Hats Off Entertainment

Gene Wilder—one of cinema's greatest actors. This documentary short explores his incredible ability to react naturally as a performer. From his famous roles in Young Frankenstein and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, to his great chemistry with Richard Pryor, we take a look at what made his reactions and performances so great.

The Three Stooges—one of cinema's most beloved acts. But did you know there were actually technically eight Stooges? This documentary short explores all of the Stooges members, while highlighting their most underrated third player: Shemp Howard. From their beginnings in vaudeville to their end in the '70s, see how Shemp was essential to The Three Stooges act.

Jim Varney—most commonly known for portraying Ernest P. Worrell in a series of films, commercials and shorts, was the world's first viral star. His versatile characters and talent for mimicry made each of his performances memorable. This documentary short explores his amazing climb to success, going from a down on his luck stand-up comedian to a national sensation and pop-culture icon.

John Candy—one of the most beloved entertainers of all time. In a career spanning over two decades, he found his way into some of the films that would go on to define a generation. From his days in the cult sketch comedy series SCTV, to his great collaborations with John Hughes, this documentary tribute short explores why we should never stop talking about John Candy and why he will never stop being missed.

Walter Matthau & Jack Lemmon—one of the great movie duos of all time. They would become most famously known as the original “Odd Couple”, but these two weren't so different after all, and were actually very much in sync. Their comedy partnership spanned close to four decades, making them one of the longest tenured comedy acts of all time. We take a look at what made them such a durable act and why their partnership was so great.

Leslie Nielsen—one of the most inspiring success stories in film history. Although he had early ambitions to be a dramatic leading man, he would end up settling for smaller character parts in film and TV for most of his career. He was then cast in a comedy film at age 54 that would reinvent him as a performer and lead to him becoming one of the biggest film stars of the decade. We explore his rise to fame, amazing gift for comedy timing, and why he’ll always be a cult icon.

Clifford (1994). There is no other movie quite like it. This surreal comedy stars Martin Short as a ten year old boy and Charles Grodin as his uncle, who's tasked with babysitting him. I take a look at what makes this film so unique and why it's worth watching close to three decades since its release.

Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy—the greatest screen duo of all time. This documentary short, the first of three, explores their initial formation as a team, as well as their incredible adaptation from silent films to sound.

I find myself talking about a lot of movies on this channel that seem to be remembered fondly, yet they’ve somehow narrowly escaped full blown cult-classic status. Some of these are films I’ve mentioned briefly in other videos, some I’ve avoided mentioning specifically so I can talk about them more extensively in this new series: (Almost) Cult Classics. Next up is Houseguest (1995) a family comedy that pairs Sinbad with the late, great Phil Hartman.

The Chevy Chase Show was a late-night talk show that aired on Fox for less than a month in 1993, with its inception and failure making for an interesting tale. Join me as I dive into the strange first episodes of this stunningly bizarre show.

The Honeymooners was a definitive American sitcom that paved the way for the medium today. Created by and starring Jackie Gleason, it represented many real life frustrations by Americans at that time. I take a look at what make the show and its star still so special.

Uncle Buck is one of my favorite films of all time. Because it was a smash hit, CBS rushed to capitalize on it by adapting it into a sitcom.

On this episode of Forgotten Failures, I take a look back the failed 1999 reboot of Laurel & Hardy.

On this episode of Forgotten Failures, I take a look back the failed 1973 "remake" of Gilligan's Island that was the same show in a different setting.

Chris Farley—a true titan of comedy performance. In a short screen career of just seven years, he managed to make an impact on comedy that would take others decades. This documentary short explores his quick rise to fame, popularity in films, and tragic demise. It’s a story about an incredible entertainer who left such a lasting impression on the world.

On this episode of (Almost) Cult Classics I talk about the little known sequel to A Christmas Story—1994's My Summer Story.

First episode of a new series where I talk about some of my favorite film characters instead, of entire films and careers. First up is one of my all-time favorites: Dennis Nedry as portrayed by Wayne Knight in Jurassic Park (1993).

After diving into the 1999 Laurel & Hardy reboot last month, I wanted to take a stab at reviewing another similar slapstick comedy reboot - The Three Stooges from 2012. Not nearly as shameless as you may think, it's actually a decent love letter that was plagued with bad studio decisions behind the scenes.

A very brief tribute to one of my favorite actors—Sir Ian Holm.

After getting numerous requests, I finally decided to take a look back at the Marx Brothers tribute film from 1992—Brain Donors!

If you were a casual TV viewer in the mid-2000s, odds are you remember the neanderthal-themed Geico commercials which promoted their new website as being "So easy a Caveman can do it!". These ads were so popular that they led to ABC developing a sitcom based on the premise. Join me as I take a look back at this forgotten failure.

Gene Wilder—one of cinema's greatest actors. This remastered documentary short explores his incredible ability to react naturally as a performer. From his famous roles in Young Frankenstein and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, to his great chemistry with Richard Pryor, we take a look at what made his reactions and performances so great. Originally listed as 'Gene Wilder: Nowhere Special'.

Join me as I discuss another one of my favorite film characters—the incredible Jack Burton as played by Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986).

A profile of one of my favorite film comedians—the great W.C. Fields.

Hopefully everyone has been able to get away this summer! If you haven't, here's a film that will help you feel like you did—1985's Summer Rental, starring John Candy, Rip Torn, Richard Crenna. Directed by Carl Reiner.

Here's a little short about James Gandolfini. I wanted to talk about just a few film roles that he had outside of his masterful work on The Sopranos.

On this episode of Forgotten Failures, I take a look back at the Bill & Ted live-action sitcom from 1991, as well as the animated series of the same name.

Now that it's back to school season let's take a look by re-watching my favorite Dangerfield film...Back to School!

With October right around the corner, I figured it'd be a good time to take a look back at the forgotten failure that is the direct-to-video Addams Family Reunion (1998). This bizarre take on the franchise is even more bizarre than the Addams Family themselves.

I've got many requests to cover the work of Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, so with October upon us, I decided to start by looking back at their collaborations with the Universal Monsters!

After looking at a forgotten chapter of the Addams Family earlier this month, I decided to take a look back at all the failed attempts to reboot The Munsters—mainly focusing on the forgotten 1995 TV movie "Here Come the Munsters".

Part Laurel & Hardy, part satire, full WTF. This parody movie has been locked away since its release in 1972. Written and directed by the great Bob Einstein, this film ruffled the feathers of Nixon himself. Here's the full story how.

John Hughes created arguably the best Thanksgiving film in 1987 with "Planes, Trains & Automobiles". But what you might not know is that he authored another Thanksgiving road trip comedy just 4 years later called "Dutch" -and it's worth a second look.

'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' is rightfully established as a Thanksgiving classic, but did you know the first cut of the film came in at 3 hours and 40 minutes? In this video I use the shooting script, images, unused footage and other resources to present some of this missing material, as well as offer a plea in the hopes that we can someday see John Hughes' original vision restored.

He mentored Charlie Chaplin, discovered Buster Keaton, and changed film comedy forever—before a scandal destroyed his career. His name was Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Though you may recognize his name or face, few know the heartbreaking story of his life. This short takes a look back at his controversial life & career to highlight what an instrumental figure he was in the evolution of cinema and why he should be more remembered today.

As promised, a look back at the direct-to-video Christmas Story sequel from Warner Premiere, as well as the history of the franchise and work of author Jean Shepherd.

Humbug! We all have a favorite film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novella 'A Christmas Carol'. But what about those adaptations that aren't that fondly remembered? Let's take a look back at Christmas Carols Past for three adaptations that don't really get talked about... maybe for good purpose.