her how easy it can be. But it isn't easy--and before long Ray has left a trail of rubber checks behind him. In his efforts to hide his fiscal ineptitude from Debra, Ray "succeeds" in depleting far more than his bank account. ~ All Movie Guide

This comedy extends and embellishes characters introduced on Saturday Night Live by regulars Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in their sketch series of two head-bobbing losers who go on the town, looking for action, when they hear the What Is Love? disco tune. Looking cool, brothers Steve (Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Kattan) always fail to pick up women in their hapless nightclub jaunts. In Beverly Hills, they work at a fake-flower store run by their father (Dan Hedaya). They are always denied entrance to the Roxbury, a leading discotheque, but an auto accident with Richard Grieco (portraying himself) gives them a foot in the door. Inside, they meet the club's owner (an uncredited Chazz Palminteri), and two gold-diggers (Elisa Donovan, Gigi Rice) believe they are wealthy businessmen. Steve finds his father shoving him into marriage with next-door neighbor Emily (Molly Shannon), but Doug keeps this from happening. Fortune smiles, and the Butabi brothers become the co-owners of a new nightclub. The real-life Roxbury on the Sunset Strip (once the location of the Imperial Gardens and the Players Club) was converted into a Japanese restaurant by the time this film was released. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A goofy slacker wreaks havoc after worming his way onto the jury of a high-profile court case in this broad comedy. The extremely unmotivated Tommy Collins (Pauly Shore) has found himself homeless after being kicked out by his mother, and he needs a place to stay. After hearing how the juries of important cases are sequestered in fancy hotels and provided with free meals, he decides that's the life for him and successfully volunteers for jury duty. Enjoying what he considers the high life and wishing to romance an attractive female juror (Tia Carrere), Tommy infuriates his fellow jurors by attempting to drag out the trial. Director John Fortenberry offers much obvious slapstick, along with a few attempts at topical jibes against media sensationalism, but even fans of Shore's lowbrow humor may be disappointed by the film's quality. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide