Comedy Stars

The Office - Season Three

Fill your Inbox with hilarious moments from The Office Season Three in this four-disc collection that's crammed with extensive bonus features and all 22 episodes of the 2006 Primetime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Comedy Series! Steve Carell is back in his Golden Globe-winning role as earnest but clueless boss Michael Scott who can't help but contribute his own irreverent commentary to the daily happenings at the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. As the staff deals with potential office closures mergers romances and advancement Michael's always there to say all the wrong things at all the right times. Including five supersized episodes and over three hours of deleted scenes The Office Season Three is packed with classic moments from the show that TIME magazine praises for "satirizing the culture of coffee cubicles and Chili's with heart and laser precision."Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: PG UPC: 025195008204 Manufacturer No: 61100979

After a shaky first season of finding its footing, and a second season of establishing itself as one of the funniest shows on TV, the third season of The Office finds the show in its strongest form yet, thanks in large part to the addition of some new characters and stronger plotlines centered on office romances. A corporate merger brings the Stamford staff to the Scranton office of Dunder-Mifflin a quarter of the way through the season giving a nice boost to the season's arc of story lines, especially the addition of Andy (Ed Helms, another Daily Show alum in a role that seems custom made for him) who serves as yet another foil to Dwight (Rainn Wilson) in his unending fight for Michael's approval. As the season begins, the focus is more on Michael (Steve Carell) and his unique "leadership" style in the Scranton office. "A good boss gruntles the disgruntled," and despite his best intentions, he proceeds to somehow screw it up, as in the opening episode, "Gay Witch Hunt," in which he accidentally outs a gay employee. In the second episode, "The Convention," Michael tries to get the party started at the Mid-Market Office Supply Convention ("fun jeans"), and ends up revealing his insecurity about Jim's (John Krasinski) decision to move to Stamford. It leads up to "The Coup," where Dwight meets with Michael's Boss Jan (Melora Hardin) in a misguided attempt to take control of the office. The merger of the two offices into the Scranton location provides the fuel needed to continue the Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) subplot as Jim returns with his new girlfriend, Karen (Rashida Jones) who also transferred, and with Pam no longer engaged to Roy, the tension among them increases significantly. Other major plot points this season include: Dwight shows his true feelings for Angela in an excellent climax to one of the funniest subplots on the show; Michael negotiates a raise after learning he barely makes more than his subordinates; new office suck-up Andy is forced into anger management classes; and finally, in what may be the most bizarre company retreat in history, a day at the beach ends with Pam revealing her true feelings for Jim in front of the entire office. The season wraps up in unpredictable fashion when Karen, Michael, and Jim all travel to headquarters to interview for the same position. The strength of this season just continues to solidify The Office's place as the preeminent satire of today's cubicle culture. --Daniel Vancini

Caddyshack

A no-brainer that has become a low-brow classic, this 1980 comedy makes anarchy the rule of the day, unleashing the antics of Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Chevy Chase. Caddyshack is about the scheme of a vulgar land developer (Dangerfield) who wants to build condominiums on the site of a ritzy country club. Director Harold Ramis (who later reunited with Murray to make Groundhog Day) is content to let the comedy follow a variety of wacky detours, most notably Murray's maniacal war with a gopher that has been digging up the golf course. Dangerfield ultimately steals the show, firing off a battery of one-liners, insults, and tasteless gags. Caddyshack is the kind of movie some people have been known to watch several times a year, reciting every line of dialogue like the followers of a bizarre comedic ritual. --Jeff Shannon

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: CHASE/DANGERFIELD/KNIGHT/O'KEE
Title: CADDYSHACK
Street Release Date: 05/15/2007
Domestic
Genre: COMEDY VIDEO

The Office - Season One

No Description Available.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 16-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

The British sitcom The Office has the most devoted following this side of Monty Python, so an American remake seemed doomed. Amazingly, the remake actually finds its own enjoyable version of the original's uncanny comedy of embarrassment. Office manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell, The Daily Show, The 40 Year-Old Virgin) believes he's the beloved leader of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of a paper products company--but his relentless and painfully forced efforts at comedy creep out everyone around him, including paranoid Dwight (Rainn Wilson, who had a memorable recurring role on Six Feet Under), nervous receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer, LolliLove), and aimless salesman Jim (John Krasinski, A New Wave), who's smitten with the already engaged Pam. The pilot episode suffers from closely replicating the British pilot, but after that The Office finds its own footing, turning diversity training, an office birthday party, and a basketball game into excruciating yet hypnotically funny rituals of humiliation. Carell, though clearly talented, can't match Ricky Gervais' unique performance as the aggressively needy British manager (it's hard to imagine that anyone could); as a result, the supporting roles become more prominent, and Wilson, Fischer, and Krasinski quickly create a rapport that matches and may even exceed that of their British counterparts. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes; remarkably, they're as good as the material that made it on the air in this six-episode season. --Bret Fetzer

Little Miss Sunshine

Pile together a blue-ribbon cast, a screenplay high in quirkiness, and the Sundance stamp of approval, and you've got yourself a crossover indie hit. That formula worked for Little Miss Sunshine, a frequently hilarious study of family dysfunction. Meet the Hoovers, an Albuquerque clan riddled with depression, hostility, and the tattered remnants of the American Dream; despite their flakiness, they manage to pile into a VW van for a weekend trek to L.A. in order to get moppet daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) into the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Much of the pleasure of this journey comes from watching some skillful comic actors doing their thing: Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette as the parents (he's hoping to become a self-help authority), Alan Arkin as a grandfather all too willing to give uproariously inappropriate advice to a sullen teenage grandson (Paul Dano), and a subdued Steve Carell as a jilted gay professor on the verge of suicide. The film is a crowd-pleaser, and if anything is a little too eager to bend itself in the direction of quirk-loving Sundance audiences; it can feel forced. But the breezy momentum and the ingenious actors help push the material over any bumps in the road.-- Robert Horton

Beyond Little Miss Sunshine

More Dysfunctional Family Comedies

More films from the stars of Little Miss Sunshine

More Independent Films Turned Sleeper Hits

Stills from Little Miss Sunshine

Take a hilarious ride with the Hoovers one of the most endearingly fractured families in comedy history.Father Richard (Greg Kinnear) is desperately trying to sell his motivational success program...with no success. Meanwhile "pro-honesty" mom Sheryl (Toni Collette) lends support to her eccentric family including her depressed brother (Steve Carell) fresh out of the hospital after being jilted by his lover. Then there are the younger Hoovers the seven-year-old would-be beauty queen Olive (Abigail Breslin) and Dwayne (Paul Dano) a Nietzsche-reading teen who has taken a vow of silence. Topping off the family is the foul-mouthed grandfather (Alan Arkin) whose outrageous behavior recently got him evicted from his retirement home.When Olive is invited to compete in the "Little Miss Sunshine" pageant in far-off California the family piles into their rusted-out VW bus to rally behind her with riotously funny results.Episodes-Bonus Features:Disc 1 Side A:**Full Screen Feature**Audio Commentary with directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and writer Michael Arndt**4 Alternate Endings with optional commentary by directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris**"Till the End of Time" performed by DeVotchka from the soundtrack**TrailersDisc 1 Side B:**Widescreen Feature**Audio Commentary with Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and Writer Michael Arndt**4 Alternate Endings with optional commentary by directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris**"Till the End of Time" performed by DeVotchka from the soundtrack**Forced Trailer Combo: Thank You For Smoking Confetti Trust the ManSystem Requirements:Running Time: 101 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 024543403319 Manufacturer No: 2240331

The Office - Season Two

It s time to clock in for Season Two of The Office the hilarious and witty TV-mockumentary starring Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) in his Golden Globe Award-winning role. From sexual politics to performance reviews to email espionage the employees at Dunder-Mifflin are there to get the job done or not. Join earnest but clueless boss Michael Scott (Carell) Assistant to the Regional Manager Dwight (Rainn Wilson) receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer) sales rep Jim (John Krasinski) and the office temp Ryan (B.J. Novak) as they make the daily grind a lot more laughable. Fully staffed with 22 outrageous episodes and hours of side-splitting bonus features it s the must-own collection that caused Time magazine to declare "Never has a lousy job been so much fun!"System Requirements:Running Time: 127 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025193037824 Manufacturer No: 30378

Thank goodness for second seasons. While the first season of The Office started dubiously with a pilot that was just a poor copy of the original British version, it did manage to provide enough good material to stay on the air and hint that better was yet to come. And here it is. The second season of The Office finds its own footing and manages to do the near-impossible by not only breaking free of the gravity of that excellent BBC version to stand solidly on its own, but establishing it as one of the best comedies on TV. Season 2 starts out strong with "The Dundies," where Regional Manager, Michael Scott (Steve Carell, The 40 Year Old Virgin) hosts the company's annual office-awards event with his signature less-than-perfect grace. Things seem to only get worse for him this season as he bumbles a potential affair with his boss, Jan (Melora Harding), angers his employees by reading their emails ("Email Surveillance"), cooks his foot ("The Injury"), and accidentally destroys the warehouse with a forklift in "Boys and Girls," one of the season's highlight episodes. Always at his side is the clueless paranoid Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the Assistant Regional Manager ("Assistant to the Regional Manager," Michael always reminds him in one of the show's running jokes).

One of the reasons for the show's improvement in the second season is increased focus on Dwight's character, who's becoming something of a pop-culture icon right down to having his own bobblehead. He in turn provides so much good material for Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinsky) to play off of, to their own amusement. But of course, Pam and Jim's simmering relationship is the real meat of the show, as their compatibility becomes more obvious, Jim's feelings for her continue to grow, and Pam struggles with the impending marriage to her less-than-caring boyfriend, Roy (David Denman). Things have to come to a head, and they do nicely in the final episode, "Casino Night." As strong as the leading characters are in The Office, it's the excellent peripheral characters that really make the show hilarious, especially dimwitted office-slug Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), long-suffering intern Ryan (B.J. Novak), office-ditz Kelly (Mindy Kaling), and ultra-conservative Angela (Angela Kinsey). As with season 1, this season contains excellent bonus features to give you an excuse to spend more time at The Office, including the fake PSAs, commentaries, Michael's The Faces of Scranton movie, the ten stand-alone webisodes, and deleted scenes. --Daniel Vancini

Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)

Emma Thompson Alan Rickman Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant star in this captivating romantic comedy that swept the Ten Best lists and won the Golden Globe Award as Best Picture of the Year (Drama).Based on Jane Austen's classic novel Sense And Sensibility tells of the Dashwood sisters sensible Elinor (Thompson) and passionate Marianne (Winslet) whose chances at marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of fortune. Rickman Grant and Greg Wise co-star as the well-intentioned suitors who are trapped by the strict rules of society and the conflicting laws of desire.Bonus Features: Interactive Menus 2 Audio Commentaries: - Emma Thompson Producer Lindsay Dorin - Director Ang Lee Co-producer James Schamus Deleted scenes Emma Thompson's Golden Globe acceptance speech Original Theatrical Trailer Bonus Trailers Production Notes Scene SelectionsSystem Requirements:Starring: Emma Thompson Kate Winslet Hugh Grant Gemma Jones and Alan Rickman. Directed By: Ang Lee. Running Time: 136 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 Columbia TriStar.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 043396115996 Manufacturer No: 11599

Emma Thompson scores a double bull's-eye with this marvelous adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as one of the Dashwood sisters--the one with "sense"--she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay. Austen's tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson's deeply romantic sister. Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, who brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson's script won an Oscar, and 1995 was a fine year for Jane Austen all around: Persuasion was made into an excellent picture, and Emma became the spritzy high school comedy Clueless. --Robert Horton

Young Frankenstein

If you were to argue that Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein ranks among the top-ten funniest movies of all time, nobody could reasonably dispute the claim. Spoofing classic horror in the way that Brooks's previous film Blazing Saddles sent up classic Westerns, the movie is both a loving tribute and a raucous, irreverent parody of Universal's classic horror films Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Filming in glorious black and white, Brooks re-created the Frankenstein laboratory using the same equipment from the original Frankenstein (courtesy of designer Kenneth Strickfaden), and this loving attention to physical and stylistic detail creates a solid foundation for nonstop comedy. The story, of course, involves Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) and his effort to resume experiments in re-animation pioneered by his late father. (He's got some help, since dad left behind a book titled How I Did It.) Assisting him is the hapless hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the buxom but none-too-bright maiden Inga (Teri Garr), and when Frankenstein succeeds in creating his monster (Peter Boyle), the stage is set for an outrageous revision of the Frankenstein legend. With comedy highlights too numerous to mention, Brooks guides his brilliant cast (also including Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman in a classic cameo role) through scene after scene of inspired hilarity. Indeed, Young Frankenstein is a charmed film, nothing less than a comedy classic, representing the finest work from everyone involved. Not one joke has lost its payoff, and none of the countless gags have lost their zany appeal. From a career that includes some of the best comedies ever made, this is the film for which Mel Brooks will be most fondly remembered. Befitting a classic, the Special Edition DVD includes audio commentary by Mel Brooks, a "making of" documentary, interviews with the cast, hilarious bloopers and outtakes, and the original theatrical trailers. No video library should be without a copy of Young Frankenstein. And just remember--that's Fronkensteen. --Jeff Shannon

Mel Brooks' monstrously crazy tribute to Mary Shelley's classic pokes hilarious fun at just about every Frankenstein movie ever made. Summoned by a will to his late grandfather's castle in Transylvania young Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) soon discovers the scientist's step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Assisted by the hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the curvaceous Ings (Teri Garr) he creates a monster (Peter Boyle) who only wants to be loved.System Requirements:Running Time: 130 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 024543371571 Manufacturer No: 2237157

My Fair Lady

Hollywood's legendary "woman's director," George Cukor (The Women, The Philadelphia Story), transformed Audrey Hepburn into street-urchin-turned-proper-lady Eliza Doolittle in this film version of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair Lady stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins (Harrison also played the role, opposite Julie Andrews, on stage), who draws Eliza into a social experiment that works almost too well. The letterbox edition of this film on video certainly pays tribute to the pageantry of Cukor's set, but it also underscores a certain visual stiffness that can slow viewer enthusiasm just a tad. But it's really star wattage that keeps this film exciting, that and such great songs as "On the Street Where You Live" and "I Could Have Danced All Night." Actor Jeremy Brett, who gained a huge following later in life portraying Sherlock Holmes, is quite electric as Eliza's determined suitor. --Tom Keogh

Lerner and Loewe's musical version of 'Pygmalion' about a Covent Garden flower girl who becomes a lady.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: G
Release Date: 8-DEC-1998
Media Type: DVD

The Princess Bride (20th Anniversary Edition)

Once upon a time a feisty old grandfather told his bedridden grandson a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale... In the mythical kingdom of Florin farm boy Westley rides off one day to make his fortune leaving his true love Buttercup waiting patiently behind. Unfortunately his ship is beset by pirates and Buttercup grieves for many years believing Westley dead. She reluctantly agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck knowing that she will never love him. Humperdinck has his own plans for the marriage however--he intends to have Buttercup kidnapped and murdered in order to set off a border war that will strengthen his power. But she is eventually rescued by a mysterious pirate who turns out to be Westley in disguise. Their reunion does not last long though and the pair must face numerous obstacles before they can live happily ever after.System Requirements:Running Time; 98 mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG UPC: 027616092199 Manufacturer No: M109219

Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story.

And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity...

The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam Sutherland

Blazing Saddles (30th Anniversary Special Edition)

The railroad's got to run through the town of Rock Ridge. How do you drive out the townfolk in order to steal their land? Send in the toughest gang you've got...and name a new sheriff who'll last about 24 hours. But that's not really the plot of Blazing Saddles just the pretext. Once Mel Brooks' lunatic film many call his best gets started logic is lost in a blizzard of gags jokes quips puns howlers growlers and outrageous assaults upon good taste or any taste at all. Cleavon Little as the new lawman Gene Wilder as the wacko Waco Kid Brooks himself as a dim-witted politico and Madeline Kahn in her Marlene Dietrich send-up that earned an Academy Award nomination all give this sagebrush saga their lunatic best. And when Blazing Saddles can't contain itself at the finale it just proves the Old West will never be the same!Running Time: 93 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 085391895923

Mel Brooks scored his first commercial hit with this raucous Western spoof starring the late Cleavon Little as the newly hired (and conspicuously black) sheriff of Rock Ridge. Sheriff Bart teams up with deputy Jim (Gene Wilder) to foil the railroad-building scheme of the nefarious Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman). The simple plot is just an excuse for a steady stream of gags, many of them unabashedly tasteless, that Brooks and his wacky cast pull off with side-splitting success. The humor is so juvenile and crude that you just have to surrender to it; highlights abound, from the lunkheaded Alex Karras as the ox-riding Mongo to Madeline Kahn's uproarious send-up of Marlene Dietrich as saloon songstress Lili Von Shtupp. Adding to the comedic excess is the infamous campfire scene involving a bunch of hungry cowboys, heaping servings of baked beans and, well, you get the idea. --Jeff Shannon