DVD Review: Family Stone and Napoleon Dynamite
We review two DVDs that are both hilariously funny in their own right but yet so different from one another. If you feel like snuggling into the couch for a terrific romantic comedy then check out The Family Stone. If silliness is what you feel like then you won't get any more absurd than Napoleon Dynamite: Like, The Best Special Edition, Ever! Both movies from Fox Home Entertainment are hugely entertaining, so either way, prepare yourself for a laugh-filled evening.
The Family Stone
An uptight corporate exec is brought into the lives of the quirky off-beat Stone family. Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) is as buttoned-down and sharp-edged as her designer suits while her boyfriend Everett Stone's (Dermot Mulroney) family is as relaxed as their aging New England Colonial. So when high-strung Meredith ventures out to meet Everett's unconventional clan, she is met with less enthusiasm than you would expect. Feeling the pressure of meeting a some-what hostile family, she calls in the support of her sister (Claire Danes) who adds to the already sticky mixture that is this family's recipe.
Video:1:85:1 The Family Stone DVD is presented in either widescreen or fullscreen versions. The picture is bright and clear and is offered in letterbox format so you won't lose any of the original theatrical screening quality.
Audio: The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround sound. It sounds perfectly clear and crisp.
Special Features: There are six deleted scenes. They offer little more to the original story. The "Why aren't you married" outtake does offer viewers a more vulnerable perspective on Everett's sister, a brilliantly bitchy character played by Rachel McAdams. But that's really it.
Audio Commentary by Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermot Mulroney: The audio commentary is worth this DVD buy alone. If you are one of the many SJP fans, you'll really enjoy the candid commentary that she and Dermot deliver. You appreciate the versatility in her acting range as she clearly identifies how unlike the uptight Meredith she is. It's fun to watch as she giggles over how ridiculous her character (including her tight bun) is.
Other special features include the outrageous gag reel and cast Q&A sessions filmed live at The Screen Actors Guild Theatre, which are entertaining. There are also the enjoyable casting sessions, a funny behind the scenes featurette and the very Martha Stewartesque "Morton Family Strata" recipe, to mention a few.
Overall: With an all-star cast consisting of Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker and Luke Wilson, you can't go wrong. The individual talent of each is made evident in their brilliant character exploration and delivery. The Family Stone is a hilarious, blatant look at family life. If you are looking for a good, honest romantic comedy that is far better than most, rent this movie. But if you're a huge Sarah Jessica Parker fan, buy this just so you can listen to the cute commentary, again.
Napoleon Dynamite: Like, The Best Special Edition, Ever!
We all remember watching this movie. Who could forget the lethargic "gooosh" and "sweets" Napoleon-style. Watch as Napoleon (Jon Heder), the unlikely protagonist, has his day dealing with his brother Kip's (Aaron Ruell) online chat sessions with babes, his uncle Rico's (Jon Gries) obsession with time traveling, helping his friend Pedro (Efren Ramirz) win the school election and his love of animals including ligers, sasquatches and the infamous llama, Tina.
Video: 1:85:1 The Napoleon Dynamite: Like, The Best Special Edition, Ever! DVD is presented in widescreen, making for the perfect picture. The film is supposed to look grainer than usual as it mimics the original documentary-style student film starring Jon Heder and directed/co-written by Jared Hess.
Audio: The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround sound. The audio is clear enough while still maintaining the original low-budget feel.
Special Features: There are hours and hours worth of sweet special features to entertain you as you sit down and enjoy this 2 disc DVD collection with a plate of tasty tater tots.
Outtakes and Alternate Scenes: The second disc contains outtakes and alternate scenes that are flipin' hilarious and an essential must-see for the die-hard fans.
Even better, Fox has collected all things Napoleon and added that to the second disc that is purely devoted to special features. These include Jon Heder's appearances on MTV's "TRL" and the "MTV Movie Awards", "SNL" and the 'The Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards".
Commentary by Jon Heder, director/co-writer Jared Hess and producer Jeremy Coon: The feature commentary offers some interesting facts like the intro song was kindly offered to them by The White Stripes. Interestingly enough, you also learn how small a production this hit really was. Most of the cast and extras are friends or family, including Tina the "stupid" llama. Did you know that Tina's real name is actually Dolly? So she'd be Dolly llama, as in Dali Lama. The feature disc also has a cool old-school Nintendo-type interface featuring Rex Kwon Do fighting Kip - priceless! This jam-packed 2 disc collection of features includes the actual cast auditions with actors such as Efren Ramirz and Tina Majorino. The best part is they have included Peluca, the original short film from which Napoleon Dynamite was born.
Overall: Buy this DVD whether you are a fan or not. There are hours of entertaining special features that will turn even the most sour face into Napoleon's next biggest fan.
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