Farce of a Champion

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

(Columbia)

This cut of Will Ferrell’s NASCAR comedy runs 13 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and that doesn’t take into account the deleted and extended scenes, outtakes, phony commercials, public-service announcements or gag reel. A movie that already seemed to be constructed from deleted scenes is well served by a DVD overflowing with them; watch 5 or 10 minutes, eject, rinse and repeat till Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Sacha Baron Cohen become constant companions. The excised footage is at least as funny as anything that actually made the final cut; how funny you find that depends on your tolerance for Ferrell’s delivery of every line as though he’s on the verge of cracking himself up. — Robert Wilonsky

The Fox and the Hound 2
(Disney DVD)

Here’s a DVD for parents looking to pass along some traditional values. No, not hard work, determination and loyalty (though they’re here, too) but rather the traditional values of animated characters who aren’t rendered in 3-D and don’t spew pop-culture catchphrases at every turn. The original Fox and the Hound wasn’t exactly a classic of Disney animation, so a sequel three decades later runs the risk of feeling superfluous. And so it is — but it’s also refreshingly old-fashioned, a tonic to the toxic irony and hipness of movies such as Barnyard, which lumbers onto shelves this week. The closest Fox 2 comes to pop-culture pandering is the group of singing dogs who dream of performing at the Grand Ole Opry. There’s nothing here that wouldn’t have fit into a sequel had it been made 25 years ago. And that’s a pretty good thing. — Jordan Harper

The Devil Wears Prada
(Fox)

No surprise that the commentary track for this adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s chick-lit best-seller features pearls of wisdom from the costume designer — this is the Project Runway crowd’s idea of a summertime blockbuster, after all. But the disc could be shorn of its 15 deleted scenes and its mini-docs and its chit-chat track and still be essential; fact is, David Frankel’s film is among the year’s best and easily one of the finest movies about working and the price of success. And the acting’s superb: Anne Hathaway charms as the put-upon assistant who blossoms in the blinding sunshine of boss Meryl Streep. Best of all, though, is Stanley Tucci as the lonely voice of reason, the caricature who refuses to crumble beneath the weight of silk that cuts like barbed wire. — Robert Wilonsky

World Trade Center
(Paramount)

Oliver Stone’s retelling of the events of September 11 is too conventional for its own good — a standard-issue disaster pic featuring protagonists who can do little more than lie in rubble and await the rescue that finally came for real-life New York City Port Authority cops Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) and John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage). Which is not to discount its ambition or intentions. But upon second viewing, I wish WTC were more than just a movie about heroism, uplift and optimism in the face of despair — all noble things but also too constraining during those moments when the movie wants to reach out and roar. United 93, a superior film about the day, was a cathartic memorial. Down to the whispered DVD extras, this is almost too reverent — a solemn Irwin Allen movie. — Robert Wilonsky