Matthau, Lemmon lead pack
'House Calls,' 'Front Page,' 'Dad' among new DVD releases
• "House Calls" (Universal, 1978, PG, $12.98). This is one of the best unsung movies of the 1970s, a hilarious romantic comedy with Walter Matthau as a widowed, middle-age doctor who's enjoying the attention of single women for the first time in his life, and Glenda Jackson as the financially strapped, independent woman he can't get off his mind.
The stars are in top form, but there are also rich laughs from Richard Benjamin, whose reactions to the madness around him are priceless, and especially Art Carney, as the senile head of surgery who occasionally misplaces patients.
Extras: Widescreen, trailer, language and subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.
• "The Front Page" (Universal, 1974, PG, $12.98). Billy Wilder's adaptation of the oft-filmed newspaper play, set in the late 1920s, isn't perfect, but Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are superb in their respective roles as bombastic editor Walter Burns and his best reporter, Hildy Johnson.
The plot has Hildy trying to leave the newspaper to get married (to Susan Sarandon), but getting caught up in a breaking story, with Walter feeding the flame. Rapid-fire dialogue and excellent performances by a great ensemble cast make this a most worthwhile adaptation of this chestnut (although Carol Burnett is miscast as a hooker).
• "Dad" (Universal, 1989, PG, $12.98). Jack Lemmon is amazing here, playing a much older man who has slipped into senility but is eventually given a second chance to briefly live it up.
The plot revolves around his high-rolling son, played by Ted Danson, who comes home to care for his father, even though they've never really connected. In the process, Danson sees the need to mend fences with his own estranged son (young Ethan Hawke). Olympia Dukakis, Kathy Baker and Kevin Spacey co-star.
Extras: Widescreen, trailer, language and subtitle options (English, French), chapters.
• "The Four Seasons" (Universal, 1981, PG, $12.98). Although this domestic comedy-drama, written and directed by Alan Alda, bites off a bit more than it can chew, it largely succeeds as an exploration of the lives of three upscale couples who vacation together.
Alda is paired with Carol Burnett, Len Cariou with Sandy Dennis, and Jack Weston with Rita Moreno, and all deliver excellent performances in this ensemble tale, composed of snapshots of the lives and marriages of these people, with all the expected ups and downs. And it's often very funny.
You can be the first to comment on this story.