A Bit of Fry and Laurie - The Complete Collection... Every Bit!

• Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are best known outside of their native U.K. for the various acting roles they've taken in major productions. In Fry's case, big-screen roles in WILDE and PETER'S FRIENDS helped establish his name. In Laurie's case, the hit TV show HOUSE made him a firm favorite with American audiences. They are also known and loved for their joint turn in the irreverent

Dorian Lever wants to romance unwed mother-to-be Sally Jackons but his brother Angus wants to kill her. Sally, the local drive-thru order taker, is caught up in the darkly funny family brouhaha that is largely orchestrated by the Levers' manipulative mother.er.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 1-JUN-2004
Media Type: DVDA man is frightened to death by a menacing military helicopter, piloted by two young Texan men who just happen to be the dead man's stepson! s, Dorian and Angus (Luke Wilson and Jake Busey). To complicate matters, the dead man had had an affair with young Sally (Drew Barrymore), a clerk at the local Burger-Matic who didn't know the guy was married. Now she's pregnant and looking for a supportive guy to be her unborn child's potential father. Dorian fits the role quite nicely, but Angus thinks Sally knows about the helicopter incident, and their scheming mother (Catherine O'Hara) is trying to mastermind a cover-up, and....

So goes the cleverly amusing plot of this light, character-based romantic comedy, which proves Barrymore's charm and versatility once again, gives O'Hara one of her best roles, and moves right along at its own amiable pace. Small-town romance combines with darkly tinged comedy (scripted by X-Files staffer Vince Gilligan), and first-time director Dean Parisot guides it all with casual assurance. There's nothing going on here that's particularly inspired, but Barrymore and Wilson (an! off-screen couple during production) make a delightful pair, ! and the cast makes the most of some hilarious down-home dialogue. All in all, a very pleasant diversion. --Jeff ShannonGrunge rock. Fast food. And da family. What's not to love? Matt Dillon leads a gifted ensemble in singles (Disc 1/Side A), Cameron Crowe's rock-laced tale of Seattle twentysomethings (including Bridget Fonda and Kyra Sedgwick) searching for and running from romance. Want fries with that? In Home Fries (Disc 1/Side B), Drew Barrymore plays an unwed mother-to-be and Burger-Matic employee who's the focus of attention of two offbeat brothers: one (Luke Wilson) who wants to marry her...one (Jake Busey) who wants to murder her. Next, Hugh Grant walks the wawk and talks the tawk as Mickey Blue Eyes (Disc 2). He becomes Noo Yawk's most unlikely mobster when his romance with a schoolteacher (Jeanne Tripplehorn) entangles him in the workings of her mob family (headed by James Caan).Summer Catch Rock Star Home Fries Addicted to LoveA man is frightened to death by a mena! cing military helicopter, piloted by two young Texan men who just happen to be the dead man's stepsons, Dorian and Angus (Luke Wilson and Jake Busey). To complicate matters, the dead man had had an affair with young Sally (Drew Barrymore), a clerk at the local Burger-Matic who didn't know the guy was married. Now she's pregnant and looking for a supportive guy to be her unborn child's potential father. Dorian fits the role quite nicely, but Angus thinks Sally knows about the helicopter incident, and their scheming mother (Catherine O'Hara) is trying to mastermind a cover-up, and....

So goes the cleverly amusing plot of this light, character-based romantic comedy, which proves Barrymore's charm and versatility once again, gives O'Hara one of her best roles, and moves right along at its own amiable pace. Small-town romance combines with darkly tinged comedy (scripted by X-Files staffer Vince Gilligan), and first-time director Dean Parisot guides it all with casua! l assurance. There's nothing going on here that's particularly! inspire d, but Barrymore and Wilson (an off-screen couple during production) make a delightful pair, and the cast makes the most of some hilarious down-home dialogue. All in all, a very pleasant diversion. --Jeff ShannonBIT OF FRY & LAURIE:COLLECTION EVERY - DVD MovieIf terms like "pimhole" and "lesbotic tendencies" reduce you to a fit of giggles, you've already discovered the daffy pleasures of Fry and Laurie. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie have gone on to other successes in film and television (not only did they gain acclaim and adoration as the title characters of Jeeves & Wooster, Laurie has become a household name in the U.S. as the star of House), but their comedy collaborations from the 1980s and '90s have earned them a place in the pantheon of British humor, somewhere between Monty Python and Ricky Gervais. They specialize in "linguistic elasticity," amazing flights of verbal lunacy ranging from overwrought poetry criticism to inventing their own swearwords! to protest censorship. A Bit of Fry & Laurie: The Complete Collection... Every Bit! includes all four Fry & Laurie seasons, broadcast between 1987 and 1995. Conservatism is a regular target--an early sketch about a father protesting his son being taught biology is startlingly current--but politics generally takes a back seat to ridiculousness. Fry impersonates Michael Jackson; a doctor prescribes cigarettes; an exceedingly gracious jewelry salesman woos a customer with candied sweets; Fry and Laurie, with righteous indignation, castigate their audience for laughing at serious matters like alcoholism and genital fungus. The fourth series isn't as inspired, overall, but it does feature sparkling moments, such as a version of It's a Wonderful Life starring Rupert Murdoch. Armed with a startling array of false facial hair (and, as the seasons progress, an increasing amount of drag), Fry and Laurie introduce notions like screaming lettuce, a synchronized lo! sing team, and the Omar Sharif Comedy Hour. It's divine sillin! ess; any fan of British comedy will delight in "Every Bit" of Fry and Laurie. --Bret Fetzer