In & Out

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Fifty years ago, Gino and Maria came to Canada, and never quite recovered. They thought the surprises were over, but that was before their son Angelo broke the news . . . he wants to quit his stable job as a travel agent to become a TV writer, and he's in love with his best friend, a police officer named Nino. For Gino and Maria, tradition is about to come undone, and family is going to take on a whole new meaning. Set in the Little Italy neighborhood of Montreal, Mambo Italiano is a fresh and enjoyable take on gay relationships. After reconnecting with an estranged childhood friend, Angelo (Luke Kirby) discovers that he and Nino (Peter Miller) have more in common than just their Italian heritage and suffocating families. After they move in together, Angelo finds that he can't stand being in the closet any longer--but Nino, who's a cop and much more attached to passing as straight, resists. After Angelo tells his parents (Ginette Reno and Paul Sorvino), their lives explode and Angelo discovers that coming out may cost him everything he held dear. The emphasis on ethnic humor threatens to turn Mambo Italiano into My Big Gay Italian Wedding, but the clever writing, sprightly performances, and inventive direction keep the movie consistently unpredictable and funny. Also featuring Claudia Ferri as Angelo's neurotic sister. --Bret Fetzer

Manufacturer: Strand Releasing Brand: Strand Releasing Model: 2250443

Robert Lee King directs this wacky, campy fusion of teenaged surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Impossibly perky Florence (Lauren Ambrose) doesn't quite fit in at her thoroughly square high school in her seaside Southern California town -- that is, until she happens upon a band of ultra-hip surfer dudes. Renaming herself "Chicklet," she tries her gosh-darnedest to be the sole girl riding the waves with the group led by suave Kanaka (Thomas Gibson). While adopting her surfer alter ego, Florence soon discovers that other less pleasant personalities emerge when confronted with the sight of polka dots. One called Anne Bowman is a tough, "experienced" older lady, while the other, Tylene, is a stereotypical sassy black woman. Blacking out whenever these other personalities take over, Florence becomes increasingly worried that she is responsible for a series of grizzly murders. Of course, she is far from the only suspicious character in her oceanside community -- there's B-movie star Bettina Barnes (Kimberly Davies), Swedish exchange student Lars (Matt Keeslar), and Florence's own unnervingly-perfect mom (Beth Broderick). This film was adapted from a popular off-Broadway play written by Charles Busch. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Manufacturer: Wolfe Video

Big Eden has won the audience awards at just about every gay and lesbian film festival there is. Henry (Arye Gross) is an artist living in New York but still carrying a torch for the guy he had a crush on in high school. When his grandfather has a Big Eden has won the audience awards at just about every gay and lesbian film festival there is. Henry (Arye Gross) is an artist living in New York but still carrying a torch for the guy he had a crush on in high school. When his grandfather has a stroke, Henry returns to his Montana hometown, Big Eden, where he rediscovers friends he hasn't seen in years. His high school crush has since married, had children, and divorced--and seems ready to take some very different steps with his life. Big Eden is one of those implausibly tolerant towns where lesbians kiss each other in public and old coots in cowboy hats try to play matchmaker with bashful gays. Still, it's this sweet warmth in Big Eden that has made it a festival crowd-pleaser. --Bret Fetzer

Manufacturer: LIONSGATE

Popular stars Steve Zahn (Forces Of Nature, You've Got Mail, Out Of Sight ), Jeremy Northam (An Ideal Husband, Mimic) and William H. Macy (Mystery Men, A Civil Action, Fargo) enliven a hilarious comedy where a case of mistaken identity leads to a beauty of a con game! When escaped convicts Harry Sawyer (Northam) and Wayne Wayne Wayne, Jr. (Zahn) are pulled over in the town of Happy, Texas...while driving a stolen Winnebago...they think they're being arrested. Rather, they're immediately welcomed as the vehicle's owners: a gay couple who've come to orchestrate the "Little Miss Fresh-Squeezed Pre-Teen" beauty pageant! Not ones to let a good con pass them by, the pair don't hesitate to adopt flamboyant new personalities...and quickly meet with outrageously unpredictable consequences! With a great cast of stars playing an unusually offbeat collection of characters - you'll be more than happy you picked up this laugh-out-loud comedy treat!When sold by Amazon.com, this product will be manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Manufacturer: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Brand: Universal Studios Model: 2219545

Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo star as three "girls" who just wanna have fun in a hilarious comedy about repairing broken hearts, broken dreams and broken nails. En route from New York City to Hollywood for a drag queen beauty pageant, Noxeema (Snipes), Vida (Swayze) and Chi Chi (Leguizamo) are forced to take an unwelcome detour when their 1967 Cadillac convertible breaks down. Stranded in the tiny midwestern town of Snydersville, the three try to make the best of their unfortunate circumstance. And when their glitz and glamour wake up the sleepy local citizens, the stage is set for an outrageously funny weekend. Also starring Stockard Channing and Blyth Danner, this marvelous mix of flamboyant fun and unrefined simpleness erupts into plenty of laughs in "The Best Comedy of the Year!" (Interview)

Manufacturer: Wolfe Video Brand: Wolfe Model: 3818D

The course of true love doesn’t always run straight. Died-in-the-wool New Yorker Rachel (Helen Lesnick) moves to San Diego looking for a new life and a new romance. That’s where her supportive PFLAG parents live. Rachel is surprised to find how they’ve adapted to the laid back California scene, and totally shocked when her mom (Arlene Golonka) wants to set her up on a blind date. At first, Rachel refuses, but eventually Rachel lets her mother introduce her to Christine (Erica Shaffer). Soon, Rachel finds herself in a real romance, but just when the two women begin to plan their wedding, Rachel’s old flame Reggie (Michele Green) makes a comeback attempt . . .

Manufacturer: HBO Studios Brand: PACINO,AL Model: 4923143

Angels in America (DVD)Academy Award-winners Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson lead an all-star cast in a 6-hour HBO Films Event. Directed by Mike Nichols and written by Tony Kushner based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play: Angels in America.]]> Tony Kushner's prize-winning play Angels in America became the defining theatrical event of the 1990s, an astonishing mix of philosophy, politics, and vibrant gay soap opera that summed up the Reagan era for an entire generation of theater-goers. Post-9/11 would seem to be too late for a film version--philosophy and politics don't always age well--but this 2003 HBO adaptation, ably directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate), provides a time capsule of the '80s and reveals the deep emotional subcurrents that will give the play lasting power. The story centers around Prior Walter (Justin Kirk) and Louis Ironson (Ben Shenkman), a gay couple that falls apart when Prior grows ill as a result of AIDS. But cancer is not the only thing invading Prior's life: He begins to have religious visions of an angel (Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility) announcing that he is a prophet. Louis, who doesn't cope well with disease and suggestions of mortality, leaves and starts a relationship with Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson), a closeted Mormon who works for Roy Cohn (Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon)--the real-life right-wing lawyer, notorious for his ruthless behind-the-scenes machinations. Add in Joe's depressed and hallucinating wife ...

Manufacturer: Strand Releasing

Yossi (Ohad Knoller) is the stoic company commander of an Israeli Defense Forces unit on the Lebanese border. Jagger (Yehuda Levi), who got his nickname thanks to his fun-loving rock star appeal, is the platoon leader. They have a secret. When they walk off in the snow together, it isn't because they're on patrol--it's because they're lovers. Jagger is more gregarious. He tells Yossi that he loves him, and longs to hear Yossi say it back to him. He makes plans for their future together, urging Yossi to leave the army with him when Jagger's mandatory service is done. Yossi can't bring himself to make any promises. "This isn't some. . .American movie," he tells Jagger. The colonel (Sharon Reginiano) arrives with two female soldiers, the irrepressible sexpot Goldie (Hani Furstenberg) and her more introspective friend Yaeli (Aya Koren of Late Marriage), who harbors a serious crush on Jagger, and is herself pursued by Jagger's nosy roommate, Ofir (Assi Cohen). As the unit's perfectionist chef, Yaniv (Erez Kahana) struggles to make a sumptuous meal for the commanding officer with meager supplies, the colonel tells Yossi that Hezbollah forces are expected to cross the border, and the already exhausted unit needs to set up an ambush that night. Yossi & Jagger, directed by Eytan Fox, was a critical and commercial hit in Israel. It was shown at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival and had its U.S. premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi The moving Yossi &...

Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD) Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT

Dig in! This "funny and poignant comedy of manners" (The New York Times), directed and co-written by Oscar(r) nominee* Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility), is an absolutely delicious feast! Winner of the Berlin Film Festival's prestigious Golden Bear, The Wedding Banquet is "top-notch comedy" (Leonard Maltin)! Successful New Yorker Wai Tung and his partner Simonare blissfully happy, except for one thing: Wai Tung's conservative Taiwanese parents are determined he find a nice girl to marry! To please themand get a tax breakhe arranges a sham marriage to Wei Wei, a sexy go-getter in need of a green card. But when his family swoops down for the extravaganza, Wai Tung would do well to remember that at a traditional Chinese wedding banquet, sexual repression takes the night off!