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Pete and Pete took an alternative rock approach to the family sitcom. In other words, this wasn't your dad's situation comedy. Is it any wonder so many alternative musicians, like Juliana Hatfield, the B-52’s Kate Pierson, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, and Blondie’s Debbie Harry flocked to the (fictional) town of Wellsville? Nor could independent film actors, like Richard Edson (Stranger Than Paradise), Martin Donovan (Saved!), and Steve Buscemi (Fargo), resist the allure of the appealingly offbeat Wrigley family.

Meet the Wrigleys: redheaded teenager Pete (Michael Maronna, Home Alone), redheaded elementary school student Pete (Danny Tamberelli, The Mighty Ducks) and his tattoo Petunia, Dad (Hardy Rawls), Mom (Judy Grafe)--and the metal plate in her head. First season cast members include Big Pete's almost-girlfriend Ellen (Alison Fanelli), Little Pete’s pal Natasha (Heather Matarazzo, Welcome to the Dollhouse), bus driver Stu (Damian Young), and Little Pete's personal superhero, Artie (Toby Huss), the strongest man in the world. Buscemi appears as Ellen’s dad in "Apocalypse Pete" and would return for another episode in the second season.

The first season followed three years of 60-second shorts. It features 12 adventures (eight regular episodes plus four specials). Highlights include "King of the Road," in which the Wrigleys battle for road trip supremacy, "Tool and Die," in which Big Pete learns not to judge a shop teacher by his cover, and "Hard Day's Pete," in which Little Pete forms the Blowholes with Syd Straw and Marshall Crenshaw. Then there's "Don't Tread on Pete," in which Little Pete utters the immortal line, "Is this guy pickin' your scabs the way he's pickin' my scabs?" The Adventures of Pete and Pete ran on Nickelodeon for three well-loved, much-missed seasons. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Reviews (45)

loving it. loving it! pete and pete is great! buy it!
This dvd of the Adventures of Pete and Pete is great! The commentary is awsome! expectly when the tell why they picked the 1st boy to fall asleep in nightcrawlers! Im watching it right now and its great! Picture quailty is great! the 2 disc dvd set has great artwork...i love the pic of mom's plate lol i cant wait til the 2nd season to come out! i will deffently buy it! every1 start buying this dvd...who knows nick might put ur fav show on dvd next! Little Pete looks sooo young in these dvds lol i thought he was like 5 lol he's 10! The mr. tasstee ep is on the dvd 2! thats 1 of my favs! BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT LOL

Brillant show - Picture quality not bad at all!
Some people are just so spoiled with DVD picture quality. I personally find the picture quality excellent and after reading others reviews I thought of not buying this. I took the risk and I bought it today and I don't know what people are complaining about? Like some other person said, it has tv quality, but the colors are bright and clear and it looks very good. There is no grain whatsoever.

Also, the most important thing is the show itself and it is brillant! I'm 25 and I remember loving this show when I was 12. The stories contstantly keep you interested and they are far from predictable.

Oh, and last and certainly not least. Artie "the strongest man of the World" rules!

A Blast From The Nick Past- Part 2
It's me again. I said last time how much I loved Pete & Pete when I was younger, and I wasn't kidding. This was one of my most favorite shows and I can't wait to see it again...and again...and again. It's on DVD now, you know. Also I got a copy of the Polaris CD "Music From The Adventures of Pete & Pete" and it has become one of my all time favorite albums. It's great to hear all the shows top songs like it's theme "Hey Sandy" and "She Is Staggering". Wow, what a flashback! And get this you guys, Nick/Paramount are planning on releasing more of our old favorites in a speacial set called The Rewind Collection. They will include: Clarissa Explains It All (already released), Solute Your Shorts, and my other two personal favorites Are You Afraid of the Dark? and You Can't Do That On Television. Yes, Finally!!! Also, another reviewer was wondering how many specials there are in this series. Ther are 34 regular half-hour episodes (8 in first season and on this DVD), 30 specials (4 available on this DVD) and 2 shorts (both available on this DVD). So I hope that helps dude. Til next time.

at last...a pete and pete dvd
I have been waiting so long for The Adventures of Pete and Pete to be released on DVD. If you were/are a fan of this show then this DVD is a must have. It is my all time favorite show and appeals to my sense of humor perfectly. It has unique story lines, great cameos, wonderful music, talented actors...everything you could ask for in a show. Now I can wait until they release more episodes!

Nostalgia for the Generation X'ers (and Y'ers, I guess haha)
I recently purchased The Adventures of Pete and Pete.And within no time, I watched the 12 episodes included on this DVD.As everyone knows, the video quality is sub-par, but to have this show on DVD is something I am extremely thankful for.

The episodes have aged very well.There are not many shows that you can enjoy now that you enjoyed when you were a child.Like the Simpsons, The Adventures of Pete and Pete has laughs on many levels.Kids and adults can laugh and enjoy these episodes.I do recommend more than one viewing of each episode to see the small jokes/funny dialogue in this show.

At the time of me watching when I was a child, I hardly knew of all the cameos of celebrities included.Michael Stipe as an ice cream man?Hunter S. Thompson as a New Years Eve partier?Steve Buscemi as Ellen's dad?The list goes on!This truly was a special show.

The soundtrack by Polaris was wonderful.Their music complements all the sentimental and exciting parts of the show. "She is Staggering", which closes out almost all of the shows is one of my favorite songs ever.

I do think that if you have NEVER seen the show, the humor will be weird and foreign at first, but eventually will be some of the most genius work captured on a "kids" DVD.It's only sad that there are two more seasons remaining.I need more! ... Read more

Description

A crackpot ex-nun who writes pornographic short stories crosses paths with an amnesiac wandering the streets of New York City. When they set out to uncover his identity, they come face to face with his unsavory past – including a vengeful porno actress and ruthless corporate assassins hot on their trail. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A Masterpiece
Restraint wrings our emotion. Jumping up and down can express joy, but a perfect ballet segment will convey ecstasy so complete the dance pratically creates it. Subtlety often can explode emotions larger than realism.

Hal Hartley understands this. The characters in his film do not talk like real people. Their speech is subdued, flat, and usually bluntly honest. Their small words carry mountains of meaning.

Most mystery films focus on the identity of the bad guy. This film instead chooses to explore the bad guy's identity. The film opens with him laying unconscious on a cobblestone street. He awakes but has no idea who he is. With this premise, the audience always knows who the bad guy is. He is in almost every frame of the feature. The rest of the film sets about discovering who the bad guy is.

I'm avoiding the film's plot. Telling too much about this film steals many of its pleasures, although I have enjoyed it each of the ten times I have seen it. Most scenes are arranged as artfully as a painting, the actors understand and enlarge Hartley's vision, and the music, ranging from Liz Phair to Pavement, is excellent.

This film may well be the best the ninties have to offer. Hartley's own Simple Men is one of the only other real contenders.

Gets better with repeated viewings
Like all Hal Hartley films (I've seen Flirt and Henry Fool, but neither are as good as Amateur), this is a decidedly odd and mannered movie. The first time I saw it, the far-fetched plot and stilted characterizations are a bit unnerving. This is an ambitious project--Hartley explores the fall of man (an event which literally precedes the film) and original sin in the context of an off-kilter Manhattan thriller. There are some hilariously delivered deadpan one-liners (Martin Donovan: "You're a nyphmomanic and you've never had sex? How could that be?" Isabelle Huppert: "I'm choosy.") But the heart of the movie revolves around the title, and how, try as we might, we cannot escape who we are--Hartley seems to suggest that humanity's flaws are indelible, and despite the guises we might adopt, we are only novices. Amateur ranks low on entertainment value (see Air Force One instead), but a great thinking person's film: brainy, sly, somber, and at times (especially the ending), heartbreaking. Hartley's beguiling screenplay unravels its original insights upon repeated viewings, and it makes the effort worthwhile.

Best Hartley Ever
This is my favorite Hal Hartley film, several of the scenes do not fail to bring a tear to my eye or give me a feeling of frisson and I saw it for the first time in 1995. I think that should say it all.

Purist Hartley fans seem to believe that Trust is the quintessential Hartley, and while I agree that the film is great, Amateur has a much more complicated plot and explores more complicated issues.

The film is all about ontology. What is the nature of being? Can one change? What is memory? Is there an essential nature to existence or is existence mutable depending on experience?

Don't think, however, this is some weird indie/foreign flick heavy on the meaning. Hartley manages to pose all of the above questions within a film that is quirky and funny and deadpan and sad and wonderful all at the same time.

Yes, I know this man.

The mark of Hal (Hartley)
Here's the trademark Hartley quirkiness that fuses bullets with uncertainty, a fried-brain accountant and two sexy women, semi-stagey dialogue and neatly dressed corporate hit men. Here's Parker Posey in a small role, Michael Imperioli (of The Sopranos) in a smaller one, and Martin Donovan as the amnesiac lead male who gets involved with Isabelle Huppert's character, an ex-nun who's turned to writing porno fiction--unfortunately, bad enough to make her publisher reject her work.

And here's Elina Lowensohn as well as a porno actress who wants out of her tawdry (though well-paying) life, whose sad eyes and possible death wish clash with her overly sensuous demeanor. How can all these disparate elements, you ask, ever possibly blend into a whole?

An excellent question. In Hartley's film, they do and they don't. Nobody really knows anything for sure; everyone here is an amateur at life, trying to figure out what to do next--or not knowing how to do anything next. Thomas (Martin Donovan's character) can't remember his name or what he did in the past. Isabelle (Huppert's character) knows intuitively she's linked to Sofia (Elina Lowensohn's role) but she doesn't know how. The accountant, Edward (Damian Young) seems self-assured until he has his brains fried and then he's completely unpredictable.

There's shooting and torture and a little love making. There's uncertainty or puzzlement around every corner. We never really know a whole lot, Hartley's saying, and because of that, you could, in fact, meet a porno-loving ex-nun. You could be an accountant whose neat orderly life is scrambled into violent outbursts and uncontrollable behavior. You could wind up becoming a man who doesn't remember his name and makes some effort to find out what it is, but not enough to discover it.

So is this a coherent film? Hartley is interested more in character than coherence. Structure is not as important as how people actually impact each other, how they impinge on each other's lives. It is, he says, this random colliding of personalities that determines what will happen; people are so complex and so full of possibilities that things just...happen as a result of them being brought together.

Once the viewer accepts this perspective, everything falls into place. Or randomly shifts into place--falling here, rising there, making a jagged turn when you least expect it.

This is less satisfying than Hartley's masterpiece Henry Fool, but it is nevertheless a very intriguing film and definitely worth seeing.

An amateur rewiew
I was channel-surfing when I landed on IFC showing a "comedy-drama" called Amateur. It was nearly an hour in, and there was this scene of these two geeky accountant types arguing about the merits of various cell-phones while using the wires from a floorlamp to electrocute a Christopher Lloyd look-alike. High-concept, but decidedly "B", I thought. But as the movie progressed, I began to notice the deliberation that led to the quirky stagger of the film. The style itself was saying things that the action couldn't begin to convey. This was high art! And it was funny in an intentionally-unintentional way.
The plot, about an ex-nun who now writes bad pornography, a porn queen with a grudge, and an ex-pornongrapher with amnesia, each searching for their identity, is interesting, but it doesn't begin to tell of the impressive stylishness of this movie. Amateur sucks you in like Beckett mixed with "letters to Penthouse", and leaves you satisfied on both accounts. If this sounds good to you, you should check it out. It shows on IFC quite frequently. Oh also, this movie turned me into a freak for Elina Lowensohn. ... Read more

Description

What do you do if your father, a former all-star shortstop and mad bomber anarchist, breaks out of jail? Go after him, of course! Two brothers trek through the deep, dark wilds of Long Island, only to discover that sometimes even the oddest things really are just what they seem. Directed by independent film favorite Hal Hartley (The UnbelievableTruth, Amateur, Trust) Starring Robert John Burke (Tombstone, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), Bill Sage (American Psycho, Boiler Room), Karen Sillas (The Sopranos, CSI Miami), Elina Lowensohn (Schindler's List, Nadja), and Martin Donovan (Insomnia, The Opposite of Sex). ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Should be on a Top-100 List to see
Perfect in it's balance of unnatural dialog and incredible insight into life and relationships, this is a fabulous movie. As surreal and funny as Raising Arizona, Simple Men's subtle humor isn't quite as redundantly over-the-top. If you appreciate dry wit and intelligent rapport, you are in the right vicinity.

Although I love his films, Hartley isn't for everyone. The obscure dialog and sparse camera work is tailored for artistic sensibilities.

Why isn't this film maker famous?
As a film fan with a brand new DVD player, my first priority in begining my movie library was to obtain a copy of 'Simple Men', and another Hal Hartley film, 'The Unbelievable Truth'. I have been unable to track down the latter, but was happy to find more Hartley films available. I believe fans of 'Repo Man' and 'Clerks' would be very pleased with 'Simple Men'. I just hope Hartley's great films make onto the more durable DVD format. Hartley fans need to unite!

poor effort
This is one of Hartley's lesser efforts.
He recycles characters and mannerisms to
the point of tedium. It's too bad
considering his many other fine films.

Amazing
A few years ago I was looking for some movie in TV when in wrong move I put one of this channels you never watch cos the quality of the image is bad and the movies are in my spoken languaje (spanish, I prefer with subtitles). I don't remember what scene but I remember the face of Robert John Burke from Robocop III, talking some very clever dialogues. After just a few minutes I couldn't change the channel till the movie ends leaving me absolutely impress.
Just a few weeks later by the same reason I catch "Trust" and from this same moment I became fan of Hal Hartley.
Why?
Because after years watching more than one hundred different movies of any style and director, Simple men and the rest of the Hartley's work show me another vision of life and another way to make movies, thinking more in a good and very deep script with a few good actors than a good budget with great special effects.
It reminds me the movies of Terrence Malick, because in the chaos of the existence both directors show the path of the real survivors, not those guys who are born to be heroes, just those one only wanna some moment of peace and true love, that's it's more than all the glory of the universe.

Simple Men on DVD
For all you Hal Hartley fans who have desired having a copy of Simple Men on DVD, your time has come. Simple Men will be released on DVD widescreen format January 27, 2004. I can't wait to get my copy!!! ... Read more

Reviews (38)

A fun film!
You may have been looking at all of the reviews for this movie and getting mixed messages. First of all, it is a story about a group of kids trying to seek revenge because of the "Snow Plow Man" who has ruined every first snow day with no snow day to follow. (He ruined it by plowing the roads and making it so the kids could go to school after each snow day.) The older brother of one of the kids is trying to find a way to tell a popular girl that he likes her. The plot is that simple. The plot is not "meshed" it is just like any other movie, there is more than one thing going on, but it would only confuse you if you are an easily confused person (after all it was intended for a younger audience, and they get it!). There is no harsh or "adult" language used in the film, to my knowledge, and I have seen it twice. I liked the movie, and thought that it was fun, go ahead and buy it, if you have kids, or if you are just looking for a cute film with a clear message " anything can happen, when you really try"

ALL IS POSSIBLE IN A SNOW DAY
When I went to see this movie, I thought I was wasting my money and my time but I was wrong. "Snow Day" isn't only a movie for kids, is for adults too. Starring Chevy Chase as a weatherman that one day discovers the snow is coming. His children want a snow day because they don't go to school. But there is a problem: the snowplowman (Chris Elliott). This time the kids will get fight against the snowplowman to have more days of fun with the snow. The romantic part appears when the son of the weatherman (Mark Webber) declares to his love interest. His childhood friend (Schuyler Fisk) falls in love with him but he doesn't know it. Is a great movie for the whole family. Rent "Snow Day" today and you'll enjoy so much. Probably you'll buy it too. A five stars movie, with good actors and a lot of great song that make you buy the soundtrack.

Terrible Film, DO NOT SEE, DO NOT BUY
This movie doesn't even deserve the one star that I gave it. I wish I could give it 0 stars. The movie was NOT funny at all and had no action. I didn't like this movie at all. I can't think of any age group that would like this movie.

It's Not Tootsie, but...
I'm 30 years old. If I want funny, I go to Woody Allen. But, this film surprised me. It's not Tootsie, but if you're a parent, you're not looking for a night at the Oscars. You're looking for a fun family flick that can for once lay off the football-in-the-crotch jokes and less overt adult references we assume the kids don't catch. (I for one give the little lads a little more credit.) The movie's simple, creative, even smart, dealing with the challenges and pain of early adolescence in an honest but responsible way. Both Chevy Chase and Chris Elliot take it down a notch for an even, sure-footed film.

But please remember the pro and con of Snow Day
If you are wondering what the pro and con of a Snow Day are. Then here they are. The pro is you get a day off from school. The con is that you will have to go back 2 to school at the end of the year to make up for the Snow Day(s). But suppose if you worked a job (other than being a teacher or other staff member at a school), I'm not sure on how it would be worked if they had to close for a snow day to. In Snow Day there are kids, teenagers and adults who are rivals for what they want. The kids want to enjoy the snow day, but their rival is the evial snowplowman (Chris Elliot). There's a high school student named Hal (Mark Webber) who has now a new girlfreind that seems to don't know that he lives. And he has to go up against her ex-boyfriend (David Paetkau) to win her. While his dad Tom Brandson (Chevy Chase) who wants to wear pants while he does the wheather but his boss (Pam Grier) that tells him to get the rating of his rival and she will let him wear pants on the air.

My thoughts on Snow Day are, that if you like movies with people going up against rivals and enjoyed Snow Day, I reccomend you to watch Max Keeble's Big Move. Watching Chevy Chase playing a whatherman who wears costumes on air reminds me of Max Keeble's dad. Because Max's dad had to wear costumes to work at times. My Suggestions: Parents if your kids want to watch a film, I reccomend you to know what the rating is. And toi watch the film ahead of time and decide to let your kids watch a film that doesn't have a G rating (like this). Snow Day is a good movie to watch if you like movies in which characters go up against thier "rivals" to get what they want like this and Max Keeble's Big Move. Or if you have a kid that like Nicolden's films I also reccomend you to let your kids watch this. Or this is a good movie to watch, if you are a fan of a actor or actress that is in this film. So if it is any of the above reasons, I strongly reccomed you to watch this movie. Even if it is not a snow day. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

For Scott Caan fans only
I am a huge Scott Caan fan and have been waiting for this DVD to come out since it premeired in 1999 at Sundance. I really have no words to describe this movie. It was too... up to be good. But too real to be bad.The relationship between Drew and his father was beautifully demented and hard to watch and throughout the movie you just ended up feeling sorry for everyone. The best part was the chemistry between Scott and Mia Kirshner. Other than that I would recommend this movie only to fans of either one of them. On the plus side, Scott Caan hasn't looked this hot in a wife beater since Varsity Blues.

Get up to 'speed' on the superb acting of Scott Caan
I've been a huge admirer of Scott Caan ever since I first saw him on the big screen. The son of the great James Caan, his pedigree may well be taken care of, but he still had a lot to therein live up to. And he did so in an amazing list of acting jobs that include 'Gone In 60 Seconds,' 'Novocaine,' 'Varsity Blues' and even the cheesy 'American Outlaws' and 'Ready To Rumble'. In 'Speed of Life' Caan is the central character that takes care of his 'fast-fading' father in much the same way a new mother would take care of her newborn. Finally pushed to levels he never realized he could feel, Drew (Caan) turns to drugs to relax, but ends up losing his job, his common sense and finally his judgement. That all said, it's Leo Burmester's ('The Abyss,' 'The Neon Bible') role as Caan's relapsed father that steals the show and the heart strings well before the tortured end. ... Read more