Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, Sept. 26th:
David Schwimmer – a.k.a. Dr. Ross Geller on “Friends” – makes his directorial debut with “Run, Fat Boy, Run,” a British relationship comedy. Commitment-phobic, immature Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) is a big time loser, having left his pregnant fiancée (Thandie Newton) at the altar. Five years later, he wants to win her back, competing in a 26-mile charity marathon with her current suitor (Hank Azaria), an American hedge-fund trader.
With “Leatherheads,” George Clooney tries a throwback to the screwball genre with this sports comedy set in the 1920s, when America’s pro-football league was in its infancy. He plays an aging player who recruits a hotshot star/war hero (John Krasinski), hoping to revitalize the Duluth Bulldogs, a ragtag team of coal miners and farmers, and, inevitably, they become rivals for the affections of an intrepid newspaper reporter (Renee Zellweger).
Adapted from Stewart O’Nan’s 2003 novel, David Gordon Green’s subtle “Snow Angels,” featuring strong performances by Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell, is a poignant tale of love and loss, intertwining the lives of two small town couples and the difficulties they must face and overcome.
In the illogical “88 Minutes,” an FBI forensic psychiatrist (Al Pacino) receives a death threat claiming he has less than 90 minutes to live. Directed by Jon Avnet (“Righteous Kill”), it’s Pacino’s all-time career worst, leaving him ranting and running around trying to find the culprit.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis reunite for “Sex and the City: The Movie,” which, admittedly, is all about labels and love. Carrie’s planning her wedding to Mr. Big (Chris Noth); stressed-out Miranda’s discovering the perils of infidelity; Charlotte’s unexpectedly pregnant; and Samantha realizes that enduring love simply cannot replace the promiscuous sex she craves.