Ellen Degeneres represents the comic's triumphant return to stand-up after the cancellation of her controversial sit-com. It is a tighter set than one might expect, given the besottedness of the audience to which she is playing, and whenever she drifts into hippy-dippy New Age pieties it can be guaranteed that they will be subverted within seconds. The principal reference to her coming-out and the furore it created is an opening section in which she declines to talk about it and instead offers a hysterically funny interpretative dance version. Other highlights of the set include a prolonged meditation on what you do after zoning out in the middle of a conversation and why talking about Gloria Estefan always helps, discussions of the terrible consequences of meditation, or wanting to buy some cheese, and an account of a social interaction with God, who serves a very nice peppery Chablis. Her forté is the slightly surreal extended narrative which goes in strange directions-a bit like a cross between Victoria Wood and Eddie Izzard; Ellen Degeneres shares with both those comics a slightly worrying need to be loved. On the DVD: the DVD comes without any features other than chapter selection; it is presented in crisp Dolby sound and a 4:3 video ratio. -Roz Kaveney.

Coming-of-age themes are an obvious choice for movie-makers but All Over Me is far from being run of the mill. It follows the friendship and codependence of two 15-year-old New York girls, one (Claude) gradually coming to terms with the fact that she's gay, the other (Ellen), getting sucked into a world of boys, violence and drugs. It brilliantly and sympathetically realised by film-maker sisters Alex and Sylvia Sichel, with superb performances by the two leads, Alison Folland and Tara Subkoff. When the violent, homophobic murder of the girls' new-found friend, Jesse (Wilson Cruz) threatens to rip them apart, Ellen embarks on a trail of self-destruction while Claude finally seems able to come to terms with her own destiny, ultimately getting together with the pretty, magenta-haired punk musician, Lucy (a superbly empathetic performance from Leisha Hailey). It's a film that's saved from introspective self-indulgence by the brutal interruption of the outside world, and it's not just a thought-provoking hour-and-a-half, it's a compelling narrative experience. The only weakness is the two-dimensional characterization of Ellen's psychotic boyfriend, well enough played by Cole Hauser, but intrinsically limited in scope. Ann Dowd is superb as Claude's man-chasing mother and the film is topped off by a funky soundtrack. On the DVD: All over Me doesn't just offer the "usual theatrical trailer" for the film in question but instead offers trailers for two related films, Better than Chocolate and Trick, both of which deal truthfully with gay issues offering a light and often humorous touch. However, that's it as far as additional goodies are concerned, which is a shame, but the vibrant soundtrack is presented in a great Dolby Digital sound. -Harriet Smith.