Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, October 3rd:
Judd Apatow’s gleefully raunchy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is an uproarious sex comedy about a struggling musician (Jason Segel) whose actress girlfriend (Kristen Bell) dumps him for an egotistical British rocker (Russell Brand). Courting emotional disaster, they all wind up at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, tweaking romantic comedy clichés.
Jodie Hill’s off-kilter comedy “The Foot Fist Way” features Danny McBride as a swaggering-but-clueless tae kwon do teacher who discovers that his wife (Mary Jane Bostic) has been fooling around with his chief rival (Ben Best).
“Bigger, Stronger, Faster” is a new documentary that takes a wide-ranging look at steroid abuse, featuring interviews with gym junkies, medical experts and U.S. lawmakers, suggesting that part of the problem is the penchant for making scapegoats out of athletes like Carl Lewis, Ben Johnson and Floyd Landis when, in fact, steroids can be traced back to the American Olympic teams in the 1950s and 1960s.
“Deception” will deceive very few, as an all-too-obvious set-up leads to a forgone conclusion. It begins as an accountant (Ewan McGregor) is introduced to a mysterious sex club by his lawyer friend (Hugh Jackson), only to find himself the prime suspect in a multi-million dollar heist.
Optimistically positioned as the first in a series of kid-friendly supernatural mysteries, “Sarah Landon and The Paranormal Hour” features an inquisitive 17 year-old (Rissa Walters) who turns detective when visiting her late friend’s grandmother. Problem is: the acting is barely mediocre, the tone is often inappropriate and the cinematography is obviously amateurish.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Robert Downey Jr.’s performance is what elevates “Iron Man” above this summer’s other superhero movies. As arrogant billionaire playboy/weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, Downey demonstrates that there’s really a man with a soul propelling that special-effects suit.