"Y a du soleil et des nanas, ladirladirla", Popeye le GO bourreau des cœurs, Jean-Claude Dusse-de-Paris, Gigi, Les Bronzés possède tous les attributs du film culte : multimillionnaire de la statistique médiamétrique des chaînes TV, répliques connues par cœur, etc. Et pourtant, en 1978, rien ne prédisposait cette charge contre les clubs de vacances au triomphe. En ce temps-là, la comédie française se limitait pratiquement à deux veines : de Funès ou bien le comique troupier. C'est dire si l'irruption de quasi-inconnus, sans-gêne, caustiques et toniques, détonne dans le paysage cinématographique d'alors. Direction le sommet du box-office : 2,3 millions d'entrées en 1978 !. En adaptant pour le cinéma sa pièce Amour, coquillages et crustacés, la troupe du Splendid bouleverse la donne : sens de l'observation, dialogues qui font mouche, autodérision, autant de singularités dans un paysage plombé par les Charlots ou les éternelles Septième compagnie. De Michel Blanc à Thierry Lhermitte en passant par Dominique Lavanant ou Josiane Balasko, tous imposent des personnages à la fois drôles et pathétiques, assez proches, par certains côtés, des grandes comédies italiennes – Les Nouveaux Monstres – la tendresse en plus. Aux commandes de cette comédie culte, un futur grand : Patrice Leconte, tout juste sorti d'un bide mémorable, Les Vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur, avec Coluche et Jean Rochefort. Bref, un indispensable antidote au stress du vacancier... ! ! —Sylvain Lefort

John Hughes's popular 1985 teen drama finds a diverse group of high school students—a jock (Emilio Estevez), a metalhead (Judd Nelson), a weirdo (Ally Sheedy), a princess (Molly Ringwald), and a nerd (Anthony Michael Hall)—sharing a Saturday in detention at their high school for one minor infraction or another. Over the course of a day, they talk through the social barriers that ordinarily keep them apart, and new alliances are born, though not without a lot of pain first. Hughes (Sixteen Candles), who wrote and directed, is heavy on dialogue but he also thoughtfully refreshes the look of the film every few minutes with different settings and original viewpoints on action. The movie deals with such fundamentals as the human tendency toward bias and hurting the weak, and because the characters are caught somewhere between childhood and adulthood, it's easy to get emotionally involved in hope for their redemption. Preteen and teenage kids love this film, incidentally. The DVD release includes production notes, cast and crew bios, widescreen presentation, Dolby sound, closed captioning, optional French and Spanish soundtracks, and optional Spanish subtitles. —Tom Keogh

Academy Award(R) winner Renée Zellweger (Best Supporting Actress, COLD MOUNTAIN, 2003; CHICAGO) and Hugh Grant (LOVE ACTUALLY, TWO WEEKS NOTICE) star in a delightful comedy about the ups and downs of modern romance. Bridget (Zellweger), a busy career woman, decides to turn over a new page in her life by channeling her thoughts, opinions and insecurities into a journal that becomes a hilarious chronicle of her adventures. Soon she becomes the center of attention between a guy who's too good to be true (Grant) and another who's so wrong for her, he could be just right (Colin Firth — LOVE ACTUALLY)! Based on the best-selling book, BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY is another acclaimed crowd-pleaser from the hit makers of FOUR WEDDING AND A FUNERAL and NOTTING HILL.

Avec sa distribution imposante, qui réunit des vétérans de la comédie comme Rémy Girard, Marc Messier, Serge Thériault et le réalisateur Louis Saïa, Les Boys amorcent la partie en avantage numérique.

Les Boys, c'est une bande de mâles moyens qui jouent au hockey chaque semaine sous la direction de Stan (Girard), entraîneur et propriétaire d'une brasserie. Brasserie qu'il risque justement de perdre si ses gars ne remportent pas un match décisif contre l'équipe de Méo (Pierre Lebeau, excellent), un usurier à qui Stan doit une forte somme. L'intrigue sert ici de prétexte à pénétrer des zones essentiellement masculines, montrant Les Boys à la taverne, au vestiaire, au bar de danseuses, sur la glace, etc. Pour enrober le tout, un feu roulant de blagues et de calembours du genre : "Quand t'es avocat, tu portes la robe pis ta femme porte les culottes".

Si le scénario aurait pu être fignolé davantage, le film se laisse néanmoins regarder comme un bon match de hockey : des joueurs intéressants, dont Patrick Huard, hilarant en agent immobilier sans scrupules, quelques buts aussi, comme cette scène absurde où un avocat, pressé d'aller jouer, laisse son client écoper d'une sentence importante. Les Boys, ce n'est peut-être pas une finale de la coupe Stanley mais, à tout le moins, une honnête ronde éliminatoire. —Julie Parent

IN FRENCH, NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES!! ** La Boum stars Sophie Marceau as a 13-year-old French girl, coping with domestic problems. Her parents, played by Claude Brasseur and Brigitte Fossey, are on the verge of a marital breakup. This is coupled by a traumatic move to Paris, and Marceau's problems in adjusting to her new surroundings and schoolmates. Though nothing new, La Boum is disarmingly diverting, a real audience pleaser (as proven by its huge international box-office take). Le film ** Le commentaire audio de Claude Pinoteau ** Les galerie d'affiches ** La galerie de photos ** La bande-annonce italienne, anglaise et américaine

An oddball love story about a fey loner named Sam (Johnny Depp), who falls in love with the mentally unbalanced Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson), who lives in the care of her protective brother Benny (Aidan Quinn). This 1993 story is hard to swallow, with its message that love can conquer a brand of mental illness that manifests itself in pyromania: Joon has a bad habit of going a bit around the bend and setting fires, but Sam's tender care apparently has the cure for what ails her. Still, if you want proof that Depp has significant chops as a physical comedian, give this film a try: He does note-perfect renditions of slapstick routines made famous by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. —Marshall Fine

It is the future. Society has at last solved all its major problems, thanks to amiable lunkheads Bill and Ted and the inspiring music of their band, Wyld Stallyns. Only one man is dissatisfied with the way things have turned out, the evil De Nomolos. In an effort to change the future, De Nomolos sends evil Bill and Ted robots back in time to prevent the real Bill and Ted from winning a pivotal Battle of the Bands. What follows is a spirited journey through the afterlife as Bill and Ted try to rescue their girlfriends, save the future, and, oh, yeah, learn how to play the guitar. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey swings easily between childish and clever humor, and is good at both: a Bergman reference is quickly followed by an equally funny bit about Death's stinky feet. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter seem happy to be reprising their roles and even manage to add funny spins on Evil Robot Bill and Ted. William Sadler very nearly steals the movie as Death, playing both his wounded dignity and budding desire to be funky to a T. As if that weren't enough, George Carlin returns as Rufus and Pam Grier does a cameo just for the hell of it. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey is ample proof that not all sequels suck. Sometimes they're even better than the original. —Ali Davis

Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football—or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer—star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine and detailed that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, and written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. —Bret Fetzer

Thanks to an extraordinary, delicately balanced performance by Peter Sellers, Being There received mixed reviews during its theatrical release in 1979, but has since become a celebrated comedy with a loyal following. It's one of the most unusual black comedies ever made, simply because it stretches a simple premise over 130 minutes of straight-faced, strangely compelling commentary on politics, media, and celebrity in media-savvy America. Adapted by Jerzy Kozinsky from his own novel, the movie's about a simple-minded, middle-aged gardener who, after a lifetime of seclusion and safety in a Washington, D.C. townhouse, gets his first exposure to reality beyond the walls of his sheltered existence. His only reference to the world is through his childlike addiction to television, and when a chance encounter brings him into the inner fold of a dying billionaire (Melvyn Douglas), he suddenly finds himself the toast of Washington's political elite. His simple phrases about gardening are misinterpreted as anything from economic predictions to sage political advice, and under the sharp direction of Hal Ashby, Sellers has the audacity to take this comedic conceit to its logical extreme. Being There is not for all tastes—especially not for those who don't appreciate comedic subtlety. But as a showcase for the daring genius of Peter Sellers, this is a classic movie in a category all its own. —Jeff Shannon