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Hocus Pocus

Actors: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch
ASIN : 6305428042
Sales Rank : 1418
Director : Kenny Ortega
Brand : Buena Vista Home Video
Studio : Walt Disney Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9786305428046
ISBN : 0788816926
UPC : 717951003584
Release Date : December 04, 2002
Publisher : Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer : Walt Disney Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Walt Disney Video
Running Time : 96

Description

You're in for a devil of a time when three outlandishly wild witches -- Bette Midler (BEACHES, BIG BUSINESS), Sarah Jessica Parker (HONEYMOON IN VEGAS), and Kathy Najimy (SISTER ACT) -- return from 17th-century Salem after they're accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters! It's a night full of zany fun and comic chaos once the tricky 300-year-old trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth -- but first they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat! Loaded with bewitching laughs, HOCUS POCUS is an outrageously wild comedy that's sure to entertain everyone!

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This big, fat theatrical bomb has a lot going for it. There's the three leads, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, playing three resurrected witches who wreak havoc on Salem, Massachusetts, 300 hundred years after they were hung. There's music, special effects, and magic. There's a surprisingly horror-filled plot. Whoops, hold up on that last one. It's probably the extremes that this film goes to (displaying a Disney label), such as the witches sucking the life out of a little girl in the first five minutes, that put the brakes on any success for Hocus Pocus. Older children, however, in the 8 and up range should get a kick out of all the weird goings-on. It's a good measure of Halloween thrills and chills. --Keith Simanton

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The Santa Clause: 3 Movie Collection

Actors: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Spencer Breslin, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd
ASIN : B001DPHDBA
Sales Rank : 3383
Director : John Pasquin, Michael Lembeck
Studio : Walt Disney Video
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936786996
UPC : 786936786996
Release Date : December 07, 2008
Publisher : Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer : Walt Disney Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Walt Disney Video
Running Time : 293

Description

This set contains all three Santa Clause films starring Tim Allen Santa Clause, Santa Clause 2 and Santa Clause 3 all in one convenient package.

The Santa Clause
Superstar comedian and Golden Globe(R) winner Tim Allen shines bright in Disney's magical, larger-than-life hit comedy that "People" magazine dubbed "The most playfully amusing, inventive cinematic ... fable in several decades!" Now in this all-new special edition DVD release, your entire family can enjoy never-before-seen bonus footage, interactive games, and more, making this original holiday classic a joyful new experience!

The Santa Clause 2
Walt Disney Pictures presents an all-new comedy adventure overflowing with holiday cheer. Tim Allen reappears in Santa Clause 2, the hilarious sequel to everybody's holiday favorite. Scott Calvin (Allen) has been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best one ever. But Scott's got problems. His son Charlie has landed on this year's "naughty" list, and if Scott doesn’t marry by Christmas Eve -- one very, very short month away -- he'll stop being Santa forever. Embracing Christmas and the magic of family with heart, warmth, fun, and charm, Santa Clause 2 is classic holiday entertainment everybody will enjoy again and again.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Walt Disney Pictures presents the next hilarious holiday comedy in the hit Santa Clause movie tradition, starring Tim Allen and now featuring Martin Short as Jack Frost. This movie offers wholesome family entertainment which brings alive the joy and magic of the holiday season and is now the ultimate holiday DVD and Blu-ray Disc® to own and to give. Featuring an all-new bonus feature, Christmas Carol-Oke – a fun-for-all Christmas Caroling guide for the entire family to enjoy.

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The Santa Clause
Divorced toy company executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen of Home Improvement and the Toy Story movies) is pleased to have his son Charlie for Christmas, though the boy himself isn't happy about it. But when Santa Claus accidentally topples off the roof of the house and falls with a thud in the snow, Scott finds himself taking the merry old elf's place and earning new respect in his son's eyes. When the night ends, the reindeer take them to the north pole, and Scott discovers that by donning the fabled red suit, he's inadvertently agreed to become the next Santa Claus. The next morning he wakes up in his own bed and thinks it's all a dream--only Charlie remembers it with crystal clarity. Scott now has to deal with his suspicious ex-wife (Wendy Crewson, Air Force One) and her psychiatrist boyfriend (Judge Reinhold, Beverly Hills Cop), who both think he's playing tricks with Charlie's mind, and also with his own out-of-control body, which is putting on weight and growing a prodigious beard. The Santa Clause probably won't supplant It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street as anyone's favorite holiday film, but it's an enjoyable, straightforward family film, anchored by the affable charisma of Allen. --Bret Fetzer

The Santa Clause 2
Considering how lame this sequel could have been, The Santa Clause 2 makes for a pleasant holiday diversion. It's got the familiar smell of Disney marketeering, and more than a few parents will object to this further embellishment of the St. Nick legend, but Tim Allen's amiable presence provides ample compensation. As a divorced dad who inherited the jolly man's job in The Santa Clause, Allen now faces another Yuletide challenge. According to the "Missus Clause" in his North Pole contract, he can't continue to be the real Santa until he gets married. As luck and five credited screenwriters would have it, Allen falls for the Scrooge-y principal (Elizabeth Mitchell) of his son's school, while a phony, power-hungry duplicate Santa wreaks havoc on the North Pole's overworked elves. It's all as sweet as spiced eggnog, with that warmed-over feel of a mandated sequel, but the Christmas spirit does prevail with the sound of sleigh bells and Allen's rosy-cheeked ho, ho, ho! --Jeff Shannon

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
How about a new villain and a dash of It's a Wonderful Life to spice up the third installment of the popular Tim Allen holiday franchise? Under the onslaught of another Christmas season, Santa Claus/Scott Calvin (Allen) is feeling even more pressure because Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell, reprising her role from The Santa Clause 2) is expecting a little Claus and also longing for the company of some "tall people." So Scott agrees to let her parents (Ann-Margret and Alan Arkin) visit as long as they believe that they're really in Canada rather than at the North Pole. Further complicating matters is a visit by Scott's ex-wife (Wendy Crewson), her husband (Judge Reinhold), and their daughter, Lucy (Liliana Mumy). Enter the bad boy of the Council of Legendary Figures, Jack Frost (Martin Short), who's supremely jealous of the figures who have their own holidays, especially Santa. So he launches a plan to sabotage the toy factory and compel Scott to invoke the little-known Escape Clause and wish he'd never become Santa. The resulting evocation of a classic Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life, is seasoned with a splash of Back to the Future when Scott rewinds 12 years (has it really been that long?) to when it all began. Though neither sequel has matched the charm of the original Santa Clause, both have been safe, reliable family fare. (All ages: some crude humor) --David Horiuchi

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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 4: 1943-1945

Actor: Three Stooges
ASIN : B001D7T6AO
Sales Rank : 1165
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Black & White, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0043396271043
UPC : 043396271043
Release Date : December 07, 2008
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 359

Product Description

The hilarious slapstick antics of Larry, Moe and Curly are back in digitally re-mastered versions of The Three Stooges shorts originally created from 1943 - 1945. The set includes, in original release order, all 21 complete shorts filmed during these years.

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In "Crash Goes the Hash," Moe, Larry and Curly offend a snooty butler's sensibilities. "Such levity," he sniffs. "You remind me of the Three Stooges." In a huff, Curly replies, "Hey, that's an insult." No, it's the highest compliment. The best of these 21 shorts (and even the worst have at least some redeeming bits of silliness) are essential for every Stooge-phile's library. This chronological collection is book-ended by two key shorts. Violent is the word for "They Stooge to Conga," jaw-dropping slapstick porn that features an excruciating bit wherein Moe's head, ear, and eye are punctured by Curly's spiked shoe. "Micro-Phonies" is arguably the Stooges' very best short, in which Curly is mistaken for an operatic singer. The lip-sync renditions of "Voices of Spring" and the sextet from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor are moments that even Stooge-haters love. Mistaken identity happens a lot to the boys. They are mistaken for doctors in "A Gem of a Jam," reporters in "Crash Goes the Hash," sweepstakes winners in "Three Pets in a Mess," and Japanese soldiers in "No Dough, Boys." In several of these wartime shorts it seems they can't turn around with uncovering a "rat's nest" of Japanese and German spies and saboteurs. Perhaps the stereotypical portrayals of the Axis villains in "They Stooge to Conga," "Back from the Front" and "Higher Than a Kite" can be forgiven today. However, as great a performer as African-American character actor Dudley Dickerson is, his cowardly, put-upon characters in "Conga" and "Gem" are a little more problematic in our more enlightened times. Other notable shorts are "Gents Without Cents," in which the Stooges return to their vaudeville roots with their performance of their signature "Niagara Falls" sketch ("Slowly I turn…."). "Busy Buddies," in which Curly enters a cow-milking contest, is another fan favorite. "Idle Roomers" marks the debut of the versatile Christine McIntyre, one of the great additions to the Stooges stock company. "If a Body Meets a Body" marks the first use of the swing version of the Stooges' "Three Blind Mice" theme. The first short produced following Curly Howard's mild stroke, it also marks the beginning of the end for the Curly era. But this thoughtfully produced collection ensures that the Stooges' legacy is secure. These shorts, to quote Curly in "Crash Goes the Hash," are mostly "colossal, stupendous, terrific…even superlative." --Donald Liebenson

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Stooges fans may experience a sense of the bittersweet mixed with their elation over the arrival of Volume 4 in the digitally remastered Three Stooges Collection; although the new set continues to present the knucklehead's legendary comedy shorts in pristine condition and chronological order, it's also the beginning of the end in regards to the participation of Jerome "Curly" Howard, who arguably remains the most popular member of the trio. By 1943-44, a variety of debilitating health issues robbed Howard of his manic energy, which is more than evident in shorts like "If a Body Meets a Body" and "Micro-Phonies," both from 1945. Unfortunately, brother Moe Howard's requests to halt production was nixed by Columbia, which resulted in a further decline in Curly's health that would eventually lead to the stroke in 1946 that forced his retirement from the team. And while the knowledge of Howard's health issues casts something of a pall over the set, there are still plenty of laughs to be had over the course of the two-disc set. Chief among the highlights is "Dizzy Detectives," which pits the boys against a rampaging ape man; "Spook Louder," (Stooges vs. mad scientist with death ray machine; viewers should note that the short features some World War II-era anti-Japanese sentiment); "Gents Without Cents," which features their version of the "Niagara Falls" routine; and "Dizzy Pilots," which chronicles the Stooges' contributions to the aviation industry (all disastrous, of course). As with the previous Collection releases, seven of the 21 shorts included in the set are making their DVD debuts; the flawless quality of the DVD presentation, as well as the sheer amount of nyuks on hand, make Volume 4 a must-have for every self-respecting Stooge-phile. --Paul Gaita

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Penelope

Actors: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage
ASIN : B0011N1WE8
Sales Rank : 688
Director : Mark Palansky
Brand : Universal
Studio : Summit Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0025195037952
UPC : 025195037952
Release Date : December 15, 2008
Publisher : Summit Entertainment
Manufacturer : Summit Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Summit Entertainment
Running Time : 89

Product Description

Lonely heiress who has spent her life trying to break a strange family curse that left her with the nose of a pig. Penelope begins to learn that loving herself is more important than breaking the curse. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (summit) Release Date: 01/06/2009 Starring: Christina Ricci Reese Witherspoon Run time: 89 minutes Rating: Pg

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Taking cues from Beauty and the Beast and Cyrano de Bergerac, director Mark Palanksy debuts with a slight, if fanciful confection. Produced by Reese Witherspoon and written by Leslie Caveny, Penelope begins with the phrase, "Once upon a time...," making it clear the proceedings owe more to fantasy than reality. Due to a family curse, Ricci's sweet-natured heiress sports a pig snout instead of a normal nose. Since surgery isn't an option--it would sever her carotid artery--her parents (Christopher Guest favorite Catherine O'Hara and an underused Richard E. Grant) hide her from the world for 25 years. Penelope can only break the spell through "one who will love her faithfully," but none of the local bluebloods will have her. One fateful day, while her face is hidden, she meets musician-turned-gambler Max (Atonement's James McAvoy in a winning performance). Sparks fly, until she finds he's only cozying up to her on orders from tabloid reporter Lemon (The Station Agent's Peter Dinklage), so Penelope runs away from home. The city she enters looks much like modern-day London--Amélie's Michel Amathieu served as cinematographer--except most everyone speaks with an American accent (then again, the film is a fable). The aspiring horticulturist befriends spunky courier Annie (Witherspoon) and reconnects with Max, who harbors secrets of his own. Once people become accustomed to her unconventional looks, Penelope's future starts to brighten. Like Enchanted, Palanksy's first feature gives the romantic comedy a refreshing--and empowering--fairytale twist. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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What Happens in Vegas (Widescreen Edition)

Actors: Maddie Corman, Dennis Farina, Rick Garcia, Queen Latifah, Deirdre O'Connell
ASIN : B001C5LLQ4
Sales Rank : 1212
Director : Julian Farino
Brand : WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS (DVD MOVIE)
Studio : 20th Century Fox
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0024543528722
UPC : 024543528722
Release Date : December 26, 2008
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : 20th Century Fox
Running Time : 99

Description

After the wildest party night of their lives, two mismatched strangers, Jack (Ashton Kutcher) and Joy (Cameron Diaz), wake up in Vegas to discover they not only got lucky â?" they got married! The road to annulment takes a hilarious turn after Jack wins a three-million-dollar jackpot while playing Joyâ??s quarter and a no-nonsense judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to six months â??hard marriage.â? What follows is an all-out war of the sexes as Jack and Joy go to outrageous lengths to try and cheat each other out of the money. But in the end, they may learn that when you gamble on love, you just might win, against all odds!

Amazon.com

What Happens in Vegas is a comedy waiting to happen. It takes an old premise (drunk strangers regretting their decision to get married in Las Vegas) and adds in a dilemma (a $3 million slot machine win) that could've been easily resolved. But then again, there would've been no movie if the unhappily wedded couple figured out that splitting the money in half and getting their marriage annulled would've been quick and effective. Cameron Diaz plays uptight clean-freak Joy, who has just been dumped by her fiance. Ashton Kutcher is Jack, a slacker furniture maker who has been fired--by his own dad. Each goes to Vegas to let off some steam. And while they have nothing in common (except being exceptionally good looking) they make out, get married, and fight over the money Jack wins with Joy's quarter. Instead of letting the couple get divorced, a judge sentences the odd couple to half a year of marriage. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, but extends into New York where Jack and Joy live. Both actors have fared well in comedies, especially Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding. And while Kutcher still has to live down Dude, Where's My Car?, he showed a lot of comedic flair and charm in A Lot Like Love. But the two face an uphill battle here with inane dialogue and a premise that not only is unbelievable, but unlikeable. The two are so incompatible (and immature) they can't even control bathroom time and, in Jack's case, his bladder. --Jae-Ha Kim

Beyond What Happens in Vegas on DVD

27 Dresses on DVD
Juno on DVD
Dodgeball – A True Underdog Story on DVD

Stills from What Happens in Vegas (Click for larger image)

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You Don't Mess With the Zohan (Unrated Single-Disc Edition)

Actors: Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan
ASIN : B001DPHDB0
Sales Rank : 1734
Director : Dennis Dugan
Brand : Sony
Studio : Sony Pictures
Region Code : 99
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0043396277465
UPC : 043396277465
Release Date : December 07, 2008
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Sony Pictures
Running Time : 113

Product Description

Comedy superstar Adam Sandler is back - and funnier than ever - as The Zohan, the finest counterterrorist agent the Israeli army has. That is, until he fakes his death and travels to Manhattan to live his dream...as a hairdresser. Now this skilled fighting machine who used to clip bad guys is out to prove he can make the cut as a top stylist. All goes silky smooth until his cover is blown when he's recognized by a Palestinian cab driver (Rob Schneider). Now, The Zohan must fight to live a peaceful new life in New York in this razor-sharp action-packed comedy from Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, Judd Apatow and Dennis Dugan.

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If You Don't Mess with the Zohan feels like an extended and crazed sketch from Saturday Night Live, there are reasons for that. Zohan's star and SNL alumnus Adam Sandler is joined by several fellow cast members (in uncredited cameo roles) from his years on the NBC show. But Sandler also co-wrote the film's absurdist script with SNL veteran writer and sometime-performer Robert Smigel. Echoes of a few of their classic skits on the show--built around high-strung Israeli characters obsessed with disco and selling junk electronics out of a New York shop--are in revisited in Zohan and are a lot of fun to see again. Zohan is unbridled nonsense thrown at the wall, but with a sunny disposition that proves surprisingly persuasive. Sandler stars as an Israeli intelligence operative who fakes his death to reinvent himself in New York City as a hairdresser. Putting the lie to assumptions that any man in that professional field must be gay, Zohan routinely provides raucous sexual favors for all of his older female customers. The sight of bottles of gels and hairsprays falling off shelves while the indefatigable Zohan pleasures randy grannies on the other side of a salon wall is pure SNL, and is funnier than it might sound. The silly story involves an old, Palestinian enemy of Zohan, the Phantom (John Turturro), showing up in Manhattan, but everything is really leading to a Big Apple version of the resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts we'd all like to see on a large scale. The film is almost instantly forgettable, and there are many times it veers toward the dumb, but it also sells itself well as a nutty concept. --Tom Keogh

Stills from You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (click for larger image)

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Death at a Funeral

Actors: Jane Asher, Peter Egan, Rupert Graves, Peter Vaughan, Peter Dinklage
ASIN : B0011KQSZ4
Sales Rank : 729
Brand : TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0883904100287
UPC : 883904100287
Release Date : December 26, 2008
Publisher : MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer : MGM (Video & DVD)
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : MGM (Video & DVD)
Running Time : 91

Description

From acclaimed director Frank Oz (In & Out, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) comes "a fast, furious and riotously funny farce" (Maxim) that'll have you dying with laughter!

As the mourners and guests at a British country manor struggle valiantly to "keep a stiff upper lip," a dignified ceremony devolves into a hilarious, no-holds-barred debacle of misplaced cadavers, indecent exposure, and shocking family secrets. Packed with extras including audio commentaries and an uproarious gag reel, Death at a Funeral blows the lid off the proverbial coffin as "the film's delicious comic flourishes... sight gags, slapstick, flawless timing... are served up by an outstanding cast" (O, The Oprah Magazine).

Amazon.com

Though it doesn't hit the same comic heights as Bowfinger, Death at a Funeral is a fun little romp. Granted, not all of the characters are meant to be humorous, like Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen, Pride & Prejudice) and his wife, Jane (Keeley Hawes, Tristram Shandy), straight-faced foils for the more over-the-top performers. After Daniel's father passes away, the couple offers to host the funeral, so all his relatives descend on the family abode, including Daniel's estranged brother, Robert (Rupert Graves, V for Vendetta). The mood is already tense when their cousin, Martha (Daisy Donovan), arrives with her nervous fiancé, Simon (Alan Tudyk, Serenity). On the way over, Simon takes a Valium that's actually a hallucinogenic concoction cooked up by Martha's pharmacology student brother. By the time they arrive, Simon's inhibitions are gone with the wind. Other guests include Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughn) and an uninvited American mourner (Peter Dinklage). By the end of the movie, one of these individuals will be dead. Though he's worked in the States for several decades, director Frank Oz was born in the UK, and Death at a Funeral feels like the work of a British filmmaker. As drawing room comedies go, it may not rival Arsenic and Old Lace, but it's still funnier than most. If the film has a flaw, it's one misjudged moment of scatological humor, which is sure to induce more cringes than giggles. Fortunately, it's over quickly, and Tudyk's hilarious performance provides ample compensation. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond Death at a Funeral

More from Frank Oz
More British Comedies
More from MGM

Stills from Death at a Funeral

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Sweet Home Alabama

Actors: Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Lucas, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place
ASIN : B00007E2F5
Sales Rank : 842
Director : Andy Tennant
Brand : WITHERSPOON,REESE
Studio : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0786936208030
UPC : 786936208030
Release Date : December 04, 2003
Publisher : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Running Time : 108

Description

This delightfully entertaining romantic comedy stars Reese Witherspoon (LEGALLY BLONDE) as sophisticated Melanie Carmichael, a rising New York clothing designer who suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. But this is no fairy tale romance for Melanie. She has skeletons in her fashion-filled closet that include Jake -- the backwoods husband she married in high school who refuses to divorce her. Determined to end their marriage and sever all ties with her past once and for all, Melanie returns to Alabama. But home starts to tug at her heartstrings, and what she thought she wanted may not be what she wants at all.

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

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Hairspray (Full-Screen Edition)

Actors: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron
ASIN : B000W4KT64
Sales Rank : 1747
Director : Adam Shankman
Brand : Warner Brothers
Studio : New Line Home Video
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0794043110894
UPC : 794043110894
Release Date : December 20, 2007
Publisher : New Line Home Video
Manufacturer : New Line Home Video
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : New Line Home Video
Running Time : 117

Description

It's 1962, and change is in the air in Baltimore. Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion--to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and is transformed overnight from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can the trendsetting Tracy win the heart of teen-dream Link Larkin and stand up for what she believes in, despite the program's scheming stage manager? All she needs is her best friend Penny, a toe- tappin' beat - and a little HAIRSPRAY!

Amazon.com

It's rare that a movie captures the intensity and excitement of a live Broadway musical production while appealing to a broader movie-going audience, but the 2007 Hairspray is an energetic, powerfully moving film that does just that. A remake of the 1988 musical film Hairspray, the new Hairspray is a film adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical and features more likeable characters than the original film and an incredible energy that stems from a great cast, fabulous new music, and the influence of musical producer Craig Zadan. What remains constant throughout all three versions of Hairspray is the story's thought-provoking exploration of prejudice and racism. Set in Baltimore in 1962, the film opens with chubby girl Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) singing her heart out in a rendition of "Good Morning Baltimore" that, while admittedly a bit too long, sets the farcical tone for the film. Viewers quickly become immersed in Tracy's teenage world of popular television dance shows, big hair, the stigma of being different, and the first hesitant steps toward racial integration within a segregated world. The Corny Collins (James Marsden) television dance show is a teenage obsession in Tracy's world and Link Larkin (Zac Efron) is every girl's dream partner, so when a call for auditions goes out, Tracy skips school to try out, but is rejected by station manager Velma von Tussle (Michelle Pfeiffer) because of her large size and the threat of competition for Velma's own daughter Amber (Brittany Snow). Perseverance and the support of her friend Penny (Amanda Bynes), father Wilbur (Christopher Walken), and negro dancer Seaweed (Elijah Kelley) lead Tracy to the spotlight and the chance of a lifetime, but more and more Tracy discovers that fairness and equality for those who are different does not come without a fight and that sacrifices must be made to effect change. While the message is serious, Hairspray is first and foremost a comedy with stellar performances by John Travolta as Edna Turnblad (who ever imagined Saturday Night Fever's iconic star would appear onscreen as a woman?), Christopher Walken, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Part of what makes Hairspray so powerful is the exceptional music composed by Marc Shaiman, including songs newly composed for the movie like "Ladies' Choice," "The New Girl in Town," and "Come So Far," and the awesome vocal talents of Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle) and a cast of heretofore musically-unknown actors like Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, and Brittany Snow who really can sing. Notable trivia includes Jerry Stiller's appearance in both versions of the film (as Wilbur in the 1988 film and as Mr. Pinky in this 2007 rendition), and a cameo appearance by 1988 director and screenplay writer John Waters. Hairspray is one of the best films of the year--it's powerfully moving entertainment that leaves you energized and motivated to fight for what you believe in. --Tami Horiuchi

Browse Comedy Online

Hocus Pocus

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Amazon.com

The Santa Clause: 3 Movie Collection

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Amazon.com

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 4: 1943-1945

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Penelope

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What Happens in Vegas (Widescreen Edition)

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You Don't Mess With the Zohan (Unrated Single-Disc Edition)

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Death at a Funeral

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The Doris Day and Rock Hudson Comedy Collection (Pillow Talk / Lover Come Back / Send Me No Flowers)

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Sweet Home Alabama

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Hairspray (Full-Screen Edition)

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