Some Kind of Wonderful (Special Collector's Edition)
by Howard Deutch
from Paramount
After dominating the teen-movie genre for the bulk of the 1980s, writer-producer (and sometimes director) John Hughes proved that he had at least one good movie left in him before squandering his talent on lame comedies throughout the 1990s. Like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful treated its teenaged characters like real people with real feelings, hopes, fears, and desire. Mary Stuart Masterson gives a great performance as a tomboy drummer named Watts who's secretly in love with her best friend, Keith (Eric Stoltz), an aspiring artist who is oblivious to her affection because he's got a crush on Amanda (Lea Thompson), the popular high school beauty. Watts will even go so far as to chauffeur a date for Keith and Amanda, if only to prove--after a lot of patient, emotional anguish--that she's better for Keith than Amanda could ever be. The movie's drama comes from Keith's gradual realization that there's more to love than surface attraction, and Hughes gets extra mileage out of the romantic confusion by allowing Thompson's character to be more than a shallow campus cutie. All three of the leads are good fits in their roles, and this was one of the few teen films of the '80s to add genuine depth to its mainstream appeal. It's one of the few John Hughes movies to stand the test of time. --Jeff Shannon
A young tomboy Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) finds her feelings for her best friend Keith (Eric Stoltz) run deeper than just friendship when he gets a date with the most popular girl in school Amanda (Lea Thompson). Unfortunately the girl's old boyfriend Hardy (Craig Scheffer) who is from the rich section of town is unable to let go of her and plans to get back at Keith.System Requirements:Running Time: 94 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 097360422047 Manufacturer No: 042204
Pretty in Pink (Special Collector's Edition)
by Howard Deutch
from Paramount
Teen sensations Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles The Breakfast Club) and Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo's Fire) drew raves for their starring performances in this hit love story by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club Ferris Bueller's Day Off).She's a high school girl from the wrong side of town. He's the wealthy heart-throb who asks her to the prom. But as fast as their romance builds it's threatened by the painful reality of peer pressure. A bittersweet story with an upbeat ending and a phenomenal rock score Pretty in Pink also stars Harry Dean Stanton Jon Cryer James Spader and Annie Potts.System Requirements:Running Time: 96 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 097360421644 Manufacturer No: 042164
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
The Great Outdoors
by Howard Deutch
from Universal Studios
This hit-and-miss 1988 comedy pairs John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in a story of one family's summer vacation all but ruined by the uninvited appearance of another, more loutish family. Howard Deutch (Some Kind of Wonderful) directs from a half-hearted John Hughes script, which reduces Hughes's jokes-and-epiphanies formula (The Breakfast Club, Home Alone) to true gaudiness. On the other hand, Annette Bening makes her screen debut here. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, production notes, trailer, optional French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh
Melrose Place - The Fourth Season
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
The fourth and the last essential season of Melrose Place literally begins with a bang, as a deranged Kimberly detonates the bombs that lay waste to much of the titular apartment building. But this being Melrose Place, it is hardly the only dramatic upheaval that will shake this addictive prime time soap to its very foundations. Where to begin? Framing this season are two great movie homages. The season opener echoes Silence of the Lambs with Kimberly (Marcia Cross) channeling Hannibal Lecter. The season finale recreates Carrie's ultimate shock, a classic "no they di'nt" cliffhanger in tune with Melrose Place's increasingly over-the-top aesthetic. In between are episodes ripe with left-turn character developments (Josie Bissett's doormat Jane vows to do a little "stepping" herself to further her career as a fashion designer) and outrageous plot twists (Kimberly somehow beats the rap for her act of domestic terrorism and becomes a radio talk show host--recruited by no less than Dr. Joyce Brothers!--and later, develops a split personality as a really desperate housewife.) But you haven't seen anything yet. Allison (Courtney Thorne-Smith), temporarily blinded in the blast, uses her disability to score pity points with Billy (Andrew Shue) while his new wife, the willful, spoiled, and manipulative Brooke (Kristin Davis) burns, especially when Allison marries her father! Matt (Doug Savant), the resident gay character, has a particularly eventful season, what with trying to clear his name after being framed for murder, suing for sexual discrimination, getting a new boyfriend, and becoming a drug addict. Michael (Thomas Calabro), much more evil and vicious in previous seasons, is not really a serious threat, but he does team up with Sydney (Laura Leighton) to Gaslight Kimberly. Jake (Grant Show), reeling from the death of his rotten brother, is vulnerable to the machinations of Shelly (Hudson Leick), his vengeful sister in law. We haven't forgotten Amanda (show savior Heather Locklear), who begins the season uncharacteristically compassionate. Not to worry; she reverts to her bad self after Brooke uncovers a secret from her past and blackmails her. "Kiss the nice Amanda goodbye," she coolly threatens Brooke. "I'm back." Which is just the way we love her. This whopping nine-disc set contains no extras, but, really, with all the backstabbings and betrayals, hook-ups and, yes, hauntings, do you really need commentary? --Donald Liebenson
A nighttime soap opera about the lives careers trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.System Requirements:TRT: 1528 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097361325446 Manufacturer No: 132544
Grumpier Old Men
by Howard Deutch
from Warner Home Video
The success of Grumpy Old Men made this 1995 sequel practically mandatory, and although it's not much more than a Grumpy retread, the same schtick is just as funny the second time around. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau reunited as the Minnesota neighbors who make a hobby out of mutual aggravation, but while Lemmon's married (to Ann-Margret), this time it's Matthau who's looking for love. He finds it when Sophia Loren arrives to open an Italian ristorante on the site of Jack and Walter's favorite bait shop, but only after the grumpy guys have done their best to stop the ristorante from opening. The impending wedding of Kevin Pollak (as Matthau's son) and Daryl Hannah (as Lemmon's daughter) puts love in the air, so it's not too long before Matthau and Loren are singing "That's Amore." And Burgess Meredith (in one of his final screen roles) returns as Lemmon's saucy old father, who gets all the best lines and delivers them with lusty vigor. --Jeff Shannon
The more things change, the more they stay the same in Wabasha, Minnesota. The uncatchable fish named Catfish Hunter grows fatter. The wisecracks, zingers and put downs pile up like freshly raked leaves. And Grumpy Old Men become grumpier in the sequel that's "pure delight, a wonderfully warmhearted comedy" (David Sheehan, CBS-TV). Grabbing fishing rods and picking up where they left off, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau reel in another comedy winner as Grumpier Old Men. Ann-Margret, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollack and Burgess Meredith also return to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to reprise their roles. And Sophia Loren is the newcomer whose plan to turn the town's beloved bait shop into a ristorante sends the old boys into a tizzy. Be advised: a tizzy is very contagious. Get ready to laugh. And stay tuned for the outtakes, including "man-sized manicotti!"
Melrose Place - The Second Season
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
In its second season, Melrose Place turned up the heat, resulting in a funnier, sexier series. Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith) continues to see Billy (Andrew Shue), Jake (Grant Show) moves in with Jo (Daphne Zuniga), and Jane (Josie Bissett) divorces Michael (Thomas Calabro), who shacks up with Kimberly (Marcia Cross). That leaves Matt (the underused Doug Savant), who has an affair with a sailor; Amanda (Heather Locklear), who sets her sights on Jake; and Sydney (Laura Leighton), who sets hers on Michael. A lot changes during the year: Sydney turns to prostitution, Jo kills in self-defense, Amanda and Jo catch a voyeur in the act, and Michael and Kimberly end up in the hospital when he crashes their car. Though Michael recovers after a few episodes, Kimberly slips into a coma and then disappears. Michael is told she's died; fortunately for fans, he was misinformed. Kimberly eventually returns, but though she looks the same, she isn't. Turns out, she's now a certifiable loony--and she intends to make Michael pay. As she memorably tells Sydney in the season finale, "You're looking at human garbage... when Michael's dead, God's gonna do a jig."
By the end of the second year, one marriage will have taken place, while another will be called off at the last minute. After an entertaining, if overly earnest first season, Melrose Place had found its footing. The acting isn't always first-rate--the crying scenes are particularly unconvincing--but 31 episodes in one year must have been draining on the cast (most dramas top out at 23). Guest stars include Parker Stevenson as a high-tech millionaire, Gina Gershon as a waitress/call girl, Linda Gray as Amanda's estranged mother, and future X-Men star Famke Janssen as a high-class hooker. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.
Melrose Place - The Complete First Season
by Richard Denault
from Paramount
Stories about the lives and loves of the inhabitants of a trendy apartment complex in Los Angeles.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 7-NOV-2006
Media Type: DVD
It began as a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210, but this summer replacement quickly established its own unique identity. The connection is creator Darren Star and the character of Jake (Grant Show), who had a fling with Kelly (Jennie Garth) on 90210. In the pilot, she
 Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place creator Darren Star reflects on the first seasons of both shows in this Amazon-exclusive clip. High Bandwidth | Low Bandwidth |
Other troublemakers are waiting in the wings, like Michael's colleague Kimberly (Marcia Cross) and Jane's sister Sydney (Laura Leighton). Both return to stay in the second year. Melrose Place ran for seven increasingly soapy seasons and spawned the short-lived Models, Inc.. Afterwards, Thorne-Smith moved on to Ally McBeal and According to Jim, while Savant and Cross would eventually segue to Desperate Housewives. Other actors had a shorter stay at the infamous West Hollywood apartment complex-- notably, Locane, who makes her exit in the 13th episode ("Dreams Come True") and Williams, who makes hers in the 32nd (two-part season finale "Suspicious Minds"). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Melrose Place (click for larger image)
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Caroline in the City - The First Season
by Michael Lembeck
from Paramount
Caroline Duffy (Lea Thompson) is a successful cartoonist living in Manhattan whose comic strip "Caroline in the City" has become a huge hit. The strip is based on her own life and the people in it - her occasional boyfriend Del her best friend Annie and her employee Richard who all add chaos to her life as she looks for love in the Big Apple.System Requirements:Running Time: 534 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097366304743 Manufacturer No: 630474
The Whole Ten Yards (Widescreen Edition)
by Howard Deutch
from Warner Home Video
Thanks to falsified dental records retired hitman Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Bruce Willis) faked his own death and has taken up a new line of work as a homemaker for his wife Jill (Amanda Peet) a novice assassin who has yet to pull off a clean hit. Suddenly an uninvited and unwelcome connection to their past appears. It's their former neighbor Oz (Matthew Perry) who begs them to help rescue his wife from the Hungarian mob. The mission mounts into Mafioso mayhem in this screwball sequel to the 2000 hit comedy The Whole Nine Yards.Running Time: 99 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 99 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085392841424 Manufacturer No: 28414
Bruce Willis turns on the charm in The Whole Ten Yards, the sequel to the surprisingly popular The Whole Nine Yards. Willis returns as Jimmy "the Tulip," a former professional hitman, now living in Mexico with his bride Jill (Amanda Peet, Igby Goes Down), while his former neighbor Oz (Matthew Perry) lives happily with Jimmy's ex-wife Cynthia (Natasha Henstridge, Species). When mobster Lazlo Gogolak (Kevin Pollak, The Usual Suspects) kidnaps Cynthia to get revenge on Jimmy, Oz has to seek out Jimmy for help--only to eventually discover that there's some incomprehensible secret plan at work. The Whole Ten Yards was created purely because the previous movie made money; the sequel makes not an iota of sense. Willis coasts by on raw charisma, everyone else flounders (Henstridge seems completely bored). Fans of the first movie, however, may enjoy revisiting these antic characters. --Bret Fetzer
The Odd Couple II
by Howard Deutch
from Paramount
Mike Nichols directed the 1965 stage production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, but while Nichols went on to become a vitally intelligent director of contemporary comedy, Simon's career thrived in the 1970s and '80s before dwindling towards sentimental fluff like this amusing but mildly disappointing sequel. Closer to Grumpy Old Men than the wry wit of Simon's original play and 1968 screen adaptation, the movie finds former roommates Oscar (Walter Matthau) and Felix (Jack Lemmon) reluctantly reuniting for the wedding of Oscar's son to Felix's daughter. When they get sidetracked in California, the road-movie formula unleashes the comedic chemistry of Lemmon and Matthau (which alone makes the movie worthwhile), but it's too casual to match the original's depth or dramatic foundation. Simon and Grumpy director Howard Deutch could have deepened the Oscar-Felix relationship to make it funnier and more emotionally involving, but instead they've played it safe with some good laughs in the kind of sketch comedy that Nichols would avoid. Simon's capable of much better than this, but Lemmon-Matthau fans will have a good time anyway. --Jeff Shannon
+++
