Paul Dooley’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe

Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Paul Dooley has 14 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1970s through the 2010s. 1 ranks in the Top 10%, led by Insomnia.
Recurring themes

Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Dir. Christopher Nolan · With Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank

With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake, but worries that her chastity will be a turnoff for the popular senior. Meanwhile, she must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted, who is unfortunately the only boy in school who seems to take an interest in her.
Dir. John Hughes · With Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, Haviland Morris

Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.
Dir. Peter Yates · With Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern

A single mother and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this off-beat dramatic comedy. In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school the mom starts an unusual business – a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.
Dir. Christine Jeffs · With Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn

A hippie radical, Huey Walker has been a fugitive for decades, accused of a crime that he may not have committed. Finally apprehended, Walker is escorted to trial by uptight 20-something FBI agent John Buckner. While the two seem to be polar opposites, it turns out that Buckner may have more in common with Walker than is initially apparent, a point that is driven home when the pair faces off against a sinister small-town sheriff.
Dir. Franco Amurri · With Dennis Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland, Carol Kane

David, a struggling comedy writer fresh off from breaking up with his boyfriend, moves from New York City to Sacramento to help his sick mother. Living with his conservative father and much-younger sisters for the first time in ten years, he feels like a stranger in his childhood home. As his mother’s health declines, David frantically tries to extract meaning from this horrible experience and convince everyone (including himself) that he's "doing okay.”
Dir. Chris Kelly · With Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford

Lightning McQueen, a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters.
Dir. John Lasseter · With Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt

Something is rotten at the Elsinore Brewery. Bob and Doug McKenzie (as seen on SCTV) help the orphan Pam regain the brewery founded by her recently-deceased father. But to do so, they must confront the suspicious Brewmeister Smith and two teams of vicious hockey players.
Dir. Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis · With Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Max von Sydow

Having already left three grooms at the altar, Maggie Carpenter is branded "the runaway bride" by jaded New York journalist Ike Graham. But, after his facts are called into question, Ike races to Maggie's hometown to save his reputation and report on her upcoming fourth trip down the aisle – during which he's convinced she'll run again. Though he's there on a muckraking mission, Ike can't help but fall for this breathtaking heartbreaker.
Dir. Garry Marshall · With Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Joan Cusack

"Employee of the Month" is about a guy whose day spirals from bad to worse when he gets fired from his dream job at the bank and is dumped by his fiancée Sara. David's best friend Jack tries to convince him it's for the best, but the opposite occurs when bank robberies and millions of dollars become part of his day from hell.
Dir. Mitch Rouse · With Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, Christina Applegate

Two escaped convicts roll into the village of Happy, Texas, where they're mistaken for a gay couple who work as beauty pageant consultants. They go along with it to duck the police, but the local sheriff has a secret of his own.
Dir. Mark Illsley · With Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy
Popeye is a super-strong, spinach-scarfing sailor man who's searching for his father. During a storm that wrecks his ship, Popeye washes ashore and winds up rooming at the Oyl household, where he meets Olive. Before he can win her heart, he must first contend with Olive's fiancé, Bluto.
Dir. Robert Altman · With Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston
A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Dir. Jonas Åkerlund · With Dennis Quaid, Zhang Ziyi, Lou Taylor Pucci

as Sarge (voice) · Voice
Mater, the rusty but trusty tow truck from Cars, spends a day in Radiator Springs playing scary pranks on his fellow townsfolk. That night at Flo's V8 Café, the Sheriff tells the story of the legend of the Ghostlight, and as everyone races home Mater is left alone primed for a good old-fashioned scare.
Dir. John Lasseter · With Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt
Top Collaborators
Directors with 2+ shared titles, ranked by frequency