DVD Releases: May 6, 2008

P.S. I Love You

Genre: Drama and Adaptation

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gina Gershon

Synopsis: Two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank tries her hand at romantic comedy in this touching film based on the bestselling Irish novel. Holly Kennedy (Swank) and her charming Irish husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) are a young couple struggling to get by in New York City. Their marriage is 10 years strong, and they are madly in love, but the fates soon step in, when Gerry develops cancer and dies. Holly is completely devastated, and her friends Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon) do their best to console her. Her mother (Kathy Bates) and sister, Rose (Nellie Mckay), also offer their support, but it seems nothing can pull Holly out of her grief. Then one day, she begins to receive love letters Gerry penned before his death. The letters are filled with various stories and instructions, and one of them even contains a plan that sends her and her friends on a trip to Ireland. As Gerry’s posthumous letters buoy her up, Holly slowly begins to piece her life back together. His letters help her to celebrate their special love story, and remind her that she must continue to live her life, and seek out happiness. The film’s stellar cast delivers many tearjerker moments, and P.S. I LOVE YOU does a fine job of yanking on the heartstrings.

Over Her Dead Body

Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria Parker, Lake Bell, Jason Biggs, Lindsay Sloane

Synopsis: Screenwriter Jeff Lowell makes his directorial debut with the slightly unconventional romantic comedy OVER HER DEAD BODY. Overbearing bridezilla Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) is reviewing final details at the reception venue on her wedding day when the unthinkable happens: she’s crushed by an ice sculpture of an angel before she makes it to the altar. A year later, her fiancé, Henry (Paul Rudd), is still devastated. To appease his concerned sister, Chloe (Lindsay Sloan), he visits Ashley (Lake Bell), a caterer and sometime psychic, in an attempt to contact Kate in the afterlife and gain some closure. Henry and Ashley hit it off, but misguided spirit Kate hasn’t quite made it to heaven yet, and takes to haunting Ashley to protect her ex-fiancé from his potential new love interest. Will this otherworldly interference keep Henry from moving on with Ashley? Or will Kate realize that the best gift she can give Henry is happiness with someone new? Jason Biggs stars as Dan, Ashley’s best friend and catering partner, who is a hiding a big secret from her. Rudd is his usual likable self as Henry, a veterinarian who manages to find humor in every situation despite his lingering sadness. Watch for a very amusing scene with his pet parrot. Longoria looks great as a very fashionable ghost, sporting a new hairdo and a new white outfit almost every time she appears on screen. Bell exudes an air of earnestness and optimism as Ashley, who decides that love is worth being haunted by a ghost. Character actor Stephen Root appears as the ice sculptor.

The Hottie and the Nottie

Genre: Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Paris Hilton, Adam Kulbersh, Christine Lakin, Marianne Muellerleile, Johann Urb

Synopsis: Nate Cooper has been smitten with Cristabel Abbott since he first laid eyes on her at the impressionable age of six. But before he could try and snuggle up to her at nap time, or maybe send her a valentine, his family moved away. In the intervening years there have been other women in Nate’s life, but none who could measure up to Cristabel. Convinced she’s the only girl for him, Nate decides to move back to L.A. and track her down. The good news: she’s still single and stunning. The bad news: there’s a reason she’s still single. Cristabel’s still best friends with the same less fortunate little girl Nate remembers from first grade, June Phigg. The two are inseparable. They live together. They go to yoga together. They would even go on double dates together–if only June could get a date. Cristabel simply refuses to leave dear June home alone. Determined to spend as much time as possible with Cristabel, Nate sets out to find a boyfriend for June. Even when he pays them, however, guys all flee at the sight of her. Then it hits him: June needs a makeover. As Nate and June become friends she emerges from her cocoon, and Nate slowly realizes that the girl of his dreams isn’t the hottie at all. It’s the nottie who turns out to be something of a hottie herself.

Bella

Genre: Drama

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Sophie Nyweide, Eduardo Verastegui, Ramon Rodriguez, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez

Synopsis: BELLA opens with a flashback to a confident young man named Jose (Eduardo Verastegui) who is poised to become a major soccer star. The film then flashes forward to the present day, and we see Jose working as a chef in his brother Manny’s (Manny Perez) restaurant. A swaggering athlete no more, he has camouflaged his striking looks with long hair and a thick beard. When his hot-tempered brother fires a waitress for showing up late, Jose makes the spontaneous decision to walk off the job and go check on her. He catches the young woman, Nina (Tammy Blanchard), just as she is about to board the subway, and she reveals to him that she is pregnant. Worried for her, Jose suggests they spend the day together, and the two set off for a long, meandering jaunt around New York City. Previously only workmates, they slowly open up to each other over the course of the day. He brings her out to Long Island, where she meets his warm and loving family, and it’s there that he tells the tragic story about what derailed his once promising athletic career. They bond with each other in a deeply intimate, though platonic way, and by the film’s end, Jose and Nina have a lifelong connection to one another. Director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde paints a gritty but lively picture of New York City, and he peppers the film with scenes of subway turnstiles, sidewalk artists, and corner bodegas. In doing so he creates a rough but very real portrait of the city. While BELLA grapples with some pretty heavy themes, it is ultimately a feel-good tale, with a strong emphasis on the importance of family, and on the human potential for change and atonement.

First Sunday

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical/Performing Arts, Crime/Gangster and Politics/Religion

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Ice Cube , Regina Hall, P.J. Byrne, Katt Williams, Malinda Williams

Synopsis: Durell and LeeJohn are best friends and bumbling petty criminals. When Durell learns that his ex-girlfriend plans to move to another state with their son–unless they can get her $17,000 to pay off a debt–they come up with a desperate scheme to rob their neighborhood church. But when the duo fumbles their way through the break-in, they discover someone has beaten them to the punch. In order to get their hands on the money, Durell and LeeJohn are forced to spend the night in the presence of the Lord and his followers–and end up getting a lot more than they bargained for.