Review, buy Comedy: Educating Rita [1983], Saving Grace [2000], 40 Year Old Virgin (XXL Version) [2005], Any Which Way You Can / Every Which Way But Loose [1980], Bridget Jones 2: The Edge of Reason [2004], All Creatures Great And Small : Complete BBC Series 6, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey's Treat, American Dad! - Series 3 - Complete [2007], Beetlejuice [1988], Two And A Half Men - Series 2 [2006], Sex And The City - Series 5, Sex And The City - Series 3 [2000], 30 Rock - Series 1 - Complete [2006], Kung Fu Panda [Blu-ray] [2008], Groundhog Day (Collector's Edition) [1993], Friends: Complete Series 4 - New Edition [1995], Jimmy Carr - Comedian (Live) [2007], Friends: Complete Series 9 - New Edition, Be Kind Rewind [2007], Hitch [2005]

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.

A sweet, silly and sincere comedy, Saving Grace resembles a Cheech and Chong pothead comedy, only instead of two scruffy lowlifes the film is about an aimless Scottish gardener and a middle-aged widow with a green thumb. Grace (Brenda Blethyn of Secrets and Lies and Little Voice) has just discovered that her recently deceased husband has left her with an enormous debt when her gardener Matthew (Craig Ferguson, The Big Tease) asks her to help him tend to his small, personal-use marijuana crop. Grace soon realises that they can turn her greenhouse into a hydroponics laboratory and turn out a profitable crop-if only they can keep the local constables at bay and then find a dealer to sell the stuff. Saving Grace has well-developed characters, intelligent dialogue, a charming and capable cast and clean, clear direction. But at heart it's still a marijuana comedy, with most of its funniest moments coming from the silly, stoned behaviour of elderly ladies and others. Nothing wrong with that, and Blethyn and Ferguson give the film a strong anchor. The ending goes a little over the top, but most of the film is well-grounded in genuine human behaviour. A sub-plot about Matthew's girlfriend's pregnancy is treated with respect and integrity. -Bret Fetzer, Amazon. com.

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. [+]

Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters-all four of them!-are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy-a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous-with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. -Steve Wiecking.

James Herriot's beloved book and subsequent BBC series All Creatures Great & Small outline, with wry humour and exquisite detail, Herriot's experiences in the 1940s and '50s as a veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. The Complete Series 6 Collection continues the yarns into the '50s, as Herriot's practice expands and his home life with wife Helen becomes more important to him. Yet the most unforgettable moments remain not only his treating of the sick (or just plain ornery) cows, tabbies, and bunnies of the Yorkshire countryside, but also the eccentric, hard-working (or just plain ornery) residents of the county. This four-disc boxed set includes characters like twin brothers Roland and Oliver Strong, who live together in the cottage their mother left them-though they have refused to speak to each other for 50 years. Herriot gets the unenviable task of being summoned when one old coot accuses the other of poisoning one of his rabbits. The real pleasure of this series is simply letting the interaction of the characters wash over you, especially that of Herriot (played with bemused heart by Christopher Timothy) and his prickly partner, Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy). The pace is leisurely, which suits the subject perfectly; so brew another pot of tea and settle in for a cozy, uplifting experience. Extras include cast biographies. -A. T. [+]

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.

"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.

Before making Batman, director Tim Burton and star Michael Keaton teamed up for this popular black comedy about a young couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) whose premature death leads them to a series of wildly bizarre afterlife exploits. As ghosts in their own New England home, they're faced with the challenge of scaring off the pretentious new owners (Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones), whose daughter (Winona Ryder) has an affinity for all things morbid. Keaton plays the mischievous Beetlejuice, a freelance "bio-exorcist" who's got an evil agenda behind his plot to help the young undead newlyweds. The film is a perfect vehicle for Burton's visual style and twisted imagination, with clever ideas and gags packed into every scene. Beetlejuice is also a showcase for Keaton, who tackles his title role with maniacal relish and a dark edge of menace. -Jeff Shannon.

It was a short but sweet fifth season for Sex and the City, as HBO's resident comediennes found themselves affected by forces beyond their control-the pregnancies of both Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda). A truncated shooting schedule to accommodate the actresses forced this season to be reduced to a mere eight episodes, and indeed, you can tell both actresses are expecting. (Carrie's wardrobe became more outlandish and more concealing than usual. ) Still, the actresses and creators forged ahead, creating a handful of episodes that if short in content were long on emotion and laughs. Whereas the fourth season found all four grappling with various relationships, the fifth season focused on the perils of being single, with a new intensity lacking in the previous sexcapades. Carrie and Miranda wrestled with their solitary lifestyles, albeit with new attachments-Miranda had new baby Brady and single motherhood, while Carrie found herself in the world of publishing as the author of a real-life book of her columns. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) wondered if she'd ever find another man, while Samantha (Kim Cattrall) finally got rid of the one that had been vexing her far too much, hotelier Richard (James Remar). If the season as a whole felt less than the sum of its parts, those parts were some of the best comedy in the show's history, from Samantha's anointment as the "Michiko Kakutani of vibrators" to Carrie's stressful, one-degree-from-fiasco book launch party. (And fear not, Chris Noth's Mr. Big does pop up now and again. [+]

) The season's climactic episode, "I Love a Charade," found all four at the straight wedding of a seemingly gay pal (Nathan Lane) and contemplating their future with a wry, bemused tone. It was one of the series' best episodes ever, equally touching and funny, and grounded the show in an emotional maturity that announced that after all their wild travails, these women had truly grown up. -Mark Englehart.

The Sex and the City phenomenon continues in Series 3 of this outrageously addictive cult show. The four highly sexed thirtysomethings share their hopes, fears and even boyfriends (when Charlotte decides to throw a "used boyfriend party") in a New York where you can buy Manolo Blahniks on the proceeds of one article a week and eat mountains of junk food yet stay as thin as a pencil. But if the peripheral details remain somewhat fantastical, the searing honesty of the main storyline takes this third season to dramatic heights only suggested by the previous seasons. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) falls head-over-heels for chunky furniture designer Aidan Joff (John Corbett) but still embarks on a disastrous affair with her newlywed ex, Mr Big (Chris Noth). The resulting triangle, set against the background of Charlotte's outwardly perfect marriage to Trey (Kyle MacLachlan), proves to be electrifying viewing. But the humour is as sharp as ever too: Samantha's run-in with her drag-queen prostitute neighbours, Miranda pretending to be an air stewardess so as not to frighten men away and one of Charlotte's boyfriends talking dirty to her in bed are all moments of great high comedy. It just gets better and better. -Warwick Thompson.

Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Remember Arrested Development? Smartest, funniest show on television. A critics' darling. An Emmy-winner for Best Comedy Series. But no one watched, and it was cancelled. Will history repeat itself with 30 Rock? It's the smartest, funniest show on television. A critics' darling. An Emmy-winner for Best Comedy Series. And it finished its inaugural season in 137th place! Hopefully, people will discover all that they missed with this Season 1 set and 30 Rock will, better late than never, find the audience it so richly deserves. A behind-the-scenes workplace comedy in the grand tradition of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show, 30 Rock stars comedy geek goddess Tina Fey as Liz Lemmon, who juggles her hapless personal life with her chaotic career as the producer and head writer of an SNL-ish sketch comedy show. [+]

She has a new boss, cunning and ruthless GE executive Jack Donaghy (Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winner Alec Baldwin), who insists on being her mentor, and a new star, medicated, loose-cannon comedian Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), who steals the spotlight from the show's flighty star, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski). Briskly paced and perfectly cast, 30 Rock rewards viewers with brilliant dialogue (when Liz asks Jack why he is dressed in a tuxedo with no formal event to attend, he coolly responds, "It's after six; what am I, a farmer?") and fresh characters you haven't seen on a hundred other sitcoms. Jack McBrayer is the series' scene-stealing breakout star as NBC page Kenneth, a sweet and innocent "rube. " The ensemble's seemingly spontaneous byplay invites repeat viewings to catch jokes and sly bits of business you might have missed (in "Tracy Does Conan," listen for the initial confusion over how to pronounce Tracy's less-than-ethical physician, Dr. Spaceman, or, in "The Hair and the Head," watch for the Katie Couric slur on the wall of what is purported to be NBC anchor Brian Williams' trashed office). In a season full of gems (including "Black Tie," featuring Paul Reubens as severely inbred royalty), there are only a couple of comparative clunkers, but the pleasure of this ensemble's company more than compensates. 30 Rock is highly recommended for people like Kenneth who just love television so much. And by the hammer of Thor, watch season 2! -Donald Liebenson.

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.

Decent, lighthearted and fully amusing slapstick is hard to come by these days, and 1993's Groundhog Day manages to also be genuinely wise about the human condition. All this and belly laughs too! Bill Murray stars as Phil, a bored, petulant news reporter, who is ordered to give his annual live report from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2. Though desperate to get out of the one-horse town and the appallingly sentimental assignment, Phil finds himself reliving the same day over and over again until he finally mends his ways. The film takes an absurd situation and explores its every imaginable comic possibility. Because none of the other characters are aware that Groundhog Day is continually repeating itself, Phil goes through a repertoire of responses, from conniving lust for Rita (Andie MacDowell) to gleeful nihilism to a Zen resignation worthy of Buster Keaton. Murray is reliably good, and this flick gives him a chance to be warm (though never fuzzy). Bill Murray does warmth in Groundhog Day, a romantic fantasy about a wacky weatherman forced to relive one strange day over and over again, until he gets it right. Snowed in during a road-trip expedition to watch the famous groundhog encounter his shadow, Murray falls into a time warp that is never explained but pays off so richly that it doesn't need to be. Director Harold Ramis (who co-starred with Murray in Ghostbusters) takes an absurd situation and explores its every imaginable comic possibility. The elaborate loop-the-loop plot structure cooked up by screenwriter Danny Rubin is crystal-clear every step of the way, but it is Murray's world-class reactive timing that makes the jokes explode, and we end up looking forward to each new variation. [+]

Because none of the other characters are aware that Groundhog Day is continually repeating itself, Murray goes through a repertoire of responses, from conniving lust for Rita (Andie MacDowell) to gleeful nihilism to a Zen resignation worthy of Buster Keaton. Groundhog Day manages the rare feat of producing belly laughs in abundance and also being genuinely wise about the human condition. -David Chute, Amazon. com On the DVD: the disc presents the movie in a 1. 85:1 ratio and with Dolby surround sound. There are trailers for Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters and Multiplicity, along with filmographies for Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Andie McDowell and Chris Elliot. This remastered edition also comes with an extended documentary "The Weight of Time", which offers insights into the "European"-style script and production difficulties, but is a little over-lavish in its praise of the actors on set. Thought-provokingly, the documentary also touches upon the spiritual nature of the movie and what it has meant to an audience beyond being a simple comedy. Also included here is a director's commentary by Ramis which, although informative, has too many long breaks and would surely have benefited from the addition of Bill Murray to the conversation. -Nikki Disney.

Top-class antics from the beautiful sextet of chums punctuate this excellent series, which climaxes with the wedding in London. The DVD version contains extra footage from the London locations and in-depth interviews with the makers of the series. Other core shenanigans of the series include Rachel's abortive attempts to seduce Josh, Phoebe's surrogate pregnancy, the Chandler-Joey-Kathy love triangle and Monica and Rachel's attempts to get their apartment back after they lose a bet with Joey and Chandler. Some of the not-quite-as-momentous-but-no-less-amusing events covered here include Joey trying to break his personal record for stuffing Oreo cookies in his mouth, the girls spending the afternoon in wedding dresses and Ross unveiling his indescribable "sound" on the synthesiser. -Leslie Felperin.

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. [+]

A daffy, adorable, and very funny celebration of DIY spirit, Be Kind Rewind stars Mos Def (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) as Mike, a clerk at a failing video store in a rundown New Jersey neighborhood. When his friend Jerry (Jack Black), who's been magnetised in a power station accident, wipes all of the videotapes blank, the two of them decide to recreate the movies themselves rather than face the store's owner (Danny Glover). The pure charm of Be Kind Rewind can't be captured in that spare plot synopsis. The blend of the movie's great cast (which also includes Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz of American Son, and Sigourney Weaver) and pitch-perfect writing and direction from writer-director Michel Gondry (director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, writer-director of The Science of Sleep) culminates in a truly delightful movie-sweet without being saccharine, richly comic without irony or sarcasm (which, given the presence of Black, is surprising), sentimental without losing sight of the hard edges of life. Mos Def turns in a standout performance, deeply sympathetic without a moment of grandstanding. An absolutely winning film. -Bret Fetzer.

Will Smith's easygoing charm makes Hitch the kind of pleasant, uplifting romantic comedy that you could recommend to almost anyone-especially if there's romance in the air. As suave Manhattan dating consultant Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, Smith plays up the smoother, sophisticated side of his established screen persona as he mentors a pudgy accountant (Kevin James) on the lessons of love. The joke, of course, is that Hitch's own love life is a mess, and as he coaches James toward romance with a rich, powerful, and seemingly inaccessible beauty named Allegra (Amber Valetta), he's trying too hard to impress a savvy gossip columnist (Eva Mendes) with whom he's fallen in love. Through mistaken identities and mismatched couples, director Andy Tennant brings the same light touch that made Drew Barrymore's Ever After so effortlessly engaging. As romantic comedies go, Hitch doesn't offer any big surprises, but as a date movie it gets the job done with amiable ease and style. -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com.

Review Educating Rita [1983] / ITV DVD:

Review Saving Grace [2000] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Review 40 Year Old Virgin (XXL Version) [2005] / Universal Pictures UK:

Review Any Which Way You Can / Every Which Way But Loose [1980] / Warner Home Video:

Review Bridget Jones 2: The Edge of Reason [2004] / Universal Pictures Video:

Review All Creatures Great And Small : Complete BBC Series 6 / Universal Pictures UK:

Review Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey's Treat / Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:

Review American Dad! - Series 3 - Complete [2007] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Review Beetlejuice [1988] / Warner Home Video:

Review Two And A Half Men - Series 2 [2006] / Warner Home Video:

Review Sex And The City - Series 5 / Paramount Home Entertainment:

Review Sex And The City - Series 3 [2000] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

Review 30 Rock - Series 1 - Complete [2006] / Universal Pictures UK:

Review Kung Fu Panda [Blu-ray] [2008] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

Review Groundhog Day (Collector's Edition) [1993] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Review Friends: Complete Series 4 - New Edition [1995] / Warner Home Video:

Review Jimmy Carr - Comedian (Live) [2007] / Jimmy Carr:

Review Friends: Complete Series 9 - New Edition / Warner Home Video:

Review Be Kind Rewind [2007] / Pathe Distribution:

Review Hitch [2005] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: