DVD Corner

“Blue Collar TV”: Here is a show in which working-class men talk about how big their deck is. Ho, ho. It’s a pun that’s supposed to be funny, but like so many of the jokes in “Blue Collar TV,” it lacks imagination. In spite of what its title promises, the show really isn’t about blue collar workers, a group to which it condescends, but about Southern stereotypes, which it celebrates. Its stars, all of whom likely work above the minimum wage – Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy – guzzle beer, talk about babes and their wives, and deliver their share of backtalk, sometimes with a gun at the ready. If the show had guts, it would go behind the scenes and into its stars’ real backyards and homes, but that would just spoil the illusion, wouldn’t it? Fans of the new “Dukes of Hazzard” movie, however, should love it. Grade: C-

“Cinderella Man”: One of the year’s best, a terrific movie based on the life of real-life boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe). Behind the camera, director Ron Howard is just as aggressive as his star, swinging around the ring with such finesse that the scenes draw inward. Renee Zellweger is Braddock’s wife, Mae; Paul Giamatti is Braddock’s manager, Joe Gould, all are strong – and they better be, given that they are about to be plunged into the soot of the Depression. Unlike its contemporary, “Seabiscuit,” “Cinderella Man” never gives in to false sentiment. Howard believes in this tale and these people, which elevates his story into the real thing. Channeling Frank Capra, he gets moving performances from all while building his movie to an almost operatic second chance for Braddock. An underseen movie that oddly never connected at the box office. Rated: PG-13. Grade: A

“Dukes of Hazzard”: A send-up of stereotypes and stupidity, with some of the lowest expectations for a movie this year. And still it fails. As far as Hollywood is concerned, it’s either hell being a hillbilly or a hell of a lot of fun being a hillbilly. The downside seems to be the bitter taste of moonshine (awful), infighting (brutal), a sheer lack of intelligence (rampant). The good news is that there apparently is something to be said for the obsessive caterwauling, hard drinking, fast driving, loose living and utter disregard for the law the Hollywood hillbilly enjoys. All of this and less is explored in “Hazzard,” a predictably dumb remake of the popular television series. The film is little more than an endless rumble of car chases, with the plot involving Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) working on the sly to strip-mine Hazzard County. Should he succeed, it will leave Uncle Jesse Duke (Willie Nelson) without a farm to brew his moonshine. In between, Bo and Luke Duke (Seann William Scott, Johnny Knoxville) create hillbilly havoc with the local authorities while Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke shows off her fancy new bod. In the end, a middling effort with few, if any, laughs to be had. Rated PG-13. Grade: D

“Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection”: Perhaps now, with the release of this excellent collection from New Line, Harold Lloyd will have his day. It’s overdue. During a time when Chaplin’s Tramp and Keaton’s antics ruled, so also did Harold Lloyd, though history hasn’t been as kind to him. Ask most who the former performers are, and you’ll at least get a flash of recognition. Mention Lloyd, and you might get a blank stare. All of this is curious since Lloyd, who appeared in more than 200 films and who found his hook in a pair of round eyeglasses that offset a blanched face, became one of the foremost comedians of the silent era. It’s his inventiveness that grabs you, his physical comedy and the great risks he took (just witness him hanging from a clock in 1923’s “Safety Last!”) that are so compelling – and so funny. Watching Lloyd, you can see how he influenced such actors as Jim Carrey. Filmed mostly in the 1920s, the 13 feature films and seven shorts included in this smashing boxed set are all digitally remastered, restored and rescored, with a bonus disc that includes Lloyd’s personal home movies, as well as several interviews and featurettes. A terrific collection, the best boxed set of the year. Grade: A+

“Mission Hill: Complete Series”: This week’s cancelled television series new to DVD is 1999’s “Mission Hill,” in which the animation is crude, the characters are pure fringe, the dog is rambunctious, but the laughs aren’t infrequent. Set in a hip neighborhood of Cosmopolis, the show’s center is Andy French, a 24-year-old aspiring cartoonist whose angst is well-earned by a disappointing day job – he shucks waterbeds at Waterbed World. Worse for Andy is that his brainy brother, Kevin, has moved in with him, which generates its share of tension given the sad state of Kevin’s bum love life. Much partying and bickering ensue – the type slackers like Andy might enjoy. All others might wish for more. The series hails from two former executive producers of “The Simpsons,” but it possesses only flashes of that show’s genius. Grade: C+

“Scrubs: Complete Second Season”: Smart, well-balanced lunacy with an undercurrent of real life and romantic tension cutting through the laughs. In the halls of Sacred Heart Hospital, where the series takes place, the joke is that nothing is as sacred as it should be. Everything here is free to be lampooned – hypochondriacs, love, cancer, you name it – but the writers know that there are consequences to such behavior, and they deliver the fallout. The show is difficult to peg, which is part of its appeal. It’s consistently trying for something new, and while it doesn’t always succeed in its leaps of faith, it does try, which on television is becoming something of a rarity. With Zack Braff as J.D., Donald Faison as Turk and Sarah Chalke as Elliot, the characters and the show play like a bizarro version of “E.R.” It courts the genre, appreciates its elements, and then turns all on its sides. Grade: A-