DVD: Cue The Queue

Time to revive the storied tradition – OK, I did this once before – of briefly describing the DVDs gathering dust next to the TV because I’m too busy to watch them.

Arrested Development, Season 1, Disc 2. Whenever I caught an episode, I’d think, “This show is really funny.” I am now working my way through the entire series in sequence. One of the better decisions I’ve made lately.

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. It’s a way for me to jump on the Shia LaBoeuf bandwagon, because I haven’t had a chance to catch Disturbia yet. The movie also stars Chazz Palminteri and Robert Downey, Jr., and it don’t get better than them. But mainly I’m interested because Saints is set in “the tough neighborhood of Astoria, Queens. ” I came up in the adjacent ‘hood of Woodside, where I have to say the streets didn’t seem that mean. Then again, I spent most of my time indoors.

Hollywood Burlesque/Peek-A-Boo. Watching burlesque movies, like this double bill from Something Weird Video, for the comedy is like reading Playboy for the articles. Which I also do, thank you very much. There’s something about those interminable baggy-pants sketches that fascinates me, especially on those rare occasions when you see a veteran performer who’s still able to liven up a bit.

One of the burlesque shorts on the disc featured a dancer doing a striptease to an up-tempo rendition of “Danny Boy,” which is wrong on many, many levels. By the time it was over I was weeping, aroused, and angry, which for an Irishman is a normal state of affairs. Back to work.