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EW review: 'Virgin' DVD vulgar yet earnestAlso: Vacant 'Island' and bloated 'Production Diaries'By Timothy Gunatilaka ![]() YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBraving a merry mix of bodily fluids, depilatory torture, and a prostitute who's not what she seems, Steve Carell shines as a lovable lug struggling to get his swerve on. While "The 40 Year-Old Virgin's" vulgarity pushes the envelope, the star's aw-shucks earnestness keeps everything decent in this touching sex romp. EXTRAS Collecting redundant shots of the cast laughing at themselves, the blooper reel is indulgently long. Similarly, costar/co-producer Seth Rogen's date with a porn star is a waste (although Rogen is clearly having a ball). Yet the near-hour of bonus footage like Carell watching "The Hulk" with a hooker in drag, an extended Date-A-Palooza sequence, and randy stockroom banter about the Stay PuftMarshmallow Man soups up the twisted gaiety. And the inclusion of a retro sex-ed video showing bell-bottomed teens discussing those special feelings is random in the best possible way. Still, the disc's gem must be the chest-waxing doc: That's Carell in the flesh, and his pain is real. But how dare he use Kelly Clarkson's name in vain! EW Grade: B+ 'The Island'Reviewed by Kirven Blount It was "The Island" director Michael Bay's fervent hope that the concept of clones created to provide backup organs for the squire-archy of the not-so-distant future would imprint on audiences; but the dopey doppelgangers' rudimentary understanding of the world seems to have infected the filmmakers instead. How else to explain anti-tofu jokes, a riff on the word dude, and a line like "There's one universal truth, and that is you never give a woman your credit card"? The action is unrelentingly exquisite, but McGregor and Johansson are left with vacant looks and naivete in the boudoir. EXTRAS The best part of the grandly named '"Future in Action'" doc is when a truck destroys a $600,000 camera; Bay's commentary reveals that (a) the dude bit was his idea, and (b) he normally smashes "about two or three megaphones" in the course of a shoot. EW Grade: C+ 'King Kong: Peter Jackson's Production Diaries'Reviewed by Steve Daly Does it bug you when trailers drag on at the multiplex? If so, "King Kong: Peter Jackson's Production Diaries" may not be for you. It's the ultimate bloated preview: a three-and-three-quarter-hour plug for Jackson's three-hour remake, due in theaters December 14. And it's not terribly fresh pluggery, since almost all of the bitsy material here -- how they built New York street sets complete with steaming sewer covers, how they fabricated animal poop -- was dribbled out previously at the fansite kongisking.net. (These archived communiques disappeared in October, so now you can see them only in this $40 set. Gotcha!) But all that said, "Diaries" makes a tasty pile of leftovers, garnished as it is with a new segment (a sneak peek at the big T. rex fight scene) and wrapped in a cool faux-treasure-chest box with some nice concept-art lithographs (plus better picture quality than the Internet). Jackson's determination to turn himself into a kind of reality TV character is in some ways a heroic gesture, more an expression of his love for moviemaking than a commercial stratagem. Dilettantes will balk, but if you're into either Jackson or Kong, this is a dandy way to stoke your appetite for the main course. EW Grade: B+ Click Here
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