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..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Kim
Voynar
..Michael
Wilmington
..MCN Weekend
The Proposal: Blu-ray
At a time when no Hollywood studio seems able to make a romantic comedy that is either romantic or particularly funny, even a modestly successful rom-com automatically becomes worthy of praise. The Proposal was just such a movie, and American audiences showed their gratitude by coughing up $160 million at the box office. Significantly, neither Matthew McConaughey nor Kate Hudson – the studios’ go-to couple for half-baked on-screen romance – had anything to do with its acceptance.
When she accepted the lead in The Proposal, Sandra Bullock hadn’t been attached to a $100-million picture since the first Miss Congeniality, back in 2000. A veteran of the rom-com wars, herself, Bullock probably had more faith than anyone else in her ability to pull off a portrayal of a Canadian-born book editor so desperate to retain her Green Card that she would bribe her younger assistant (Ryan Reynolds) into marrying her. Bullock’s character, Margaret Tate, appears to have attended the same executive charm school as Glenn Close’s Miranda Priestly, in The Devil Wears Prada.
Like Priestly, Margaret used terror and humiliation as a motivational tool for her ambitious charge, Andrew. It was with great pleasure, then, that Andrew conceived a pre-nuptial agreement that made his effort worth the pain of flying to his home state of Alaska with her for a family gathering. Naturally, Margaret resented Andrew’s willingness to hold the threat of deportation over his boss’ head. Neither was she comfortable among the rustics of the waterfront town of Sitka or Andrew’s daffy family. Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson were fine as Andrews’ parents, but it was Betty White who eclipsed everyone else, as the nutty grandmother infatuated with a male stripper/shaman.
Also interested in seeing the cougar and her cub tie the knot are immigration officials, who, we’re asked to believe, followed the couple from Boston. It’s a ludicrous plot device, of course, but it’s made tolerable by the growing chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds. Their rapport increased after Andrew caught Margaret coming out of the shower dressed only in a strategically place towel, resulting in a mutually embarrassing pas de deux in the bedroom. It’s hilarious. Unlike McConaughey, Reynolds isn’t expected to compete with his leading lady for the distinction of being the hottest person in a room.
There’s a nice balance between his character’s good-natured personality and Margaret’s rude behavior, for the first half of the movie, and it is maintained even as their roles shift towards the end. Blessedly, too, director Anne Fletcher and writer Pete Chiarelli were able to resist beating us over the head with the curative powers of a loving, if zany family. In doing so, they helped overcome most of the rom-com clichés that came with the well trot territory. The DVD and Blu-ray supplementary features add deleted scenes, an alternate ending, outtakes and commentary, during which the filmmakers describe how Massachusetts was made to look so much like Alaska. – Gary Dretzka
The consistently challenging Canadian writer-director, Atom Egoyan, has always exhibited a fascination with how people connect to each other, whether face to face or via new technological mediums. In The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica, Ararat and, now, Adoration, Egoyan has also displayed a special interest in how we communicate our pain, anger, frustrations and grief in the wake of tragedies universal and intimate. In “Adoration,” a high school student is asked to write an autobiographical essay, based on a news article read to him by his French teacher. It concerns a Jordanian terrorist who plants a bomb in the suitcase of his pregnant wife, expecting it would explode during a flight to Israel.
The boy borrows the same scenario to explain to the class how his own parents, one of whom is of Arab descent, died. To the dismay of his teacher, he shares the story with kids he chats with on his website. They, in turn, ask their parents or grandparents to listen to the story and help them determine how valid it might be. The boy understands that his parents actually died in a car crash, but was led to believe by his racist grandfather that his father caused it intentionally. The boy records the thoughts of the seriously ill old man on a cellphone camera, hoping to make sense of his parents’ relationship. It’s a remarkably well rendered voyage to discovery for everyone, including his uncle and teacher, who share a deeply hidden common goal.
Much of Adoration is set at a family estate on a serene Canadian lake. The autumnal color palette provides the perfect background for flashbacks to a time when the uncle quietly watched his sister play the violin at the end of a pier. The violin plays a significant role in everything else that occurs during the course of the movie, as well. This sort of contemplative drama isn’t for everyone, of course. The pacing is very deliberate and Egoyan’s ideas demand much thought. Fans of his work will welcome the challenge, though. The extras include an interview with the filmmaker, discussions with the actors who appear in the boxes on the boy’s chat room and other behind-the-scenes material. - Gary Dretzka
When he isn’t churning out sequels to Ocean’s Eleven, Stephen Soderbergh makes the kind of intelligent, low- to mid-budget movies other directors claim they would prefer to make, if only they weren’t so obsessed with making Oscar bait. His biography of Che Guevara was risky on the grand scale, while the far more experimental, Bubbles, was shot for less money than some college projects. The only thing big about The Girlfriend Experience was the volume of hype that surrounded the mainstream debut of porn sensation Sasha Grey.
The striking 21-year-old brunette played according to type as a Manhattan call girl, whose impeccable taste and empathetic demeanor made an hour of her time worth $2,000. The media couldn’t get enough of a porn star who could chew gum, talk and perform deep-throat simultaneously. In fact, Grey came off smarter and less self-indulgent than most of the people who interviewed her. Not surprisingly, perhaps, she looks as if she were born to play the part of a prostitute who could pretend to be a girlfriend instead of an expensive piece of meat. The GFE, as it’s known in the Internet ads, allows the trick to fantasize he’s on a date, right down to the dinner, movie, personal conversations, a few boca a boca kissesbefore and during sex (which is spectacular), a blissful few hours of sleep before more sex and a goodbye kiss on the lips (even one smooch is too many for most health-conscious pros). Or, the GFE might not entail any sexual gamesmanship at all. Paying for the privilege of venting to a sympathetic diamond-studded ear could be worth the price of admission, alone.
Chelsea’s live-in boyfriend is an exercise coach, who demands similarly large sums of money of people too weak to maintain a regimen of their own. Together, they make a handsome income and live very well, indeed. According to Soderbergh, Americans in certain income brackets are so strapped for time that they’ll pay insane amounts of money to forgo the thrill of the hunt and ensure a trophy kill. The delicate balance between Chelsea and her boyfriend, Chris, is tipped when she agrees to spend a weekend out of town with a tentatively married trick whose company she enjoys. This sort of intimacy crosses an invisible line in their relationship. Moreover, Chris understands how Chelsea might be changed by the experience, whether it’s satisfying for her or a disaster.
All of this is set against the background of last year’s financial collapse and presidential election, when even the most successful of Chelsea and Chris’ clients were beginning to cut back on luxuries and their value as commodities plummeted. The Girlfriend Experience is more of a short story than a novel, leaving viewers with more questions about Chelsea’s future than answers. But as a 21st Century Holly Golightly, the remarkably self-confident Grey does surprisingly well, without also being required to take off her clothes in every scene. Indeed, “GFE” could pass for PG-13 in more sophisticated precincts. The unrated alternate cut included in the package is a bit racier, but it would hardly be sexy enough to satisfy fans of Grey’s hard-core work. There’s also commentary by the director and star.– Gary Dretzka
Rian Johnson, who wrote and directed the delightful teen-noir Brick, has created in The Brothers Bloom a movie overflowing with fascinating characters, locales and storylines. Sadly, the embarrassment of riches might have been too much for so inexperienced a filmmaker to wrangle. Among the film’s many conceits, Johnson elected to base three of his four world-class grifters on characters in James Joyce’s Ulysses: Mark Ruffalo’s Stephen, after Stephen Daedalus; Adrien Brody’s Bloom, as in Leopold Bloom; and Rachel Weisz’ Penelope. (There’s also a near-mute Japanese gun-slinger, Bang Bang, played by Rinko Kikuchi).
Ever since leaving the foster-home circuit, Bloom has fashioned increasingly intricate scams to keep brother, Stephen, well fed and amused. After establishing their relationship, the movie flash-forwards the lads to their 30s, a time when no con seems too risky. One of their marks is the hugely eccentric millionaire, Penelope, who rewards their cunning with her continued presence. Their next project involves stealing a valuable antiquarian manuscript from a well-protected building in Prague. First, though, viewers are given a scenic tour of eastern and southern Europe.
Hoping to derail the scam are colorful nemeses, played by Robbie Coltrane and Maximilian Schell. That’s a lot of stuff to digest for audiences already trying to make sense of both the plot and overlapping schemes. Physiologically speaking, Johnson’s heart and imagination were in the right place, but his eyes were too big for his stomach. This isn’t to say The Brothers Bloom doesn’t offer its share of pleasures, because it does. The acting is terrific and the story is ripe with possibilities. More than anything else, though, it’s the scenery that carries the movie, with Montenegro, Serbia, Romania and the Czech Republic not only playing themselves, but also Greece, St. Petersburg and Mexico. The bonus package is generous enough – making-of docs, storyboards, commentary deleted scenes – to suggest that Brothers Bloom might have been an Oscar contender, instead of a limited-released disappointment. – Gary Dretzka
When in doubt, blame everything on the Gypsies … and their goats. No matter how politically correct the horror genre becomes, there always will be room for outlandish portrayals of Romani customs, stereotypes, dress and rituals. In Sam Raimi’s devilishly outrageous Drag Me to Hell, a Gypsy talisman causes two people, at least, to literally be dragged into hell, while the Evil Eye contributes to even more mayhem. Among other things, the curse caused its victims to see devils and other bogeymen in the form of a goat.
Here, the lovely Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, who is cursed after denying an extension for a home loan to an old hag with a completely detached eyeball and dentures. Christine, in whose mouth butter wouldn’t melt, is stunned by the crone’s meltdown, but is told by her boss to accept it as being part of the cutthroat banking business. Easy for him to say, because he wasn’t the one attacked in his car by the suddenly spry Gypsy or whose apartment was haunted by cloven-hoofed critters.
In order to ward off the curse, Christine visits a fortune teller with her skeptical boyfriend (Justin Long), who encourages her not to cough up his $10,000 fee. Revealing anything more would ruin the fun for fans of Raimi, who combines horror, humor and spectacular special effects (makeup included) in the service of movie that will keep viewers guessing (and barfing) from start to finish. Besides splendid AV qualities, the Blu-ray edition adds a behind-the-scenes tour, digital copy of the unrated cut of the film, BD-Live functionality, D-BOX support, a bookmarking feature and a news ticker
Released in 1990, Hardware won a cult following – if not critical approval – by weaving a tale about a post-apocalyptic scavenger (Dylan McDermott) who makes the mistake of bringing home a steel scrap containing the computerized brain of an advanced military android. His girlfriend (Stacey Travis) makes sculptures out of such relics, but couldn’t have known of the robot’s self-restorative properties. Overnight, the droid turns into a flesh-eating beast. Adding to the movie’s cult appeal were appearances by Iggy Pop, Lemmy of Motörhead and music by Ministry and Public Image Ltd. Director Richard Stanley adds commentary, along with new interviews with cast and crew, an early Super 8 version, the short films, The Sea of Perdition and Rites of Passage, and the usual deleted and alternate scenes.
Far more cerebral, but no less bloody, Nightmare is only now being made available to American horror fans. This is a terrible shame. Dylan Banks’ 2005 freshman calling card was a nifty movie about a movie within a movie … although it’s nearly impossible to tell which one is which. The story opens at a party, with a studly film student describing his latest work of genius to a gaggle of impressed peers. Soon, however, he’s picked out the lovely young damsel with whom he’ll share the host’s bed that night. In the morning, the lovers awaken to the sight of a small digital camera at the foot of their bed.
The tape shows not the rolling and tumbling that took place the night before, but the shocking scene of a slasher murder. In need of a pitch for his next class project, the student decides to investigate the murder in a film of his own. Suffice it to say, it won’t be the only murder that requires solving. Nightmare is scary, sexy and lots of fun to watch. It deserves a better fate on DVD.
Before hitting a financial roadblock a while back, Tartan and its Asia Extreme label were distributing to U.S. viewers the cream of international horror, especially titles from Pacific Rim countries. It’s nice to have the company back, this time under the banner of Palisades/Tartan. Its new Terror Pack includes Slaughter Night (a.k.a., “Sl8n8”), from Holland, about a girl looking for a manuscript about a 19th Century serial killer in an abandoned mine; Sheitan, from France, in which Vincent Cassel plays a creepy shepherd and housekeeper who’s made a pact with the devil; and Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman, from Japan, about an abused woman who exacts her revenge as a serial killer.
MPI/IFC has also begun to import terrific genre fare from overseas. This week’s entry is Left Bank, from Belgium, in which an injury suffered by a star athlete while running is compounded by a life-threatening infection. After moving in with her boyfriend, outside Antwerp, and making passionate love with him, the runner begins experiencing horrific physical changes. The secret to her pain resides somewhere in her boyfriend’s home.
Who says Americans own the monopoly on redneck cannibal flicks? The low-budget thriller Gnaw was filmed in East Sussex, England, a country in which meat pies can be traced back, at least, to the demon barber of Fleet Street. The filmmakers provide viewers with this helpful statistic: more than 210,000 missing-person reports are filed every year, many of which are never solved.
Old-school slasher films are represented this week by Happy Birthday to Me, in which lovely coeds are put in jeopardy and left to hang, literally. Melissa Sue Anderson plays the new girl in town, who wants to join the popular clique … until someone or something begins decimating the coterie of cool kids. Then, she becomes one of the suspects. The movie was released a few years back in a widely reviled edition. The new Anchor Bay DVD restores the original soundtrack and controversial cover art. The gore-fest was directed by J. Lee Thompson and also starred Glenn Ford, Matt Craven and Lawrence Dane.
Filmed in Bulgaria, Infestation employs much tongue-in-cheek humor in the service of a film about giant bugs and other vivisected creatures. Directed by Dan Myrick (Blair Witch), “The Objective” goes back to the start of the war in Afghanistan, when a CIA team encountered a force more sinister Al Qaeda. In Oral Fixation, a patient falls in love her dentist, who makes the mistake of not returning the favor. It’s not for people afraid to get their teeth fixed. Before he became the pin-up boy for vampire lovers, Robert Pattinson played a wounded British airman confined to a scary hospital in the made-for-TV The Haunted Airman. – Gary DretzkaDusan Makavejev: Free Radical
A filmmaker knows he’s hit the cinematic equivalent of a home run when, after being celebrated for his work, his next movie is banned and the leaders of his country demand he find a new home. Such was the case with Dusan Makavejev, who, in the 1960-70s was considered to be one of the most exciting and innovative filmmakers not only in his native Yugoslavia, but also all of Europe. No one was more consistently experimental, outrageous and representative of the frustrations felt by intellectuals and anti-communists living in totalitarian states behind the Iron Curtain. The storylines for his films, which displayed the influence of Godard and Brecht, often contained as much documentary footage as fictional narrative, establishing both a neo-realistic and surrealistic tone.
Makavejev’s films also could be uproariously funny, unabashedly sexual and overtly subversive. The titles in Free Radical, No. 18 in Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series, represent his earliest features, before WR: Mysteries of the Organism became an international cause célèbre. Impeccably restored, they are Man Is Not a Bird, Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator and Innocence Unprotected. Other Makavejev films on DVD are WR, Sweet Movie (both from Criterion), The Coca-Cola Kid and the hilarious culture-clash comedy, Montenegro.– Gary Dretzka
If I had my way, no one who wasn’t a sailor, soldier, ex-con or biker would be allowed to get a tattoo without first watching the documentary, Horimoku Smoku: Sailor Jerry. I’d be surprised if more than a handful of the artists currently inking club kids, muscle-heads and dilettantes weren’t aware of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, if not most of the other old-school artists interviewed by Erich Weiss. It’s unlikely, though, that more than few of their customers can appreciate the provenance of their skin art. Among the giants asked to recall the history of tattooing in the 20th Century are Lyle Tuttle, Bob Roberts, Zeke Owen, Joe Boyle, Don Ed Hardy, Michael Malone and the wonderful raconteur Philadelphia Eddie Funk, who could easily be mistaken for Gilbert Gottfried’s father. By extension, the stories they tell also represent the history of shore leave and red-light districts in such cities as San Diego, San Francisco, Honolulu, Chicago, New York and Norfolk. Among the observations: so many people now have barbed-wire bracelets and cartoon characters drawn on their skin, and tramp stamps affixed above their butt cracks, that kids soon will grow up thinking they’re a sign of mainstream conformity. The work on display in Horimoku Smoku qualifies as folk art, not fashion accessories.
Following on the heels of Anvil! The Story of Anvil comes A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story, about another rock band that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the greats, but rarely is. Fans of roots-rock might remember the Iron City Houserockers, led by moonlighting special-ed teacher Joe Grushecky. In 1977, the Pittsburgh-based group was signed by Cleveland International Records’ Steve Popovich, a veteran promoter and A&R guy who also collaborated with Bruce Springsteen, Miami Steve Van Zandt, Southside Johnny, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector and Ted Nugent. The Houserockers were blue-collar all the way, and Grushecky’s voice was immediately remindful of Graham Parker, Elvis Costello, the J. Geils Band and the Clash.
Their blue-collar cred provided an alternative to the pretty-boy bands of the late-1970s, just as the British punk-rockers countered the glam-rockers. Caught in a vice between record-label economics and the responsibilities of fatherhood, Joe and his band mates were forced to focus on things besides the Billboard charts. He took a satisfying, low-paying gig teaching at-risk kids, but kept his night job working small clubs around Pittsburgh. Eventually, Springsteen remembered his old friend and used his influence to get him better gigs. Even then, though, Grushecky was a bigger star in Spain than in his own hometown. The DVD is filled with terrific music, including seven live performances with the Boss.
New World Order focuses less on anti-globalists theories and doubts about 9/11 than on the people who deliver their paranoid gospel on radio talk shows, Internet sites, street corners and college campuses. Among them are Austin-based shouter Alex Jones. Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel, whose “Darkon” introduced viewers to geeks obsessed with medieval role-playing games, play it pretty much down the middle in their presentation. To their small army of true believers and many detractors, both, this balance will come as an affront.Other new documentaries include “Art Safari,” in which critic Ben Lewis travels the world to find contemporary artists whose brilliance is in the eye of the beholder, if not anyone else. (It includes a booklet with biographies of the artists.) “Edward Said: Two Films: Out of Place/The Last Interview” introduces viewers to the leading literary critic and respected spokesman for the Palestinian cause in the U.S. He died of leukemia in 2003, but not before leaving a lasting testament to his work.- Gary Dretzka
The blend of rhythms and musical influences couldn’t be more infectious. The Blu-ray edition pumps up the audio quality, while retaining the visual presentation, which was culled from four shows at the Pantages in Hollywood. (Demme alternated camera positions on a nightly basis to avoid cameras being in the shots.) It adds commentary by Demme and David Byrne and a press conference from 1999 reunion. Also included is a self-interview by Byrne; a promo clip; bonus performances of “Cities” and “Big Business / I Zimbra.”; Byrne’s storyboards of the stage show; a piece on his famous “big suit”; and previews.
The MTV-produced dramedy Varsity Blues did for high school football what Bull Durham and Major League did for baseball. They made jocks look like cool dudes, instead of BMOC’s with sticks up their ass. Obvious comparisons were made to H.G. Bissinger's study of Texas football, “Friday Night Lights,” which, itself, inspired a critically acclaimed television series of the same name. Varsity Blues probably influenced that show's producers as well, by describing the party scene attendant to high school sports. If you’ve never seen a pretty blond teenager decorated with nothing but whipping cream, the Blu-ray version of “VB” would be a good place to start. The extras have been retained from previous editions.
By now, everyone with a pulse knows how great a motion picture Chinatown is, as well as the contributions made to its success by stars Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston, screenwriter Robert Towne, composer Jerry Goldsmith, cinematographer John A. Alonzo and director Roman Polanski, currently residing in Swiss prison cell. It would be nice to say that new “Centennial Collection” edition was arriving in the definitive Blu-ray version. It doesn’t. It does, however, contain commentary by Towne and director/fan David Fincher and a documentary on the actual Owens Valley water scheme that inspired the movie – Gary Dretzka
Despite occasional flashes of insight, this highly theatrical Irish-family drama is mostly for those fans of Kissing Jessica Stein who’ve always wondered what happened to the other chick. Made in 2003, but released five years later, Red Roses and Petrol doesn’t advance Heather Juergensen’s career all that much, but it’s nice to see her back in action. Writer/director/producer Tamar Simon Hoffs also was able to convince her daughter, the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, to contribute a couple of songs to the soundtrack (along with Flogging Molly).
Otherwise, RR&P repeats the oft-told story of dysfunctional family forced to cope with the legacy of an emotionally tyrannical patriarch, whose death (and video-taped confessions) raise all sorts of demons from the Dublin underbrush. Malcolm McDowell plays Enda Doyle, a university librarian, poet and cocksman. The story really belongs to the family members who gather for a post-funeral meal --not surprisingly, an increasingly drunken affair – that is regularly interrupted by cathartic outbursts and shocking revelations.
Apart from Enda’s schizophrenic relationship with his wife (Olivia Tracey), two daughters and estranged son, there’s little here that would qualify the family as extraordinary or representative of similarly distressed units. It’s also true that Irish drunks – the on-screen variety, anyway -- are far more interesting to themselves than most other observers. That’s certainly the case here. – Gary Dretzka
More a travelogue than a fully realized romantic comedy, “Mr. Art Critic describes what happens to a snotty Chicago art critic during an unintentionally nerve-wracking vacation on quaint and scenic Mackinac Island. Bronson Pinchot plays the critic M.J. Clayton, who seems to delight in trashing the work of artists he considers to be beneath his august standing, if not full-blown contempt.
After a scolding from his boss for antagonizing the wrong people, Clayton leaves Chicago unsure of his job status. Once ensconced in his family’s cottage on the serene Lake Huron tourist spot, Clayton is besieged by locals involved with an art contest. Among them are an artist whose work the critic recently trashed and a cute aspiring painter whose talent he instantly admires and covets for nefarious purposes. One thing leads to another and the humanizing process begins for the heartless pundit. Mr. Art Critic is the kind of weightless confection one would to find competing for a niche prize at a film festival in, say, Traverse City or Muskegon, which is exactly where it was exhibited. The only extra is the always-redundant trailer.– Gary Dretzka
American Violet
Newcomer Nicole Beharie more than holds her own alongside such veteran character actors as Will Patton, Charles Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Michael O’Keefe and Tim Blake Nelson in this depiction of yet another blemish in the history of Texas law enforcement and race relations. She plays the innocent mother of four small children caught in a dragnet thrown by police looking for drug traffickers in and around a small-town housing project.
The bust was instigated by a politically ambitious district attorney who sees a potential felon in every black face in town. Based solely on the forced testimony of a single unreliable witness, the DA signed off the mass prosecution of blacks likely to accept a plea bargain, in lieu of a prison term. This isn’t to say that all of the persons arrested weren’t guilty of the crime for which they were being charged. Some were, of course, but several others were completely innocent, including Beharie’s Dee Roberts.
Even if Roberts had avoided jail by copping a plea, she almost certainly would have lost her government-funded housing, job, reputation and full custody of her children. An ACLU lawyer (Nelson) urges Roberts to fight the system in collaboration with the human-rights organization and a brave local attorney and former cop (Patton). Everyone’s good, but hardly anyone plays evil government officials as well as O’Keefe, who, in American Violet, is downright frightening. Guess who wins. The DVD comes with background information and making-of material. – Gary Dretzka
The Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy HourNick Swardson: Seriously, Who Farted?Jim Jefferies: I Swear to God
One of the front lines of change in the latter part of 1960s and early 1970s was the media, especially television. Along with a flock of music- and film-industry luminaries, statements were being made in variety and talk shows hosted by Tom and Dick Smothers, Rowan & Martin (“Laugh-In”), Johnny Cash, Flip Wilson, Dick Cavett, Mike Douglas and Steve Allen. While the entertainment content on television was almost oppressively middle-brow and resolutely non-controversial, times were a’changin’ everywhere else.
Deadpan comedian Pat Paulson was a regular on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour – delivering wacky double-talk editorials -- before being given a slot of his own on ABC. In fact, he made a name for himself as a candidate for president on the STAG (Straight Talking American Government) ticket. What started as a satirical gag, ballooned into a protest that some say cut into Hubert Humphrey’s vote count. Paulson would continue to enter primary contests as a gadfly candidate, but the gravity of losing the White House in 1968 made liberals re-consider the importance of their votes in 1972 and thereafter.
In between, the Pat Paulsen's Half-a-Comedy Hour picked up where the Smother Brothers left off on ABC. It only lasted 13 weeks, but it’s worth recalling if only for Paulsen’s interview with Daffy Duck and the contributions of Bob “Super Dave” Einstein and Steve Martin.Comedian Nick Swardson is known primarily as Terry Bernadino, the rolling-skating male prostitute in Reno 911, Shirley Jones’ boy-toy in Grandma’s Boy and the co-creator and voice of Gay Robot.
He’s also an accomplished stand-up, who appeals most to the fans of movies starring Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler. As the title (Seriously, Who Farted?) of this Comedy Central set suggests, the humor tends to be raunchy and scatological in nature. Much of it recalls his behavior while under the influence of booze, drugs or strippers. The extras include footage of the opening act, Beardo & Dirt Nasty, Nick Swardson: Timeless Comedian, the parody trailer 28 Drinks Later and A Very Terry Christmas.
Jim Jefferies is a loud and nasty Aussie whose caustic takes on such topics as religion, death, sexuality and disease are punctuated with more profanity than many folks have uttered in a lifetime. The things that set the comic off most are double standards and hypocrisy. Jeffries, who seems a hybrid of Sam Kinison and a soccer hooligan, sounds far more confrontational than he actually needs to be, however. He knows he’s preaching not only to the choir, but to a bunch of drunks and stoners who enjoy hearing the c-word pronounced in an Australian accent.
Like too many other popular comedy shows, the outrageous MTV show Jackass continues to send out videos promising unseen material. Once upon a time, the stuff left on the cutting-room floor was swept up and thrown away. Today, it finds its way into the bonus features attached to DVD sets or repackaged in collections such as “Jackass: The Lost Tapes.” Otherwise, why would MTV have waited all this time to release such material as Self Defense Test, Stun Collar, Unicycle Poo Barf, Fast Food Football, Roller Jump, and Satan vs. God into video … oh, yeah, network censorship.
With so many vampire shows appearing on television in the wake of the success of True Blood, and the imminent release of New Moon, the timing of The Hunger: The Complete Second Season” is perfect. The sexy-vampire series was adapted from Tony Scott’s 1983 sexy-vampire feature, The Hunger, starring Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon and David Bowie. Bowie hosts the 22-episode second season of the erotic anthology series. The casts included Jennifer Beals, Brad Dourif, Anthony Michael Hall, William Katt, James Marshall, Max Martini, William McNamara, Cathy Moriarty, Lori Petty, Glenn Plummer, Giovanni Ribisi, Eric Roberts, Polly Shannon, Fisher Stevens and David Warner, and the stories were inspired by leading genre writers. The bonus features include Mr. Skin’s Top Ten Scenes from The Hunger. -Gary Dretzka
Where the Wild Things Are ... and 5 More Stories by Maurice Sendak
The Where the Wild Things Are edition included in this Scholastic Storybook Treasures collection has been released and re-released in several video formats since it was first produced, in 1973, by Czech animator Bill Deitch. It’s getting another push in the advance of Spike Jonze’s big-screen adaptation. For those of you keeping score at home, the animated version was seven minutes long, while Jonze’s take is 102.
Nevertheless, parents may find the Peter Schickele-scored and –narrated cartoon a bit more easy for the young’uns to digest. Other Sendak-inspired cartoons include the wonderful, In the Night Kitchen; and four titles from The Nutshell Kids -- Alligators All Around, Pierre, One Was Johnny and Chicken Soup With Rice -- with songs by Carol King. The DVD bonus features add Getting to Know Maurice Sendak, stickers and Spanish and French versions of Where the Wild Things Are. – Gary Dretzka
