Charlie Sheen Movies

If they gave out a lifetime achievement award for crazy behavior, Charlie Sheen would be one of the first people to the podium. The charismatic actor–who happens to be the son of Martin Sheen and the brother of Emilio Estevez–has been making headlines for years with his antics, and this has only intensified in recent times. Before we dive into the list of recommended Charlie Sheen movies, here’s a brief look at some of his more notable moments:

• A few weeks before he was set to graduate from high school, he was expelled for poor attendance and bad grades.
• Following the events of 9/11, Sheen publicly questioned the U.S. government’s account of what happened, noting that the collapse of the World Trade Center resembled a controlled demolition.
• Engaged to marry Kelly Preston, but she ended the relationship in 1990 after he accidentally shot her in the arm.
• In the early ‘90s, he dated porn legends Heather Hunter and Ginger Lynn.
• Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
• During the 1995 court case of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, Sheen was named as a frequent client. He admitted to spending over $53,000 on the services of her girls.
• Arrested in 1996 for beating porn star girlfriend Brittany Ashland.
• Overdosed on cocaine in 1998.
• Has been married three times (as of this writing).
• Awarded a Golden Globe after replacing Michael J. Fox as the lead on television’s Spin City.

• Unable to legally possess a gun for the rest of his life.
• Became the highest paid actor on television in 2010, earning $1.8 million per episode for Two and a Half Men.
• In October of 2010, he was thrown out of his suite at the Plaza Hotel after causing $7,000 worth of damage.
• In 2010, he also reportedly threw a wild party where he did massive amounts of cocaine and offered huge sums of money to adult film stars to become members of his harem.
• Claims to have fallen off the wagon due to “boredom.”
• His continuing rants and odd behavior in 2011–including a tirade against writer Chuck Lorre–force CBS to shut down production on Two and a Half Men for the rest of the season. In an interview, Sheen claims to have kicked cocaine with the power of his mind. He also noted that CBS “picked a fight with a warlock,” and that he possesses “tiger blood and Adonis DNA.”

Now that you’ve been introduced to Charlie Sheen at his worst, let’s take a look at the actor when he’s got his act together.

• Red Dawn (1984) – Directed and co-written by John Milius, this patriotic coming-of-age tale pits a group of high school students against the invading armies of the Soviet Union and Latin America. According to the National Coalition on Television Violence, Red Dawn contains an average of 2.23 violent acts per minute, so action movie fans should be more than pleased. The all-star cast includes Charlie Sheen, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey, Powers Boothe, Harry Dean Stanton, and William Smith. Wolverines!
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – Matthew Broderick is at his most charming in the role of Ferris Bueller, a teenager who skips school with his pals and winds up pondering an uncertain future. Jeffrey Jones is the principal obsessed with catching him in the act of truancy, and Charlie Sheen pops up in a small role as a juvenile delinquent who romances Ferris’s sister (Jennifer Grey) at the police station.

• Platoon (1986) – Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning war movie stars Sheen as Chris Taylor, a wide-eyed idealist who drops out of college and goes to fight in Vietnam. Once there, he’s caught up in a battle of wills between the compassionate Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe) and the ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger). The film won Best Picture at the Oscars, and it includes such future stars as Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, Keith David, and Johnny Depp.
• Wall Street (1987) – Another team-up with director Oliver Stone, this time featuring Sheen as a bright young Wall Street whiz who falls under the spell of charismatic Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas in an Oscar-winning role), a corporate raider who personifies 1980’s greed. Martin Sheen and Daryl Hannah co-star, and a sequel titled Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps would be released in 2010.
• Eight Men Out (1988) – Charlie Sheen dons a pair of cleats to star in the tale of the 1919 Chicago White Sox and the accusations that eight of their players conspired to throw the World Series. Sheen plays center fielder Happy Felsch, and he’s joined by D.B. Sweeney (Shoeless Joe Jackson), John Cusack (Buck Weaver), Michael Rooker (Chick Gandil), and David Strathairn (Eddie Cicotte).
• Young Guns (1988) – Loosely based on the life of Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez), this energetic western details the outlaw’s rise to prominence during a brutal range war. Corny in parts and surprisingly dated, it remains an decent rental thanks to the presence of Terrance Stamp, Charlie Sheen, Terry O’Quinn, Dermot Mulroney, Brian Keith, Keifer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Jack Palance as the villain.
• Major League (1989) – This tale of baseball misfits is bolstered by an all-star cast including Tom Berenger as the aging veteran, Rene Russo as his love interest, Wesley Snipes as the talented rookie, Corbin Bernsen as the ego-driven shortstop, and Charlie Sheen as the bad boy relief pitcher nicknamed “Wild Thing.” If you’re a fan of sports movies, this one is a must-see.
• Men at Work (1990) – If you’re looking for a weird movie starring Charlie Sheen, check out this action/comedy co-starring (and written and directed by) brother Emilio Estevez. The duo play a pair of wise-cracking garbagemen, but their usual antics are disrupted by the corpse of a politician, a sexy woman, and a deranged Vietnam veteran (Keith David). I defy you to find a film that features the golf clap more than this one.
• Hot Shots! (1991) – From part of the creative team behind Airplane! comes this hilarious spoof of films such as Top Gun, Rocky, and Superman. Sheen stars as Navy pilot Topper Harley, a skilled flyer who’s tormented by his family’s past. Valeria Golino co-stars as love interest Ramada Thompson, and Cary Elwes is flyboy nemesis Lt. Kent Gregory. Keep an eye out for Two and a Half Men co-star John Cryer as a fellow Naval officer with comically bad vision.

A usual Saturday night for Charlie Sheen.

• The Chase (1994) – One of my favorite Charlie Sheen movies, The Chase centers around an innocent man who escapes from police custody, kidnaps the daughter (Kristy Swanson) of a millionaire with political aspirations (Ray Wise), and falls in love while leading the cops on a lengthy high-speed pursuit. The media is skewered at every turn, and the film would eerily predate the infamous O.J. Simpson freeway chase by several months. Recognizable faces abound, including Henry Rollins, Cary Elwes, Flea, Anthony Kiedis, and Ron Jeremy.
• Being John Malkovich (1999) – When puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) finds a portal that leads into the mind of actor John Malkovich, he begins charging $200 a head for tourists to go inside and take a look around. But when Craig begins to control his actions, the poor actor becomes increasingly paranoid and turns to real-life pal Charlie Sheen for advice. Directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, the film co-stars Cameron Diaz as Craig’s pet-obsessed wife who wants to be a man, and Catherine Keener as the co-worker who stirs the fires of passion in Craig’s loins. Damned odd from start to finish.

When you’ve finished reading all the headlines involving this talented-yet-bizarre actor, be sure to take a look at the eleven Charlie Sheen movies listed above. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll wonder how in the hell this guy continues to find work.