DVD Picks & Pans: Summer Smorgasbord - Another Course

Tom Miller

Aug 11, 2008

It's hot.  It's humid.  It's August. 

August isn't irredeemable though.  It's when baseball pennant races heat up and football practice begins.  Every fourth August also brings the Summer Olympics—this year from Beijing.  (Not to mention the quadrennial political conventions, but where's the drama there?)

NBC paid $100 gazillion for the right to air the Olympics so expect 24/7 coverage.  When you need a break from the eternal (and eternally playful) Bob Costas or the drama of synchronized swimming, we'd like to recommend some recently released DVDs for your consideration. 

(We've be back in a couple of weeks with some alternatives to convention coverage.  You can thank us later.) 
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The Counterfeiters
DVD-2008 ($28.96, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) Also available in Blu-ray.

Based on a true story, "The Counterfeiters" follows the travails of master counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) at the hands of the Nazis. 

Imprisoned in Germany before World War II for his criminal activities, Sorowitsch, a Russian Jew, displays his survival skills by becoming an artist for the SS.  Later, he is transferred to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen where he is employed—along with 140 fellow prisoners—as a counterfeiter in a large-scale forgery operation run by the SS.

Dubbed "Operation Bernhard," the rather sophisticated racket forged passports and other documents but the centerpiece was an effort to counterfeit the British pound and the U.S. dollar.  The goal was to roil Allied economies by flooding them with counterfeit currency and also finance the faltering German war machine.

The centerpiece of director Stefan Ruzowitzky's film is the terrible irony implicit in the Faustian bargain between the Jewish forgers and their Nazi jailers.  In return for their cooperation, the counterfeiters live in relative luxury (adequate food and shelter) while around them their fellow Jews are systematically worked and/or starved to death. Sorowitsch makes for an unconventional hero, but that's exactly the point—however uncomfortable. 

The story is compelling and benefits from Ruzowitzky's unflinching direction and an excellent cast led by Markovics.  The film is in German with English subtitles and won a 2008 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. 

Military.com Rating: *** ½

(DVD extras include audio commentary with director Ruzowitzky; deleted scenes;  a "Making of THE COUNTERFEITERS" featurette; Interviews with director Ruzowitzky, author Adolf Burger, and lead actor Markovics; and an American Film Institute Q&A with director Ruzowitzky.)
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Caroline in the City—The First Season
DVD-2008 ($42.99, CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Entertainment)

Before there was "Sex and the City," there was "Caroline in the City," a romantic comedy featuring a group of neurotic young professionals living in Manhattan and looking for love in all the wrong places. It ran on NBC for four seasons from 1995-1999.

The sitcom revolves around the life and misadventures of Caroline Duffy (Lea Thompson), a successful syndicated cartoonist who lives in a fashionable loft while looking for Mr. Right and meddling in the lives of her friends and associates. 

Those friends include her colorist (and a starving artist), Richard Karinsky (Malcolm Gets), who falls in love with Caroline during Season One.  But, Caroline is engaged to on-again, off-again boyfriend Del Cassidy (Eric Lutes), and as the first season draws to a close, Richard slinks off to Paris. 

There's also Caroline's man-hungry neighbor and best friend Annie Spadaro (Amy Pietz), a Broadway dancer and aspiring actress. 

"The First Season" guest stars include Matthew Perry, Florence Henderson, John Ratzenberger, David Hyde Pierce, and Kathy Griffen. 

The winner of a People's Choice Award for Favorite New Series, "Caroline in the City: The First Season" includes all twenty-four episodes on three discs. 

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(Set also includes episodic promos for all twenty-four episodes.)
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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
DVD-2008 ($29.98, Universal Studios Home Entertainment) 

Okay.  There's no way to disguise it: This is a chick flick.  But, it's charming and harmless, if somewhat saccharine.  Kind of like Bob Costas. 

Reminiscent of once-popular stage comedies, "Miss Pettigrew," set in pre-World War II London, is short on action and long on witty dialogue and improbable situations.  Throw in a case of mistaken identity, a love rectangle, and an unlikely yin/yang friendship and you have the ingredients for an entertaining two hours.

The yin is forlorn servant named Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), and the yang is aspiring actress, Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams).   Miss Pettigrew is middle-aged, frumpy, and unemployed.  Delysia is young, beautiful, and promiscuous.  She's the kept woman of her employer, nightclub owner Nick (Mark Strong).  She's also being pursued by Playboy producer Phil (Tom Payne), who promises her a starring role in his first play, and by struggling musician Michael (Lee Pace) who has little to offer her but his unconditional love. 

Delysia has contacted an agency about hiring a social secretary, and when Guinevere shows up at her penthouse unannounced, mistakenly offers her the position.  Over the next twenty-four hours, the two will bond and each will learn important lessons from the other. 

The script by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy is clever and gentle, if predictable, and the acting is solid, especially Adams and McDormand. 

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(DVD extras include deleted scenes; commentary with director Bharat Nalluri; a "Making an Unforgettable Day" feauturette; and "Miss Pettigrew's Long Trip to Hollywood—From Novel to Feature Film.") 
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Military.com DVD Picks & Pans Smorgasbord Ratings Guide
* Have the Rolaids handy
** Two words: fast food
*** Tasty
**** Succulent

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Copyright 2008 by Tom Miller