I Hate Valentine's Day

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:29:40 -0000

After the mammoth success of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING in 2002, Nia Vardalos and John Corbett reunite for this unromantic-sounding romantic comedy. As the owner of the Brooklyn florist Roses for Romance, Genevieve (Vardalos) should welcome the love-centric holiday. But heartache has kept her from serious relationships, and she has obeyed her romance rule: never go on more than five dates. New restaurateur Greg (Corbett) can�t follow any rules when it comes to dating--he doesn�t know how male-female relationships are supposed to work, so he stays unmarried. When the two pair up, they try to stick to Genevieve�s five-date mandate, but they didn�t count on love entering the equation. Writer-actress Vardalos makes her directorial debut with I HATE VALENTINE�S DAY, which also stars Stephen Guarino, Zoe Kazan, Judah Friedlander, Rachel Dratch, and Jay O. Sanders. (1 hr. 29 min.) Release date: Feb 9, 2010

A Christmas Tale

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:29:39 -0000

For some, Christmas means the joy of spending time with loved ones. But not for the Vuillard family in Arnaud Desplechin's blackly comic A CHRISTMAS TALE. Instead of egg nog, bile and venom flow at the family get-together when estranged son Henri (Mathieu Amalric, QUANTUM OF SOLACE) returns. His mother, Junon (French legend Catherine Deneuve), has cancer, and Henri may be the bone marrow donor match that could save her life. Oldest daughter Elizabeth (Anne Consigny, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY) is equally unhappy to see her brother; he has been an emotional and financial drain on the family, and she had him legally banished from the family six years ago. But with his return, old wounds are freshly opened as the entire family gathers together for what could be their last holiday.

Director Desplechin's previous film KING AND QUEENS established his ability to seamlessly meld drama and comedy, and A CHRISTMAS TALE continues that tradition. This French film easily moves the audience between laughter, gasps, and tears. The behavior of the Vuillard famille is atrocious at times, and it goes beyond just the awful--and sometimes awfully funny--things they say to one another. But Desplechin has no trouble acheiving the right tone in these moments, and his postmodern style of filmmaking (with elements such as the actors addressing the camera) is perfectly suited to the material. His ensemble cast includes Jean-Paul Roussillon, Denueve's real-life daughter Chiara Mastroianni, and Melvil Poupaud, and though each does a fantastic job, it's the bitter and hilarious interplay between Amalric's Henri and Deneuve's Junon that carries the film. It's not destined to be a feel-good holiday classic � la IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but A CHRISTMAS TALE may prove a perfect prescription for when viewers' families get to be a little too much. (2 hrs. 32 min.) Release date: Dec 1, 2009

Yahoo! Movies: New Holiday DVD Releases

I Hate Valentine's Day

A Christmas Tale