Underwood, Ron

Heart and Souls

Robert Downey Jr. has never been more charming than in this comedy about a yuppie who is revisited in adulthood by the spirits of four people who had been his friends as a child. The ghosts (Kyra Sedgwick, Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Tom Sizemore) all have unfinished business in this world before they can move on to the next, and Downey's character agrees to let them inhabit his body while they sort it all out. The appealing cast alone strongly recommends this movie, but Downey's remarkable facility for physical comedy--manifesting the personalities of his supernatural pals as they possess him--is a riot. Elisabeth Shue makes the best of her part as the hero's girlfriend; Leaving Las Vegas was still ahead of her, but one can see her talent straining to get out here. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, production notes, theatrical trailer, biographies of the cast, closed captioning, an optional French soundtrack and Spanish subtitles, and Dolby sound. --Tom Keogh

City Slickers

Three middle-age buddies (Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby) facing personal crises decide to sign up for a two-week cattle run for a change of pace. The trail proves a tougher place than anyone thought, and the boss (Jack Palance) is a grizzled taskmaster who doesn't cotton to tenderfoot urbanites. Popular in theaters, the film is both funny and moving, with Crystal giving one of his most complete performances and Palance (who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) a lot of colorful fun. Director Ron Underwood (Heart and Souls) subtly shifts the tone of the film from broad comedy to poignancy over its running time, and he makes the story's end a bittersweet victory that feels like life as most people know it. --Tom Keogh

Comic genius Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally) stars in this hilarious film about cowboys, careers and mid-life crises. Co-starring Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby and Jack Palance in an Academy AwardÂ(r)-winning* role, City Slickers is "the rowdiest western jokefest since Blazing Saddles" (Rolling Stone). It'll rope you in...and keep you laughing from first frameto last! New Yorker Mitch Robbins (Crystal) is 39 and miserable. He's tired of his job andbored with his life. And his two best friends Ed, (Kirby) and Phil (Stern), aren't doing much better. So when they all decide to chase their troubles away with a fantasy vacation, Mitch and his pals trade their briefcases for saddlebags and set out to find freedom and adventure herding cattle underthe wide New Mexico sky. But what they discover instead is scorching sun, sore backsides...and moreinsight into themselvesand each otherthan they ever thought possible! *1991: Supporting Actor

City Slickers (Collector's Edition)

Comic genius Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally) stars in this hilarious film about cowboys careers and mid-life crises. Co-starring Daniel Stern Bruno Kirby and Jack Palance in an Academy Award®-winning* role City Slickers is "the rowdiest western jokefest since Blazing Saddles" (Rolling Stone). It'll rope you in... and keep you laughing from first frame to last! New Yorker Mitch Robbins (Crystal) is 39 and miserable. He's tired of his job and bored with his life. And his two best friends Ed (Kirby) and Phil (Stern) aren't doing much better. So when they all decide to chase their troubles away with a fantasy vacation Mitch and his pals trade their briefcases for saddle bags and set out to find freedom and adventure herding cattle under the wide New Mexico sky. But what they discover instead is scorching sun sore backsides... and more insight into themselves and each other than they ever thought possible!System Requirements:Running Time: 112 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/COMING OF AGE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 883904107828 Manufacturer No: M110782

Tremors

Who would have guessed that this clever, fast-paced creature feature from 1990 would become a beloved miniclassic worthy of its own Collector's Edition DVD? Tremors didn't actually break any new ground (even though its tunneling worm monsters certainly did), but it revved up the classic monster-movie formulas of the 1950s with such energetic enthusiasm and humor that it made everything old seem new again. It's also got a cast full of enjoyable actors who clearly had a lot of fun making the film, and director Ron Underwood strikes just the right balance of comedy and terror as a band of small-town rednecks battles a lot of really nasty-looking giant worms. The special effects are great, the one-liners fly fast and furious between heroes Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward (and yes, that's country star Reba McEntire packin' awesome firepower), and it's all done with the kind of flair one rarely associates with goofy monster flicks like this. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel (Tremors: Aftershocks), this horror thriller was given the deluxe treatment for its DVD release. Bonus features include an original "making-of" documentary, previously unseen video showing the creation of the worm-creatures, outtakes from the film, the original ending not shown in theaters, theatrical trailers, and a gallery of production photographs. If you're a fan, consider this a must-have disc! --Jeff Shannon

Mighty Joe Young

Charlize Theron is the latest stunning blonde to be hanging around some big ape in a Hollywood movie, this one a remake of the 1949 semi-classic with echoes of the superior King Kong. Theron plays the daugher of an American researcher killed by poachers in Africa. The baby gorilla left in her care grows up to become a hugely tall and broad specimen named Joe, living in the mountains as a mostly unseen legend among people who live there. Along comes an eco-minded emissary (Bill Paxton) from a California sanctuary, who talks the jungle girl into providing safe haven for Joe at the L.A. facility. The transition is not without discomfort, but everything is aggravated via a conspiracy of poachers to get Joe into their own greedy hands. Director Ron Underwood (City Slickers) uses a combination of special-effects techniques to give Joe life and personality, and he succeeds quite effectively. The requisite giant-ape-goes-amok scenes are all in place--a couple of them pretty intense--as is a conclusion that finds the simian hero performing a stunning feat of escalation. Underwood attempts to give a little modern spin to some classic Hollywood conventions regarding wild hearts lost in civilization, and the results are pretty agreeable family fare. --Tom Keogh

In the classic tradition of heroic Disney adventures comes the extraordinary MIGHTY JOE YOUNG -- a thrilling story full of excitement, friendship, courage, and heart. The legendary Joe, a playful, smart fifteen-foot-tall gorilla, and his lifelong best friend Jill Young (Charlize Theron) have grown up together in the remote mountains of Central Africa. When Joe's peaceful existence is shattered by poachers, Jill and zoologist Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) rescue their innocent friend and move him to the safety of an animal conservancy in California. But Joe's safety is short-lived. No longer a myth, his notoriety makes him a target for an enemy from his past -- a ruthless hunter who will do anything to capture the Mighty Joe. From the moment you meet him to his incredible display of courage, Mighty Joe Young will fill your eyes with wonder and your heart with magic.

Speechless

Picture James Carville and Mary Matalin dropped into a screwball comedy. Michael Keaton and Geena Davis are political speechwriters with bad cases of insomnia who meet cute, fall in love, and then discover that they are working for opposing candidates. The subsequent short-lived war of dirty tricks and one-upmanship is one of those contrivances that is soon (and thankfully) discarded in light of their instant rapport and mutual respect. In a world where candidates are for sale and campaigns are fought like poker games, these idealists are made for each other--they just don't know it yet. Director Ron Underwood (City Slickers) has a light touch with comedy and a nice feel for romantic fun, but it's the charm of Keaton and Davis that puts the bounce in an otherwise limp political satire. --Sean Axmaker

Michael Keaton and Geena Davis are a winning ticket (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America ) in this captivating romantic comedy which proves conclusively that opposites do attract and then some. 'smart, sexy and side-splittingly funny (Mike McKay, WBTV-CBS), Speechless is the word for great entertainment. It was a match made in heaven... almost. Two witty, intelligent insomniacs, Kevin (Keaton) and Julia (Davis), meet over the last box of sleeping pills at an all-night convenience store and are immediately attracted. They share an evening of passion and romance and discover that they have a lot in common... maybe too much. When they learn that they're both speech writers but for opposing political campaigns the sweethearts quickly move from speechless to ruthless and drop the pillow talk for serious verbal jabbing. But the more they stab each other in the back and insult each other directly, the more they realize that true love doesn't always follow along party lines.

Monk - The Premiere Episode

Santa Baby

Jenny McCarthy and George Wendt star in this heartwarming comedy about Santa Claus' daughter. When Santa Claus (George Wendt) gets too sick to run the toy shop his workaholic daughter Mary (Jenny McCarthy) leaves behind her high-powered job in the city and heads north. Will Mary's new ideas and her relentless drive for efficiency save Christmas or will Christmas need to save her first? System Requirements:Run time: 89 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/FAMILY GATHERINGS Rating: PG UPC: 031398220015 Manufacturer No: 22001

The Adventures of Pluto Nash

The Adventures of Pluto Nash was shelved for nearly two years, and when it was finally released, hardly anyone noticed. In the interim, Eddie Murphy made the marginally better Showtime and started fishing for a career revival that wasn't a sequel to his previous hits. In the satirical, lunar-colony hash of Pluto Nash, Murphy's a variant of Casablanca's Rick Blaine in the year 2087, happily running the moon's hottest nightclub, refusing a buyout offer from a greedy gambler, and suffering the consequences with his sidekick robot (Randy Quaid in yet another thankless role) and newest employee (Rosario Dawson, before doing similar time in Men in Black II). A visual hybrid of Total Recall and A.I., this nearly laughless comedy would be a total write-off if it weren't for Murphy's stalwart attempt to jump-start the flagging humor. He's got the chops of a superstar, but only when his collaborators are on the same page. --Jeff Shannon

Set on the moon in the year 2087, the action/adventure comedy "Pluto Nash" stars Eddie Murphy as the title character, an audacious nightclub owner who finds himself in hot water when he refuses to sell his club to the local mob.

In the Mix (Widescreen Edition)

R&B sensation Usher stars as a popular DJ Darrell who saves the life of a young woman (Emmanuelle Chriqui) who turns out to be the daughter of a high-ranking mobster (Chazz Palminteri). When the mobster decides that Darrell could be put to good use the hapless DJ gets sucked into the crime underworld. R&B star Usher makes an assured screen debut in this mix of mob movie and romantic comedy. Chazz Palminenteri co-stars as the friendly don who recruits family friend Darrell (Usher) to play bodyguard for his daughter Dolly (Emmanuelle Chiriqi). She and Darrell have been friends since they were kids but the seven years since they last saw each other have changed things. She's grown into a headstrong young law student with a yen for yoga and a smug yuppie boyfriend (Geoff Stults); he's grown into an ultra-smooth chick magnet with dreams of starting his own record company. They're destined for each other but there's not only the racial issue in their way--someone's trying to take over the family business via treachery and bullets and Darrell's right in the thick of things. When the interracial romance isn't heating up the screen there's plenty of raucous comedy supplied by Anthony Fazio as Dolly's pseudo-gangsta younger brother Kevin Hart as Darrell's loudmouthed co-DJ and a bulldog with an unfortunate digestion problem. Director Ron Underwood takes his time going around the more edgy turns in the script giving the actors room to stretch out and get comfortable in their characters and surroundings and helping the film transcend its more formulaic elements (it's an obvious nod to the 1992 Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner chestnut THE BODYGUARD). Best of all Usher proves his game extends to the big screen where he displays plenty of debonair warmth and easygoing charm.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 031398191209 Manufacturer No: 19120