Joyner, Mario

Bee Movie (Full Screen Edition)

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/19/2008 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Pg

There aren't a lot of choices in a bee's life: a bee attends a few days of school, graduates from college, and chooses a job in the hive that he'll labor at for the rest of his life. Barry (Jerry Seinfeld) is different from his best friend Adam (Matthew Broderick) and all the other bees: he wants to see the world outside the hive and can't begin to contemplate doing the same job for his entire life. Naturally, the life of the "pollen jock" bees appeals to Barry because it's the only job that takes a bee outside the hive and into the larger human world. Once outside the hive, Barry breaks the most sacred bee law and speaks to a human named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger) in order to thank her for saving his life. A relationship quickly blossoms and leads Barry to the discovery that humans are stealing honey from the bees and selling it for their own profit. Vowing to hurt the humans the one place they'll feel it, Barry brings a legal suit against the honey industry and the courtroom drama begins. There are some hysterical moments in the film, as one would expect from a Seinfeld production, and an abundance of one-liners, double-meanings, slapstick humor, and innuendo-laden dialogue that will keep adults guffawing throughout the show. Still, the whole concept of seeing the life of a common pest through non-human eyes is getting repetitive thanks to films like Ratatouille, Flushed Away, Open Season, and Over the Hedge. It should be noted, though, that this first foray into animation by Jerry Seinfeld was four years in production due to its collaborative nature, so its theme may actually have well predated all of the aforementioned films. Children ages 5 and older will love the bees' silly antics, though many of the jokes will go right over their heads and parents should be cautioned about some mildly suggestive humor. More than just a comical film about the life of one very different honeybee, Bee Movie is a social commentary that pokes fun at human behavior while stressing the importance of doing even the most menial job well and championing the power of working together toward a common goal. There's even a lesson to be learned from the bees about controlling one's temper. --Tami Horiuchi

Comedian

Behind the scenes look at jerry seinfeld as he returns to standup comedy and breaks in a new act as well as the rise of an unknown comic getting his first big breaks Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 01/04/2005 Starring: Jerry Seinfeld Run time: 82 minutes Rating: R Director: Christian Charles

If you see Comedian expecting a concert film with Jerry Seinfeld, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for an incisive--almost surgical--examination of the psyche of a stand-up comedian, this is your movie. Comedian zigzags back and forth between the hugely successful Seinfeld, who's trying to get back to his stand-up roots by developing an entirely new act, and an unknown comic named Orny Adams, whose naked craving for success is almost painful to behold. Adams lays bare his ego to an embarrassing degree; Seinfeld is more subtle but just as revealing about the fears and anxieties that drive him to go back on stage. By following these two through comedy clubs, festivals, and spots on David Letterman's talk show, the documentary cunningly explores how jokes are put together, the in-the-trenches camaraderie (tinged with competition) of stand-ups, and the sheer existential terror of trying to make people laugh. --Bret Fetzer

Down to Earth

A tepid reworking of Warren Beatty's Heaven Can Wait (itself a remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan), Down to Earth tries to mold comedian Chris Rock into an amiable romantic lead, but it softens the scathingly observant humor that made Rock a standup successor to Richard Pryor. Rock's aggressive style is bracingly expressed in a few good scenes, but through most of this movie--from the directors of American Pie--he struggles with dialogue that would barely pass muster in a low-rated sitcom. Edgy potential loses out to crowd-pleasing with the familiar body-switch formula: by way of premature death and bad timing on the part of heaven's Vegas-styled gatekeepers (played by Eugene Levy and Chazz Palminteri), Rock--as struggling comedian Lance Barton--is reincarnated as a 55-year-old white billionaire with a nasty reputation.

Adjusting (too easily) to his racial transition, Lance charms a hospital administrator (Regina King) who's amazed to see the selfish white billionaire turning into romantic philanthropist. This allows plenty of black/white-contrast jokes (did you ever see a fat, middle-aged white guy who's into hip-hop?), and Rock, who cowrote the screenplay, still manages to work some pointed politics into the movie's good-natured tone. It's guaranteed that some will find Down to Earth quite entertaining, but others will wonder how potent this comedy could have been if Rock had been more willing to confront the harsher truths that lurk beneath the humor. --Jeff Shannon

Chris rock stars as a struggling comic who gets a second chance at life and love after hes prematurely taken to heaven. Special features: exclusive cast & crew interviews: deleted scenes: theatrical trailer: interactive menus: scene selection: english subtitles (for the deaf & hard of hearing) and more. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/16/2007 Starring: Chris Rock Mark Addy Run time: 87 minutes Rating: Pg13

The Chris Rock Show - Seasons 1 & 2

Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 09/19/2006 Rating: Nr

Hangin' with the Homeboys

Four Bronx buddies spend an evening cruising for girls and getting into trouble as they tool around the South Bronx. But as episodic and aimless as this film seems, it is built around strong performances by its four leads: Mario Joyner, Nestor Serrano, John Leguizamo and Doug E. Doug. But writer-director Joseph Vasquez gives each guy a distinctive personality and uses their various adventures to examine just how dead-end life seems to this quartet of black and Hispanic buddies--and which ones have a chance of breaking out. Leguizamo is particularly intriguing as a sensitive type who is looking for an actual relationship with a woman, rather than hit-and-run sex, while Joyner is solid as the voice of reason in the group. And Doug E. Doug has a jack-in-the-box comic energy that's undeniable. --Marshall Fine

Comedy about four young friends from New York who spend one crazy Friday night on the streets of Manhattan that quickly turns into a night they'll never forget.Running Time: 90 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794043692628

Best of the Chris Rock Show

One of the brighter lights to shine from the late-'90s Saturday Night Live cast permutation, Chris Rock successfully made the jump to his own HBO series and snagged a couple of Emmy Awards along the way. Part Saturday Night Live and part Arsenio Hall-style show (with a raucous studio audience), this best-of video shows that Rock has definitely grown into his own style and matured as a comedian. The segments from Rock's early shows tend to suffer from that Saturday Night Live malady in which a one-joke skit is stretched out for an excruciating period of time (see: Mike Myers). Rock's penchant for beating a dead horse is most apparent in his parodies of Fox-style reality-based shows ("When Animals Attack in High Speed Chases II"), which are genuinely clever but run on a little too long. However, when Rock sticks to live-action comedy, he proves he's one of the funniest (and most satirical) comedians around, playing with issues of politics, race, and gender mercilessly. Hands down the most hilarious segment is a CNN-style "panel" on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, hosted by Rock and featuring "Black Guy," "White Dude" and "Sista." Most attempts at lampooning this Presidential faux pas have fallen flat on their faces, but Rock and his cast take no prisoners as they skewer the players, the media, and the "man-on-the-street" mentality surrounding the hype. Other highlights include a male version of "The Rules" as interpreted by Ike Turner, continuing coverage of the rising career of rapper Pootie-Tang and his unique brand of urban slang, and Rock's petition to rename a street in Howard Beach after Tupac Shakur (one of the few pre-filmed segments that keeps its momentum going). Rock definitely proves he's one SNL alumnus who won't be wearing out his welcome anytime soon. --Mark Englehart

The Best of The Chris Rock Show - Volume 2

A jaw-dropping comedy event as chris rock turns activist to free bobby brown exposes mr. Sweet potato head & other racist toys visits the make-you-wait hair salon teaches you how to not get your *ss kicked by the police & more. Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 05/30/2006 Starring: Chris Rock Run time: 59 minutes Rating: Ur

Chris Rock lives up to his reputation on this second collection of sketches and parodies from his HBO series--he is not only funny, he has a genuine political edge, pointing up contradictions and racial tension in American society. His material ranges from mock investigative reports (including an exposé of racist toys like "Mr. Sweet Potato Head" and "Low Expectations Scrabble") to commercial parodies (such as ads for the Malcolm X Games--"Because being extreme isn't just for white devils anymore"). But his best work has got to be his genuine on-the-street interviews, in which he asks men at boxing gyms to name their favorite white fighter or asks random New Yorkers if black people should receive reparations for slavery. He even goes down to South Carolina to talk to residents about why the Confederate flag flies over the state capitol; he finally gets a number of people on the street to agree to a different flag that replaces the stars in the Confederate flag with the stars of the WB (like Brandy and Robert Townsend). What people are willing to say in front of him is both funny and frightening. Chris Rock makes cutting-edge comedy seem simple; after an hour of this show, it's incomprehensible why Saturday Night Live and Mad TV are so abysmally toothless. --Bret Fetzer

Bee Movie (Spanish Version)

The Best of the Chris Rock Show, Vol. 2

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Chris Rock

Comedian Chris Rock spent several seasons on Saturday Night Live, and this compilation tape of his best moments showcases his considerable talents while unintentionally highlighting how uneven the show itself is. Even in a video selected to showcase Rock alone, he is all too often mired as the second or third banana in an SNL skit. But there are, thankfully, plenty of opportunities in this video for Rock to shine without being upstaged by other performers or left adrift by limp writing. When he appears behind the "Weekend Update" desk to deliver an editorial commentary or a news report, Rock put his considerable skills as a comedian to perfect use. And in the skits where the focus is on him, he proves himself to be adept at characterizations, such as when he dons a colossal Afro wig to become radical talk show host Nat X, host of "The Dark Side." One peculiar surprise about the video: some of the language in "Def Jam" parodies that was bleeped out for the broadcast of SNL is here presented uncensored, so while this is Chris Rock delivering perhaps his cleanest material, a few choice words are nonetheless delivered loud and clear. --Robert J. McNamara