Savage Steve Holland Movies
- 2009
Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer director Savage Steve Holland returns to the helm for this comedy concerning a dictator's son who travels to America to attend college. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Efren Ramirez, Katrina Bowden, (more)
When Elle Wood's British twin cousins move to Los Angeles to attend high school, they quickly learn that in order to succeed they will need to prove that blondes not only have more fun, but have more smarts as well. Savage Steve Holland directs this straight-to-video Legally Blonde spin-off starring Camilla and Rebecca Rosso. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Rosso, Camilla Rosso, (more)
A kid discovers a unique way to stand up for himself and his friends in this family-friendly comedy-drama from director Savage Steve Holland. Nolan Byrd (Devon Werkheiser) is a bright fifth grader who has a knack for creating electronic gizmos and a fondness for remote-control model planes. Nolan is also skinny and shy, which makes him a constant target for thick-headed bully Bubba Bixby (Andrew Caldwell), the son of local sewage magnate Bob Bixby (Daniel Roebuck). Bubba makes life miserable for most of the students at Nolan's school, including Isabel (Francia Almendarez), the girl Nolan worships from afar, but no one is sure what to so about him. An assignment from his teacher Mr. Green (Tim Meadows) gives Nolan the idea to secretly videotape Bubba as he tortures his classmates and post the results online, where parents, teachers and others can see him in action. Needing an alter ego, Nolan creates the online identity "Shredderman," and soon "Shredderman"'s website is the talk of the school as he exposes Bubba's misdeeds to the world. However, "Shredderman" soon has bigger fish to fry when he uncovers evidence that Bob Bixby is planning a scam that will bilk the city for an expensive water processing plant they don't need. Shredderman Rules was based on the popular Shredderman novels for kids by author Wendelin Van Draanen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Devon Werkheiser, Andrew Caldwell, (more)
- 2004
As produced for -- and aired on -- The Disney Channel, the 2004 telemovie Stuck in the Suburbs concerns Brittany Aarons (Danielle Panabaker), a suburban teenager bored and listless with her life until she and her friends happen upon the PDA of a major teen pop singing sensation named Jordan Cahill. Upon sorting through its contents, Brittany and co. learn that his true ambition has little or nothing to do with being a glossy, iconic heartthrob -- he is actually an intelligent, serious, and gifted singer/songwriter. This quickly drives home for the girls some invaluable lessons about remaining true to oneself. Savage Steve Holland, of Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer fame, directs. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danielle Panabaker
- 2001
Lizzie (Hilary Duff) is obliged to accept a "geeky" gift from her grandma, a role-playing game called "Dwarflord: The Conquest." Although Lizzie finds the game's rules too confusing, Gordo (Adam Lamberg) takes to "Dwarflord" like a duck to water -- so much so that he becomes obsessed with the game, to the exclusion of everyone else. Lizzie and Miranda (Lalaine) take it upon themselves to overpower Gordo and "de-program" him before it's too late. Meanwhile, Lizzie's dad, Sam (Robert Carradine), volunteers to help son Matt (Jake Thomas) with a wildlife project. This episode features a montage of earlier series highlights, set to the music of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony -- which may or may not be an homage to A Clockwork Orange! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Teen Attitude magazine selects our gal Lizzie (Hilary Duff) to model in a teen fashion show. Suddenly, Lizzie's friends begin to treat her like a supermodel, and everyone sees her in a different light -- including Lizzie's dream boy, Ethan (Clayton Snyder). But Lizzie doesn't like being placed on a pedestal and tries to show her friends the folly of their actions by behaving like a "diva," complete with the most impossible of demands. Even so, Lizzie is still slated to show up for that photo shoot -- which turns out to be a most surprising occasion indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Classroom rivals Lizzie (Hilary Duff) and Kate (Ashlie Brillault) are forced to team up for a social studies project. Though both girls enter into the assignment with fear and loathing, they begin to enjoy working together, and actually start remembering their younger days when they were close friends. This time, however, the inevitable crisis arises not from Lizzie and Kate but from their respective pals -- who may not be pals by the time the project is completed. Meanwhile, Matt (Jake Thomas) becomes convinced that he has psychic powers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Three of the main Lizzie McGuire characters are consumed by obsession in this episode. Lizzie (Hilary Duff) is on a pro-ecology kick, determined to save the environment at all costs. Gordo (Adam Lamberg) wants with every fiber of his being to win the Science Olympics, thereby trumping perennial champion Larry Tudgeman (Kyle J. Downes). And Matt (Jake Thomas) is driven mad with power when he is appointed school hall monitor. Before everyone comes to their senses, obsession nearly evolves into fanaticism! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Gordo (Adam Lamberg) is convinced that his teacher Mr. Pettus (Craig Anton) has it in for him -- and a humiliating aptitude test seems to prove it. In order to completely convince himself that Mr. P is waging a vendetta, Gordo asks Lizzie (Hilary Duff) to exchange her science project with his (Lizzie of course always turns in an excellent science project -- but how will the teacher react with Gordo's name on it?) And back at home, Matt (Jake Thomas) mortifies his long-suffering parents by morphing into a hip-hopper called "M Dogg." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Singer Aaron Carter, "The Little Prince of Pop," guest stars in this episode. Lizzie (Hilary Duff), Miranda (Lalaine), and Gordo (Adam Lamberg) devise a strategy to crash the set of a music video that Aaron is shooting in town. As it turns out, only Lizzie's pesky kid brother, Matt (Jake Thomas), ends up on the set -- but it's Lizzie who gets a very special gift from Aaron. In addition to Carter's performance of "I Want Candy," this episode includes pop-culture nods to everything from The Great Escape to the Beatles' Abbey Road. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Curtis Armstrong and Lainie Kazan star in this goofball comedy (directed by Savage Steve Holland) about the new kid at school who wants more than anything to join the Safety Patrol -- never mind the fact he's so inept it's dangerous. Also features guest appearances from Leslie Nielsen and "Weird" Al Yankovic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bug Hall, Lainie Kazan, (more)
This teen comedy from Savage Steve Holland stars Corey Parker as an underachieving high schooler who hatches a crazy plot with valedictorian Lara Flynn Boyle to gain acceptance into a prestigious university. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Edwards, Corey Parker, (more)
- 1988
This lively outing contains five short mysteries for younger audiences to solve. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Designed to give younger audiences a chance to polish their deductive abilities, this lively mystery follows Brown as he sets off to find the town's stolen time capsule in time for its 100th birthday party. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Filmed in Utah, Encyclopedia Brown was based on the children's book series by Donald J. Sobol. Scott Bremner starred as precociously bright youngster Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown, who used his vast knowledge (gleaned from many hours in the library) to solve baffling mysteries occurring in his home town of Idaville, Florida. The hero was assisted by his schoolmate, Sally (Laura Bridge), and sometimes hindered by class bully and all-around nemesis Bugs Meany (Dion Zamora). The direction by Savage Steve Holland of Eek the Cat fame added the right touch of off-kilter zaniness to the proceedings. In America, the weekly half-hour Encyclopedia Brown was seen on the HBO cable network beginning in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this madcap comedy, Demi Moore plays Cassandra and John Cusack is Hoops McCann, two people who eventually fall in love and help each other out. Hoops is a cartoonist working on a teen love story that he hopes will get him accepted into art school. Cassandra is a troubled young woman about to lose her home to a money-hungry developer. Characters with names like Squid Calamari, Clay Stork, or Ack Ack Raymond are involved in the unfolding romance and figure in several slapstick routines. Several cartoon sequences are inserted throughout this comedy to comment on the story. This was director Savage Steve Holland's second feature-length film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Demi Moore, (more)
Most animation aficionados of the 1990s know "Savage Steve Holland" as the cocreator (with Bill Kopp) of the all-stops-out TV cartoon series Eek! The Cat. But Holland had been exercising his own peculiar brand of deviltry on live characters long before Eek! came into being. In Holland's Better Off Dead, John Cusack plays a lovestruck teenager, hopelessly enamored with Amanda Wyss. When she dumps him in favor of a more popular high-schooler, the boy's entire day quickly goes to Hell. In the words of Hamlet, all occasions do inform against Cusack: he is bullied, tormented and torn apart by everyone from the paperboy (who seemingly turns up everywhere) to the disembodied voice of a radio deejay. Cusack attempts suicide, but his efforts are just as unsuccessful-and amusing-as Bud Cort's in Harold and Maude. Meanwhile, French exchange student Diane Franklin, held a virtual prisoner by her host family, develops a long-distance crush on Cusack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, (more)
