Best New Romantic DVD Releases for May 2009

Kristen Stewart, Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz Headline This Month

Apr 16, 2009

Twilight on Blu-ray & Collector's Edition, Copyright 2009 Summit Entertainment

The newest romantic comedies and dramas on DVD range from young lust (Twilight) to middle-aged love (Last Chance Harvey).

This month offers a variety of romantic scenarios, including a romantic high school flashback, two scheming lovers who try to out-scheme each other, love in a blizzard, a clan of sexy teenaged vampires, and the original gross-out rom-com that started them all.

Best Romantic DVD Releases Available May 5

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Deluxe Edition, Blu-ray)

A magazine columnist does personal research on how to make a man fall out of love with her, while the same man (an advertising executive plotting to land a lucrative diamond account) bets his co-workers that he can make her fall in love with him. Despite the highly contrived premise, each trying to out-scheme the other produces some hilarious results in this lightweight romantic comedy from 2003.
Starring Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Adam Goldberg, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Parisse
Director: Donald Petrie
Discs: 1
Run Time: 116 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Additional Information: Hudson and McConaughey re-team (although less successfully) in the 2008 romantic comedy Fool’s Gold.

Twilight (Special Edition Blu-ray and Exclusive Collector’s Set)

Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed
This 2008 romantic drama (with touches of humor) is based on the teenaged vampire story in Stephanie Meyer’s best-selling book of the same name. The special effects could be better, but the brooding, lustful, longing associated with vampires (and most teenagers) comes across perfectly in this well-cast film.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Discs: 1
Run Time: 122 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Additional Information: Both editions come with lots of extras, although the Special Edition Blu-ray focuses more on aspects of filmmaking and the Exclusive Collector’s Set focuses more on promotional items for fans of the book, movie, and vampire culture.

Last Chance Harvey (Widescreen)

In this 2008 romantic comedy, aging New York jingle writer Harvey Shine meets a much-younger British woman during a visit to England for his daughter’s wedding. Despite an awkward and uncomfortable courtship, these two somehow belong together.
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Liane Balaban, James Brolin, Kathy Baker
Director: Joel Hopkins
Discs: 1
Run Time: 100 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Additional Information: Hoffman and Thompson worked together before in the dramatic comedy Stranger Than Fiction.

Grease (Blu-ray)

This 1978 romantic musical comedy is the original high school musical for the Baby Boomer generation. Filled with an iconic cast, fun dance numbers, catchy songs, and a story of teenaged angst, Grease captures the spirit of the times, yet still makes for great entertainment 31 years later.
Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, Barry Pearl, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon
Director: Randal Kleiser
Discs: 1
Run Time: 110 minutes
Rating: PG
Additional Information: The film, which was re-released theatrically in 2002, was adapted from a Broadway musical.

Best Romantic DVD Release Available May 12

There’s Something About Mary (Blu-ray)

This raunchy romantic comedy from 1998 made superstars out of Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz and established the directing team of the Farrelly Brothers as the gross-out champions of the silver screen. In an outrageously funny and politically incorrect story that holds up well over time, an irresistible young woman attracts an assortment of liars, cheats, and perverts.
Starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliot, Lee Evans, Willie Garson, Lin Shaye, Jeffrey Tambor, Markie Post, Sarah Silverman
Directors: Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly
Discs: 1
Run Time: 119 minutes
Rating: R (for strong comic sexual content and language)
Additional Information: There’s Something About Mary shot on location in Baltimore, Maryland, Salt Lake City, Utah, Providence, Rhode Island, and Miami Beach, Florida.

Best Romantic DVD Release Available May 26

New in Town (Fullscreen, Widescreen, and Blu-ray)

In this 2009 romantic comedy, an ambitious executive from Miami, Florida, reluctantly moves to a frigid little town in Minnesota on a temporary assignment to restructure a manufacturing plant. While there, she finds the labor union representative to be a personal and professional challenge.
Starring Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr., Siobhan Fallon Hogan, J.K. Simmons
Director: Jonas Elmer
Discs: 1
Run Time: 96 minutes
Rating: PG
Additional Information: Although offered a stuntwoman for the physical comedy, Zellweger insisted on performing her own stunts, which sometimes landed her in piles of ice and snow.

For more information about any of these films, visit Internet Movie Database.

The copyright of the article Best New Romantic DVD Releases for May 2009 in Romantic Films/Comedies is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish Best New Romantic DVD Releases for May 2009 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.