Production Company(ies)
Art Matters Inc., BBC Television, Edelman Family Fund,
 
Distributor
20th Century Fox
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
2640 Steiner Street, San Francisco, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some sexual references
 
Year of Release
1993
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Polly Holliday, Lisa Jakub, directed by Chris Columbus, written by Randi Mayem Singer, Leslie Dixon, Anne Fine, Anne Fine, Comedy, PG, box office performance, $219.2M, reviewed by Bill Cosford, Duane Byrge, Owen Gleiberman, Brian Lowry, David Ansen, Derek Adams, Mike Massie, Grant Watson, Kevin Carr, Steve Crum, Pete Croatto, produced by Robin Williams, 20th Century Fox, MPAA rating, divorce, family, nanny, cross-dressing, fatherhood, custody battle, divorcee, children, access, British, woman, creative, brother, Frank, restaurant, secrets, Mary Poppins, voice effects, character dubber, cartoon films, new relationship, mom, heartfelt
 

Cast & Crew

Robin Williams

Sally Field

Pierce Brosnan

Harvey Fierstein

Polly Holliday

Daniel Hillard

Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire

Miranda Hillard

Stuart ‘Stu’ Dunmeyer

Frank

Robin Williams – Daniel Hillard, Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire
Sally Field – Miranda Hillard
Pierce Brosnan – Stuart ‘Stu’ Dunmeyer
Harvey Fierstein – Frank
Polly Holliday – Gloria
Lisa Jakub – Lydia ‘Lydie’ Hillard

 

Chris Columbus

Randi Mayem Singer

Robin Williams

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Chris Columbus
 
Writer(s)
Randi Mayem Singer, Leslie Dixon, Anne Fine, Anne Fine
 
Producer(s)
Robin Williams

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
11 wins & 10 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Makeup Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Bill Cosford

Duane Byrge

Owen Gleiberman

Brian Lowry

David Ansen

Miami Herald

Hollywood Reporter

Entertainment Weekly

Variety

Newsweek

MRS. DOUBTFIRE
 All Critics (53) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (15)
 You can’t take Mrs. Doubtfire seriously for a moment, its daddy-track sympathies notwithstanding, and you’ll know exactly where it’s going at every turn. You’ll laugh, though Robin Williams will not be denied,
 
 August 18, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
 Bill Cosford
 Miami Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 This comedy’s warm and soothing nature will give mainstream audiences in these dysfunctional-family times a perfect holiday uplift.
 
 December 6, 2019
 
 Duane Byrge
 Hollywood Reporter
 TOP CRITIC
 September 7, 2011 | Rating: B
 
 Owen Gleiberman
 Entertainment Weekly
 TOP CRITIC
 Although overly sappy in places and probably 20 minutes too long, this Robin Williams-in-drag vehicle provides the comic a slick surface for doing his shtick, within a story possessing broad family appeal.
 
 July 22, 2008
 
 Brian Lowry
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 I’ve rarely laughed so much at a movie I generally disliked.
 
 April 7, 2008
 
 David Ansen
 Newsweek
 TOP CRITIC
 Sit-com stuff, then, with laboured farcical interludes, and a mushy post-feminist sensibility. Funny notwithstanding.
 
 February 9, 2006
 
 Derek Adams
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 A somewhat grotesque take on Mary Poppins, this picture has an attitude and style all its own.
 
 September 16, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 Anybody tempted by nostalgia should stay away to preserve the illusion that this was once so well-liked.
 
 April 21, 2020 | Rating: 2/10
 
 Grant Watson
 Fiction Machine
 The greater story is sacrificed for schticky gags about a guy dressing as an old woman.
 
 August 17, 2008 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Kevin Carr
 7M Pictures
 Modern comedy classic w/Robin Williams in and out of drag.
 
 March 22, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Steve Crum
 Video-Reviewmaster.com
 spectacular
 
 December 29, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Pete Croatto
 Filmcritic.com
 Chris Columbus’ only good movie.
 
 October 5, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Cole Smithey
 ColeSmithey.com…

 

Plot
Eccentric actor Daniel Hillard is an amusing and caring father. But after a disastrous birthday party for his son, Chris, his wife, Miranda, draws the line and files a divorce. He can see their three children only once a week which doesn’t sit well with him. He also holds a job at a TV studio as a shipping clerk under the recommendation of his liason. But when Miranda puts out an ad for a nanny, he takes it upon himself to make a disguise as a British lady named Mrs. Doubtfire. And he must also deal with Miranda’s new boyfriend, Stu Dunemyer.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Mrs. Doubtfire.
 

 
Chris-Columbus.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
El Deseo Antena 3 Televisión Good Machine
 
Distributor
Columbia Tristar
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
1517 Pike Place, Seattle, Washington, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some language
 
Year of Release
1993
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
 
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Mallinger, Rosie O’Donnell, Rob Reiner, directed by Nora Ephron, written by Nora Ephron, David S Ward, Jeff Arch, comedy, romance, PG, box office, $125.6M, reviewed by Caroline Siede, Michael Wilmington, David Ansen, Peter Bradshaw, Owen Gleiberman, Richard Schickel, Molly Haskell, Mike Massie, Danielle Solzman, Kathi Maio, Mark Steyn, People Staff, Gary Foster, Columbia Tristar, Surround, Stereo, widower, long-distance relationship, Empire State Building, Valentine’s Day
 

Cast & Crew

Tom Hanks

Meg Ryan

Bill Pullman

Ross Mallinger

Rosie O’Donnell

Sam Baldwin

Annie Reed

Walter

Jonah Baldwin

Becky

Tom Hanks – Sam Baldwin
Meg Ryan – Annie Reed
Bill Pullman – Walter
Ross Mallinger – Jonah Baldwin
Rosie O’Donnell – Becky
Rob Reiner – Jay
Nora Ephron – Director/Writer
Gary Foster – Producer
David S. Ward – Writer
Jeff Arch – Writer

 

Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron

Gary Foster

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Nora Ephron
 
Writer(s)
Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, Jeff Arch
 
Producer(s)
Gary Foster

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
4 wins & 19 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Caroline Siede

Michael Wilmington

David Ansen

Peter Bradshaw

Owen Gleiberman

AV Club

Los Angeles Times

Newsweek

Guardian

Entertainment Weekly

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE
 All Critics (59) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (15)
 Sleepless In Seattle balances romance and realism by giving its central characters two different but equally pragmatic philosophies on love.
 
 January 25, 2019
 
 Caroline Siede
 AV Club
 TOP CRITIC
 “Sleepless in Seattle” (citywide), a real charmer, is a romantic comedy about an ultimate long-distance relationship. Emphasize “romantic.” Emphasize “comedy.” It delivers both.
 
 January 25, 2019
 
 Michael Wilmington
 Los Angeles Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Self-consciousness infects Nora Ephron’s sweet but perilously thin love story, Sleepless in Seattle…such are the perils of these postmodernist times: even our love stories feed off borrowed emotion.
 
 March 20, 2018
 
 David Ansen
 Newsweek
 TOP CRITIC
 A movie to which director and co-writer Nora Ephron brought her terrific flair, wit and nous, although she propagates the terrifying fallacy that a widower makes a wonderful romantic catch.
 
 February 13, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Peter Bradshaw
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 Don’t get me wrong: I have no objection to shamelessly corny love stories that make you well up with tearful joy. I just don’t like it when the movie does the welling up for you.
 
 September 7, 2011 | Rating: C
 
 Owen Gleiberman
 Entertainment Weekly
 TOP CRITIC
 Mostly, Sleepless in Seattle leaves you feeling restless in the audience.
 
 February 2, 2009
 
 Richard Schickel
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Sleepless in Seattle succeeds as a glorious three-way romantic comedy between men, women and children. It’s a valiant valentine to the post-nuclear family.
 
 August 4, 2021
 
 Molly Haskell
 Ladies’ Home Journal
 Despite a madcap, slapstick type of comic conclusion, with no real hope of marital longevity, the film is terribly romantic.
 
 September 24, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 Sleepless in Seattle finds a way to put a fresh seasoning on top of the genre.
 
 July 9, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Danielle Solzman
 Solzy at the Movies
 What are we teaching the other little sons of America, when they see so few movies as humane and woman-positive as Sleepless in Seattle, and so very many that portray women as evil incarnate?
 
 August 14, 2019
 
 Kathi Maio
 Sojourner
 The emotional weight of the drama rests on Hanks, and you appreciate how skilfully Ephron structures the film so that the two principals are bound by song and sentiment rather than physical proximity.
 
 January 25, 2019
 
 Mark Steyn
 The Spectator
 But the movie’s problems go deeper-than the dialogue: its whole premise is flawed.
 
 January 25, 2019
 
 People Staff
 People Magazine…

 

Plot
After his wife Maggie passes away, Sam Baldwin and his 8-year-old son Jonah relocate from Chicago to Seattle to escape the grief associated with Maggie’s death. Eighteen months later Sam is still grieving and can’t sleep. Although Jonah misses his mother, he wants his father to get a new wife despite Sam having not even contemplated dating again. On Christmas Eve, Sam (on Jonah’s initiative) ends up pouring his heart out on a national radio talk show about his magical and perfect marriage to Maggie, and how much he still misses her. Among the many women who hear Sam’s story and fall in love with him solely because of it is Annie Reed, a Baltimore-based newspaper writer. Annie’s infatuation with Sam’s story and by association Sam himself is despite being already engaged. But Annie’s relationship with her straight-laced fiancé Walter is unlike her dream love life in the movie An Affair to Remember (1957). She even writes to Sam proposing they meet atop the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. Back in Seattle, Sam has received hundreds of letters from women wanting to meet him. Jonah is excited by one letter in particular from Baltimore and will do whatever he needs to to get his father and Annie together. However, old fashioned Sam wants his future love life to be based on meeting a woman the traditional way and he, in turn, becomes infatuated with an unknown woman he spots a few times in Seattle. Will magic happen twice in Sam’s life, and if so will it be with this unknown woman or Annie?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have anything goofy or funny to say about Sleepless in Seattle, but they do mention that the chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is real, even when they spend the entire movie apart.
 

 
Nora-Ephron.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Channel Four Films, Figment Films, The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company,
 
Distributor
Warner Bros.
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Angelo’s Burgers – 10990 Atlantic Avenue, Lynwood, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and strong language
 
Year of Release
1993
 

 
Genre(s)
Action
 
Keyword(s)
Falling Down, Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Joel Schumacher, Ebbe Roe Smith, Action, $40.4M, R, Warner Bros., Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod, reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Richard Schickel, Variety Staff, David Ansen, Caryn James, Ali Barclay, Richard Propes, Barbara Shulgasser, Tom Meek, Sergio Benítez, Mark Amory, directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith, produced by Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod, divorce, unemployment, Los Angeles, birthday party, violence, social alienation, urban landscape, gang, veteran cop, disassociation, Michael Douglas’ best, original character, bleakly entertaining, complex themes, mean-spirited black comedy, powerful portrait, social satire, kick-ass fantasy, damsel-in-distress melodrama, worrying, unnerving reflection, quality of life, modern man’s disassociation, sobering snapshot, oblivious, crossed the line, slow deterioration, mentality, changing weapon of choice
 

Cast & Crew

Michael Douglas

Robert Duvall

Barbara Hershey

Rachel Ticotin

Tuesday Weld

William Foster

D-Fens

Prendergast

Beth

Detective Sandra

Michael Douglas – William Foster, D-Fens
Robert Duvall – Prendergast
Barbara Hershey – Beth
Rachel Ticotin – Detective Sandra
Tuesday Weld – Amanda Prendergast
Frederic Forrest – Nick, Surplus Store Owner
Director – Joel Schumacher
Producers – Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod
Writer – Ebbe Roe Smith

 

Joel Schumacher

Ebbe Roe Smith

Timothy Hyde Harris

Arnold Kopelson

Herschel Weingrod

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Joel Schumacher
 
Writer(s)
Ebbe Roe Smith
 
Producer(s)
Timothy Hyde Harris, Arnold Kopelson, Herschel Weingrod

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 2 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Richard Schickel

Variety Staff

David Ansen

Caryn James

Chicago Reader

TIME Magazine

Variety

Newsweek

New York Times

FALLING DOWN
 All Critics (55) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (14)
 None of the characters ever rises beyond the level of his or her generic functions, and by the end the overall emptiness of the conception becomes fully apparent.
 
 July 18, 2011
 
 Jonathan Rosenbaum
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 Let’s face it, there is an element of truth in the character of D-FENS. But it is, finally, tabloid truth.
 
 July 18, 2011
 
 Richard Schickel
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 At first comes across like a mean-spirited black comedy and then snowballs into a reasonably powerful portrait of social alienation. The tone is unremittingly dour, however.
 
 March 26, 2009
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 A real artist could make something incisive or darkly hilarious out of this moral tightrope act. Schumacher, veering recklessly between social satire, kick-ass fantasy and damsel-in-distress melodrama, plays the game for opportunistic cheap thrills.
 
 March 31, 2008
 
 David Ansen
 Newsweek
 TOP CRITIC
 It turns one man’s slide toward madness into a wickedly mischievous, entertaining suspense thriller.
 
 May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Caryn James
 New York Times
 TOP CRITIC
 It is a worrying and unnerving reflection of our society, which will certainly make you wonder about the quality of life you strive to maintain.
 
 April 17, 2001 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Ali Barclay
 BBC.com
 TOP CRITIC
 Falling Down,” a stellar film, is Joel Schumacher’s miracle.
 
 September 7, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
 
 Richard Propes
 TheIndependentCritic.com
 Disturbing ’90s crime thriller has violence and language.
 
 July 17, 2020 | Rating: 2/5
 
 Barbara Shulgasser
 Common Sense Media
 This is probably Schumacher’s most accomplished work besides Tigerland and, interestingly, shot in L.A. around the time of the riots.
 
 July 8, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Tom Meek
 Cambridge Day
 Even decades later, It is still as a very actual film. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
 July 27, 2019
 
 Sergio Benítez
 Espinof
 It’s a somewhat high-concept premise that’s employed to consistently engrossing effect by filmmaker Schumacher…
 
 December 6, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 David Nusair
 Reel Film Reviews
 We cannot make out if we are meant to like him or not, or why he is so angry, and this is intriguing.
 
 July 24, 2018
 
 Mark Amory
 The Spectator…

 

Plot
On the day of his daughter’s (Joey Singer) birthday, William “D-Fens” Foster (Michael Douglas) is trying to get to his estranged ex-wife’s (Barbara Hershey) house to see his daughter. He has a breakdown and leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. Along the way he stops at a convenience store and tries to get some change for a phone call but the owner, Mister Lee (Michael Paul Chan), does not give him change. This destabilizes William who then breaks apart the shop with a baseball bat and goes to an isolated place to drink a coke. Two gangsters (Agustin Rodriguez & Eddie Frias) threaten him and he reacts by hitting them with the bat. D-FENS continues walking and stops at a phone booth. The gangsters hunt him down with their gang and shoot at him but crash their car. William goes nuts and takes their gym bag with weapons proceeding in his journey of rage against injustice. Meanwhile Sergeant Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), who is working on his last day before retirement, is following the wave of crimes and believes that the same man is responsible but the other detectives do not pay attention to him.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Michael Douglas’ performance as “a very original character” in Falling Down.
 

 
Joel-Schumacher.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
micro_scope T S Productions, Phi Group
 
Distributor
Universal Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Countrywide Home Loans Corporate Headquarters, Simi Valley, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brief sexual references
 
Year of Release
1992
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Timothy Busfield, Eddie Jones, directed by Phil Alden Robinson, written by Phil Alden Robinson, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F Parkes, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Odie Henderson, Owen Gleiberman, David Ansen, Derek Adams, Tim Robey, PG-13, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F Parkes, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F Parkes, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F Parkes, Universal Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Stereo, Surround, computer hacker, San Francisco, National Security Agency, decoder, encryption code, rogue agents, murder, thriller, comedy, high-tech, suspense, black box, FBI, CIA, airports
 

Cast & Crew

Robert Redford

Dan Aykroyd

Ben Kingsley

Mary McDonnell

River Phoenix

Martin Bishop

Martin Brice

Mother

Cosmo

Liz

Robert Redford – Martin Bishop, Martin Brice
Dan Aykroyd – Mother
Ben Kingsley – Cosmo
Mary McDonnell – Liz
River Phoenix – Carl Arbegast
Sidney Poitier – Donald Crease

 

Phil Alden Robinson

Phil Alden Robinson

Lawrence Lasker

Walter F. Parkes

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Phil Alden Robinson
 
Writer(s)
Phil Alden Robinson, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes
 
Producer(s)
Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
2 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Odie Henderson

Owen Gleiberman

David Ansen

Derek Adams

Chicago Reader

Slant Magazine

Entertainment Weekly

Newsweek

Time Out

SNEAKERS
 All Critics (54) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (11)
 Part of the pleasure afforded by such a sequence comes from the careful exposition of intricate teamwork, combined with an adroit attention to the personalities involved.
 
 June 2, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Jonathan Rosenbaum
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s a surprise to discover a cerebral, 25-year-old film following the blueprint for today’s endless glut of superhero movies.
 
 August 31, 2017
 
 Odie Henderson
 Slant Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-
 
 Owen Gleiberman
 Entertainment Weekly
 TOP CRITIC
 Makes up for its gaps in logic with its breezy tone and its technological razzledazzle.
 
 March 31, 2008
 
 David Ansen
 Newsweek
 TOP CRITIC
 Right up to an ending designed to crack the sternest critical poker face, this is gourmet popcorn of the highest order.
 
 June 24, 2006
 
 Derek Adams
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 A marvellous caper-movie throwback.
 
 April 19, 2005 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Tim Robey
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 There’s plenty to like about Sneakers. There’s just a little less than you might expect.
 
 November 24, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
 Sean Collier
 Box Office Prophets
 …persistently (and increasingly) engrossing…
 
 April 3, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
 
 David Nusair
 Reel Film Reviews
 This is basically dumb fun with a veneer of smart fun… Fast-paced, utterly enjoyable.
 
 September 6, 2018
 
 Eve Tushnet
 Patheos
 The movie would probably swing along fine as an out-and-out spoof or a serious thriller, but instead it lacks force in either direction.
 
 July 25, 2018
 
 Vanessa Letts
 The Spectator
 Despite its dream-team cast, the loosely laced “Sneakers” stumbles badly as both a comedy and as thriller.
 
 April 17, 2018
 
 Malcolm Johnson
 Hartford Courant
 A smart, smooth technological thriller.
 
 January 1, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Common Sense Media Editors
 Common Sense Media…

 

Plot
Martin Bishop is the head of a group of experts who specialize in testing security systems. When he is blackmailed by government agents into stealing a top secret black box, the team find themselves embroiled in a game of danger and intrigue. After they recover the box, they discover that it has the capability to decode all existing encryption systems around the world, and that the agents who hired them didn’t work for the government after all.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The star-studded cast of Sneakers includes Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, and Sidney Poitier.
 

 
Phil-Alden-Robinson.jpg