Franz, Elizabeth

Sabrina

Remake of the 1954 film about a modern-day Cinderella who is the daughter of a wealthy family's chauffeur. When she is transformed into a graceful woman, she captures the attention of the sons of the family.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 29-DEC-2004
Media Type: DVD

Julia Ormond faced one of the great challenges of her career when she tried to re-create Audrey Hepburn's title role in the 1995 remake of 1954's Sabrina. Happily, Ormond performed admirably, and while she may not have the same gamine charm of Hepburn, she makes the role her own. In fact, her transformation from mousy girl to sophisticated young woman is actually more dramatic in this updated version. The basic plot is the same--chauffeur's daughter falls in love with the son of the rich household, only to be wooed away by the older brother for business purposes--but it has been entertainingly modernized: The head of the Larrabee household is the strong matriarch (Nancy Marchand); Sabrina goes to Paris to work with a photographer instead of going to cooking school (although that means the wonderful "new egg" scene of the original had to be ditched); David's (Greg Kinnear) character has been toned down and made more sympathetic; and Humphrey Bogart's revolutionary plastic has become the flattest TV screen ever made. Lauren Holly does a fine job playing Elizabeth Tyson, David's fiancée. If you watch this for its own worth--instead of comparing it to the original--this will prove to be a terrific lighthearted romantic comedy. --Jenny Brown

The Secret of My Success

Derivative fluff from 1987, made tolerable by its bawdy exuberance and an appealing performance by Michael J. Fox, who was still enjoying TV stardom and the career momentum he earned by traveling Back to the Future. Here he plays a Kansas farm boy who dreams of scoring big in New York City, but reality turns out to be brutal to his ambition. When his uncle (Richard Jordan) gives him a mail-room job in the high-rise headquarters of a major corporation, Fox occupies an empty office and poses as a young executive, winning the attention of a lovely young colleague (Helen Slater) and having an affair with his boss's wife (Margaret Whitton). Sporadically amusing as a yuppie comedy and rather off-putting as a wannabe sex farce, the movie's still recommendable for its lively cast and a breezy style that almost succeeds in updating the conventions of vintage screwball comedy. Whitton is a standout performer here, so you may wonder why her comedic talent has been underrated, apart from a good role in the first two Major League movies. This may be little more than a big-screen sitcom, but it's not without its charms. --Jeff Shannon

School Ties

Brendan Fraser plays a student attending a wealthy boarding school on a football scholarship in the 1950s. When the other kids find out he's Jewish--a fact he's been hiding--his fortunes and relationships instantly change. The film is pretty much what one would expect with that scenario: a story of bigotry, conflict, the hero trying to hang on. In the end, good intentions are the driving force of the movie, but it is not much more than the sum of its obvious parts. Directed by Dick Wolf, creator of television's Law and Order. --Tom Keogh

Christmas with the Kranks

Slapstick humor gets a full-body workout in Christmas with the Kranks. Critics were unanimous in their derision, and John Grisham must have gnashed his teeth over what studio-boss-turned-director Joe Roth did to his bestselling novel Skipping Christmas, to which this broad-stroked comedy bears little or no resemblance. The title characters are played by Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, who decide to skip Christmas because their daughter's in Peru with the Peace Corps. Thus begins a rabid program of enforced conformity when their neighbors (led by Dan Aykroyd) coerce the Kranks into changing their holiday attitude--a change that comes easily when the daughter announces she'll be home for Christmas after all. Imagine if a suburban lynch mob said "Have a Merry Christmas or we'll kill you," and you'll get some idea of what spending Christmas with the Kranks is really like. And if you laughed at the frozen cat, you're probably on Santa's "naughty" list. --Jeff Shannon

When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest Luther and Nora Krank (Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fianc e the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever! With fast-paced energy and support from Dan Aykroyd Cheech Marin Jake Busey and M. Emmet Walsh this hilarious adaptation of John Grisham's best-selling novel "Skipping Christmas" has become "an instant family classic!" (Gorman Woodfin CBN)System Requirements: Running Time 99 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 043396048614 Manufacturer No: 04861

A Girl Thing

A Girl Thing, Showtime's hottest original mini series, consists of four separate stories featuring women dealing with life's unexpected twists and turns. As the individual stories unfold, each of the women seeks advice from psychiatrist Dr. Beth Noonan (Stockard Channing). Facing her own personal struggles, Dr. Noonan assists each of the women in making successful transitions in their lives. Starring Kate Capshaw, Mia Farrow, Elle MacPherson, Stockard Channing, Linda Hamilton, Peta Wilson, and Rebecca DeMornay.

The Pallbearer

David Schwimmer plays a drifting twentysomething who receives a telephone call out of the blue to be a pallbearer at the funeral of someone he supposedly knew in school. Trouble is, the caller has mistaken Schwimmer's character for someone else, but our hapless hero--who still lives with his mother at home--doesn't know how to say no. An encounter with the dead man's mother (Barbara Hershey) leads to a sexual relationship, while an old flame (Gwyneth Paltrow) from high school is suddenly on the horizon if only Schwimmer's loser character can quickly get his act together. This umpteenth variation on the Oedipal conflicts in Mike Nichols's The Graduate doesn't have the imagination, vitality, or authority to take classic themes about growing up all the way to the finish line. But in its brooding, comic way, it is honest about the difficulties of crossing the line into adulthood when one doesn't know how. --Tom Keogh

Hot star David Schwimmer (TV's FRIENDS) makes a hilarious big-screen debut in this outrageous comedy hit! As Tom Thompson, the popular star plays a befuddled college grad whose social life is practically D.O.A. ... that is, until he's asked to be a pallbearer at the funeral of a classmate he can't remember! Comic chaos follows as Tom fends off the seductive advances of the grieving mother (Barbara Hershey -- BEACHES), and tries desperately to find the nerve to ask out the beautiful girl of his dreams (Academy Award(R) winner Gwyneth Paltrow, Best Actress, 1998, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE) -- who can't remember him!

The Talented Mr. Ripley / School Ties (Double Feature)

TALENTED MR. RIPLEY: Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name Anthony Minghella's moody follow-up to his Oscar-winning THE ENGLISH PATIENT concerns Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) a poor New Yorker who is sent to Italy by the wealthy Mr. Greenleaf in order to bring back his spoiled son Dickie (Jude Law). Once in Italy Tom charms his way into the home of Dickie and his girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow) where he begins to get a taste of wealthy living. When Tom begins to wear out his welcome he takes drastic actions to ensure that he will never have to return to the life that he left behind.SCHOOL TIES: David Greene (Brendan Fraser) a good student and a great football player has been given the chance he always hoped for: a prep boarding school education. A working class Jewish teenager he knows this opportunity to play ball at the academy will get him into the Ivy League university of his choice. In school he keeps his religion a secret from his wealthy prejudiced classmates. As the star player David becomes the big man on campus. Yet after his heritage is revealed the deep-seated hatred of his schoolmates rises to the surface.System Requirements:Running Time; 245 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA UPC: 097361320946 Manufacturer No: 132094

The Substance of Fire

The father in a family publishing firm, a Holocaust survivor, is uncompromising about not publishing commercial items, but the next generation is worried about the fiscal health of the firm.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 1-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD

The shadow of the Holocaust hangs over Ron Rifkin's debonair publisher, a supremely intelligent but arrogant man who is destroying his tony company with a self-indulgent project. This catalyst for a family crisis unites his children, Sarah Jessica Parker, Timothy Hutton, and Tony Goldwyn, in an effort to save him and their business. There is a strong emotional core to this adapted play, but as past and present collide, the focus shifts uncomfortably from father to son, convincing us that part of the story remained on a cutting room floor. Just watch this for the beautifully shaded performances, especially by Rifkin. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Sabrina [Region 2]

Julia Ormond faced one of the great challenges of her career when she tried to re-create Audrey Hepburn's title role in the 1995 remake of 1954's Sabrina. Happily, Ormond performed admirably, and while she may not have the same gamine charm of Hepburn, she makes the role her own. In fact, her transformation from mousy girl to sophisticated young woman is actually more dramatic in this updated version. The basic plot is the same--chauffeur's daughter falls in love with the son of the rich household, only to be wooed away by the older brother for business purposes--but it has been entertainingly modernized: The head of the Larrabee household is the strong matriarch (Nancy Marchand); Sabrina goes to Paris to work with a photographer instead of going to cooking school (although that means the wonderful "new egg" scene of the original had to be ditched); David's (Greg Kinnear) character has been toned down and made more sympathetic; and Humphrey Bogart's revolutionary plastic has become the flattest TV screen ever made. Lauren Holly does a fine job playing Elizabeth Tyson, David's fiancée. If you watch this for its own worth--instead of comparing it to the original--this will prove to be a terrific lighthearted romantic comedy. --Jenny Brown

The Secret of My Succe$s [Region 2]

Derivative fluff from 1987, made tolerable by its bawdy exuberance and an appealing performance by Michael J. Fox, who was still enjoying TV stardom and the career momentum he earned by traveling Back to the Future. Here he plays a Kansas farm boy who dreams of scoring big in New York City, but reality turns out to be brutal to his ambition. When his uncle (Richard Jordan) gives him a mail-room job in the high-rise headquarters of a major corporation, Fox occupies an empty office and poses as a young executive, winning the attention of a lovely young colleague (Helen Slater) and having an affair with his boss's wife (Margaret Whitton). Sporadically amusing as a yuppie comedy and rather off-putting as a wannabe sex farce, the movie's still recommendable for its lively cast and a breezy style that almost succeeds in updating the conventions of vintage screwball comedy. Whitton is a standout performer here, so you may wonder why her comedic talent has been underrated, apart from a good role in the first two Major League movies. This may be little more than a big-screen sitcom, but it's not without its charms. --Jeff Shannon