Albert Brooks

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley

Defending Your Life

Albert Brooks proves there's laughs after death with this almost heavenly comedy--almost heaven as in Judgment City, where recently perished Daniel Miller (Brooks) learns whether he is worthy of advancing to a higher plane of existence or will be sent back to earth for another incarnation.

His fate will be determined in a very special trial, during which scenes from his life are replayed on a giant screen. "Isn't it realistic?" a judge asks. "It makes some people nauseous." While the steely prosecutor (Lee Grant) will try to prove that Daniel failed in life to face his fears and insecurities, his glad-handing, reassuring defender (Rip Torn) will argue on behalf of this hapless "little brain" (a Judgment City term for residents of earth).

As Woody Allen did for the future in Sleeper, so does Brooks create an original vision of the afterlife. In Judgment City, white-robed residents can eat as much as they want without guilt or fear of gaining weight. They can also visit the Past Lives Pavilion, where they are greeted by a hologram of--who else--Shirley MacLaine.

Daniel finds himself touched by an angel. Meryl Streep gives an enchanting performance as Julia, whose exemplary life is in stark contrast to his. During her trial, the court watches in rapture as she saves not only children, but a cat from a burning building.

Daniel and Julia are a match made in Judgment City, but first Daniel must summon up the courage to express his true feelings for her, or she will surely advance without him.

Defending Your Life is Brooks's most ambitious film and, with Mother, his most accessible. --Donald Liebenson

Immediately following his death by bus, Daniel finds himself in the afterlife facing his past. If you can't make a case for having lived a full and fearles

superb music score won an Academy Award.s life, you must go back to Earth and try again. But Daniel doesn't want to go back after he meets Julia in this heavenly fable written and directed by Albert Brooks.

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dana Carvey

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Adam Sandler

Saturday Night Live - Best of Alec Baldwin

Whether he's playing a Scout Master seducing "Canteen Boy" a French teacher annoying his students a Tough Guy or just talking about his famous "Schwetty Balls" Alec Baldwin is undoubtedly one of the funniest SNL hosts of all time. He's become a regular playing in sketches throughout the years with some of the SNL greats including Phil Hartman Chris Farley Mike Meyers Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell. You're sure to enjoy some of Alec's hilarious celebrity impressions such as Tony Bennett and Charles Nelson Reilly.And if you've ever wondered what it s like to actually host SNL you'll want to check out the DVD extras and bonus features such as the audio commentary from Alec Baldwin himself as he comments on various sketches as well as never-before-seen footage from dress rehearsals that never made it to television!System Requirements:Running Time: 91 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 025192974724 Manufacturer No: 29747

There's a reason Lorne Michaels keeps asking Alec Baldwin back to host Saturday Night Live: He's really good at it. Baldwin may have made his name in hard-hitting dramas like Glengarry Glen Ross and The Cooler, but SNL has long allowed him to flaunt his skills in stage acting and mimicry. In other words, he never gets flustered or seems at all concerned about making a complete ass of himself--the essence of good sketch comedy. As with such versatile performers as Christopher Walken and John Goodman (who appears in the boozy Bill Brasky skit), these qualities have made him one of the show's most popular hosts. Granted, some may fault the man for a few too many sketches built around the double entendre, like pastry chef Pete Schwetty and his tasty balls, but there's no doubt the guy can sell even the silliest of lines with the straightest of faces. As for his impressions, Baldwin's Tony Bennett--by way of John Travolta--doesn't just capture the legendary crooner's voice and mannerisms, but his unstoppable optimism, as well ("I love things that are great!" ). His squinty-eyed, stiff-necked Robert De Niro is another treat. (His fidgety Charles Nelson Reilly doesn't hit the same heights.) Aside from more than a decade's worth of Not Ready for Prime Time Players, including Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell, The Best of Alec Baldwin includes two deleted dress rehearsal sketches and dishy, occasionally profane commentary from Baldwin and producer Marci Klein. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Broadcast News

Holly Hunter plays a network news producer who, much to her chagrin, finds herself falling for pretty-boy anchorman William Hurt. He is all glamour without substance and represents a hated shift from hard news toward packaged "infotainment," which Hunter despises. Completing the triangle is Albert Brooks, who provides contrast as the gifted reporter with almost no presence on camera. He carries a torch for Hunter; she sees merely a friend. Written and directed by James L. Brooks, this shows remarkable insight into the people who make television. On the surface it is about that love triangle. If you look a little deeper, however, you will see that this behind-the-scenes comedy is a very revealing look at obsessive behavior and the heightened emotions that accompany adrenaline addiction. It is for good reason this was nominated for seven Academy Awards (though it did not win any). There are scenes in this movie you cannot shake, such as Hunter's scheduled mini-breakdowns, or Brooks's furious "flop sweat" during his tryout as a national anchor. Watch for an uncredited Jack Nicholson as a senior newscaster. --Rochelle O'Gorman

In James L. Brooks' quirky, romantic comedy, three ambitious workaholics are set loose in a network TV newsroom where their professional and personal lives become hopelessly cross-wired. Tom (William Hurt) is the modern anchorman, smooth, handsome and a bit dumb. Jane (Holly Hunter) is his driven, brilliant producer, determined to turn Tom into a real newsman. And Aaron (Albert Brooks) is a seasoned, totally uncharismatic reporter who can't stand Tom's instant success on-camera or with Jane. It all adds up to one explosively funny romantic triangle.

Private Benjamin (Full Screen Edition)

Goldie Hawn wins the Comedy Medal of Honor in this box-office smash about a pampered upper-middle class princess who joins "today's Army." Eileen Brennen and Armand Assante co-star. Year: 1980 Director: Howard Zieff Starring: Goldie Hawn Eileen Brennen Armand AssanteRunning Time: 110 min.System Requirements:Interactive Menus Production Notes Scene Access Dolby Digital Theatrical Trailer Languages: English & French Subtitles: English French & Spanish Standard version has been modified from its original version; it has been formatted to fit your screen. Interactive Menus Production Notes Theatrical Trailer Video Format: Standard 1.33:1 (4.3) English: Dolby Digital Stereo French: Dolby Digital Mono Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 085391107521

A pampered socialite (Goldie Hawn) is so distraught after the wedding-night death of her husband (Albert Brooks) that she up and joins the Army. She whines, she pouts, she brings the corps down, until, of course, she gets with it. Eileen Brennan received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role as the butch Captain Doreen Lewis, Benjamin's nemesis. Funny and winning, the film takes an odd turn when Benjamin is assigned to the international theater and gets involved with a dour Frenchman (Armand Assante). Of course, it's all part of Benjamin's growth as a person, and the part confirmed that Hawn had gone from a go-go girl to a "you go" girl. --Keith Simanton

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Molly Shannon

Molly Shannon created a string of amazing characters on Saturday Night Live-from Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher to 50-year-old Sally O'Malley-and like Molly herself they're all fearless strong and hilarious. See the best of Joyologist Helen Madden Elizabeth Taylor Anna Nicole Smith Courtney Love and other extras including Molly's favorite scenes that were cut after Dress Rehearsal and never seen until now.System Requirements: Running Time 76 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 031398842323 Manufacturer No: VM8423D

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies

Since the creation of Saturday Night Live in the 1970s one of the signatures of the show has been its commercial parodies. From subtle to outrageous silly to realistic SNL has always been able to poke fun at the folks on Madison Avenue with a variety of products not actually for sale.Now you can enjoy your favorite commercial parodies that have aired over the past 30 years all on one DVD. Watch classics like "Little Chocolate Donuts" "Happy Fun Ball" "Mom Jeans" "Colon Blow" "Trump's House of Wings" "Oops I Crapped My Pants" or "Schmitt's Gay" again and again.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 025193007322 Manufacturer No: 30073

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse

Includes Cartoons in Their Original "Un-Cut" Theatrical Versions with Footage Not Shown on TV!Hosted by the Voices of Red-Hot Talent STEPHEN COLBERT & STEVE CARELLFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025193207128 Manufacturer No: 32071

The envelope-pushing cartoons created by Robert Smigel for "Saturday TV Funhouse" on Saturday Night Live are tasteless, crass, borderline offensive, and almost universally hilarious. This disc collects two dozen of the best, and viewing them together makes for a deliciously warped vision of Smigel and a relentlessly silly prism through which to view American pop culture. Case in point: The action-adventure heroes Ace and Gary, "The Ambiguously Gay Duo" (voiced, with deadpan earnestness, by Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert), are actually pretty unambiguous, but the joke is played just straight enough--while fighting to save the earth, they always allocate time to accessorize--and to pat one another on the bum for a job well done. In "Bambi 2002," Disney is roasted for its policy of pulling choice children's titles from the marketplace and releasing instead direct-to-video sequels that may not be up to the level of the original. In the "sequel," Bambi's mom is OK ("it was just a head wound, son"), and Bambi and his forest posse are hip-hop kids fighting terrorists in their spare time. "Remember, kids," the TV announcer intones, "it's all the Bambi you'll get for 10 years." Other highlights include the cartoon beauty contest "Are You Hot?" (in which Strawberry Shortcake beats out Betty Boop for sex appeal), and the black-and-white industrial training film "Sexual Harassment and You," which advises employees on the three rules for trysting with a co-worker while avoiding a sexual harassment lawsuit: 1. Be Handsome. 2. Be Attractive. and 3. Don't be unattractive. Elsewhere, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are skewered by their own words, and Michael Jackson reappears as a Hanna-Barbera creation--and still manages to be creepy. Extras include commentaries by Smigel, Carell, Colbert, Al Franken, James Carville, and others, as well as extra cartoon snippets and original art and storyboards. --A.T. Hurley