Grosse Pointe - The Complete Series
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bonnie Somerville, Irene Molloy, Kohl Sudduth, Kyle Howard, Lindsay SloaneBrand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Writer: Darren Star
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 359 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Grosse Pointe - The Complete Series
Movie Review: 90210 gets the 'Primary Colors' treatment
Summary: 5 Stars
This series is to 90210's early years what the movie version of 'Primary Colors' was to the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign, a warm-hearted but obvious satire of a real-life event. This series worked specifically because it took affectionate risks with something generations of the WB's most likely viewers had grown up with and could still remember fondly: The 'high school' years of 90210.
Grosse Pointe is a show about 'behind the scenes' of a teen soap opera called 'Grosse Pointe'. The reality of working on such shows was both closer to and farther apart than what our teen magazines had fed us. Despite having no 'Andrea' or 'Steve' characters, this series was easily recognizable as a parody of that Spelling production now synonymous with 90's teen culture.
Allegedly set in Grosse Pointe Michigan, the settings and character wardrobes blatantly scream rich southern Californian. An accomplished actress Courtney Scott (Bonnie Summerfield) playing newly-arrived West Virgina transplant "Laura Johnson" questions the wisdom of having her and the other girls wear miniskirts during a 'Michigan winter' and there also is no snow outside. She is informed that the actual weather is irrelevant to the fantasy which Hollywood sells to viewing audiences; they know that parkas and bundles will not sell.
Because I had a crush on Luke Perry and his character "Dylan McKay", I really enjoyed Kohl Sudduth's portrayal of Quentin King/Stone Anders throughout the whole series. The balding King is a really doting Vietnamese pot-bellied pig father who plays the resident 'bad boy' within the TV show 'Grosse pointe'. Quentin is not mean or stupid (he sincerely wants to use his celebrity to promote causes but is frustrated by the inability to get anything other than the prostate society), but he just does not always say the right thing at the right time.
In a twisted reversal of Michael Jackson's child molestation allegations, a make-a-wish kid blackmails Quentin for a role on Grosse Pointe after accidentally seeing him without the toupee ("Pilot"); Either he gets a part or else Quentin's very closely guarded secret is leaked to the press---and his career as a teen heartthrob is officially over. The kid is psychologically manipulating the star to get what they want instead of the other way around. Contrasting with the 'tough' on-screen image, Quentin quickly grovels to the little brat to save his own hide. AARP jokes also abound, again in reference to Perry's actual age while playing a 'teenager'.
Because Perry basically was the reason why the 1992 movie version of Buffy was in theaters and a retooled version with Sarah Michelle Gellar was then on the WB, there is a Halloween-themed episode ("Halloween") where Grosse Pointe High students essentially become slayers, although Quentin does not become a motorcycle-riding leather jacket-wearing sidekick who faints at several things.
Ms. Gellar herself makes a special guest appearance on "Passion Fish" where she kisses Kim Peterson (the character played by Marcy Sternfeld who is really the talented Lindsey Sloane), to spike Grosse Pointe 'the show' ratings. Marcy Sternfeld is reportedly a parody of Tori Spelling-protests allegedly took out more obvious simmilarities before they had a chance to air.
Another funny character is Johnny Bishop (Al Santos) who plays the 'Brandon Walshesque' Brad Johnson. Bishop has a penchant for getting himself into trouble, but oddly does not realize that his television dad is literally trying to get into his pants. Watching this made me want to go back and then scrutinize the actions of 'Mr. Walsh' with 'Brandon' much more closely than I had originally done.
According to this series, starvation is the reason behind Shannen Doherty's legendary foul mannerisms. When the Dohertyesque Hunter Fallow (Irene Molloy) who plays Becky Johnson gets the role of Monica Lewinsky in a movie ("Devil in a Blue Dress"), she has to gain weight in order to play that part convincingly. Grosse Pointe cast and crew members immediately notice another change in Hunter; she is actually a very nice person when not starving herself to attain Hollywood's version of "beauty" and thus keep her job. This episode is good specifically because it is empathetic to Doherty when instead lobbing personal shots would have been easier-and certainly a more conventional treatment of that actress. It also subtly critiques Hollywood's definition of 'beauty' for women. However, the Lewinsky event in and of itself is extremely dated and does not hold the same media-public clout today.
I'm pleased the studio has released this entire series and at a reasonable price too. Extras include an interview with Darren Star and commentary tracks on the individual episodes. However,I am going to be frank and admit that we just don't need them; being able to watch and re-watch this entire series again and at a reasonable price is great in and of itself.
I had gotten concerned because many of my favorite shows still have yet to have complete DVD series and/or are set at still-ridiculously high prices. Thankfully Grosse Pointe again broke barriers.
Summary of Grosse Pointe - The Complete Series
Synopsis: 0Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 02/13/07
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
Like Fox?s Action, Grosse Pointe is a single-camera, behind-the-scenes comedy that didn't get the chance to find the audience it deserved. With the success of HBO's Entourage a few years later, it's possible that the timing was simply off as this devilishly entertaining melodrama should've been a hit with fans of Darren Star's Beverly Hills 90210 and Sex and the City. It's essentially a spot-on satire of the former, as well as the actors who made it into a cultural touchstone in the 1990s. Created by Star, the show-within-a-show played the game while breaking the rules. In other words, the five attractive leads, all actors on high school soap Grosse Pointe, aren't exactly model citizens (and the occasional in-jokes at the WB?s expense can't have won Star many points with the network brass). There's dumb stud Johnny (ex-model Al Santos), terminally insecure Marcy (Lindsay Sloane, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch), fresh-faced Courtney (Bonnie Somerville, NYPD Blue), scheming Hunter (Irene Molloy, Andy Richter Controls the Universe), and 30-year-old teen Quentin (Kohl Sudduth channeling Luke Perry).
Plot developments include a shoplifting arrest for Hunter ("Thieves Like Us"), opportunistic boyfriend for Marcy ("Halloween"), gay fan for Johnny ("Boys on the Side"), and Japanese beer commercial for Courtney ("Star Wars" with George Takei). Short run aside, Grosse Pointe attracted name directors, like Jake Kasdan, Peyton Reed, Allison Anders, and 90210 alum Jason Priestley, who plays himself. In addition, Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh composed the jazzy score. Recurring characters include writer/producers Rob (William Ragsdale) and Hope (Joely Fisher) and perennial second bananas, Dave the Stand-In (Kyle Howard) and Kevin the PA (Nat Faxon). This two-disc set includes an interview with Star, plus commentary on four episodes. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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