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EW DVD review: 'Sisterhood' charming, uplifting

By J.P. Mangalindan
Entertainment Weekly

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From left: Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, America Ferrera and Alexis Bledel

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(Entertainment Weekly) -- The heartfelt moments are plenty in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," a coming-of-age story where hardships run deep, but friendships run deeper, for four girls during one life-changing summer.

Director Ken Kwapis deals with such teenage challenges as suicide, divorce and sex by balancing out tearful episodes (Bailey's hospital scene, Carmen's heart-to-heart with her father over the phone) with riotous ones (Carmen nailing Paul in the forehead during a round of tennis? Priceless). "Sisterhood" is charming and uplifting, but if you don't keep the Kleenex handy, you're a goner.

EXTRAS Tibby's completed documentary is short but sweet; eight deleted scenes, including a cute pizza hangover snippet that should have made the cut, are fun. But the highlight is a video commentary where the girls gab over junk food while watching the film, revealing juicy tidbits like the secret behind Blake Lively's lovely locks.

EW Grade: B+

'Kicking & Screaming'

Reviewed by Jeff Labrecque

There's nothing fresh about boorish, sports-crazed parents or a clueless coach who reluctantly leads a talentless band of misfits. "The Bad News Bears" married these themes almost 30 years ago, and the formula has been stubbornly exhausted by Little League mediocrity ("Ladybugs," "Little Giants," "The Mighty Ducks") ever since.

Well, consider it officially kaput after "Kicking & Screaming," which generously spreads the humiliation: to Robert Duvall, who shamelessly parodies his tough-love dad role from "The Great Santini," and to Da Bears' Mike Ditka, who at least has the candor to crack in the outtakes that the paydays are "why I'm working in these cheap movies."

EXTRAS Four mini-featurettes are all about how the kids went to soccer camp and how two Italians came to L.A. to play the team's ringers. The outtakes are the only real score, especially when Ditka fumbles his lines or engages in shouting matches with a hyper-caffeinated Will Ferrell.

EW Grade: B-

'Arrested Development: The Complete Second Season'

Reviewed by Tim Stack

Is it beating a dead horse to once again state that this underappreciated gem is the best sitcom on TV? Too bad. "Arrested Development" is the best sitcom on TV! And the season 2 boxed set only offers further proof. Nonbelievers are hereby challenged to watch the episode "Ready, Aim, Marry Me!" -- featuring guest star Martin Short as Uncle Jack, a paralyzed Bluth family friend who's carried around by a deaf giant named Dragon -- and not weep with laughter.

EXTRAS A blooper reel and deleted scenes are disappointingly bland considering the series' brilliant comedy. Best are the episodes with commentary from creator Mitchell Hurwitz and cast, especially the always amusing David Cross, a.k.a. the perpetually clumsy Tobias ("I was nominated for a Fally"). But no word from Bateman, Tambor or Portia de Rossi is more tragic than losing your hand to a carnivorous seal.

EW Grade: A


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