Balls of Fury will score points with anyone who ever wished that Enter the Dragon played out in the subterranean "underbelly of ping pong" instead of the world of martial arts. Tony Award-winner Dan Fogler (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), joining the ranks of Jack Black, Seth Rogen, and Jonah Hill as a schlub (romantic?) hero, stars as Randy Daytona, a Def Leppard-loving ping-pong wizard who, as a 12-year-old, was disgraced at the 1988 Olympics. Nineteen years later and gone to seed, he is reduced to performing a novelty act in Reno until an FBI Agent (George Lopez, and yes, at one point, he will proclaim, "Say hello to my little friend" a la Al Pacino in Scarface) recruits him to infiltrate an underground ping pong tournament run by Feng (Christopher Walken), the arch villain who killed Daytona's father. Co-written by Reno 911 colleagues Robert Ben Garant (who also directed) and Thomas Lennon (who costars as Daytona's taunting East Berlin rival), Balls of Fury is hit and miss, but it fitfully kills with some ace performances, including Walken, bringing more cowbell, as Feng, resplendent in silks and red fingernails (his Christopher Walken impression, while perhaps not as uncanny as Kevin Spacey's or Jay Mohr's, is dead-on). James Hong puts a wicked spin on the clichéd role of mentor, and action babe Maggie Q rocks as his niece. Look quick for David Koechner as hopeless entertainer Rick the Birdmaster, Patton Oswalt as an obnoxious early opponent, Kerri Kenney-Silver as a showgirl, and Diedrich Bader as one of Feng's imprisoned sex slaves (don't ask). With less go-for-the-groin humour than the title might indicate, Balls of Fury brings its A-game with some subversive bits of business, such as an ominous moment that is undercut when a menacing character is forced to re-enter the scene to ask for directions back to the highway. -Donald Liebenson.

As rites-of-passage films featuring a young man's sexual initiation in the arms of a beautiful woman go, Class (1983) has plenty going for it, not least its attractive cast: Andrew McCarthy as Jonathan, Rob Lowe as Gatsby-ish best friend Skip and Jacqueline Bisset as the beautiful woman who is old enough to know better and just happens to be Skip's mother. Lewis John Carlino's film has moments of insight, taking a few well-aimed shots at the vaguely sinister network of American public school life. In the first reel it neatly subverts the bullying scenario that threatens when the geekish Jonathan arrives at the school, while offering the briefly intriguing sight of Lowe in scarlet bra and pants. And there's a subplot of deceit and complicity that both strengthens and threatens the friendship that rapidly forms between Skip and Jonathan. In many ways, though, the most interesting element of the picture-Skip's relationship with his dysfunctional family-is left unexplored. Jonathan's deflowering and subsequent interludes are merely titillating. And Bisset's Ellen, a desperately sad character, becomes superfluous once the revelation that she is the "teacher" sets the boys' friendship on the path to fraternal solidarity. On the DVD: Class is presented in widescreen anamorphic format and looks as good as its leading players, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack has odd moments of flatness that detract from the cinematic experience. Extras are limited to the cinema trailer that now looks like a red rag to the puritanical objectors who were appalled by the graphic scenes in which Jonathan loses his virginity to the predatory Ellen. -Piers Ford.

Sex and the City managed, over its six-season run, to become something of an icon. It's one of those programs that's passed into pop culture; the show that launched a thousand personality tests, each asking whom you identify with most: prim and proper Charlotte, career girl Miranda, man-hungry Samantha, or introspective (but always impeccably dressed) columnist Carrie Bradshaw. The cast isn't as truly an ensemble as, say, Friends; Carrie is the main focus, with Sarah Jessica Parker's notoriously outrageous wardrobe tending to draw as much attention as the plot of the episode. Funny without being farcical, Sex and the City was also touching and aspirational. Unashamedly girly, the series created a kind of modern fantasy: four friends, each with her own distinct personality, finding her way around the battlefield of life and love in New York City. Though Sex and the City sparked controversy over whether it represented a new age of feminism, or, conversely, was deeply traditional or even damaging, it was always undeniably entertaining nonetheless. This shoebox style boxset contains all the episodes (and costs considerably less than a pair of Manolo Blahniks) and so is ideal for catching up, ready for the hotly rumoured movie version. - Sarah Dobbs.

Bridget Jones's Diary Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. [+]

The 1994 box-office hit that turned comedy maniac Jim Carrey into Hollywood's first $20-million man, this gag-filled no-brainer stars Carrey as the titular rubber-faced gumshoe who tracks down lost pets for his heartbroken clients. Ace's latest case involves the apparent kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins' team mascot, Snowflake the dolphin. His investigation is a source of constant aggravation for Miami police lieutenant Lois Einhorn (Sean Young), who turns out to be packing more than a pistol under her skirt. Friends fans will appreciate the presence of Courtney Cox, who remains admirably straight-faced as the Dolphins' publicist and Ace's would-be girlfriend, but of course it's Carrey who steals the show with shameless abandon. One viewing may suffice for a lot of people, but Carrey's hyper antics made Ace Ventura: Pet Detective one of the bestselling videos of the 1990s. -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com.

The third season of The King of Queens upholds the quality of the first two: Smart but unpretentious comedy based firmly in the daily lives of blue-collar couple Doug and Carrie Heffernan (Kevin James and Leah Remini) as they cope with their jobs, their friends, and sharing their home with Carrie's eccentric, obsessive father Arthur (Jerry Stiller). While dozens of mediocre sitcoms are built around fat guys implausibly married to sexy women, James and Remini have such chemistry and their characters are so well-crafted and complex that their marriage seems not only convenient for sitcom purposes but downright meant to be. The show only goes astray when it goes for a gimmick. In one episode, Doug dreams of himself as Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners; while it's understandable for James to tip his hat to one of his idols, this belabored concept sucked all the humour out of the show. But when The King of Queens sticks to small, mundane troubles, the results are unfailingly delightful. For example, Doug becomes self-conscious about his weight when he discovers that Carrie buys his clothes at the Big & Tall Shop; Carrie is excited to go to lunch with some of the women lawyers at her firm, then humiliated when it turns out they didn't know she's a secretary; or Carrie admits she finds Doug's best friend Deacon (Victor Williams) hot. These events launch some wonderful farce, all the funnier because anyone can identify with the characters' insecurity and jealousy. This firm psychological grounding lets the series keep its footing as it dips into some deeper emotions, like the break-up of Deacon's marriage or an unexpected pregnancy. Because James and Remini keep their characters truthful in their most ridiculous moments, they keep us engaged and even moved as they enter what could be maudlin territory-plus, the writers never lose the opportunity for a sharp but telling joke along the way. The King of Queens makes sitcoms look easy, but the show's skillful balance of an ordinary world and fine-tuned humor is anything but. [+]

Rat Race ought to be far less enjoyable than, in the end, it is. Studded with C-list stars, it has a heartless and derivative premise: a group of no-hopers racing across country for a stash of money for the amusement of a casino owner (John Cleese) and a group of high rollers who will bet on anything. Yet their adventures along the way are inventive: for example, lost in the desert Cuba Gooding Jr ends up stealing a coach only to find it full of Lucille Ball impersonators who go "Waaah!" in chorus whenever anything goes wrong. Even the slapstick is inventive: director Jerry Airplane Zucker and writer Andy Breckman do interesting things with hot-air balloons, a narcoleptic Rowan Atkinson, emergency organ transporters and Hitler's Mercedes Benz. All of the characters, from Breckin Meyer's smugly careful lawyer to Seth Green's shabby little con man, discover in the end that they have hearts, that some things are more important than money and that sometimes it is the journey that matters. Of course, these are all colossal sentimental clichés and yet the film has a sweet-natured quality that sells them to us. On the DVD: Rat Race is presented with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2. 35:1 and Dolby 5:1 sound that delivers all of the snappy dialogue clearly. It comes with generous extras, including a gag reel, the theatrical trailer, an outtake where Seth Green completely fails to keep a straight face, a good-humoured interview with writer and director, a disappointing making-of documentary and some deleted scenes (with a couple that should not be missed). -Roz Kaveney.

For truly clever dialogue and a smartly structured plot, you can't go wrong with Oscar Wilde. Wilde's play An Ideal Husband is not his best known, but this film adaptation has all the wit you could ask for and a cast with the chops to deliver it: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, Oscar and Lucinda), Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights, Short Cuts), Minnie Driver (Grosse Pointe Blank, Big Night), Jeremy Northam (The Winslow Boy, Emma), and especially Rupert Everett (My Best Friend's Wedding, A Midsummer Night's Dream), who tosses off perfect epigrams with unflappable aplomb. The plot hinges on Northam, a member of Parliament (the British governing body, not the funk band) with a skeleton in his closet who is blackmailed into a shady business deal by a lady of mystery (Moore), who turns out to be a loathed school chum of the parliamentarian's wife (Blanchett). Everything is resolved happily, but not until after some devious twists of fate, several mistaken identities, lots of comic banter, and much social skewering. Wilde, whose troubled life and public exposure of his homosexuality is chronicled in the movie Wilde (1997), has a sharp eye for hypocrisy and the artificial poses demanded by society-but political commentary never gets in the way of a smart laugh. Visually sumptuous and briskly paced, An Ideal Husband will satisfy anyone looking for social satire or romantic comedy. -Bret Fetzer, Amazon. com.