Now out on DVD: 'Wet Hot American Summer,' 'The Saint' with Roger Moore
Fans knew something special was in the offing when director David Wain (Wanderlust; They Came Together) announced the cast of his 2001 comedy, Wet Hot American Summer. It was a veritable Who's Who of comedy: Janeane Garofalo, Molly Shannon, Michael Ian Black, Amy Poehler, Judah Friedlander, and David Hyde Pierce. What's more, they were backed by a group of great actors including Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, and Bradley Cooper.
Fans knew something special was in the offing when director David Wain (
Wanderlust
;
They Came Together
) announced the cast of his 2001 comedy,
Wet Hot American Summer
. It was a veritable Who's Who of comedy: Janeane Garofalo, Molly Shannon, Michael Ian Black, Amy Poehler, Judah Friedlander, and David Hyde Pierce. What's more, they were backed by a group of great actors including Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, and Bradley Cooper.
A raunchy, sharp-edged satire that was equally affecting and nostalgic, the film was about the crazy goings-on at a summer camp in 1981.
In addition to the usual round of misbehavior, Garofalo's camp counselor and her new love, an astrophysicist (Pierce), had to figure out a way to save the place from chunks of NASA's Skylab, which had broken up in the atmosphere and was about to fall right on top of them.
Universal Studios has restored the film for a new Blu-ray release. Perfect timing: Wain has assembled most of the original cast for the prequel, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, a TV series set to premiere July 17 on Netflix. (www.universalstudios.com/; $19.98; rated R)
Other titles of note
The Saint: The Complete Series. Roger Moore looks cooler and more collected than ever as spy, detective, and lover Simon Templar in this wonderfully restored 33-disc megaset that includes all 118 episodes of the classic 1960s series. The latter 47 episodes were shot in color. (www.shoutfactory.com; $199.98; not rated)
Rogue: Complete Second Season. Thandie Newton (The Slap) plays an undercover FBI agent investigating a group of Afghan war veterans in the second season of this hard-hitting 10-episode procedural from director Nick Hamm (The Hole; Killing Bono). The first season was somewhat underwhelming. But the show's sophomore year was explosive. (http://entertainmentone.com/films; $29.98; not rated)
Jupiter Ascending. Matrix creators Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski create a complex, exciting universe in this epic sci-fi thriller starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, and Douglas Booth. (www.wbshop.com; $28.98 DVD; $44.95 Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD Combo; rated PG-13)
New Worlds. Jamie Dornan (The Fall) leads a brilliant cast including Eve Best, Jeremy Northam, and Alice Englert, in this four-hour miniseries from Britain's Channel 4 about rebels in Britain and the American colonies in the 1680s, who incurred the wrath of the English government. It's due Tuesday from Acorn Media. (www.acornonline.com; $39.99 DVD or Blu-ray; not rated)
Project Almanac. Divergent Series: Insurgent star Jonny Weston costars with Sofia Black D'Elia, Sam Lerner, and Allen Evangelista in this time-travel story about a group of kids who do all those fun things we'd all love to do if we could go back in time: ace college exams, win the lottery, fix relationships. It's due June 9 from Paramount. (www.paramount.com/movies/home-media; $29.99 DVD; $39.99 Blu-ray; rated PG-13)
Lost River. Ryan Gosling creates a work of surreal lyrical beauty in his directorial debut, an urban fable starring Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Iain De Caestecker, Matt Smith, and Eva Mendes. (www.wbshop.com; $28.98 DVD; $29.98 Blu-ray; rated R)
Hello Ladies: Season 1. Writer-producer and actor Stephen Merchant (Extras; The Ricky Gervais Show) does triple duty in this HBO comedy, in which he stars as a geeky Englishman looking for love in all the wrong places - i.e., Los Angeles. (http://store.hbo.com/; $19.98; not rated)