Movies/TV on DVD/VHS

by Troy Carrington  

The degenerate duo’s dvd duo  

Absolutely Fabulous comes to DVD with two specials

Did you miss them, sweetie darling? Well, Britain’s grand dames of decadence are back on DVD with two absolutely fabulous specials.  

Reuniting Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as the world’s foremost fashion femme fatales, Absolutely Fabulous: New York premiered on Comedy Central in February 2003 to high ratings and huge acclaim, with Entertainment Weekly referring to it as “the most fun you can have sober.”  

When Edina (Saunders) discovers that her long lost son Serge (Josh Hamilton) is shacking up in the city that never sleeps, the derelict duo head to the Big Apple for a shocking reunion. Don’t worry, Eddy’s not upset with Serge because he’s gay—it’s just that he’s not gay enough!  

Whoopi Goldberg costars as a gay relationship counselor who immediately starts planning Patsy’s (Lumley) wedding … to Edina! Other guest stars include Rufus Wainwright, Debbie Harry, and Graham Norton.  

Back in London in Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout, a more conventional, but no-less-surprising union unfolds when Saffy (Julia Sawalha) finds herself engaged to the suave and wealthy Paolo Carlo (Gosford Park’s Tom Hollander). From fittings at Christian Lacroix’s boutique to Edina’s near-death experience starring Marianne Faithfull as God, the fashion fanatics and their hapless hangers-on are as outrageous as ever in this Absolutely Special event.  

From BBC Video.  

MORE DVD PREVIEWS  

• The Ballad of Little Jo  

Josephine Monaghan (Suzy Amis) is a young woman of the mid-19th century who is thrown out of her parents’ home after being seduced by the family portrait photographer (Sam Robards) and giving birth to an illegitimate child. She quickly learns that young, female, pretty, and alone are a bad combination for life in the Wild West. In her desperation to survive, Josephine disguises herself as “Jo,” a young man, and struggles to make a life for herself in a dingy frontier-mining town. When she takes in a Chinese man (David Chung) as her worker, the traditional roles of what defines a man and a woman are reversed, as she struggles to live her life on her own terms. Also stars Ian McKellen. • From New Line Home Entertainment (www.newline.com).  

• Friends and Family  

In Kristen Coury’s Friends and Family, Stephen (Greg Lauren, A Friend of Dorothy) and Danny (Christopher Gartin, johns) are a hip Manhattan gay couple who have it all, until a surprise visit from Stephen’s parents (Tony Lo Bianco, The French Connection, and Beth Fowler, Sister Act) threatens to blow the boys’ big secret. The secret? No, not that they’re gay, but that they are hit men for the mafia. Since Stephen’s dad is an FBI agent, the boys are frantic to keep him in the dark. They enlist their fellow mobsters to pose as gay waiters at the faux catering company Stephen “owns” so they can host a party for Dad. Also stars Tovah Feldshuh (Kissing Jessica Stein) and Tony Award-winning actress/singer Anna Maria Alberghetti. • Available October 21 from Wolfe Video (www.wolfevideo.com or 1-800-GET-WOLFE).  

• Frisk  

Sensual and suggestive, yet dark and shocking, Frisk is the story of a young man who increasingly imagines himself a serial killer who murders the men he has sex with. Based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Cooper, director Todd Verow follows the sexual trajectory of Dennis (Michael Gunther) from a pornography-obsessed teenager to a practicing sadomasochist and finally an accomplice to a heterosexual couple’s thrill-killing sprees. The film intimates nearly every kind of disturbing sadomasochistic activity but discreetly shows on screen just enough to allow the viewer to complete the most terrifying images in their own imagination. The Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Thomas wrote: “It is a serious and discreet work of considerable dark impact—and no little humor.” The film also stars Craig Chester (Swoon, Kiss Me Guido), Parker Posey (A Mighty Wind and the upcoming The Event), and Alexis Arquette (I Think I Do, The Trip, Killer Drag Queens on Dope). • From Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com).  

• Alias  

Packed with action, adventure, and nonstop thrills, Alias is a classic TV espionage series starring Jennifer Garner. As a diligent-student-cum-bad-ass-yet-oh-so-sexy spy, Garner’s Sydney Bristow represents a new breed of gay icon ... strong, independent, willing to fight the fight, all the while looking drop-dead gorgeous. If you are not already a fan, you will be by the end of the first episode. • Alias Season One is a sizzling six-disc box set that includes all 22 first-season episodes and a host of bonus features: Alias pilot production diary, inside stunts, deleted scenes, gag reel, audio commentaries with cast and crew, special season 2 preview, and animated menus. From Buena Vista Home Entertainment. For more Alias info: www.abc.go.com/primetime/alias.  

• Run Ronnie Run!  

Run Ronnie Run! tells the story of an unemployed, mullet-haired slacker (David Cross) who spends his days drinking beer with his buddies and terrorizing the local residents in his small town of Doraville. His one talent—he can’t seem to keep himself from getting arrested. In fact, he’s been arrested so many times and under such colorful circumstances that he has become a scene-stealing regular on Fuzz, a national reality-based police TV show. He heads to Hollywood, where he becomes a national TV star and slowly learns that fame and fortune aren’t exactly what he thought they would be. Cameos include Scott Thompson (as a gay recruiter), Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Dave Foley, Kathy Griffin, and Garry Shandling. • From New Line Home Entertainment (www.newline.com).