Mean Girls MEAN GIRLS (2004) Starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Amanda Seyfried, Tina Fey, Jonathan Bennett, Tim Meadows, Neil Flynn, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Rajiv Surendra, Daniel DeSanto, Jonathan Malen, Ky Pham, Wai Choy, Olympia Lukis, Jonathan Malen, David Sazant, Elana Shilling, Dwayne Hill and Ely Henry. Screenplay by Tina Fey. Directed by Mark S. Waters. Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 90 minutes. Rated PG-13. I

Robert Schwartzman Nick Rutherford and Robert Schwartzman Seeking the Elusive Unicorn by Jay S. Jacobs It’s funny how life goes sometimes. For example, had Robert Schwartzman and his future wife not stopped into a Manhattan bar one night and both gotten propositioned by a strange woman who referred to herself as a unicorn, the filmmaker’s second film would have never happened. Schwartzman is related to much filmmaking royalty. His mother is actress Talia Shire. His brother is

The Unicorn THE UNICORN (2019) Starring Nick Rutherford, Lauren Lapkus, Lucy Hale, Beck Bennett, Dree Hemingway, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Maya Kazan, John Kapelos, Beverly D’Angelo, Kyle Mooney, Heather Alexander, Jeff Barry, Ryan Davis, Brittany Furlan, Jeff Grace, Jase Grimm, Lauren Knutti, Alison Meagher-Manson, Elizabeth Ruscio, Owen Squire Smith and Robert Schwartzman. Screenplay by Nick Rutherford, Kirk C. Johnson and Will Elliott. Directed by Robert Schwartzman. Distribut

Melissa McCarthy at the New York Press Day for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” October 13, 2018 at the Whitby Hotel. Photo by Brad Balfour. Melissa McCarthy Shows Another Side of Her Talents with Can You Ever Forgive Me? by Jay S. Jacobs Melissa McCarthy is mostly known for playing broad comic roles, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that she decided to take on the dramatic real-life story of Lee Israel. Israel was a fairly popular biographer in the 1970s, writing about old-time

Love, Gilda LOVE, GILDA (2018) Featuring Amy Poehler, Melissa McCarthy, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Michael Radner, Judy Levy, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Lorne Michaels, Paul Shaffer, Cecily Strong, Laraine Newman, Rose Abdoo, Alan Zweibel, Anne Beatts, Rose Schuster, Andrew Alexander, Janis Hirsch, Marcus O’Hara, Stephen Schwartz, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, Pam Zackheim, Robin Zweibel and archival footage of Gilda Radner. Directed by Lisa D’Apolito. Distributed by Magnolia Pictur

Ibiza IBIZA (2018) Starring Gillian Jacobs, Vanessa Bayer, Phoebe Robinson, Richard Madden, Michaela Watkins, Augustus Prew, Humphrey Ker, Anthony Welsh, Félix Gómez, Jordi Mollà, Nelson Dante, Anjela Nedyalkova, Miguel Angel Silvestre, Marina Salas, Tea Vracic, Bojan Ban, Tara Thaller, Marko Paradzik, Ivan Devcic, Bozena Bilanovic and Petar Cvirn. Screenplay by Lauryn Kahn. Directed by Alex Richanbach. Distributed by Netflix. 104 minutes. Rated TV-MA. When Netflix announced

RGB (2018) Featuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Bill Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Nina Totenberg, Senator Orrin Hatch, James Ginsburg, Jane Ginsburg, Clara Spera, Ann Kittner, Harryette Helsel, Arthur Miller, Brenda Feigen, Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen, Mary Hartnett, Wendy Williams, Aryeh Neier, Sharron Frontiero Cohen, Kathleen Peratis, Stephen Wiesenfeld, Judge Harry Edwards, Shana Knizhnik, Irin Carmon, Ted Olson, Kelly Sullivan, Eugene Scalia, Lilly Ledbetter, Amina Sow, F

A Futile and Stupid Gesture A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE (2018) Starring Will Forte, Domhnall Gleason, Emmy Rossum, Martin Mull, Matt Walsh, Thomas Lennon, Natasha Lyonne, Seth Green, Joel McHale, Matt Lucas, Brian Huskey, Annette O’Toole, Finn Witrock, Max Greenfield, Paul Scheer, Joe Lo Truglio, John Gemberling, Camille Guaty, Jackie Tohn, Lindsey Kraft, Jon Daly, Elvy Yost, Brian Huskey, Lonny Ross and Rick Glassman. Screenplay by Michael Colton & John Aboud. Directed by Da

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT (2016) Starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, Christopher Abbott, Billy Bob Thornton, Nicholas Braun, Stephen Peacocke, Sheila Vand, Evan Jonigkeit, Fahim Anwar, Josh Charles, Cherry Jones, Scott Takeda, Eli Goodman and Soledad O’Brien. Screenplay by Robert Carlock. Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Distributed by Paramount Pictures.  111 minutes.  Rated R. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock have had a ver

Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer at the NY press day for “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.” Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone & Akiva Schaffer SNL Vets Make a Music Mockumentary, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping by Brad Balfour Maybe it’s simply an extended Saturday Night Live bit, but considering the state of the current pop music scene – with self-parodying musicians such as Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Ariana Grande – a film like Popstar: Never Stop Never Sto

FIRST IMPRESSIONS — Season:1 — Pictured: (l-r) Freddie Prinze Jr, Dana Carvey — (Photo by: Joseph Viles/USA Network) Dana Carvey and Freddie Prinze, Jr. Making Good First Impressions by Jay S. Jacobs Everyone has one. An impression, that is. The ability to change your voice and mannerisms to portray another person – usually a celebrity – for a good-natured laugh. While impressions play a huge role in comedy television, it’s rather surprising that there has never been a realit

Gina Strachan at the Philadelphia premiere of Race at the Prince Music Theater – February 18, 2016. Photo ©2016 Deborah Wagner. Gina Strachan Jesse Owens’ Granddaughter Talks Race by Jay S. Jacobs Jesse Owens is an iconic athlete – and his athletic prowess is only a part of his legend.  A young, poor African-American runner in a time when black athletes were barely accepted in sports, Owens won four Gold Medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, nearly singlehandedly showing up the

The Last Man on Earth – The Complete First Season The Last Man on Earth The Complete First Season – 2015 (20th Century Fox Home Video-2015) Apocalypse is not considered to be a subject which elicits yuks, so the idea of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world would seem an odd subject for a sitcom.  Well Will Forte (Saturday Night Live, Nebraska) has created a sitcom with thorns, a show that is effortlessly funny and yet it also is not afraid to wallow in mournfulness. The Last

Vacation VACATION (2015) Starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie Mann, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Charlie Day, Catherine Missal, Charlie Day, Ron Livingston, Norman Reedus, Keegan-Michael Key, Regina Hall, Emyri Crutchfield, Alkoya Brunson, Nick Kroll, Tim Heidecker, Kaitlin Olson, Michael Peña, Colin Hanks, Kirstin Ford, Ethan Maher, Hannah Davis, Elizabeth Gillies, Cristina Squyres, Nadine Avola, Ryan Cartwright a

Trainwreck TRAINWRECK (2015) Starring Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, John Cena, Tilda Swinton, Vanessa Bayer, Mike Birbiglia, Ezra Miller, LeBron James, Brie Larson, Randall Park, Amar’e Stoudemire, Norman Lloyd, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Dave Attell, Bridget Everett, Nikki Glaser, Matthew Broderick, Chris Evert, Marv Albert, Tony Romo, Kyle Dunnigan, Kevin Kane, Tim Meadows, Jim Florentine, Bobby Kelly, Ryan Farrell, Robert E. Torres, Devin Fabry, Carla O

Live From New York! LIVE FROM NEW YORK! (2015) Featuring Dan Aykroyd, Alec Baldwin, John Belushi, Candice Bergen, Dana Carvey, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Jane Curtin, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Al Franken, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Seth Meyers, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Al Gore, Rudolph Giuliani, Ralph Nader, Tom Brokaw, Paul Simon, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Bi

Chris Rock session for “Madagascar” CHRIS ROCK IS A BUSY MAN By Brad Balfour However busy actor-comedian Chris Rock is, he never gets so worn out that he can’t crack a joke. And he has enough excuses to be exhausted, having both summer blockbusters, The Longest Yard and Madagascar, coming out on the same Memorial Day weekend. Yet Rock, one of the most popular international stars to transcend both comedy clubs and Saturday Night Live, has had both his own show and achieved the

Colin Quinn Colin Quinn Tough Guy by Ronald Sklar We as Americans have always taken for granted that we know Colin Quinn intimately. Of course, as a nation we’re bound to make that presumption since we feel that we have more or less grown up with the dude. Sure, we learn more than we need to know about his sex life because he’s incredibly forthcoming – shockingly so – as one of the most compelling guests who ever appeared on The Howard Stern Show. Along with Howard, who has h

Corky Romano CORKY ROMANO  (2001) Starring Chris Kattan, Vinessa Shaw, Peter Falk, Peter Berg, Christopher Penn, Fred Ward, Richard Roundtree, Vincent Pastore and Fiona Hale. Screenplay by David Garrett and Jason Ward . Directed by Rob Pritts. Distributed by Touchstone Pictures.   85 minutes.   Rated PG-13. Saturday Night Live may be responsible for a revolution in television comedy, but the show and its actors are also responsible for some of the worst films ever made. In a