Roth, Joe

Revenge of the Nerds: The Atomic Wedgie Collection

Disc 1: Revenge of the Nerds Special Edition Disc 2: Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds In Paradise Disc 3: Revenge of the Nerds 3: Next Generation Disc 4: Revenge of the Nerds 4: Nerds In Love

America's Sweethearts

America's Sweethearts is just the kind of romantic froth that makes for pleasant viewing on a lazy, rainy day. While Julia Roberts, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones offer high-wattage marquee value, costar and cowriter Billy Crystal reworks Singin' in the Rain for latter-day Hollywood, where estranged superstars Gwen (Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (Cusack) reluctantly promote their latest movie by pretending their messily disputed relationship is still going strong. The studio chief (Stanley Tucci) is desperate for a hit, so he hires a seasoned publicist (Crystal) to orchestrate a press junket that will cast everyone in a profitable light. The catch: The director (Christopher Walken) has abducted his own film in an act of artistic extortion, and Gwen's sister and longtime assistant Kiki (Roberts) is the true object of Eddie's desire.

Chaos ensues at the luxury hotel where the junket is scheduled, and America's Sweethearts pokes easy fun at the cynical machinery that keeps Hollywood running. Quotable quips are delivered in abundance, and while Zeta-Jones is readily convincing as a bitchy narcissist, Roberts effortlessly steals the show with her trademark charms. All of which makes America's Sweethearts lightly entertaining, even though it never rises (like Roberts's earlier Notting Hill) to the level of classic romantic comedy, hampered by a script that too often substitutes easy laughs for ripe satirical invention, flashing a phony grin when it should be baring its fangs. --Jeff Shannon

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

Revenge of the Nerds/ Revenge Of the Nerds II - Nerds in Paradise

Freedomland

Based on the best-selling novel by Richard PRice this explosive thriller stars Academy Award nominees Samuel L. Jackson (1994 Best Supporting Actor Pulp Fiction) and Julianne Moore (2002 Best Actress Far From Heaven) and Golden Globe winner Edie Falco ("The Sopranos").When Brenda Martin (Moore) claims her car was stolen with her son in the backseat the chilling accusation sparks an intense investigation led by Detective Lorenzo Council (Jackson). The frenzy to find her son escalates into an explosive nightmare of suspicion and accusation and the search for the truth leads to riveting action disturbing revelations and a shocking ending.System Requirements:Running Time: Approx. 113 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 043396114401 Manufacturer No: 11440

There are an abundance of outstanding performances in the uneven dramatic thriller Freedomland, with leads Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore leading the way for a string of strong actors. The disappointment comes in the telling of the tale and getting all those performances on the same page. The movie is based on a dense novel by the talented and highly acclaimed writer Richard Price (who adapted the screenplay); the setting is a fictional town in Northern New Jersey and the low-income housing complex at its heart. As a housing project cop who's respected for keeping the peace and being fair with the residents, Lorenzo Council (Jackson) stumbles onto the case of an apparent carjacking and child abduction one night that throws the projects into turmoil. But there's something fishy in the details Brenda Martin (Moore) slowly brings to light regarding her abductor and her missing child. Jackson and Moore deliver a series of superbly nuanced monologues with varying degrees of passion, but the story can't always keep up with their talky exposition. Most of the burden lies with director Joe Roth, who sometimes finds it hard to make the intricacies of Price's screenplay lively enough. Even so, Freedomland is a serious commentary about racial tension and personal emotion. Supporting players Edie Falco (of The Sopranos fame) and the grandly aging character actor William Forsythe as Lorenzo's partner add greatly to this valiant attempt at a deep dramatic statement. --Ted Fry

America's Sweethearts [Region 2]

America's Sweethearts is just the kind of romantic froth that makes for pleasant viewing on a lazy, rainy day. While Julia Roberts, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones offer high-wattage marquee value, costar and cowriter Billy Crystal reworks Singin' in the Rain for latter-day Hollywood, where estranged superstars Gwen (Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (Cusack) reluctantly promote their latest movie by pretending their messily disputed relationship is still going strong. The studio chief (Stanley Tucci) is desperate for a hit, so he hires a seasoned publicist (Crystal) to orchestrate a press junket that will cast everyone in a profitable light. The catch: The director (Christopher Walken) has abducted his own film in an act of artistic extortion, and Gwen's sister and longtime assistant Kiki (Roberts) is the true object of Eddie's desire.

Chaos ensues at the luxury hotel where the junket is scheduled, and America's Sweethearts pokes easy fun at the cynical machinery that keeps Hollywood running. Quotable quips are delivered in abundance, and while Zeta-Jones is readily convincing as a bitchy narcissist, Roberts effortlessly steals the show with her trademark charms. All of which makes America's Sweethearts lightly entertaining, even though it never rises (like Roberts's earlier Notting Hill) to the level of classic romantic comedy, hampered by a script that too often substitutes easy laughs for ripe satirical invention, flashing a phony grin when it should be baring its fangs. --Jeff Shannon

Mona Lisa Smile / America's Sweethearts

MONA LISA SMILE: Academy Award®-winner Julia Roberts (Best Actress in a Leading Role Erin Brockovich 2000) leads an all-star cast featuring Kirsten Dunst Julia Stiles Maggie Gyllenhall and Marcia Gay Harden. MONA LISA SMILE is a funny inspiring and uplifting film about an art history professor with a lot to teach about life and much to learn about romance. AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (John Cusack) are AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS...the country's favorite couple on-screen and off. But when their very public romance turns into a very private breakup only veteran press agent Lee (Billy Crystal) and Gwen's assistant Kiki (Julia Roberts) can help Gwen and Eddie show some love while they promote their last film together. But the press junket is in a resort hotel miles from anywhere. And while Lee and Kiki frantically try to keep the media away from the real story and keep Gwen and Eddie from revealing their secret Kiki finds something entirely unexpected in this romantic comedy about true love happily ever after and other Hollywood endings.System Requirements:Run Time: 217 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 043396137523 Manufacturer No: 13752

Christmas with the Kranks/Are We There Yet?

ARE WE THERE YET?: When Nick (Ice Cube Barbershop) falls for single mother Suzanne (Nia Long Big Momma's House) he initially doesn't have to worry about what her kids think of him because she just wants to "be friends." Undeterred by this statement- or his buddies who dog him for loitering in the stalking-friend zone- Nick keeps hanging around. So when Suzanne finds herself in a jam and needs someone to escort her kids to meet her in Vancouver for New Year's Eve Nick gladly opens the door for opportunity. It could be the best way to win her heart or the biggest mistake of his life. With more that one destination on his mind Nick embarks on a road trip he'll never forget- and neither will you!CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS: 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)Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 043396132528 Manufacturer No: 13252

Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise [Region 2]

America's Sweethearts / My Best Friend's Wedding

America's Sweethearts
America's Sweethearts is just the kind of romantic froth that makes for pleasant viewing on a lazy, rainy day. While Julia Roberts, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones offer high-wattage marquee value, costar and cowriter Billy Crystal reworks Singin' in the Rain for latter-day Hollywood, where estranged superstars Gwen (Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (Cusack) reluctantly promote their latest movie by pretending their messily disputed relationship is still going strong. The studio chief (Stanley Tucci) is desperate for a hit, so he hires a seasoned publicist (Crystal) to orchestrate a press junket that will cast everyone in a profitable light. The catch: The director (Christopher Walken) has abducted his own film in an act of artistic extortion, and Gwen's sister and longtime assistant Kiki (Roberts) is the true object of Eddie's desire. Chaos ensues at the luxury hotel where the junket is scheduled, and America's Sweethearts pokes easy fun at the cynical machinery that keeps Hollywood running. Quotable quips are delivered in abundance, and while Zeta-Jones is readily convincing as a bitchy narcissist, Roberts effortlessly steals the show with her trademark charms. All of which makes America's Sweethearts lightly entertaining, even though it never rises (like Roberts's earlier Notting Hill) to the level of classic romantic comedy, hampered by a script that too often substitutes easy laughs for ripe satirical invention, flashing a phony grin when it should be baring its fangs. --Jeff Shannon

My Best Friend's Wedding
One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, My Best Friend's Wedding not only gave Julia Roberts a delightful vehicle for her crowd-pleasing comeback, but it further distinguished itself by avoiding the conventional plotting of the genre. Julia plays a prominent Chicago restaurant critic whose best friend (Dermot Mulroney) is a former lover from her college days with whom she'd made a binding pact: if neither of them were married by the age of 28, they'd marry each other. Just when they're about to reach the deadline of their agreement, Mulroney arrives in Chicago to introduce Roberts to his seemingly perfect fiancée (Cameron Diaz) and announce their wedding in just three days. That leaves the shocked Julia with just three short days to sabotage the wedding and marry the man she now realizes she's loved all along. With potential heartbreak waiting in the wings, she'll either get what she wants or pay the price for her selfish behavior, and Ronald Bass's cleverly constructed screenplay keeps us guessing to the very end. Rupert Everett scored rave reviews for his scene-stealing performance as Robert's gay friend who goes along with her scheming (but only so far), and even as she makes her character's needy desperation disarmingly appealing, Roberts wisely allows Diaz to capitalize on her charming time in the spotlight. As the romantic outcome remains uncertain, the viewer is held in a state of giddy suspense, and director P.J. Hogan pulls off some hilarious scenes (like a restaurant full of people singing the Dionne Warwick hit "I Say a Little Prayer") that could easily have fallen flat in the hands of a less talented filmmaker. It's no surprise that this was one of the box-office smashes of 1997. --Jeff Shannon