Release date: 2008-11-17
RRP: £19.99
Price: £12.98
Review Michael McIntyre Live & Laughing / Michael Mcintyre:
![Review Warner Home Video / Friends: Complete Series 7 - New Edition [1995]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5146EJVBQGL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Matthew Perry
- Courteney Cox
- Jennifer Aniston
- Lisa Kudrow
- David Schwimmer
Run time: 530 min.
RRP: £50.99
Price: £8.48
Review Friends: Complete Series 7 - New Edition [1995] / Warner Home Video:
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Zoolander [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F4WQ23PKL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- David Bowie
- Billy Zane
- Andy Dick
- Winona Ryder
- Ben Stiller
- Ben Stiller
Run time: 85 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £2.91
Review Zoolander [2001] / Paramount Home Entertainment:Ben Stiller originally created the vacuous male model hero of Zoolander for the VH1 Fashion Awards. In his big-screen appearance, Stiller's Derek Zoolander is New York's top model and proud creator of the tight-lipped "facial expression" Blue Steel. However, competition comes in the shape of equally empty-headed young buck Hansel (Owen Wilson), who wins the coveted male model of the year award, much to Derek's dismay. When Derek's vapid friends are then incinerated in an unfortunate petrol station incident he is left vulnerable and alone, perfect fodder for fashion designer supremo Mugatu (a brilliantly surreal Will Ferrell) to hatch a plot of Manchurian Candidate-sized proportions in which Derek is brainwashed into assassinating the Malaysian Prime minister at a fashion show. Derek enlists the help of investigative journalist (Christine Taylor) and even Hansel himself in an attempt to thwart Mugatu's devious plot. Zoolander works thanks to the central performances. Stiller is endearing in his one-dimensional ineptitude, Wilson is shallow hippie cool personified, and there are some great cameos by the likes of David Duchovny as a Deep Throat-esque informer, Milla Jovovich as the eastern European sadomasochistic henchwoman and Jon Voight as Zoolander's coal mining dad. A constant parade of other celebs pop up throughout playing themselves. Admittedly it's a one-joke film, but there are some classic scenes along the way and at its best Zoolander is an entertaining dig at an industry that takes itself far too seriously. On the DVD: Zoolander comes to DVD in an anamorphic 2. [+]35:1 widescreen presentation that's clear and crisp with strong colours, which perfectly shows off the cartoonish style of the film. The audio is consistently sharp. Extra junkies will find plenty of material: deleted scenes, including an extended "Mine" scene and Winona Ryder trying to pick-up Hansel; amusing outtakes; and a great commentary from Ben Stiller with writers Drake Sather and John Hamburg. Best of all is the original VH1 Fashion Show skits which were the inspiration for the film. -Kristen Bowditch.
Actors & Directors
- Matthew Perry
- David Schwimmer
- Jennifer Aniston
- Lisa Kudrow
- Courteney Cox
Run time: 396 min.
RRP: £50.99
Price: £7.73
Review Friends: Complete Series 10 - New Edition / Warner Home Video:
![Review MGM Entertainment / Mannequin [1987]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M3KKAAK8L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Kim Cattrall
- Andrew McCarthy
- Michael Gottlieb
- James Spader
- Estelle Getty
- G.W. Bailey
Run time: 86 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.50
Review Mannequin [1987] / MGM Entertainment:This terrible 1987 film stars Kim Cattrall as an ancient spirit from Egypt who occupies the form of a department-store mannequin. A store employee (Andrew McCarthy) is the only one who sees the woman within, and they fall for one another. Mannequin is great idea that might have made a nifty romantic comedy in the late 1930s-when Hollywood knew how to make these things-is bungled here. Meshach Taylor (of TV's Designing Women) is embarrassing as a flamboyant follower of fashion. You want comedies about spirits mingling with mortals? Try Topper or The Bishop's Wife. -Tom Keogh Made in 1987, Mannequin represents everything that was naff about late-80s Hollywood: from its bland, boxy, electro-rock soundtrack to its sub-Sarah Ferguson fashion sense to its tawdry sets, flimsy characterisation and cheap slapstick humour (including the mandatory amusing dog). It might be centuries before its radioactive awfulness dies down enough to make it watchable, even as kitsch. Mannequin is notionally a romantic comedy in which Andrew McCarthy plays a luckless department store employee and Kim (Sex and the City) Cattrall is an Egyptian Princess reincarnated as a shop window dummy, who comes to life when she encounters McCarthy, only to revert to mannequin status when anyone but McCarthy is watching her. With her encouragement, he becomes emboldened in his career as a window decorator as well as falling in love with the Princess. James Spader's oily, stammery executive is just one of the many examples of a film that tries way too hard to be funny, the sort of characterisation that would be barely adequate for a comic TV ad, let alone a 90-minute movie. [+]Still, for fans of Sex and the City who might want to feast upon the spectacle of a younger Kim Cattrall, Mannequin might offer a measure of relief. On DVD: Mannequin on disc has just the original trailer as an extra, while no amount of DVD enhancement can conceal the tawdry feel of this movie. -David Stubbs.
![Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / American Dad! - Series 3 - Complete [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sQEm6q6LL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Joe Daniello
- Rachael MacFarlane
- Scott Grimes
- Seth MacFarlane
- Mike Kim
- Wendy Schaal
Run time: 401 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £17.98
Review American Dad! - Series 3 - Complete [2007] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:"I'm not beloved," CIA Agent Stan Smith is shocked to discover after eavesdropping on his mocking neighbours in the episode, "I Can't Stan You". With all the resolve this "pig-headed" Red State poster boy and George "The Dub" Bush devotee can muster, he vows, "I will make these people like me. " For those still on the fence about American Dad, this collection of 18 episodes ought to do the trick. These characters may not be as indelible as the Family Guy clan, but these episodes rarely flag. If the outrageous storylines don't grab you, the rapid-fire random gags will. Like King of the Hill's Hank Hill , Stan (voiced by series co-creator Seth McFarlane) is oft confounded by a world seemingly gone mad. Unlike Hank, he is the voice of un-reason. In "Surro-Gate," Stan's dizzy wife, Francine (Wendy Schaal) agrees to be the surrogate for the Smith's gay neighbors, prompting the disapproving Stan to kidnap the infant, as well as the brood of a lesbian couple. In "Black Mystery Month," Stan reveals a Da Vinci Code-like conspiracy involving George Washington Carver that's plain nuts. In another episode, "Bush Comes to Dinner" for a night of drunken debauchery; some easy-target Bush-bashing is redeemed when the President makes peace between Stan and his "lost cause" liberal daughter, Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane). [+]Some of the best episodes focus more on the Smith family than politics. In "The Vacation Goo", Francine demands a real family getaway after discovering that all previous vacations were artificially created memories. In "Haylias," it is revealed that the unwitting Hayley is a brainwashed sleeper agent, who is activated by Stan to stop her from moving to France. "The 42-Year-Old Virgin" reveals another shocker: trigger-happy Stan has never actually killed anyone! American Dad revels in guy humour. As Stan tells an unamused Hayley at one point, "You don't get a willy, you don't get the silly. " American Dad brings the silly, but while the series is not above (or beneath) moth fart jokes, it is also smart enough to reference, say, "Equus" or the touching "When Somebody Loved Me" number from Toy Story 2. Stan's geeky son, Steve (Scott Grimes), bitchy alien Roger (MacFarlane), and talking fish Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker) are no Chris, Brian, or Stewie, but this set contains some of their more memorable outings. In "Frannie 911," it turns out that it actually would kill Roger to be nice. In "Surro-Gate," Klaus vows revenge on Roger and Stan following a waterslide prank. American Dad fans will salute this three-disc set's generous features, including a riotous Comic-Con cast table read of the episode, "The 42 Year-Old Virgin," nearly a half hour of deleted scenes (deleted jokes would be more accurate), unrated versions (with unbleeped profanities) of certain episodes, and freewheeling audio commentaries ("Hey, aren't we supposed to talk about the episode?" one participant tries to steer one digressive conversation). -Donald Liebenson.
Actors & Directors
- Jennifer Aniston
- Courteney Cox
- David Schwimmer
- Matthew Perry
- Lisa Kudrow
Run time: 528 min.
RRP: £50.99
Price: £9.00
Review Friends: Complete Series 9 - New Edition / Warner Home Video:Nine years is a long time for any group of Friends to stick so closely together, but somehow the gang are still as daftly charming as ever. After the birth of Emma, Rachel comes to terms with being a mother surprisingly well. It's how everyone else deals with it that makes things interesting. Joey's accidental proposal creates weird friction between him and Ross, who breaks his finger throwing the show's first ever punch. Monica becomes desperately broody and attempts all manner of convoluted ways of persuading Chandler to father a child (unfortunately he inadvertently bankrupts them in a move to Tulsa!). Phoebe, on the other hand, occupies herself in the dating game, holding on to Mike (Paul Rudd) in the longest guest-star relationship anyone's ever had. Other surprise guests this year include Freddie Prinze Jr as an overly sensitive nanny (in the 200th episode), Christina Applegate as another of Rachel's sisters and Jeff Goldblum playing himself on the set of another movie on which Joey is trying to get a break. As always the sparks occasionally fly between Rachel and Ross, while the others manage to strain their own relationships to the max. The real reason for watching now is the one-off kooky scenarios in which they-or rather Joey-get into. His endless dating finally sees him stuck for remembering if he's already slept with a girl; he botches an attempt at eyebrow waxing; and he manages to make Chandler think Monica's after a breast enhancement. [+]-Paul Tonks.
Release date: 2008-09-22
Run time: 69 min.
RRP: £11.99
Price: £5.61
Review Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey's Treat / Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:Mickey Mouse and his pals Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy, and Pete invite toddlers and preschoolers to join them in Mickey's clubhouse for some playtime fun and adventure that emphasises teamwork and aids in the development of logic and maths skills. In "Mickey's Treat", Mickey and his pals are dressing up in costumes to attend Big Pete's Halloween party-the only catch is they have to make their way along a candy corn path and through the foggy woods to get to the tower before the moon is full. Only by working together and using the appropriate "mousketools" can the group make it to Pete's party on time. "Goofy the Great" finds magician Goofy desperately in need of some practice before a big magic show. Luckily, he can count on Mickey and his friends for lots of encouragement and some counting and patterning help. In "Doctor Daisy, M. D. " Daisy works toward earning her pretend doctor sticker by seeing an office full of willing patients and curing their ills with a little help from her friends and some handy mousketools. -Tami Horiuchi.
![Review Universal Pictures UK / 40 Year Old Virgin (XXL Version) [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WQBQAJEDL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Catherine Keener
- Paul Rudd
- Steve Carell
- Elizabeth Banks
- Judd Apatow
- Leslie Mann
Run time: 127 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £1.98
Review 40 Year Old Virgin (XXL Version) [2005] / Universal Pictures UK:Cult comic actor Steve Carell-long adored for his supporting work on The Daily Show and in movies like Bruce Almighty and Anchorman-leaps into leading man status with The 40 Year-Old Virgin. There's no point describing the plot; it's about how a 40 year-old virgin named Andy (Carell) finally finds true love and gets laid. Along the way, there are very funny scenes involving being coached by his friends, speed dating, being propositioned by his female manager, and getting his chest waxed. Carell finds both humour and humanity in Andy, and the supporting cast includes some standout comic work from Paul Rudd (Clueless, The Shape of Things) and Jane Lynch (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), as well as an unusually straight performance from Catherine Keener (Lovely & Amazing, Being John Malkovich). And yet. something about the movie misses the mark. It skirts around the topic of male sexual anxiety, mining it for easy jokes, but never really digs into anything that would make the men in the audience actually squirm-and it's a lot less funny as a result. Nonetheless, there are many great bits, and Carell deserves the chance to shine. [+]-Bret Fetzer.
Release date: 2008-11-24
Creator: Lee Evans
RRP: £21.99
Price: £14.98
Review Lee Evans - Big - Live at the O2 / Universal Pictures Video:
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Sex And The City - Series 4 [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kCjyVZAeL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Cynthia Nixon
- Kyle MacLachlan
- Kim Cattrall
- Sarah Jessica Parker
- Christopher Noth
Run time: 521 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £10.98
Review Sex And The City - Series 4 [2001] / Paramount Home Entertainment:The fourth season of Sex and the City is just as smart and sexy as ever, mixing caustic adult wit and sharply observed situation comedy on the mean streets of Manhattan, though this time the quartet of singleton city girls must endure even tougher combat in the unending war of love, sex, and shopping. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) finally seems to have found her ideal life partner when she is reunited with handsome craftsman Aidan (John Corbett). But can their relationship survive trial by cohabitation? Meanwhile Charlotte (Kristin Davis) seems to have both her dream Park Avenue apartment and a solution to her marital problems with Trey (Kyle MacLachlan). But when the subject of babies comes up, everything starts to unravel for her, too. It's not just Charlotte who has baby issues either: after what seems like an eternity of enforced sexual abstinence Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is horrified to discover she's pregnant. And as for the sultry Samantha (Kim Cattrall), she's on a quest for monogamy, first with an exotic lesbian artist, then with a philandering businessman, with whom to her utter dismay she just might have fallen in love. -Mark Walker.
![Review ITV DVD / Educating Rita [1983]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511FMMP5EGL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Michael Williams
- Maureen Lipman
- Julie Walters
- Lewis Gilbert (II)
- Michael Caine
- Jeananne Crowley
Run time: 106 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.49
Review Educating Rita [1983] / ITV DVD:Michael Caine and the knockout Julie Walters deliver a pair of wonderful performances in this endearingly bittersweet tale of a boozily burnt-out professor's tutoring of (and subsequent tutoring by) a free-spirited hairdresser determined to improve her lot in life. The basic plot won't exactly surprise anyone who's ever seen a movie before but the ace cast (particularly Caine, who's rarely this subtle) continually finds new directions to spin off from the rather rote path. Although the end result is perhaps just a little too convinced of its own adorability to attain classic status, this remains a rarity in the genre-a feel-good film that earns its emotions honestly. A nice change of pace for director Lewis Gilbert, who is perhaps better known for his contributions to the James Bond series. -Andrew Wright.
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Kung Fu Panda [Blu-ray] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gPUTRX04L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Dustin Hoffman
- Mark Osborne
- Jack Black
- Seth Rogen
- John Stevenson
- Angelina Jolie
- Jackie Chan
RRP: £29.99
Price: £17.98
Review Kung Fu Panda [Blu-ray] [2008] / Paramount Home Entertainment:What's a panda to do when his dreams of kung-fu awesomeness awake to the cold reality of noodle-making? Clumsy, overweight Po (Jack Black) dreams of becoming a kung fu master like China's revered "furious five," but instead seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the restaurant business. When great leader Oogway has a vision that the imprisoned kung fu warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will soon escape, he declares it time to choose China's dragon warrior-one kung fu master deemed worthy of possessing the dragon's scroll and its secret to limitless power. Po and all the townspeople rush to the Jade Palace atop the highest mountain to witness the contest between Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), but Po is locked outside the palace. After a miracle of sorts, Po lands inside the palace gates, where he is chosen as the dragon warrior and placed under the tutelage of the decidedly non-plussed master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). An unconventional student to say the least, hilarity reigns as Shifu tries desperately to make Po into some semblance of a kung fu warrior. Can Po possibly fulfill his destiny as dragon warrior, or was Oogway's final decision a critical mistake? A film rich with hilarious moments, superior animation, and an important message about believing in oneself and the power that comes from within, Kung Fu Panda is great entertainment that will have the whole family laughing and begging for more. (Ages 3 and older) -Tami Horiuchi.
Actors & Directors
- Mark Benton
- John Henshaw
- Adrian Shergold
- Craig Cash
- Craig Cash
- Phil Mealey
- Christine Bottomley
Run time: 360 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £7.97
Review Early Doors - Series 1 And 2 / 2 Entertain Video:
![Review Momentum Pictures / Amelie (Two Disc Special Edition) [DTS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PCMWNF85L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Dominique Pinon
- Yolande Moreau
- Michel Robin
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Audrey Tautou
- Mathieu Kassovitz
Run time: 116 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £3.99
Review Amelie (Two Disc Special Edition) [DTS] / Momentum Pictures:With its use of special effects to express the main character's internal emotions, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie could have been mistaken for a French version of Ally McBeal; however, unlike Ally-"woe is me for I cannot find a man"-McBeal, Amelie is not distressed by the lack of men in her life, in fact the whole idea of sex seems to amuse her no end. Basic pleasures such as cracking the top of a Crème Brule offer her all the sensual satisfaction she needs and her existence in the "Paris of Dreams" is the stuff of fairy tales. Indeed, this cinematic treat must have worked wonders for the Paris tourist board: Jeunet's beautiful interpretation of Parisian life is depicted in all the vibrant colours you would expect from the director of Delicatessen. On the DVD: Amelie has received an additional disc for this special edition release. Disc 1 is the same as the original single-disc release, with a choice of DTS or Dolby 5. 1 sound and an 16. 9 anamorphic widescreen picture with optional director's commentary. The second disc contains the new special features and, just like original disc, a lot of thought has gone into the access menu with its lavish graphics offering the choice of entering the Café, the Canal or the Station. Yet the most exciting extra in name-"Audrey Tautou's funny face"-is simply a series of out-takes which does little more than allow you to warm to Tautou as a person. The home movie includes the transformation of Tautou into Amelie and the creation of the "photo-booth album". [+]There are also interesting interviews with Jeunet and the cast and crew, and a nice little section themed around the gnome and his travels. Along with this is a storyboard-to-screen exposition, behind-the-scenes pictures, scene tests, teasers and trailers. All in all a decent enough package, but hardly warranting the special edition label. It's hard not to wonder why Momentum didn't offer this set two months earlier. -Nikki Disney.
![Review David Threlfall / Shameless - Series 1-5 - Complete [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41e9JsoOvrL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2008-04-21
RRP: £69.99
Price: £34.79
Review Shameless - Series 1-5 - Complete [2003] / David Threlfall:Shameless, the BAFTA award-winning and brilliantly funny drama series from writer Paul Abbott, follows the roller coaster lives and loves of the highly un-orthodox yet extremely tightly-knit Gallagher family. Head of the family, in name only, is Dad Frank - a feckless, charmless, self-pitying, unemployed bully - a model father. Since mum went AWOL, dad hit the bottle leaving his six remarkably well-balanced children Fiona, Lip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam to fend for themselves. But the Gallaghers need not worry anymore, now they've teamed up with the local gangsters the Maguires, who continue to explode the myth of a conventional family. The Complete Series 1-5 Box Set is a sixteen disc set consisting of all five series, plus the feature length Christmas and New Year Specials. Extras - Behind the scenes with David Threlfall - Audio commentaries on Episodes 9 & 11 - Building the Shameless estate - Outtakes - Deleted Scenes.
![Review Warner Home Video / Marx Brothers Collection: A Night At The Opera / A Day At The Races / At The Circus / Go West / The Big Store / A Night In Casablanca [1935]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EE1HTPJ7L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Maureen O'Sullivan
- Allan Jones
- Diana Lewis
- Edward Buzzell
- Kitty Carlisle
- The Marx Brothers
- Archie Mayo
- Charles Reisner
Run time: 529 min.
RRP: £61.99
Price: £14.98
Review Marx Brothers Collection: A Night At The Opera / A Day At The Races / At The Circus / Go West / The Big Store / A Night In Casablanca [1935] / Warner Home Video:
![Review Universal Pictures UK / Hot Fuzz [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SYLFniroL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Edgar Wright
- Martin Freeman
- Paddy Considine
- Anne Reid
- Edward Woodward
- Simon Pegg
Run time: 116 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.49
Review Hot Fuzz [2007] / Universal Pictures UK:A major British hit, a lorryload of laughs and some sparkling action? We'll have some of that. It's fair to say that Hot Fuzz proves that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's brilliant Shaun Of The Dead was no one-off, serving up a superbly crafted British homage to the Hollywood action movie. Deliberately set in the midst of a sleepy, quaint English village of Sandford, Pegg's Nicholas Angel is sent there because, bluntly, he's too good at his job, and he's making his city colleagues look bad. The proverbial fish out of water, Angel soon discovers that not everything in Sandford is quite as it seems, and joins forces with Nick Frost's lumbering Danny Butterman to find out what's what. Hot Fuzz then proceeds to have a rollicking good time in both tipping its hat to the genre films that are clearly its loving inspiration, and coming up with a few tricks of its own. It does comedy better than action, with plenty of genuine laugh-out-loud moments, but it's no slouch either when the tempo needs raising. One of the many strong cards it plays is its terrific cast, which includes former 007 Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey, Paddy Considine, Edward Woodward and Jim Broadbent. Hot Fuzz, ultimately, just falls short of Shaun Of The Dead, but more than does enough to warrant many, many repeat viewings. It's terrific fun, and in the true hit action movie style, all-but-demands some form of sequel. That said, with Pegg and Wright now with two excellent, and suitably different, genres ticked off, it'll be interesting to see what they do next. [+]A period drama, perhaps…? -Simon Brew.
![Review Warner Home Video / Friends: Complete Series 6 - New Edition [1995]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HWQ6CAZHL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Matt Le Blanc
- Jennifer Aniston
- Matthew Perry
- Courteney Cox
- Lisa Kudrow
Run time: 555 min.
RRP: £49.99
Price: £7.90
Review Friends: Complete Series 6 - New Edition [1995] / Warner Home Video:Always there for you, the hit sitcom Friends has matured and blossomed over the years. The beginning of the sixth series finds the sextet back from Las Vegas where Ross and Rachel managed to get married in a state of pronounced intoxication, thus upstaging the intended nuptials of Chandler and Monica. The first half of the season follows Ross' failure to arrange the annulment, while Monica and Chandler move in together and Rachel sets up house with Phoebe. Joey gets a shapely new roommate in the shape of Elle Macpherson. Halfway through the series, we are given a wonderful fantasy peak at a parallel universe where Rachel married Barry after all, Ross' wife Carol never realised she was gay, Monica is still fat, Chandler is a writer, Joey is starring as Dr Drake Remoray on Days of Our Lives and Phoebe is a stockbroker. The closing arc of the series features a guest appearance from Bruce Willis in two episodes as the father of Ross' new girlfriend Elizabeth-who ends up romancing Rachel. -Leslie Felperin.
Release date: 2008-04-28
Run time: 134 min.
Creator: Derren Litten
RRP: £19.99
Price: £7.12
Review Benidorm - Series 1 / 2 Entertain Video:The Solana resort, at the heart of Benidorm, sounds like quite a place to spend a holiday. It attracts a broad selection of characters, all sorts of antics, and fortunately for anyone picking this DVD up, a good few laughs too. A comedy programme that slipped under many people's radar, Benidorm puts an all-inclusive holiday destination at the heart of its setup, and then sets about filling it with a collection of fascinating characters. So you have the quiz kings for starters, along with a pair of mature swingers. There's a standard-ish stereotypical family, a gay couple on holiday to celebrate, and a squabbling married pair too. It's a broad ensemble, and this proves to be one of the many qualities of the programme. However, also in Benidorm's favour are some witty scripts, plenty of not-for-the-kids dialogue and a lot of belly laughs. All six episodes from the first series are collected here, and while the laughs don't always constantly flow throughout, the hit count is certainly high. And given the lack of quality fresh British sitcoms of late, Benidorm proves to be quite a collectors item. It might not, on the basis of this first series, be on the way to being a flat-out comedy classic, but there's so much enjoyment in the episodes here that a second series is hard to resist. [+]-Jon Foster.
| Browse Comedy:
Models & Brands:
Michael McIntyre Live & Laughing, Friends: Complete Series 7 - New Edition [1995], Zoolander [2001], Friends: Complete Series 10 - New Edition, Mannequin [1987], American Dad! - Series 3 - Complete [2007], Friends: Complete Series 9 - New Edition, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey's Treat, 40 Year Old Virgin (XXL Version) [2005], Lee Evans - Big - Live at the O2, Sex And The City - Series 4 [2001], Educating Rita [1983], Kung Fu Panda [Blu-ray] [2008], Early Doors - Series 1 And 2, Amelie (Two Disc Special Edition) [DTS], Shameless - Series 1-5 - Complete [2003], Marx Brothers Collection: A Night At The Opera / A Day At The Races / At The Circus / Go West / The Big Store / A Night In Casablanca [1935], Hot Fuzz [2007], Friends: Complete Series 6 - New Edition [1995], Benidorm - Series 1 |
