Along Came Polly/Reality Bites/Mystery Men [3 Discs]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 3
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Ben Stiller - Mr. Furious
       Ethan Hawke - Troy Dyer
       Ben Stiller - Michael Grates
       Debra Messing - Lisa Kramer
       Alec Baldwin - Stan Indursky
       Hank Azaria - Claude
       Bryan Brown - Leland Van Lew
       Greg Kinnear - Captain Amazing
       Geoffrey Rush - Casanova Frankenstein
       Bob Dishy - Irving Feffer
       Tom Waits - Dr. Heller
       Eddie Izzard - Tony Pompadour
       Lena Olin - Dr. Annabel Leek
       Ricky Jay - Vic Weems
       Louise Lasser - Violet
       Afton Smith - Janine

• Director:

  John Hamburg, Ben Stiller, Kinka Usher

• Producer:

  Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson

• Screenwriter:

  John Hamburg, Helen Childress, Neil Cuthbert

• Cinematographer:

  Seamus Mcgarvey, Emmanuel Lubezki, Stephen H. Burum

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Randall Poster

• Composer (Music Score):

  Theodore Shapiro

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Karyn Rachtman

• Composer (Music Score):

  Stephen Warbeck

• Editor:

  Nick Moore, William Kerr, Lisa Churgin, Conrad Buff

• Production Designer:

  Andrew Laws, Sharon Seymour, Kirk M. Petruccelli

• Art Director:

  Martin Whist, Jeff Knipp, Barry Chusid

• Supervising Producer:

  William Finnegan, Sheldon Pinchuk

• Co-producer:

  Steven Gilder

• Associate Producer:

  Lori-Etta Taub

• Executive Producer:

  Jane Bartelme, Dan Levine, Stacey Sher, Robert Engelman

• Set Designer:

  Don Diers, Greg Berry, Mary Saisselin, Michael Armani, Maggie Martin, Victor Zolfo

• Costume Designer:

  Cindy Evans, Eugenie Bafaloukos, Marilyn Vance

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Geoffrey Patterson, Douglas B. Arnold

• Makeup:

  Deborah Larsen

• Special Effects:

  Illusion Arts

• First Assistant Director:

  Daniel Silverberg, David Larson, Allan Wertheim, Jeffrey Wetzel

• Stunts:

  Mario Roberts

• Choreography:

  Joann Fregalette Jansen, Anne Fletcher

• Casting:

  Kathleen Chopin, Francine Maisler, Mindy Marin

• Second Unit Director:

  Alex Daniels

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Alex Daniels

• Visual Effects:

  Industrial Light & Magic

• Second Unit Camera:

  Larry Blanford

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  Darren King

• Special Effects Coordinator:

  Greg Curtis

• Second Unit Director Of Photogra:

  Alex Funke

• Visual Effects Supervisor:

  Lori J. Nelson

REVIEWS:

• Although it was unfairly derided for its perceived commodification of the grunge/slacker zeitgeist, Reality Bites is actually a rather charming if conventional film that uses its mid-'90s trappings -- AIDS tests, espresso shops, unwashed hair, '70s TV trivia, and so-so alt-rock -- as a backdrop for coming-of-age melodrama and romantic comedy. The screenplay contains some pretty sharp writing from first-time scribe Helen Childress and a stellar cast highlighted by Janeane Garafolo and Ben Stiller. Fresh from his celebrated stint in TV sketch comedy, Stiller exhibits a sure hand as a director, but it's his portrayal of a corporate scumbag who wants to prove he's still hip that helped cement his status as one of the most enjoyably neurotic leading men of the '90s. Garafolo, meanwhile, steals every scene she's in -- folding sweaters at the Gap, obsessing about her drunken sexcapades, and providing acerbic commentary on the main romantic plot. Steve Zahn is underutilized as the obligatory gay friend, his inner life reduced to a few scenes of HIV paranoia, but Swoosie Kurtz has fun in a brief role as Lelaina's mom. As for the heroine herself, Winona Ryder was at the height of her popularity when the film came out, and she invests Lelaina with the fragile luminosity and hipster wit she perfected in Heathers. Co-star Ethan Hawke, in a role similarly close to his own celebrity persona, downplays his looks with bad facial hair and an intellectual sneer, turning Troy into the sort of pretentious, defensive, cred-obsessed jerk who did not, alas, disappear from the pop-culture landscape along with Generation X. In the end, that's what makes Reality Bites more than the sum of its once-hip references; its details may be rooted in 1994, but its characters and situations are as universal as they are funny. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
• John Hamburg had previously worked on the screenplays for Zoolander and Meet the Parents before this film, proving that he had the ability to shape material for Ben Stiller. With Along Came Polly, Hamburg graduates to the director's chair as well, and his inexperience behind the camera is noticeable. Although he takes his time and carefully establishes the failed marriage that opens the movie, the body of the film lacks continuity. There are bits of business that seem like they will payoff later but never do, and the scenes fluctuate wildly in their pacing. Although the film fails to work as a whole, there are moments that generate real laughter. Philip Seymour Hoffman uses his potent physicality to get laughs out of both an introductory pratfall and a handful of basketball scenes. In his too few scenes, Alec Baldwin finds the perfect tone as Stiller's boss, combining authority, unctuousness, insincerity, and affection in equal measure. Stiller himself is very comfortable playing this type of character -- for him it is the equivalent of an old pair of sneakers. He's fine, but he does nothing new. Jennifer Aniston could have been interesting, but aside from goading Stiller's character into coming out of his shell, she has almost nothing to play. The film glosses over her emotional issues in order to focus on Stiller's gastrointestinal issues. Along Came Polly lacks inspiration, but for all its faults, it does give the supporting performers enough room to make it better than it could have been. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
• Though it suffers from a bloated production and an overabundance of the hipness quotient, Kinka Usher's inventive, often uproariously funny outing deserves credit for its funky, offbeat casting and a genuine sense of satire. The film may have been more successful if given the solid B-movie treatment that Neil Cuthbert's knowing, smart screenplay deserved, but for every scene that lands with a thud, there's two or three that soar, and the comically gifted performers milk every situation for its full potential. One might argue that letting these actors run wild with such a shaky foundation is a bad idea, but they all give fun-loving, devoted performances, and the superhero genre gets an effective tweaking while still delivering the goods as a big summer movie (though the film's protracted, numbing last reel grows tiresome very quickly). Released in August of 1999, the film was hugely unsuccessful, making only a fraction of what it cost to produce, and audiences stayed away in droves. Presumably, the marketing was unsure as to who the film was made for -- which, quite honestly, is part of its appeal. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi