29 Movies Starring Richard Dreyfuss

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

It's the proverbial end of the summer 1962 in a small southern California town. It's the evening before best friends and recent high school graduates, Curt Henderson and Steve Bolander, are scheduled to leave town to head to college back east. Curt, who received a lucrative local scholarship, is seen as the promise that their class holds. But Curt is having second thoughts about leaving what Steve basically sees as their dead end town. Curt's beliefs are strengthened when he spots an unknown beautiful blonde in a T-bird who mouths the words "I love you" to him. As Curt tries to find that blonde while trying to get away from a local gang who have him somewhat hostage, Curt may come to a decision about his immediate future. Outgoing class president Steve, on the other hand, wants to leave, despite meaning that he will leave girlfriend, head cheerleader and Curt's sister, Laurie Henderson, behind. Steve and Laurie spend the evening "negotiating" the state of their relationship. Meanwhile, two of their friends cruise around town for the evening. Steve has left his car to meek and mild-mannered Terry "Toad" Fields to look after during his absence. The wheels give Toad a new sense of confidence, which he uses to try and impress Debbie Dunham, a more experienced girl generally out of his league. And John Milner, who is seen as the king of the street race in his souped-up yellow deuce coupe, tries to get rid of precocious pre-teen, Carol Morrison, who has somehow become his passenger for the evening, while dealing with the challenge of bold out-of-towner, Bob Falfa.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

The younger son of a working-class Jewish family in Montreal, Duddy Kravitz yearns to make a name for himself in society. This film chronicles his short and dubious rise to power, as well as his changing relationships with family and friends. Along the way the film explores the themes of anti-semitism and the responsibilities which come with adulthood.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

It's a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn't sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy's mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they're going to need a bigger boat.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Roy Neary sets out to investigate a power outage when his truck stalls and he is bathed in light from above. After this, strange visions and five musical notes keep running through his mind. Will he find the meaning of the visions, and who - or what - placed them in his mind?

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

An ex-'60s radical now working as a private eye is hired by an old flame to investigate a political smear campaign. The case becomes more dangerous as it unfolds.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

The movie centers on a piano competition whose winner is assured of success. It is Paul's last chance to compete, but newcomer Heidi may be a better pianist. Can romance be far away? Will she take a dive despite the pressure to win from her teacher, Greta, or will she condemn Paul to obscurity?

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Beverly Hills couple Barbara and Dave Whiteman are very rich but not happy Dave is a hard working business man, his wife is only interested in yoga, aerobics and other meditation classes, and he sleeps with the house maid. Their teenage son is confused about his sexuality and their daughter is suffering from eating disorders. While they are celebrating thanksgiving having plenty of food, street tramp Jerry is hungry, homeless, sleeping rough and has lost his dog. Jerry decides to end his life by drowning himself in their swimming pool. Dave rescues him and invites him to stay for a while. How does this stranger change the life style of this family?

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

A high-class call girl kills a customer in self-defense. To avoid scandal, her parents try to have her declared mentally incompetent. Not helping matters is that she is very distrustful of everybody, including her court-appointed attorney, and is very disruptive during her court hearings.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

The film opens with a daring escape of a convict imprisoned for killing an FBI agent, then moves on to two Seattle detectives chasing a suspect who gets away, destroying a forklift in the process, these two detectives are reassigned to a stakeout, watching the girlfriend of the escaped federal prisoner. One falls in love with her, the escaped convict eventually catches up to her, with them actually, and in the midst of their getaway, the escaped convict learns that his woman's man is a cop, but the two detectives kill him, saving the day.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Pete Sandich and buddy Al Yackey are daredevil aerial forest-fire fighters. Pete finds True Love with Dorinda but won't give up the job. When he takes one risk too many, Dorinda faces deep grief and cannot easily put her life back together.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Showing events from the point of view of two minor characters from Hamlet, men who have no control over their destiny, this film examines fate and asks if we can ever really know what's going on? Are answers as important as the questions? Will Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (or Guildenstern and Rosencrantz) manage to discover the source of Hamlet's malaise as requested by the new king? Will the mysterious players who are strolling around the castle reveal the secrets they evidently know? And whose serve is it?

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Renata Bella feels like a failure at life and career. But when Renata attends a seminar on selling real estate, she finally finds True Love. Sam Sharpe, while a top-notch, successful salesman, is much older than Renata. She is swept away by his excessively flamboyant style and irrepressible nature. The very traits she finds romantic, however, lead to repeated conflict with her family, especially her beloved father Joe, leaving Renata trapped in the middle.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Doctor Leo Marvin, an egotistical psychotherapist in New York City, is looking forward to his forthcoming appearance on a "Good Morning America" telecast, during which he plans to brag about "Baby Steps," his new book about emotional disorder theories in which he details his philosophy of treating patients and their phobias. Meanwhile, Bob Wiley is a recluse who is so afraid to leave his own apartment that he has to talk himself out the door. When Bob is pawned off on Leo by a psychotherapist colleague, Bob becomes attached to Leo. Leo finds Bob extremely annoying. When Leo accompanies his wife Fay, his daughter Anna, and his son Siggy to a peaceful New Hampshire lakeside cottage for a month-long vacation, Leo thinks he's been freed from Bob. Leo expects to mesmerize his family with his prowess as a brilliant husband and remarkable father who knows all there is to know about instructing his wife and raising his kids. But Bob isn't going to let Leo enjoy a quiet summer by the lake. By cleverly tricking the telephone operator at the doctor's exchange, Bob discovers the whereabouts of Leo and his family. Despite his phobia about traveling alone, Bob somehow manages to talk himself onto a bus, and he arrives in New Hampshire. Leo's vacation comes to a screeching halt the moment he sees Bob. With his witty personality, his ability to manipulate people, and his good sense of humor, Bob quickly becomes an annoyance to Leo, but not to Fay, Anna, and Siggy, because they think Bob is fun while Leo is dull. Fearing that he's losing his family to Bob, Leo frantically tries to find a way to make Bob go back to New York, and it's not as easy as Leo had hoped. Leo finds himself stepping outside the law to try to get Bob to stay away from Fay, Anna, and Siggy--Leo slowly goes berserk, and makes plans to kill Bob.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

In 1942 in the Bronx, Evelyn Kurnitz has just passed away following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred, and decides to ask his stern and straight talking mother, from who he is slightly estranged, if his two early-teen sons, Jay and Arty (who their Grandma call by their full given names, Yakob and Arthur), can live with her and their Aunt Bella Kurnitz in Yonkers. She reluctantly agrees after a threat by Bella. Despite their Grandma owning and operating a candy store, Jay and Arty don't like their new living situation as they're afraid of their Grandma, and find it difficult to relate to their crazy Aunt Bella, whose slow mental state is manifested by perpetual excitability and a short attention span, which outwardly comes across as a childlike demeanor. Into their collective lives returns one of Eddie and Bella's other siblings, Louie Kurnitz, a henchman for some gangsters. He is hiding out from Hollywood Harry, who wants what Louie stole and is hiding in his small black bag. Jay and Arty's mission becomes how to make money fast so that they can help their father and move back in together, that money which may entail stealing the $15,000 their Grandma has hidden somewhere. Bella's mission is to find a way to tell the family that she wants to get married to Johnny, her equally slow movie theater usher boyfriend, the two who could also use $5,000 of her mother's money to open their dream restaurant. And Louie's mission is to survive the next couple of days.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

An autistic boy witnesses his parents' double murder. Richard Dreyfuss as a controversial therapist, seeks to probe the child's mind in order to solve the case.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Glenn Holland is a musician and composer who takes a teaching job to pay the rent while, in his 'spare time', he can strive to achieve his true goal - compose one memorable piece of music to leave his mark on the world. As Holland discovers 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans' and as the years unfold the joy of sharing his contagious passion for music with his students becomes his new definition of success.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

James' happy life at the English seaside is rudely ended when his parents are killed by a rhinoceros and he goes to live with his two horrid aunts. Daringly saving the life of a spider he comes into possession of magic boiled crocodile tongues, after which an enormous peach starts to grow in the garden. Venturing inside he meets not only the spider but a number of new friends including a ladybug and a centipede who help him with his plan to try and get to New York.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Four former made men, struggling to get by in a rundown Miami hotel, come up with a plot to drive out all of the young tenants that are slowly taking over the beach-front hotel and driving up their rent. Taking a man that was found dead on the beach, they arrange what appears to a mob hit and provide a note that says more killings are to occur. Unfortunately the old man they use turns out to be the senile father of a drug lord. The drug lord declares war on the killers of his father, thinking it was an action of his enemies. A stripper learns of the old men's involvement and threatens to squeal on them unless they kill her stepmother. Meanwhile, one man searches for his long-lost daughter, who is the investigating police officer, trying to divest herself from her crumb fellow officer and former boyfriend.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Cletis Tout is a comedy about mistaken identities, a hit man who sees everything in terms of the movies and a twenty year old diamond heist.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Set against the backdrop of a mythic "New West," a satire that follows grammatically-challenged, "user-friendly" candidate Dicky Pilager, scapegrace scion of Colorado's venerable Senator Jud Pilager, during his gubernatorial campaign. When Pilager finds that he's reeled in a corpse during the taping of an environmental political ad, his ferocious campaign manager, Chuck Raven, hires former idealistic journalist turned rumpled private detective Danny O'Brien to investigate potential links between the corpse and the Pilager family's enemies. Danny's investigation pulls him deeper and deeper into a complex web of influence and corruption, involving high stakes lobbyists, media conglomerates, environmental plunderers, and undocumented migrant workers.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

It is New Year's Eve, and over 2,000 passengers & crew are ringing in the New Year aboard the huge cruise ship 'Poseidon' when it capsizes on the open sea in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean! A small group of survivors find themselves unlikely allies in a battle for their lives. Preferring to test the odds alone, career gambler Dylan Johns ignores captain's orders to wait below for possible rescue and sets out to find his own way to safety. What begins as a solo mission soon draws others, as Dylan is followed by a desperate father searching for his daughter and her fiancèe--a young couple who hours before couldn't summon the courage to tell him they were engaged and now face much graver challenges. Along the way they are joined by a single mother and her wise-beyond-his-years son, an anxious stowaway and a despondent fellow passenger who boarded the ship not sure he wanted to live but now knows he doesn't want to die. Determined to fight their way to the surface, the group sets off through the disorienting maze of twisted steel in the upside-down wreckage. As the unstable vessel rapidly fills with water each must draw on skills and strengths they didn't even know they possessed, fighting against time for their own survival and for each other.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Lake Victoria's annual Spring party by 50,000 young revelers is about to turn into a feeding frenzy with prehistoric hunger-pains. With knee-trembler's above the waves and tremors below, released from their dormant sleep, thousands upon thousands of flesh-eating nippers are released into the lake with whetted appetites and razor-sharp teeth. With a motley crew of strangers thrown together to defend these shores, it is now up to them to prevent the largest eat-out in human, and piranha, history.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Georgia is an American academic who's lost her teaching job in Athens. She's taken a job as a tour guide, but she hates it and it shows: the tourists, mostly American, are bored with history and facts; they want to shop. Every group has a goofy couple, a frat boy, a sullen teen, a feuding couple, divorcèes looking for a mate, and a funny guy. This group is no exception, plus there's no air conditioning and a bearded silent driver. Thanks to an unlikely friendship, plus daisies, an ice-cream cone, the history of syrup, and the Oracle at Delphi, Georgia may have a shot at finding her kefi during this four-day tour.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

Set in the year 1912 on Cape Cod, a lighthouse keeper who has disavowed any association with females, must deal with the appearance of two attractive women who move into a nearby cottage for the summer.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Fullplot:

Executive produced by Kevin Spacey, Shakespeare High is an inspiring documentary that follows a diverse group of California high school students as they compete in a Shakespeare Festival unlike any you have ever seen - a unique program that counts many of Hollywood's biggest stars among its alumni.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

In Winnipeg, Dr. Cas Pepper has just found out he has a terminal brain tumor. Dylan Morgan is an aspiring writer. The two first set eyes on each other in the hospital ward, where Dylan was trying to get inspired for her writings. Despite being a mismatched pair, the two end up on a journey together, largely out of a joint incident with Dylan's boyfriend Bobby, to head "west". This journey was originally Cas' alone as part of what he felt he needed to do in light of his diagnosis, his complete mission about which Dylan is unaware. Although he would like to do this trip on his own beyond the issue with Bobby, he finds it is more difficult to get rid of Dylan than he would like. It seems as if Dylan is both running away from Bobby, and running toward what she hopes is that lucrative writing career, that next step being a meeting with a representative at a publishing house in Vancouver. This journey ends up being one of discovery for both, both in terms of learning about the other's full current mission - which each believes he/she gets a better handle on from information gleaned from the other's cell phone - and what the other truly means to him/herself in their short time together.

Basic Info:

Cast:

Writer:

Fullplot:

In Venice, California, Kelley Tanner and Jonas Trumball are homeless teenagers that live on the beach and spend the day using drugs, drinking booze and shoplifting to survive. One day, Jonas overhears a conversation in a parking area between a woman named Evelyn and her housekeeper, and Evelyn tells that she will travel for one month with her husband David and she gives the alarm code to her servant. Jonas sees the chance to rob the house and brings Kelley with him. Kelley is needy of family love since she was a foster girl that left her foster house to live on the streets, and she spend the days watching to home videos of Evelyn, David, their son Michael, who has a poster of "The Kid" in his room, and their deceased daughter Stephanie. But Jonas is interested in robbing as much as possible to start a new life in Mexico. He meets a dangerous criminal to deal the jewelry and the Porsches of the family. But the family returns and Kelley and Jonas need to flee from the house. When Kelley is wandering on the streets, she stumbles upon a movie theater that is showing Charles Chaplin's "The Kid". She buys a ticket and realizes that she is alone in the theater; out of the blue, Michael enters the theater and sits near her. Soon they drink coffee together and Michael dates Kelley and falls in love with her. Kelly does not disclose her past to Michael but soon she is haunted by what she did.