You Are Here: Critic Cinema > Video Library > Comedy Titles
Critic Cinema Logo
Critic Cinema - Gear List Critic Cinema - Video Library Critic Cinema - Joel's Faves
Critic Cinema - Cinema Tour Critic Cinema - One-Liners Critic Cinema - Tiff's Faves
Critic Cinema - To Do List Critic Cinema - Recommendations Critic Cinema - Trailers
Action Movies
Comedies
 Drama Family & Holiday Movies Horror Movies Music Themed Movies
Mystery & Suspense Movies Period Pieces Sci-Fi Movies Sports Themed Movies War Movies Westerns
About a Boy (Widescreen Edition)
.
Starring: Grant, Hugh Grant, Hugh Hoult, Nicholas Weisz, Rachel Hoult, Nicholas Niro, Robert De Brook, Isabel Hutchison, Nicholas Hutchison, Nicholas Speechley, Joseph
.
Director: Weitz, Chris Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.5/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com A box-office smash in England, About a Boy went on to charm the world as another fine adaptation (following High Fidelity) of a popular Nick Hornby novel. While High Fidelity transplanted its London charm to Chicago, this irresistible comedy was directed by Americans Chris and Paul Weitz (American Pie) with its British pedigree intact. Better yet, Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Will, a self-absorbed trust-fund slacker who tries to improve his romantic odds by preying on desperate single mothers. His cynical strategy backfires when he recruits the misfit son (Nicholas Hoult) of a suicidal mother (Toni Collette) to pose as his own son, thus proving his parental prowess to his latest single-mom target (Rachel Weisz). The kid has a warming effect on this ultimate cad, and what could have been a sappy tearjerker turns into a subtle, frequently hilarious portrait of familial quirks and elevated self-esteem. From start to finish, it's a genuine treat. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
The Amazing Adventure
.
Starring:
.
Director: Zeisler, Alfred Rating: NR Running Time:
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Black & White Stereo
Amelie
.
Starring: Tautou, Audrey Kassovitz, Mathieu Rufus Kassovitz, Matthieu Cravotta, Lorella Debbouze, Jamel Cravotta, Lorella s, Rufu s, Rufu Cancellier, Urbain
.
Director: Jeunet, Jean-Pierre Rating: R Running Time: 2 Hours 2 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 8.7/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Perhaps the most charming movie of all time, Amˇlie is certainly one of the top 10. The title character (the bashful and impish Audrey Tautou) is a single waitress who decides to help other lonely people fix their lives. Her widowed father yearns to travel but won't, so to inspire the old man she sends his garden gnome on a tour of the world; with whispered gossip, she brings together two cranky regulars at her cafˇ; she reverses the doorknobs and reprograms the speed dial of a grocer who's mean to his assistant. Gradually she realizes her own life needs fixing, and a chance meeting leads to her most elaborate stratagem of all. This is a deeply wonderful movie, an illuminating mix of magic and pragmatism. Fans of the director's previous films (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) will not be disappointed; newcomers will be delighted. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
American Pie - Unrated Version
.
Starring: Biggs, Jason Klein, Chris
.
Director: Weitz, Paul Rating: Unrated Running Time:
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color Dolby
Amazon.com Anyone who's watched just about any teenage film knows that the greatest evil in this world isn't chemical warfare, ethnic cleansing, or even the nuclear bomb. The worst crime known to man? Why, virginity, of course. As we've learned from countless films--from Summer of '42 to Risky Business--virginity is a criminal burden that one must shed oneself of as quickly as possible. And while many of these films have given the topic a bad name, American Pie quietly sweeps in and gives sex some of its dignity back. Dignity, you may say? How can a film that highlights intercourse with fruit pies, premature ejaculation broadcasted across the Internet, and the gratuitous "gross-out" shots restore the dignity of a genre that's been encumbered with such heavyweights as Porky's and Losin' It? The plot may be typical, with four high school friends swearing to "score" by prom, yet the film rises above the muck with its superior cast, successful and sweet humor, and some actually rather retro values about the meaning and importance of sex. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas make up the odd quartet of pals determined to woo, lie, and beg their way to manhood. The young women they pursue are wary girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid), choir girl Heather (Mena Suvari), band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and just about any other female who is willing and able. Natasha Lyonne as Jessica, playing a similar role as in Slums of Beverly Hills, is the general adviser to the crowd (when Vicky tells her "I want it to be the right time, the right place," Jessica responds, "It's not a space shuttle launch, it's sex"). The comedic timing hits the mark--especially in the deliberately awkward scenes between Jim (Biggs) and his father (Eugene Levy). And, of course, lessons are learned in this genuinely funny film, which will probably please the adult crowd even more than it will the teenage one. --Jenny Brown --This text refers to the DVD edition.
American Pie 2 Collector's Edition - Widescreen (Unrated)
.
Starring: Biggs, Jason Scott, Seann William
.
Director: (II), James B. Rogers Rating: Unrated Running Time:
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color DTS Surround Sound
Amazon.com To the horror of prudes everywhere, American Pie 2 is even funnier than its popular predecessor, pushing the R rating with such unabashed ribaldry that you'll either be appalled or surprised by its defiant celebration of the young-adult male libido. Females will be equally shocked or delighted, because like American Pie this appealing, character-based comedy puts the women in control while offering a front-row view of horny guys in all their dubious glory. Which is to say, American Pie is mostly about sex--or, to be more specific, breasts, genitalia, "potential" lesbianism, blue silicone sex toys, crude methods of seduction, "the rule of three" (just watch the movie), a shower of "champagne," phone sex, tantric sex, and, oh yeah... superglue. In the case of college freshman Jim (Jason Biggs), performance anxiety plagues his upcoming reunion with sexy Czech exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), but his buddies from American Pie have a solution: rent a Lake Michigan beach house for the summer, throw wild parties to lure the local "hotties," and score big-time. Beach Party this ain't: blessed with a complete cast reunion from AP1 (including Eugene Levy as Jim's dad), this sequel is anything but innocent, and with the exception of drugs (which are conspicuously absent), pretty much anything goes. The gags are almost nonstop, and director J.B. Rogers (recovering from his debut debacle Say It Isn't So) handles them with laudable precision, allowing his young cast (particularly Biggs, who epitomizes comedic good sportsmanship) to run with lines that most people wouldn't dare utter aloud. The result is a liberating and eminently good-natured comedy that needn't apologize for its one-track mind. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
American Wedding (Widescreen Edition)
.
Starring: Biggs, Jason Scott, Seann William Jones, January Rush, Deborah Kaye Thomas, Eddie Allan Kramer, Eric Levy, Eugene Willard, Fred Willard, Fred Cheek, Molly
.
Director: Dylan, Jesse Rating: Unrated Running Time: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com The producers of the American Pie movies pushed their luck with a third slice of their lucrative raunchy comedy franchise, and American Wedding cooked up surprisingly well. It's the sourest serving of Pie, with half of the original cast missing, and there's something undeniably desperate about comedic highlights (involving dog poop, a lusty old lady, two strippers to offset the absence of Shannon Elizabeth, and the ill-advised use of a trimming razor) that arise more from obligation than inspiration, on the assumption that another penile mishap is guaranteed to please. And yet, that's just what this movie does for devoted Pie-munchers: It gives 'em what they want, especially when the notorious Stifler (Seann William Scott) nearly ruins the frantic nuptials of Jim (Jason Biggs) and his band-camping sweetheart Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Eugene Levy and Eddie Kaye Thomas also return for some reliable comic relief, but the one who's laughing most is three-time Pie writer Adam Herz--laughing loudly and often, all the way to the bank. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
American Wedding - Widescreen Extended Party Edition (Unrated)
.
Starring: Biggs, Jason Scott, Seann William Jones, January Hannigan, Alyson Kramer, Eric Allen Nicholas, Thomas Ian Rush, Deborah Coolidge, Jennifer Coolidge, Jennifer Biggs, Jason
.
Director: Dylan, Jesse Rating: Unrated Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com The producers of the American Pie movies pushed their luck with a third slice of their lucrative raunchy comedy franchise, and American Wedding cooked up surprisingly well. It's the sourest serving of Pie, with half of the original cast missing, and there's something undeniably desperate about comedic highlights (involving dog poop, a lusty old lady, two strippers to offset the absence of Shannon Elizabeth, and the ill-advised use of a trimming razor) that arise more from obligation than inspiration, on the assumption that another penile mishap is guaranteed to please. And yet, that's just what this movie does for devoted Pie-munchers: It gives 'em what they want, especially when the notorious Stifler (Seann William Scott) nearly ruins the frantic nuptials of Jim (Jason Biggs) and his band-camping sweetheart Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Eugene Levy and Eddie Kaye Thomas also return for some reliable comic relief, but the one who's laughing most is three-time Pie writer Adam Herz--laughing loudly and often, all the way to the bank. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
As Good As It Gets
.
Starring: Nicholson, Jack Hunt, Helen Kinnear, Greg Gooding Jr., Cuba Knight, Shirley Knight, Shirley Smith, Yeardley Ontiveros, Lupe Ontiveros, Lupe Osterwald, Bibi
.
Director: Brooks, James L. Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 Hours 19 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.7/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com For all of its conventional plotting about an obsessive-compulsive curmudgeon (Jack Nicholson) who improves his personality at the urging of his gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear) and a waitress (Helen Hunt) who inspires his best behavior, this is one of the sharpest Hollywood comedies of the 1990s. Nicholson could play his role in his sleep (the Oscar he won should have gone to Robert Duvall for The Apostle), but his mischievous persona is precisely necessary to give heart to his seemingly heartless character, who is of all things a successful romance novelist. As a single mom with a chronically asthmatic young son, Hunt gives the film its conscience and integrity (along with plenty of wry humor), and she also won an Oscar for her wonderful performance. Greg Kinnear had to settle for an Oscar nomination (while cowriter-director James L. Brooks was inexplicably snubbed by Oscar that year), but his work was also singled out in the film's near-unanimous chorus of critical praise. It's questionable whether a romance between Hunt and the much older Nicholson is entirely believable, but this movie's smart enough--and charmingly funny enough--to make it seem endearingly possible. --Jeff Shannon
Bachelor, The
.
Starring: O'Donnell, Chris Zellweger, Renˇe Holbrook, Hal Shields, Brooke Asner, Edward Holbrook, Hal Cromwell, James Esposito, Jennifer Esposito, Jennifer Shelton, Marley
.
Director: Sinyor, Gary Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.0/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com The Bachelor got critically slammed when it played in theaters, probably because reviewers couldn't help comparing it with the movie on which it's based, the brilliant Buster Keaton comedy Seven Chances. But on its own terms, The Bachelor is a modest and enjoyable picture about Jimmie (Chris O'Donnell), a happily single young man who suddenly gets an ultimatum from his grandfather's will: marry by his 30th birthday or lose an inheritance of $100 million. This is revealed the day before that very birthday. Unfortunately, Jimmie had already proposed to his girlfriend Anne (Renee Zellweger) and been turned down; she can see in his eyes that he isn't ready to get married and refuses to accept him until he is. So Jimmie needs to find a bride--fast. Though the commitment-shy man is a hoary clichˇ, The Bachelor successfully exaggerates Jimmie's fears to comic proportions. O'Donnell is his usual affable self, but it's Zellweger who seizes every scene she's in and makes something really enjoyable out it. The movie's greatest weakness is that she's such a small part of the second half. Still, there's good supporting performances from Hal Holbrook, Ed Asner, James Cromwell, and Marley Shelton (as Zellweger's sister), and Peter Ustinov and Brooke Shields both have very funny scenes. The Bachelor skirts some dangerously chauvinistic territory at times, but by and large it's a pleasant comedy with some genuine good humor. --Bret Fetzer
Bandits
.
Starring: Willis, Bruce Thornton, Billy Bob Blanchett, Cate Slayton, Bobby Jones, January Garity, Troy Slayton, Bobby Jones, January Jones, January Miley, Peggy
.
Director: Levinson, Barry Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 Hours 3 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.7/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Chemistry and quirkiness--and a stellar cast--help make Barry Levinson's Bandits more than just another comedy about ill-matched outlaws. Levinson's deft touch in Rain Man is evident in the film's road-movie structure, which follows bank robbers Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) on a crime spree from Oregon to California. They're eventually joined by an aspiring stuntman and getaway driver (Troy Garity, son of Jane Fonda) and a neglected housewife (Cate Blanchett) who falls in love with both Joe and Terry after escaping her boring marriage. As scripted by Twin Peaks alumnus Harley Peyton, Bandits shifts from character comedy to crime thriller with reckless abandon, and the humor (particularly Terry's multiple neuroses) is occasionally forced and flat. Levinson compensates with offbeat moments of unexpected tenderness, allowing his cast to express depths of character not necessarily found in the script. A twist ending won't surprise attentive viewers, but it gives Bandits the extra kick it needs. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Barefoot in the Park
.
Starring: Redford, Robert Fonda, Jane Boyer, Charles Natwick, Mildred Edelman, Herb Albertson, Mabel Feld, Fritz Stone, James Stone, James Burns, Paul E.
.
Director: Saks, Gene Rating: G Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video Devotees of Neil Simon's repartee, such as in his Goodbye Girl and Brighton Beach Memoirs, will enjoy this earlier tale of domestic dispute between newlyweds. Corie (Jane Fonda) is the young housewife trying to keep life exciting while making a home for her and her husband, Paul (Robert Redford), on the fifth floor of a Greenwich Village walkup apartment. He's working hard at starting his career as lawyer; she's eager to be romantic and spontaneous; and the two have plenty to squabble about. The film suffers a bit from Corie's excessive perkiness and the odd lack of chemistry between the two actors. But those who find the dramatic conventions a bit stiff (some of the dialogue and action seems more suited for stage than screen) may still smile at the dated look (circa 1967) at home life. Mildred Natwick is superb as Corie's mother, and Charles Boyer milks his role as the elderly bohemian neighbor upstairs. --Jenny Brown --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Beautiful Girls
.
Starring: Dillon, Matt Hutton, Timothy Emmerich, Noah Holly, Lauren Hutton, Timothy Hutton, Tim O'Donnell, Rosie Perlich, Max Perlich, Max Portman, Natalie
.
Director: Demme, Ted Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.1/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com This town drama from Ted Demme centers on former classmates coming together for their 10-year reunion. Scott Rosenberg's (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) script thoughtfully passes over the usual grumblings of young adults who can't believe they still live in the same snowbound town. They accept--even welcome--their blue-collar jobs, whether plowing snow or cutting hair. Willie (Timothy Hutton), the lone wanderer, returns to his listless house in a state of flux, the piano-bar circuit wearing thin as is his relationship with Tracy, a well-off attorney (Annabeth Gish). He isn't the only one with problems. Tommy (Matt Dillon) occasionally sleeps with his now-married high school sweetheart Darian (Lauren Holly) while the earnest Sharon (Mira Sorvino) is left to wait. Paul (another thickheaded role for Michael Rapaport) refuses to commit to Jan (Martha Plimpton) until it's too late. Paul is enamored with the idea of the supermodel (the title's "beautiful girls") that, he believes, can make life perfect. It's a very satisfying comedy, with some forced poignancy (Willie's description of Tracy as a "seven and a half" comes off as a death sentence). Rosie O'Donnell's dissertation on why Playboy and Penthouse have ruined males' expectations is much like Meg Ryan's orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally...: it's hilarious, even memorable, never wholly believable. The two wild cards thrown into Beautiful Girls give the film its kick. Uma Thurman enters as the local barkeep's (Pruitt Taylor Vince) radiant cousin. From the big city, she can flirt with the awestruck guys and still keep her head. Willie's real emotional tug is from Marty, the precocious 13-year-old neighbor. If you didn't see Natalie Portman's sophisticated work in the The Professional, her performance here will come as a revelation. You deeply believe that Willie and Marty are connected despite their age difference. Their courtship will never come to be, but the way the two talk (and talk some more) about their lives is the most insightful part of Rosenberg's script. Everyone's so comfortable in his or her roles that you may truly feel sad when the film ends. --Doug Thomas
Being John Malkovich
.
Starring: Cusack, John Diaz, Cameron Cusack, John Malkovich, John Kay Place, Mary Bean, Orson Earl Brown, W. Bean, Orson Bean, Orson Dodds, K.K.
.
Director: Jonze, Spike Rating: R Running Time: 113 min
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.9/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com essential video While too many movies suffer the fate of creative bankruptcy, Being John Malkovich is a refreshing study in contrast, so bracingly original that you'll want to send director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman a thank-you note for restoring your faith in the enchantment of film. Even if it ultimately serves little purpose beyond the thrill of comedic invention, this demented romance is gloriously entertaining, spilling over with ideas that tickle the brain and even touch the heart. That's to be expected in a movie that dares to ponder the existential dilemma of a forlorn puppeteer (John Cusack) who discovers a metaphysical portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich. The puppeteer's working as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a Manhattan office building; this idea alone might serve as the comedic basis for an entire film, but Jonze and Kaufman are just getting started. Add a devious coworker (Catherine Keener), Cusack's dowdy wife (a barely recognizable Cameron Diaz), and a business scheme to capitalize on the thrill of being John Malkovich, and you've got a movie that just gets crazier as it plays by its own outrageous rules. Malkovich himself is the film's pi¸ce de rˇsistance, riffing on his own persona with obvious delight and--when he enters his own brain via the portal--appearing with multiple versions of himself in a tour-de-force use of digital trickery. Does it add up to much? Not really. But for 112 liberating minutes, Being John Malkovich is a wild place to visit. --Jeff Shannon
Bridget Jones's Diary
.
Starring: Zellweger, Renˇe Firth, Colin Grant, Hugh Faulkner, James Broadbent, Jim Firth, Colin May, Charmian Grant, Hugh Grant, Hugh Montagu, Felicity
.
Director: Maguire, Sharon Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.1/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renˇe Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humor, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. --Leslie Felperin --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Calendar Girls
.
Starring: Mirren, Helen Walters, Julie Alderton, John Bassett, Linda Crosbie, Annette Glenister, Philip Hinds, Ciaran James, Geraldine James, Geraldine Imrie, Celia
.
Director: Cole, Nigel Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Barnes & Noble Based on a real-life situation that made headlines worldwide (a development that is incorporated into the story), Calendar Girls is equal parts drama and comedy, woven seamlessly into a narrative fabric carefully stitched together by director Nigel Cole. It begins in a small English village where women while away their spare hours in a ladies club where floral arrangements and baking contests are the principal activities. When the husband of a well-liked member (Julie Walters) succumbs to cancer, her best friend (Helen Mirren) proposes a more worthy project: raising money to finance a cancer-care wing in the local hospital. Somewhat improbably, the middle-aged women decide to do this by selling calendars adorned with semi-nude pictures of themselves. Yes, this really happened, and Cole depicts the process in hilariously excruciating detail. He shows us that the ladies each have something to prove, if only to themselves; one initially reticent participant poses just to get back at her unfaithful husband, another to vindicate her supposedly unseemly interest in sexuality. The calendar's notoriety goes beyond the shores of Mother England, and a large chunk of the narrative is devoted to the ladies' whirlwind trip to Hollywood, their subsequent appearances on TV, and their overnight celebrity. The consequences of sudden fame, including bloated egos and unwelcome intrusions by strangers, conspire to unravel this close-knit group, and Cole and his uniformly excellent cast believably depict the inevitable personality conflicts. Ciaran Hinds is especially strong as Mirren's patient but increasingly exasperated husband. Like The Full Monty, to which it's inevitably compared, Calendar Girls is a perfectly unassuming and delightful comedy. Ed Hulse All Movie Guide Nigel Cole directs the feel-good comedy Calendar Girls, based on the true story of a group of working-class British housewives who became overnight celebrities by posing for a nude calendar in order to raise more than 500-thousand pounds for a new leukemia unit. The film follows the adventures of best friends Chris Harper (Helen Mirren) and Annie Clarke (Julie Walters), both members of the charitable Rylstone Women's Institute in North Yorkshire. After Annie's husband John (John Alderton) succumbs to leukemia, the friends are motivated to take some action. They convince the group to craft a tastefully nude calendar featuring the usual ladies' activities of gardening and baking, as photographed by the young amateur Lawrence (Philip Glenister). Despite the disapproval of the Institute's leader Marie (Geraldine James), the calendar quickly becomes a best-seller and leads the group to Hollywood. Ciaran Hinds appears as Chris' husband Rod Harper. Andrea LeVasseur PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1) Presentation: Wide Screen Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Features: "The Naked Truth" documentary; "Creating the Calendar" documentary; Deleted scenes Language: Fran¨ais, English SubTitles: Espa–ol Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
Clerks - The Animated Series Uncensored
.
Starring: O'Halloran, Brian Anderson, Jeff Smith, Kevin Baldwin, Alec Baldwin III, Alexander Rae McKean, Michael Mosier, Scott Smith, Kevin Smith, Kevin
.
Director: Loter, Steve Rating: NR Running Time: 2 Hours 10 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color Stereo
Amazon.com Writer-director Kevin Smith revives the characters of his indie classic film Clerks for this animated series created for network television. Though it aired for just two episodes on TV, the two-disc set has all six episodes plus a bevy of special features. The episodes feature store clerks Dante and Randal and their ongoing adventures among the shelves of your local corner store. Never far from the epicenter of these adventures are the irreverent Jay and Silent Bob. Whether it's getting trapped in the walk-in cooler, attending their high school reunion, or fighting rival Leonardo Leonardo (who wants to dominate the local Quick Mart market), Clerks spoofs TV and movies with mocking pop-culture jokes and cameos by a number of celebrities. Ultimately, though, Clerks: The Animated Series suffers at the hands of network censors, lacking the obnoxious punch that made Clerks the film so offbeat and amusing. Smith doesn't disappoint, however, with the inclusion of a number of special features on the DVD set, most notably the ever-insightful director's commentary with guests Jason Mewes (Jay), Brian O'Halloran (Dante), and Jeff Anderson (Randal). So while the series itself may be ill-fated, featurette on the making of the animated series--including storyboards and information on character development and the comic book influence on the drawing style--make this a robust offering for Kevin Smith completists. --Adam Medros From the Back Cover Based on Kevin Smith's cult comedy classic, this outrageous anthology brings together every hilarious episode of Clerks: Uncensored--including four never before seen anywhere! It's the continuing adventures of clerks Dante and Randal, two guys just trying to make the best of menial labor! With constant interference from the outlandish Jay and Silent Bob--follow the clerks' wildly improbably antics from one riotous episode to the next! Filled with big laughs and hysterical jabs at popular... read more
Clerks X (10th Anniversary Edition)
.
Starring: O'Halloran, Brian Anderson, Jeff O'Halloran, Brian Mewes, Jason Mewes, Jason Smith, Kevin Mosier, Scott Flanagan, Walter Flanagan, Walter Berkowitz, Al
.
Director: Smith, Kevin Rating: R Running Time: 92 minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.9/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Before Kevin Smith became a Hollywood darling with Chasing Amy, a film he wrote and directed, he made this $27,000 comedy about real-life experiences working for chump change at a New Jersey convenience store. A rude, foul-mouthed collection of anecdotes about the responsibilities that go with being on the wrong side of the till, the film is also a relationship story that takes some hilarious turns once the lovers start revealing their sexual histories to one another. In the best tradition of first-time, ultra-low budget independent films, Smith uses Clerks as an audition piece, demonstrating that he not only can handle two-character comedy but also has an eye for action--as proven in a smoothly handled rooftop hockey scene. Smith himself appears as a silent figure who hangs out on the fringes of the store's property. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features Aimed squarely at its most devoted fans, the 10th anniversary DVD of Clerks is jam-packed with entertaining retrospective features. Kevin Smith's $27,000 film turned into one of the great legends of independent filmmaking, so it's only fitting that "Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks" should be almost as long as the film itself, chronicling the film's rags-to-riches history in inspirational and often hilarious detail, from ominous flooding in Smith's New Jersey hometown as filming was about to... read more
Doc Hollywood
.
Starring: Fox, Michael J. Warner, Julie Hughes, Barnard Harrelson, Woody Hamilton, George Sternhagen, Frances Hamilton, George Fonda, Bridget Fonda, Bridget Martin, Helen
.
Director: Caton-Jones, Michael Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.8/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com At first glance, this 1991 comedy looks like another formulaic fluff-piece with a standard fish-out-of-water scenario--in this case a hotshot young doctor (Michael J. Fox) whose cross-country drive to become a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon is interrupted when he crashes in the rural hamlet of Grady, South Carolina. But as Fox's character is urged by the folksy locals to stay--an offer made tempting by his romance with a law student (Julie Warner)--this unassuming little movie just gets better and better thanks to a sharp script and a splendid supporting cast. Well, okay ... maybe Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda aren't used to the fullest of their abilities, but for the most part this is a charming and surprisingly intelligent comedy that's good enough to compare favorably to My Cousin Vinny, a film with which it shares much in common. Fox has all the right moves to make his character both bullish and ultimately agreeable, and Julie Warner's performance may leave you wondering why this fine actress didn't immediately rise to stardom. --Jeff Shannon Description A brash young medical resident is driving across the country to begin a career in Beverly Hills as a cosmetic surgeon to the stars. But an accident of fate strands him in a small southern town. There, his outlook on life - and love - gets a down-home twist that changes him forever.
Dogma
.
Starring: Damon, Matt Affleck, Ben Damon, Matt Lee, Jason Smith, Kevin Anderson, Jeff Cort, Bud Rickman, Alan Rickman, Alan Hayek, Salma
.
Director: Smith, Kevin Rating: R Running Time: 2 Hours 8 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.3/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Kevin Smith is a conundrum of a filmmaker: he's a writer with brilliant, clever ideas who can't set up a simple shot to save his life. It was fine back when Smith was making low-budget films like Clerks and Chasing Amy, both of which had an amiable, grungy feel to them, but now that he's a rising director who's attracting top talent and tackling bigger themes, it might behoove him to polish his filmmaking. That's the main problem with Dogma--it's an ambitious, funny, aggressively intelligent film about modern-day religion, but while Smith's writing has matured significantly (anyone who thinks he's not topnotch should take a look at Chasing Amy), his direction hasn't. It's too bad, because Dogma is ripe for near-classic status in its theological satire, which is hardly as blasphemous as the protests that greeted the movie would lead you to believe. Two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) have discovered a loophole that would allow them back into heaven; problem is, they'd destroy civilization in the process by proving God fallible. It's up to Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), a lapsed Catholic who works in an abortion clinic, to save the day, with some help from two so-called prophets (Smith and Jason Mewes, as their perennial characters Jay and Silent Bob), the heretofore unknown 13th apostle (Chris Rock), and a sexy, heavenly muse (the sublime Salma Hayek, who almost single-handedly steals the film). In some ways Dogma is a shaggy dog of a road movie--which hits a comic peak when Affleck and Fiorentino banter drunkenly on a train to New Jersey, not realizing they're mortal enemies--and segues into a comedy-action flick as the vengeful angels (who have a taste for blood) try to make their way into heaven. Smith's cast is exceptional--with Fiorentino lending a sardonic gravity to the proceedings, and Jason Lee smirking evilly as the horned devil Azrael--and the film shuffles good-naturedly to its climax (featuring Alanis Morissette as a beatifically silent God), but it just looks so unrelentingly...
Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
.
Starring: Sellers, Peter Scott, George C. Scott, George C. Scott, George Campbell Hayden, Sterling Pickens, Slim Bull, Peter Wynn, Keenan Wynn, Keenan Reed, Tracy
.
Director: Kubrick, Stanley Rating: NR Running Time: 93 minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 8.7/10 (IMDB) Black & White Stereo
Amazon.com essential video Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made, Stanley Kubrick's cold-war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. Dr. Strangelove is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity, beginning when General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids," mounts his singular campaign against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the Soviet Union. The Soviets counter the threat with a so- called "Doomsday Device," and the world hangs in the balance while the U.S. president (Peter Sellers) engages in hilarious hot-line negotiations with his Soviet counterpart. Sellers also plays a British military attachˇ and the mad bomb-maker Dr. Strangelove; George C. Scott is outrageously frantic as General Buck Turgidson, whose presidential advice consists mainly of panic and statistics about "acceptable losses." With dialogue ("You can't fight here! This is the war room!") and images (Slim Pickens's character riding the bomb to oblivion) that have become a part of our cultural vocabulary, Kubrick's film regularly appears on critics' lists of the all-time best. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Additional Features EDITOR'S NOTE: According to a Warner Home Video technician involved in the production of The Stanley Kubrick Collection, Kubrick authorized all aspects of the Collection, from the use of Digital Component Video (or "D-1") masters originally approved in 1989, to the use of minimalist screen menus, chapter stops, and (in the case of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining on DVD) supplementary materials. Full-screen presentation of The Shining and Full Metal Jacket was also approved by Kubrick, who... read more
EdTV (Collector's Edition)
.
Starring: McConaughey, Matthew Elfman, Jenna Harrelson, Woody DeGeneres, Ellen Harrelson, Woody Kirkland, Sally Landau, Martin Reiner, Rob Reiner, Rob Goldberg, Adam
.
Director: Howard, Ron Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com The third entry of 1998-99's cinematic TV trilogy kind of got lost in the shuffle following The Truman Show, an art film masquerading as a blockbuster, and Pleasantville, a heartfelt feel-good movie masquerading as a special-effects extravaganza. EDtv is nothing more than it appears: a scruffy comedy about fame and its discontents. Matthew McConaughey stars as Ed, a white-trash rube who gets his own dawn-to-midnight TV series in which every aspect of his life, no matter how sordid or dull or embarrassing, becomes mass entertainment (it inverts Truman by having the protagonist invite the pervasive cameras). Predictably, fame makes him miserable and, unsurprisingly, he finds a way out of his predicament. Albert Brooks covered this same territory in the funnier Real Life, and it's probably not the best idea for a load of comfy celebs to preach to us about how difficult fame is. But the film is cannily cast, including a number of performers who themselves have fallen victim to stupid media tricks (McConaughey, Ellen DeGeneres as the network executive, Elizabeth Hurley as a vamp hitching her star to Ed's, and Woody Harrelson as Ed's even dumber brother). Structurally, the movie is a mess. It looks as if the filmmakers had the choice between making a fully realized, two-and-a-half-hour-long movie that no one would sit through or one that clocks in under two hours but has a lot of plot holes; they opted for the latter (Hurley's character disappears, practically without comment). Still, there are enough laughs to keep things moving, and as a shaggy dog tale it's decent fun. --David Kronke --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Father of the Bride
.
Starring: Martin, Steve Keaton, Diane Williams, Kimberly Hall, Diane Williams, Kimberly Culkin, Kieran Wong, B.D. Goetz, Peter Michael Goetz, Peter Michael Hayward, Carmen
.
Director: Shyer, Charles Rating: PG Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com This '90s update of the Spencer Tracy-Elizabeth Taylor hit is a mix of the pleasant and the silly, a nice enough movie but a little too controlled to become particularly interesting. Steve Martin plays the aging patriarch who is threatened by his daughter's engagement and not-quite-willing to let her go. The writing-directing team of Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers provides Martin's character with a perhaps too-broad range of comic responsiveness to the situation, some of it gentle (a ritual game of basketball between dad and his little girl) and some of it slapstick (Martin sneaking around his prospective in-laws' house and encountering a guard dog). Martin Short turns up as a wedding coordinator--which has deliriously delicious possibilities--but his inventiveness doesn't quite strike the chord this time. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
.
Starring: Grant, Hugh MacDowell, Andie Thomas, Kristin Scott Grant, Hugh Atkinson, Rowan Thomas, Kristin Scott MacDowell, Andie Fleet, James Fleet, James Crowe, Sara
.
Director: Newell, Mike Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video A surprise hit and one of the highest grossing films ever to come out of Great Britain, this effortlessly enchanting romantic comedy finds confirmed bachelor Hugh Grant (Nine Months) attending weddings with his single friends as they all lament not being able to commit. Grant keeps running into an attractive American (Andie MacDowell) at these festivities and begins a long-running affair with her, even as he attends her own wedding, the funeral of one of his best friends, and his own pending nuptials. Featuring a spirited supporting cast including Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) as the acerbic friend quietly in love with Grant, this touching and funny film with a mischievous sense of humor and some truly heartbreaking moments is destined to become one of the classic romantic comedies of all time. --Robert Lane --This text refers to the DVD edition.
Good Girl, The
.
Starring: Aniston, Jennifer Gyllenhaal, Jake Reilly, John C. Aniston, Jennifer Gyllenhaal, Jake Rush, Deborah Carroll Lynch, John Doe, John Doe, John Hart, Roxanne
.
Director: Arteta, Miguel Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.9/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Jennifer Aniston gives a career-changing performance in The Good Girl, a movie that questions whether goodness is a virtue or a trap. Justine (Aniston), weary of her dead-end retail job and her childless marriage to Phil (John C. Reilly), diverts herself with a new coworker named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), who feels as ill-treated by his life as Justine does with hers. The empathy between them leads, all too quickly, to an affair--which just as quickly turns into an obsession that threatens to destroy Justine's marriage. But this is only the beginning; Phil's buddy Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson), the store security guard (Mike White), and a handful of other characters all have a part to play in the unraveling of Justine's life. The script and performances of The Good Girl are subtle but vivid, and the movie's emotional impact will linger long after the movie is over. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Green Card
.
Starring: Depardieu, Gˇrard MacDowell, Andie Neuwirth, Bebe Neuwirth, Bebe Phillips, Ethan Edelman, Gregg Keosian, Jessie Prosky, Robert Prosky, Robert McLaren, Conrad
.
Director: Weir, Peter Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.0/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video With the help of his lawyer, Georges (Gˇrard Depardieu), a composer and one-time petty thief who grew up in poverty, attempts to escape his life in Paris and begin anew in America by illegally marrying Bronte (Andie MacDowell), a prim and repressed young lady from a privileged life in Connecticut. Bronte, who has agreed to the scheme for her own self-serving reasons, is exasperated when the Immigration & Naturalization Service investigates their case, and she and Georges, whom she detests, must spend time together studying each other's lives to avoid disaster. The fallout, and how it ends, is infinitely more delightful than your run-of-the-mill Hollywood romantic comedy, and the very ending itself stops deliciously short of where Hollywood would feel compelled to drag the story. Fine performances are given by MacDowell, Depardieu--who is fiercely charming pounding the keyboard of a Steinway at an upper class Manhattan dinner party--and Bebe Neuwirth, who is perfect as an upper-class child turned artist who revels in her irresponsibility. --James McGrath --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Grumpy Old Men
.
Starring: Lemmon, Jack Matthau, Walter Ann-Margret Meredith, Burgess Hannah, Daryl Lemmon, Jack Pollak, Kevin Davis, Ossie Davis, Ossie Cochran, Steve
.
Director: Petrie, Donald Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.6/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are reunited in this popular 1993 comedy, in which the Odd Couple veterans play John and Max (respectively), a pair of elderly bachelors whose lifelong friendship is based on mutual aggravation and constant bickering. Their competitive natures kick into overdrive when the beautiful Ariel (Ann-Margret) moves into their otherwise snowbound Minnesota neighborhood. She takes a liking to John, but after a lover's spat she also gives Max a chance at romance, and the long-time buddies reach a peak of grumpy rivalry. It's a stretch to think that Ann-Margret's dating choices would be limited to a pair of grouchy codgers, but sarcastic attitude and snappy dialogue made this a surprise hit (followed by a 1995 sequel), and Burgess Meredith adds plenty of spice as Lemmon's amorous old father. Don't forget to watch the hilarious outtakes during the closing credits! --Jeff Shannon Description Two elderly, eccentric, next-door neighbors sustain a rancorous relationship that only a wise observer could recognize as a very special friendship. When a lonely, flamboyant, middle-aged widowmoves in across the street from them, the male rivalry begins.
Hope Springs
.
Starring: Firth, Colin Graham, Heather Driver, Minnie Platt, Oliver Collison, Frank Steenburgen, Mary Black, Mary Faust, Chad Faust, Chad Shirkoff, Bethoe
.
Director: Herman, Mark Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 4.9/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
From the Back Cover "Hope Springs" is the charming romantic comedy starring Colin Firth ("Love Actually"), Heather Graham ("Anger Management") and Academy Award nominee Minnie Driver ("Return to Me"). When artist Colin Ware (Firth) discovers the love of his life and fiancée Vera (Driver), a sexy, sophisticated vixen, is marrying another man, he flees to America and the sleepy New England village of Hope to bury himself in his art and soothe his tortured psyche. Soon he finds more than a shoulder to cry on when he meets Mandy (Graham) a beautiful free spirit who captures his heart--until Vera suddenly shows up with the surprise of Colin's life. "Hope Springs" is a delightful and engaging comedy about finding happiness when you least expect it.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
.
Starring: Hudson, Kate McConaughey, Matthew Goldberg, Adam Michele, Michael Lennon, Thomas
.
Director: Petrie, Donald Rating: PG-13 Running Time:
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color Mono
Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) decides to spice up her How-To column in Composure Magazine by venturing out into the Manhattan singles market to see if she can make a guy fall for her, and then get him to dump her within 10 days. Simultaneously, advertising executive Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) makes a bet with his boss that he can meet a woman and have her fall in love with him within 10 days. Naturally the two of them come together, and, oblivious to each other's wagers, they quickly bond. But when Andie turns off her charms and turns on the dumping tactics, Benjamin must do all he can not to be repulsed by her so that he can win his side of the bet. With Andie unable to comprehend why she can't rid herself of her guy, and with Benjamin frustrated at Andie's peculiar behavior, the two of them begin down the inexorable path toward genuine romance. This charming romantic comedy, based on the book HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS: THE UNIVERSAL DON'TS OF DATING by Michele Alexander and Jeanie Long, features plenty of on-screen chemistry between Hudson and McConaughey. For Hudson, her role in HOW TO LOSE A GUY is vaguely reminiscent of characters played by her mom, Goldie Hawn.
Intolerable Cruelty (Widescreen Edition)
.
Starring: Clooney, George Zeta-Jones, Catherine Rush, Geoffrey Jenkins, Richard Duffy, Julia Clooney, George Rush, Geoffrey Cedric the Entertainer Cedric the Entertainer Datillo, Kristin
.
Director: Coen, Joel Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.7/10 (IMDB) Color DTS Surround Sound
Amazon.com A sleek George Clooney and a seductive Catherine Zeta-Jones square off magnificently in the divorce comedy Intolerable Cruelty. The plot is simple: Lawyer supreme Miles Massey (Clooney, Out of Sight, Ocean's Eleven) skillfully outmaneuvers gold-digger Marylin Rexroth (Zeta-Jones, Chicago, Traffic) when she divorces her wealthy husband--and she sets out to get revenge. But this movie comes from the creative minds of the Coen Brothers (Fargo, Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Art Thou?), and so Intolerable Cruelty includes a Scottish wedding chapel in Vegas, an asthmatic hit man, fluffy-dog-stroking European nobility, and a legendarily unbreakable pre-nuptial agreement. Still, it's pretty restrained for the Coens; smooth and consistent, it never stumbles as disappointingly as their movies can, but also never quite hits the operatic pitch of their best work. It's still damn funny, though, with top-notch performances from the leads as well as Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, and Billy Bob Thornton. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Jersey Girl
.
Starring: Castro, Raquel Affleck, Ben Lopez, Jennifer Root, Stephen Tyler, Liv Lee, Jason Affleck, Ben Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Castro, Raquel
.
Director: Smith, Kevin Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Jersey Girl stars Ben Affleck as a workaholic music executive who loses his wife (Jennifer Lopez) in childbirth and has to raise his newborn daughter with the help of his crotchety New Jersey dad (George Carlin). The movie unspools as if writer-director Kevin Smith, normally a highly self-aware filmmaker (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma), set out to put a fresh spin on every clichˇ he could imagine (parent forced to choose between child and career; parent rushing to attend school performance; etc.)--then forgot to put in the spin. The scenes that aren't lifeless are implausible (Liv Tyler plays the fantasy girl of every awkward boy's dreams). The only real feeling comes from the strong soundtrack. However, Raquel Castro, as the daughter, is an uncanny double for Lopez; when the light plays across Castro's cheekbones just so, you'd swear the casting director simply shrunk Lopez for convenience. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE "'Jersey Girl' is eloquent and unapologetically cute."
Legally Blonde
.
Starring: Witherspoon, Reese Wilson, Luke Blair, Selma Blair, Selma Coolidge, Jennifer Larter, Ali Garber, Victor Taylor, Holland Taylor, Holland Perkins, Osgood
.
Director: Luketic, Robert Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com If you've ever doubted how much a star can carry a movie, look no further than Legally Blonde, Robert Luketic's pop fluff about a sorority girl who becomes the reigning brain at Harvard Law School. The film tries way too hard to be pop fluff, but thankfully it also understands the comic glories of Reese Witherspoon. As Elle Woods, the supposedly dimwitted heroine, Witherspoon gives a high-wattage performance that somehow comes across as both lusciously cartoonish and warmly human. It's a radiant comic turn worthy of Marilyn Monroe, and Luketic throws the whole movie at her, even though its intentional kitsch and sledgehammer contrivances don't trust you enough to figure out on your own what might be guilty fun about it. It's a lame movie, essentially, that redeems itself by knowing just enough to keep things sunny and moving right along. The film is content to follow several steps behind the regal Witherspoon, carrying her train. You probably will be, too. --Steve Wiecking --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
.
Starring: Ritchie, Guy Flemyng, Jason Moran, Nick Mackintosh, Steven Jones, Vinnie Sting Marcq, Nick Forbes, Charles Forbes, Charles McLean, Lenny
.
Director: Ritchie, Guy Rating: R Running Time: 108 minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.9/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Cockney boys Tom, Soap, Eddie, and Bacon are in a bind; they owe seedy criminal and porn king "Hatchet" Harry a sizable amount of cash after Eddie loses half a million in a rigged game of poker. Hot on their tails is a thug named Big Chris who intends to send them all to the hospital if they don't come up with the cash in the allotted time. Add into the mix an incompetent set of ganja cultivators, two dimwitted robbers, a "madman" with an afro, and a ruthless band of drug dealers and you have an astonishing movie called Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Before the boys can blink, they are caught up in a labyrinth of double-crosses that lead to a multitude of dead bodies, copious amounts of drugs, and two antique rifles. Written and directed by talented newcomer Guy Ritchie, this is one of those movies that was destined to become an instant cult classic la Reservoir Dogs. Although some comparisons were drawn between Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino, it would be unfair to discount the brilliant wit of the story and the innovative camerawork that the director brings to his debut feature. Not since The Krays has there been such an accurate depiction of the East End and its more colorful characters. Indicative of the social stratosphere in London, Ritchie's movie is a hilarious and at times touching account of friendships and loyalty. The director and his mates (who make up most of the cast) clearly are enjoying themselves here. This comes across in some shining performances, in particular from ex-footballer Vinnie Jones (Big Chris) and an over-the-top Vas Blackwood (as Rory Breaker), who very nearly steals the show. Full of quirky vernacular and clever tension-packed action sequences, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a triumph--a perfect blend of intelligence, humor, and suspense. --Jeremy Storey
Love Actually (Widescreen Edition)
.
Starring: Neeson, Liam Grant, Hugh Firth, Colin Freeman, Martin Grant, Hugh Atkinson, Rowan Firth, Colin Neeson, Liam Neeson, Liam Rickman, Alan
.
Director: Curtis, Richard Rating: R Running Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.7/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com With no fewer than eight couples vying for our attention, Love Actually is like the Boston Marathon of romantic comedies, and everybody wins. Having mastered the genre as the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones's Diary, it appears that first-time director Richard Curtis is just like his screenplays: He just wants to be loved, and he'll go to absurdly appealing lengths to win our affection. With Love Actually, Curtis orchestrates a minor miracle of romantic choreography, guiding a brilliant cast of stars and newcomers as they careen toward love and holiday cheer in London, among them the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who's smitten with his caterer; a widower (Liam Neeson) whose young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer (Colin Firth) who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother (Emma Thompson) coping with her potentially unfaithful husband (Alan Rickman); and a lovelorn American (Laura Linney) who's desperately attracted to a colleague. There's more--too much more--as Curtis wraps his Christmas gift with enough happy endings to sweeten a dozen other movies. That he pulls it off so entertainingly is undeniably impressive; that he does it so shamelessly suggests that his writing fares better with other, less ingratiating directors. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Get ready for fun! (Leah Rozen, People) with the "feel good movie of the year!" (Clay Smith, Access Hollywood) Love Actually is the ultimate romantic comedy from the makers of Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill. Funny, irresistible and heartwarming, an all-star cast (Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson, to name a few!) will take you on a breathtaking tour of love's delightful twists and turns. Fall under the spell Love Actually and share the laughs and charm again and again.
Made for Each Other
.
Starring: Lombard, Carole Stewart, James
.
Director: Cromwell, John Rating: NR Running Time:
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Black & White Stereo
Amazon.com essential video Produced in a time when films were both literally and figuratively black and white, Made for Each Other was unique in its effective blending of the comedic, the dramatic, and, as perhaps some would insensitively say, the melodramatic. Beautiful Carole Lombard and likeable James Stewart are Jane and John Mason, a couple who meet, fall madly in love, marry, and quickly have a baby. But while they--and the audience--are confident that they are meant for each other, life intercedes and the couple must meet with disapproving in-laws, job stress, financial challenges and, finally, a devastating illness. Lombard and Stewart--and the genuinely good people they portray--are utterly compelling and charming. Say yawningly what you will about tradition, but the Masons' is a path many, if not most, go down. And unlike the wonderful but wholly fantasy world of peer Preston Sturges, director John Cromwell's universe is, like real life, full of ups and downs. It's an accessible, sensitive portrayal. He gives the audience characters they want to see succeed, and to see stay together in the process. It may be a tale of triumph of the human spirit, but its ultimate sentiment--one that celebrates the kindness of strangers--is thoroughly sweet, though in no way saccharine. Look for a great supporting cast, including a blustery Charles Coburn as John Mason's boss, and Lucile Watson as Mason's interfering mother. --N.F. Mendoza --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Maid in Manhattan
.
Starring: Lopez, Jennifer Fiennes, Ralph Eigeman, Christopher Tucci, Stanley Fiennes, Ralph Lopez, Jennifer Quon, Di Posey, Tyler Posey, Tyler Posey, Tyler
.
Director: Wang, Wayne Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 4.6/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com In the breezy Maid in Manhattan, a maid in a top-flight hotel (Jennifer Lopez, Out of Sight, The Wedding Planner) chances to dress in a guest's clothes just when a handsome political candidate (Ralph Fiennes, Schindler's List, Red Dragon) walks in. Naturally, he's bowled over and pursues her; he's initially drawn to her gorgeous good looks but soon comes to appreciate her honesty and common sense. Of course, she can't let him know that she's only a maid, and various high jinks ensue--it's all pretty formulaic, but lurking in the edges of this glossy, brainless romance are a wealth of sly turns by Natasha Richardson and Amy Sedaris (as callow socialites), Bob Hoskins (as a dignified butler), Stanley Tucci (as Fiennes' exasperated campaign manager), and many less familiar faces. All help to give Maid in Manhattan the life and texture that has been processed out of the main characters. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Matchmaker, The
.
Starring: Garofalo, Janeane O'Hara, David O'Shea, Milo O'Hara, David O. Sanders, Jay Keogh, Jimmy Doyle Kennedy, Maria Caffrey, Olivia Caffrey, Olivia Caffrey, Olivia
.
Director: Joffe, Mark Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.2/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com As she does in The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Janeane Garofalo proves she's a capable leading lady--beautiful, charming, self-effacing, and what used to be referred to as sharp as a tack. Garofalo plays Marcy, aide to dim Massachusetts senator McGlory (Jay O. Sanders). Denis Leary is appropriately slimy as a fellow aide. The senator and Nick dispatch Marcy to the remote (and fictitious) Irish town of Ballinagra, where she's supposed to unearth relatives to use in the senator's PR campaign. Along the way, Marcy not only encounters the eccentric locals, but finds herself in the maelstrom of the town's annual matchmaking festival. The single Marcy inadvertently catches the eye of the movie's eponymous matchmaker Dermot (a captivating Milo O'Shea). Dermot senses sparks between Marcy and the equally cynical, recently returned local boy, Sean (David O'Hara), once a successful journalist who's returned home to work on a book. The intimacies of the small town, the relationships between the locals, and the dialogue are credible and engaging. Look for beautiful cinematography and music, too. Also notable is the movie's ability to convey the feel of a foreign film while injecting humor that's both sarcastically American and yet Irish in trademark. --N.F. Mendoza --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Meet the Parents
.
Starring: Niro, Robert De Stiller, Ben Danner, Blythe McCarthy, Thomas George, Phyllis Danner, Blythe Polo, Teri Rebhorn, James Rebhorn, James Wilson, Owen
.
Director: Roach, Jay Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB) Color DTS Surround Sound
Amazon.com Randy Newman's opening song, "A Fool in Love," perfectly sets up the movie that follows. The lyrics begin, "Show me a man who is gentle and kind, and I'll show you a loser," before praising the man who takes what he wants. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is the fool in love in Meet the Parents. Just as he's about to propose to his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), he learns that her sister's fiancˇ asked their father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), for permission to marry. Now he feels the need to do the same thing. When Greg meets Jack, he is so desperate to be liked that he makes up stories and kisses ass rather than having the courage of his convictions. It doesn't take an elite member of the CIA to see right through Greg, but that's precisely what Jack is. Directed by Jay Roach (the Austin Powers movies), Meet the Parents is an incredibly well-crafted comedy that stands in nice opposition to, say, the sloppy extremes of the Farrelly brothers. Stiller is great at playing up the uncomfortable comedy of errors, balancing just the right amount of selfishness and self-deprecating humor, while De Niro's Jack is funny as the hard-ass father who just wants a few straight answers from the kid. What makes the Jack character all the funnier is Blythe Danner as his wife, the Gracie to his George Burns, who is the true heart of the movie. Oh, and Owen Wilson turns in yet another terrific comic performance as Pam's ex-fiancˇ. --Andy Spletzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Midsummer Night's Dream, A
.
Starring: Kline, Kevin Pfeiffer, Michelle Everett, Rupert Hill, Bernard Wright, Max Sessions, John Rees, Roger Kline, Kevin Kline, Kevin Pfeiffer, Michelle
.
Director: Hoffman, Michael Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 Hours
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Imagine a work by Shakespeare reduced to one of those pretty, glossy coffee-table picture books that have only a dollop of text alongside its sumptuous photographs, and you might have Michael Hoffman's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This all-star version of Shakespeare's comedy is gorgeously shot in Tuscany, complete with a magical forest, breathtaking landscapes, beautiful villas, picturesque villages, stunning period costumes--oh wait, there's supposed to be a story here, too! Hoffman hijacks Shakespeare's basic premise but doesn't instill it with much more than surface shine and transplants it to turn-of-the-century Italy. Ergo, it's left up to the actors to find the heart and soul of this classic play, in which the fairies of the forest play mix and match with four young lovers, courtesy of a magical love potion. Hoffman couldn't ask for better (or better looking) actors to play Shakespeare's dreamlike love games--Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, Anna Friel, Dominic West, the list goes on and on--but he sure as heck doesn't know what to do with them, aside from putting them in various states of undress. Only Flockhart (as the lovestruck Helena), Tucci (a sprightly Puck), Pfeiffer (dazzling and funny as the queen of the fairies), and especially the sublime Kline (as weaver-turned-donkey Bottom) seem to connect with their characters in ways that make this adaptation occasionally soar; the rest are inexplicably left to flounder. Hoffman does seem to set himself right with the film's climax, when Bottom's amateur acting troupe hilariously enacts the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe (it helps that the troupe includes Roger Rees, Sam Rockwell, and Bill Irwin). Those searching for a more in-depth exploration of Shakespeare's farce might do better to look elsewhere, but if it's gorgeous actors and scenery you're in the mood for (along with an evocative opera soundtrack), and an all's-well-that-ends-well ending, this Midsummer Night will give you pleasant if weightless dreams. --Mark Englehart --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Monty Python's Life of Brian - Criterion Collection
.
Starring: Chapman, Graham Cleese, John Chapman, Graham Taylor, Gwen Bayler, Terence Palin, Michael Cleveland, Carol Cleese, John Cleese, John Idle, Eric
.
Director: Jones, Terry Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 8.0/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video "Blessed are the cheesemakers," a wise man once said. Or maybe not. But the point is Monty Python's Life of Brian is a religious satire that does not target specific religions or religious leaders (like, say, Jesus of Nazareth). Instead, it pokes fun at the mindless and fanatical among their followers--it's an attack on religious zealotry and hypocrisy--things that that fellow from Nazareth didn't particularly care for either. Nevertheless, at the time of its release in 1979, those who hadn't seen it considered it to be quite "controversial." Life of Brian, you see, is about a chap named Brian (Graham Chapman) born December 25 in a hovel not far from a soon-to-be-famous Bethlehem manger. Brian is mistaken for the messiah and therefore manipulated, abused, and exploited by various religious and political factions. And it's really, really funny. Particularly memorable bits include the brassy Shirley Bassey/James Bond-like title song; the bitter rivalry between the anti-Roman resistance groups, the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea; Michael Palin's turn as a lisping, risible Pontius Pilate; Brian urging a throng of false-idol worshippers to think for themselves--to which they reply en masse "Yes, we must think for ourselves!"; the fact that everything Brian does, including losing his sandal in an attempt to flee these wackos, is interpreted as "a sign." Life of Brian is not only one of Monty Python's funniest achievements, it's also the group's sharpest and smartest sustained satire. Blessed are the Pythons. --Jim Emerson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Description After slaying the Arthurian legend in their now classic Holy Grail, the Pythons set their sights on the Greatest Story Ever Told. Blind faith, virgin birth, crucifixion-nothing is sacred in this epic send-up of ancient times, which draws on the cornball biblical blockbusters of the 1950s to lampoon celebrity culture in any era. Criterion has gathered the guilty parties-including John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin-for two commentary tracks as provocative and hilarious as the film itself. Available for the first time in a 16:9 enhanced transfer, Monty Python's Life of Brian can finally be viewed in all its - ahem - glory.
Mr. Wonderful
.
Starring: Dillon, Matt Sciorra, Annabella Parker, Mary-Louise Parker, Mary-Louise Hurt, William Gray, David Barry Hedaya, Dan Kirby, Bruce Kirby, Bruce Harper, Jessica
.
Director: Minghella, Anthony Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.7/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Description Romantic comedy centering around a New York con edison worker who gets an unexpected second chance at first love.
My Best Friend's Wedding (Special Edition)
.
Starring: Roberts, Julia Mulroney, Dermot Diaz, Cameron Shearer, Harry Everett, Rupert Griffiths, Rachel Sullivan, Susan Roberts, Julie Roberts, Julie Walsh, M. Emmet
.
Director: Hogan, P.J. Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.4/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com essential video One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, My Best Friend's Wedding not only gave Julia Roberts a delightful vehicle for her crowd-pleasing comeback, but it further distinguished itself by avoiding the conventional plotting of the genre. Julia plays a prominent Chicago restaurant critic whose best friend (Dermot Mulroney) is a former lover from her college days with whom she'd made a binding pact: if neither of them were married by the age of 28, they'd marry each other. Just when they're about to reach the deadline of their agreement, Mulroney arrives in Chicago to introduce Roberts to his seemingly perfect fiancˇe (Cameron Diaz) and announce their wedding in just three days. That leaves the shocked Julia with just three short days to sabotage the wedding and marry the man she now realizes she's loved all along. With potential heartbreak waiting in the wings, she'll either get what she wants or pay the price for her selfish behavior, and Ronald Bass's cleverly constructed screenplay keeps us guessing to the very end. Rupert Everett scored rave reviews for his scene-stealing performance as Robert's gay friend who goes along with her scheming (but only so far), and even as she makes her character's needy desperation disarmingly appealing, Roberts wisely allows Diaz to capitalize on her charming time in the spotlight. As the romantic outcome remains uncertain, the viewer is held in a state of giddy suspense, and director P.J. Hogan pulls off some hilarious scenes (like a restaurant full of people singing the Dionne Warwick hit "I Say a Little Prayer") that could easily have fallen flat in the hands of a less talented filmmaker. It's no surprise that this was one of the box-office smashes of 1997. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the DVD edition.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
.
Starring: Vardalos, Nia Constantine, Michael Constantine, Michael Kazan, Lainie Carides, Gia Constantine, Michael Mandylor, Louis Fatone, Joey Fatone, Joey Gomez, Ian
.
Director: Zwick, Joel Rating: PG Running Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com It's not surprising that My Big Fat Greek Wedding grew more popular over the course of its theatrical release (whereas most blockbusters open big and then drop precipitously)--not only does it have believable situations and engaging characters, but these characters (particularly our romantic heroine, Toula, played by writer and performer Nia Vardalos) look like actual human beings instead of plastic movie stars. The result is the very accessible tale of Greek-American Toula (whose family sees her as over the hill at 30), who falls for a WASPy guy named Ian (John Corbett) and then has to endure the outrage, doubt, and ultimate acceptance of her deeply ethnically centered family. The actors invest their wildly stereotypical portrayals with sincerity and compassion, giving the movie an honest warmth instead of Hollywood schmaltz. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding ultimately succeeds because of Vardalos; her intelligent, down-to-earth presence and charm carry the film. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Toula Portokalos is a quiet, devoted daughter in a big, hectic, crazy Greek family. Working at her father's restaurant, "Dancing Zorba's," she hides behind a mop of mousy brown hair and thick, impenetrable glasses, keeping her family close and the world at a distance. But one day at the restaurant, she finds herself pouring coffee for a man so strikingly good-looking, that he inspires her to change her life - and the way she sees the world - forever. With a new hairdo, wardrobe, contact lenses, and most important of all, a whole new attitude, Toula steps out into the world a new woman, all ready to meet her man. Ian Miller is tall, handsome, but definitely not Greek. And whether he can handle Toula, her parents, her aunts, uncles, cousins and several centuries of Greek culture remains to be seen. But when you see the world through Toula's eyes, anything is possible!
Nine Months
.
Starring: Grant, Hugh Moore, Julianne Arnold, Tom Goldblum, Jeff Cusack, Joan Moore, Julianne Tutto, Ray D. Fromage, Marty Fromage, Marty Vega, Alexa
.
Director: Columbus, Chris Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 46 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.3/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com This film represents Hugh Grant's first big bid at Hollywood stardom, on the heels of the success of Four Weddings and a Funeral. But he stumbled twice: first with this mundane comedy, then by being arrested after soliciting a prostitute near downtown Hollywood, the week before the film opened. Directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire), Nine Months was a weak reworking of a French film about an aging bachelor (Grant) who can't decide whether to commit to the woman he loves (Julianne Moore). When she becomes pregnant, he still can't make up his mind and winds up blowing hot and cold on the subject of fatherhood, which causes tension in the relationship. There's a lot of low comedy involving Grant's best friend; Tom Arnold plays this ultra-married and child-ridden suburbanite, who makes fatherhood look like a living hell. Robin Williams has a funny cameo as a foreign doctor, but in the end, the sentiment is ladled on and Grant doesn't have nearly enough funny material to work with. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Notting Hill (Collector's Edition)
.
Starring: Roberts, Julia Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Chambers, Emma Ifans, Rhys McInnerny, Tim McKee, Gina McKee, Gina King, Lorelei
.
Director: Michell, Roger Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com essential video They don't really make many romantic comedies like Notting Hill anymore--blissfully romantic, sincerely sweet, and not grounded in any reality whatsoever. Pure fairy tale, and with a huge debt to Roman Holiday, Notting Hill ponders what would happen if a beautiful, world-famous person were to suddenly drop into your life unannounced and promptly fall in love with you. That's the crux of the situation for William Thacker (Hugh Grant), who owns a travel bookshop in London's fashionable Notting Hill district. Hopelessly ordinary (well, as ordinary as you can be when you're Hugh Grant), William is going about his life when renowned movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) walks into his bookstore and into his heart. After another contrived meet-cute involving spilled orange juice, William and Anna share a spontaneous kiss (big suspension of disbelief required here), and soon both are smitten. The question is, of course, can William and Anna reconcile his decidedly commonplace bookseller existence and her lifestyle as a jet-setting, paparazzi-stalked celebrity? (Take a wild guess at the answer.) Smartly scripted by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and directed by Roger Michell (Persuasion), Notting Hill is hardly realistic, but as wish fulfillment and a romantic comedy, it's irresistible. True, Roberts doesn't really have to stretch very far to play a big-time actress who makes $15 million per movie, but she's more winning and relaxed than she's been in years, and Grant is sweetly understated as a man blindsided by love. Together, in moments of quiet, they're a charming couple, and you can feel her craving for real love and his awe and amazement at the wonderful person for whom he has fallen. The only blight on the film is its overbearing pop soundtrack, though Elvis Costello's heart-wrenching version of "She" gets poignant exposure. With Rhys Ifans as Grant's scene-stealing, slovenly housemate and Alec Baldwin in a sly, perfectly cast cameo. --Mark Englehart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Office - The Complete First Series, The
.
Starring: Gervais, Ricky Crook, Mackenzie Freeman, Martin Davis, Lucy Baladi, Patrick Beckett, Joel
.
Director: Gervais, Ricky Rating: NR Running Time: 3 Hours
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color Stereo
Amazon.com It feels both inaccurate and inadequate to describe The Office as a comedy. On a superficial level, it disdains all the conventions of television sitcoms: there are no punch lines, no jokes, no laugh tracks, and no cute happy endings. More profoundly, it's not what we're used to thinking of as funny. Most of the fervently devoted fan base watched with a discomfortingly thrilling combination of identification and mortification. The paradox is that its best moments are almost physically unwatchable. Set in the offices of a fictional British paper merchant, The Office is filmed in the style of a reality television show. The writing is subtle and deft, the acting wonderful, and the characters beautifully drawn: the cadaverous team leader Gareth (Mackenzie Crook); the monstrous sales rep, Chris Finch (Ralph Ineson); and the decent but long-suffering everyman Tim (Martin Freeman), whose ambition and imagination have been crushed out of him by the banality of the life he dreams uselessly of escaping. The show is stolen, as it was intended to be, by insufferable office manager David Brent, played by codirector-cowriter Ricky Gervais. Brent will become a name as emblematic for a particular kind of British grotesque as Basil Fawlty, but he is a deeper character. Fawlty is an exaggeration of reality, and therefore a safely comic figure. Brent is as appalling as only reality can be. --Andrew Mueller Description Welcome to Wernham Hogg, a suburban paper company where "life is stationery." Critics and fans alike have lauded this hilarious, biting look at everyday office life, told in the mockumentary style of cult comedy classics such as This is Spinal Tap and The Larry Sanders Show. The show revolves around David Brent, (an instant classic character widely compared to Basil Fawlty of Fawlty Towers) the oblivious general manager who instigates petty office rivalries. The wince-worthy Brent still considers himself "a friend first and a boss second...probably an entertainer third."
Office - The Complete Second Series, The
.
Starring: Gervais, Ricky Crook, Mackenzie Davis, Lucy Davis, Lucy Baladi, Patrick Beckett, Joel
.
Director: Gervais, Ricky Rating: NR Running Time: 3 Hours
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color Stereo
Amazon.com The second series of the award-winning BBC mockudrama The Office exceeded even the sky-high standards of the first. Indeed, it ventured beyond caricature and satire, touching on the very edge of darkness. Ricky Gervais was once again excruciatingly superb as David Brent, a subtly shaded modern English comic grotesque in the desperate and self-deluding tradition of Alan Partridge and Basil Fawlty. In this series, however, Brent's to-the-camera assertions concerning his management qualities and executive capabilities are seriously challenged when the Slough and Swindon branches are merged and his former Swindon equivalent Neil takes over as area manager. To compensate, Brent cultivates his pathologically mistaken image of himself as an entertainer-motivator-comedian whose stage happens to be the workplace. Meanwhile, Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman), who can only maintain his sanity by teasing the priggish Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook), continues to wrestle with his yearning for receptionist Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis), a sympathetic character persisting in a relationship with a man about whom she still maintains unspoken reservations. As ever, it's the awkward, reality TV-style pauses and silences, the furtive, meaningful and unmet glances across the emotional gulf of the open-plan office, that say it all here. As for Brent, his own breakdown is prefaced by a moment of hideous hilarity--an impromptu office dance, a mixture of "Flashdance and MC Hammer" as Brent describes it, but in reality bad beyond description. Then, when his fate is sealed, he at last reveals himself in a memorable finale to perhaps the greatest British sitcom, besides Fawlty Towers, ever made. All this and Keith too. --David Stubbs Description Welcome to Wernham Hogg, the paper company a world away from London, where life is stationery. Critics and fans alike have lauded this hilarious, biting look at the everyday hell of office life as a cult comedy classic in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap and The Larry Sanders Show. Series two marks the final full season of the life in the office.
One Fine Day
.
Starring: Pfeiffer, Michelle Clooney, George Whitman, Mae Durning, Charles Whitman, Mae Baitz, Jon Robin Greene, Ellen Grifasi, Joe Grifasi, Joe Horsford, Anna Maria
.
Director: Hoffman, Michael Rating: PG Running Time: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.2/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com This gentle comedy almost seems like something out of Hollywood's Golden Age, a movie that might have been made by a talented contract director, perhaps featuring Don Ameche and Claudette Colbert. But in fact it stars George Clooney as an investigative columnist for a New York newspaper and Michelle Pfeiffer as an architect. Both single parents, the two meet and bicker and develop a relationship over the course of a day while their young children play together. Michael Hoffman (Restoration) directs with a good sense of what's funny about harried caretakers and kids who do whatever they want to do. The story stretches out of shape a bit when Clooney's character has to rally to prove some point of corruption at City Hall; nobody involved seems quite up to making that subplot believable, but all that really matters about this very nice movie is the winning love story. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Pretty in Pink
.
Starring: Ringwald, Molly Cryer, Jon Cryer, Jon McCarthy, Andrew Ringwald, Molly Spader, James Cryer, Jon Kenin, Alexa Kenin, Alexa Clay, Andrew Dice
.
Director: Deutch, Howard Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.3/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com The era of Molly Ringwald's profitable collaboration with writer-producer-director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) was at its peak with this 1986 film (directed by Howard Deutch but in every sense part of the developing Hughes empire). Ringwald plays a high school girl on the budget side of the tracks, living with her warm and loving father (Harry Dean Stanton) and usually accompanied by her insecure best friend (Jon Cryer). When a wealthy but well-meaning boy (Andrew McCarthy) asks her out, her perspective is overturned and Cryer's character is threatened. As was the case in the mid-'80s, Hughes (who wrote the script and produced the film) brought his special feel for the cross-currents of adolescent life to this story. In its very commercial way, it is an honest, entertaining piece about growing pains. The attractive supporting cast (many of whom are much better known now) does a terrific job, and Ringwald and Cryer have excellent chemistry. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Pretty Woman (10th Anniversary Edition)
.
Starring: Gere, Richard Roberts, Julia Bellamy, Ralph Alexander, Jason San Giacomo, Laura Hyde-White, Alex Yasbeck, Amy Gere, Richard Gere, Richard Eckstut, Bruce
.
Director: Marshall, Garry Rating: R Running Time: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.6/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video Like a pumpkin that transforms into a carriage, some very shrewd casting (and the charisma of Julia Roberts, in particular) morphed this story of a Hollywood whore into a Disneyfied Cinderella story--and a mainstream megahit. This is the movie that made Roberts a star; the charm of her personality helping tremendously to carry viewers over the rough spots in the script (which was originally a cynical tale about prostitution called 3000--after the amount of money Richard Gere's character pays the prostitute to stay with him for the week). Gere is the silver-haired Wall Street knight who sweeps streetwalker Roberts into a fantasy world of room service at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel and fashion boutique shopping on Rodeo Drive. The supporting cast is also appealing, including Laura San Giacomo as Roberts's hooker pal, Hector Elizondo as the hotel manager, Jason Alexander, Ralph Bellamy, and Hank Azaria. Now, is this something you want your sons and daughters to see? That's entirely up to you. --Jim Emerson --This text refers to the DVD edition.
Ref, The
.
Starring: Leary, Denis Davis, Judy Spacey, Kevin Spacey, Kevin J. Steinmiller Jr., Robert Barry, Raymond J. Bright, Richard Baranski, Christine Baranski, Christine Nicoll, Phillip
.
Director: Demme, Ted Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video Caustic wit gets a full-body workout in this 1994 comedy, in which a cat burglar (Denis Leary) gets trapped in an affluent Connecticut neighborhood and is forced to hold a bickering couple hostage on Christmas Eve, only to discover that their Yuletide spirit is anything but cheerful. Caroline (Judy Davis) and her husband, Lloyd (Kevin Spacey), have been at each other's throats for so long that they've developed domestic arguments into an art form, and the would-be kidnapper turns into a reluctant mediator, even after he's got the battling couple wound up in bungee cords. The situation grows even more complicated when the couple's smart-aleck son comes home from military school, but it's not the plot here that's a top priority. Instead it's the sheer pleasure of witnessing a three-way verbal jousting match, written with razor-sharp skill and delivered by actors who are perfect for their roles. The movie's got a dark edge, but it never gets too dark--you know that it's not going to slide into more seriously damaging territory, so you can sit back and enjoy the volleys of scathing insults and sarcasm the way you would a Don Rickles performance. If that sounds like your idea of entertainment, The Ref will serve it up with style. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.
Return to Me
.
Starring: Duchovny, David Driver, Minnie Belushi, Jim Jones, Eddie Loggia, Robert Grier, David Alan O'Connor, Carroll Richardson, Joely Richardson, Joely Belushi, Jim
.
Director: Hunt, Bonnie Rating: PG Running Time: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.9/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) and Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) have very little in common. Granted, they both live in Chicago and they're both a bit lovelorn, but that's about it. Still, fate has something in mind for these two somewhat-depressed souls (a construction worker and budding artist, respectively), who've both recently had brushes with death--he's a recent widower, she's just recovered from a heart transplant--and are a little more serious than their friends and relatives. After a series of misbegotten blind dates and almost-meetings, though, these two finally get together, and find that they fit seamlessly with each other. Despite their differences, they have a lot in common--in fact, quite a lot. It seems that the heart that now beats inside Grace's chest once belonged to Bob's wife (Joely Richardson), who died in a car crash. Coincidence? We think not. A gentle, pleasing romantic comedy, Return to Me marks the directorial debut of Bonnie Hunt, an acclaimed actress known most famously for her role as Renee Zellweger's sister in Jerry Maguire. A shining, happy bright spot in whatever role she's in, Hunt has also invested the film with her trademark brand of humor: dry but sincere, sarcastic but not caustic, and with a deep current of humanity and romance. In the midst of all the permutations that fate surrounds them with, Driver and Duchovny make a pleasantly low-key couple; the triumph of the film is that despite all the contrived angst, the romance is never overly saccharine. They provide a quiet center in a film that has a fair amount of chaos in it, particularly due to Driver's extended family of Irish and Italian relatives (which occasionally tips the film into cutesy territory) and most hilariously to Driver's best friend, played by director Hunt . As a harried mother with innumerable kids and a likable oaf of a husband (James Belushi), Hunt again steals scenes effortlessly; Belushi is a comic revelation, better than he's been in years. You'll have the pleasant memories of both of these couples--one falling in love, one together for years--with you a long while after seeing this film. --Mark Englehart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Royal Tenenbaums - Criterion Collection, The
.
Starring: Hackman, Gene Paltrow, Gwyneth Stiller, Ben Huston, Anjelica Stiller, Ben Paltrow, Gwyneth Wilson, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Owen Cassel, Seymour
.
Director: Anderson, Wes Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDB) Color DTS Surround Sound
Amazon.com In a fitting follow-up to Rushmore, writer-director Wes Anderson and cowriter-actor Owen Wilson have crafted another comedic masterwork that ripples with inventive, richly emotional substance. Because of the all-star cast, hilarious dialogue, and oddball characters existing in their own, wholly original universe, it's easy to miss the depth and complexity of Anderson's brand of comedy. Here, it revolves around Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), the errant patriarch of a dysfunctional family of geniuses, including precocious playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), boyish financier and grieving widower Chas (Ben Stiller), and has-been tennis pro Richie (Luke Wilson). All were raised with supportive detachment by mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston), and all ache profoundly for a togetherness they never really had. The Tenenbaums reconcile somehow, but only after Anderson and Wilson (who costars as a loopy literary celebrity) put them through a compassionate series of quirky confrontations and rekindled affections. Not for every taste, but this is brilliant work from any perspective. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. Description Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston) had three children-Chas, Margot, and Richie-and then they separated. Chas (Ben Stiller) started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright and received a Braverman Grant of $50,000 in the ninth grade. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior champion tennis player and won the U.S. Nationals three years in a row. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Wes Anderson's hilarious, touching, and brilliantly stylized study of melancholy and redemption.
Seinfeld Seasons 1, 2, 3 Gift Set
.
Starring: Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Richards, Michael Alexander, Jason Richards, Michael Fancy, Richard Harris, Estelle Herd, Richard Knight, Wayne Knight, Wayne Martin, Barney
.
Director: Seinfeld, Jerry Rating: NR Running Time: 15 Hours 42 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: Color Mono
Barnes & Noble The groundbreaking comedy series Seinfeld is finally on DVD. Join Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), his best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and crazy neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) for the show that changed television comedy and won 13 Emmy Awards. The Seinfeld Gift Set contains Seinfeld Volume 1, which includes all 18 episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 on four discs; Seinfeld Volume 2, which includes all 22 episodes from Season 3 on four discs; a limited edition script with handwritten notes from creator Larry David; exclusive "Monk's Diner" salt and pepper shakers; and collectible playing cards. Each episode is digitally re-mastered in High Definition. Loaded with hours of special features from both the creators behind the shows and the cast, Volumes 1 and 2 include: a full-length documentary; production commentaries; bloopers; deleted scenes; never-before-seen Jerry Seinfeld stand-up footage; and trivia. These episodes are the original network versions -- not seen since they were originally broadcast -- that are 1-2 minutes longer than the syndicated versions and sure to please Seinfeld fans. PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES: Features: Seinfeld Seasons 1, 2, and 3; limited edition script with handwritten notes from creator Larry David; "Monk's Diner" salt and pepper shakers; collectible playing cards. Language: English, English Editions: Mixed Media Set Time: 15 Hours 42 Minutes
Sleepless in Seattle (Special Edition)
.
Starring: Hanks, Tom Ryan, Meg Malinger, Ross O'Donnell, Rosie Pullman, Bill Pierce, David Hyde Reiner, Rob Wilson, Rita Wilson, Rita Lowell, Carey
.
Director: Ephron, Nora Rating: PG Running Time: 120 minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.7/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video The director and stars of 1998's You've Got Mail scored a breakthrough hit with this hugely popular romantic comedy from 1993, about a recently engaged woman (Meg Ryan) who hears the sad story of a grieving widower (Tom Hanks) on the radio and believes that they're destined to be together. She's single in New York, he lives in Seattle with a young son, but the cross-country attraction proves irresistible, and pretty soon Meg's on a westbound flight. What happens from there is ... well, you must have been living in a cave to have let this sweet-hearted comedy slip below your pop-cultural radar. There's little complexity or depth to writer-director Nora Ephron's cheesy tale of a romantic fait accompli, and more than a little contrivance to the subplots that threaten to keep Hanks and Ryan from actually meeting. But the purity of star chemistry here is hard to deny, and this may be the first film to indicate the more serious and sympathetic side of Hanks that is revealed in later roles. With its clever jokes about "chick movies" and repeated homage to the classic weeper An Affair to Remember, this may not be everybody's brand of amorous entertainment, but it's got an old-Hollywood charm that appeals to many a movie fan. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Snatch (Special Edition)
.
Starring: Statham, Jason Pitt, Brad Jones, Vinnie Reid, Mike Farina, Dennis Bremner, Ewen Serbedzija, Rade Flemyng, Jason Flemyng, Jason Toro, Benicio Del
.
Director: Ritchie, Guy Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.9/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Usually it might seem a tad unfair to begin a review by referring to the director's missis. But then the missis in question wouldn't usually be Madonna--a woman whose ability to reinvent herself several times before breakfast seems in marked contrast to that of hubby Guy Ritchie. Certainly, this follow-up to the filmmaker's breakthrough film--the high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels--hardly breaks new ground being, well, another high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie. OK, so there are some differences. This time around our low-rent hoodlums are battling over dodgy fights and stolen diamonds rather than dodgy card games and stolen drugs. There has been some minor reshuffling of the cast too, with Sting and Dexter Fletcher making way for the more bankable Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt, the latter pretty much stealing the whole shebang as an incomprehensible Irish gypsy. And, sure, people who really, really liked Lock, Stock--or have the memory of a goldfish--will really, really like this. The suspicion lingers, however, that if the director doesn't do something very different next time around then his career may prove to be considerably shorter than that of his missis. --Clark Collis --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Someone Like You
.
Starring: Judd, Ashley Kinnear, Greg Jackman, Hugh Kinnear, Greg Dent, Catherine Jackman, Hugh Hanover, Donna Singh, Sabine Singh, Sabine Reddin, Keith
.
Director: Goldwyn, Tony Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.7/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com Despite its foregone conclusion, Someone Like You is an agreeable romantic comedy about how people construct elaborate defenses to cope with emotional anguish. Based on Laura Zigman's novel Animal Husbandry, the movie is purely formulaic, with a heroine's best friend (played here by Marisa Tomei) and other supporting roles that come straight from central casting. Even the lovelorn heroine is standard-issue for the genre, but as emotionally devastated talk-show booker Jane Goodale, Ashley Judd brings intelligent charm to a role that could have been maudlin and pathetic. For a while, Jane is pathetic: after being dumped by her seemingly devoted boyfriend Ray (Greg Kinnear), she turns heartbreak into a hobby, creating self-assuring theories about male behavior based on the mating habits of cows. She comforts herself with the certainty that all men are scum, when really she just can't accept rejection. Cast adrift, Jane accepts a roommate offer from her womanizing colleague Eddie (X-Men's Hugh Jackman), who's been nursing his own heartbreak with lots of casual sex. You can see where this is going, and actor-director Tony Goldwyn (following his underrated drama Walk on the Moon) doesn't offer any surprises. But Goldwyn is alert to the comedy of human foibles, and the movie peaks when Jane's defenses are down and Judd's appeal shines at full intensity. At her best, Judd makes an average script better than it has a right to be, and while Kinnear perfects his smarmy routine, Jackman matches them both with star-making sincerity. Someone Like You won't win any awards for originality, but it's universal in its comedic sympathy for the brokenhearted. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
Story of Us, The
.
Starring: Willis, Bruce Pfeiffer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michelle Matheson, Tim Wilson, Rita Reiser, Paul Reiner, Rob Hagerty, Julie Hagerty, Julie Boersma, Dylan
.
Director: Reiner, Rob Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.6/10 (IMDB) Color DTS Surround Sound
Amazon.com Director Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally... was about a relationship beginning; The Story of Us is about a relationship possibly coming to an end. Bruce Willis plays a comedy writer who chafes at what he sees as his wife's lack of spontaneity; Michelle Pfeiffer, who creates crossword puzzles, stews over what she sees as her husband's irresponsibility. The arc of their separation is interspliced with glimpses and scenes from their marriage--a combination of high points (the proposal, the births of their two children), low points (screaming fights), and the in-between (sessions with marriage counselors, moments in bed staring at the TV). Reiner indicates the passage of time by Willis and Pfeiffer's various hairstyles, and they occasionally let their hair act for them, but at other points their performances are sincere and deeply felt. The sheer power of the themes--the inevitability of conflict in a relationship, the necessity and difficulty of growth--give the movie a degree of emotional force, and there's no doubt that everyone who's gone through a difficult period in their marriage (which is just about every married couple) will find something to connect with. However, there isn't a lot of chemistry between the two leads. In one sequence Willis and Pfeiffer go to Venice to rekindle their old spark and find themselves hounded by another couple, the Kirbys from Cleveland, who are loud, crass, boring, and oblivious. Nonetheless, the Kirbys have a buoyancy that the glossy and elegant stars never quite manage; if The Story of Us had been the story of them, it might have been a better story to watch. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Sweet Home Alabama
.
Starring: Witherspoon, Reese Lucas, Josh Dempsey, Patrick Place, Mary Kay Smart, Jean Witherspoon, Reese Lynskey, Melanie Embry, Ethan Embry, Ethan Lucas, Josh
.
Director: Tennant, Andy Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.8/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com As formulaic, utterly inoffensive romantic comedies go, Sweet Home Alabama could be better, and could be worse. It's a variant of Julia Roberts's Something to Talk About, with all the same strengths and weaknesses, and Reese Witherspoon is definitely its saving grace. As an Alabama country girl turned hot New York fashion designer, Witherspoon finds the genuine emotions hidden under a blandly familiar plot, making her character's romantic indecisiveness seem not only credible but disarmingly appealing. She's just agreed to marry the Camelot-bred son (Patrick Dempsey) of New York's no-nonsense mayor (Candice Bergen), but first she has to officially divorce the husband (Josh Lucas) she left behind years earlier... only to discover that their love is stronger than ever. The rest, of course, is a foregone conclusion, but with a sharp supporting cast and a few charming moments, Sweet Home Alabama will satisfy anyone who prefers safe, reassuring entertainment. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
There's Something About Mary
.
Starring: Diaz, Cameron Stiller, Ben Dillon, Matt Elliott, Chris Evans, Lee Post, Markie Williams, Harland Silverman, Sarah Silverman, Sarah Shaye, Lin
.
Director: Farrelly, Peter Rating: R Running Time: 119 minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com There's Something About Mary is one of the funniest movies in years, recalling the days of the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker movies, in which (often tasteless) gags were piled on at a fierce rate. The difference is that cowriters and codirectors Bobby and Peter Farrelly have also crafted a credible story line and even tossed in some genuine emotional content. The Farrelly brothers' first two movies, Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin, had some moments of uproarious raunch, but were uneven. With Mary, they've created a consistently hilarious romantic comedy, made all the funnier by the fact that you know that they know that some of their gags go way over the line. Cameron Diaz stars as Mary, every guy's ideal. Ben Stiller plays a high-school suitor still hung up on Mary years later; the obstacles standing between him and her include a number of psychotic suitors, a miserable little pooch, and, oh yeah, a murder charge. The Farrellys' admittedly simplistic camera work, which adapts easily to a TV screen, and the fact that you'll likely laugh yourself so silly over certain scenes you'll want to replay them to see what you were missing while you were busy convulsing, make this a perfect video movie. --David Kronke
Two Weeks Notice (Full Screen Edition)
.
Starring: Bullock, Sandra Grant, Hugh Witt, Alicia Ivey, Dana Haig, David Burns, Heather Klein, Robert Missick, Dorian Missick, Dorian Dokuchitz, Jonathan
.
Director: (II), Marc Lawrence Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.8/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com You'd expect a cavalcade of cuteness from any pairing of Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, but Two Weeks Notice admirably avoids the obvious. You get plenty of Bullock's pratfalls and feisty sex appeal, and Grant's snappy comebacks are never in short supply, but first-time writer-director Marc Lawrence (who wrote Bullock's previous hit, Miss Congeniality) adds just enough antagonism to keep this romantic comedy from being a completely foregone conclusion. Neurotic lawyer, environmentalist, and landmark-preservation activist Lucy Kelson (Bullock) is determined to thwart the efforts of billionaire developer and jet-setting playboy George Wade (Grant); of course, fate brings them together and then rips them apart, just as they're beginning to feel the panicky pangs of love. A replacement attorney (Alicia Witt) defies formula by being genuinely sweet, and Lawrence steers clear of the most familiar clichés. It's formulaic anyway, but in Two Weeks Notice it's a comforting formula, delivered by stars who thrive within their limitations. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features Depending on how you liked this romantic comedy, you just might find more laughs in the delightful banter between the director and his two stars on the commentary track. Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant join writer-director Marc Lawrence for a lively 102 minutes of conversation. Not much movie magic is discussed, but the three talents will sacrifice all for a good joke. It's best to watch the commentary track with the "Two Bleeps Notice" viewing option: when a heart appears on-screen, you can... read more Description Opposites don't just attract - they hilariously banter, fuss, feud and collide when SANDRA BULLOCK plays an activist lawyer and HUGH GRANT is the eccentric tycoon who hires her in this romantic-comedy romp from the writer of Miss Congeniality
Wedding Planner, The
.
Starring: Lopez, Jennifer McConaughey, Matthew Wilson, Bridgette Wilson, Bridgette Lopez, Jennifer McConaughey, Matthew Greer, Judy Kimbrough, Charles Kimbrough, Charles Wilson-Sampras, Bridgette
.
Director: Shankman, Adam Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 5.0/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com The good news is, yes, Jennifer Lopez can do comedy. In The Wedding Planner Lopez is Mary, a lovable woman who believes "those who can't do, teach. Those who can't wed, plan!" Her slapstick moments are lighthearted and she is spot-on as the controlling, compulsive-yet-sweet planner. The bad news is Lopez didn't get much of a vehicle in which to test drive her newfound comedic skills. Mary's life is her career. Planning other people's weddings takes all of her time, leaving no room for a love life of her own. Her only personal life is a Scrabble club, to which she and her father (Alex Rocco, whose wandering Italian accent is painful to listen to) belong. When a handsome young doctor (Matthew McConaughey) saves her from a collision with a runaway dumpster (really, it works), she is instantly wooed by his quiet charm. Too bad he's the fiancˇ of Mary's biggest client, Fran (played winningly by Bridgette Wilson-Sampras), the job that will launch Mary as a partner in her firm. The main problem with this film is that no one wants to hurt anyone else's feelings. Everyone is just so gosh-darn nice. In a subplot, Mary's father is trying to arrange her marriage to just the nicest Italian boy. Gee, he's sweet. Golly, Fran is nice. Is there ever a way out of this mess and to leave everyone smiling? Yet, there is a touch of old-fashioned romance to this wholesome film, which can only be described as "cute." And while things may unfold in a predictable manner, The Wedding Planner is still lighthearted fun of the sort that inspires dreamy romantic thoughts. --Jenny Brown --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.
What About Bob?
.
Starring: Murray, Bill Dreyfuss, Richard Hagerty, Julie Korsmo, Charlie Brill, Fran Hagerty, Julie Erbe, Kathryn Bowen, Roger Bowen, Roger Reddy, Brian
.
Director: Oz, Frank Rating: PG Running Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Description Comic wizard Bill Murray (CRADLE WILL ROCK, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) teams up with Academy Award(R)-winner Richard Dreyfuss teams up with (Best Actor, 1978, THE GOODBYE GIRL) in an outrageously wild comedy that's sure to drive you off the deep end! Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled but lovable therapy patient who fears everything! After seeking help from noted psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss), Bob feels revived. But when the good doctor skips town to go on a quiet family vacation, Bob, afraid of being alone, follows -- showing up unexpectedly at the therapist's lakeside retreat. That's when the fun really begins! Bob innocently becomes the houseguest who just won't leave -- endearing himself to the other family members ... and, in the end, driving the stressed-out shrink absolutely crazy!
When Harry Met Sally...
.
Starring: Crystal, Billy Ryan, Meg Fisher, Carrie Nicastro, Michelle Kozak, Harley Jane Ford, Steve Persky, Lisa Kirby, Bruce "Bruno" Jr. Kirby, Bruce "Bruno" Jr. Burdick, David
.
Director: Reiner, Rob Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.7/10 (IMDB) Color Stereo
Amazon.com essential video Nora Ephron wrote the brisk screenplay for this 1989 romantic comedy, director Rob Reiner made a nicely glossy New York story (very much in a Woody Allen vein) out of it, and Billy Crystal's unstoppable charm made it something really special. Crystal and Meg Ryan play longtime platonic friends who keep dancing around their deeper feelings for one another, and Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher are their respective pals who fall in love and get married. Ryan doesn't get a lot of funny material, but her performance is typically alive and intuitive, and she more than holds her own with Crystal's comic motor mouth and sweet sentimentality. Reiner is on comfortable ground, liberated from the burden of making serious statements in the lead-footed manner of subsequent features. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features With the proliferation of so many lackluster deleted scenes on DVDs, it's nice to see something on this DVD that's worth watching. The seven scenes gathered here all have good laughs and could have easily been included in the film. Highlights of the 35-minute documentary (produced in 2000) include the genesis of the film (director Reiner's return to dating after years of marriage) and the deconstruction of many of the movie's best moments. New and old interviews are included, with Reiner,... read more
While You Were Sleeping
.
Starring: Bullock, Sandra Pullman, Bill Gallagher, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Peter Warden, Jack Johns, Glynis Mercurio, Micole Mercurio, Micole Walker, Ally
.
Director: Turteltaub, Jon Rating: PG Running Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.5/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com If you don't mind a heavy dose of schmaltz and sentiment, this romantic comedy has a gentle way of seducing you with its charms. While You Were Sleeping was the first starring role for Sandra Bullock after her blockbuster success in Speed. In a role that nicely emphasizes her easygoing appeal, Bullock is the reason the movie works at all. She plays Lucy Eleanor Moderatz, a Chicago Transit tollbooth clerk who's hopelessly smitten with a daily commuter, Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher). She saves the object of her affection from certain death after he's mugged and falls onto the train tracks. While Peter is in a coma, she lets his family believe that she is his fiancˇe, and surprisingly finds herself drawn to his brother (Bill Pullman), for whom the attraction is definitely mutual. How Lucy gets out of this amorous predicament is what makes this pleasant movie less predictable than its familiar ingredients would initially indicate. It's feel-good fluff, with characters and performances that keep you smiling through the drippy plot mechanics. --Jeff Shannon
Wonder Boys
.
Starring: Douglas, Michael Maguire, Tobey McDormand, Frances Maguire, Tobey Tudyk, Alan Bobb, Anika Velin, Bill O'Malley, Bingo O'Malley, Bingo Granli, Elisabeth
.
Director: Hanson, Curtis Rating: R Running Time: 1 Hour 52 Minutes
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com Wonder Boys is one of those movies in which more twists and turns disrupt the life of the hero in one weekend than would bother most of us our whole lives. Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is an aging one-novel wunderkind at a small Pittsburgh college who's laboring on his seven-years-in-the-making, 2000-plus page second opus with no end in sight. The morning of the college's literary lollapalooza, WordFest, Grady's wife leaves him; that evening, his mistress (Frances McDormand) announces she's pregnant (she's also the chancellor of the school, as well as the wife of Grady's boss). Grady's voracious editor (Robert Downey Jr.) is also in town, transvestite date in tow, determined to read the highly anticipated new book; there's also the nubile student (Katie Holmes), who seems more than willing to ease Grady's pain. And then there's James Leer (Tobey Maguire), the mordant and brilliant writing student who's the catalyst for Grady's lost weekend, which involves a soon-to-be-dead blind dog, a stolen car, and the jacket that Marilyn Monroe wore when she wed Joe DiMaggio. Had enough flights of fancy? It's only the beginning, and in the hands of director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) and screenwriter Steve Kloves (The Fabulous Baker Boys), Wonder Boys will have you begging for more. Adroitly adapting Michael Chabon's novel and distilling it to its droll, melancholy essence, Kloves and Hanson have fashioned a briskly unsentimental and darkly funny tale; these characters may be down on their luck, but they sure don't feel sorry for themselves. Douglas, by turns dryly sarcastic and sincerely heartfelt, single-handedly makes up for years of alpha-male posturing as the passive pothead Tripp, and whoever thought of pairing him with the resilient McDormand is brilliant--they convey the complexities and history of their relationship in a single glance or movement. And under Hanson's guidance, the rest of the cast is truly exceptional, with Maguire in a breakthrough performance and Downey at his manic best. The ending of Wonder Boys may feel a little too pat, but after everything these characters have been through, a happy ending seems a just reward. --Mark Englehart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
You've Got Mail
.
Starring: Hanks, Tom Ryan, Meg Posey, Parker Posey, Parker Kinnear, Greg Stapleton, Jean Chappelle, Dave Zahn, Steve Zahn, Steve Badalucco, Michael
.
Director: Ephron, Nora Rating: PG Running Time: 2 Hours
.
Category: Comedy User Rating: 6.2/10 (IMDB) Color Dolby
Amazon.com essential video By now, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have amassed such a fund of goodwill with moviegoers that any new onscreen pairing brings nearly reflexive smiles. In You've Got Mail, the quintessential boy and girl next door repeat the tentative romantic crescendo that made Sleepless in Seattle, writer-director Nora Ephron's previous excursion with the duo, a massive hit. The prospective couple do actually meet face to face early on, but Mail otherwise repeats the earlier feature's gentle, extended tease of saving its romantic resolution until the final, gauzy shot. The underlying narrative is an even more old-fashioned romantic pas de deux that is casually hooked to a newfangled device. The script, cowritten by the director and her sister, Delia Ephron, updates and relocates the Ernst Lubitsch classic, The Shop Around the Corner, to contemporary Manhattan, where Joe Fox (Hanks) is a cheerfully rapacious merchant whose chain of book superstores is gobbling up smaller, more specialized shops such as the children's bookstore owned by Kathleen Kelly (Ryan). Their lives run in close parallel in the same idealized neighborhood, yet they first meet anonymously, online, where they gradually nurture a warm, even intimate correspondence. As they begin to wonder whether this e-mail flirtation might lead them to be soul mates, however, they meet and clash over their colliding business fortunes. It's no small testament to the two stars that we wind up liking and caring about them despite the inevitable (and highly manipulative) arc of the plot. Although their chemistry transcended the consciously improbable romantic premise of Sleepless, enabling director Ephron to attain a kind of amorous soufflé, this time around there's a slow leak that considerably deflates the affair. Less credulous viewers will challenge Joe's logic in prolonging the concealment of his online identity from Kathleen, and may shake their heads at Ephron's reinvention of Manhattan as a spotless, sun-dappled wonderland where everybody lives in million-dollar apartments and color coordinates their wardrobes for cocktail parties. --Sam Sutherland Description Neigborhood bookstore rivals unwittingly become e-mail pen pals in this charming remake of The Shop Around the Corner