James L. Brooks Movies
One of the few producer/director/writers to handle both movie and TV assignments with equal aplomb, James L. Brooks was born in Brooklyn and spent his college years in New York City. Following an apprenticeship with CBS news, Brooks went to work for documentary producer David L. Wolper. In 1969, Brooks broke into the non-documentary end of the business with his TV series drama Room 222, which, though dated and obvious when viewed today, was an important stepping stone in improving the racial balance on prime time television. Room 222 was a "serious" effort; thus, Hollywood insiders were surprised when Brooks formed a partnership with writer Allan Burns, formerly of such raucous projects as The Bullwinkle Show and My Mother the Car, to develop sitcoms.Brooks and Burns knew what sort of programs they wanted to do, but they were forced to fight tooth and nail with the CBS higher-ups to get what they wanted on the air. Nobody, they were told, wanted to see a show about a single woman working at a television station. Further, nobody wanted to see anyone on TV who was Jewish, had a mustache, or came from New York City. All these "unwanted" elements would be present in the Brooks/Burns project The Mary Tyler Moore Show; the show that nobody wanted ran from 1970 through 1977, earning its production team a multitude of awards. Brooks would later be on the ground floor of such TV hits as Cheers and Taxi, which more than compensated for such relative failures as The Associates.
Moving into films as a producer/scripter (Starting Over, 1979) and even an occasional actor (Albert Brooks's Modern Romance, 1981), Brooks would end up director/producer/writer of Terms of Endearment, the Academy Award winner of 1983. He went on to direct Broadcast News (1987), a truer but no less hilarious and poignant glance at the cutthroat network news business than Mary Tyler Moore Show had been. He also found great success as a producer on such films as Big (1988), ...Say Anything (1989), and Jerry Maguire (1996). During the '90s, Brooks has had equal parts success and failure. Among the winning projects was The Simpsons, the first successful prime time cartoon series since The Flintstones. Brooks' less spectacular efforts have included I'll Do Anything (1994); conceived and filmed as a return to the Big-Budget Musical genre, it tested so poorly that it was released with all the songs cut out. In 1997, however, Brooks had a major success with the Jack Nicholson/Helen Hunt vehicle As Good As It Gets, a caustic comedy with a heart of gold that provided both Hunt and Nicholson best acting kudos from the Oscars and Golden Globe ceremonies. The film won a Golden Globe for Best Picture and was nominated for several more. It also received several more Oscar nominations, including one for Best Screenplay.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Revered TV and film producer/writer/director James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets) sets his sights back on the big screen with this ensemble comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and Paul Rudd for Columbia Pictures. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
They've kept television viewers laughing for nearly 20 years, and now the most popular animated family on the small screen makes the leap into theaters as Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, ad Maggie embark on their first-ever feature-length adventure. Directed by David Silverman and written by a whole host of Simpsons veterans including Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, The Simpsons Movie also features special guest appearances by Albert Brooks among others. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, (more)
A Hispanic woman and her young daughter are thrown into the middle of a well-to-do but remarkably dysfunctional family in this comedy drama from writer and director James L. Brooks. Flor (Paz Vega) is a single mother who has struggled to support her daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) working as a domestic in Mexico. Hoping to give her daughter greater financial security, Flor packs up their belongings and moves the family to California, but Flor refuses to surrender her Latino identity and opts not to learn English; meanwhile, Cristina quickly learns to speak the language fluently. Flor lands a high-paying job working as a housekeeper for Deborah Clasky (Téa Leoni); Deborah doesn't speak a word of Spanish, but this is hardly the most curious thing about their working relationship. A deeply troubled neurotic who has spent time in a mental hospital, Deborah is at once obsessed with her duties as a wife and mother and utterly clueless to her family's needs, and when she learns that Flor has a daughter, she insists that the girl move in with the Claskys. Flor, however, isn't so sure she wants Deborah Americanizing Cristina, especially when Deborah begins doting on the girl at the expense of her relationship with her own daughter, Bernice (Sarah Steele). Deborah's husband, John (Adam Sandler), is an oasis of loving calm and understanding in the midst of his chaotic family, and Flor becomes attracted to this man who shows no signs of the arrogant machismo she's accustomed to. But John's career as a chef is turned upside down when The New York Times gives his restaurant a four-star review, suddenly turning his small eatery into the "in" spot in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Flor reaches the end of her patience when Deborah enrolls Cristina into an exclusive private school which Flor is certain will turn her into a typical American child and drive a wedge between Cristina and her mother. Spanglish also stars Cloris Leachman as Deborah's sharp-tongued mother. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni, (more)
Penny Marshall directed this serio-comic story, based on the memoir by Beverly Donofrio, about a young woman who finds her life radically altered by an event from her teen years. Born in 1950, Beverly (Drew Barrymore) grew up bright and ambitious in a working-class neighborhood in Connecticut; her father (James Woods) was a tough but good-hearted cop with an understanding ear for his daughter's problems, and her mother (Lorraine Bracco) was a nervous woman eager to imagine the worst. From an early age, Beverly displays a keen intelligence and an interest in literature, and she dreams of going to college in New York and becoming a writer. However, she also develops a precocious interest in boys, and at 15 finds herself madly in love with a boy from her high school. However, an attempt to get his attention leads to an embarassing incident at a party, and Ray Hasek (Steve Zahn), a sweet but thick-headed 18-year-old, steps forward to defend her. Beverly and Ray end up making out, and after one thing leads to another, Beverly discovers she's pregnant. Telling Ray is only marginally less difficult than informing her parents, and at 16, Beverly is a wife and mother. Against the odds, Beverly is determined to still finish high school and go on to college, but that goal becomes more difficult with time, especially after Beverly's marriage begins to fall apart; while Ray tries to do the right thing, he has trouble holding a job, and circumstances become all the more difficult when Beverly learns her husband is addicted to heroin. Riding in Cars With Boys also stars Brittany Murphy as Beverly's best friend Fay; Beverly's son Jason is played, at various points in his life, by Adam Garcia (age 20), Logan Lerman (age eight), Cody Arens (age six), and Logan Arens (age three). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, (more)
James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News) directed this $50 million-plus romantic comedy, set in Manhattan. Dysfunctional, acid-tongued romance novelist Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson), who suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, takes pride in his ability to offend. At a nearby cafe, the only waitress willing to stand up to his sarcastic tirades is Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt), a single mother struggling to raise her chronically asthmatic son. In Melvin's West Village apartment building, talented contemporary artist Simon Nye (Greg Kinnear) lives across the hall from Melvin. Simon is the current darling of the New York art world, reason enough to draw Melvin's verbal fire, but Simon's gay lifestyle is further grist for the novelist's malicious mill. These three New Yorkers, none of whom appears to have a chance in hell at finding true happiness, discover their fates intertwined because of the fourth complicated character in the piece, Verdell, a tiny Brussels Griffon dog (played by newcomer Jill, after a 15-week training program). Melvin seems to have no friends or family, and he lives alone, working on his 62nd book.
When Simon goes into the hospital after a brutal mugging, Melvin has to take care of Verdell, and the dog actually warms Melvin's cold heart -- to the degree that he sets up unsolicited medical care for Carol's son. Eventually, Melvin is cornered into driving Simon and Carol to Baltimore, and during a hotel stopover, Melvin confesses to Carol, "You make me want to be a better man." The trip becomes an odyssey of self-realization for all three. Locations included Brooklyn's Prospect Park (Carol's neighborhood) and Greenwich Village (where Melvin's building is on 12th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues). Other exteriors were shot in downtown Los Angeles, where a dilapidated transient hotel at the corner of 4th Street and Main was transformed into the chic cafe where Carol works. Sets for the Simon/Melvin apartment interiors were erected on a soundstage at the Sony Pictures lot. Simon's paintings were created for the film by New York artist Billy Sullivan, whose work is part of the modern art collection at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
When Simon goes into the hospital after a brutal mugging, Melvin has to take care of Verdell, and the dog actually warms Melvin's cold heart -- to the degree that he sets up unsolicited medical care for Carol's son. Eventually, Melvin is cornered into driving Simon and Carol to Baltimore, and during a hotel stopover, Melvin confesses to Carol, "You make me want to be a better man." The trip becomes an odyssey of self-realization for all three. Locations included Brooklyn's Prospect Park (Carol's neighborhood) and Greenwich Village (where Melvin's building is on 12th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues). Other exteriors were shot in downtown Los Angeles, where a dilapidated transient hotel at the corner of 4th Street and Main was transformed into the chic cafe where Carol works. Sets for the Simon/Melvin apartment interiors were erected on a soundstage at the Sony Pictures lot. Simon's paintings were created for the film by New York artist Billy Sullivan, whose work is part of the modern art collection at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, (more)
A bright, optimistic caper comedy from first-time director Wes Anderson, Bottle Rocket focuses on a group of young Texans aspiring to become master thieves. Their leader is Dignan (Owen C. Wilson, who also co-wrote the screenplay), an upbeat if naive charmer who convinces his friends Anthony (Wilson's brother Luke Wilson) and Bob Mapplethorpe (Robert Musgrave) to enter the crime business. After their first heist, a bizarrely-executed robbery of a local bookstore, the trio goes on the lam, taking up residence in a border hotel where Anthony falls in love with a maid played by Lumi Cavazos. When the three buddies decide that they need to return to the real world, they hook up with a master con-man (James Caan) who sends them on a daring -- if ill-concieved -- mission. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, (more)
Combining drama, comedy, and romance, Jerry Maguire was a critical and commercial success built on an original script by writer/director Cameron Crowe and an Oscar-nominated performance by Tom Cruise. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is an agent with a major sports management firm. He's enthusiastic, successful, a great negotiator and people like him. But it begins to dawn on Jerry that there's something wrong with what he's doing, and not long after a troubling encounter with the son of an injured athlete he represents, Jerry has a serious crisis of conscience. In the midst of a sleepless night, Jerry writes a memo calling on himself and his colleagues to think more about the long-term welfare of the clients they represent and less about immediate profits. While everyone around him applauds the sentiment, Jerry's superiors think his ideas are bad for business; Jerry is fired, and, rather than standing in solidarity with him, his "friends" in the firm scramble like sharks to claim Jerry's clients. At the end of his last day, the only people willing to join Jerry as he strikes out on his own are staff accountant Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), a single mother secretly in love with him, and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a football player whose pride and arrogance have gotten in the way of his reaching his potential. Jerry Maguire earned an Academy Award for Cuba Gooding Jr.'s performance as Tidwell and provided a breakthrough role for Renee Zellweger; it also made "Show me the money!" an unavoidable catchphrase for several months. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr., (more)
James L. Brooks' showbiz comedy I'll Do Anything is "The Musical That Almost Was" (after test screenings Brooks removed all the musical numbers in the film, turning the film into a songless romantic comedy). Matt Hobbs (Nick Nolte) is a hardly working actor who finds himself raising his 6-year-old daughter Jeannie (Whittni Wright) after her mother Beth (Tracey Ullman) is sent away to prison. Since Matt now has to support a daughter, he has to develop more regular work habits. As a result, he takes a job as a chauffeur for a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister named Burke Adler (Albert Brooks). As Adler develops a relationship with divorced test-marketing researcher Nan Mulhanney (Julie Kavner), Matt becomes romantically attached to beautiful development executive Cathy Breslow (Joely Richardson). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Whittni Wright, (more)
Ione Skye plays Diane Court, high-school valedictorian on the verge of heading to England on a prestigious scholarship. This is especially thrilling to Diane's divorced father, James (John Mahoney), who has always shared a special relationship with the girl, less father/daughter than friend/friend. When Diane begins dating irresponsible army brat Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), her father despairs at her choice of an "underachiever." Pressured by her dad to break off the relationship, Diane spends the rest of the summer being pursued by the lovestruck Lloyd, who does everything he can to win her back. Diane finally realizes there's more to life than perfection when her sainted father comes under the scrutiny of the IRS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Ione Skye, (more)
Divorce lawyer Danny De Vito warns his prospective client that the story he's about to tell isn't a pretty one, but the client listens with eager intensity -- as do the folks out there in the movie in the audience. The War of the Roses can best be described as a slapstick tragedy concerning the decline and literal fall of a marriage. After 17 years, Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara (Kathleen Turner) Rose want a divorce. Not for this couple is there anything resembling a "civilized understanding": Barbara wants their opulent house, and Oliver isn't about to part with the domicile. Barbara nails the basement door shut while Oliver is downstairs, Oliver disrupts Barbara's fancy party by taking aim at the catered dinner, Barbara lays waste to Oliver's sports car....and so it goes, culminating in a disastrous showdown around, about and under the living room's fancy chandelier. DeVito and screenwriter Michael Leeson never let us forget that the couple's self-indulgent imbroglio exacts an awful price upon their children (Sean Astin and Heather Fairfield). The War of the Roses was adapted from the novel by Warren Adler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, (more)
More than anything else, 13-year old New Jerseyite Josh (David Moscow) wants to be "big". That's the wish he makes at an odd-looking amusement pier fortunetelling machine. The next morning, Josh wakes up-only to discover that he's grown to manhood overnight! (At this point, the part is taken over by Tom Hanks). Still a 13-year-old mentally and emotionally, Josh decides to hide out in New York City until he can figure out what to do next. He lucks into a job with a major toy company run by kid-at-heart McMillan (Robert Loggia). By cannily bringing a child's eye view to McMillan's business, Josh rises to the top-and in process, he falls in love with fellow employee Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). But he's still a kid, and he'd like to go back to his own world and own body. Written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, Big proved a crucial success for budding director Penny Marshall, who'd work harmoniously with Hanks again on the radically different A League of Their Own. The cinematography was by Barry Sonenfeld, who went on to become a director himself with The Addams Family. That Big was heavily reliant upon the input of Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall was proven by the failed attempt to turn the property into a Broadway musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
Writer/director/producer James L. Brooks scores on all counts with this clear-eyed look at the television news business and the dysfunctional types who work in it. Brooks' intelligent script introduces us to Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), an ambitious producer at the network news division's Washington D.C. branch, who is calm under fire yet has a good cry at her desk every morning over her empty personal life. Jane works well with Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), an excellent reporter who lacks the visual charisma to make him a star. Into their lives comes Tom Grunick (William Hurt), a regional newscaster who admits he can't write news and doesn't understand many of the events he's covering, but has the presence and physical appeal that the increasingly entertainment-oriented network wants for its news programs. Jane is also physically attracted to him, which drives her crazy, because Grunick stands for everything she's fighting against in the news business, while Altman is devastated by her attraction because he secretly yearns for Jane. As Grunick becomes a rising star at the network, and layoffs of the old guard loom, the three leads deal with their feelings for each other, their careers, and their values. Hunter, Hurt, and Brooks are all superb, as is the excellent supporting cast (including an unbilled turn by Jack Nicholson as the network's smarmy national anchor). Brooks' script is funny, poignant, gritty, and brutally honest in its examinations of the television industry and the ways in which professionals interact on and off the job. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Albert Brooks, (more)
Terms of Endearment covers three decades in the lives of widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Fiercely protected by Aurora throughout childhood, Emma runs into resistance from her mother when she marries wishy-washy college teacher Flap (Jeff Daniels). Aurora is even more put out at the prospect of being a grandmother, though she grows a lot fonder of her three grandkids than she does of her son-in-law. Flap proves that Aurora's instincts were on target when he enters into an affair with a student (Kate Charleson). Meanwhile, Emma finds romantic consolation with an unhappily married banker (played by John Lithgow, who registers well in a rare "nice guy" performance). As for Aurora, she is ardently pursued by her next-door neighbor, boisterous astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson). After 75 minutes or so of pursuing an episodic, semi-comic plotline, the film abruptly shifts moods when Emma discovers that she has terminal cancer. Terms of Endearment won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay for TV veteran James L. Brooks making his first feature film, Best Actress for MacLaine, and Best Supporting Actor for Nicholson. It was followed by a sequel, The Evening Star (1996), which again featured MacLaine as Aurora. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
Although Taxi had earned scores of industry awards and the unflagging loyalty of its fans during its four-year lifespan on ABC, the series had never posted the sort of ratings that would qualify it as a hit. Thus, ABC dropped the show at the end of season four -- but the song wasn't quite over yet. Responding to overwhelming public demand, rival network NBC picked up Taxi for its fifth season, retaining the same Thursday-night time slot the series had occupied the previous year -- or, as the trade ads put it, "Same time, better network." The first NBC episode was "The Shloogel Show," in which all the cabbies embarked upon a "group blind date" that would have long-ranging ramifications. The relationships inaugurated on this episode would be explored and occasionally resolved on three later fifth-season installments, "Louie and the Blind Girl," "Arnie Meets the Kids," and "Tony's Baby." In another development, Carol Kane graduated from recurring to regular status in her Emmy-winning role as Simka, the wife of the Sunshine Cab Company's sweet-tempered immigrant mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman); the Latka-Simka marriage and its attendant old-world traditions (many of them bizarre in the extreme) would provide fodder for the two-part episode "Scenskees From a Marriage" and the season finale "Simka's Monthlies." Also providing material for several episodes was a huge inheritance bestowed upon "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd), the cab company's resident burned-out hippie; in fact, the last episode to be filmed, "A Grand Gesture," was entirely motivated by Jim's unexpected financial windfall. Additionally, we continued to learn more about the past lives of the various cabbies, notably the fact that Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) suffered from an addiction to gambling, and that the father of Tony Banta (Tony Danza) had run off to sea years earlier. Had the fans of the series and the stars had their way, Taxi would have run indefinitely on NBC. Alas, the ratings were no better than they'd been on ABC (though, ironically, the show managed to pick up three more Emmy Awards!) compelling the network to cancel the series -- permanently this time -- after its 114th episode. Happily, the series has since prospered in rerun syndication not only in local markets but also on basic cable. ~ All Movie Guide
Opening well past the point favored by most romantic comedies, director/co-writer/star Albert Brooks' take on the genre begins with a breakup. After exchanging harsh words in a diner, Brooks and Kathryn Harrold go their separate ways. Brooks then spends the next few days attempting to forget his troubles through work, exercise, drugs, and other women, torturing himself at each step. While it's hinted early on that this isn't the couple's first breakup, it eventually becomes clear that the they have cycled through the same events for even longer than expected. Meanwhile, Brooks' character, a film editor assisted by Bruno Kirby, attempts to put the finishing touches on his latest assignment, a none-too-promising space adventure starring George Kennedy and helmed by a details-obsessed director (James L. Brooks). ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Brooks, Kathryn Harrold, (more)
Taxi remained a succès d'estime for ABC as it entered its fourth season, gathering scores of industry awards and garnering the love of its most loyal fans and the respect of Hollywood insiders, while still continuing to post lukewarm ratings. The series hadn't cracked the "Top 25" shows throughout the 1980-1981 season and failed to do so during 1981-1982 as well. ABC had seriously considered dropping the program after its third season, but the uproar of protest from its devotees moved the network to give the property another chance -- albeit in a new time slot on Thursday evening opposite NBC's Gimme a Break and CBS' Knots Landing. Two major developments marked the progression of events on season four. The first was the defection of Jeff Conaway in the role of part-time cabbie and would-be actor Bobby Wheeler, though Conaway would return for a guest appearance in the episode "Bobby Doesn't Live Here Any More." The second was the marriage between mild-mannered immigrant taxi mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) and his countrywoman Simka Dahblitz (Carol Kane in an Emmy-winning characterization) -- though the nuptials were postponed until Latka was able to divest himself of his slimy, womanizing "alter ego" Vic Ferrari (also played by Kaufman, who insisted that the series' producers sign "Vic Ferrari" to a separate contract!) As in previous seasons, Taxi offered a two-part episode in which the cabbies were forced to put their lives in perspective. On this occasion, the episode was the season finale "The Road Not Taken," wherein Elaine (Marilu Henner) mulled over the opportunity to leave New York for a new out-of-town job, prompting her fellow cabbies to reflect upon the various pivotal moments in their own lives. With the ratings continuing to sag, ABC reluctantly concluded that Taxi was expendable, and the series was canceled. For a while, it looked as if the property would be revived by the cable service HBO; but in the end, it was NBC that came to the rescue, picking up Taxi for its fifth (and as it turned out, its final) season. ~ All Movie Guide
Although Taxi had built up a loyal band of followers and accumulated several industry awards during its first two seasons on ABC, the ratings had steadily declined, prompting the network to mark the series' third season by moving the show from Tuesdays at 9:30 to Wednesdays at 9:00, opposite NBC's Diff'rent Strokes and a weekly CBS movie. Developments during season three included another rift in the rocky relationship between Louie DePalma (Danny DeVito), the obnoxiously dictatorial dispatcher of the Sunshine Cab Company, and his erstwhile girlfriend Zena Sherman (played by DeVito's real-life Significant Other Rhea Perlman); an uncomfortable reunion between cabbie Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) and his oppressively neurotic ex-wife Phyllis (Louise Lasser); a hilarious romantic triangle involving cabbie Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner), her co-worker Tony Banta (Tony Danza) and her new boyfriend Kirk (John David Carson) (it so happened that Kirk would rather have linked up with macho Tony than with flustered Elaine!); Tony's decision to retire from the ring (at least temporarily) after enduing one too many KOs; and a few surprising glimpses into the past of zoned-out former hippie "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd). Undoubtedly the most memorable plot twist involved Sunshine Cab's sweet-natured immigrant mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), who after undergoing a spectacular personality change re-emerged as slimy swinging bachelor-about-town Vic Ferrari! In a related development, Carol Kane made her first appearance as Simka Dahblitz, Latka's countrywoman and eventual sweetheart. Season three's by-now obligatory two-part "retrospection" episode was "On the Job," in which the cab company briefly closed shop, forcing the cabbies to look for "civilian" work. The fact that Taxi's overall ratings continued to decline during its third season was mitigated somewhat when the series took home six Emmy Awards in the spring of 1981. ~ All Movie Guide
Scripted by James L. Brooks from Dan Wakefield's novel, Alan J. Pakula's romantic comedy follows the tribulations of a freshly divorced man as he looks for love with a wary single woman. Phil Potter (Burt Reynolds sans mustache) can't quite believe it when his aspiring songbird wife Jessica (Candice Bergen) kicks him out to realize her career dreams, but the added revelation of her adultery speeds him out the door by choice. Relocating to Boston, Phil starts to settle in with the help of his psychiatrist brother Mickey (Charles Durning), joining a divorced men's therapy group. Phil really begins to feel better when Mickey and his wife Marva (Frances Sternhagen) set him up with her friend Marilyn (Jill Clayburgh), a preschool teacher who has had her share of grief from newly single men. Phil wins her over and even convinces her to move in, but an unexpected visit from a regretful, saucily clad Jessica, and an anxiety attack over buying a couch, threaten to end Phil's new life with Marilyn before it has a chance to start. Starting Over offers a ruefully comic look at how the decade's rising divorce rate did not mean fun and games for all the new bachelors; Brooks' movie debut after a sparkling career in 1970s TV with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi, it was also proof that top '70s star Reynolds could be more than just a good 'ol boy. Still, while the three leads were all praised for their work, only Clayburgh and Bergen received Oscar nominations. Starting Over was a moderate hit, and its humorous yet down-to-earth view of single life and its discontents reassured unattached thirtysomethings that, even though it may not be easy, everything could still turn out fine in modern romance. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, (more)
Albert Brooks made his feature-length debut as a writer and director with this wickedly funny satire, in which Albert Brooks plays "Albert Brooks," an arrogant and self-centered comedian who has decided to make a documentary film. Following the lead of the infamous pre-Real World PBS series An American Family (in which a "typical" family was filmed during most of their waking hours and eventually self-destructed on camera), Brooks moves in with the Yeager family of Phoenix, Arizona and chronicles their lives, with the support of a battery of psychiatrists and sociologists. He arrives at the Yeagers' doorstep with a two-man crew, wearing high-tech cameras that look like space helmets from a grade-B sci-fi movie, and it quickly becomes obvious that he is incapable of being unobtrusive. The Yeagers are driven to distraction by Brooks, who repeatedly ignores the advice of his team of experts and wishes there were some way to make the family's life more interesting (leading to perhaps the least expected homage to Gone With the Wind in film history). Of all Brooks' features, Real Life most resembles his cutting but deadpan short subjects for Saturday Night Live; Brooks never fails to cast himself in an unflattering light, and the supporting cast does admirable work in reacting to him, especially Charles Grodin and Lee McCain as Mr. and Mrs. Yeager. Harry Shearer contributed to the screenplay and plays a small role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain, (more)
Securely imbedded as the ninth most popular program on American television, Taxi inaugurated its second season on the same network (ABC), but in a new timeslot (Wednesday rather than Thursday). A few changes had been made in the cast as well. Randall Carver, who spent all of season one playing cabdriving college student/newlywed John Burns, was suddenly written out of the series with no explanation as to where his character had gone. Filling the breach was Christopher Lloyd, repeating the role of burned-out hippie minister Reverend Jim Ignatowski that he'd originated in the first-season episode "Paper Marriage." Yanked off the streets by the compassionate cabbies of the Sunshine Cab Company, Reverend Jim himself became a driver -- and a permanent cast member -- in the third episode of season two. This was also the season that introduced a handful of semi-regulars. Rhea Perlman, longtime significant other (and later wife) of Taxi co-star Danny DeVito, made a brace of appearances as Zena Sherman, the deceptively sweet-natured girlfriend of the cab company's terrible-tempered dispatcher Louie DePalma (DeVito, of course). Also, Carol Kane was seen for the first time as Simka Dahblitz, countrywoman and sweetheart of Sunshine Cab's foreign-born mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), a relationship that would culminate in marriage at the end of season three.
In addition, Marc Anthony Danza, the son of Taxi regular Tony Danza, appeared twice as Brian Sims, a nine-year-old orphan who befriended kindhearted cabbie-cum-boxer Tony Banta (Danza). Basking in the success of the previous season's two-part episode "Memories of Cab 804," the producers of Taxi served up a couple of additional two-parters during the second season. The first, "Shut It Down," found the cabbies going on strike, a situation that could only be remedied if "shop steward" Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) made the supreme sacrifice and agree to date the despicable Louie (an earlier episode had intensified the relationship between Elaine and fellow cabbie Alex Rieger [Judd Hirsch], establishing a "will they or won't they?" situation that would permeate the remaining seasons). And in the season finale, "Fantasy Borough," the entire Taxi gang indulged in some elaborate wishful thinking prompted by a set of publicity photos left in one of the cabs by Fantasy Island star Herve Villechaize. Although Taxi would pick up two more Emmy Awards during the 1979-1980 season, the series' move to Wednesdays proved detrimental to the ratings -- which explains the shift to a new Thursday-night slot when the next season got under way. ~ All Movie Guide
In addition, Marc Anthony Danza, the son of Taxi regular Tony Danza, appeared twice as Brian Sims, a nine-year-old orphan who befriended kindhearted cabbie-cum-boxer Tony Banta (Danza). Basking in the success of the previous season's two-part episode "Memories of Cab 804," the producers of Taxi served up a couple of additional two-parters during the second season. The first, "Shut It Down," found the cabbies going on strike, a situation that could only be remedied if "shop steward" Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) made the supreme sacrifice and agree to date the despicable Louie (an earlier episode had intensified the relationship between Elaine and fellow cabbie Alex Rieger [Judd Hirsch], establishing a "will they or won't they?" situation that would permeate the remaining seasons). And in the season finale, "Fantasy Borough," the entire Taxi gang indulged in some elaborate wishful thinking prompted by a set of publicity photos left in one of the cabs by Fantasy Island star Herve Villechaize. Although Taxi would pick up two more Emmy Awards during the 1979-1980 season, the series' move to Wednesdays proved detrimental to the ratings -- which explains the shift to a new Thursday-night slot when the next season got under way. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, (more)
- 1978
A true classic of the "ensemble sitcom" genre, Taxi ran for five years on two different networks, accumulating dozens of industry awards (including several Emmys) and a comparatively small but intensely vocal corps of loyal and loving viewers along the way. Most of the action took place in the garage of New York City's Sunshine Cab Company, a fiefdom ruled from his "cage" by tyrannical, short-tempered taxi dispatcher Louie DePalma (Danny DeVito, who also directed a handful of episodes). The unofficial spiritual leader and father confessors of the cabbies was Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch), the only Sunshine driver who worked full-time and was not pursuing an outside career. The others included Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner), whose great dream in life was to be a wealthy and influential patroness of the arts; Bobby Wheeler (Jeff Conaway, who left the series after season three), an aspiring actor; Tony Banta (Tony Danza), a would-be boxing champ; Ageing hippie "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd, who joined the series during its Second Season), a burned-out relic of the activist 1960s who ultimately (and amazingly) became the garage's wealthiest employee after inheriting a fortune from his father; and, during Season One only, John Burns (Randall Carver), a feckless college student. Also on the Sunshine staff was Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman), a sweet-tempered immigrant from an indeterminate European country with an indecipherable language. During the series' fourth season, Latka married his countrywoman and sweetheart Simka Dahblitz (Carol Kane), who, beginning in season five, was listed among the regulars. (Another recurring character, assistant dispatcher Jeff was played on a sporadic basis by J. Allen Thomas, aka Jeff Thomas).
Debuting September 12, 1978, on ABC, Taxi opened to solid if not spectacular ratings, but its viewership dwindled as the network arbitrarily shifted its time slot (from Tuesday, to Wednesday, to Thursday) over the next four years. Although ABC intended to pull the plug on the program at the end of season four, popular demand from viewers and the industry alike kept the property alive -- albeit on a different network, NBC. Unfortunately, this move did not significantly improve the overall ratings, and as a result, Taxi ended its 114-episode run on July 27, 1983. (There had been an eleventh-hour attempt to revive the series on the cable service HBO, but this came to naught.) Since that time, the series has enjoyed a successful and profitable afterlife in local syndication and on basic cable. ~ All Movie Guide
Debuting September 12, 1978, on ABC, Taxi opened to solid if not spectacular ratings, but its viewership dwindled as the network arbitrarily shifted its time slot (from Tuesday, to Wednesday, to Thursday) over the next four years. Although ABC intended to pull the plug on the program at the end of season four, popular demand from viewers and the industry alike kept the property alive -- albeit on a different network, NBC. Unfortunately, this move did not significantly improve the overall ratings, and as a result, Taxi ended its 114-episode run on July 27, 1983. (There had been an eleventh-hour attempt to revive the series on the cable service HBO, but this came to naught.) Since that time, the series has enjoyed a successful and profitable afterlife in local syndication and on basic cable. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1978
Taxi's very first episode gets under way as would-be art dealer Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) strolls into the offices of New York's Sunshine Cab company, looking for a job. After a typically hostile "screening" by dispatcher Louie DePalma (Danny DeVito), Elaine is introduced to her co-workers: Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch), the garage's "father confessor" and the only full-time cabbie in the bunch; aspiring actor Bobby Wheeler (Jeff Conaway); wannabe boxing champ Tony Banta (Tony Danza); shy, clumsy college student John Burns (Randall Carver); and mechanic Latka Gravas, a thickly accented foreigner from an unpronounceable country. Elaine also joins the cabbies' efforts to reunite Alex with his long-estranged teenage daughter, Cathy (Talia Balsam), who is returning from Brazil after a 15-year separation -- but only long enough to change planes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The classic sitcom Taxi spent all of one episode establishing its premise and characters -- then proceeded forward with the confidence of a series that had been on the air for years. In episode one, the viewer was swiftly and economically introduced to the personnel of New York's Sunshine Cab Company. Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch) was the most experienced member of the fleet and the only one who worked as a cabbie full-time. The rest of the drivers were moonlighting, pursuing their life goals when not pursuing fares and tips. Elaine Nardo (Marilu Henner) was an art gallery receptionist, hoping someday to establish her own gallery and high-class clientele. Bobby Wheeler (Jeff Conaway) was an aspiring actor who never seemed to get a break. Tony Banta (Tony Danza) was a boxer who spent most of his time flat on the canvas. John Burns (Randall Carver) was a naïve, bumbling college student, who only a few months into the series found himself struggling to support not only himself but his new bride Suzanne (Ellen Regan). And Latka Gravas, the company's mechanic, was a good-natured foreigner who came from an obscure little Eastern Bloc country and spoke in a language peculiarly his own. Then there was pint-sized Louie DePalma (Danny DeVito), the hostile, sarcastic dispatcher, who considered the day wasted if he didn't humiliate someone -- but who often as not ended up on the receiving end of humiliation. Debuting on ABC's powerhouse Tuesday night schedule as part of a sitcom lineup which included Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company, Taxi proved worthy of its company by closing out its first season as the 9th highest-rated TV program in the United States, tied with CBS' All in the Family. The series also racked up two Emmy awards, for Outstanding Comedy Series, and for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (single performance), an award which went to the indefatigable Ruth Gordon for her performance in the episode titled "Sugar Mama." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Obviously inspired by The Wiz, Cindy is a musical adaptation of "Cinderella" with an African-American cast. In 1943 Harlem, Cindy (Charlaine Woodard), fresh from the south, is treated harshly by her stepmother (Mae Mercer) and nasty stepsisters (Nell-Ruth Carter, Alaina Reed). In a departure from most Cinderella stories, Cindy's dad (Scoey Mitchell) is around to provide comfort but not much help against the barrage of her new mother and step-siblings. While taking a precious night off at the Sugar Hill Ball, Cindy is swept off her feet by handsome marine Joe Prince (Clifton Davis). Substituting for the glass slipper in Cindy is a dirty sneaker, but the end result is the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
