Billboard Dad

• DVD Details: Actors: Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Tom Amandes, Jessica Tuck, Carl Banks
• Directors: Alan Metter
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC. Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 11, 2002; Run Time: 92 minutes

IT TAKES TWO - DVD MovieThis first theatrical outing for the ubiquitous Olsen twins is their take on The Parent Trap meets The Prince and the Pauper. One plays a foster child under the care of a single social worker (Kirstie Alley) whose marital status prevents her from adopting her favorite charge. The other is the neglected daughter of a "bazillionaire" (Steve Guttenberg), who's about to marry a gold-digging socialite (played nastily by Jane Sibbett, Ross's first ex-wife on TV's Friends). The foster kid comes to a ! charity camp abutting the rich girl's summer estate and--presto--the identical strangers meet, hatch a plan to solve both their dilemmas, and switch identities. Directed by Andy Tennant (Ever After), this PG-rated film features some decent G-rated chemistry between Alley and Guttenberg and surprisingly uncloying performances by Mary-Kate and Ashley. The rating is for mild language. (Ages 5 and up) --Kimberly HeinrichsTeenage sisters Charli and Lola are on the verge of an experience beyond their wildest dreams! Pack your bags and jet off to Rome as the girls start their summer internship working for the legendary Derek Hanson - the totally cool international tycoon whose empire reaches from airlines to cutting-edge fashion. Amid the fabulous sights of this exciting city, the girls do their best to impress their boss, while still finding time to design their own line of very hip clothing, meet some very cute guys and turn their summer abroad into one awesome adv! enture they - and you - will never forget! Riding on the succe! ss of Ma ry-Kate and Ashley's popular formula from previous films showcasing London and Paris, this one takes them to Rome as sophisticated working girls. The Olsen twins play fictional sisters Charli and Leila, summer interns at a global fashion and entertainment company. They join four other international students ostensibly to gain business experience, though the job seems more of a cover for their perennial pursuits of shopping, sightseeing, and sizzling romance. They encounter workplace challenges, including a tyrannical boss and derisive coworker, which serve as a backdrop for numerous costume changes for our fashion-forward stars. In the end, teamwork prevails as the interns devise a clever scheme to expose a company criminal. Kudos to the film for depicting Charli and Leila's characters as strong and self-assured young women (too bad they come across excessively materialistic). Despite the seemingly endless self-promotion of Mary-Kate and Ashley, this G-rated film is all in g! ood fun, though there is certainly more fizz than flavor. (Ages 4 to 10) --Lynn GibsonMary-Kate and Ashley star as soccer-playing sisters who scheme to trade teams by secretly trading places. But as the plan unfolds, there's chaos on and off the field. With clever schemes, hilarious mix-ups and non-stop action all part of the game, Mary-Kate and Ashley are in for some fancy footwork in their all-new feature-length movie!Originally an ABC telefilm, Switching Goals comes to video. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen play super-identical twins who are actually total opposites. OK, it's not the freshest concept in the universe, but the teen divas (who also exec produce--as they did in their Passport to Paris) are an undeniable favorite with little girls all-over. Here, they're Sam, the athletic one, and Emma, the fashion-conscious one. Their indulgent dad (Eric Lutes) coaches a soccer team and their workaholic mother (Kathryn Greenwood) is a psychologist. Look f! or a switch, the truth to be revealed, and all to end well. T! his vide o may prove to be just the perfect gift for any young girl between 4 and 10. Not only will they get to gaze up on the familiar, comforting countenances of the Olsens, but given how many young 'uns play soccer, there's even more to relate to. --N.F. MendozaDOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE - DVD MovieThis first theatrical outing for the ubiquitous Olsen twins is their take on The Parent Trap meets The Prince and the Pauper. One plays a foster child under the care of a single social worker (Kirstie Alley) whose marital status prevents her from adopting her favorite charge. The other is the neglected daughter of a "bazillionaire" (Steve Guttenberg), who's about to marry a gold-digging socialite (played nastily by Jane Sibbett, Ross's first ex-wife on TV's Friends). The foster kid comes to a charity camp abutting the rich girl's summer estate and--presto--the identical strangers meet, hatch a plan to solve both their dilemmas, and switch identities. Di! rected by Andy Tennant (Ever After), this PG-rated film features some decent G-rated chemistry between Alley and Guttenberg and surprisingly uncloying performances by Mary-Kate and Ashley. The rating is for mild language. (Ages 5 and up) --Kimberly HeinrichsMary-Kate and Ashley star in this Down Under adventure filled with nonstop Aussie intrigue, laughs and romance. After running afoul of a notorious gangster, Mary-Kate and Ashley take refuge in the FBI Witness Protection Program. Unfortunately, the girls are uncontrollable blabbermouths and they blow their cover in town after town until there's only one hiding place left - Australia.Well, look who grew up: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, once the sleepy-eyed preschoolers in the hit TV sitcom Full House, now wake to find themselves ready for their first day of high school. But the day doesn't shape up as ultra-fantastically as in their dreams. A series of bizarre circumstances (involving some supercharged ! catsup and a criminal with a "really gross zit") force them in! to a lif e-threatening situation in which only the FBI Witness Protection Program can help. It turns out that Mary-Kate and Ashley are their own worst enemies; the girls continually blow their cover until finally they're booted down under to the warm and sparkling recreation mecca of Sydney, Australia. Here the challenge to keep a secret takes second fiddle to the bigger challenges of fitting in with the popular group, learning Aussie lingo, and (apparently) changing into a new set of adorable clothes and accessories in almost every scene. Fans from 6 to 13 years old will probably enjoy the daffy antics of the Olsens, their adventures with cute boyfriends, and their ability to thwart the goofy bad guys. Plus, their acting ability--although crippled by yet another bubblehead script--continues to improve. To the parental crowd, the film plays somewhat like a New Age beach-blanket movie with plenty of surfer parties, flower-power fun, overblown story points, mild potty humor, and lots o! f belly buttons (LOTS of belly buttons). The movie also has some inexplicable references (to such grown-up phenomena as The Blair Witch Project and The Sopranos) that are bound to go way over the target audience's heads. Yet it's 90 minutes of absolutely clean fun that fans will eat up. --Liane ThomasWhen Mary-Kate and Ashley visit France, they pack their bags for fun and plot a rendezvous with adventure! Sent to Paris to visit their grandfather, the girls fall in love with France and fall head-over-heels for two French boys! Sightseeing on mopeds, they race around Paris on a mission to see the city, make new friends, and stay one step ahead of their uptight chaperone. From shopping at French boutiques, to exploring Notre Dame and dinner dates at the Eiffel Tower, it's one hilarious exploit after another. Mademoiselles Mary-Kate and Ashley offer a passport to adventure in a tres magnifique journey!Resistance is futile! The Olsen Twins are everywhere, an! d you better get used to it, especially if you have a daughter! between the ages of 4 and 10. Now they're not only taking over the U.S.; they've moved on to the city of light, Paris. Unlike their series (in which Mary-Kate and Ashley play themselves), in this latest venture they play fictional alter-egos in the form of superficial, boy-crazy, 13-year-olds. Their movie mom worries their world is too small and the girls are shipped off to Paris to visit their grandfather, the U.S. ambassador to France (yes, you read that right). He doesn't have much time for them, so he prepares a daily itinerary and forces an associate, an aspiring junior version of himself, to accompany the girls. But leave it to those wacky gals: within a few days, he's partying along with them and their newfound French beaus (played by young cutie patooties who have the worst French accents this side of Hee Haw). The movie is harmless enough, and despite a pervasive materialism in Olsen fare, loyalty and friendship are at the forefront. The French locations are gorgeo! us and enticing. (Ages 4 and up) --N.F. MendozaOne's a surfer. The other's a high diver. When these two sisters team up to find a new love for their newly single Dad, it's a fun-loving, eye-catching California adventure gone wild. Mary-Kate and Ashley star in this fabulously funny love-struck comedy filled with crazy schemes and cool surprises. Determined to find their Dad, Max, a new love, the girls paint a personals ad on a giant billboard in the heart of Hollywood. After a few disastrous dates, Max finally meets Brooke and it's love at first sight. There's just one hitch, her unruly skateboarding son is the girls' arch rival. Now, with the girls plotting every action-packed step of the way, they've got to find out if love really does conquer all. Full of outrageous events, mixed-up matches and lots of laughs, Billboard Dad tops the charts as Mary-Kate and Ashley's coolest mischieve-making adventure ever.It's the Olsen twins to the rescue once again in their straig! ht-to-video release, Billboard Dad. With Venice, Califo! rnia, se rving as a Bohemian backdrop, the preteen queens of the dead-mom genre scheme to find their widowed father a girlfriend by turning a Hollywood billboard into a personal ad. Breezy predictability ensues: Dad gets thousands of letters and dates a series of progressively weirder women before bumping into Ms. Right. Since Dad's a successful sculptor, true love destroys the angst behind his profitable art. As his agent tries to drive a wedge between the lovebirds, the twins become unwitting accomplices. All of this just sets the stage, really, for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to do their thing--they are way cool, fashionable, and mature beyond their preteen years--with their equally hip friends, who have a drama of their own unfolding on the diving team. Nothing truly unexpected happens, but it doesn't matter. In other words, parents, don't watch this alone. --Valerie J. Nelson

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