The Appointments of Dennis Jennings

The Appointments of Dennis Jennings is a 1988 American short comedy film, starring, co-written and co-produced by Steven Wright, which won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 61st Academy Awards in 1988.

The Appointments of Dennis Jennings
Directed by	Dean Parisot
Written by	Mike Armstrong Steven Wright
Produced by	Dean Parisot Steven Wright
Starring	Steven Wright Rowan Atkinson Laurie Metcalf
Cinematography	Frank Prinzi
Edited by	Peter Frank
Production company	Schooner Productions
Distributed by	HBO
Release date	September 7, 1988 (1988-09-07) (Boston Film Festival)
Running time	29 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Dennis Jennings (Steven Wright) is an introvert, showing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, paranoia, and a troubled youth. He works as a waiter and has an indifferent girlfriend, Emma, who only seems to patronize him. The "appointments" are with his psychiatrist (Rowan Atkinson), who is annoyed with him and uninterested in what he has to say. After finding his doctor sharing Dennis's intimate secrets with a group of fellow psychiatrists at a bar, and then finding that his girlfriend is cheating on him with the doctor, Dennis decides he has had enough. He hunts the doctor, shoots him, and goes to jail afterwards.

Cast

• Steven Wright as Dennis Jennings
• Rowan Atkinson as Dr. Schooner
• Laurie Metcalf as Emma
• Peter Maloney as Dr. Wilson
• Martha Gehman as Lisa
• David Hyde Pierce (credited as David Pierce)
  as Businessman
• Christopher Durang as Laughing Psychiatrist
• Dana Ivey as Newscaster
• Joe Grifasi as Bartender
• Mike Starr as Doorman
• Bill McCutcheon as Man on TV
• Rochelle Oliver as Woman on TV

External links

• Official website
• The Appointments of Dennis Jennings at IMDb
• The Appointments of Dennis Jennings on YouTube