‘Big Fat’ DVD is a bit thin on the extras
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“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Nia Vardalos, John Corbett
HBO, $28
Last year’s Cinderella story, this low-budget romantic comedy opened with little fanfare early last summer and, thanks to strong reviews and equally strong word of mouth, ended up grossing more than $200 million at the box office. It has also spawned a TV sitcom, “My Big Fat Greek Life,” which begins Feb. 24 on CBS.
Writer-actress Vardalos stars as a Greek American who -- to the chagrin of her traditional family -- falls in love with a handsome WASP teacher.
Perhaps a deluxe edition is on the horizon, because all that is included on the DVD are the talent files and sweet, low-key commentary from Vardalos, Corbett and director Joel Zwick.
*
“X-Men 1.5”
Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart
Fox, $27
If you bought the original DVD of this 2000 hit adaptation of the popular Marvel Comics series, there’s no need to rush out to get this two-disc special edition that’s being released three months before the sequel, “X-Men 2,” hits theaters. This is basically another marketing tool for the sequel, which reunites the cast from the original and writer-director Bryan Singer.
The first disc features so-so commentary from Singer plus an entertaining enhanced-viewing mode that includes six deleted scenes and 17 decent featurettes. The second disc includes an introduction by Singer, clips from the coming sequel, new interviews with the cast, a look at the casting process for the original film (replete with Jackman’s audition footage), an examination of the special effects and costumes, a production diary that is pretty snoozy, a few multi-angle scene studies, a brief clip of the prime minister of Canada visiting the set, a still photo gallery, trailers and TV spots.
*
“Brown Sugar”
Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs
Fox, $28
This is a pleasant, rather old-fashioned romantic comedy about two friends (Lathan, Diggs) drawn together by their love of hip-hop music who discover they are soul mates. Lathan’s Sidney is a respected writer and editor at a hip-hop magazine; Diggs’ Dre is a producer disillusioned by the record company he works for, which is more interested in creating pop hits than finding innovative hip-hop voices. Nicole Ari Parker, Queen Latifah and Mos Def also star.
-- Susan King
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