New on DVD

(MCA, $26.98): It's about two boys actually - a 30-something case of arrested development case brilliantly played by Hugh Grant and the lonely 12-year-old (Nicolas Hoult) who befriends the man against his will. Based on Nick Hornby's even funnier book, the film benefits from higher emotional stakes than your average comedy. It's marred by its big finish - a talent-show sequence that even Grant's abundant charm can't save. The making-of documentary is fairly ho-hum, but some of the deleted scenes are amusing. Pleasantly, the filmmakers, brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, use their commentary to single out behind-the-scenes work and bit players. Hearing Hollywood directors apologize to an actress whose one scene was cut for time (and is included in the deleted material) is alone worth the rental. - Yvonne Zipp

(MGM, $26.98): The locals talk straight about the "whenever and whatever" in the barbershop, the cornerstone of a South Side Chicago neighborhood. In between the snips and shaves, there is dancing, laughing, and discourse, too. The subplot focuses on two thugs who steal an ATM. In the extras, the director said it was hard finding machines to film because no company wanted to give anyone ideas about stealing one. (Not an easy task: an ATM weighs about 400 pounds.) In "The Hair Club," actors reveal their worst haircuts, and real barbers discuss how styles have changed. Lightning bolts are out, natural styles are in. One barber put it succinctly: "Styles come and go, like life." - Lisa Leigh Connors

(MGM, $26.98): To watch this Monty Pythonesque "rockumentary" from England, I had to activate an emergency DVD feature: the English subtitle option. Once you get past the Manchester dialect, however, the witty dialogue is a treat as we follow the haphazard exploits of Tony Wilson, a TV presenter whose record company and nightclub launched bands such as Joy Division and New Order. Wilson is superbly played by comedian Steve Coogan, whose commentary track doesn't disappoint. Better still is the unvarnished audio track by the real Tony Wilson, who takes issue with several items in the film. With deleted scenes and featurettes on the hedonistic Manchester scene between 1976 and the '90s, this DVD is essential for music fans. - Stephen Humphries

(Universal, $26.98): Anne Marie and her surfer girlfriends wake up at the crack of dawn to catch the best waves. After all, they do live near the mecca of surfing - Oahu's infamous Bonzai Pipeline. The director describes it as "Niagara falls with a razor-sharp reef," and very few girls surf it. This movie is surprisingly smart and thrilling. It's refreshing to see women surfers as the subject of a Hollywood movie. The extra features take viewers inside the waves and show how the cameramen hopped on surfboards and jet skis to film the surfing scenes. Even though the actresses did most of their own board work, filmmakers used "face replacement" (filming a pro surfers and putting the actresses' faces on the surfer). - L.L.C.

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