Movies with music written by Marc Shaiman

It's hard to believe that The American President was made by the same man responsible for the no-holds-barred satire of This Is Spinal Tap. Is there any element of American culture more ripe for the humorist's razor-sharp wit than presidential pol...

With a title like And So It Goes, it would be reasonable to expect something generic and forgettable - and that would be in line with what the film delivers. Everything about the movie is as uninspired as the title. More bland than bad, And So It G...

Lately, it seems every time I review a Rob Reiner movie, I lament the fall this once reliable filmmaker has taken. Admittedly, Reiner started at such a pinnacle that there was nowhere to go but down, but it's beyond consideration that the director...

It's something of a mystery how three accomplished comic actresses like Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Better Midler found themselves in the midst of an atrocious mess like The First Wives Club. My best guess is that the story looked better --...

Flipped is Rob Reiner's best film in 18 years, and includes echoes of two of his most accomplished efforts, The Sure Thing and Stand By Me. It also may be 2010's best romantic comedy. And it is being buried by Warner Brothers because of a concern...

I suppose there are a lot of Generation Xers who harbor a certain fondness for the old TV cartoon George of the Jungle, which ran on Saturday mornings in the late '60s and early '70s (apparently, there were only 17 episodes produced, but they w...

Hairspray follows in the footsteps of Little Shop of Horrors and The Producers as campy movies that became even more campy stage musicals before returning to the screen in lavish song-and-dance productions. (Spamalot may be the next title to follo...

At the end of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, the character of Bert (played by Dick Van Dyke) offers this final wish: “Goodbye, Mary Poppins, don't stay away too long.” Walt Disney Pictures hopes that 54 years – the longest span between a mot...

Rob Reiner has had an amazing string of hits. His resume dotted with such critical and popular successes as This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and A Few Good Men, Reiner has transformed his Meathead image into that o...

What is the difference between a bad melodrama and a good one? The key lies in the emotional response. If the viewer feels that he or she is being forced into reacting in a particular way because of "button pushing," the film makers have erred. ...